Urian (YUR-ee-uhn)

God of the Air and Sky

Urian (YUR-ee-uhn) is the neutral good god of the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, the winds, freedom, and salvation. His voice is heard in thunder, and his countenance is seen in lightning. To most, he is the father of storms, though all agree that rains come from Shalimyr, the waters. Icons show Urian as a mighty old man, with a great white beard made from the winds, and wild hair that crackles with lightning. In his eyes are stars and the moon, and when his mouth is open it shines with the light of the sun. He is sometimes shown with four beasts behind him on leashes of chain—the four winds, two of which are shown to be snarling, fierce beasts, while the other two appear placid and kindly. Urian’s faith visually represented with an orb of half gold, half silver. The gold half casts off the golden rays of the sun. Urianath clergy and some lay followers both wear this symbol. In times of haste when such symbols are not possible, this is made as just a simple orb flanked by four lines: the winds. This symbol is not used if the more formal symbol is possible, but can be found stamped on the bottom of weapons or items fashioned to honor the god. The god of the sky is associated with no animal more than the eagle, though all the beasts of the feather are considered his children and wards of his domain. He is associated with the griffin, which is part eagle and was born of his servant. Urian is ardently worshiped by primitive people everywhere, and has among them more names than can be counted. The odds are very good that barbarians and nomad societies worship Urian, or some aspect of Urian (like the sun, stars, or lightning), under some name of their own devising. Among those who understand Urian’s place in the pantheon, he is most often worshiped by the elves, who love his stars and the moon, and by humans and halflings, who love his sun and sky. Subterranean races care little for Urian.

Divine Domains

• Air
• Freedom
• Moon
• Stars
• Sun

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Tenets of Faith

Doctrine

“The sky is light and dark. The wind is hot and cold. The sun gives life and death. But the sky is dark when the world needs dark, and death comes of necessity. Can we question and rail against the cold while we praise and hallow the warmth? Can we hate the sun in the desert when we love it in the winter? All are part of the Sky Father, and all have a purpose in his plan. We must be grateful, even for darkness and death.” —Skylark’s Song Abu Goldfeather’s “I Have Tasted the Stars”
The Urianath practice a good-aligned faith, even though they sometimes praise and glorify things others find evil, like bitter cold, the blood moon, or darkest midnight—and it is precisely because others find them evil that they praise them. The core premise of the Urianath faith is that Urian loves the world and its peoples. After all, he guarded the tree, he opposed Kador bitterly, and he pulled the winds from his own body and enslaved them—he who loves freedom most! He gave light to the dark parts of the world, and gave evening to the light parts. It is therefore unquestionable that he loves the world and the mortals who inhabit it. So why, then, does he sometimes let the wind rage and destroy ships? Why does his cold winter wind come down and kill unprotected children? Why does his sun burn the skin and suck the water from a man’s body, leaving him to the vultures in the desert? Why does the night serve as a haven to thieves and evil beasts? The contemplation of these questions, and their reflection in every mortal spirit, is the heart of Urianath practice. For these great and difficult questions are reflected in the hearts of men: Why does a good and happy woman consider hurling herself to the rocks below whenever she stands at the edge of a cliff? Why does a loving father consider casting his own child into an open fire? Why do good people do terrible things? The contemplation of these questions is of central importance to the Urianath, and their understanding is that it is the freedom to do evil that makes people good. Just as the Great Sky must sometimes let awful things happen so that the mortal races fully appreciate the good of the world, so too must all people contemplate the darkness in their own souls to fully appreciate the good. One can see, therefore, why the Urianath so oppose tyranny and slavery. A slave is not free to walk the good path, to explore the depths of her spirit. Tyrants seek to control the thoughts and hearts of their subjects, though thoughts and hearts must be free to soar or sink. But just as the Urianath oppose the extremes of law, they oppose the extremes of chaos. They believe that discipline and rule are necessary for a person to fully appreciate his goodness. The path of the Urianath lies between law and chaos. It embraces contemplation and balance on the road to good. The eyries are most often visited by those wrestling with the darkness of their own spirits, just as the sun and moon wrestle, and just as the North and East Winds battle with the South and West. Those who strive to conquer what they see as their worse natures, those who feel imprisoned by past deeds or wicked desires, find succor in the faraway and hidden eyries, high in the mountains. Whenever they are apart from their eyries, the Urianath seek to bring spiritual guidance and support to people across the land. They bring freedom of the mind, the heart, and the body to all they encounter, so that all people can explore the dual sides of their nature—the light and the dark—and understand that both are necessary for goodness.

Holidays

The Urianath view each dawn and dusk as holy events, and most are sure to be outside to observe these events daily. Whenever there is a complete solar or lunar eclipse, the Urianath celebrate indoors, as they consider it a taboo to be under the sky at such times. Some cultures have special celebrations of the sun at harvest or planting time. These are usually festivals to Urian, and the local skylarks will aid in the celebration, but they are not universal celebrations across all cultures. The eyries do not have regular times for services; they are places of constant meditation.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

Bring Light to the World

Urian is the sky and the heavens. His purpose is to shine on the earth with his sunlight and make the landscape glow with the silver light of the stars. Bound up in this, though, is the central mystery of the worship of Urian, Shalimyr, and Rontra; all three gods are the elemental parts of the world, but they are also the guardians of those elemental parts, wandering among them and looking after them. There is a legend of Darmon stealing stars from Urian, and Urian finding the fakes with which the Wily Darmon replaced them. How is this possible if Urian is the stars? It is a mystery that anyone who worships him must ponder. Urian wishes to reach the world’s ignored nooks and crannies. There are places in the that none care for—perhaps they are ugly, horrible, or devastated by evil, but Urian reaches them still with his sunlight and starlight, his moon and his winds. He brings the beauty of the heavens to all peoples and all places, and for this he is dearly loved by those imprisoned and enslaved, for he represents their hope and their freedom. The most common visual theme among these faithful is a prisoner reaching through the bars of his cell for the stars. Urian is profoundly uninterested in the various petty conflicts of the gods, and he straddles both sides of the disputes between chaos and law. Sometimes he sides with one, sometimes the other; sometimes he takes no side at all. This is because Urian, more than any other of the gods, has a dual understanding of the world, and a dual interaction with it. Sometimes he is radiant and lovely and sometimes he is dark and cold. He sees both as legitimate, and he contemplates what is the proper time for each—when must he unleash the warm and gentle winds, and when must he let fly the bitter and cruel?

The Radiant, Thunderous , the Wind Lord, Sky King, Sky Father, Great Sky, the Moon and Stars, Windwright

Divine Classification

Old God

Religions

• Eyries of Urian

Church/Cult

Eyries of Urian

Related Myths

• Dragging Sun and Moon
• The Chaining of the Winds