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Treatise on the Gods
#1
What follows is my understanding of the Gods we live under. These words are mine, and I mean them to teach and persuade others to see things as I see. We carry confusion as to the nature and ways of the gods, and I seek to remedy that.

This work shall be split into multiple parts. I ask that I receive enough time to post all my words before people start sharing their own thoughts. This work is meant to suffer consideration as a whole.

On Overgods:
Light, Dark, and Grey stand as the most powerful beings we know. Each rules part of the upper planes, has its own motives, and works toward its own desires. These overgods possess not personalities like we mortals know them. These beings represent and embody moral forces in tangible ways. Think not of them as people, however. Their minds reach beyond our ability to comprehend. This, I believe, explains our mortal desire to worship their undergods.

On Undergods:
These beings stand far beyond mortal power, yet we bear a closer resemblence to them than to the Overgods. Their motives reach us more clearly and understandably, as the scope of their power and influence compare smallly to their Overgods. As such, we mortals find it easier to understand and interpret their desires and rules. The Overgods have a balanced number of undergods, and this helps our world remain in balance.

On the Fallen Gods:
The pantheon has changed before, in the deep past, and this stands as the cause of the first cataclysm, when Veritas, god of truth and undergod of Light, Ardenta, goddess of passions and Grey's undergod, Fathom, god of hidden knowledge and Grey's undergod, and the Ravager, god of pain and Dark's undergod all suffered stripping of their divinity by the Overgods. These Fallen Gods accepted their fate, save the Ravager, who struggled against his bonds and rose against we mortals in an effort to steal that divinity back. We, the Heroes of Baronia, stopped his attempts at achieving godhood once more, at terrible cost. All the gods refuse to permit the Fallen Gods to regain their divinity. Such efforts stand as blasphemy against the whole of our pantheon, and those who make such attempts shall suffer death at the hands of the faithful.

On Worship:
We owe our gods much. They give us this world to live at. They guide our choices with morality and ethics. We carry this will to choose for ourselves because of them. We owe them so much, it pains my mind to see any who deny their power and divinity and presence. I call this madness blasphemy, and call upon all our faithful to shun those who deny reality and threaten us with the wrath of the gods. However, beyond this madness, I offer you this. We worship the gods every moment of our lives, through every thought we have, through every decision we make, and through every action we take.

Take a life? Praise Kull! Defeat an enemy? Praise Bellicose! Make a deal? Follow a law? Take a chance? Praise Aureus, Nexus, and Karma! Our grand acts of devotion stand not as our most meaningful contribution to our gods' worship. Instead, every little act in accordance with their portfolio raises them up. In aggregate, these acts mean so much more to them than constructing a temple, leading a public prayer, or proselytizing to the faithless. We who devote our lives in service guide our sisters and brothers to these acts, but the vast majority of the worship we all offer our gods comes from ordinary people. Understand that not worshiping the gods stands as impossibility. If we shall offer them our worship regardless of our choice, then should we not receive something in exchange? They seem to think so.
#2
On Grey's Undergods:

Arcana, Our Mistress of Enchantment.
We worship her through all acts of arcane magic. Every potion, every magic item, and every ritual bears her blessing. Teaching the ways of magic serves her as well. All mages keep her as patron, whether they understand that or not. I have found many mages to feel that their power comes not from the gods but from themselves. This attitude, while offensive, carries little weight with the Goddess of Magic, for acts, not words, serve her power. Anyone who learns a spell should bow their head before her grace.

Aureus, the Wealthiest One of All.
All business, trade, gambling, money, and gems fall under the God of Wealth. Each haggle, each coin minted, each investment, and every speck of gold rest under his domain. You honor him every time goods exchange hands, and he watches over your dealings. All material wealth comes from Aureus, and those with more of it seldom show their gratitude openly. Each time we receive pay, loot the fallen, or crack open a chest we should give thanks to him in word as well as deed.

Bellicose, the Greatest Warrior of All.
Warfare stands as unavoidable. Strategy, tactics, fighting skill, and fitness must be earned. Who better to praise as we seek to better ourselves than Bellicose? Every beat of the smith's hammer, every blade sharpened, and every burden lifted show him our devotion to the Path of the Axe. Every competition, from blood spilled to pies eaten, shows him favor. We may not all stand as warriors, but everyone benefits from strength of arm, everyone utilizes strategy in overcoming obstacles, and everyone competes for resources, renown, and respect. Bellicose touches every one of us, and we grant him our favor throughout our lives.

Clandesta, the Unseen Lady.
Many despise Clandesta as the goddess of thieves. However, we all make use of her ways as we interact with one another. Every secret we keep, every head we turn, every truth we conceal, works her will. Subtlety in all forms serves her, in battle, in business, and in bondage. Disguises, acting, and a cunning mind serve her path. Whether we like to admit it or not, we all offer Clandesta favor through our acts.

Karma, Lady Luck.
Take a risk. Take a chance. Let the dice decide. In all these ways you empower Karma. When you play threes, suffer an unkind fate, luck out, or play any games at all, you honor her.

Lucenta, the Maiden of Sunshine.
Everything done under the light of the sun empowers Lucenta. Granting her favor seems unavoidable lest you sleep from dawn to dusk. Her eye of the sun watches all that occurs during daylight hours, and she shows favor to those who honor the birds of the sky.

