Orivious
God of dominating rule, darkness and lies, Orivious, also known as the Imprisoned God, was trapped by the other deities of Kelbonnar in a demi-plane, to save the world and themselves from his brutal rule. This betrayal was doubly bitter for Orivious, as he is considered to be the father of the gods and goddesses and the first divine being to have existed.
Divine Domains
Orivious’ domains and areas of influence are those of dominating rule, darkness, deception and lies. Naturally, therefore, he is viewed as being a morally questionable deity at best, and an evil one at worst. His areas of influence, mean that he often attracts those who want power, often more specifically authoritarian power, to the ranks of his followers as well as those that want to deceive others.
However, his areas of influence also make Orivious one of the most dangerous of the deities, as he will often use his innate talents for deception to trick people into following him.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
The most common symbol used to represent Orivious is a solid black circle with a golden border, which is sometimes represented crisscrossed with chains to represent the god’s imprisoned status. Often, followers of Orivious will wear thick gold chains around their necks or wrists, often with an inlaid black gemstone somewhere within it, a more subtle symbol of their loyalty to Orivious, without making them too obvious.
Imprisonment
Deep in the mists of time, when many of the sapient races of Kelbonnar did not even exist, and those that did were still only in their infancy, Orivious was the undisputed ruler of the other deities, almost all of whom where his children and grandchildren. However, as the other gods and goddesses grew in strength and became aware of their own power, they began to resent Orivious’ authoritarian, often brutal and even murderous rule and began to plot against him. The other deities planned to get Orivious drunk at a banquet held in his honour and at the appointed time, they were rewarded by Orivious doing exactly what they wanted, eventually drinking himself into a stupor. Sensing they were never going to get a better chance than this, they got to work and first conducted a ritual where they siphoned off a portion of his raw power and trapped it in the Orb of Orivious, hoping that it would weaken him enough to allow him to be imprisoned. Then they began to drag the god beneath the surface of the Material Plane and deep underground, imprisoning him in a demi-plane of the Material Plane, accessible only through a hidden, heavily protected entrance in the Deep Underdark. Their plan did not go without incident however, Orivious awoke during his transportation, and although he was not able to overpower his captors, he did leave, according to legend, an indelible mark on the landscape, the Eye of Orivious. Such is Orivious’ power, however, that he is still able to exert a limited amount of influence over the other planes of existence even from his prison and he continues to corrupt minds and try to entice mortal servants to try and find a way to free him.Holidays
Whilst there have not been any official feast days dedicated to Orivious for many hundreds of years, his followers will often make a point of gathering together to feast and celebrate on the supposed anniversary of his imprisonment. This is not a celebration of the god’s imprisonment specifically, but is more intended to be a time to look forward to his release and the gifts that his followers believe they will be showered with in gratitude for their loyalty.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Orivious has two main goals. The first is to free himself from his imprisonment with the demi-plane that he has been exiled to, something that over many years he has resigned himself to the fact that he will not be able to achieve without outside assistance.
His second goal is to reclaim the position as ruler over all of the gods, goddesses and minor deities of Kelbonnar, a station that he rightfully believes is his.
Main centres of Worship and Followers
As the other deities active within Kelbonnar would incite their followers to destroy any obvious places dedicated to Orivious, and to either imprison or kill his followers, there are no grand temples, churches or even shrines that have been constructed within any settlement either on the surface world or in the Underdark, that are commonly known to be dedicated to Orivious. That is not to say that such places do not exist, they are just well hidden from prying eyes. In cities and towns temples to Orivious will be hidden in basements or catacombs, with other temples being constructed in remote wilderness area, far enough away from civilisation for their activities to go unnoticed. The Underdark is a particularly popular place for followers of Orivious to set up hidden shrines and temples, with the naturally dark landscape and numerous uncharted and all but undiscovered caves and caverns providing ample spaces for them to set up their centres of worship. Likewise, Orivious’ followers are highly secretive, and it is unusual to find many who openly claim adherence to him. Only when a prophet of Orivious emerges, who is able to rally enough support do the god’s followers feel confident enough to openly declare their allegiance, something which, unfortunately, almost always draws a rapid response to crush them, orchestrated by Kelbonnar’s other deities.Priesthood
As Orivious’ followers are so few and scattered now, there is no official priesthood dedicated to his service. Instead, the god uses the fact that he is still able to influence, to some extent the other planes of Kelbonnar, and make limited contact with the entities within, to communicate with individuals, hoping to convert them to his cause. Often, these connections are made randomly, and the individual contacted does not realise what is happening, or resists Orivious’ advances, but over the many millennia that he has been trying to turn others to his cause, he has lucked out on occasion and found a sympathetic ear. Those who heed the call of the Imprisoned God are groomed to become prophets of Orivious, rather than specifically priests, which means that most of these figures are akin to Paladins, who Orivious hopes will rally additional support for him and start a crusade to free him from his imprisonment and allow him to recommence his attempt to rule all of creation as he once did. In many instances, the individuals seduced by Orivious have no idea of his true nature until well after he has showered them with as many gifts and divine favour that his exile will allow, with him only fully revealing himself when he is sure that they will not turn their backs on him.Activities in the Divine War
As Orivious was imprisoned long before the outbreak of the Divine War he is not considered to be a participant in the conflict.Family Tree of the Divines
Divine Classification
Proto-deity
Species
Age
Unknown
Circumstances of Birth
As recounted in The Origin of the Divines
Children
Gender
Male
Related Myths
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