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 eaten 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 voracious appetite.

Deities

Name	Alignment	Areas of Concern	Description
Aritimi	NG	Dreams, visions, lucid dreaming	Aritimi (pronounced arr-ih-TEE-me) Compared to her interpretations in other pantheons, Aritimi's role as a protector is de-emphasized; Ais takes on that responsibility instead.
Ais	NG	Curiosity, art, music, invention, protection, warding
Nethans	CG	Travel, storytelling, fresh water, storms, flight
Celens	LN	Writing, history, research, investigations, education, arcane magic
Thalan	LN	Cities, trade, families, wealth, laborers	In the Elven pantheon, Thalan takes on the responsibility for families that is typically shared between himself and interpretations of Aritimi in other pantheons.
Satres	N	Judgement, souls, the dead, inevitability, the moon, tides
Hurtate	N	Nature, weather, air, water, wildfires, cultivation
Thevrumines	NE	Power, ambition, schemes, rivalry, iron-fisted rulership
Vanth	NE	Nihilism, catharsis, blissful ignorance
Voltumna	CE	Destruction, chaos, invisibility, meteors, comets
Urusthe	CE	Madness, forbidden magic, dangerous secrets, mysteries of outer space

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.