Kōs

"Peace. Patience. Innocence. Wisdom. It is hard to be all these things. But in merely striving towards them, you set yourself upon the Dragon's Path." — Faal Stahdim Ven

The Coiled Hermit

Kōs is the primary deity among practitioners of Kōsism and considered to be one of the few truly neutral deities without an accompanying pantheon. He is the god of the desert, of oases, of warmth, of redemption, of life in the face of the inhospitable, of the metallic dragons, of the boundaries of dawn and dusk, and of the dragonborn people, who consider him their teacher, their guide, and the father of their race. He appears in several religions across Holos most notably in Nioa, where he is worshiped as the primary god of the church of the Kōsites, and in Teroa, where he is the state deity of the Tula people.

Divine Domains

Kōs the god of the desert, of oases, of warmth, of life in the face of the inhospitable, of redemption, of honor, of duty, of family, of conscious, of of the metallic dragons, of the boundaries of dawn and dusk, and of the dragonborn. His domains are those of Life, Light, Nature, and the Grave.

Holy Books & Codes

Kōsites believe that Kōs himself composed and provided his prophets, the Qōsaari, with a sacred text called Faal Stahdim Ven or "The Dragon's Path." Unlike the Heavenly Codex, the Faal Stahdim Ven is comprised mainly philosophies and instructions on how to live a virtuous life, for they are actually the thoughts and believes that the god himself had when he walked as a mortal during the The Palladian Era. Kōsites claim that by following the text, one can actually become more like Kōs and thus will upon death be joined with Kōs to aid the god in his spiritual quest to bring peace and prosperity to the universe that Valdra seeks to destroy. These philosophies include guides for how to be a good ruler, and are the basis for most Kōsite-led governments.

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Kōs's holy symbol is that of a coiled serpent. Some more abstract symbols of Kōs are the wandering stars that Kōs was said to have sat beneath as he mediated on the nature of mortality and mortality. His sacred colors are amber, like the eyes of a serpent or a glittering celestial wanderer; green, like the scales of a serpent and the vegetation of an oases; and black, like the venom of a serpent and the sky on a cloudless night.

Tenets of Faith

To follow the philosophy of Faal Stahdim Ven and the teachings of the Qōsaari. To bring peace to the world. To be a person of conscious and discipline. To be patient before the strike. To protect the innocent and those of your community and family. To seek healing before retribution.
Those who follow the most strident of Kōs's teachings keep to the Oath of Redemption:

1. Peace: Violence is a weapon of last resort. Diplomacy and understanding are the paths to long lasting peace.

1. Innocence: All folk begin life in an innocent state, and it is their environment or the influence of the Darkness that drives them to evil. By setting the proper example, and working to heal the wounds of a deeply flawed world, you can set anyone on a righteous path.

1. Patience: Change takes time. Those who have walked the path of the wicked must be given reminders to keep them honest and true. Once you have planted the seed of righteousness in a creature, you must work day after day to see the seed survive and flourish.

1. Wisdom: Your heart and mind must stay clear, for eventually you will be forced to admit defeat. While every creature can be redeemed, some are so far along the path of evil that you have no choice but to end their lives for the greater good. Any such action must be carefully weighed and the consequences fully understood, but once you have made the decision, follow it through and trust that your path is just.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

