Elven pantheon

The Elven pantheon is one of the major ancestral pantheons on Kishar. Followed primarily by elves and half-elves around the world, this pantheon's theology revolves around a constant struggle to maintain the current state of existence.

Overview

Rather similarly to the Aserdian pantheon, the Elven pantheon's theology centers around cycles of creation and destruction. Unlike the Aserdian pantheon, however, followers of the Elven pantheon put a strong moral judgement on these cosmic phenomena. Those that bring new things, new life, new places into existence are seen as morally good, and those that would seek destruction are condemned as evil. Still, both forces are innate to the universe and have always existed. Despite anyone's best efforts, creation can never outpace destruction, only keep it at bay. Even divine creators like Ais can only forestall the inevitable end of the universe.

Adherents to the Elven pantheon believe that the gods and the universe have always existed, though not always in their current state. The universe was once much larger, having been slowly decayed and reduced in scale. The deities themselves have weakened in power and perhaps even reduced in number - the latter notion remains a matter of intense theological discussion. Voltumna is believed to have slowly chipped away at the margins of the universe over an indefinite amount of time, countered by Ais and the other gods, who constantly bring new matter into existence to delay the effects of Voltumna's ceaseless destruction.

Aside from their staunch opposition to Voltumna, followers of the Elven pantheon generally consider their deities to be on generally good terms with each other. Notions of deific conflict are almost entirely limited to the great Divine Struggle, though the mortal followers of the gods can often find tensions with each other regardless.

