Vanadra

The icon of Vanadra

> "Scorned Vanadra is Hell’s Fury - praise!
> Clench your fist and feel her burn - shout!
> Her fire touches each true heart - rage!
> Kindled by the Primal Spurn - rail!
> Goddess heard our enslaved cries - fight!
> We are the boundless crimson tide - end!
> No longer chained beneath reptiles - smite!
> The mortal crime we won’t abide - die!"
>
>

— From the Eightfold Testament
**Vanadra** is one of the seven Dark Gods, the **Dark Gods of Wrath**. She is also known as the **Red Gods**, the **Adversary**. In ancient Naptesh she was known as **Kupash**.

## History

Vanadra is believed to have been known under the name of Kupash in ancient Naptesh . *This places the oldest known mentioning of her somewhere in the Second or Third Age*.

## Worship

The followers of Vanadra are said to be fuelled by injustice and betrayal . Records exist of the opportunity for vengeance being used as a temptation by those seeking to convert people to Vanadra .

## Warriors

The Warriors of the Dark Gods dedicated to Vanadra are said to wear red armour, though often with gauntlets coloured black . This blackened colour of the gauntlets is said to be achieved by the Warrior sticking its hands into an open fire.

## Daemons

Lesser daemons of Vanadra, observed in the Immortal Realm, have been described as impish creature with snarling faces and claws able to leave scores in stone.

Best known of the daemons of Vanadra is her Scourges and the Brazen Beasts.

## Circle of Hell

*Main article: Hell*

Vanadra's domain in the Immortal Realm, her circle of Hell, is said to be a place of immense heat, akin to a furnace. Visitors have also described involuntary clench of fists and tensions of jaw and neck, as if overcome with anger.

The two most notable feature of Vanadra's circle is the keep of Dal-Magoth and an immense being beyond mortal comprehension. Dal-Magoth has been described as a tall stone tower with a spiral staircase, surrounded walls. The keep has been described as the end, and by climbing its staircase, it seems you can escape the Immortal Realm.

The being has been described as absolutely dominating the circle of hell, larger than comprehension. Its most notable feature is its three maws, knows s the Mouths of Hell. Two of these chew on perhaps the two greatest traitors in history, the goblin Sturd and the human Pontifex Ursino Del Mastro. The central mouth is said to be empty, reserved for the greatest traitor of all, who betrayed his own people, the being called the Betrayer (presumably the real identity of this person is Warin).

## The Lion and the Cockerel

In Vanhu, there is told a tale about a lion and a cockerel. *It seems to be a cautionary tale, against the use of anger*. The lion always complains about his life. About the monkeys not fetching him enough fruit, about the golden phoenix not granting him more offspring and about having no friends but a group of hyenas. The lion meets a cockerel with red eyes and red crest, who promises the lion the power of Vanadra, who will give him what he wants. Or, failing that, punish those who keep it from him.

The lion takes the power and sets out to confront his oppressors. He kills the monkeys, but now he must eat only meat. He kills the golden phoenix, but now he must mate with the lioness to produce offspring. He kills the hyaenas for laughing at him, but now he has no friends at all.

Vanadra then comes to the lion and he complains that he now has less than he had before. Vanadra assures him that all that matters is that those who treated him badly have suffered. With that she rewards him with her favour, a garland of red hair for a mane.

## Sources

1. ↑ The Eightfold Testament (*T9A:FB Daemon Legions, v2.0, p8*)
2. ↑ Erika Leitzke; On Worshippers of Darkness (*T9A:FB Warriors of the Dark Gods, p34-35*)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Urs Bödeker; Banners of the Gods (*T9A:FB Warriors of the Dark Gods, p82-85*)
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ilarion Yanovich (942-962 A.S.) Letters to Archbishop Voytyek Bistricha, 1st letter (*T9A:FB Warriors of the Dark Gods, p8-15*)
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Nazario Calegari (953 A.S.) Circling the Abyss: part VIII - The Way Barred, The Beacon Tower, The Mouths of Hell (*T9A: Circling the Abyss, p18*)
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Eric Tombstone, Adventures in Taphria (*T9A:FB Daemon Legions, v2.0, p54*)

Dark Gods