The Old Gods
The Old Gods were a tribe of divine beings that were worshiped in the Dawn Ages of Magicians' End, carried down into the era of the Painted People in the Old Kingdoms and to some lesser degree into the New Kingdoms too. They have very few, if any, adherents in modern times, long superseded by any number of later contending religious traditions. But they still cast a long shadow down the timeline of history, not least because the commonly accepted names for the months and days in the calendar we use to this day are derived from the members of this ancient pantheon. And too, some few of the stories of the Old Gods survive in widespread tales found throughout the world and find themselves mirrored in oddly distorted ways within the traditions of later religions
Authon is the oldest of the Old Gods and the only one of them who was there before the world began and helped to build it. He is known for his great strength, with tusks that can move mountains and carve the courses of rivers. He has only a single right hand, but with it, he can mould the land with great subtlety. The god spends much of his time sleeping, but can be wakened sometimes to make great changes in the world. Authon is a kindly god but also a fierce one and all the other gods respect his age and wisdom. Authon gives his name to the first month of the year. His wife is Pruth, the goddess of sleep and dreams, who gives her name to the last month of the year. So it is that Authon and Pruth meet together at the New Year.
Chiroth is the goddess of snow and she gives her name to the second month of the year. She is said to be fabulously beautiful but cold and dangerous to those that do not respect her. Her younger sister is Mald, the goddess of rain and as the spring thaws began each year, the Painted People would look for Mald to come to meet her older sister and deliver her more kindly blessings on the land. Chiroth is an ambiguous friend of hunters who seek winter game in the forests. Her white cold blanket over the ground shows the tracks of animals, but it also hides their burrows, so that they say she flirts with them between the trees, giving and taking at the same time. When a man is hypnotised by hypothermia and dies passive and frozen in the deep cold, it is still said even today, that he has been "Called by Chiroth", although there are no believers now who would consider that to be the honour it was once thought.
Mald is the goddess of rain, who brings life to the land again after winter. She follows her older sister Chiroth and gives her name to the third month of the year. Whilst the people look to Mald to give them water for their crops, their animals and themselves, she can be an angry goddess if she is not respected, withholding her favours or delivering them in a vengeful excess.
Findil is the god of the fish that live in the rivers and the seas and he gives his name to the fourth month of the year. This is the time when the spring seeds have all been sown and as the water warms up, fish become more active and start to move into shallower lakes and rivers to feed and spawn. Trout, bass, and pikeperch are all part of the bounty of Findil which he grants to those who worship him. Those that do not respect his waters, his serpent servants and his ways will not find fish to catch and if they are out on the deep waters, Findil may summon the storms to bring them to a personal accounting and make them feed the fishes.
Glim is a mischievous god, traditionally depicted with the ears of a goat, feasting, drinking wine and playing tricks on the other gods. He gives his name to the fifth month of the year when the days lengthen to midsummer, and like Tivith, in the calendar of Magicians' End he has been given one more week than is allocated to most months. Glim may be the only one of the Old Gods who still has active worshippers to this day. In the ancient city of Klaractazum you can still find Glim's Wall, a thin temple facade where they practice ceremonies that take place in the evenings whenever Lumina is full, involving the ritual wearing of a blindfold and the drinking of hot perfumed goat's milk.
Tivith is the bird god who gives his name to the sixth month of the year, the hottest season in the northern hemisphere of Magicians' End. He is depicted as a fierce bird of prey with a golden beak, a richly blue jewelled plummage and sharp golden claws. Tivith is the lord of the summer skies and his eyesight has no equal. He sports with the thin white clouds and between their veils he sees everything that passes on the land beneath. Ever keen for righteousness and justice, he hates murderers, thieves and darkness alike. A prayer to Tivith can bring his swift retribution down onto the necks of unsuspecting wrongdoers, however far they may think they have fled from the scene of their crimes.
