The Prime Pantheon

Although they once worked together in ambition and desperation to shape the world of Solan, over the years many of the members of the Prime Pantheon have fallen out. Betrayals of trust, conflicts of interest, and the slow, grinding march of time have changed the Prime Pantheon from a group allied in purpose to one connected only by origin and power. Some, such as Lathander and Gond, still hold each other as friends and allies, while others such as Tyr and Leira battle incessantly. Most have a complicated relationship with their fellows, from the once lovers Kelemvor and Midnight to the estranged sisters Selune and Shar.

### Born in Hope

In the Age of the Defining the world of Solan was raw and untamed, brimming with potential and magic. Solan entranced the attention of the beings that would become the first gods, who would wander the landscape exploring, learning, and experimenting. These gods spent their time raising mountains and carving valleys one day, only for them to be flattened and flooded the next, or spending years among primordial beasts until they understood every single aspect of their being. The three most captivated with the wonders of this world, Kelemvor, Midnight, and Cyric, grew close in their shared wonder. No matter how far they traveled, they still would return to share their experiences and plans for this new world.

### Bound in Desperation

Against the seemingly invincible titans, the fledgling Pantheon was forced to consider terrible measures. As a terrified Cyric turned to Asmodeous "The Prince of Evil" for aid, Tharizadun sought out the source of the whispers he heard in the veins of magic that stretched out from Solan, extending out to other planes.

