Derwo

Derwo is the goddess of the underworld, which shares her name. She is the wife of Eave, the sky god. Whereas Eave is relaxed and does what he pleases, Derwo is constantly working to keep the souls of all deceased mortals safe within her realm.

In her role as part of the Nictic Pantheon, Derwo is the most powerful of the dark deities, and is the only one who worship of is not outlawed. She acts as a patron of Nict due to Nict spending much of her time within Derwo's realm. Nict and Derwo have a positive relationship, with Derwo making an effort to see the younger goddess' point of view and keeping her safe from Giha and the other deities of light. Derwo is occasionally sought out by heroes to destroy artefacts of darkness.

## Aspects

### Depnar Deepdark

Depnar Deepdark is Derwo's dwarven and nordic aspect who rules over the land of Depnar far, far below the surface of Erah. Her domain is a cold, lifeless place for the most part, known as Depnar Richtig/Almennilegur. Separated from this region by the River Seelen/Salir is the realm of Ruhmeshale/Dyrðahollin, a city for the glorious dead centred on her feast hall. Depnar generally takes the form of an utuchekulu dwarf, a mul, or a pale human.

### Harangi

Harangi is the draconic aspect of Derwo, taking the form of a colossal shadow dragon. He is a proficient shape changer, and is known to travel the land, pushing evildoers to further corruption and heroes to greater acts of heroism. He is a stern judge of those who enter his realm, and those he deems to be irredeemable he devours the souls of. Those with a chance of redemption he forces to work until he feels they have been redeemed and are suitable for reincarnation. His relationship with Zulko broke down long ago, and he will seize any opportunity to harm his former lover.

## Myths

Derwo's realm originally was part of the First Sphere, before being forcibly moved into the Second Sphere. Her realm was originally located beneath the realm of Erah, but when Irsman Dwarfather carved out his realm of Dowerah, Derwo's daughter, Sith, acted to save her mother from oblivion by creating a new sphere around the first. This act is what started the animosity between Sith and Irsman.

After the exile of Nict from the house of Urnabal, she eventually came to Derwo. She came as a supplicant, and Derwo took pity on her and gave her a place to live away from persecution. Were it not for Derwo's power and importance for existence as a whole, she would likely be equally reviled by Giha and his father. Derwo does not support all of Nict's actions, but she is her closest confidant and there is a degree of trust between the two. Nict only leaves Derwo when Giha returns to his home.

The elven deity Shadar became infatuated with Derwo and made his way to her realm. He begged her to be his, and after weeks of begging outside the door to her palace she let him in. She refused to be his though but told him that he could instead serve as her slave. She used her primal magic to make changes to Shadar, breaking down his mind as well as his body, transforming him into a being who could better serve her. Shadar's followers had come with him to Derwo, and they found themselves also changing. They became the shadar-kai and now act as the custodians of Derwo's realm. Those with enough free will to consider leaving that place are considered an unusual minority.

Harangi used to live above the surface of Ertane, and was the lover of Zulko, the dragon of the sky. One day Harangi was attacked by Puderey, the dragon of the depths of the earth, who threw him into Ertane, knocking him unconscious. Harangi woke up in a large cavern and spent six years trying to escape. Eventually, he found a small tunnel leading upwards, and he had to spend another six years mastering the art of shape changing. With his new power, he was able to return to the surface of Ertane. When he saw the light of Amarsu, the light burnt him, forcing him to take refuge in a cave. He called out for his lover, and Zulko eventually heard him. Zulko landed near the cave and saw the pale form of Harangi. He didn't believe this creature was his love, so he called Harangi to come out of the cave and into the light to see him better. Harangi refused, saying that the light burns his scales. Zulko said that the creature before him was not Harangi, but a monster from the depths. This enraged Harangi, but he couldn't do anything other than return to his cavern. There, he built a realm to make Zulko jealous, and started gathering the souls of the departed to live in this kingdom. He only wanted the good though, so he could have a realm superior to that of Zulko, and so those he deems unworthy he devours, and those he deems almost worthy he allows to return to Ertane to refine their existences.

## Dealing with the Party

The party made their way to the realm of Depnar to ask for help freeing the souls from the Pa Doden. With the exception of Sagadina, the party got past Okura, and entered Ruhmeshale/Dyrðahollin. There, they entered the great hall and Runfinn and Serra spoke to Depnar. Serra managed to get the trapped souls released, destroying the grimoire, and Runfinn got his corruption removed. Since they passed Okura's trials, Depnar was cordial with them, and allowed them to remain in her realm for as long as they liked.