Deities

Name	Areas of Concern	Description
Aritimi	Dreams, visions, lucid dreaming	Aritimi (pronounced arr-ih-TEE-me) is a goddess of dreams and visions, worshiped in hope that she will grant vibrant, lucid, and insightful dreams. Followers of Aritimi often seek to influence the path of their visions; many view the events and places they see in them as no less real than their waking hours. She is a relatively minor god in the Elven pantheon, and her clergy and temples are therefore not found especially widely. Aritimi's priesthood often serve as itinerant dream interpreters, traveling between communities to find those who wish to use their visions to their advantage. Not only are they are known to be experts in inducing dreams via psychoactive substances, but they also frequently "share" dreams to aid in understanding their meanings. Compared to her interpretations in other pantheons, Aritimi's role as a protector is de-emphasized; Ais takes on that responsibility instead. Similarly, her typical concern for families is instead picked up by Thalan. Aritimi is typically depicted in animalistic forms, most often as an elephant or a dolphin. Regardless of the form she takes, she is always pictured in bright, distinctly not natural colors.
Ais	Curiosity, art, music, invention, protection, warding	Ais (pronounced ICE) is the foremost goddess in the Elven pantheon, not only the patron of artists and inventors but also the deity that ensures the continued existence of the universe. As the main protector against the great beast Voltumna, Ais is responsible for the defense of the world and the cosmos. Her followers believe they have a divine commandment to outpace Voltumna's endless destruction by continually creating new art and seeking new inspirations. Ais is seen as a goddess of protection, and many of her faithful in the Elven pantheon imbue their works with warding magic to shield those around them. Ais' clergy are often rather militant, skilled in matters of both art and combat. They dexterously weave these two distinct focuses into one, turning their method of fighting into a form of elegant yet dangerous dance. These clergy are well-organized and well-trained, and becoming a priest of Ais requires a great many years of study at one of the many temples to the goddess. Depictions of Ais vary, but most commonly she takes the appearance of an elven woman armed with a paintbrush or chisel in one hand and a shield in the other.
Nethans	Travel, storytelling, air, storms, flight	Nethans (pronounced NETH-anz) is a goddess of travel, stories, the air, and flight. As a goddess of flight she is seen as closely connected to the aeroliths and those living on them. Among followers of the Elven pantheon, her worship was once much more widespread, but today she takes a relatively minor role. Many Redemptionist elves still pray to Nethans, however, as they wish to one day return en mass to her aerial embrace. It is traditional to give a small offering to local birds, seen as Nethans' emissaries, before one sets out on a long or possibly dangerous journey. Doing so ensures they will watch as one travels, passing knowledge of any potential threats or hazards to Nethans so that she can divert them from the path. In the Elven pantheon Nethans is considered to have a more regal appearance than in her depictions in other pantheons. She often takes the form of an elven woman with wings made of clouds, sometimes with an entourage of wisp-like birds.
Celens	Arcane magic, writing, history, research, investigations, education	Celens (pronounced CELL-enz) is a goddess of magic first and foremost. In the stories of the Elven pantheon she taught the first wizard the secrets of arcane magic, and prospective elven wizards are still often instructed by clerics of Celens. Since the end of the era of the aeroliths and the abandonment of Eita, Celens has additionally gained importance as a goddess of history, particularly amongst Redemptionist elves. Many of Celens' clergy fuse their divine magic with skilled use of arcane techniques. Temples to the goddess are often used as both prayer halls and schools of magic, places to instruct new generations of mages in both the teachings of the goddess and proper magical form. One of Celens' holy texts, Magic Under the Stars, is often believed to have originated in the Elven pantheon before spreading to her faithful elsewhere in the world. Celens is typically depicted dressed in the garb of an elven mage, with most pictures portraying her as in the process of casting an elaborate spell. More stylized depictions sometimes show her as a constellation.
Thalan	Cities, trade, families, laborers	Thalan (pronounced THAY-lan) is a god of cities, trade, families, and laborers. He is the patron of those that work for an honest living as well as those that toil for a greater purpose. Thalan's aspect as a deity of cities is also important to followers of the Elven pantheon. In the Elven pantheon, Thalan takes on the responsibility for families that is typically shared between himself and interpretations of Aritimi in other pantheons. He aids parents in raising their children and elders in teaching the new generations. In this role Thalan is seen as a strict yet kindly figure. Unusually for interpretations of Thalan across pantheons, his followers in the Elven pantheon do not ascribe particular importance to any holy text. Some teach from The Model City, taken from more modern Chaskan and Khapeshan influence, but this is seen as much less prescriptive than it is elsewhere. His clergy instead prefer to collect what they call life-tomes, stories of model devotees of Thalan from whom all can glean meaning. Thalan is usually depicted as a humble laborer, dressed in austere clothing as he toils at his work. He is sometimes thought to take such a form to walk the world in order to meet his followers directly.
