Pantheon of Cyorion

The Divine Council

Creation of the Pantheon

Eons ago, Tauwollid (taʊ-woʊl-id), The Void, ruler of the great empty void thought it was alone in pure nothing-ness. In reality, Fhelohk (fɛl-ɑck), Time, keeper of records existed as well. Fhelohk silently observed what Tauwollid considered to be the cosmic, eternal mistake: considering the existence of another. With this thought, Sehayi (sɛ-ha-yi), Goddess of Creation, came to be. Tauwollid succumbed to emotion and created the first of the Kazik, minor deities charged with the care of the realm of their lord and gods of raw emotions, major schools of magic, and creators of sub-domains within their lord's plane of existence.
Tauwollid became angry and wrathful, desiring the destruction of the others that began to intrude on The Void. With these thoughts, Shalugh (sha-loog), Death, and Venetis (veh-net-is), Life, sprung into existence to argue for their respective causes. Tauwollid was consumed with these new voices, but could not see their source. Kasbiel (cass-be-el), the Light, spilled into the empty void of space. Tauwollid was seared and recoiled from the light, wishing to retreat, creating Bokoruun (bo-ko-rune). The Lord of Shadow offered Tauwollid protection from the light.

The Council is Formed

The Seven, or The Council, sit atop the cosmic throne ruling all of creation in the universe. They rule from their domains, planes of great power, and have created Major deities to serve their needs and help rule their vast empire. In the pantheon there are three ranks of concern:

• Council
A member of the Council is exclusively one of the Seven. Referred to as Divine Lord or simply Lord, a council member rules from their kingdom, or plane, which is a host to many pocket dimensions or sub-domains that fall under their dominion. An example would be The Ocean World Kauwlae (ka-wu-ley), Domain of Life, ruled by Venetis.
• Kazik
(Kah-zick) Major deities tasked with ruling a portion of their Divine Lord's domain. Kazik will generally create pocket dimensions inside their Lord's plane of existence to rule. For example: The Kazik Alurayane rules The Fae Wild, a pocket dimension that exists within The Palace on the Sun, the plane of Creation ruled by Sehayi.
• Ono
(oh-no) Minor deities or god-heroes (mortals ascended to godhood) tasked with a specific function according to the Kazik they report to. Kazik are free to create Ono as they see fit for various tasks. For example: The Ono Legerin, gatekeeper of souls entering purgatory. Serves the Kazik Meravengia who oversees the realm of purgatory known as Nometathra, where souls remain to be judged and reborn. Nometathra is a pocket dimension of The Pit of Arshi, plane of Death, ruled by Shalugh.

The Council of Seven and their Domains

• Sehayi
Lady of Creation - Ruler of The Palace on the Sun
• Venetis
Lord of Life - Ruler of The Ocean World: Kauwlae
• Fhelohk
Keeper of Time - Ruler of The Eternal Tower
• Bokoruun
Lord of Shadow - Ruler of The Shadowfell
• Kasbiel
Lady of Light - Ruler of The Divine Kingdom
• Shalugh
Lady of Death - Ruler of The Pit of Arshi
• Tauwollid
Lord of The Void - Ruler of The Yazme Empire - Currently Expelled from the council

Interactions with the Divine

In dealings with mortals

All divine beings have the power and capability of interacting with mortals on Cyorion. In fact, many Ono serve as observers, messengers, spirit guides, or malicious beings directly in Cyorion. Some warlocks are able to strike a pact with an Ono, but once they rise to a certain prominence, the warlock's pact is taken by the Kazik the Ono serves, after the Kazik has deemed the warlock worthy of greater power.
Many religions have sprouted on Cyorion, and players and DMs alike should feel free to craft a new one of their own make, or modify an existing one to their means. Generally, however, many religions will worship the same mythos without realizing they are one in the same. Wars have been waged over differences of style, naming, and worship rituals without realizing all prayers are answered by the same gods.
For example: Nometathra hosts two Ono known as The Gatekeepers. In the Ono example in the first section above, the Ono Legerin is the entrance gatekeeper, commonly known to the inhabitants of Cyorion as Iathira. Where the name comes from has been lost to time, and it has been translated differently to various groups, but the true name always remains Legerin. Divine beings are aware of all names mortals refer to them by.

A brief aside on names: When I originally envisioned Cyorion, I scoped it very large around this pantheon without regard for how players would interact. I had established the interactions at the divine level and wanted a way to translate the information to individual players and DMs. The names of the Divine Lords, and the true names assigned to rank names of "Kazik such-and-such" or "Ono whats-his-name", allows multiple storytellers to reference the same deity in concept without forcing you to use someone else's name. When designing a religion or deity, one should always note the True Name as well as whatever common name people know them by. A fantastic example of an "Ono" in Cyorion would be referring to The Archfey Artagan from Critical Role/Exandria as "Ono Artagan", or commonly as "The Traveler".

In dealings with each other

Ono and Kazik are by no means bound to their Divine Lord. There have been instances where they have been tempted to serve other members of the Council, sometimes to dire results. For example, when the Ono Yugtut, Creator of Orcs, initially under the dominion of Life, was tempted with power to serve the Kazik Aarek, God of Wars, Death, Battle, and Champions. Kazik Aarek served under Shalugh, Divine Lord of Death. Yugtut incited his Orcs with a powerful blessing, turning their skin red. The "Curse of the Blood Orcs" caused Orcs to savagely raid and pillage cities across southern Lomiindor for 5 years before the other races found a magical cure.

The Slumber

After a great celestial battle which cast Tauwollid out of the Council, the Divine Lords are currently in hibernation, leaving the management of the cosmos up to the Kazik and Ono.

Information within this article is intended to assist in the creation of religious figureheads or organizations around particular divine beings. Be advised, this is not common knowledge known to mortals of Cyorion.
Generally, creatures who are from extraplanar space (such as the Fae Realm), have frequent interaction with their creator while in their home realm (typically an Ono), infrequent or passing interaction with the being their Ono reports to (the Ono's Kazik), and knowledge of their Divine Lord (The deity that sits on the Council).

A note on character knowledge

Denizens of Cyorion interact with the Pantheon at various levels, but are unaware of the order of divine beings. Very few mortals ever come into contact with one of the council, and most interact with divine beings at either the Ono or Kazik level.
Further, the rank of "Ono" and "Kazik" are instilled by and for members of the Pantheon. Rarely will a divine creature refer to themselves by rank to a mortal. They often appear using the common names that religious organizations have given them.

Type

Religious, Pantheon