Mitra
Mitra, the Overgod, called also called Pantokrator, the Morning Glory, the Flame Eternal, or the Shining Lord, and less charitably the Usurper or the Demon Sun, sits at the center of the universe on the Throne of the First Heaven, and by right of this sits first amongst the divine. They not only rule over the sun but are embodied by it. The flames of their soul bring warmth to the surface of Uskara, as part of their charge is to keep the blaze alight, which consumes much of their replenishing energies. Of complicated origin, Mitra's path to glory has made them not only a solar deity, but one representing redemption and mercy. They are also a vessel for Good, and their ascension has lead to that Principle becoming aligned with the Law of the Heavens, shifting the cosmic balance drastically in the Sixth World from the precarious balance of the Fifth.
While Mitra stands as the divine embodiment of all that is Good, their origin is in the Abyss: they were once the demon prince Buer, who entered the Heavens through deceit during the darkness of the Fourth World, consuming the light of the draconic solar deity Isatem. Though it is not foregrounded in their teachings, even the Axiomatic Church does not deny this. In fact, they embrace this nature as demonstration of the power of redemption. During the Stellar Rosades, when the elves came to Uskara, Buer fled instead of face the Star Emperor Dantalion himself, and instead the throne of the sun became the site of great struggles between the demigods and heroes of the Fifth World.
Buer never stopped plotting to return to their solar throne. Under the guise of the alerion, a pure white eagle with no beak or claws, it sent visions to St. Idrian and helped cultivate in secret the Lamplighters, while the War for the Heavens raged across Uskara. However, St. Idrian, under counsel of their ally St. Pentar, discerned the nature of his patron, and instead of rejecting them, redeemed them through devotion and love, believing that the cause was just against the Tyrant, and with his martyrdom (and the power of his blood) turned Buer to Mitra in essence as well as guise.
The angels of the Empyrean played their role in this as well, and flocked to Mitra's banner early, even before the Passion of St. Idrian. It is unclear whether they thought it an alliance of convenience against the seemingly unstoppable forces of Hell, or they foresaw the redemption to come, but they have sworn fealty to Mitra and in doing so bound their destiny to Good. While other Good outsiders such as azatas and agathions do not necessarily serve Mitra, all angels pay the Overgod homage, a resonance that is embodied in earthly traditions of feudalism and the divine right of kings.
Mitra's purview includes the sun, light, fire, and heat, but also redemption, truth, rulership and healing. They embody Good, and are strongly aligned with Law. They command angels and the demigods of the Apostolic Heptead, who derive their divine power from Mitra's source. They are the protector of humanity, the patron of the penitent and rehabilitated, and steward of the day. Archons that serve Mitra resemble wheels of flame and grandeur, and bring with them revelation. In their aspect as Pantokrator, Mitra undergirds all laws divine or temporal. As the Morning Glory, they are the herald of a new age of peace. As the Flame Eternal, they are the banisher of evil. As the Shining Lord, they are the liege of all lieges while also embodying the "Fisher King" mythos.
Mitra is perhaps the most widely venerated deity of the Heavenly Host, even with all the attempts by the Commonwealth to paint them as a menace in their propaganda. Outside of their Dogma, almost all cultures recognize the supremacy of the sun. Mitra is honored by common people and kings alike and any who wish to pray against the darkness. Even outside their faithful, they are propitiated to stave off deceit, disease, winter and Evil.
The largest religion that venerates Mitra is the Axiomatic Church, which revolves around Mitra's aspect as Pantokrator and Overgod, and thus the foundation of lawful reality. It is a religion that is older than Mitra's ascension, which has been greatly changed by their new patron, and is centered around their role as intercessors for the divine. The Axiomatic Church is based out of Talingarde, though it has ecumenical branches in Ornassus, Rusan and Zafara, primarily through the sect known as the Ministry Evangelian.
