Die

Die (Pronounced Dee-Ay) is a term derived from the abbreviation for "Divine Intelligent Entities" and refers to various immortal beings that can be found in Aum.

## Ultimate Beings

### The Great Smith

The Great Smith is the god of gods that is worshipped and revered by the Elemental Lords, the Archangels, and the Archdemons alike. He is attributed with creating all of creation, though is not known for directly interacting with his work in any way.

## Gods

Gods are extraordinary Die that exist in realms beyond the reach of most mortals. Most of them are representations of aspects of the universe or the embodiment of ideas.

### Elemental Lords

The Elemental Lords are Die who reign over their Elemental Domains in the Aum Star System. They were among the first beings created by The Great Smith and combined actions accidentally created Aum.

### Archdemons

Archdemons are the embodiments Sin, residing in the Abyss beneath the Dark Side of Aum.

### Archangels

Archangels are the embodiments of Virtues, residing in Heaven far above the skies of Aum. They directly serve a being known as The Nameless Lord who is speculated to be an aspect of either The Great Smith or some similarly divine creator entity.

## Apoths

Apoths are formerly mortal Ib who have achieved divinity through a process known as Apotheosis. The most common way that an Ib transcends into an Apoth is by being chosen by a Die.

## Elemental Spirits

The Elemental Spirits are lesser Die native to the world of Aum that are believed to be the forgotten children of the Elemental Lords. In addition to directly representing combination Elements, many Elemental Spirits also represent concepts associated with their Elemental aspects.

## Deities

Deities are Die whose veneration is popular on the Newerld continent of Aum. Unlike many Die who were empowered by innate forces of the universe, Deities draw their strength directly from the faith and rituals of their worshippers.

### Bella

Bella is the Deity of Beauty and New Lovers. She serves as a muse to the greatest artists and poets of the land, inspiring them to perfect their art and create ever more divine works. Although she is directly empowered by the dedication of works of art to herself, she also claims the otherwise lost power from those dedicated to unrequited lovers. While the latter source provides her with quite an abundant supply of spiritual strength, she is known to perform miracles that aid lonely poets in winning over the hearts of those they desire, and many will offer her service and sacrifice as they prepare for first dates in hopes that she will smile upon their romantic endeavors.

### Chorus

Chorus is the Deity of Dance and Revelry. Her heart beats with every stroke of a mallet against a drum and she is animated by the compulsory bodily movements of all those who find themselves captivated by the natural enchantments of music and song. Chorus blesses all those lost in the music, whether they be simply dozing to the harmony of lute and flute or swinging their swords to the rhythm of the drums of war.

### Juro

Juro is the Deity of Broken Promises and Failed Expectations. When Ib are unable or unwilling to honor their words, they often seek solace from Juro who may provide them aid in facing the consequences of their own inadequacies rather than allowing them to wallow in despair. Juro binds these hopefuls to new promises and sets for them new goals which may help them find forgiveness or a path forward to improving themselves or their current situation. Of course, regardless of how sincere one's determination is at their onset, often time these new promises will also fall through, but such failings are not the mark of failure. So long as they continue to renew their efforts and try again with yet another reinvigorated commitment, Juro still provides his followers with his grace and favor. While repeated failings are rather common, so long as Ib continue putting in a decent effort, abilities will inevitably draw closer and closer to intentions.

### Pathos

Pathos, the Deity of Fear, is a Deity that exists in a constant state of petrification due to terror. He is a Deity favored among cowards who find comfort in knowing that they are at least braver than one divine being. Pathos derives most of his power from followers who suffer from unique and obscure fears, and once they shed their mortal coils, he is able to absorb their phobias into his being, making him extraordinarily horrified of just about everything imaginable in existence. For his most devoted adherents, he allows them to trade in their more generalized and rational fears and anxieties in exchange for these more obscure pathological horrors. While such strange and specific horrors are significantly more acute, they are also usually significantly less likely to be encountered unless one suffers from severe nightmares or is assailed with phobia inducing magic, making such trades generally worthwhile.

