Lorun

God of Fauna

Divine Overview

Portfolio

After the Creation, Maru parcelled out the foundational aspects of the world to the Natural Gods. Lorun's portfolio is divided in half, between two key groups.
First is the realm of nature. He is the god of the wilderness, and the fauna of the earth. Second is the realm of men. He is the god of men and husbands, the hunt and hunters, sustenance and provisions, archery, and animal husbandry.

Appearance

After the Crossing Over, Lorun was permitted to stay by Maru, to protect his animals and the wilderness. He is believed to take a hands-off role with humanity, only interacting with those who unfairly threaten his creatures. When he does appear, he is said to be seen deep in the forests, as a golden deer or a shining, long-legged man with antlers. Many myths describe him as followed by a pack of glowing dogs, stalking after disrespectful hunters.

Plane

Lorun's realm is accessible from deep within the forests of the world. Also known as Lorun's Grove or the Hunting Grounds, it is the home of all seen and unheard of fauna. Much like his sister, Lorun is allowed access to the Mortal Plane to keep watch over his creations.
Access to his plane is believed to be possible either by being caught by his hunting dogs or by falling asleep within a grove in the woods. In his realm, satyrs and other divine avatars are said to guard over the god's flocks until he, or mortals who gain his favor, are allowed to go hunting.

Historical Overview

Primordial Origins

Creation Myth

Lorun was sent to the mortal plane during the Great Task with his sister, Mae. One of the final gods to arrive, he was to populate the wilds of the world with animals, as well as provide game for a future humanity. While most cultures associate his sister's origins with the jungles of Panag Rho specifically, Lorun instead is viewed as first spreading animals throughout the land of whichever culture's perspective he is being depicted from.

Dangers of the Wild

The first beliefs around Lorun are thought to have been of a god of the wilds, not hunting or husbandry. Ancient mortals were frequently at the mercy of wild beasts, and needed to find game to survive. From this comes prayers to Lorun to prevent attacks and to provide them with enough meat to survive. Many of Lorun's earliest depictions, surviving in ancient art and carvings, reflect this. His eerie form of a tall man with long legs and antler horns, stalking through the woods after unwary hunters, is perhaps indicative of the fear ancient mortals may have had of the wild places of the world.

Hunters

As societies settled, hunting remained a key source of food. Lorun's depictions evolved from a god that struck fear into those in the wilds, to a god who spited and tricked unworthy hunters. Lorun gained a reputation as a trickster god, both pranking hunters in the forests and helping animals wriggle their way out of traps. Hunters who killed animals for food, rather than trophies, as well as those who used every product of the beast, were favored by Lorun and could avoid his ire. Those who hunted with traps had to be more careful, though its believed Lorun would allow those who created particularly clever traps to succeed.

Husbandry

Lorun's final evolution from the god of beasts and the wilds added animal husbandry and men to his portfolio. The farmer with his milking cow, the butcher hoping for a good cut, and the housewife trying to keep foxes out of the coop all pray to Lorun, despite being far removed from the dangers of the wilderness. As the god of the hunter and game, Lorun is associated with providing, and took on a connotation as the god of men. As society urbanized, and moved away from hunting for food, this association has had the most staying power.

Contemporary Views

Anhara

Lorun's more wild connotations survive only on the fringes of Anharan society. Amongst practitioners of what is known in Anhara as the "Old Ways," those in the legally-protected primordial forests, and particularly with the people of the Verdante region, Lorun maintains much of his stalking, dangerous, hunter persona. People in those areas look down on the urbane lordlings who hunt for sport alone, and strictly adhere to Lorun's principles of using the whole kill and protecting vulnerable beasts.
Within the towns and cities, Lorun is relegated largely to a god of men. Anharan culture around fatherhood sees Lorun as its guide, a figure who nurtures his domain with a hands-off, yet protective approach. Numerous trades involved with animals seek to placate him as well, particularly butchers. Lastly, nobles who hunt for sport still seek to avoid Lorun's ire through certain long-prescribed traditions, lest they be snatched away in the woods or gored by a boar.
Anharans view Lorun as a glowing deer, or an unnaturally tall man with antlers on his head.

al-Tahat

al-Tahat is not a nation known for its fauna, and those that survive there are cherished. Hunting is carefully regulated to maintain herd sizes, particularly in the Julfar Savanna and the more fertile east. The center of the continent, that part most desertified by Tahat, despises Lorun for his abandonment of them, much like his sister Mae. Outside of oasis settlements, the deserts have few creatures sufficient to sustain human life. Some Tahati traditions list Lorun as one of the other suitors of Vestria, to attempt to justify Tahat's destruction of the landscape.
Tahatis depict Lorun as a golden alligator in the east, and a glowing, stalking big cat in the west, be it a lion or cheetah.

Boreal North

Lorun is one of the foremost gods of the Northerner pantheon, viewed as a guiding and fair figure. Like his sister, he represents the natural order. His beasts are respected as dangerous predators, who have mastered survival in harsh conditions. Following their example is seen as a way to survive in the frigid north.
In the southern tribes, animal husbandry is key to survival. Great herds are driven across the steppes, with dairy and meats forming the basis of many southern diets. Using the entirety of the animal is an important tenet of many cultures here. So too is sustaining the numbers of the herd, and Lorun is also prayed to for the health of newborns, both human and animal.
In the north, Lorun is often depicted as a glowing reindeer, and in the south as a horse.

Litoric Islands

Lorun has little prominence in the Litoric Islands' pantheon. While it varies across islands, depending upon how craggy and populated with animals they are, he is primarily a god for shephards and hunters. He keeps most of his normal aspects here, but takes on his strongest trickster role on the Islands. From shepherd boys to wealthy student clubs, trickery and pranks to build camaraderie is a valued, and permissible trait for this teamwork-based culture. These groups often look to Lorun for inspiration, to an extent relegating him to a mere trickster god.

Panag Rho

Divine Classification

Natural God

Domains

Life
Trickery
Nature
Peace

Portfolio

Archery
Fauna & the Wilderness
Hunting & Hunters
Animal Husbandry

Titles

Hunter's Bane
Long-Legged
The Antler'd Man

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Gender

Male