Artur

God of Law and Order

"The burden of creation and protection is heavy, yet it is one I accept heartily. For what other purpose would our lives serve? I don the mantle of lord and judge, for that is what Nora intended me in my creation, and I will see this purpose delivered on all -- even those I see as my kin." - Artur, addressing the first Council of the Gods

Artur, also known as The Firstborn, The Lawbringer, and King amongst the Gods, was the first deity to emerge from the blood of Nora as it spilled life across the world. Clad in the crimson robes of birth, he set forth upon his journey across the surface of this fresh world. He soon found Elanaah and make it his mission to find the other divine beings like himself and have them all join forces together. The two of them traveled the world in search of others like themselves, finding both friendship and love in each other's company. Artur joined hands with her in the first marriage ceremony with an audience of no one. It was shortly after his newfound union with Elanaah that he was granted visitation by Stirna's lone visit to the surface of the world. The great Primordial of the Stars laid out Stirna's Decree which gave the true divine purpose of the gods -- to spread life throughout Nora and to foster its growth. They both accepted it willingly as they were left with the company of Sturn and Firna, Stirna's two children gods of his own. Both were welcomed and brought along on their journey. The newly married gods would also soon give birth to twins, Jerun and Kiran, marking the first children of the world.
During their travels, Artur naturally appointed himself as the leader of their company, which Elanaah and Sturn supported without contest. Their journey led them to the birth of a second wave of gods; Deign, Seigna, and Orloch. Deign and Seigna fell into the fold of their company and respected Artur as their leader. Orloch denounced this decision and demanded a brawl between them all as it was his nature to believe that power should determine who led the gods rather than an order of birth. The others remained by the sidelines as the two of them came to blows in the first clash between gods. Orloch looked to be the victor in the fight, had it not been for Elanaah taking the side of her husband and restraining Orloch. The god of war admitted to his loss and accepted Artur and Elanaah as his superiors together. Artur once again welcomed Orloch as his kin and the seven of them formed the Council of the Gods as he explained the divine purpose granted to them by Stirna. All separated to lay claim to a home for what would be their greatest creations, the Risen.
Artur stepped down from the mountains of the Worldspine into what would later become La Patria and created Humans; the first Risen on whom all others would be modeled and compared to. Humans were made with adaptation and growth in mind. By designing his Risen to breed and spread throughout the world faster than the others, he believed that they would more efficiently accomplish his divine purpose. He gifted them with a large marble plinth of rules to live by that would later be known as Artur's Tablet. As the Risen continued to spread, it wasn't until the first murder occurred that Artur called for the Council to meet once again. It was there that he established the doctrine of free will and the for all of the Risen; the gods were not to interfere in the hearts and decisions of their creations so that this life could flourish and develop naturally. He believed it to be the only way for there to be meaning behind the lives and actions of their creations. Artur also forbid Magick to be bestowed upon them as that power should remain with the gods and the primordials. Though there were some who spoke against these decisions, Sturn and Orloch most notably, they eventually relented to the rest of the council and followed Artur's orders.
The Conflict With the Fae became a burdensome intrusion in the activities of the gods. Although Elanaah had discovered the existence of the Fae Realm much earlier in her travels, the gateways were few and far between and the Fae themselves had avoided the Realm of the Gods. After multiple clashes with them across nearly half a century, Artur organized a delegation of Elanaah, Sturn, and himself to meet with the Fae in their realm in an attempt to foster peace between their people. The three gods met with the leaders of the Four Courts of the Fae and deliberated a treatise between the two realms. Although Artur led the exchange, it was Elanaah's connection with the Summer Queen fostered before that proved to be the most useful. Despite some opposition on both sides, with Orloch wishing the fight would continue and Minest spreading lies of Sturn and Elanaah having a secret relationship, the treaty was signed, and both sides returned to their realms in peace.
It was after the meeting with the Fae that the number of gods would continue to be bolstered both through children and Ascendancy. Deign approached Artur and the rest of the council with Beirn, an Ohrlen that he believed should join their ranks among the gods. Artur originally refused but was later convinced through the efforts of Sturn, Elanaah, and his young son Jerun. Hector and Mortair would also go through ascension through Artur's blessing and the support of the Council of the Gods. The next Council of the Gods would not be called by Artur until Sturn would transgress the Laws of Governance and grant Magick to the Dahlen.
Magick was one thing absolutely forbidden by Artur previously. He placed Sturn under trial before the gods in response and called on them to assist him in delivering justice. Artur brought claims of treason ad that he was jeopardizing the divine purpose that was bestowed upon them. Sturn replied with claims of defending his creations as children and believing that the Risen deserved Magick as well, albeit on a lesser level than the gods. Despite the admittance of guilt, or rather because of it, many of the gods came to support the God of Serpents. It was the first time in a council where Artur had to relent to the opposing side. Magick was allowed to spread amongst the Risen, though this built a rift between Artur and Sturn as he continued to resent the decision.
Two centuries later, the rift between them would explode after the birth of Panen, Artur and Elanaah's third child and second son. Panen was born a sickly child which was before unseen amongst the gods. Shortly after Panen's birth, Elanaah would birth an unexpected second child. Ths girl was born with the torso of a four-armed Dahlen and the lower half of a black serpent making her undoubtedly Sturn's child. It took the combined strength of Deign, Seigna, and Mortair to restrain Artur from attacking Sturn and call for an emergency meeting of the Council.
Artur called for Sturn's immediate execution, calling the seduction of his wife the second act of treason by the Serpent God. Sturn claimed that Dahlia was born of mutual affection between the two and challenged their relationship. With the accusations of Minest, the Queen of the Winter Court, brought up from the meeting with the fae leaders by Artur, Elanaah began to waver in her arguments. She ultimately sided with her husband as Artur handed out the guilty verdict. Artur was ready to pass down his believed deserved punishment of execution supported wholeheartedly by Jerun but was stopped by the remaining council. Many of the gods believed this to be not such a straightforward issue. While Orloch demanded them to settle it through a fight to the death, the rest asked for his life to be spared. In the end, Artur ordered Sturn to be banished to the Realm of the Dead, never to return to the Realm of the Gods. Without much of a choice outside of a war between gods, Sturn accepted Artur's verdict and was sent away.
The unresolved resentments from Sturn's trials led to the dissolution of the Council of the Gods. What soon followed was the disappearance of the rest of the gods from the surface of Nora, and Artur was no different. Despite his physical disappearance from the world, his presence could still be felt amongst his followers, and some still claim to hear his voice in their prayers. Artur is said to still be working in humanity's best interests from wherever he is now, laying judgment on those who would seek ill upon his subjects.