### Phyta

Phyta is the Deity of Chlorophyll and is a Deity venerated by many farmers, foresters, and loggers alike. Unfortunately, Phyta does not appreciate the worship of such tamers and ravagers of the natural world and only gains strength from the plants that they herd and butcher at a whim. She attempts to empower plants so that they may grow larger and stronger so that they may drive off their oppressors, but such vast increases in crop yield are actually what most farmers desire; she unwittingly plays right into the hands of her eternal foes.

### Predatorre

Predatorre, the Deity of the Hunt, is a fearsome Die worshipped by desperate survivalists, big game hunters, carnivorous beasts, and their precious prey alike. Whether it be for survival or sport, the life and death struggle between predator and prey is his domain. It is rare that he will ever intercede on the either side's behalf once a hunt has commenced, but once the struggle has ceased, he is known to grant great boons to successful hunters or dole out humiliating punishments should they have failed despite possessing natural advantages. Similarly for prey, while there is no punishment that he can mete out to them harsher than simply leaving them in the hands or jaws of their captors, he does bless them with improved fertility should they escape from particularly grueling hunts in the hopes that they might multiply and supply the world with worthy offspring who may offer superior challenges in future hunts.

### Primus

Primus, the Deity of New Beginnings, is a Deity that blesses Ib as they set out on new endeavors. Many newborns are baptized in his name and many adventurers and entrepreneurs will similarly baptize themselves as they begin grand journeys and hopeful enterprises. He is especially empowered and venerated by those who take great risks and leave much of their old lives behind in order to seek their dreams and passions. While such pursuits are blessings in and of themselves, Primus still maintains a vigil over such starry ventures in order to lay the foundations for new aspirations should things not go quite according to plan.

### Reaper

Reaper, the Deity of Ends, is a Deity that sees beings and events to their natural conclusions. For Ib themselves, this means the end of their very lives, and it is not something that many look forward to. Even so, all things must come to an end, and Ib who have reached their limits will often willingly invite Reaper to bring them to whatever lies beyond, and these euthanasias are the Deity's greatest source of strength. Even so, that does not mean that Reaper always welcomes the willing; indeed, many Ib in despair believe that they should be facing the end far before their time. In these cases, Reaper imparts his power unto them so that they may carry on a little longer, at least until they have reached their true end.

### Node

Node, Deity of Puzzles and Conundrums, is a Deity empowered by excessive amounts of critical thinking being applied to inconsequential matters. Whenever an anxious Ib spends hours mulling over what phrase they should use to greet their crush in the thirty seconds they will see them the next morning or a curious, but seriously misguided, youngster spends the better part of an afternoon attempting to create theorems for how they might explain the process of magnetism despite lacking even the most basic understandings of the fundamental physics and mathematics, Node gains strength. Toy puzzles that are utilized for leisure are also a great source of strength for Node, and those who fiddle them in his name may receive his blessings. Node wields his worshippers' excess brainpower to provide them greater clarity and guidance in predicaments of more critical importance, helping them resolve some of the greatest puzzles known to Ib. The breakthroughs his followers make inevitably then expand the scope of Ibian knowledge and always lead to new questions and problems to puzzle over, ensuring that Node will always be able fresh sources of befuddlement for him to draw from.

### Sanctus

Sanctus, the Deity of Sacrifice, is a Deity that is venerated through making sacrificial offerings of any kind. In exchange, Sanctus empowers the effects of other sacrifices that her worshippers must make, especially those which require them to sacrifice their own lives.

### Mono

Mono, the Deity of Toil, is a Die empowered by routine and mundane. There are no festivals to honor Mono, for festivities provide too much deviation from the ordinary daily grind; instead, his adherents simply go about their usual drudgery and every now and again give insincere thanks unto their monotonous lord. In exchange, Mono may distort his adherents' perception of time so that their weary days may seem to pass by more quickly, and he provides them with a burst of energy once their wearisome tasks are complete so that they may go enter into their leisure activities with renewed enthusiasm. Of course, his most faithful have no desire for such blessings, opting instead to bear the fullest perceptual weight of their miserable, soul-crushing labor and returning home as broken as their bodies and minds can be. It is the overtime of these unsung heroes that allow Mono to perform his miracles for the profit of the rest of his flock of faithful, and they are often rewarded with divine, honorary plaques that do not in and of themselves provide any tangible benefits, but may still serve as a source of pride for those who receive them.

