Silas
God of Wind, Travel, Trickery and Treasure Hunting
Triumphantly did our not-so-blind harper return, on a path most wild and winding, to the well-hidden shack beyond the town. There he beheld his old grey mare who had returned to her foal, and—yes indeed!—still tied to the loyal mare stood the King's magnificent thoroughbred. Giddily the Trickster danced—a stomping thing, a one, a two!—and clapped as he danced. Already did he hear the dismayed cries of the alder and the baker and those else who put coin on his failure; already could he taste the fine spirits his winnings would purchase. Ah! These are the moments where mere aliveness becomes living!
[...] And yet, some part of him already knew the hunger would set in again, the tale of stealing the King's horse would grow drab in the telling, a new ploy would sprout from his restless mind. The Trickster was a being possessed of two stomachs: one for food and one for a thief's glory, and both were insatiable. A curse it may be, but one he would not trade for all the spices in Nurin.Silas is the Material God of wind, travel, luck, freedom, thievery, carousing and commerce on the plane of Waking Materia. Though a selfish and morally grey figure, he is a beloved trickster hero in a large number of First Age myths and is widely worshipped by rangers, bards, barbarians, thieves, merchants, con-artists, gamblers, monks, wind- or nature-blooded sorcerers, and more. He is also known as the Grandfather of Thieves, the Monkey King and the Hero of the Inula'an Dialogues.
Cunning and irreverent, Silas traveled First Age Materia in search of fame and fortune, accompanied by his trusty quarterstaff (which could transform into a longbow that fires lightning bolts) and his self-invented “sky sled” which could ride air currents like waves on the sea. These adventures sometimes ended in him finding (stealing) great treasures, like the Gjallarhorn; others ended with him losing them in amusing ways.
While the Wind God was too distractable to be devoted to the cause, he is sometimes placed alongside the First Age Insurgent Gods as his adventures sometimes lead to him running afoul of The Lichlords and sabotaging their plans, either purposely or inadvertently.
Silas's alignment is Chaotic Neutral.Appearance & Heraldry
See also: Silas & The Zephyrs Image Gallery (External)When portrayed as a normal Meranthic human, Silas is a thin but athletic old man with light skin and long, white hair and beard. His perpetually wide-eyed expression hints at a mind that is extremely clever but somewhat mad. He's usually bedecked in various treasures and talismans above a shaman's robes, as well as his trusty quarterstaff, the Kierikeion.
Equally famously, Silas is sometimes portrayed with the red, angular face of a snow macaque, though still framed with wild, white hair. In these stories he is often called the Monkey King. See § Tales, below.Worship
Yes the sky 'cause I'm singin' my song in the wind
I can touch
Both your eyes with my smile 'cause I'm singin' my song It's love, it's mine, it's yours
It's life
It's free...
Norma Tanega
Silas's worshippers are typically called Zephyrs or Missionaries. As Silas is a very popular antihero in many beloved First Age stories, worship is relatively common throughout Materia, and his followers (usually with customary sandals, travel robes and quarterstaff) may be found scattered a about Materia's myriad trails or forging new ones. It is sometimes difficult to tell whether a passing Zephyr will gift you with useful news or pick your pocket.
His church, once minor, grew initially after leading a successful campaign to eliminate slavery in the Second Age Broken Empire and Valamon, and has grown further through entrepeneurship and cunning theo-political maneuvering. That said, those who take the stories of the Grandfather of Thieves seriously are skeptical of the individualistic church’s new-found virtuousness.Domains
Silas's primary Domain is Air. His secondary domains are Travel, Freedom, Luck, Trickery, Ambition, Lightning and Kung Fu.Favoured Weapon
The Monkey King's favoured weapons are the quarterstaff and unarmed/kung fu fu. His Relic quarterstaff is named Kierikeion; it is capable both of changing size and turning into a longbow, which shoots lightning bolts.
Silas is the Divine Master of Drunken Fist Style kung fu, also known as Monkey Style or Zuiquan in Marai. The Grandfather of Thieves is a master of deception, pranks, scams and psychology; the technique is centred around subversion of the opponent’s expectations, leading to seemingly random methods, often described as “masterful chaos”. This style is a close cousin to the Variegated or Mandalan Fist of Tallari-Anaviri-Irallat: as Silas was born after the Tallaric religion's spread, he likely learned and adapted Variegated Fist into his own style.
Though not usually considered a "respectable" style to most clans, Drunken Fist is popular in the the major population centres of Marai and the Broken Empire as it's a consistent trump card in bar fights.Tales
Tales of Silas's adventures are myriad and widely told.The Monkey King
In one story, shortly after he invents his "sky sled", the still-unrefined device catches a stray jet stream and flings him hundreds of kilometres away to the lost islands of Tiam's Cradle. Following the sound of simiain chatting from a family of snow macaques, Silas finds a welcoming mountain hot spring, and decides to relax before getting his bearings. It turned out these were sacred macaques, and the hot spring was a place of power belonging to the Lady of the Mountain. The Lady was a dour and ill-tempered being in those days, and in her annoyance she cursed him with the body of a humanoid macaque. Hence Silas is frequently known as the Monkey King in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. His love of theft and mischief, his ability to ride on jet streams and his magical transforming quarterstaff all remain consistent with his human persona in Valamon and the Broken Empire.The Blind Harper
In one story, Silas pretends to be a blind harper and oracle, gaining the trust of a young First Mortal king in order to steal his horse, which was said to be the finest horse on the face of Materia. The story branches into various cousins. One more comedic version leaves him unable to escape the web of lies, to the point where he finds himself accidental spiritual advisor to a treaty negotiation between the two early empires. This story, assuming it holds some truth, is assumed to be prior to his ascension. The Silasian Church vehemently denies any First Age stories that paint him as a ne’er-do-well, calling them false apocrypha or giving noble reasons for the pranks.
SILAS
Godhood
Ascendant (Middle First Age) Alignment
CN Domains
Wind, Travel, Luck, Freedom, Trickery, Ambition, Lightning, Kung Fu Favoured Weapon
Quarterstaff, Unarmed Relic Weapon
The Kierikeion Divine Technique
Drunken Fist
Musical Inset: A Middish folk song written from the perspective of Silas.
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