Darmon
Silver Tongue, Clever, Wily, Merry, the Traveler, of the Many Faces, the Laughing God, Master of the Road, Lord of the Ways, Champion of Heaven, the Golden Messenger
Darmon (DAR-mahn) is the chaotic good god of travelers, tricksters and rogues, joy, laughter, good fortune, trade, merchants, diplomacy, messengers, jesters, scouts, rebels, and thieves. He is associated with the fox, the otter, and the kestrel—the cleverest beasts of land, water, and sky. He is also associated with the djinn, who were once among those div confined to the pillar of fire.
Darmon once went to the fire pillar, and found those div of good heart who’d been wrongly imprisoned. These he transported to the pillar of the air, where they rule to this day. These powerful beings love Darmon and are fond of his followers.
Since Darmon has walked among the mortal races more than any other god, and in the early days could reveal
himself when he did so, he is the most universally popular of the gods. All races engage in the crafts he taught them. If there is one race most fond of Darmon, though, it is the humans, who are most enamored with his ways.
Divine Domains
Travel, Wealth, and Joy
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Darmon is called “many faced” because he has always disguised himself to walk among the mortal races. Every race shows him as one of their own in icons, generally as very handsome young male with laughing eyes. He is always shown wearing golden laurels on his brow, bearing his short blade Laughter’s Sting, and wearing his cloak of the heavens.
Representational tokens for Darmon are extremely symbolic. A circle of gold, filled in, is all that is necessary to represent Darmon, and many merchants use this symbol to signify their trade. Those who wish to wear holy symbols of Darmon usually wear a large, round gold coin. When in haste, one need only paint a gold circle, though it is considered most fitting to fill it in.
Tenets of Faith
Laughter, Joy, and Riches
Like his sister, Aymara, Darmon is a preternaturally happy god. He tells jokes in Heaven and when he walks among mortals, improves their lives with humorous japes and beautiful creations. However, his love of golden things and beautiful objects is irrepressible, and he has taught this love to the mortal races, calling the mercantile trades “the finest of the arts.” Darmon gave the mortal races many of the basic tools necessary for civilization: writing, keeping time, crop rotation, sailing, trade, riding, the making of compasses, and many other useful tricks and trades. He did this with his cousin Korak, who at the same time taught the mortal races useful skills such as sewing, weaving, making steel, and building arches. They did this out of a love for mortals which has not diminished over the ages.Although Darmon delights in mischief, and is always happy to see horrible things happen to bad people (or even people who just think too much of themselves), he has never had a problem with mortals violating all sorts of laws. In his love for mortals, he would see them thrive.
Darmon wants a world free of stuffiness and useless restrictions. He wants to replace them with wealth, joy, good food, magnificent song, and, most of all, laughter. He’s rarely serious, refusing to put away his tricks and fun, but when he is forced to abandon humor, his temper grows as fierce as his mother’s, father’s, and sister’s. He sides with his parents in conflicts among the gods, but like the other young gods, he is less interested than his elders in such rivalries. He is endlessly inquisitive, loving to see and learn new things, but he prizes above all the freedom to travel and move. Darmon is messenger of the gods, so he may venture into the mortal sphere to retrieve someone of importance, or deliver a divine decree. Although the Compact has made these occasions less frequent, Darmon is the god living mortals are most likely to meet.
Holidays
Holy Days
The last day of the calendar year is a one of enormous importance to the Darmonite faith, and is celebrated with an elaborate festival. Darmon taught the mortal races about time, and helped them set down their various methods for keeping it, so the last day of the year recalls this gift and others from the Master of the Road. A parade typically accompanies the festival, and children perform dances to commemorate Darmon’s various gifts. Usually the people celebrate a gift of importance to their livelihoods; a seaside community might commemorate the gift of sailing, for instance.Many of Darmon’s gifts involved skills and practices for which he is not the god. He introduced the idea of crop rotation to the mortal races, but Rontra is the goddess of farming. Also, many communities who worship gods other than Darmon most of the year celebrate the Laughing God at its end. In small towns that lack a house of Darmon, the clergy of other churches organize these celebrations.
Servants of Darmon
Darmon has one thousand servants running messages across the Material Plane and beyond. Because Darmon is entrusted with messages, he often relies on minions to bear notes from god to god. His closest companion other than his divine relatives is Ix, his silver fox. Darmon delights in watching Ix infuriate Metteron, the golden lion of Terak. Tales of Ix tricking Metteron are well loved, and told to children for entertainment.Maal and Darmon
Darmonite freedom of organization drives conflicts with other churches, especially the courts of Maal. While Maal and Darmon are friends according to many epics, many Maalites do not treat Darmonites warmly, and assume they’re all lawless vagabonds. The courts’ official position is each house must be judged on its own merits, and houses that give succor to thieves and lawbreakers can earn no special treatment from the courts simply because they claim to worship Darmon. The religions respect and even love each other’s gods, but treat their churches with mutual distrust. Most Darmonite houses are pained by the mistrust shown by the Maalites and seek to remedy it by joining with them against immoral houses and their members.
Divine Classification
God
Religions
Alignment
Chaotic Good
Church/Cult
Spouses
Siblings
Aymara
(Sister)
Children
Related Myths
