Delvian Pantheon
The Delvian Pantheon is heavily based in the seasons and celestial bodies. The chief deities being Amaunator, the Sun, and Selûne, the moon. While not the only pantheon in the continent, it is the most widely worshipped throughout the varied nations of Delvia.
These gods are rarely worshipped in any organized fashion, but rather they are paid tribute and sacrifice by those who deal in their domains. For instance, mage colleges will always have an altar to Mystra in their halls, as well as statues and symbols spread throughout the grounds.
A Delicate Balance
While most regard Amaunator as the leader of the gods, a more informed perspective would show that each of the four greater deities embody the four seasons of the world. Selûne for winter, Pan for Spring, Amaunator for Summer, and Chauntea for autumn. The ever-shifting seasons create an ever-shifting power balance between the gods that keeps any one of them from making a play for power.Origins
Common legend states that Amaunator and Selûne, the sun and moon, were created when the overgod, Ao, split his essence to create the prime material plane. The shell of his two halves formed the sun and moon, who ruled in tandem over the realm their father had created. In the early days of the material plane, winter and summer changed as quickly as night and day, causing ice age after heat wave in a harsh cycle, wiping the earth clean with every shift. And so, Amaunator and Selûne took it upon themselves to create new seasons, and with that, new gods. Pan and Chauntea, spring and autumn, were born of their elder siblings' essence, a mixture of sun and moon.Primal Gods
As the realm developed, forces of nature came into existence, and with them came beings of great power to preside over these primal forces. The most complex of these was the appearance of the Weave; A flow of energy that twisted and turned throughout reality, tying together the strings of reality. In the age of mortals, great scholars found ways to manipulate the Weave, creating what is known today as magic. And when they did, they found that the Weave was not some loose thread pulling wherever it fancied, but a needle guided by a steady hand. The hand of Mystra, first of the primal gods.These gods are rarely worshipped in any organized fashion, but rather they are paid tribute and sacrifice by those who deal in their domains. For instance, mage colleges will always have an altar to Mystra in their halls, as well as statues and symbols spread throughout the grounds.
Titans
Within the swirling tides of the Elemental Chaos reside the titans. Elemental forces personified, creating and destroying at their whim. It is said that these colossal beings once ruled over their respective elemental planes, but when the cataclysm broke their foundations and dropped them into the Elemental Chaos, they lost their sense of self, and became wild, feral creatures, seeking to destroy everything around them, and possessed by an irresistible urge to return to a home that no longer exists.Cosmological Views
World Axis Cosmology theory.
The World Axis was a cosmological model created after the dramatic changes to the nature of the multiverse caused by the Cataclysm of year 0. It is now the most widely accepted model in modern Delvia.
This structure, which resembled a sphere split into two axes, hence the name, resulted from the Cataclysm and its effects upon the local multiverse, which included the untethering of the astral dominions, and the creation (or possible return) of the Elemental Chaos. The Cataclysm split the seams between the outer planes, causing them to drift further and further from the Prime Material.
The World Axis was composed primarily of the fundamental and parallel planes. "Above" and "below," the fundamental planes encircled the rest of the cosmology, forming hemispheres in the conceptual model, though since both the Astral Sea and the Elemental Chaos were infinite in size, this was mostly metaphorical. To the "left" and the "right" of the Prime Material Plane, which laid at the center of this cosmology, sit the parallel planes, which floated in sync with the Prime. Together these planes formed the World Axis, other planes lying outside of the model and having an indistinct cosmological placement.
Political Influence & Intrigue
While the deities of the Delvian Pantheon are worshiped all across the continent, the influence of religion on politics and international affairs is relatively low. Most of the larger nations have laws and restrictions against the influence of religion on government affairs, and most carry a charge of treason.
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