Cheala Pantheon
While called the Cheala Pantheon after the Chealain Empire, this religious following dates to long before Cheala. The true origins have been lost to time and, since Cheala became such a dominate force of the north, it has since been renamed to the Cheala Pantheon.
History
The history of this believe is long and convoluted and, for the most part, lost to history. The part that is known is it was the core religion of Cheala. From this, it spread eastwards through the Tearel Forest and the Wolntareans (the ancestors of the citizens of Wolntare), all the way to the Ranginye Range and the Reallkians (the ancestors of Mienchola and Reallkiy). Many of the Elder Ancestries have adopted or make this pantheon an acceptable religion in addition to their own.
What becomes harder to understand, is how the Cheala Pantheon made it to the south of the continent. Gylanese, when it was colonizing near the end of the last century, brought it with them. How Gylanese, never conquered by Cheala, had the Cheala Pantheon at its core since the beginning (at least that is what historical findings indicate) might only be explained that the Cheala Pantheon was part of Esclaith's beliefs since Gylanese was founded by a discontent faction of that kingdom. This theory is also supported by the Fulnard Islands, who trace the Cheala Pantheon's presence throughout their entire history, to before the founding of Cheala.
Divine Origins
As taken from an excerpt of The Story of the Cheala Pantheon, as collected and recorded by Professor Helikana Jeforr.
It is said that the Gods of the Dragons during the second age of the world, the Age of Serpents, are the same as the ones worshiped today. Whether there is any truth in this belief is hard to say as the Dragons lost all their gods but Essani during the Age of Fire. And of Essani, of knowledge learned and recorded by the Dragon Disciples of later years that survived the ravishes of destruction during the Age of Darkness, most is now unknown. Indeed the Dragons of these later years in the New Age, some many hundred years after the Age of Darkness and many thousands of years since the Age of Serpents, acknowledge Essani as a God but have turned to worship those of the younger races, mostly prominently that of the Human race. Essani is, by those rare records, the Greatest of Gods; indeed she was called the Empress of the Heavens, or later Queen of the Dragon Gods. She had control over all the others, yet rarely interceded between their affairs. Believed to both stand for great Peace and Prosperity but also terrible War and Destruction. From these it has been tentatively proposed that Gaenos may be one and the same God as Essani. While little evidence points that way, it cannot be denied that what exists does hold a unique parallel between the two. Despite all thoughts either way however, it is deeply unlikely that any true knowledge on this subject will ever be known lest the Gods themselves make it so. Whether Essani is another name for Gaenos or not, it is well known that of the Human Gods, Gaenos was the greatest of them all, but not the first.
During the Age of Creation, at the very beginning of all beginnings there was only chaos. From this chaos was born a terrible Monster that fed off the energies. This Monster was known as Ganjan, first of the Great Gods, he became known as The Creature. For he ate his way across the land, both creating and destroying in a single breath and beginning again. It was during this time that all the known monsters, the Terrors of the World, first came to be. Most powerful of these that he made were the Demons, Devils, and Titans. They warred, they died, they were born again. The world then was almost lost.
It was from some corner of the World, untouched yet by Ganjan’s hunger, that Gaenos came. Some legends hold that they were the very first or the very last child of Ganjan and forgotten by their Monster Father. Others say still that Gaenos was a second God created by the chaos of the beginning, one slower to action than Ganjan. One small, relatively unknown tale say that Gaenos is a being from beyond this world and that when they arrived saw Ganjan and the destruction The Creature made of a beautiful place and so sought to heal the world and bring balance to it.
Whether one believes one or the other of the true beginnings of Gaenos, The Balancer, it can not be denied that they did indeed seek to put an end to the rampage of Ganjan. And the story holds that Gaenos tried three times, first in peace, second in deception, and third in battle. Here is transcribed the most common of these tales as heard by the writer;
The Balancer approached Ganjan as The Creature was building a mountain. “My friend, why is it that you create and destroy without thought. Have you not seen what it is that you make? ”
Ganjan replied, “What is this fly that buzzes at me so?” And with that, Ganjan swung his arm and crushed the mountains flat and with them sent Gaenos flying.
Gaenos stood up again, “Not one to talk reason then. Perhaps another way will work better, but what way?” They walked away from Ganjan and sat down on a rock to think. For a time they sat and thought until they bounded up, “I have it! If talking will not work than mayhaps action will. But it need not be drastic, stubley will do.”
