Senno

Senno is the god of war, whose favor turns the tides of great battles to save or destroy entire nations. Those who experience his favor don't describe a powerful surge of strength, but rather a keen and pure understanding of the flow of battle. To know where all enemies are at all times, to know how they will strike before they know it themselves, and to know how to perfectly counter any attack. This is the true power of those who experience the blessings of Senno. When this knowledge is afforded to leaders of armies, complete and total victory is assured.
The favor of Senno is often short lived however, as complete dominance of one nation over all others would mean the end of war forever. In such a world, Senno would lose sway and power as his followers turned to other deities in his place. For that reason, Senno moves from one side to another, always maintaining a delicate balance.
His primary tools are two sides of the same coin, represented by his two children. Seishiro, his son, represents lies and treachery. Withholding information or misleading the right people at the right time can steer nations to war where no conflict should exist. Conversely truth is represented by his daughter, Kirva. Exposing hidden truths and secrets can equally lead to conflict and war, where diplomacy may have otherwise prevailed.

Description

Senno takes the form of a tall and athletic man. Not the type of warrior to overpower enemies, but rather the type that dances across the battlefield cutting down foes before they can even lay a hand on him. He has cropped golden hair and matching golden eyes that seem to perceive everything in all directions. He has appeared with a variety of armor and weapons, usually dressing similarly to whichever warriors or nation he deems worthy of his favor at any given time.

Personality

Senno is known to portray himself differently depending on the audience, being sure to play the part of the type of figure they trust and respect most of all. Throughout all of these appearances though, he is said to be calm and calculating. His brilliant mind is informed not just about war, but about all aspects of life and he knows how to use any bit of information to sway people towards the course of action he desires most. Despite his predilection to manipulate anyone and everyone, he does manage to maintain a commendable balance in the world.

Relationships

As a being who thrives on knowing everything about everyone, Senno maintained relationships of one kind or another with anyone who is anyone at one point or another.
In his youth, Senno and Rangir were rivals, a sentiment that Rangir has not dropped to this day. Although Senno has largely outgrown him, he is wary of the god of tyranny and careful to keep him in check when necessary. At other times though, he will work behind to scenes to aid Rangir when there is a need to raise tyrants and armies. Senno is careful to keep this support hidden though, because Rangir would never accept it openly.
During that same youth, Senno and Hamamoto had a tempestuous relationship, during which time she pushed him to create more wars and more destruction for her own amusement. Although they are not as close as they once were, they are still friendly and easily able to enjoy each other's company.
He once considered Manna a great friend, during her younger and wilder years, during which time he enjoyed their competitions greatly. Although she has largely written him off after the events of The Break, he still considers her warmly.
Senno and Hiega tentatively respect each other, though neither approves entirely of each others methods. Senno is not above stiring up trouble; whipping a horde of villainy into going on a rampage in order to galvanize the forces of good to wipe out the threat once and for all. Innocent bystanders are not a concern for the god of war, as long as the end result is the correct path. Hiega may oppose these means, but he also has no desire to make an enemy of the god of war, especially so long as the just and good continue to win in the end.
Senno is on good terms with Morigawa, who frequently visits his battlefields. She appreciates the opportunity to preside over so many deaths, and in exchange has occationally granted reprieve to a select few when Senno requests it.
Senno and Arashiki meet and discuss a great many things frequently, both sharing a mutual respect for knowledge. Kirva frequently attends these meetings as well, and has become somewhat of a favorite student of Arashiki.
He is fond of Alphineh, impressed by her talents and some of the commonalities between a successful hunt and success on the battlefield. The two often favor the same followers and sometimes appear together to grant their blessings.
Many other deities consider him neither positively nor negatively, simply respecting the balance he maintains even if they don't approve of his methods particularly. The most noteable exception to this is Kawahara who greatly despises conflict and the death it brings. She believes strongly that an ever lasting balance could be found through peace more easily than through the endless cycle of wars.

Places of Worship

• Golden Temple in the Blue Ward of West Gale
• Hall of the Father in the High Court of Zonyashi
• Temple of Might in Yokoni
• Hall of the Champion in Sano Aku

Holidays

• Warrior's Day honors Senno for his continued blessings of strength and success in battle.

