Deliah

Deliah is the goddess of Fate and Beauty. As a major deity she is worshipped all over the world, placed within the Regnum Deis of the Regnum Caelorum, the Anticipations of the Church of Aeyed, and as Exarch of the Rose. Even the ancient dragon cult of Senix holds Deliah as a friend to the Firstborn. Deliah is responsible for the fate of the mortal world, though it is unclear if she is its source, its guardian, or both. What is clear is that she was the Goddess of Beauty first, using her force of personality and her popularity to claim leadership within the First Civilization, and leading mortals through the ravages of the post-Genesis War era as a powerful symbol.

## History

Deliah was born a mortal woman before the Genesis War and sibling to Valeos the God of War. The time before the Shattering is unclear, but it is believed that Deliah was offered to Lothos the Primordial of Time as his bride, and she promised him his sphere would be paramount in the new world that mortals would build. It is also suggested that Deliah may have been the very cause of the war, as she stole the freedom of will from the Shattered God itself, granting it to mortals. This is not taken literally by most sources however, as without the freedom of will it is not clear how she may have chosen to do such a thing.

Following the Genesis War, Deliah would become a leader for the surviving mortals and the mythical First Civilization. Her leadership brought a utopia to this society, allowing her to focus on her duties as the God of Mortals after inheriting the title from her dead brother, Valeos, after he'd shattered the Shattered God. It was believed at this point during her tenure as the God of Mortals she also worked with Lothos to reform the Mortal World following the Genesis Wars, possibly from the very corpse of the Shattered God itself.

Deliah would weave the Tapestry of Fate, the very firmament that protects the world from the harshness of the sun. After ensuring life would flourish in the new cycle of day and night, Deliah focused her efforts on the harrowing of the Primordials. Those extant primordials that existed within the Mortal World following the shattering of their deity were driven from it, forced through the Tapestry of Fate to grant it some small power and anchoring within the material of the Real. Their departure was considered a mercy, following the horrors they had wrought upon her people.

Finally, with her mortal life spent, Deliah would pass completely from the Mortal World, granting her position as the God of Mortals to her husband, Lothos. She and her husband, now together within the heavens, would sire many children of their own. Among these gods are confirmed to be Salux God of Travel and Commerce, Vitai God of Life and the Day, and Morala Goddess of Death and the Night. Beyond this is mere conjecture, but Elyra Goddess of Rebirth and the demigod folk hero Taelek the Fox are also popularly considered.

Deliah would take a more active role within the mortal world than even other mortal gods. Her position of leadership within the First Civilization, if true, would mark Deliah as the progenitor of the very concept of governance. She would be the patron goddess of the Aurvalin Hegemony of southern Irida during the late 4000s BC, the city and Bastion of Rethiln, the Atonian Empire, and at least three city-states of Cra'Awrios. Her oracle within the city of Aurvalis has always been a major political figure within Vireth, though recently captured by the yuan-ti's living goddess Medusa. It is believed her active role is due to her sense of responsibility as the former God of Mortals, despite having passed the title on. Or, perhaps her sense of responsibility in their current state following the Genesis War. Whatever the case may be, she is considered quite a nuisance by more traditional, aloof deities.

## Dogma

Deliah is the Lady of Fate, and as such protects the sanctity of mortal choice. She is the progenitor of free will in mortals, stolen from the Shattered God prior to the Genesis War. Games of chance such as dice or cards are communication of her will. When her brother Valeos rose in rebellion against the Shattered God Deliah was granted to Lothos, who would become her devoted husband and a staunch ally of the mortal rebellion. Following the end of the Genesis War Deliah inherited her brother's place as the god of mortals, leading the first civilization through the upheavals caused by the death of creation. As the God of Mortals she aided her husband in the reforging of the world, placing Time as paramount to the confines of reality so the stagnation of the Shattered God may never return.

Deliah created the Tapestry of Fate to aid in the progression of time, giving it a sense of direction if not a predetermined path. Her dogma does not suggest that Deliah controls fate or destiny, in fact it explicitly states she holds no control of mortal will at all, simply that the tapestry reveals the most likely outcomes, and reweaves itself around mortal choice. Thus she is placed as the Guardian of Fate, and not as its designer. This belief in Deliah as the Lady of Fate causes her temples to spurn the evil of slavery, to abhor magics that manipulate one's mind, or anything that may inhibit one with choice to choose against their own judgement. This position has brought the Goddess' temples into direct conflict with many institutions of power within the world, and it is only her abject popularity among every class that has protected them from outright censure.

