The Pantheon of Alven

Origins

The Origins of the pantheon of the Alvenites is lost in the dawn of their civilisation.
When the clansmen arrived on the continent from the place they call Hearth, they brought with them beliefs about their own gods. In time, those myths changed and adapted to the people's new surroundings and situation.


The men and women from Alven were also influenced in their faith by the civilisations they merged with in the first millennia of their existence on this plane.

The Planes

The pantheon of the Alvenites is very diverse and reflects the influences of other religions that went before.
It is peopled with a multitude of gods and spirits who belong to the four planes of existence: the celestial plane, the light or day plane, the dark or night plane, and the liminal plane.

Celestial Gods and Spirits

The powerful and eternal beings who inhabit this plane mostly have their origin in the old religion of the Ancestors. These are the people who lived in Alven when the clansmen arrived there four millennia ago.

Their population was small and being humanoid, they mixed with humans and were soon to be assimilated by the quick-expanding men and women from Hearth.

The Ancestors believed in gods who resided in the stars. These supernatural beings were soon added to the human pantheon. For example, the Ancestral pantheon is the source of the Alvenites' Creation Myths.

The Celestial Gods were thought to have existed first and they had a kingdom on The Set Plane off the northern coast of Alven.
The Godlands were destroyed in a great war, and ravaged in the eruption of The Fire Mountains. The Celestials Gods, then, went back to live among the stars.

The Gods and Spirits of the Light

The Gods and Spirits of the Light belong to the plane of light or the day. They are diurnal and their home is the sun or the earth during the daytime. Their strength comes from the light and heat of the sun.

The gods on this plane cannot usually access The Underworld and fall into a profound sleep at night or in the dark. Their realm is fire, air, clouds, heat, healing, growth.

List: Belen, Brigand, Ria, Mara, Carlin

The Gods of Night and Dark

As opposed to the Gods and Spirits of Light, The Gods of Night and Dark are at home in the darkness of the Underworld or the world at night. They take their strength from the core of the Plane and earth.

Theirs is the realm of oceans, birth, death, renewal, and change.

List: Shony, Callie, Morgan

The Liminal Plane and the Gods of the Threshold

The liminal plane is the plane in between the day and the night: the short time of dawns and sunsets where the doorways to both realms are open. Even the celestial realm is closer to all living things at that time.



The Gods of the Threshold inhabit this realm and can freely move from one plane to another. Some are even able to access the celestial realm at times. These gods and goddesses are particularly powerful and are usually the ones who have accrued a huge following in Alven as they are seen as messengers and intermediaries between humans and the gods. List: Leweyd, Carnos, Nessa, Medua

The Divine Hags

As daughters of the celestial god Dona, the mother of all beings, The Divine Hags of the Alven pantheon are particularly powerful and at the center of most religious activities within the country.

Dona is the mother of stars, and with the help of her husband The Celestial Wind, created all matters and all beings, including the stars and the Planes.

From the union were also created the gods and goddesses worshipped by the Alvenites. Dona has nine daughters who embody the forces of nature in the world.

The Water Twins

Nessa and Shony are the first twins:

Nessa is the goddess of lochs and rivers and waterfalls while Shony looks after the oceans and seas.
Shony is a dark goddess and her keep is thought to be in a giant cave at the bottom of the oceans.

Nessa is a liminal goddess: as water travels from the surface into the ground, so can she. Rivers and other flowing waters are thought to be entryways to the Underworld.

The Thrine

Brigand, Medua, and Callie were born next: the three sisters represent Youth, Motherhood/Maturity, and Age.
Brigand has a huge following in Alven. She is the patron god of the formidable organization called the Sanctuary which wields much influence in Alven.

Brigand is the goddess of youth, the light months, fire, and growth.

Medua is an earth mother: she watches over birth and death and fertility. She is one of the liminal gods. Her realm is both in the light and the dark.

Callie is always represented as a giant old woman and is much feared by the religious Alvenites: she is the hag of winter, storms, clouds, and winds.
However, Callie can have a softer side to her: she looks after forest animals in winter. Callie is well known to fight for supremacy with her sister Brigand come the end of the dark months of the year.