Satres	The moon, tides, judgement, souls, the dead	Satres (pronounced SAH-trees) is a god of the moon, the tides, judgement, souls, and the dead. Their domain over the moon is thought to be their most important aspect, through which they control the regular cycles of the lunar phases and the tides. Through the moon Satres provides a light to guide the deceased into their next life, a belief curiously similar to those of the gnolls of the Urra Highlands and otherwise absent from the other major pantheons. Though Satres is a god of judgement, they are not a judge of the dead - in the beliefs of the Elven pantheon, the dead have already chosen their own afterlife through their actions in life. Instead, Satres is concerned with matters of fairness and justice, and many law-speakers are also priests of Satres who entreat their god to provide them guidance on how to resolve ambiguous or unusual situations. Temples to the god are places where disputes can be arbitrated in front of a neutral party that is sworn to ensure equitable outcomes. Before the collapse of Eita, it was common for elves in the kingdom to bury their dead at sea, to be taken by Satres in the tides. This practice has largely fallen out of favor in modern times, though some isolated populations, such as the Mamurat elves of the Ucrisla Tidewall, still continue the tradition. Satres is often depicted as a judge, frequently with a moon-disk above their head.
Hurtate	Nature, water, wildfires, hunting, cultivation	Hurtate (pronounced hur-TAH-tay) is a goddess of nature, water, wildfires, hunting, and cultivation, the patron both of the natural world and of those that take their food from it. She keeps the world bountiful though wildfires, which are seen as her divine gifts, burning away the old in favor of something new. Worship of Hurtate is especially important to Wild Ones. Many of her followers gently aid in the growth of natural places as a form of prayer and meditation, tending to groves of trees and other sites to ensure they can thrive. The priesthood of Hurtate can be found both in larger settlements and in the less developed parts of the world. Though they often teach methods of cultivation and hunting that minimally disturb the surrounding landscape, some of their other religious practices can be far less hands-off. In particular, Hurtatean clergy will sometimes intentionally start plain- or forest-fires, ritually allowing their goddess to bring new life into being from the ashes. Hurtate is typically depicted in a giant anthropomorphized form, usually as a figure made of air or fire emerging from a cloud bank or raging wildfire respectively. Her holy animal is a mouse-deer.
Vanth	Nihilism, catharsis, blissful ignorance	Vanth (pronounced VANTH) is a relatively minor figure in the Elven pantheon, a goddess of nihilism, catharsis, and blissful ignorance. She is seen as the patron of those that choose to ignore the world in order to remain content. Unlike those that follow her interpretations in other patheons, worshipers of Vanth often live in poverty or squalor, eschewing any trappings of material comfort that would require effort to maintain. Vanth is typically seen as more neutral than evil. She has few clergy, as most of her followers see little use for notions like religious authority or guidance. Vanth is most often depicted as a shattered figure, her body in jagged pieces like a broken pane of glass.
Voltumna	Destruction, chaos, invisibility, meteors, comets	Voltumna (pronounced vole-TOOM-nah) is the Great Beast, a divine entity who would destroy the cosmos. He is a god of destruction and chaos in the Elven pantheon, like his other interpretations are elsewhere, opposed by Ais as he ceaselessly attacks the universe. Voltumna continually chips away at the edges of creation, causing stars to go dark and the heavens to slowly but inexorably shrink. His followers and clergy largely live in secret, hiding either themselves or their beliefs away from the world. They are as reviled and feared as their god for the damage they would cause to the world, and as such often live on the margins of elven societies. They maintain no holy text or organized church, and very few temples. To those that do not worship Voltumna, opposition to the Great Beast is seen as the fundamental basis behind all religious belief. Voltumna is widely depicted as an invisible serpentine beast that can only be spotted by a slight shimmer as he passes. Voltumna is often associated with meteors, comets, and other potential extraterrestrial dangers.
Urusthe	Madness, forbidden magic, dangerous secrets, mysteries of outer space	Urusthe (pronounced ur-OOS-thay) is a god of madness, forbidden magic, dangerous secrets, and the mysteries that lie in outer space. In the era of elven history during which the aeroliths were constructed, some cults to Urusthe set off into the darkness of the cosmos in search of the secrets shrouded there. Today worship of Urusthe tends to be stronger amongst Redemptionist elves than in other movements, but it remains fringe in all communities. Followers of Urusthe are generally looked upon with trepidation, but they are not outright ostracized as his devotees are seen as more dangerous to themselves than to others. They do not widely seek to cause direct harm to their surroundings or to those that do not worship their god, though at times their experiments and drive for knowledge at all costs result in unforeseen and sometimes disastrous consequences. Urusthe's holy text, the Manuscript of the Veil, survives in its most complete form amongst his followers in the Elven pantheon. Most of the text was lost long ago by those that worship his interpretations in other pantheons. The esoteric and largely incomprehensible text is read and re-read fervently under the belief that it contains buried nuggets of wisdom, available to those that devote themselves enough to its study. Urusthe is typically depicted as an empty hooded cloak, held in shape with no visible occupant.

Area of worship

Worship of the Elven pantheon is distributed across the world. Wherever elves can be found, so too can worship of their pantheon. Most adherents live in Hinthial, however, with sizable following in nearby Brightmarch as well. Farther afield, the pantheon is well-established in Yurukan and Abanir.

Connections to other pantheons

The Elven pantheon shares notable similarities in beliefs with the Aserdian pantheon, in particular their shared emphasis on cosmic and spiritual cycles. These parallels are especially clear amongst Hinthialite or Marcher elves, though they become somewhat less obvious in populations that live farther away from the Gulf of Aserdus.