With that, Gaenos strode off in search of The Creature. They found him digging a deep hole. “My friend, surely all this work is tiring. Perhaps you should sleep a while to regain your strength. See here, I have found you a comfortable spot to do so.” With this, Gaenos waved their hand and there indeed was a hollow of perfect size and lined with the softest of chaos’s power.
Ganjan looked at the hollow and stepped over to it, “What is this wasp that stings me so?” And with that, Ganjan dashed his tail down and a great rent split the deep hole he had dug and a spring came forth that fill the hole with water.
Gaenos left saying, “Not one to take subtle actions then. Perhaps another way will work better, but what way?” Again, Gaenos sat down on a rock to think. For a time they sat and thought until they bounded up, “I have it! If neither talking nor subtle action will work then I suppose only drastic action will.”
Gaenos went in search of The Creature. They found Ganjan playing with lava. “My friend, I have tried talking in peace and talking with ill intentions but you have not listened to me. Now I must declare you to not be my friend and take a stance so you will stop in your destruction.”
Ganjan looked to Gaenos and said, “What is this ant who thinks it is strong enough to defeat me?” And with that, Ganjan attacked Gaenos.
The battle raged on. It tore up the land and sent water everywhere. Ganjan’s monsters ran. They tunneled deep into the land or ripped the fabric of reality to escape to other planes, leaving those tears behind to this day.
Finally, the two combatants were so very tired and the land they were battling on was also very tired. For they had been drawing power from it to fight the other.
Ganjan looked around for more power. There was none to be found below or to either side but he looked up as day turned to night and the stars came out. They simply radiated power so he reached up to take one.
It was then that he was hit by a bolt of pure power. This bolt was cast by Agnes, the Star Chaser. As she descended to the ground, she called, “How dare you take a jewel from my throne and crown!” With this she attacked.
Together she and Gaenos defeated The Creature and locked him away in prison.
The stories of what happened to Ganjan vary, though they all agree that The Creature was not entirely killed. Some claim that he was imprisoned deep, deep, deep within the earth at its very core. Others say that Agnes created a cage from the stars and there he is left to watch the world from afar. Still another tale states that when he was defeated, his soul was imprisoned in the thousand scales that fell from his body and Gaenos and Agnes scattered these across the world. Whichever is true, it is agreed that Ganjan is gone from the world.
After this, Agnes returned to her throne among the heavens. Where or how she came to be has never been throughly explained and her origins are muddled to say the least. Gaenos turned their attention to creating beauty with the world. The legends have it that they started by creating three stewards to look after the land: Parnell, to rule the land and its leaders with law and equality; Egaldir, to enforce the law and prevent Ganjan from returning; and Daede, to record and celebrate the beauty of the world.
However, Gaenos is known as The Balancer and it seems that in every story that they feature in equilibrium must be maintained. So for each of their three creations, an opposite was formed in the shadows: Roksane, who twisted the equality of the God of Kings (Parnell) into her iron crown of tyranny; Chrysanthem, who became whim, the fickle and the fancy with little regards for community and law; and Esella, the wild goddess who, like her opposite, revels in beauty but in the beauty of the untamed and free.
These six in turn created new beings to see to the world's maintenance. Parnell created Haephet so that she could make the weapons to guard his cities and protect the fires of the forge and hearth. Roksane actually split in two, her second half created Morte and, later, Morte's shadow would become Kapor. Egaldir and Daede were said to have created Echhart, while Daede alone formed Ayhem (sometimes said to be the Great Poet's darker side). And Anboleyn and Zinibayne are Esella's daughters, though neither are as wild as their mother. It is not recorded if they were born or created and if born, who their father(s) was/were.
Ayhem married both Chrysanthem and Agnes and while most of that is another tale best told in its time, the union of Ayhem and Agnes produced a new deity, Icarsel. Echhart and Anboleyn eventually formed a union, but unlike Ayhem, both are said to be completely dedicated to the other.
The three major deities whose origins have not been remarked on are Ocelia, Rhax, and Vizrah. Of the Silent Brothers, Vizrah came first with the creation of the world while Rhax came later with the creation of creatures within the world. Ocelia's true origins remain a mystery that is said only she knows. Unfortunately, as the the Sleeping One, she is not able to share this tale.
Type
Religious, Pantheon
Leader
Permeated Organizations
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