### Ira

Ira, the Deity of Indignation, is a Deity of holy wrath and righteous fury. Somewhat similar to the Virtue of Justice, he is venerated by those who seek proper retribution for wrongful offenses, but only if they are directed towards the individual themselves. Ira does not support aiding others in their pursuit of Justice by any means other than inspiring them to take their vengeance into their own hands, or at least to take their grievances to the established lawful authorities.

### Stigma

Stigma, the Deity of Shame, is a Deity that is worshipped by the lowest castes of society and those possessing critical defects, whether they be of body, mind, or spirit. Stigma gives his followers the ability to highlight and enhance their deficiencies so that they might become beneficial to them while also making the marks of their shame impossible to mask or ignore. Worship of Stigma is often expressed through branding and self-mutilation, and the scars and tattoos created by such acts often become conduits for the Deity's divine power.

### Nautilus

Nautilus, the Deity of Navigation, is a Deity revered by sailors and travelers of all kinds, though the Deity himself certainly tends to show greater preference towards men of the sea. Indeed, there is nothing that invigorates the Deity's heart more than swarthy men with the wind at their backs and sails overhead.

### Geass

Geass, the Deity of Quests and Duties, is a Deity that is empowered by the worship of those who commit themselves to performing tasks for the benefit of others. Whether they be the vows of noble knights or the contracts of underhanded henchmen, Geass aids those bound in service who call upon her name. Geass binds her worshippers through additional sets of blessings and curses that apply restrictions and prohibitions upon how they must act but strengthen their ability to perform other specific actions. Failure to abide by these restrictions often comes with harsh penalties and possibly even death, making covenants with Quest Goddess irrevocable oaths that ought never to be taken lightly.

### Festivus

Festivus, Deity of Community, is a Deity focused on promoting neighborly love through the practice of shared local rituals. Festivus is empowered through the strength of cultural bonds between sectarian groups of Ib, and while he does notable promote a single universal holiday in the form of Gift Day, he prefers for local traditions and customs to supersede any worldwide celebrations. Indeed, even the most culturally isolating rituals and superstitions are supported by the Die, and there is no single mass of his worshippers would be willing to meet with one another in a congregation beyond their own city's walls. Festivus is also known for advocating for the veneration of many local and minor Die, possessing a small community of his own minor Die that manage his diverse and fractured groups of followers.

### Lex

Lex, Deity of the Law, is a Deity that wishes for Ib to abide by strict legal frameworks and always follow the decrees of higher authorities. Lex does not care one bit for the purpose or spirits of the laws that are in place, instead urging for them to be followed to the letter. Lex grants his followers greater clarity in interpreting the complicated legal frameworks as they are written, and for this, he has often been dubbed the Lord of Loopholes due to the tendency for his followers to find the best ways that they can abuse the laws once they have ascertained a proper understanding of them.

### Zenn

Zenn, Deity of the Moment, is a Deity that endorsed Zen practices and for Ib to attempt to lead their lives with a fullness of being at every moment. For this reason, Zenn is sometimes known as the Deity of the Present, but such a moniker does not truly embrace his essence as one can give a great expression of their being as they mindfully meditate and reflect upon the past or perform tasks oriented towards the future primarily intended to bring about distant results. It is in the presentness of self in any activity that Zenn finds most crucial. As for the worship of Zenn, individual practices vary greatly but inevitably involve regular rituals with an intense focus on deliberate actions, the most famous of which is the Tea Ceremony.

### Avos

Avos, the Deity of Our Ancestors, is a Deity that promotes the veneration of one's ancestors. Avos holds the power to access and store the memories of his worshippers and can provide this access to their descendants. It is through this exchange of ancestral knowledge that Avos gains his strength. Unfortunately for the Die, new lineages of worshippers have significantly less incentive to follow him as they will not be able to draw upon any existing memories, but the promise that they will be able to share their experiences with their future kin is often motivation enough for them to enter into his congregation.

