Gods of Man

Gods, first and foremost, are symbols of the forces that guide the world. There are six Gods, and they date back farther then documented history itself. Wether they exist as beings or not is up to personal belief, but as reoccurring characters in art, literature and cultural vocabulary they seem to have incredible staying power. The gods of man are first depicted in the Arc of Cast, a book dating back to the reign of Dran, the first monarch. The six gods have since been repeatedly been depicted decoratively in architecture, jewelry and smithing.

* **Kattla god of Pain**

From the flesh he ushers forth; suffering, blinding, deafening, sickening, stinging, aching, burning, freezing, gnashing, twisting, thrashing, ripping, breaking, rotting and poisoning. The limitless expanse of his dominion is like a raging sea that none can cross. He watches over none, for all mortal beings shall suffer deeply unto the piercing blade of life and croak their final breaths unto its shiny crossguard.

He lords over even the most valiant and defiant hearted, as if they where but meek slaves. He paints the framework of your existence and even when he unfairly intrudes and oversteps, you submit and comply. He is the king of kings and god of gods. His might humbles all. In life, the truest strength of a mortal being is their ability to defy discomfort. Though we all bend and contort attempting to navigate the labyrinth of pain that is life, the nightmarish truth is that suffering cannot be escaped by anyone, and only the ability to choose the sufferings that yield something in return and to endure them, true and well, is the key to being at peace with suffering. Nonetheless it will truly HURT.

* **Enrai god of Power**

From the entropy of life he carves out; beauty, virility, strength, potency, power, supremacy, truth, perfection, dignity, ingenuity and creativity. He hones the raw into the refined, and rules all with his undeniable might. He watches over those who out of their own willpower and skill ascend to the higher echelons of the world, and he helps those who help themselves. He conjures in man an ideal to strive to, he makes soldiers from louts and heroes from victims. He chips away the unworthy and refines what is left into an unbreakable unit. He is the only god of power, and all others have no way to disagree.

Never doubt in the brutality of the ways of Enrai, for the games of power are merciless, and the flowers of the gardens of paradise are watered with the blood of the unfit. Fairness is a foreign word in the language of power, and if something does not yield or imbue true supremacy, it does not deserve a moment of consideration or dignity.

* **Scioteme god of Death**

He lifts forth from the black depths; despair, resent, denial, shame, terror, cowardice, regret, failure, weakness, madness, hypocrisy and delusion. Indeed, all the demons of hell are actors in his unholy plays. He watches over the lost, the hopeless and the mad. He serves as their divine tormentor and master. Those fallen from the light of Enrai are caught in the claws of Scioteme.

He is the herald of madness, deceit and delusion, and he is feared by all. He shows man what man refuses to see, and in seeing this, man either remains in the nightmare, night after night and day after day until he is driven mad and joins the lost, or he observes his shadows and learns what's keeping him from becoming greater then he is. For all men harbor unmastered darkness, from the greatest to the pitiest.

* **Atia goddess of Mind**

In the storming chaos she illuminates and reveals; truth, logic, revelation, clarity, structure, balance, reason and sense. She watches over those who are intellectually honest and harbor an earnest wish to know more. She guides and gives a flame to light the misty path to enlightenment.

Through her followers she channels ideas, revolutions and innovations. She aids in deriving from the chaos of the world a clarity, a clairvoyant principle and a way of thinking that allows transformation to ensue. All scholars are humbled by the writings of her devoted followers, and the stroke of pure genius is a feature of her favor. She is third most powerful among the gods, and she takes her duty seriously and with great humility. She is deeply conscientious and principled and impossible to fool. She sees through lies and illusions with stunning quickness and has long made her judgements about the world. She seeds the minds of mankind with new perspectives and solutions and gleams with excitement when a human accomplishes a high level of wisdom.

* **Vega goddess of Fortune**

From the rivers of flame she delivers; fortune, freedom, love, pleasure, unity, passion, trust, mercy, honesty, understanding and friendship. Her fire is the glorious sun under which all things may prosper. She lovingly watches over those who dare take risks to follow their hearts and she always smiles at the courageous and genuine. She is queen of those who fight for their hearts. Those who follow their dreams and passions through hardship and darkness and live to gain her favor.

A mortal beings life is a treacherous path, and many cope with this by playing it safe and doing what needs to be done, nothing more and nothing less. But those who only do what they are *supposed to do* subjugate their hearts, and shackle their passions for safety, that they cannot be hurt. But Vega's touch cannot reach through this armor, and their lives become one sided and repetitive. As a diety, she obsesses with the lives of mortals. Their trials and tribulations, their secret hopes and dreams. She cries when a human dies with unattempted dreams, and laughs merrily when someone has the courage to do something unconventional.

* **Niro god of Want**

In mortal hearts he tears a rift; of love, of vengeance, of wealth, of knowledge, of skill or of power. Void and empty, these rifts crave to be filled and inspire action. He watches over those who live with unsatisfiable want. Those who can never find the end to their greed, lust, wrath, or otherwise. Those who just like him are forever empty. Niro does not interact much with the earthly world other than through the desires all of mankind possesses. Some desires guide, others deceive. Some are indulged willingly, others are compulsively obeyed.

The fissures of the heart, the desires, are what drives forth all mortal beings into action and struggle. Desire is not pleasure nor pain, but rather itself creates this duality. Desire is the distinction between the two, and without desire or revulsion, there is no pleasure and no pain. Thus, desire creates meaning. Niro is unfulfillment personified. Nothing appeals to him. He is the divine that wanted everything but could not have it. He is the black sheep of the divine hierarchy, and spends his immortality watching humanity reenact his past mistakes. He is a deeply unhappy god.