History

During his youngest years he clashed frequently with Rangir in their opposing views on how battles and wars should be waged. Senno preached that knowledge, skill, and foresight were the keys to victory, while the god of tyranny instead preached that strength and power trumped everything else. Both deities had nearly equal numbers of followers, as different warriors approached battle differently. Although Rangir was unhappy with this state of things, often seeking to dominate his rival, Senno was fairly content to maintain a relative balance.
During this time be slowly became romantically involved with Hamamoto. She was amused to see the ease by which he was able to manipulate nearly anyone, and he was fascinated in her almost entirely because she was above his manipulation. For the sake of her own entertainment, she drove him to greater and greater highs, always urging him to incite larger and farther reaching wars so that she could watch them play out. Although he ultimately recognized that the world could not maintain this path for long and was forced to abandon it and her, this time did lead to his most explosive growth of followers, influence, and power. This is what affirmed his position as the god of war and as a greater deity, over Rangir who began to lag behind.
In the years that directly followed he spent his time entertaining himself with more frequent smaller conflicts, though it was less fulfilling without anyone to appreciate his work. In an effort to find someone else to fill Hamamoto's role, he began spending more and more time with a young and wild Manna. The two of them both appreciated the fun of manipulating things to their own liking, Manna with her power and Senno with his cunning. Manna would frequently seek out pairs of people that were either on the friendliest of terms, or else so far removed from each other that they could not possibly have any concerns with one another. She would then challenge Senno to disguise himself as a mortal to learn all that her could about them and devise a scheme to set them against each other. At first they both enjoyed these challenges greatly, but in time Manna began to change and distance herself from such behavior. She started nagging at Senno to change as well, and it drove a large rift between the two of them.
Once again finding himself isolated, Senno spent more and more time among the mortals and even carried on relationships with several. One such woman gave birth to his son, Seishiro. Senno spent nearly two decades in disguise, allowing his son to grow up as a mortal and genuinely growing to love that woman. After her death, Senno took his son to the Divine Realm and showed him what it was to be a god. Seishiro excelled at the deception and manipulation that Senno was known for, and at first he was proud of his son. The two carried out challenges just as Senno and Manna had years before, and for a time Senno was happy again.
Eventually Seishiro challenged his father to trick the devoted head priestess from a church of Hiega and mother of three. The challenge was to make her fall in love with him, run away from her duties and her family, and start a new family with him. Senno lived for many years among the mortals before he ultimately accomplished that exact task. When the priestress gave birth to Senno's daughter, Kirva, Senno immediately felt remorse for what he had done. He confessed the truth to the woman who in turn committed suicide before he could stop her. When Senno took his newborn daughter back to the Divine Realm, he learned that while he had been away his son had been scheming to usurp his role and his influence. This was the first such attempt, but would not be the last.
Senno ultimately thwarted his son's plans, but could not punish him too harshly. Afterall, he was only behaving as he had been taught by his father. Senno decided to raise his daughter differently. He exposed only truths to her, and indoctrinated in her the values of being honest and forthcoming. For a time he found happiness and was content with his life. He still started wars from time to time, but only enough to maintain a relative balance in Seinnaris that prevented any one nation from becoming too powerful.
He missed the friendship he had once had with Manna though, and began reaching out to her again. He told her that he had grown and matured, just like she had. That he was dedicating his life to maintaining a balance in Seinarris, just like she was. He was dismayed when she did not seem to understand his path or respect his methods. He vowed to prove to her that he was right, and force her to listen to him.
In H243 he entreated her to visit him in Coldreach Bastion and managed to trap her within a cell especially designed to block out mana from ever reaching it. In Seinnaris this was known as The Break, and led to years of escalating conflicts and Senno gaining even more influence and power.
In S30, Kansa the Eastwind led a raid on Coldreach Bastion and was able to distract Senno enough for Seishiro to make his second attempt at overthrowing his father. Durther the brief conflict between father and son, Kansa was finally able to liberate Manna and escape. Despite Senno's misguided attempts to win Manna to his side, he ultimately succeeded in pushing her even farther away from him.

Titles
God of War
Father of Champions
Master of Might
All Seer
Golden God

Divine Classification

greater deity

Realm

Coldreach Bastion

Ruled Locations

• Coldreach Bastion

Symbol
two handed battleaxe
Alignment
true neutral
Typical Followers
fighters
barbarians
soldiers
warlords
orcs and half-orcs
giants