To protect the dragonborn people and shepherd them until the Twilight Era, when Valdra is released and she is to be defeated by Kōs and his faithful followers.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Kōs is depicted a number of ways. Most humanoid societies show him as an old man in a cloak who’s body morphs into a serpent at the waist. In dragonborn societies, he is seen as a lithe golden dragonborn with a viper wrapped around his eyes, obscuring his sight but also seeing for him.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Kōs was born to the Great Old One, Valdra the Dread Dragoness, during the The Dawn Era. It is said he was born from a dream, a prophecy that the child would bring about a new age when he sacrificed himself for those he called his own. When the War of the Dawn roused Valdra, Kōs rose along side her and became her most trusted ally. He led the dragons against the Heavenly Council and cut down many Celestials and Titans in their armies.
Soon Kōs faced the Heavenly Council's most fearsome creation, Oheilion, the Bloodied Lord. The two fought a long battle but eventually Kōs was felled at the edge of the Shanindar. Though he was prepared to die, a spark of mercy lit within Oheilion's heart and instead of slaying the Coiled Hermit, he attended to him. From his act of kindness, a friendship was kindled—some claim even a romance. Kōs came to see his mother as nothing more than a destructive force, without any of the honor that Oheilion displayed. He renounced Valdra, and as a sign of his devotion to his new allies, he took a scale from each of his dragons to create the dragonborn, a hard and noble race that would be his children and a promise to the other gods that he would not let the world fall to ruin, lest his children suffer its destruction.
When the final sealing of Valdra occurred, Kōs led the dragonborn and the metallic dragons through the falling earth of the Material Plane and escaped his mother's fate. Valdra in return, breathed a gout of everflame and sent forth those dragons still loyal to her, the chromatics. Today, there is still great enmity between Valdra's chromatic dragons and Kōs's metallic dragons for this betrayal and flight to the Material Plane.
Following the imprisonment of Valdra, the Heavenly Council was unsure of what to do with Kōs. He commanded the dragons, by far the most powerful race of mortal beings in the cosmos. Some wanted to integrate him into the Council, and others saw him as akin to Oheilion—a beast of war and a product of destruction.
Soon, the disagreement spiraled into conflict, when Telerashi learned that Kōs had lain with her young sister, Lacorré. A great battle took place where the Shattered Straits now stand between Nioa and Hakoa. Followers of the Heavenly Council or Rashi believe that Telerashi defeated Kōs easily and that his soul was shattered apart. But followers of Kōs tell a different story.
Kōsites believe that Kōs had Telerashi nearly slain, when in her unstoppable rage, Telerashi nearly unsealed Kōs’s mother Valdra. Kōs foresaw the destruction a newly unleashed Valdra would bring upon the world and so sacrificed himself to Telerashi to protect the world. For a deed so noble and pure, Kōsites believe that Kōs’s soul survived the shattering and fled his godly form. For the next thousand year, Kōsites say their lord wandered the world as a spirit, sometimes even inhabiting the form of a mortal. During this time, he saw his descendants, the dragonborn enslaved by those who claimed to follow the very gods that destroyed him and he was filled with sorrow.
Just before the Sundering Arcana, Kōs in his mortal form, gathered together ten dragonborn of every color in the Holy City of Jeharoa. He called them Qōsaar—"The Prophets" in Old Draconic. He gave them the teachings and philosophies that he had gleaned from walking the world as a mortal in the form of a holy text, Faal Stahdim Ven, "The Dragon's Path." Upon giving this text to his followers, the Sundering Arcana occurred as if by design, and Kōs's mortal body was filled with divine and arcane power. Kōs then died and rose once more from the grave, this time reborn as a true god and the deity of all those that would call themselves Kōsites.
Kōsites now believe that one day, Kōs will return to the Material Plane when Valdra is unleashed and defeat her himself, just as Valdra's prophecy suggests.

Sexuality

Kōs appears to have taken at least two divine consorts; the Bloodied Lord, Oheilion; and the Sea's Lover, Lacorré. One of these deities is usually depicted as a male while the other is usually depicted as a female. But who can truly understand the sexuality of a mythic figure, much less a god?

Social

Family Ties

Kōs is the son of Valdra, though since the War of the Dawn, the Coiled Hermit has believed that it is to be his duty to finally defeat Valdra and protect his creations over his mother.

Divine Classification

Deity

Religions

• Kōsism
• Wardens of Kōs

Alignment

True Neutral

Species

Dragonborn

Ethnicity

Qartagonian

Church/Cult

Kōsism

Honorary & Occupational Titles

The Coiled Hermit; Son of the Dragoness; Father of the Dragonborn; The Desert Prophet; The Serpent Who Speaks;

Circumstances of Birth

Born of Valdra of emmaculate conception in a prophetic dream.

Circumstances of Death

Defeated by Telerashi, who shattered his soul and scattered it across the deserts of Nioa. Later resurrected as a mortal who wandered the world during the Palladian Age before being reborn as a god with the Sundering Arcana.

Aligned Organization

Kōsism

Hallowed Arms:

The Serpent's Staff: a long rod like that of a shepherd's crook made of acacia wood. It is said to have many magical powers including the ability to remove poison, drive away snakes, part sandstorms, draw water from stone, and summon wrathful fire.

Holy Orders:

• Acolyte: Hesychast

• Cleric: Warden

• Monk: Cenobite (Way of the Sun Soul & Way of the Open Hand)

• Sorcerer: Starfated (Divine Soul)

• Paladin:

  Sandsword (Oath of Devotion)

  Mamluk (Oath of Redemption)

  Janassar (Oath of Conquest)

  Medjai (Oath of the Ancients)

• Leader: Balaal Sonaak, "High Priest"

• Temple: Sepulchre/Temple

Animal Harbinger:

Viper