Outside of the Axiomatic Church, the widest cult of Mitra are the Aittic Mysteries in Ornassus, which focus on his aspect as the Shining Lord and role as a ruler, and his origin as a demon prince ascendant, descending once more and then redemption. This mystery cult revolves around a pilgrimage to the island of Aitne and is sought out by those who would be kind and just rulers themselves, and many Holy Lawful Emperors have been inducted into its rites.
Mitra is also the primary god of the Noddite Magi, who combine his aspect of the Flame Eternal with their beliefs on arcane magic. Mitra in a lion-headed form of their Morning Glory aspect is worshiped with the other members of the Host by the Kadinka as one of the Orunmole. Among the Radham, Mitra is not only the supreme deity but the sole object of worship, with their many aspects playing subsuming the roles that the Apostolic Heptead does the Axiomatic faith.
Mitra is rendered with gender neutral pronouns here, but cultural variation differs. Axiomatic liturgy does not have pronouns (Celestial as a language in general does not, much like Infernal), but different cultures few Mitra different. In Talingarde, broadly speaking Mitra is more masculine to northron peoples, and more feminine to southron peoples. The Radham make Mitra explicitly male, while the Kadinka see Mitra as female, the Magi call Mitra "it" and as more a principle or concept than being, and the Aittic Mysteries see Mitra as the embodiment of the sacred androgyne.
Mitra is by nature a distant deity, as their role as Overgod restricts them as much as it empowers them. Much of their power is spent in stoking the flames of the Source Star, sustaining the world against the encroachment of Chaos and the cold threat of Winter. Further, they are pursued across the Heavens by Zoryan and must fend off the machinations of both the Nine Hells as well as their celestial rival Dantalion. For this reason, Mitra prefers to work through intermediaries: whether the empyreal lords of the angels or the demigods of the Apostolic Heptead. Mitra also seems prone to enigmatic action, and as a vessel of Good their ways are mysterious, perpetually facing a horizon that mere mortals cannot ken.
Mitra's concerns around the world revolve both around protecting the sanctity of the spheres from threat by Chaos and Evil, as well as revealing truths to the world when the time is right and unraveling conspiracies and deceit. Mitra was a creature of such conspiracy once, and understands them innately, and many of Mitra's most devout followers can similarly call upon this familiarity, though it is difficult for the agents of the Pantokrator to act without notice. Mitra's boundless love for humanity as well leads them to protect their favorite children, which sometimes means at the expense of the inhuman.
While many worshipers of Mitra believe the coming Apocalypse that will soon herald a Seventh World is to be a time when the Heavens are brought down to earth, and many angels feed into this revelation, Mitra themselves seems more ambivalent towards this future, and their more direct agents (in the form of archons or champions devoted to them alone) seem to prefer to keep things the way they are and head off too much radical change.
Mitra traditionally has rarely been depicted directly by their worshipers. It is seen as somewhat blasphemous to attempt to portray Mitra directly, instead it is more common to represent them through other symbols. In Talingarde, Mitra is most commonly depicted as the alerion, while the Magi depict Mitra as a white flame in a brazier, and the Radham use an intricate burning sigil that spells the thousand names of the Pantokrator.
Despite this, the picture of a faceless crowned figure with a lion at their feet and six wings (like a seraph) that obscure their features is a common one in artistic depictions outside of the confines of the church, giving a cultural image that adjusts to the cultural attitudes of the local populace. Likewise, both the Aittic Mysteries and Kadinka emphasize a more anthropomorphized version of Mitra, though their depictions vary. The Aittic Mitra is a hermaphrodic figure in Fifth World bronze armor that appears a warrior with long curls, though still no face, again emphasizes the lion at their feet. The Mitra of the Kadinka is unarmored but clad in the fur of the Dire Beast (a cultural gestalt of many figures of the Fourth World, including Buer), one breast bared and with a lioness's head instead of a human face, and adorned with a crown of feathers.
