Lords of the Storm

Overview
An ancient pantheon that dates back to the first men, The Lords of the Storm had been the gods of the people of Amikus for thousands of years before the rise of the churches of The Eternal. They are commonly referred to as “The Old Pantheon” or “The Old Gods.” The Lords are a part of a vast mythology full not only of the gods but of mortal heroes, wicked demons, and magic so powerful it can reshape the world. The mythology consists of hundreds of stories ranging from the creation of the earth and the universe to battles between gods to determine the fate of the mortal race. In times past, religious scholars and clerics would travel the world and spread these tales. These days, many of the stories have been lost to time and very few still look at the Lords as gods.

Church Structure
Worship is practiced in temples maintained by priestesses. There are no formal services; worshipers come to the church for silent reflection or to ask the gods for favor while religious scholars ponder the collected works of the temple's library. The priestesses answer questions and perform various tasks and fits the gods they serve; a priestess of Loor is trained to repair weapons and armor, a priestess of Amel has unrivaled training in caring for the wounded and sick, while priestesses of Chant offer more pleasurable services to their guests. However, these days there are very few temples still in use and the few that are have less priestesses to tend to them than in their glory days.

The order of the High Priestesses once acted as a central governing body to all the temples. They conducted all negotiations on behalf of the temples and saw to it that the temples well protected and well supplied. That order has since vanished, leaving the remaining temples to fend for themselves. Occasionally someone is nominated by their own temple to be “High Priestess,” but without a central authority to officially sanction her it is in name only and she commands no authority in other temples.

Men who wish to devote themselves to the religion can become clerics. Clerics don't stay to one temple the way priestesses do. The travel the world, visiting temples to read from their library and spreading their knowledge to anyone who will listen. Many take up learning a performance art, such as acting or singing, in order to help make their tales more enjoyable. Clerics are rare now but often welcome, even by worshipers of the Eternal, as skilled entertainers.

History
It is hard to know where the religion started. Tales of the gods have been told since the earliest recorded history. The most ancient text in Cathedral's Grand Library is the tale of Origin. For most of recorded history the Lords of the Storm remained the primary gods of the world, crowding out smaller religions that came and went as the years passed. Then the rise of the Tantus Empire spread worship of the Eternal across the world. For many years the two religions existed side-by-side but slowly the Lords of the Storm lost favor. Temples began to be abandoned and fell into ruin, less girls came forward to be priestesses, and kings and emperors converted to the church of the Eternal. While the religion has not completely died out and still holds influence in some areas it is no longer the force it used to be.

Afterlife
Worshipers of the Lords of the Storm believe that within every person's body exists an eternal soul. When the body dies, the soul is taken by the gods and a fate is determined for it depending on how that person lived his life. The most common tales tell of good, kind people get to spend eternity in comfort in paradise and evil, malicious people are punished for eternity in a pit of agony and despair. Other tales tell of a more tailored afterlife. Soldiers who lived for and loved the battle enter a world of glorious combat to fight alongside the heroes of legend. Scholars are placed in a library of endless knowledge. Performers get to perform in plays written by the gods for an endless sea of eternal souls. And on the rarest of occasions the best of men, the strongest, wisest, and bravest, get invited to join the Lords of the Storm in godhood.

Depiction
The Lords of the Storm are depicted with very human-like characteristics. They have emotion and are flawed and are prone to make mistakes. They are powerful but the greatest heroes among men have been able to defy them and live to tell the tale. They are ageless but still vulnerable to mortal wounds at the hands of their fellow gods. They marry and have children, most of the time with another god but sometimes with a mortal.

They are portrayed many times in countless works of art. Unlike the Eternal they are portrayed to take human form during most of their dealing with mortals, which, according to the tales, they like to do far more often. In later works they are depicted as taking this human form even when amongst the other gods as if it was their natural state. All the gods are told to be able to change their shape, however, so their true form is unknown.