Doloph gives his name to the seventh month of the year, when the harvest is gathered. He is depicted as a jolly man in late middle age, often drinking and feasting but hard working and less inclined to the flights of fancy that afflict his younger friend and often times drinking partner, Glim. Still, there are many stories of the drunken escapades of these two reprobates and in most of them it is Doloph who has to rescue Glim from some outrageous piece of foolishness in the end.
Kerax is the dog god of the autumn hunters. He is depicted as a fierce hound with sharp teeth and a regal collar and he gives his name to the eighth month of the year. Kerax is a popular name for dogs on Magicians' End, particularly hunting dogs.
Tuzlle is the god of storms and gives his name to the ninth month when the northern hemisphere of Magicians' End often experiences violent meteorological convulsions. He is depicted as a raging bear, often shown wielding lightning as a weapon. Tuzlle is also the god of war, known sometimes as the soldiers' god. Combatants in the days of the Painted People and the New Kingdoms would often prey to Tuzlle for victory, which was his reward for those that showed courage and did not flee in the face of danger.
Pruth is the goddess of sleep and dreams and she gives her name to the last month of the year. The blessing of Pruth is the healing that comes with sleep and those who suffer from insomnia, pray to her to grant them relief. Her dream cats walk between the minds of mortals as they sleep and whisper stories of the past, the future and what might be. Pruth is the wife of Authon, with whom she meets on New Year's day so that between them they can decide how the future will be ordered in the coming year.
Authon : The God of Beginnings
Magicians' End - Old Gods - Authon by DMFW with Midjourney
Authon is the oldest of the Old Gods and the only one of them who was there before the world began and helped to build it. He is known for his great strength, with tusks that can move mountains and carve the courses of rivers. He has only a single right hand, but with it, he can mould the land with great subtlety. The god spends much of his time sleeping, but can be wakened sometimes to make great changes in the world. Authon is a kindly god but also a fierce one and all the other gods respect his age and wisdom. Authon gives his name to the first month of the year. His wife is Pruth, the goddess of sleep and dreams, who gives her name to the last month of the year. So it is that Authon and Pruth meet together at the New Year.
By Authon's Tusks, I'll have this tree stump out of this field before sunset, you see if I don't!
Chiroth : The Goddess of Snow
Chiroth is the goddess of snow and she gives her name to the second month of the year. She is said to be fabulously beautiful but cold and dangerous to those that do not respect her. Her younger sister is Mald, the goddess of rain and as the spring thaws began each year, the Painted People would look for Mald to come to meet her older sister and deliver her more kindly blessings on the land. Chiroth is an ambiguous friend of hunters who seek winter game in the forests. Her white cold blanket over the ground shows the tracks of animals, but it also hides their burrows, so that they say she flirts with them between the trees, giving and taking at the same time. When a man is hypnotised by hypothermia and dies passive and frozen in the deep cold, it is still said even today, that he has been "Called by Chiroth", although there are no believers now who would consider that to be the honour it was once thought.
Magicians' End - Old Gods - Chiroth by DMFW with Midjourney
Mald : The Goddess of Rain
Magicians' End - Old Gods - Mald by DMFW with Midjourney
Mald is the goddess of rain, who brings life to the land again after winter. She follows her older sister Chiroth and gives her name to the third month of the year. Whilst the people look to Mald to give them water for their crops, their animals and themselves, she can be an angry goddess if she is not respected, withholding her favours or delivering them in a vengeful excess.
Then the people of the city became overly proud of their dam and they said to themselves in their pride that now at last they no longer needed to pay homage and respect to Mald, for they had water whenever they needed it. But Mald was angered by their contempt, and she sent them fat clouds and great sheets of rain for twenty days and nights until the floodwaters burst their fine dam. So it was that so many drowned, and the city of Pavol-Rag-Rag was utterly destroyed.
Findil : The Fish God
Findil is the god of the fish that live in the rivers and the seas and he gives his name to the fourth month of the year. This is the time when the spring seeds have all been sown and as the water warms up, fish become more active and start to move into shallower lakes and rivers to feed and spawn. Trout, bass, and pikeperch are all part of the bounty of Findil which he grants to those who worship him. Those that do not respect his waters, his serpent servants and his ways will not find fish to catch and if they are out on the deep waters, Findil may summon the storms to bring them to a personal accounting and make them feed the fishes.