### Purus

Purus, Deity of Cleanliness, is a Deity that endorses good hygiene and despises microbial lifeforms. Those who worship Purus regularly cleanse their bodies of all forms of filth, and always ensure that they keep their living environment clean and tidy. While good hygiene is its own rewards, in exchange for their regular cleaning rituals, Purus rewards his followers by granting them greater clarity of mind and aiding them in their focus of long term goods over short term gains. Through purity of body and mind, Purus' worshippers believe that they can attain transcendence from the natural filth and clutter of the world, but only his most devoted followers seem to take these principles beyond pretentious lip service.

### Peridus

Peridus, the Deity of the Lost, is a lord who claims dominion over all things that Ib have lost, abandoned, or forgotten. While he stores vast amounts of archaic knowledge, he also possesses many items that were simply misplaced and drifted out of mind. When Ib do remember that they still have need of something they forgot, they offer prayers to Peridus in hopes that he might return unto them what is rightfully theirs, and the Deity heeds their pleas and graciously obliges. Ib who have lost their way also pray to the Deity that he might help them home so that they do not perish and become one of his belongings; similarly, those who have lost loved ones petition that Deity to reunite them by releasing them from his Lost Trove.

### Solum

Solum, the Deity of Solitude, is a somewhat reclusive Die that never manifests in the presence of more than one single Ib at a time. He is favored by studious hermits and he aids them in their quest for knowledge and the cultivation of their rich inner selves. For some, he provides warmth and comfort through the lonesome night, for others, he provides an ear to listen, but for his most faithful, he simply leaves them be.

### Vegan

Vegan is the Deity of Herbivores and the proclamation of Herbivorism. He gains influence not merely from the faithfully practiced vegetarian diets his followers, known as Vegans, employ, but from the awareness among those who do not directly worship him that his followers are adhering to his tenants. For this reason, the devoted adherents of Vegan are quick to pronounce their faith and allow as many people as possible to know about it. Furthermore, his followers are quick to proselytize Vegan's teachings, often citing various moral, ethical, and health reasons as to why others should join them in their war against the wickedness of carnivorism. Indeed, so quick are they to profess their faith that many believe that there has never been a Secret Vegan.

### Veros

Veros is the Deity of Regret, the one those call upon when they lay awake at night and wonder "What if?" For his faithful, Veros provides visions of alternate worlds in which they can view would have arisen from different a course of action than the one they had chosen for themselves in reality. More often than not, theses adherents merely view their alternate selves struggling with their own set of what-ifs, but sometimes, sometimes, things truly would have worked out for the better. For his truest of followers and the most pitiful of regrets, Veros may defy the laws of reality and violate the otherwise inexorable flow of time itself; however, such interventions are exceptionally rare. Perhaps it is only when destiny itself admits that it has made an error that Veros can intercede on a worshipper's behalf.

## Other Gods

The Other Gods are strange Die from the Darkness Between the Stars. While the core of their being is incomprehensible to most Ib, it can be gleaned with dire certainty that they are beings of immeasurable power and that alone is enough to draw in a number of worshippers who seek to understand and exact their bizarre whims upon Aum. Their true wills and aspects are unknowable to Ib, and the Ib who have made contact with them always attempt to characterize them in terms that are sensible to an Ibian perspective, but the nature of the Other Gods goes beyond all logic and reasoning; any characteristics that are attributed to them are flawed from the outset, for unlike most other Die, many of the Other Gods do not possess egos or any real form of character to characterize.

### Azathoth

Azathoth, the Inexorable Entropy, is the greatest of the Other Gods. He is the primordial manifestation of entropic chaos and the bane of all order in existence. Thankfully, while he is omnipresent, the bulk of his being rests in eternal slumber, somewhere far off in the sea of stars, so there is no need to be too alarmed. Indeed, while his presence will eventually result in the heat death of the universe, many believe that his existence is necessary to ensure that there is movement between Elements and that the universe does not remain in a constant state of stasis. While many Ib view themselves as preservers of order, the fact of the matter is that living beings produce significant amounts of entropy as they perform the vital processes required for sustaining their own lives. Of course, entropy is also responsible for the decay of organic matter, so one may perceive him as a god of death as well. Azathoth is very many things, far more than any mortal will ever know.