Nocturna, the Midnight Maiden.
Darkness, and all deeds concealed by it, furthers Nocturna. When the sun goes down she reigns over the sky, and her eye of the moon watches over us. Creatures of the night serve her will, and she blesses us all with a blanket of darkness.

Sylvic, the Great Druid.
All green growing plants grant Sylvic their power, and we grant him ours as we interact with them. Isolated wild places stand as his domain, and we honor him as long as they exist.

Urgo, the Great Librarian.
Perhaps Urgo stands as a god of children, for who learns more than they? Any time we learn or teach what we know, any time we discover secrets, write them down, or gather knowledge together we honor him. As we come together and learn about this new world we find ourselves in we show Urgo great favor. Knowledge can never become complete, so our worship of Urgo stands as everlasting.
#3
On Light's Undergods:

Halcyon, the Joyous Reveler.
Who can live without showing worship to Halcyon? Who's life stands empty enough to lack all happiness, celebration, entertainment or love? Who can claim that they have never suffered pain and received relief? In all these ways we show our gratitude to Halcyon. Let us celebrate our victories in her name, and in her name lick our wounds.

Nemesus, the Bringer of Reckoning.
We all suffer wronging in our lives. Nemesus stands as the one to bring us justice. Vengeance against the wicked, accountability for our decisions, and punishment of the guilty serve his power in our world. Acts in his name carry finality.

Nexus, the Mechanic of Logic.
Who can claim they never benefit from clear thinking or logic? Who calls not home a building constructed by mortal hands? Who feels not more secure knowing they carry protection by the law? Nexus guide our hands as we build, as we craft, and as we examine this world the gods gave us.

Phoenix, the Ascendant from the Ashes.
We owe our lives themselves to Phoenix. Evey birth, every spring, and every wound healed shows her mercy toward us. All clerics who heal, and all the faithful who suffer healing show their favor to Phoenix.
#4
On Dark's Undergods:

Kull, the Darkest Killer of All.
We must all kill to survive. Kull reaches beyond simple killing, though. Taking innocent lives served Kull. Killing through treachery or surprise serves him. Needless killing, where possibility exists of avoiding it, serves him. Slaughter, massacre, and destruction all empower Kull. We wield death as a necessary weapon, but granting our worship to Kull strengthens our community. His ways cast mistrust, suspicion, and fear amongst us, and we stand stronger without his influence. He exists to tempt us with lies of easy solutions to our problems, and to bring balance to our world through opposing Nemesus.

Nekros, the Lord of Rattling Bones.
Undead scourge our lands. We can carry no tolerance for their existence, save when their destruction stands beyond our ability. We can tolerate not any creation or assisting of undead beings, unless our lives truly depend upon it. Controlling undead stands as permissible only when they suffer turning against their allies, and destruction when their usefulness extinguishes. No tormenting of souls can we tolerate, under any circumstances. Nekros serves no purpose to mortals beyond opposing Phoenix and bringing balance to our world.

Sepsis, the Glorious Bringer of Plague.
Sepsis subsumed much of the Ravager's portfolio during the first cataclysm. As such, spreading pain and disease, needless suffering, torture, vermin and famine serve her ends. Her touch may stand unavoidable in our lives, but we may choose to avoid empowering her further by exercising compassion and empathy. Enjoyment of pain, yours or others, brings her power. Insects and parasites grant her favor, so their presence should never suffer toleration. Sepsis exists to oppose Halcyon, and bring balance to our world through that conflict.

Tempesta, Our Lady of Discord.
The worst of the undergods of Dark, Tempests wishes for nothing less than the breaking down of all society, order, and peace. She drives violent clashes out of minor misunderstandings. She drives us to hate the differences we keep from one another, and refuse to understand others' perspective. Her power can seem great or small, yet it always chips and grinds away at our minds. She need not bid her followers to lie, for the truth carries far greater horror than any lie could. She exists to oppose Nexus, and to bring balance to the world.

On Dark Gods:
Darkness consumes. It lashes out in anger. If it finds no other targets then it attacks itself. We all carry within us Dark's touch, and all of us stand capable of serving its call. Darkness seems easy, but carries grave consequences. Let us all curb our worship of these gods however we can through our acts. And let us suffer not accepting those who devote their lives to these gods into our communities. To accept them is as accepting a blade into our backs. They must betray us, by the nature of the forces they serve. The only question is when. These gods must carry our great respect. Their minions not so.
#5
On the Nature of Divinity:
We have learned many things about the gods in our time. I would share with you what I have learned and what I believe to carry truth.

The gods make mistakes. The gods know not everything. We can keep secrets from them, and many often do. The gods carry not the same free will we possess. They seem to see our world through only their own portfolio. Dark cannot understand good, no matter how hard it may try. Kull can never understand mercy. Bellicose cannot understand accepting things as they exist, and drives us to change them through competition. Urgo can no more destroy knowledge, even if doing so would prevent far more destruction, than we can fly by flapping our arms. We carry freedom to understand and act in ways they cannot, and this is the greatest gift they give to us. We must treasure our ability to act, to change our minds, to decide. It is though these acts that we show them worship. It is why they need us to exist.
#6
Thank you for this information, I did happen to stumble upon a book that showed more information about the gods after my visit to the temple of Urgo, the temple sadly didn't hold much in the ways of Knowledge during my visit as well as a couple of missing scrolls.


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