Lotan: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:24, 1 August 2023

Lotan (pronounced LOW-tan) is a pantheonic god commonly associated with destruction, chaos, and anger.

Abanir pantheon

The Nameless One is a god of plague, evil spirits, nightmares, and destruction. It lurks in the darkness of the night and the deepest shadows, tormenting its victims from out of sight. Without a fixed form it can travel instantaneously by shifting between shadows, creating its own where none exist. While some followers of the Abanir pantheon believe the Nameless One intentionally chooses those it troubles under some inscrutable reasoning, others think that it acts without purpose, if it even consciously acts at all.

Followers of the Nameless One mostly congregate in secretive cults. Some do so out of a genuine commitment to the deity, while others simply seek to harness the power of evil spirits under the Nameless One's influence towards their own aims. As with other Abanir deities, offerings are given to the Nameless One even by those that do not uphold the ideals of the god. These oblations keep the god satisfied or tired enough that it remains at bay.

The Nameless One had a name at one time, but it has long been forgotten by most. Speaking, writing, or even alluding to its name was and is a great taboo, as doing so would draw its attention and invite the god into ones home and community. Over such a long period of disuse, the name was gradually lost to time, save for a small number of isolated cults who still remember. Today the god is simply the Nameless One to most, and they are content to keep it that way.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Allow and facilitate the machinations of evil spirits
Anathema: None

Chaskan pantheon

Lotan (pronounced LOW-tan) is the god of destruction, chaos, and anger.

Small cults to Lotan can be found around the world, usually worshiping in secrecy. Though uncommon on the surface, his faith is one of the most widespread in the Darklands. Worship of Lotan is especially prevalent amongst abberations, who view him as a progenitor and patron. Those angered by the other gods, whether through their divine actions or inaction, sometimes turn to Lotan as well.

Angered by their act of creating the universe, as the embodiment of primordial chaos Lotan seeks nothing less than the complete destruction of the other gods. Enraged at the order brought into existence, Lotan fought and slew Socharin after the first creation took shape. He retreated to the void after being driven away by the combined forces of the other gods, but only briefly. When Socharin returned to life and granted his domains of rulership and law to his sister Harinna, Lotan turned his anger to her instead. In the endless cycles since, he has fought Harinna and her allies, waging fierce battles in the cosmos in which he has only ever barely been kept from victory. There is much variation to these retellings. To some these battles occur every night, and in others every year or century. In some pantheons, other gods take the lead role against Lotan instead of Harinna. Regardless, all agree they will continue until the end of time, or until Lotan is triumphant. Most believe Lotan is eternal, with no birth or death, an indefatigable force that cannot be stopped, only temporarily held at bay. If the other gods were to be defeated, both his followers and his enemies believe he will turn to existence itself and destroy the world his divine adversaries spun out of the void.

Though considered a heretical belief to most faiths and churches, some claim Lotan has already succeeded in consuming other divinities, annihilating them so thoroughly that even their names have been wiped from existence.

By some, Lotan is seen as the progenitor of all evil creatures. As the legends of some pantheons tell, the first monsters sprung forth from droplets of his blood that struck the ground during one of his endless battles. Others grew from his scales or venom that hurtled towards Kishar after being lost during the fight. However, many intelligent beings who might be considered monstrous by others strongly disavow these tales, viewing them as little more than slander.

Lotan has no holy text. Some incantations intended to invoke his involvement in mortal affairs are passed around amongst his followers, but these can vary greatly.

Lotan has many forms. Most commonly he is seen as a massive snake with a head on each end, often wrapped around and constricting a planet or star. Less typically he is pictured as a humanoid serpentine giant. In the Chaskan pantheon, Lotan is often thought of as a sea serpent specifically.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Work to counter the influence of other deities, corrupt and destroy order, destroy temples and shrines, sow panic and fear
Anathema: None

Hellean pantheon

Typhon (pronounced TIE-fon) is a god of volcanoes, caves, darkness, anger, and rivalry. The first of Ananke's children, Typhon was defeated by the other gods and imprisoned under a great mountain after he attempted to destroy the earliest mortals in order to create new followers who would worship only him.

Driven by his rage, Typhon seeks to usurp the Hexad, deposing them from their thrones and taking their domains for himself. His anger has only grown after his imprisonment, and regular visits by Hemera are required to keep the god contained. Ananke sometimes attempts to talk to her first child and reconcile with him, but Typhon has no interest in such futile conversation.

Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are said to be caused by Typhon in his restless rage as he struggles against his prison. He is the god of darkness and the underground, places out of sight and the creatures that live there. Though trapped in his cage and thus unable to walk the world, Typhon still makes his mark in the mortal realm through the chaos caused by his upheavals of the earth.

Worship of Typhon is taboo within the Hellean pantheon, as most acknowledge the god's existence without offering him any prayer or sacrifices. His followers often find themselves shunned within Hellean societies, if not outright ostracized, and few temples to the god exist in the cities of Hellea. Those that do worship Typhon often do so secretly, or at least privately, without letting others know of the extent of their beliefs.

Typhon is usually depicted as a serpentine giant, considerably larger in size than any of the other gods save for Ananke. In some pictures he has the lower half of a snake, with no legs, while in others his serpentine appearance is limited to scaly skin, fangs, and eyes with slit pupils.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Work to counter the influence of other deities, corrupt and destroy order, sow panic and fear
Anathema: None

Khapeshan pantheon

Apep (pronounced ah-PEP) is a god of destruction, chaos, anger, and the night. The Serpent is the primary antagonist of all the other gods, fighting them in nightly battles as he tries to unmake the divine world.

