Appendix H. Gods of Cetandar

Many deities are worshiped across Elaris. Whether or not each is distinct or merely an avatar of a set of ur-deities is a question that has been debated by theologians in Cetandar and other bastions of learning for millennia. Some heretics are even known to have claimed that deities are nothing more than mortals who have transcended death and time.

Cetandari and Cavellan Pantheons (aka, The Twelve and the Ten)

There were twelve original gods of Cavellas, with the earliest written reference to one of them dating back thousands of years. Certainly, all of the Twelver were acknowledged and thus they were the gods whome the Cavellans brought with them in the great period of imperial expansion. During this golden age, the Twelve each boasted broad portfolios of 'expertise'. This made syncretism not only possible but common during the Cavellan expansion: it was easy enough for the Cavellans to see in some foreign god a particular 'aspect' of one of the Twelve. Many aspects were thus discovered. Of course, whether or not such foreign 'gods' were distinct entities or merely aspects of the Twelve was, of course, a hotly debated theological point. Some modern theologians blame this flexible and accepting approach for the gradual decline of the Twelve; these critics suggest that by claiming to encompass all things, the Twelve lost their uniqueness and thus their appeal to the broader populace. For whatever reason, worship of the Twelve has become ossified and ritualized by the time of the War of Sortians and Theosophs. The imperial government decided to officially link itself to a new slate of deities, ones whose divine support promised to revive the empire. The new pantheon centered around ten very powerful deities ("the Ten") who were served by numerous lesser gods. Theological cynics could ad did note that many of these 'new' gods resembled the most popular of the 'aspects' of the old pantheon, but the official position is that the Ten are distinct from the Twelve. In the present, worship of the old gods is rare; some of the Twelve are forgotten, at least one is presumed 'dead', and another is the object of secretive, illegal cult worship. The Ten and the Seventeen have clearly replaced them. For the past 500 years, the emperor has also been the subject of a cult; the theology of this is a bit fuzzy, and 'worship' of the emperor is primarily understood as a measure of loyalty more than anything else.
Note: Modern Cetandari remain accepting of foreign gods; it is not at all uncommon to find temples or shrines to the Fahryte or Kuneiri pantheons existing alongside those of their Cetandari rivals within the communities of the Empire. The same, however, is not true beyond the borders of the empire; shrines and temples to the Ten are often unwelcome outside the imperial boundaries due to the conquering nature of the Cets being overwhelming to many foreign countries.

Table 1: The Twelve

God	Alignment	Areas of Influence	Symbol(s) and Weapon(s)
Bezta (F), greater god	Chaotic Evil	Potency, pleasure, violence, hedonism	Phallus, green eye; phallic mace
Fahara (M), greater god	Lawful Good	Creator of the universe through thought, wisdom, craftsmen, harvests	A level, pencil, or plumb line; bow and arrow
Felkic (M), greater god	Neutral Good	Sky, sun, right behavior	Solar disk, hawk; mace
Jaelisa (F), greater god	Neutral Evil	The moon, nighttime, secrecy, lawlessness, vengeance	Quarter moon; dagger
Mahara (F), greater god	Lawful Good	Fidelity, motherhood, mercy, magic	Ankh; staff
Naromikia (F), greater god	Neutral Evil	Wealth, selfishness, conquest, queen of dragons	Rainbow, draconic sillhouette; longsword
Otelimh (M), greater god	Neutral	The afterlife, death, justice, punishment	Feather; staff
Semet (M), greater god	Lawful Good	Creation, fertility, crafting, the sun	A golden seed; spear, flail
Takabus (M), greater god	Lawful Neutral	Burial, guidance (both of the souls and of the dead and of travelers)	Jackal; staff, dagger
Tok (M), greater god	Lawful Neutral	Knowledge, judging, magic, secrecy, and gnosis	Ibis, baboon, arcane symbols; staff
Vahari (F), greater god	Lawful Neutral	Protection, warfare, snakes and lizards	A lidless snake's eye, a hooded cobra; toothed club
Vaski (M), greater god	Lawful Evil	Power, knowledge, domination, judgement, vengeance, serpents	Whirlwind, Vaski animal, jackal, red-headed man; was stick, spear