The Gods
The legends are full of gods, demigods, angelic servants, powerful demons, and heroes, amongst other things. There are dozens of gods in the main pantheon, along with their wives, children, and other relatives. Some are more important to the core of the religion than others. These central gods are the ones who get temples and priestesses dedicated to them and make up The Lords of the Storm.

Rath:
The king of gods and ruler of The Lords of the Storm. He won the title in contest with the other lords that matched strength, wisdom, and courage, having proved himself the greatest in all three. He is a wise and fair ruler but the weight of his decisions bears down on him and he is prone to fits of melancholy. He doesn't interfere with mortal affairs much as he is far more concerned with the affairs of the gods in his own kingdom, though he trusts Amel to keep him informed on the pressing issues in Amikus and will intervene is the mortal races are in true danger. He is married to Light, goddess of the sun, and their children are the gods of the dawn.

Light:
The goddess of the sun and wife of Rath. Her sister is Shadow, goddess of the night and queen of the moon. Shadow had been in love with Rath and was jealous when he chose Light instead so she tried to overpower her sister and cast the world in endless darkness. Light won the struggle but was weakened by it and now requires the help of her children to bring forth the dawn each day. When her children require rest the sun sets and Shadow brings forth the night.

Amel:
The goddess of life. She was directly responsible for crafting the mortal race and breathing life into them. She is depicted as having the most fondness for humans among the gods to the point where she once gave up her godhood to live among them. Rath later returned her godhood upon her mortal death. She gifted men with medicine and healing knowledge to preserve life and cries when men fight each other at war. She has had several husbands, all mortal, and there is said to be many mortal family lines with her blood.

Loor:
The god of warfare. He is a strong and cunning god who had been Rath's greatest challenger for the throne. When Rath defeated him he bent the knee and became one of Rath's most staunch supporters. He is a master strategist and incredibly arrogant about it. He likes to plant his strategies in the minds of mortal commanders so he can see his work in action. Some tales tell of him intentionally instigating wars just so he could test tactics. Rath put him in command of the Archangels and it is his job to defend Rath's throne from the plots of other gods.

Chant:
The goddess of desire. A beauty beyond comprehension, Chant work to sew the seeds of desire in both men and god alike. It is from her name the word “enchant” is derived. In later years her personality became closer to that of her counterpart in the Eternal, Karies, with tales of her helping men find their true love instead of just the target of their desire. She has been known to help lovers on her quest with everything from gifts to divine intervention. Sadly, she will never know love herself because her beauty is so pure that even her fellow gods would not want to risk touching her for fear of defiling it.

Balig:
The god of death. He is responsible for guiding the eternal spirits of men to their respective afterlife. He is an aloof and uncaring god. He has been known to take people before their time because he didn't bother properly checking his list. Like death, he is considered unstoppable. It is said in the tales that he is even more powerful than Rath but is too lethargic to have wanted the throne. Part of his job is to watch the boundary between life and death to keep things from getting murky. The presence of undead and the tales of wandering spirits are testaments to his laziness.

Arran:
The god of courage. Arran was born a mortal in a time of great turmoil when the fate of the entire human race was uncertain. From inauspicious beginnings he rose, first a common soldier, then a knight, then a commander. No matter what odds he faced he always met them with unwavering bravery. His adventures make up dozens of stories and are referenced in countless more. The gods were so impressed with him that they invited him to godhood after his death. He now lends his courage to those facing tough trials who need it.

Miser:
The god of the the oceans. He considers himself the most clever of the gods and believes that he should have been king and has never forgiven Rath for taking the title. Rath gave him the oceans as a token of goodwill but Miser was not satisfied. He is always scheming ways to take the throne. When a plan fails he takes his anger out on sailors and coastal towns. He is always learning in an attempt to find some new power to obtain or a way to exploit a weakness and was also known as the god of knowledge.

Gresh:
<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">The god of the forests. A silent and brooding figure when forced to be around the other gods, preferring the solitude and isolation of the wilderness. He prefers conversation with the animals of the woods to that with his fellow gods or mortal man. He has some respect for men who choose to live in harmony with nature and who make their homes amongst the trees. Humans who live in big cities far removed from nature get nothing but his disdain.