When he saw that the rivers ran red with the blood of the raiders, the king of Myruth was well pleased with the work of his son. "Let them learn not to cross our borders again with their swords and their bows", he said. "Now Findil shall feast on their flesh and their bones!"
Magicians' End - Old Gods - Findil by DMFW with Midjourney
Glim : The God of Mischief and Drink
Magicians' End - Old Gods - Glim by DMFW with Midjourney
Glim is a mischievous god, traditionally depicted with the ears of a goat, feasting, drinking wine and playing tricks on the other gods. He gives his name to the fifth month of the year when the days lengthen to midsummer, and like Tivith, in the calendar of Magicians' End he has been given one more week than is allocated to most months. Glim may be the only one of the Old Gods who still has active worshippers to this day. In the ancient city of Klaractazum you can still find Glim's Wall, a thin temple facade where they practice ceremonies that take place in the evenings whenever Lumina is full, involving the ritual wearing of a blindfold and the drinking of hot perfumed goat's milk.
Tivith : The God of Justice
Tivith is the bird god who gives his name to the sixth month of the year, the hottest season in the northern hemisphere of Magicians' End. He is depicted as a fierce bird of prey with a golden beak, a richly blue jewelled plummage and sharp golden claws. Tivith is the lord of the summer skies and his eyesight has no equal. He sports with the thin white clouds and between their veils he sees everything that passes on the land beneath. Ever keen for righteousness and justice, he hates murderers, thieves and darkness alike. A prayer to Tivith can bring his swift retribution down onto the necks of unsuspecting wrongdoers, however far they may think they have fled from the scene of their crimes.
Magicians' End - Old Gods - Tivith by DMFW with Midjourney
Doloph : The God of the Harvest
Magicians' End - Old Gods - Doloph by DMFW with Midjourney
Doloph gives his name to the seventh month of the year, when the harvest is gathered. He is depicted as a jolly man in late middle age, often drinking and feasting but hard working and less inclined to the flights of fancy that afflict his younger friend and often times drinking partner, Glim. Still, there are many stories of the drunken escapades of these two reprobates and in most of them it is Doloph who has to rescue Glim from some outrageous piece of foolishness in the end.
Kerax : The God of Hunting
Kerax is the dog god of the autumn hunters. He is depicted as a fierce hound with sharp teeth and a regal collar and he gives his name to the eighth month of the year. Kerax is a popular name for dogs on Magicians' End, particularly hunting dogs.
"Here Kerax! Here boy! Is he not fine? A creature who is truly worthy to honour his namesake, and he would defend me with his life!"
Magicians' End - Old Gods - Kerax by DMFW with Midjourney
Tuzlle : The God of Storms and War
Magicians' End - Old Gods - Tuzlle by DMFW with Midjourney
Tuzlle is the god of storms and gives his name to the ninth month when the northern hemisphere of Magicians' End often experiences violent meteorological convulsions. He is depicted as a raging bear, often shown wielding lightning as a weapon. Tuzlle is also the god of war, known sometimes as the soldiers' god. Combatants in the days of the Painted People and the New Kingdoms would often prey to Tuzlle for victory, which was his reward for those that showed courage and did not flee in the face of danger.
Pruth : The Goddess of Sleep and Dreams
Pruth is the goddess of sleep and dreams and she gives her name to the last month of the year. The blessing of Pruth is the healing that comes with sleep and those who suffer from insomnia, pray to her to grant them relief. Her dream cats walk between the minds of mortals as they sleep and whisper stories of the past, the future and what might be. Pruth is the wife of Authon, with whom she meets on New Year's day so that between them they can decide how the future will be ordered in the coming year.
Magicians' End - Old Gods - Pruth by DMFW with Midjourney
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