Table 2: The Ten

God	Alignment	Areas of Influence	Symbol(s) and Weapon(s)
Ardenia Tessaeron (F), greater god	Lawful Good	Wisdom, battle tactics, invention, justice	Owl; spear
Calithrion (F), greater god	Chaotic Neutral	Banditry, piracy, sailing, greed, luck, fate	Cutlass over Pistol; Cutlass
Demma (F), greater god	Lawful Good	Fertility, crops, housefold, childbirth, magic	A seed; flail
Heschius Ban (M), greater god	Lawful Evil	Triumph, water, inevitability, power, magic	Shackles, a green oval; flail
Hetaradas (M), greater god	Lawful Good	Duels, contracts, omniscience, defenders, oaths, humanitarian impulses, honor	Scales of justice, crossed longswords, lions, flames' longsword, a single silver teardrop
Lucreon (M), greater god	Lawful Neutral	Profit, amassing wealth, negotiation, innovation, merchants, technology, impartiality	A gold coin; light hammer
Lysseon (M), greater god	Chaotic Neutral	Creative impulses, creativity, indulgence, madness, music, poetry, rage, selfishness, the arts, wine	A bunch of grapes, lyre, cluster of wild berries; bow, flail, sickle
Morartis (M), greater god	Neutral Good	The forge, creation, armor and weapons	A suit of plate armor; warhammer
Nevarasti (F), greater god	Neutral Good	Funerals, death, peace, sacrifice	Skull, scythe, black disk; flail, scythe
Tessarandi (F), greater god	Neutral Good	Adventure, exploration, the wilderness	A campfire, a trail with footprints; bow, dagger

Table 3: The Seventeen

God	Alignment	Areas of Influence	Symbol(s) and Weapon(s)
Aranyania (F), lesser god	Neutral	Woodlands, nature, growing things, time, balance	Oak leaf; longbow
Atashak (M), lesser god	Lawful Evil	Fire, the sun, inevitable destruction, battle, sacrifice	Burning torch; battle axe
Banion (M), lesser god	Chaotic Neutral	Decision-making, trickery, deceity; the twin of Yanion	An idealized face, half white and half black, with red eyes; dagger
Basileus (M), lesser god	Lawful Neutral	The Emperor, rulership	Laurel wreath; mace
Bisor (M), lesser god	Lawful Good	The household, security, lineage	Blue key; staff
Ketakos (M), lesser god	Neutral	The underworld, slow death, savage beauty, Lord of Caves	Barred gate; scythe
Diktynna (F), lesser god	Chaotic Neutral	Hunting, the chase in all forms, the moon	A horn, a brown satchel; bows, hunting spears
Ellion (F), lesser god	Chaotic Neutral	The night, the moon, uncertainty, financial ventures	Blindfolds, stilts; dagger, crossbow
Envalios (M), lesser god	Chaotic Neutral	Battle, mercenaries, fire as pitiless destruction	Crow; battle axe
Kaerion (—), lesser god	Neutral	The (genderless) Lord of Time, endlessness, prophecy	Hourglass; staff
Lyncion (M), lesser god	Neutral Evil	Secrets, magic, demons, hidden knowledge, power	A blue eye; dagger
Melkarton (M), lesser god	Neutral Good	The sea, travel, merchants, fair dealing	Manta ray; longsword
Nicetoreon (F), lesser god	Neutral	Judgement, the afterlife, passage of souls, earning merit	A lead weight, a small figuring representing the soul; mace
Qandisi (F), lesser god	Chaotic Evil	The Sloe-Eyed Lady of Lust, the Dancing Maiden of Chaos, lust, control, sex	Human image with breasts and phallus; whip
Rudiana (F), lesser god	Chaotic Neutral	Battle, berserkers, unrestrained violence	Red teardrop; axe
Treshub (M), lesser god	Chaotic Evil	Storms, the sky, lightning, fertility	Lightning bolt; spear
Yaniona (F), lesser god	Lawful Neutral	Medicine, thresholds, decisions (twin to Banion)	A half-empty vial; club