### Members

* Arcane - Midnight “The Lady of Mysteries”: One of the founding trio of the Prime Pantheon, Midnight has become isolated and paranoid over time. Among those who she was once close with only Selune and Ioun can be said to still hold her trust at all. Midnight has appeared as a scholarly human mage with ebony skin and eyes which shift in color from moment to moment, a violet haired gnome woman whose voice crackles with energy as she interviews beings of legends and myths, and an onyx dragonborn with an insatiable curiosity and wild appetites.
* Chaos - Cyric “The Dark Sun”: One of the founding trio of the Prime Pantheon, Cyric’s descent into cruelty and treachery shook the foundation of their confederation. Once his closest friends, now Kelemvor and Midnight are Cyric’s most bitter foes, and even his daughter Leira can only be said to have a playful enmity with him. Cyric’s forms are a lean human with a sallow face and a crooked grin, a cheerfully malicious tabaxi with striped fur, and a sharp featured goblin defined by guile and deceit.
* Cold - Auril “The Frostmaiden”: Having originally joined the Prime Pantheon on a whim, Auril takes great pride in her status among them, and regardless of her many complaints about her fellows she refuses to allow insults towards them from mortals or “inferior” deities. Taking care to expand her following among the fey as much as mortals, Auril has not let time dull her ambitions or calm her nature. Auril has appeared as a proud and capricious fey woman with pale blue skin and hair, a cold and avaricious aarakocra with blinding white plumage, and a wrathful triton woman with hair as dark as the abyssal depths.
* Death - Kelemvor “The Judge of the Damned”: One of the founding trio of the Prime Pantheon, Kelemvor has gathered nearly as many regrets as spirits to tend. Even after all he has lost and gained, Kelemvor’s calm vigil is an eternal constant. Kelemvor’s forms are a contemplative and patient human with a mutton chop beard and hidden temper, a gray feathered aarakocra whose tranquility and wisdom are a balm to the grieving, and a silent tortle seeking out the lost and untended dead for burial.
* Forge - Gond “The Wonderbringer”: Among the most optimistic of the Prime Pantheon, Gond has seen the many changes of the world as mere inspiration for new creations. Delighted by the wealth of creativity and invention even in these early days of the Age of Wings, Gond is now beginning to rouse from his despondency over strife with Midnight. Gond’s forms are that of an industrious red-bearded dwarf covered in soot from the forge, a hulking and silver haired minotaur mentoring young inventors, and a gnome whose hair is singed from his latest wild invention.
* Knowledge - Ioun “The Knowing Mistress”: The keeper of secrets and legends, only Ioun knows the truth of all that has passed within the Pantheon since their founding, yet even she will not name their fallen members. Ioun rarely speaks with her fellow pantheon members now, yet she will always answer if they call. Ioun appears as a solemn elf woman with eyes that reflect thoughts unspoken, a rodentfolk with auburn fur whose weavings seem to be memories not yet gained, and a centaur bard whose belled braids seem to whisper secrets when stirred by the wind.
* Light - Selune “Our Lady of Silver”: Once the mother figure of the Prime Pantheon, Selune feels sharply the loss of their fallen companions and broken relationships, yet still takes joy in those who remain. Bitterly opposed to her sister’s ambitions, Selune now only rarely takes an interest in fledgling deities, though she has an alliance with the elven pantheon. Selune’s forms are an ancient elf with silver hair and eyes gleaming with starlight while she tends to a mother giving birth, a vivacious young shifter woman dancing with a lover in the moonlight, and a serene orc matron with silver rather than gray skin and a peculiar knowledge of navigation, her tusks radiant in the reflection from the waves as she sets sail.
* Life - Lathander “The Morninglord”: The most hopeful among the Prime Pantheon, Lathander views his lapsed friendships with the other gods with regret except for Cyric and Shar, whose betrayals he cannot fathom. Accepting the changing times, Lathander has enthusiastically greeted the new Arisen and seeks to build bonds with them as well as repair old relationships. Lathander has been known to appear as an athletic young human man with bronze skin and fair hair, an enthusiastic dragonborn with scales of resplendent gold and grand ambitions, and an optimistic lizardfolk striving for liberty and change.
* ??? - Tharizdun “The Chained God”: Once the heart and soul of the Prime Pantheon, Tharizdun was corrupted by beings from beyond the void between worlds and inspired to create the Abyss. Imprisoned by those who once loved him, unable to slay him, Tharizdun has languished in a divine prison since, yet the whispers of the mad god have still escaped and wrought havoc among mortals. Tharizdun was described in legends as a skeletal gnoll whose skin writhes with the rhythm of his ceaseless laughter, a good humored and idiosyncratic gnome with hair of a thousand colors, and a scheming kobold whispering of doom and despair.
* Nature - Silvanus “The Forest Father”: A guardian and mentor to other deities as much as the wilds themselves, Silvanus has the most ties to lesser deities among the Prime Pantheon. Patient and watchful, Silvanus oversees the balance of the natural world, often content to let others act before him. Silvanus appears as a silva with a great mossy beard tending to the soil’s new growth, a pale green-gray vegepygmy whose skin is sprawling with the life of small creatures and insects as he tends to abandoned young beasts, and a yellow-spotted grung hunting the despoilers of the wilds.
* Night - Shar “The Mistress of the Night”: Once her sister’s loving shadow, Shar’s growing ambitions and perceived betrayal from the one she cared most for have led her far from her origin. Shar now prowls the Shadowfell and Underdark in search of revenge, her loneliness only abated by brief and tenuous alliances with Leira, Vecna, or Talona. She has been described as a lean drow woman with a crescent scar under her left eye, a powerfully built duergar woman with jet black eyes and , and a lithe tabaxi with black fur and two daggers which trail shadows in their wake.
* Order - Asmodeus “The Prince of Evil”: The last to join the Prime Pantheon, Asmodeus has always honored the compact by which he joined, careful to protect the status his membership grants him. Ever willing to compromise and aid his once allies in their endeavors for an ounce of advantage, Asmodeus’ betrayals are still so subtle as to claim utter loyalty. Though his true form remains a secret, Asmodeus has publically appeared as a red skinned humanoid with a perfectly coiffed beard and a charming smile beneath his horns, an eloquent gith with perfect manners, and a valiant hobgoblin seemingly unconcerned with the grievous wounds wracking his body.
* Protection - Helm “The Vigilant One”: Stoic, brooding, and loyal, Helm has watched with quiet fury as one after another, by word or deed, his companions have broken their word and betrayed the pact over the years. Though he still respects Kelemvor for his duty, knowing well the price of a lonely vigil, Helm waits even now for he and Torm, his old friend, to betray him like the rest. The known forms of Helm are a grim man with a close trimmed beard and a face as battered as his armor, a dour and determined triton clad in the hide of fallen monsters, and an austere loxodon whose tattered ears are constantly alert for approaching foes.
* Tempest - Kord “The Stormlord”: An irrepressible force of personality, Kord’s exploits have shaken Solan time and time again, and he has dealt with the estrangement of his fellows largely by ignoring it. Revelling in the defiant courage of the new age, Kord has briefly granted explorers a reprieve from his storms in an effort to encourage the adventurous spirit of mortals in its rebirth. Kord has been a scarlet dragonborn with a tongue as fiery as his breath, a lean dwarf with scarred knuckles and a bellowing laugh, and a blonde, exuberant orc with gleaming tusks and tattoos.
* Trickery - Leira “The Mistmaiden”: The youngest among the Prime Pantheon, Leira survived by guile and cunning at the cost of many of her so called “allies”, causing resentment even before they truly began to fracture. Though even her father Cyric now attempts to slay her, Leira still plays the dance of power with an amused grace and scornful aplomb. Leira has incarnated as a slim and sweet human woman with seemingly endless knives hidden on her, a deceptively innocent halfling with a cherubic face and wide blue eyes, and a graceful yuan-ti whose alluring seduction is always deadly.
* War - Tyr "The Maimed One": Still bearing the wounds of the Defining in his empty eye sockets and the stump where his right hand once was, Tyr has always taken an active hand in mortal civilization and its protection. Were it not for old oaths, Tyr would have abandoned the Prime Pantheon long ago, instead favoring the warmth and unity of purpose of his partnership with Ilmater and Torm. Tyr has been a grave muscular human with a long white beard, a sternly judging bugbear with gray fur and a piercing gaze, and a colossal and honorable goliath with a chilling smile.