In the Commonwealth, Mitra is depicted as they were as the demon prince Buer, usually in horrifying detail. The most common artistic depiction of Buer (which matches the description given by what few Antecalypsians claim to have seen the demon prince in the flesh) casts them as a great lion's head with black fur but a shining mane, with six eyes that are pools of molten gold. Surrounding the lion's head are six legs like that of a goat, arranged like a wheel. It is said that Buer could take many forms, and preferred that of a powerful sphinx when walking about mortals, which matches many of the statues of the Fourth World associated with them. Their genderfluid nature was a part of them as a demon prince as well, and they were associated with deception, unrequited lust, poison and flame. They were also however a great teacher of philosophy and medicine, and as many demon princes brought benefices as well as maledictions to their cults.
Other than the obvious symbol of the sun, which predominates in religious symbology, the eagle and the lion are recurring beastly symbols associated with Mitra, and gryphons are considered sacred animals. Mitra is further associated with daylight (especially the morning, and many rituals are tied to the dawn), braziers, torches, mirrors, windows, tiaras, banquets, and cowls. Mitra is the Celestial word for "friend," and is often invoked when forging bonds of brotherhood. Mitra also lends their name to the mitre, the headwear of the Axiomatic clergy, which is meant to be symbolic of a crown but purposefully made of cloth rather than metal as a sign of humility. The crown of the head is seen as especially sacred to Mitra, and many devout worshippers with shave their pate into a tonsure, though the shape varies by culture. Glass is a material considered sacred to Mitra, with stained glass being a constant fixture of Axiomatic cathedrals, and glassblowing is often practiced by anchorite devotees in their abbeys.
Mitra commands the loyalty of angels, though the empyreal lords have their own agendas. The Apostolic Heptead not only swears fealty to Mitra but draws their divine power as demigods from the Pantokrator. Of the rest of the Heavenly Host, only Amunon pays homage directly to Mitra, though most do not oppose them, save for Zoryan and Dantalion, who both aspire to replace Mitra as Overgod. Most of the Esoteric Powers are ambivalent to Mitra, save for Ka-Ata-Raya whose nature is anathema to the Flame Eternal. Meverab, of the Earthly Idols, has an understanding with Mitra and vice-versa, playing to their respectively roles as Undergod and Overgod respectively with a deep respect for the principle of Law, though Meverab has attempted to assault the Heavens before in Worlds past. Yet the two stand together in opposition to the Outer Things, whether archdevils or demon princes, eldritch horrors or manifestations of Chaos.
Though often conceived as a distant and even abstract deity, Mitra's relationship with St. Idrian, which is central to the gospel of the modern Axiomatic Faith, is the subject of much theology, prose, and verse. Few agree entirely upon the nature of the relationship in the mortal realms, but the objective truth is that they share an immortal, romantic love, and Idrian is Mitra's consort in soul and body. Mitran faith celebrates romantic love, and by extension sex too, something that transcends gender, ancestry or nature.
Embodied materially as the Source Star, the sun at the center of the heavens and all of creation, Paradise can only be entered by souls both brave and willing enough to brave its eternal blaze, and noble enough to survive the journey. Little is known of this realm, as even angels are sworn to reveal little of what awaits the faithful in the Afterlife, but the Axiomatic Faith in its more eschatological texts imagines it as a perpetual communion with Mitra and all the souls that came before, a perfect alignment towards a single monadic "oneness," while still preserving one's essence and will. This contrasts strongly with many other afterlives, which promise rewards but rarely so intimate a relationship with the deity, and that is often a selling point for prosleytes. There are heretical texts from those who claim to have traveled to Paradise and come back to tell another tale that speak more of a kingdom ruled by angels as nobility that mirrors closer mortal kingdoms, which has a cultural influence on art and literature, but the Axiomatic Church tends to look poorly on such imaginings.
As is often the case, the heretics are closer to the truth in this regard. Paradise is just as much a fortress as it is a refuge for the faithful, and the empyreal lords, with Mitra's sanction, prepare eternally for the inevitable next assault on Heaven. Souls that prove worthy of Paradise are indeed rewarded, but are also conscripts in the empyreal armies.