Deliah's place as the Goddess of Beauty is obvious in her own depictions. She is always beautiful, regardless of the sex, age, or form she may take in each depiction. She is often called upon as inspiration or muse to every type of artist, taken even as the source of love in its inception, so powerful is her presence within the heart. It is not only obvious, visual beauty that she inspires, however. Beauty in words and in deeds are paramount to her dogma - The Church of Aeyed considers her the Seraph of Charity, the will to sacrifice of one's self for others even when they have nothing to give. This ideal is depicted within her temples of the Regnum Caelorum as well, as the Goddess of Mortals was an everflowing spring to her people through-out her mortal life.

## Relationships

### Valeos

Valeos and Deliah are siblings, that much is clear from history, myth, and religious canon. The order of birth is up to question, as the significance of such is up to cultural interpretation based on the superiority of the gender or age of the given god. They seem to have loved each other during their mortal lives, staying close and supporting one another through the soul-crushing dangers of the Genesis War. Following Valeos' death, it is said Deliah wept unceasingly in grief, comforted only by her husband Lothos. She wept still as the harrowing of the primordials was carried out on her orders, and she wept until the Bastard Stars were torn into the sky. When she saw the mark of her brother, her heart at last knew peace, as she saw proof of her brother's ascension and that he was waiting for her in the next life.

Within the Regnum Caelorum canon Valeos is the older sibling, and Deliah inherited his place as the God of Mortals when he died and ascended to the heavens. According to the Church of Aeyed, Deliah is the elder but due to her gender refused the title and granted it to her husband. In Rethiln's canon, where Deliah is held as the patron goddess of the people, she is believed to be the younger and the wiser of the siblings, and only accepted her place as the God of Mortals when it was irresponsible to do otherwise.

Even as the two mortals became gods, and countless eons had passed, the siblings show their love for one another. The churches of the two are often direct allies, their clerics often siblings themselves, and their blessings coming in pairs. Such inevitable linking of the two has been inspiration for the linking of war and fate through out mortal society, as if it was mortal nature to clash with one another in violence and grief.

### Lothos

Primordial God of Time, Lothos is the husband of Deliah. Prior to the Genesis War, it was Deliah's hand that won the Primordial to the side of Mortals, in addition to the added importance of his sphere. When the Shattered God was slain, Lothos and Deliah worked together to reform the world, with Deliah as the Goddess of Mortals. When Lothos was overwhelmed by the intricacies of time, Deliah relieved him of his greatest efforts by weaving the Tapestry of Fate in the stars. With this additional responsibility of her own, they held equal time apart, yet finally equal time with one another. The two lovers, with the now inevitable march of time, would beget many children together, and set the foundations of the mortal plane.

As Deliah grew more distracted by her children and her responsibilities as the Guardian of Fate, she granted the mantle of the God of Mortals to her husband, and passed fully from the mortal world.

### Vitai and Morala

The twin Lovers, the gods of Life and Death, are said to be both children of Deliah and Lothos, and their constructs. Most tales tell of a loving family, the twin gods born to the lovers, and set in the sky beside their father the Evermoon bathed in the light of their mother from the stars. Some tell of the two gods crafting the Primordial Gods of Life and Death, Day and Night, from the broken pieces of the dead Primordial of the Cycle. Whatever the truth, the Twin Gods are lovers and siblings both, and the doomed children of the Goddess of Fate and the Primordial of Time. Some preach that the horrors of incest were wrought by the union of a mortal and a primordial, others that the purity of the gods excludes them from such a concept, and others doubt a mortal goddess could ever beget such unfathomable and intrinsic beings.

Whatever the case may be, Vitai and Morala are ever tied to the Goddess of Fate. Oracles of Deliah often speak in the place of either god, depending on the time or the season. Many priests of Day or Night speak in riddles that foretell the fate of their listeners. The Day Moon and the Night Moon wander endlessly, separated only by the Evermoon, and backed by the Tapestry itself, bathed forever in the light of the stars. The connection itself, at least, is clear. The source is all that is up for debate.