### Shubra

Shubra, the Festering Broodmother, is the Other God of Life. While many view life as a conceptually beautiful thing, in reality, the most abundant organisms in existence are things that most Ib view as revolting. Indeed, Shubra loves all life, including disease-causing bacteria, necrotic-tissue-consuming scavengers, bowel-infesting parasites, and all others. Shubra does not hold any particular form of life in higher esteem than any other, and while she seems to appreciate seeing her children engage in mutually beneficial symbiotic relationships, she seems to also enjoy spectating the predatory struggle living beings must engage in in order to survive just as much. Shubra manifests horrifically abominable lifeforms throughout the universe and provides them with only one instinctual order: "Be fruitful and multiply."

### Yog

Yog, the Lord of Ageless Eons, is an Other God that appears to represent the flow of time itself. Agents of Yog drift between the stars and consume any time distorting beings and anomalies, making Yog the sworn nemesis of the Aeonians and their Ageless Empire. It is rumored that all of history, all that ever was and all that ever will be, is carved as a frieze into Yog's Slade form and that he alone is responsible for the adamantine chain that binds together cause and effect; should his existence ever waver, then all reality would become irrevocably distorted as future events would readily muddle with the past, a grim prospect when one considers that the universe will be dark, cold, and lifeless for infinitely longer than it will have ever been hospitable for Ib.

### Jikazak

Jikazak, the Cackling Madness, is an Other God that drives creatures into merry insanity. Both mirthful and heinous interdimensional clowns known as the Ulcordyen worship Jikazak and spread his joy and terror throughout the universe.

### Khitan

Khitan, the Ceaseless Chittering, is the singular entity formed from the hungering thoughts of the Coelocus Swarm, a swarm of leviathan class space locusts ten trillion strong who devour everything in their rampage through the sea of stars. Countless worlds have fallen before endless appetite; only the brightest of neutron stars and the deepest black holes are safe from the gluttonous wrath of their chittering maws.

### Ghant

Ghant, the Unseen Horror, is a lesser Other God that typically only ever occupies a single physical space at any given time. Its invisible form is both smooth and scaly, yet simultaneously more liquid than solid as it will envelop all that it touches. Wherever Ghant goes, he leaves behind a clear, putrid, and viscous fluid that constant oozes from his unknowable form. Those whom he or his fluid touches convulse with unearthly cold shivers while being wracked with the burning sensation of frostbite, all the while feeling a twinge of loneliness and despair in their hearts. Many believe that Ghant is a lonely being, and while his erratic movements do often allow him to haphazardly stumble into Ib, it is believed that he experiences no sensations from such contact, and those whom he touches weep for they gain a subconscious awareness that he will never know a true and loving embrace.

### Uasa

Uasa, the Steward of Unspeakable Truths, is an Other God who has arisen from willful repression of knowledge and through the anxiety borne in the hearts of those who possess dark secrets which they must never share. The deeper the secrets an Ib holds, the deeper Uasa may bore his ethereal tendrils into their very being. While some find this eldritch probing to be objectionable, most find great relief in the ability to share their soul with the Other God, giving them a lone confidant to bear their hidden burdens. Despite countless occult attempts, few have ever been successful at accessing the Other God's clandestine caches of knowledge. Those who are successful are able to briefly glean fragmented universal truths and bits of mundane gossip from Uasa's suppressed stores, but they can feel the ancient being's blind eyes staring at them in resentment, and they do not dare spread the knowledge to any others.

### Dranzule

Dranzule, the Lord of Unknown Fantasies, is a manifestation of the grandest of desires that Ib can not quite place their fingers upon. He is especially present within the Realm of Dreams, and there are many such occasions when he and his majesty and mystery will often be encountered by an Ib mere moments before they awaken. In that fleeting time, he will give them the most precious glimpse into that higher truth, and they will awaken in a frenzied zeal, but not quite remember what it was they had just dreamed. They will be driven to immediately try to fall back to sleep, but such attempts are never to any avail. Dranzule is also known to creep upon Ib in their waking hours, though he does so much more subtlety. There will be times he reminds an Ib of something forgotten by giving just the gentlest of somehow nostalgic twinges to their heart, but he will never go so far as to remind them what. Many believe that Dranzule is the representative of a Paradise that does exist in the world, one that all Ib have some vague awareness for, that gives Ib hope and is the real reason that many Ib carry on no matter how grim the times are or how great their desperation. Dranzulia, Qosm, or Xanadu, some have called it, a place perhaps where there truly is serenity. Many a false prophet have crafted such paradise in their Dreamscape and made disciples of all those they can fool, but none have ever discovered the true place where hearts beat still and bliss is as bountiful as the fallow sky.