Origin: Fourth World
While Mitra stands as the divine embodiment of all that is Good, their origin is in the Abyss: they were once the demon prince Buer, who entered the Heavens through deceit during the darkness of the Fourth World, consuming the light of the draconic solar deity Isatem. Though it is not foregrounded in their teachings, even the Axiomatic Church does not deny this. In fact, they embrace this nature as demonstration of the power of redemption. During the Stellar Rosades, when the elves came to Uskara, Buer fled instead of face the Star Emperor Dantalion himself, and instead the throne of the sun became the site of great struggles between the demigods and heroes of the Fifth World.
Buer never stopped plotting to return to their solar throne. Under the guise of the alerion, a pure white eagle with no beak or claws, it sent visions to St. Idrian and helped cultivate in secret the Lamplighters, while the War for the Heavens raged across Uskara. However, St. Idrian, under counsel of their ally St. Pentar, discerned the nature of his patron, and instead of rejecting them, redeemed them through devotion and love, believing that the cause was just against the Tyrant, and with his martyrdom (and the power of his blood) turned Buer to Mitra in essence as well as guise.
The angels of the Empyrean played their role in this as well, and flocked to Mitra's banner early, even before the Passion of St. Idrian. It is unclear whether they thought it an alliance of convenience against the seemingly unstoppable forces of Hell, or they foresaw the redemption to come, but they have sworn fealty to Mitra and in doing so bound their destiny to Good. While other Good outsiders such as azatas and agathions do not necessarily serve Mitra, all angels pay the Overgod homage, a resonance that is embodied in earthly traditions of feudalism and the divine right of kings.
Dominion: All That is Good
Mitra's purview includes the sun, light, fire, and heat, but also redemption, truth, rulership and healing. They embody Good, and are strongly aligned with Law. They command angels and the demigods of the Apostolic Heptead, who derive their divine power from Mitra's source. They are the protector of humanity, the patron of the penitent and rehabilitated, and steward of the day. Archons that serve Mitra resemble wheels of flame and grandeur, and bring with them revelation. In their aspect as Pantokrator, Mitra undergirds all laws divine or temporal. As the Morning Glory, they are the herald of a new age of peace. As the Flame Eternal, they are the banisher of evil. As the Shining Lord, they are the liege of all lieges while also embodying the "Fisher King" mythos.
Worship: Most High and Most Holy
Mitra is perhaps the most widely venerated deity of the Heavenly Host, even with all the attempts by the Commonwealth to paint them as a menace in their propaganda. Outside of their Dogma, almost all cultures recognize the supremacy of the sun. Mitra is honored by common people and kings alike and any who wish to pray against the darkness. Even outside their faithful, they are propitiated to stave off deceit, disease, winter and Evil.
The largest religion that venerates Mitra is the Axiomatic Church, which revolves around Mitra's aspect as Pantokrator and Overgod, and thus the foundation of lawful reality. It is a religion that is older than Mitra's ascension, which has been greatly changed by their new patron, and is centered around their role as intercessors for the divine. The Axiomatic Church is based out of Talingarde, though it has ecumenical branches in Ornassus, Rusan and Zafara, primarily through the sect known as the Ministry Evangelian.
Outside of the Axiomatic Church, the widest cult of Mitra are the Aittic Mysteries in Ornassus, which focus on his aspect as the Shining Lord and role as a ruler, and his origin as a demon prince ascendant, descending once more and then redemption. This mystery cult revolves around a pilgrimage to the island of Aitne and is sought out by those who would be kind and just rulers themselves, and many Holy Lawful Emperors have been inducted into its rites.
Mitra is also the primary god of the Noddite Magi, who combine his aspect of the Flame Eternal with their beliefs on arcane magic. Mitra in a lion-headed form of their Morning Glory aspect is worshiped with the other members of the Host by the Kadinka as one of the Orunmole. Among the Radham, Mitra is not only the supreme deity but the sole object of worship, with their many aspects playing subsuming the roles that the Apostolic Heptead does the Axiomatic faith.