The Lawbringer

Artur possesses the great power of Divine Creation. Utilizing the magick of the gods, he has created Humans, the first Risen, as well as the ideas of law and order. He was obsessed with the divine purpose granted to the gods from Stirna's Decree and made it his personal missive to accomplish it alongside his kin. Law and order seemed to be the forces that he could use to bind the other gods into a symbol of unity for the Risen and the future of Nora as a whole. Chaos and unrest were to be the enemy of progress as the world continued to develop. With such a declaration, he brought the other gods together to create the Council of the Gods and lead their creations together. His establishment of the Laws of Governance was almost unanimously accepted with the main pronouncements forbidding the use of Magick amongst the Risen and the adoption of free will. The humans of La Patria would especially revere their creator god with the gift of Artur's Tablet, which would provide them guidance on how to live their lives in the best manner possible.
As with many of the other gods, he worked alongside Deign to produce a set of divine artifacts to match each god in their domain. He wields the divine artifact Judge and Executioner, a flat-ended executioner's blade with a handle and hilt of pure gold. The sword itself can produce a magickal set of golden chains that wrap around the arms of the bearer and produce a set of scales to hang from the hilt of the blade. When these Chains of Judgement were wrapped around an individual, the scales would tilt in either direction to reveal the truth or lies in their words. These were known to be used on each Risen that would go through the Rite of Ascension to judge their worthiness and intentions, as well as on Sturn during his final trial before the Council of the Gods. Artur also wears the Cradle of the Sun, a breastplate of pure gold that absorbs and reflects the light of the sun. Risen who gaze upon it would both be stricken by awe and blindness, some never recovering from having laid eyes on the King of the Gods.
Most governmental and law buildings found throughout Nora, especially those in Human societies, will possess altars bearing tribute to Artur. Judges and juries call upon him through prayer in search of guidance and the truth to be brought to light. The condemned offer their prayers as well as hope for their innocence or a lighter sentence in the admission of guilt. The Arturians are a faction of fervent Artur worshippers on a crusade throughout the world to bring forth his domain of law and order. These heavily armored crusaders can be found commonly in human societies as well as in minor chapters that have established themselves in foreign lands. Arturians do not answer to any government, but will commonly work alongside them to enact the law of the land, provided that the government in question is acting in fairness and in reverence to the gods.

