the Nameless one

The Nameless One is the neutral Creator god, the dispassionate one, the beginning and the end of all things, the creator and future destroyer of the universe. He is not associated with any animal or other part of the mortal sphere, since he is beyond the Great Sphere. He is “worshiped” by monks and some rare, disciplined members of other classes, such as wizards, who believe understanding him is the key to understanding all of creation. His followers are rare among all the races, but are mainly found among humans. The Nameless One is never represented in icons, due to an ancient superstition that even to reproduce His likeness would end the world. In great works showing the history of creation, the Nameless One is shown as a being of light, shaped like a humanoid, but with no features. Symbolically, the Nameless One is represented either with a black dot. In three dimensions, the Nameless One can be represented by a strip with a half-twist in it, curled into a ring, which has no beginning, end, inside, or outside.
Myths The 101 Steps to Enlightenment
Long ago, longer than most remember, the wise and ancient Limmik Kunar came to realize that mortality leads to all things unworthy. His reasoning was simple enough: Because we die, we become attached to life. Because we are attached to life, we are attached to the trappings of life. Because we are attached to the trappings of life, we will commit evil to have them. Because we will commit evil to have the trappings of life, we can be manipulated by those who claim they can help us achieve more in life, or a greater reward in death.
Master Kunar understood that the primary manipulators of those attached to the trappings of life were members of the religious castes. From the wayfarers of Darmon to the matriarchs of Morwyn, every church offered mortals an understanding of how to please the gods and be rewarded in the afterlife. Yet even the afterlife was an illusion, a series of trappings that continued the cycle of life, in which the mortal races could be Chapter III: The Old Gods 49 manipulated into acting against their natures.
The gods of the tree and their priests promised one of three paths beyond death: a life of eternal happiness, torment perpetual, or rebirth into the world to continue the cycle. All three paths seemed to Master Kunar to be continuations of the unworthy aspects of mortality, for is not eternal life under the thumb of the gods simply a life of service to their beliefs and manipulations? And is not a life of torment perpetual a terrible evil that none would desire to suffer? And is not rebirth to try again simply rebirth into the same manipulations?
And so Limmik turned his study to the Creator, the Nameless One who made all things and then departed from them. Surely, the only way to be free of the veil of tears that is eternal rebirth and death, punishment or subjugation at the hands of the gods of the tree, is to leave the sphere. Only by being free of existence entirely can one be assured of freedom from the unworthiness of mortality.
Master Kunar spent his life discovering the 101 steps to Enlightenment, the mantras and contemplations necessary for his own escape. And at the end of his life, it is said that Limmik Kunar became one with the power of the Nameless One, or departed the sphere or became a being of pure energy from beyond the Great Sphere. While there are conflicting reports and understandings of the old master’s final fate, all agree that he did not die, but simply disappeared.
Sadly, Master Kunar’s 101 steps, which he painstakingly documented for his disciples, did not grant his followers freedom from the Great Sphere. The earliest steps were quite useful for harnessing the power he called “ ki,” but later in the process the steps, though clearly useful for Limmik, had no meaning for his disciples. And so all who wish to depart the sphere, break the cycle, and be free of existence must walk a new path of discipline and set down their own steps.
Mysterious and Distant
The Nameless One’s motivations are entirely mysterious. It is assumed He watches existence still, but many believe He cares no more for the universe than a giant cares for the smallest mite. He provides no divine powers to followers, never answers prayers, and could be entirely imaginary for all the impact He has on the universe as it exists today. The Nameless One is said to have no servants in the universe, but those who have sought to travel outside the Great Sphere using magic have encountered powerful guardians blocking the way. Some believe the Nameless One has made many universes, and places barriers between them to keep them from commingling, as a wizard might keep her various experiments in separate phials and beakers to keep them from interacting.
The Followers of the Nameless One
There is no church of the Nameless One. Rather, the monasteries act as places of study for those who walk the path of master Kunar. They seek to become one with the Nameless One or to leave the Great Sphere as He did. Therefore, monks are the equivalent of “worshipers” of the Nameless One—at least, that is how worshipers of the gods of the tree might understand it. While there are now orders of monks who have learned to harness ki and yet do not seek to leave the Great Sphere, but study physical perfection, their roots are found in the work of the old master, Limmik Kunar.
The “Vola Ulfhedin” is also best understood as a worshiper of the Nameless One. There are barbarian societies that know the full tale of the pantheon and refuse to worship the gods. They see them all as children of the real god, the Nameless One, and believe people live in a world abandoned by any authority that matters. They seek to lead good lives despite this abandonment, and tell the tales of the gods as lessons to lead one’s life by. They bear no holy symbols and offer no prayers to any god, even the Nameless One.

Type

Religious, Pantheon