Mitra is rendered with gender neutral pronouns here, but cultural variation differs. Axiomatic liturgy does not have pronouns (Celestial as a language in general does not, much like Infernal), but different cultures few Mitra different. In Talingarde, broadly speaking Mitra is more masculine to northron peoples, and more feminine to southron peoples. The Radham make Mitra explicitly male, while the Kadinka see Mitra as female, the Magi call Mitra "it" and as more a principle or concept than being, and the Aittic Mysteries see Mitra as the embodiment of the sacred androgyne.
Agenda
Mitra is by nature a distant deity, as their role as Overgod restricts them as much as it empowers them. Much of their power is spent in stoking the flames of the Source Star, sustaining the world against the encroachment of Chaos and the cold threat of Winter. Further, they are pursued across the Heavens by Zoryan and must fend off the machinations of both the Nine Hells as well as their celestial rival Dantalion. For this reason, Mitra prefers to work through intermediaries: whether the empyreal lords of the angels or the demigods of the Apostolic Heptead. Mitra also seems prone to enigmatic action, and as a vessel of Good their ways are mysterious, perpetually facing a horizon that mere mortals cannot ken.
Mitra's concerns around the world revolve both around protecting the sanctity of the spheres from threat by Chaos and Evil, as well as revealing truths to the world when the time is right and unraveling conspiracies and deceit. Mitra was a creature of such conspiracy once, and understands them innately, and many of Mitra's most devout followers can similarly call upon this familiarity, though it is difficult for the agents of the Pantokrator to act without notice. Mitra's boundless love for humanity as well leads them to protect their favorite children, which sometimes means at the expense of the inhuman.
While many worshipers of Mitra believe the coming Apocalypse that will soon herald a Seventh World is to be a time when the Heavens are brought down to earth, and many angels feed into this revelation, Mitra themselves seems more ambivalent towards this future, and their more direct agents (in the form of archons or champions devoted to them alone) seem to prefer to keep things the way they are and head off too much radical change.
Iconography
Mitra traditionally has rarely been depicted directly by their worshipers. It is seen as somewhat blasphemous to attempt to portray Mitra directly, instead it is more common to represent them through other symbols. In Talingarde, Mitra is most commonly depicted as the alerion, while the Magi depict Mitra as a white flame in a brazier, and the Radham use an intricate burning sigil that spells the thousand names of the Pantokrator.
Despite this, the picture of a faceless crowned figure with a lion at their feet and six wings (like a seraph) that obscure their features is a common one in artistic depictions outside of the confines of the church, giving a cultural image that adjusts to the cultural attitudes of the local populace. Likewise, both the Aittic Mysteries and Kadinka emphasize a more anthropomorphized version of Mitra, though their depictions vary. The Aittic Mitra is a hermaphrodic figure in Fifth World bronze armor that appears a warrior with long curls, though still no face, again emphasizes the lion at their feet. The Mitra of the Kadinka is unarmored but clad in the fur of the Dire Beast (a cultural gestalt of many figures of the Fourth World, including Buer), one breast bared and with a lioness's head instead of a human face, and adorned with a crown of feathers.
In the Commonwealth, Mitra is depicted as they were as the demon prince Buer, usually in horrifying detail. The most common artistic depiction of Buer (which matches the description given by what few Antecalypsians claim to have seen the demon prince in the flesh) casts them as a great lion's head with black fur but a shining mane, with six eyes that are pools of molten gold. Surrounding the lion's head are six legs like that of a goat, arranged like a wheel. It is said that Buer could take many forms, and preferred that of a powerful sphinx when walking about mortals, which matches many of the statues of the Fourth World associated with them. Their genderfluid nature was a part of them as a demon prince as well, and they were associated with deception, unrequited lust, poison and flame. They were also however a great teacher of philosophy and medicine, and as many demon princes brought benefices as well as maledictions to their cults.