Icons of Artur

Artur himself bears the appearance of a muscular Human male with a stern face and long golden hair. He is often depicted in his armor with Judge and Executioner wielded and active, the golden chains wrapping his arms. Statues of him are often carved from marble and decorated in gold, just as his tablet was once granted to the humans of La Patria. These statues are commonly erected to face the east in order to catch and watch over the rising sun.
The symbol depicting his worship is that of the hilt of Judge and Executioner with the scales active and set against a rising sun. Although the hilt was gold in actuality, the sigils commonly display the sword and scales in silver set against a golden sun for better visibility from a distance. These sigils can often be found throughout buildings of law or carried on the banners of La Patrian or Artururian soldiers. Though priests of Artur are not uncommon, they typically serve a civil position assisting rulers or lawmakers in their respective countries.
Pure gold is meant to serve as a ward against corruption and is often attributed to Artur in this sense as his domain of law and order is meant to root out corruption and mediate fairness in all rulings. Striving to free gold from the majority of the alloys that plague it in the earth, The Arturians are said to have the greatest stockpile of pure gold currently as they use it in their churches as well as in the construction of armaments to bring them closer to their god.
It is rumored that Artur would occasionally take the form of a Golden Roc, watching over humanity from the skies above. Golden Rocs have since been declared a protected species of Magickal Beast in La Patria.

Family of the Divine

With his wife Elanaah creating the structure of marriage and family, Artur promoted this heavily throughout his territories. Despite the pressures and obligations of the King of the Gods, it is said that he was a very attentive father to his children, Jerun, Kiran, and Panen, and spent a great time nurturing their growth. Jerun and Kiran have grown into great and powerful gods in their own right and are both credited with having a deep love and respect for their father. Although his relationship with Panen is known to be estranged at best according to historical texts, Panen is still shown as having a great love for his father. Where altars of any child can be found, it is likely that one of Artur will be nearby and vice versa. The Church of Combined Faiths often has Artur at the head of each church, followed by his wife and children.
It is important to note that despite being a half-sibling to his children, Dahlia is never formally included in Artur's family. The Dahlen are proud to acknowledge Elanaah as the mother of one of their treasured gods, but to include her even as a bastard child in a temple of Artur can be seen as heretical. It is rumored that in the early days of the Risen that Sturn was written as a brother of Artur, but even that has been long stricken from any official records due to the troubled history.

Artifacts of the Lawbringer

The artifact most notably left behind by Artur would be Artur's Tablet which was meant to guide the Humans in their early days. The Tablet was lost during The War of Magi Ascension and was buried in the rubble beneath Old Sicerrone. Being that it was created by a god, many La Patrians still believe the tablet survived the destruction and is still waiting to be unearthed. Some say that returning the Tablet to its former glory in the new city will bring Artur's light back to the country.
His God Altar, the Enimence of Truth, is believed to currently be in the possession of the current Grand Arbiter of the Arturians. When summoned, it surrounds the immediate area in a bright light before summoning the golden chains of Artur to attack and bind enemies within the vicinity. Those bound by the chains are compelled to reveal the truth when questioned.