Maru

God of Creation

Divine Overview

Portfolio

The first god, creator of the cosmos and all other deities, Maru is viewed as a hands-off ruler, a gentle parent. His actual domains have varied throughout history, decreasing as other gods came into their own. Modern Maru is largely confined to the sun and creator god, in a position of deep respect, but rarely contemplated by any besides academics.
Views of Maru are best summed up by his titles or alternative names: the Furnace of Creation, the All-Father, Father Maru, the Womb of the World, or simply the Father. He is the god of Creation, and generally most other gods are viewed as aspects of his spirit. While he is called the Father, his feminine counterpart, Meda, is not viewed as a mother goddess in respect to birth. Maru, rather, as indicated by the Womb of the World moniker, is a parthenogenetic god. He either created the other gods in his forge, or split off aspects of himself, forming the other gods' portfolios.

Plane

Maru's Divine Plane is known as Maru's Furnace. Depending on one's belief or the historical period, Maru may be synonymous with his plane, seen to be the Sun. He may also reside upon it like any other god, working at his forge, though this is a more ancient view.

Historical Overview

Primordial Origins

Maru, as the creator god, is a natural prime deity. The earliest mortals are believed to have viewed him with the deepest reverence, above their Ruling Gods. Some of the most ancient surviving written and archaeological records reveal him to have been prayed to mainly as an appeal to authority, above that of the national deity.
As for his interactions with mortals, he was viewed as an old man, remaining at his forge. Figurines from the early Age of Rule depict him as a figure with a hunched back, indicating his age, or standing straight with a hammer in hand. Ancient mortals, regardless of nationality, may have distinguished between his two domains of the father of the gods and the forge.

Contemporary Views

Anhara

Into the mid-Age of Rule, Maru was viewed as a gently intervening figure. He would appear as a kindly old man in stories, generally as a quest giver, but more frequently as a source of advice a character would encounter. His authority as the father of the universe was used by ancient authors to dispense moral teachings, or advocate for the growing culture of knighthood and hierarchy.
By the Age of Men, Maru's depictions had almost entirely stopped. He had withdrawn to his plane, or was viewed as one and the same with the sun. His presence in literature as an announcer of the author's values came to be seen as heavy handed, and any depictions of him at all were near-disrespectful. Whether this was a purposeful change, motivated by an increased respect, is up for debate. Some academics rather view it as the rise of the Personified Gods chipping away at any potential remaining domains, especially Obed, god of craftsmen, or Meda, who took on the watchful role.

al-Tahat

Boreal North

Litoric Islands

Panag Rho

Divine Classification

Creator God

Domains

Astral
Forge
Light

Portfolio

Creation
The Forge

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Gender

Male