Associations
Other than the obvious symbol of the sun, which predominates in religious symbology, the eagle and the lion are recurring beastly symbols associated with Mitra, and gryphons are considered sacred animals. Mitra is further associated with daylight (especially the morning, and many rituals are tied to the dawn), braziers, torches, mirrors, windows, tiaras, banquets, and cowls. Mitra is the Celestial word for "friend," and is often invoked when forging bonds of brotherhood. Mitra also lends their name to the mitre, the headwear of the Axiomatic clergy, which is meant to be symbolic of a crown but purposefully made of cloth rather than metal as a sign of humility. The crown of the head is seen as especially sacred to Mitra, and many devout worshippers with shave their pate into a tonsure, though the shape varies by culture. Glass is a material considered sacred to Mitra, with stained glass being a constant fixture of Axiomatic cathedrals, and glassblowing is often practiced by anchorite devotees in their abbeys.
Mitra commands the loyalty of angels, though the empyreal lords have their own agendas. The Apostolic Heptead not only swears fealty to Mitra but draws their divine power as demigods from the Pantokrator. Of the rest of the Heavenly Host, only Amunon pays homage directly to Mitra, though most do not oppose them, save for Zoryan and Dantalion, who both aspire to replace Mitra as Overgod. Most of the Esoteric Powers are ambivalent to Mitra, save for Ka-Ata-Raya whose nature is anathema to the Flame Eternal. Meverab, of the Earthly Idols, has an understanding with Mitra and vice-versa, playing to their respectively roles as Undergod and Overgod respectively with a deep respect for the principle of Law, though Meverab has attempted to assault the Heavens before in Worlds past. Yet the two stand together in opposition to the Outer Things, whether archdevils or demon princes, eldritch horrors or manifestations of Chaos.
Though often conceived as a distant and even abstract deity, Mitra's relationship with St. Idrian, which is central to the gospel of the modern Axiomatic Faith, is the subject of much theology, prose, and verse. Few agree entirely upon the nature of the relationship in the mortal realms, but the objective truth is that they share an immortal, romantic love, and Idrian is Mitra's consort in soul and body. Mitran faith celebrates romantic love, and by extension sex too, something that transcends gender, ancestry or nature.
Realm: Paradise
Embodied materially as the Source Star, the sun at the center of the heavens and all of creation, Paradise can only be entered by souls both brave and willing enough to brave its eternal blaze, and noble enough to survive the journey. Little is known of this realm, as even angels are sworn to reveal little of what awaits the faithful in the Afterlife, but the Axiomatic Faith in its more eschatological texts imagines it as a perpetual communion with Mitra and all the souls that came before, a perfect alignment towards a single monadic "oneness," while still preserving one's essence and will. This contrasts strongly with many other afterlives, which promise rewards but rarely so intimate a relationship with the deity, and that is often a selling point for prosleytes. There are heretical texts from those who claim to have traveled to Paradise and come back to tell another tale that speak more of a kingdom ruled by angels as nobility that mirrors closer mortal kingdoms, which has a cultural influence on art and literature, but the Axiomatic Church tends to look poorly on such imaginings.
As is often the case, the heretics are closer to the truth in this regard. Paradise is just as much a fortress as it is a refuge for the faithful, and the empyreal lords, with Mitra's sanction, prepare eternally for the inevitable next assault on Heaven. Souls that prove worthy of Paradise are indeed rewarded, but are also conscripts in the empyreal armies.
Mitra, Pantokrator
Category: Celestial
Alignment: Lawful Good
Adherents: Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral, Neutral Good
Domains: Confidence, Fire, Healing, Repose, Sun, Truth
Font: Heal
Skill: Diplomacy
Weapon: Morningstar
Ability: Strength, Wisdom
Religions
Church/Cult
Children
Ruled Locations
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