Orion

Title(s): Bulwark of the Cosmos, The Cosmic Mage, The Highest Mage, The Powerful One, The Arcane Star
Alignment: Lawful Good
Domains: Destruction, Magic, Protection, Knowledge
Favored Weapon: Staff
Symbol: Spinning Nebula

Synopsis:

Orion was one of the first deities and one of the first star gods created, but unlike his peers who had roles in cultivating the cosmos with the Forge Lords, his role was simple but no less critical. His duty was to defend the young cosmos against eldritch horrors from the cold beyond.

History

Early History

Orion is the Gemini god of magic, protection, and warfare. In the Gemini scripture, he called the bulwark of the cosmos.
In pre-history, Orion is one of the earliest gods of magic to exist and one of the strongest. The Forge Lords created him to fight eldritch horrors that invaded the cosmos from the cold beyond. He worked with many gods to protect the cosmos and was good friends with Shaddi. To excel at his role as cosmic guardian, he was one of the first gods to develop the earliest forms of warfare and tactics. Like Shaddi, he did not question the creatures he killed, as many were abominable monsters. However, when Shaddi showed him that not everything they killed deserved to die, he was troubled but continued his role regardless. When he learned of Shaddi’s rebellious thoughts from Corvus, he tried to reason with her as a friend but failed to convince her. When she eventually rebelled against the Forge Lords, he sided with his creators and fought against her, using the same tactics he cultivated against the monsters he fought against his fellow gods.

The Revolution of Abbadon

When the Forge Lords left the cosmos, they did not take Orion and ordered him to continue his role as guardian. During the fundamentalists versus creatives debate, he sided with the fundamentalists, and when Abbadon revolted, he aided his fellow gods against Abbadon and his forces.
When Abbdon returned as the first god of the abyss, Orion fought with the other gods against him and his infernal army as one of the divine generals. He, along with many other gods, was captured and imprisoned down in the abyss, infused with the corrupted remnants of the flame so that they turned into new infernal gods. He resisted this process with all his strength but nearly fell to corruption until Miessa and her divine host rescued him.

The Divine War

As the war between the gods continued to escalate, the barrier protecting the cosmos from the cold beyond was weakened and undefended due to the wanton destruction of reality caused by the other gods. Orion and a few other gods risked their lives protecting the cosmos as it burned around them, keeping the various planes safe until the divine law came into effect and order could be re-established.

Appearance

The Gemini described Orion as a galaxy shaped into a humanoid form, robed in cosmic rays, radiating power incarnate. The Gemini depicts him as a man with a stern expression with blinding white eyes wielding a rod made from celestial matter with a gemstone formed from a crystallized white dwarf as he holds a spinning nebula in his other hand. A massive burn scar mars his divine body from his time being a prisoner of the abyssal gods. It is a twisted thick fibrous mass of inert malignant energies that can glow red when he is angered.
In the rare times that Orion takes a mortal form, his appearance differs based on the races that see him, but all share the same theme of an unassuming spellcaster.

Relationships

In the past, Orion had good relationships with most other gods. However, the actions of the gods during the divine war and his infliction due to becoming nearly corrupted by the abyssal gods have soured many of these relationships. With his own Star God kin, he is amicable with those in the pantheon, and with the other gods, he is still friendly and an ally to those who guard the cosmos against outside threats and those that fight against the abyssal forces. He is part of a cadre with other spellcaster gods that watch the Mastracosm for harmful use of magic that could threaten the cosmos. The wounds he suffered, both physical and psychological, at the hands of the abyssal gods have left him less sound of mind than he used to be. He can be irritable and sometimes quick to anger when he does not mean it. He frequently seeks consul from the Goddess of Healing about his troubles.

Realm

Orion lives in the celestial plane with the other Star Gods. His home is a demiplane in the form of a gigantic spelljammer ship called the Emerald Quasar that he uses to travel between the planes and patrol the barrier that protects the Mastracosm from the cold beyond.

Servants

Orion has numerous celestial servitors that aid him in protecting the Mastracosm. Each of his servitors carries a spark of his magical might and utilizes different styles of spellcasting in combat.

Worship of Orion

Those who worship Orion tend to gravitate toward magical academies and other institutions that value safe, practical, and beneficial forms of magic. Followers of Orion believe that mages have a responsibility to use their gifts for the betterment of the world and that power should serve a greater purpose. They believe destructive forms of magic should be used in a situation that deserves its use, not to harm innocent people. In Gemini society, those who follow Orion's path commonly hold positions as arcane teachers, war mages, mercenary mages who defend the innocent, or spellcasters who combat dark magic and rituals.
As Gemini slowly spread through culture across the mainland, other races started to follow Orion’s teachings to show that magic can be used to help society and not cause wanton destruction.