Callie loses the fight every year at the start of the light months. She then goes and takes her rest in her palace in the Underworld. She is, of course, a nocturnal or dark goddess of this world.

The Warrior Queens

Then were born another trio of goddesses: Morgan, Ria, and Mara. They are all shapeshifters and are also much feared throughout Alven.

Morgan can shapeshift into a human and raven, separately or both at once. She is the goddess or hag of war, fortune and death. Morgan is also a nocturnal or dark goddess and the queen of the Underworld.

Ria can shapeshift into a human or a horse, or both. She is the goddess of horses and the goddess of Warriors.

Last but not least is Mara. Mara can shapeshift into a white cow and/or human of extreme beauty. She is the embodiment of beauty and peace, reconciliation, love.

The Corn Fay

One more daughter was given to Dona. This last daughter was born unannounced and was a bit of a surprise. She is the goddess of growing things and nature at large.

Carlin is very much associated with farming and food. Her emblem is the Corn. Many rituals are attached to Carlin during the Alven calendar.

The Nights of the Week

The Divine Hags have given their name to the six days or nights of The Alven Week. It is traditional to offer a small offering to the Divines every day or night of the week.

For Alvenites, the day starts at sunset, a most important liminal event which marks the passing of the planes: from diurnal to nocturnal.

This is why the week is counted in nights not days.
Newnight is the first day of the week and is dedicated to the Divine Hag, Nessa (and her sister Shony).
Brightnight is the second day of the week and dedicated to Brigand.
Mednight is third and dedicated to Medua.
The fourth day of the week is Callienight or Coldnight and is a dedication to the fearsome Hag, Callie.
The fifth one is called Madnight after the Divine Hag, Morgan. However, on that day, offerings to her twin sisters are also expected: Ria and Mara.

Finally, the last day of the week is for the last born of the Hags and is called Cornight after the goddess Carlin.

Many of the Divine Hags have had children of their own and their stories make up many of the myths and legends of Alven. There are too many stories, most of the time very much local to the area they were born in, to recount in this article.

The Sons of Dona

Dona did not only give birth to daughters but also three sons. She gave birth to them one at a time under difficult circumstances. Chronologically, they come first and second last in the prime family of gods.

Belen

Dona's firstborn is Belen. Belen is the sun god, and being the firstborn, he has guardianship and supremacy over his siblings. He is the Warrior per excellence, and embodies fire, heat, healing, and masculinity. He is the patron god of jewelers. Bright gem stones are dedicated to him: rubies and aquamarines (sky-colored).

Belen is so close to his mother Dona that he is the only god of Alven that can still access freely the celestial planes. On the other hand, he cannot walk the darker recess of the Planes such as the Underworld.

Seers and other established powers see the primogeniture of Belen as a valid reason for the patriarchal nature of land ownership and certain positions of power in Alven.

Leweyd

Dona's second son was born after the last trio of Divine Hags (Morgan, Ria, and Mara) and his name is Leweyd. Leweyd is a very popular god throughout Alven: also a great warrior, poet, and smith, he is the god of arts, a messenger of the gods.

He is one of the liminal gods in the Alven pantheon. Unlike Belen, he is able to travel the three planes: diurnal, nocturnal, and celestial.

Carnos

Dona's last son was born last but one. His name is Carnos. Carnos is the antlered god and a very mysterious one he is. He is the god of nature, trees and everything that grows wild.

He has a strong connection with time and can see into the future. He is extremely shy and no one has really seen his face, even his brethen.

He is also a liminal god: he is the roots of the world and is as well at ease in the dark as he is in the light. He is the god of thinkers and seers.



Through knowledge gathered in his name, seers can predict what is to come and in so doing, help placate gods and spirits to ensure Alven's prosperity. Carnos is worshipped all over Alven in the sacred groves and trees of the forests.

The three sons of Dona have also given birth to all sorts of spirits and beings during their reign. Many are loci genii and are worshipped by communities of Alvenites and not others. These myths and legends will be recorded separately.