Gods of Myrnn
According to the teachings of the Church of All Gods, the world was brought about by Ao, the First Cause. She created the world, the Seas, the Lands and all the life in it. She then brought forth her children, Kah, Set, Bal and Nev. Later these four would be known as Good, Evil, Chaos and Law. They were the second generation. Ao's children having but a single aspect, could not bring forth progeny so they conspired among themselves to combine and produce offspring. This was the third generation and would become known as lawful, good, neutral and evil. Chaotic, good, neutral and evil as well as Neutral, good, evil and true neutral. Each of these offspring having multiple aspects were capable of creation, and create they did.
The third generation brought forth onto the world what are commonly considered to be the gods of Myrnn. The various gods of Myrnn being more than three generations from Ao were only capable of producing mortals. Each of the gods, sometimes alone and sometimes in conjunction with another brought forth mortal races each as imagined by their god or gods.
Initially, the gods strode the world amongst their children, gathering power and praise. Occasionally, mortals would come into conflict with each other and it was not uncommon for them to beseech their gods to come to their aid in these disputes. The gods would aid their worshippers and this would inevitably attract the attention of the deities of the opposing side. Clashing deities resulted in the land being rent asunder, energies unleashed riving away the lives of the followers of both sides. As these conflicts became more common some deities lost all their adherents. Deprived of their followers and the faith they provided, the gods enlisted the aid of fellow gods of like aspect to wreak revenge on the opposed pantheons.
Continents dragged from their stately waltz slammed togethers, giant waves washed entire shorelines clean. Volcanoes spewed ash and lava across the lands, Huge stones were somehow pulled from the sky to crater the land below. The conflict gained in momentum, gods locked in battle destroying themselves as they eradicated their adversaries. Ao watched as her creation was devastated. When it became apparent that the combatants would accept nothing less than mutual annihilation, Ao separated the gods, removed them from the world and forbade them from direct interaction.
Each of the surviving gods was given dominion over their creations, and the followers of their aspects. Each to receive sustenance according to worship received of faith in their existence. Soon the many of the surviving gods learned to diversify their aspects to appeal to more worshipers. Other gods, whose original followers made it through the Divine War, became the racial deities of those mortal tribes.
The multitudes of surviving gods pay close attention to the mortal realm, watching for opportunities to support their most steadfast adherents by lending them a portion of their own grace or power. There are those mortals who eschew worship of the deities claiming that they, by dint of long study and hard won skill have mastered the arcane arts and thus do not need the good graces of a higher power to effect their miracles. What they fail to realize is that they pray at the alter of Arcanus and study is his liturgy, spells are his prayers, material components his offerings.
Gods rise and fall in power according to worship and belief. There are gods who few worship, but all believe in, like the God of Tides. He causes the tides and has dominion over all the seas, yet due to the predictable and regular nature of his work, few pray to him. He is none the less a powerful god as he is almost universally acknowledged by those who live on or near the seas. If a god becomes forgotten he or she may simply fade away. Another fate is to merge with a better known god and become a minor aspect of that god, bringing whatever worshipers they have left and sharing the faith in the greater god. If the minor gods aspect gains enough worship it's possible for it to separate itself out and become a discrete deity once again.
The third generation brought forth onto the world what are commonly considered to be the gods of Myrnn. The various gods of Myrnn being more than three generations from Ao were only capable of producing mortals. Each of the gods, sometimes alone and sometimes in conjunction with another brought forth mortal races each as imagined by their god or gods.
Initially, the gods strode the world amongst their children, gathering power and praise. Occasionally, mortals would come into conflict with each other and it was not uncommon for them to beseech their gods to come to their aid in these disputes. The gods would aid their worshippers and this would inevitably attract the attention of the deities of the opposing side. Clashing deities resulted in the land being rent asunder, energies unleashed riving away the lives of the followers of both sides. As these conflicts became more common some deities lost all their adherents. Deprived of their followers and the faith they provided, the gods enlisted the aid of fellow gods of like aspect to wreak revenge on the opposed pantheons.
Continents dragged from their stately waltz slammed togethers, giant waves washed entire shorelines clean. Volcanoes spewed ash and lava across the lands, Huge stones were somehow pulled from the sky to crater the land below. The conflict gained in momentum, gods locked in battle destroying themselves as they eradicated their adversaries. Ao watched as her creation was devastated. When it became apparent that the combatants would accept nothing less than mutual annihilation, Ao separated the gods, removed them from the world and forbade them from direct interaction.
Each of the surviving gods was given dominion over their creations, and the followers of their aspects. Each to receive sustenance according to worship received of faith in their existence. Soon the many of the surviving gods learned to diversify their aspects to appeal to more worshipers. Other gods, whose original followers made it through the Divine War, became the racial deities of those mortal tribes.
The multitudes of surviving gods pay close attention to the mortal realm, watching for opportunities to support their most steadfast adherents by lending them a portion of their own grace or power. There are those mortals who eschew worship of the deities claiming that they, by dint of long study and hard won skill have mastered the arcane arts and thus do not need the good graces of a higher power to effect their miracles. What they fail to realize is that they pray at the alter of Arcanus and study is his liturgy, spells are his prayers, material components his offerings.
Gods rise and fall in power according to worship and belief. There are gods who few worship, but all believe in, like the God of Tides. He causes the tides and has dominion over all the seas, yet due to the predictable and regular nature of his work, few pray to him. He is none the less a powerful god as he is almost universally acknowledged by those who live on or near the seas. If a god becomes forgotten he or she may simply fade away. Another fate is to merge with a better known god and become a minor aspect of that god, bringing whatever worshipers they have left and sharing the faith in the greater god. If the minor gods aspect gains enough worship it's possible for it to separate itself out and become a discrete deity once again.
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