Tyr
God of Justice
Before every criminal trial in civilised lands, good-hearted magistrates whisper prayers to Tyr the Even-Handed, asking that he guide their judgements with temperance and resolve. A Utopian deity, Tyr sees himself as a father figure working to craft a perfect society among the people of Winval, whom he views as his wayward children. The pain of knowing that his mortal charges cannot hope to initiate and protect a flawless, completely just orderly existence tinges Tyr’s philosophy with an undercurrent of resigned sadness.
Religious iconography depicts Tyr as an ageing one-handed warrior, often with a bloody bandage covering his wounded eyes. The so-called Maimed God lost his right hand in battle with the ravenous demon lord Yeenoghu. Worshippers have allegorized Tyr’s wounds as emblematic of the blindness of justice and the price the truly just must endure on the path of righteousness and stern defence of the law. Particularly radical Tyrran sects advocate self-mutilation among their adherents, a practice condemned by the large majority of the faithful, who nonetheless ritualistically don gauze eye coverings and an off-coloured glove on their right hands to honour the Blind Overlord.
Holy Books & Codes
"Reveal the truth, punish the guilty, right the wrong, and always be true and just in your actions. Uphold the law wherever you go and punish those who do wrong under the law. Keep a record of your own rulings, deeds, and decisions, for through this your errors can be corrected, your grasp on the laws of all lands will flourish, and your ability to identify lawbreakers will expand. Be vigilant in your observations and anticipations so you may detect those who plan injustices before their actions threaten law and order. Deliver vengeance to the guilty for those who cannot do it themselves."
Tenets of Faith
Commoners view Tyr and his clerics as stern arbiters of justice, often missing the paternal philosophical nuances of Tyrran doctrine for its more obvious black-and-white teachings on the nature of morality. They tend to view Tyr as something of a divine constant - they know that Tyr expects fairness, good judgement, and kindness toward the innocent from his followers, and hence afford Tyr’s clerics a great deal of trust.
The Tyrran faith appeals to those who seek to bring order to the disorderly, to punish the wicked, and to ensure that civilisation prospers through a careful, fair system of justice. Theirs is a doctrine of justice through benevolent force and armed vigilance, a philosophy that makes the faith attractive to paladins and lawful fighters. Most adherents do not fight in the field, however, instead seeing to important battles in the courts as bureaucrats, judges, bailiffs, and merchants. Tyrrans tend to view all affairs in clear-cut moral terms, preferring to see the world ordered by just laws that provide the greatest benefit to all. They tend toward intolerance, sometimes violently so, and seldom tolerate mockery, parody, or the questioning of their faith.
Clerics of Tyr bring law to lawless lands, often serving as judge, jury, and executioner. Without a civilised legal code with which to guide their judgements, they often default to a doctrine roughly equivalent to “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” However, Tyrrans prefer to err on the side of mercy, and frequently commute otherwise harsh sentences for cases in which the offender was ignorant of any wrongdoing. Such criminals usually find their names recorded in the cleric’s Book of Lawgiving, which is then shared with the nearest temples to prevent that perpetrator repeating the offence and getting off lightly.
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