Uhrmazd
The Termi-Néa; the Voidfather of the Gods; Overbeing of Darkness, Order and Simplicity
Also known in some tongues as Umraaz, Umbraas, Urumba, Tenebraas and more, Uhrmazd is the Overbeing of darkness, order and simplicity, often worshipped in tandem with the Overbeing of light, chaos and healing, Aios. Sometimes called the Watchers, the Pleroma or the Great Manifest, the two beings are the primary, overarching deities of Materia. The duo are often likened to a home, which requires both a structure (Uhrmazd's order) and a hearthfire (Aios's warmth). The Voidfather's church primarily preaches simplicity as a means of achieving humility, mental calmness and ordered living. He is generally portrayed as a cold but fatherly deity.
In many Material cultures, the Voidfather is the creator of an ordered universe out of the primordial chaos in which humanoids were incapable of living. He did this by taking the beginning of the universe (Néa) and tying it to the end (Termina) to bring form to the chaos (Media) in the form of a circle. Thus he is lord of beginnings and ends, the Termi-Néa, the Alpha-Omega, pure as a newborn but wise as an elder.
It is a common belief that Uhrmazd is the overarching deity of The Duskscape, while Aios holds the same position over Waking Materia. One argument made, for example, is that Duskscape phenomena are sometimes given the demonym "Umbral", a term rooted in the Voidfather's name. This is hotly debated however, as the more apparent gods of the Umbral Realms never speak of beings higher than themselves. That said, this may simply be due to arrogance or ignorance among the Cenobites.
Uhrmazd's alignment is Lawful Neutral.Appearance & Heraldry
See also: Uhrmazd, Greyguards & Void Navigators Image Gallery (External)Genderless and without a previous mortal form, Uhrmazd's depictions vary wildly from recognizably humanoid to simple glyphs and symbols, especially the basic triangle-prism which is his holy symbol. Perhaps the most common appearance is of a bald, masculine humanoid of black or dark-grey shades and simple, symmetrical features, sometimes with a triangle on his forehead.
Other common features in Uhrmazd's heraldry include balanced weighing scales, whip-poor-wils, scrolls with simple commandments of ordered living, and others. Animals representative of recycling are revered as representations of the closed cycle of Termi-Néa, generally scavengers like jackals (usually portrayed with black fur), vultures and dung beetles. Umraazian scholars have written extensively on the benefit scavengers have in recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem: a practical church, they are especially fond of principles that hold practical application as well as spiritual.Worship
Rather than Good versus Evil, the Umraazian religion is primarily concerned with Truth versus Lies, seeking a purity of being represented by ultimate Truths and the supreme rejections of deceits that divert us from this path.
Umbraasian clergy are sometimes asked to adjudicate on disputes as a third party, however both sides of these disputes often find themselves declared unworthy in the strict eyes of the order, and disciplined thusly. But while they have a reputation as being ruthless and unfriendly, their motivation is still the betterment of Waking Civilization.On Waking Materia
The Voidfather's divine agents are more or less balanced between clerics and paladins.
Clerics are known varyingly as Ministrants or Bodhisattvas; they most often give life advice, preaching good health and stable finances through simplicity and rejection of distractions like greed and hedonism. They may also carry out healing duties in lieu of Aiosian clergy should the need arise.
His mortal swords are divided into two groups, known as Inquisitors and Greyguards, the eyes and arms of the church respectively. Both are grave enemies of disorder, specializing in hunting and punishing beings or organizations that seek to sow chaos within Waking Society, and sometimes even butt heads with Chaotic Good-aligned groups, though those are not a priority.
Uhrmazd is the primary deity worshipped on Khayyam, where he is known as Umraaz or Umbraas. In it, the Voidfather is the all-powerful patron and protector of the Universe, with Aios taking a more supporting role; in their mythologies, she often intervenes as the moral voice to a sometimes cold and ruthless partner, lest justice give way to wrath. Similarly, Umraaz sometimes acts as a stable and centring force for Aios. This balance is central to Khayyamite beliefs: excess desire for Order leads to Wrath; excess desire for Freedom leads to Instability. The symmetry here is very intentional, as it always is with the geometric-minded Bodhisattvas. This religion bears an astounding resemblance to The Terminal Dogmas of the Void Navigators of Ket; the beliefs may bear a common ancestor prior to the Deluge.Famous Greyguards
- Syr Gavvan Grimbold — Now-deceased ascendant demigod of justice, persistence and false fortune; a great canonized hero of the modern church; originally a mortal Greyguard hailing from the city of Xois in Nireau;
- Sokenzan Shu-On the Younger — Not yet born; a Maraian who will become a powerful Grandmaster Bodhissatva and escape the plane during the Black Sun Empire's annexation, becoming a minorly influential figure in the Deepspawn Wars;
- Soudaan the Unremarkable — Current Chief Void Navigator of the Three Tribes of Ket on the continent of Gondara;
- Yukora of Gale Delta — Wandering Greyguard and follower of the drow god of diplomacy, travel and outward thinking, Valaan Blackblade, who was in turn reverent of Uhrmazd. She is a celebrated modern hero after slaying the insane lindwurm wizard and priest of Elir-Otrinax, Garza Zog, at the ruins of Furia
- Tarkus of Urnfield, High Greyguard of the Haunt of Jackals, the Dalmatican chapter of Greyguards. The High Greyguard is a Herald of Gondara: a rare but influential voice in favour of Gondaran unification in the Allesans, a nation that generally finds the concept of allying with swamp & steppe "barbarians" distasteful. He butts heads frequently with the Senators of the Holy Coronex, but if he is in any danger of assassination, he does not show it.
Domains
Uhrmazd's primary Domain is Darkness. His secondary domains are Moon, Void, Creation, Duty, Glyph and Perfection.Favoured Weapon
Uhrmazd's favoured weapons are the mace and unarmed/Kung Fu. His Relic mace is the humble but mighty Peacebringer. His divine martial art is Voidmind Style or Munoken.History
Amongst First Age scholars and the churches of the gods of knowledge and secrets, Umbraas is widely agreed to be a Third Age interpretation of the Tower, a universal god and true deity sometimes known to the ancient Eridúnites as The Watcher. Similarly, his counterpart Aios is thought to be a (very evolved) Third Age interpretation of The Tower's counterpart The Helix.
While knowledge of the Overbeings existed within the First Empires, it was suppressed with great prejudice by the ruling Colonial Gods (especially the Kelpeaters), who tolerated no competition when it came to the worship of their subjects. This was, however, slowly eroded by the Insurgent Gods, who brought back worship of the Overbeings across the plane to undermine the Lichlords' divine legitimacy. The Insurgent Archmage Merlinkainen was particularly prolific in this regard: rarely appearing as himself, he instead moonlighted as a traveling priest of both Aios and Uhrmazd, performing many great miracles (some admittedly illusionary) in their name. It is with no small amount of smugness that worshippers of Merlinkainen credit him as the progenitor of the two largest churches on modern Materia.
UHRMAZD
Godhood
Overbeing Alignment
LN Domains
Darkness, Moon, Void, Creation, Duty, Glyph, Perfection Favoured Weapon
Mace Relic Weapon
Peacebringer
Profile art: Soudaan the Unremarkable, Chief Void Navigator of the Kettites of The Broken Empire.
Illus. Phillipe Druillet
Banner art: Uhrmazd (Centre). A Maraian drow greyguard (Left). A Middish human greyguard (Right).
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