### Quaul

Quaul, the Herald of Hushed Omens, is an Other God that attempts to subtly warn individuals and worlds of impending doom, but far too often they are unable, or unwilling, to heed his somber whispers.

### Dweamir

Dweamir, Envoy of the Deep, is an Other God that exists in all boundaries between shallow and deep throughout the universe. There is something special about the twilight border between two worlds, whether it be approaching the depths of an oceanic trench, the inner chambers of a cavern system, or the starless desolation of deep space that attracts the presence of Dweamir. The Other God exists in more conceptual space as well, most notably at the boundary between shallow snoozing and deep slumber. Dweamir draws those in the shallow towards the deep, often entrapping unwary transients into the darkest depths of being.

### Bhor

Bhor, Other God of Cave-Dwelling Savagery, is a primal and barbarous being that exemplifies the dark beginning of the civilized world and the brutish tribal past that most races of Ib have attempted to leave behind. Of course, the primordial past is carved into the DNA of even the most advanced races of the world, and there is no real escape from the ancient urges that drive so much of their being.

### Untizal

Untizal, the Bearer of Blissful Ignorance, is an Other God that has arisen from the collective rejection of the objective nature of the reality in which Ib reside. She provides comfort and maintains a subtle veil that masks some of the more disquieting aspects of existence so that ordinary Ib can go about their ordinary lives without too much disturbance. Some believe that it is only through the influence of Untizal that Ib may accept the ephemeral nature of their mortal existence whereas others believe that she only serves to obfuscate knowledge that may help Ib better live their lives. Regardless of the truth, it is certain that Untizal staves of existential dread and horror for a great many beings; for that alone her presence in the universe is generally considered a blessing. Forgetting is considered to be in the domain of Untizal, and indeed, even beyond the simple benefits of leaving behind our past troubles and shames, forgetting is necessary to ensure that the minds of all kinds of creatures are not overloaded with excess sensory data.

### Squishial

Squishial, Enchantress of Carnal Debauchery, is an Other God that exists as a manifestation of all the vilest desires of the flesh. In terms of Sin, Squishial is an amalgamation of Lust, Gluttony, and Wrath without even the vaguest notion of Pride, but in truth, Squishial goes far beyond the purely mortal conceptions of these mortal desires. Those Sins arose from evolutionary foundations that were intended to promote species' survival and propagation, but the debauchery of Squishial is something deliberate and eternal, not temporal and incidental.

### Xulitar

Xulitar, the Ineffable Torment, is an Other God that exists as a manifestation of pain beyond words, the suffering that Ibian languages can never do justice in their description. This immeasurable pain felt by the most unfortunate creatures is something very real, and the only way for it to be expressed is through Xulitar. Xulitar by definition defies any proper depictions, though many Ib still attempt to record the Other God's nature in elegant, lexical phrases; perhaps the most basic of these would simply be: "It hurts..."

### Jinix

Jinix, the Cursed Child, is an Other God that has arisen from the blessings and good wishes Ib place upon their own offspring. These blessings ward off wickedness and adversity from their children, which Jinix then unwillingly bears the burden of. Every misfortune that a parent has even just so much as worried may befall their child, and subsequently prayed would never happen, and indeed does not happen, happens to Jinix in their stead. Jinix has experienced a nigh-infinite amount of hardships and will continue to suffer so long as there are Ib. Some of those who are aware of the Other God's miserable existence take it upon themselves to share in the burden of her countless curses, and the desperate being rewards these kind souls with the strength of battered and bastard children who have been damned and disowned by their own kin.