Apep plays an important role in the creation story of the Khapeshan pantheon. As the gods to build the world under Sokar's direction, the serpent Apep formed itself from the primordial waters and lunged at Sokar, enraged at the structure that was being drawn out of the once infinite chaos. After a great battle both Sokar and Apep were mortally wounded, yet as gods neither could truly die. They drew their last breathes and expired, only to rise again, Sokar the next morning and Apep the next evening. When Sokar tasked Harakhte with keeping the Apep at bay, the god turned his rage towards the new defender of creation. In battles every night the two clash. Apep cannot exist in the light of the sun, and must therefore make his attempts at defeating the other gods under cover of darkness. Every sunrise symbolizes the defeat of Apep at the hands of Harakhte, a joyous celebration to most yet a source of great anger to followers of the Serpent.

Apep is also the Eater of Souls, an enemy to Shai who seeks to consume the souls of the deceased in order to both gain their strength and to disrupt the cycles of the universe. During the day when he is forced to hide from the sun Apep lurks in the recesses of the Rivers of the Dead, waiting for powerful yet unsuspecting souls to pass, who he then consumes to provide energy and knowledge for his upcoming battle the next night.

As with other evil deities in the pantheon, Apep has no grand temple, or many temples at all for that matter. The Serpent is the most reviled deity in Khapesh, seen as an enemy by all others, and his followers are treated with equal hostility. Most worship of Apep takes place at hidden, private shrines instead. Some devotees of the Serpent occasionally undertake the risky endeavor of performing their rites and offerings in the temples of other gods, especially those of Sokar, Harakhte, Shai, and Sutekh, finding opportune moments to glorify their patron while fouling the holy places of others.

Unlike every other god in the Khapeshan pantheon, Apep is not depicted in a humanoid manner. Instead he is shown as a serpent, sometimes very large in size and sometimes no bigger than an ordinary snake. At certain points in Khapesh's history it has been seen as dangerous to create images of Apep - in some ancient tombs and ruins reliefs showing Apep were defaced long after their creation, damaged in order to avoid drawing the attention of the Serpent. This taboo broadly does not hold in modern Khapesh, but some groups continue to eschew any depiction of the god.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Work to counter the influence of other deities, corrupt and destroy order, destroy temples and shrines, sow panic and fear
Anathema: None

Laurentian pantheon

Skohsla (pronounced SKOH-slah) is a god of destruction, chaos, revenge, and curses. Known as the World-Encircler, Skohsla seeks to destroy the mortal realm in order to allow his brother Ubilai to regain his form.

Those driven by revenge often worship Skohsla, praying to the god for strength as they pursue those that have wronged them. His followers are rarely secretive, preferring instead to wield violence and fear against those that would stand in their way. Neither the god nor his followers are particularly subtle.

Linnorms, the great creatures of the northern landscapes, are often associated with Skohsla. The god is the creator, or perhaps father, of the serpentine monsters, and many adherents of the Laurentian pantheon believe that linnorms continue to serve as Skohsla's underlings. It is said that he fashioned the first curses to give to the linnorms, such that they might take their vengeance on those that fight against them.

Skohsla is commonly depicted in two ways. The first is as a massive linnorm that surrounds the world, slowly constricting it. The second is rather more anthropomorphized, a giant figure with serpentine features.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Take revenge on those who have wronged you, corrupt and destroy order, sow panic and fear, curse your foes
Anathema: None

Draconic pantheon

Tiamat (pronounced TEE-ah-maat) is the dragon goddess of chaos, violence, and the night. She hatched from the same primordial egg as Marduk in the time before creation, before quickly turning to violence against her sibling as they attempted to imagine the universe that was to come in their own way. Through their struggles they tore apart the nothing and turned it into something, forming the cosmos as the ideals of both draconic deities were thrown together. After creation Tiamat retreated to the places out of the direct control of Marduk. She now resides in the night sky and the sea, untouched by Marduk's sun.

The draconic goddess' followers do not always agree as to what defines her highest tenets. Some consider her chaotic aspects to be the most important facets of the goddess, while others believe this role to be taken by her evil aspects. Though many of Tiamat's followers see her chaotic nature as liberatory, others observe her capacity for evil and wish to gain such power themselves. Still others venerate the goddess out of respect, even if they do not align with her ideals.

As the embodiment of chaos, Tiamat has many appearances. To some she is a scar-covered dragon with two heads, one on her tail, while to others she is a shadowy illusion of a dragon or the sea itself. Followers of the Draconic pantheon tend to be far more concerned with conveying the concepts of their gods through their depictions than with any notions of accuracy.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Destroy order, encourage freedom and chaos
Anathema: None

Elven pantheon

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.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Destroy order, sow panic and fear
Anathema: None

Orcish pantheon

Vemdu (pronounced VEM-doo) is a god of destruction and chaos. It is the Devourer who seeks to destroy the universe just as it did the prior universe that the gods inhabited. Vemdu is hunger given form, an insatiable force driven by a greed that never ends.

Vemdu is also associated with invaders who would seek to push the followers of the Orcish pantheon off of their traditional lands. Nearly all see the god as a world-ending force to be resisted, though it does have a few followers, mostly limited to small cults on the margins of their societies. Any temples or shrines to the god must necessarily exist in hidden places, as otherwise they are quickly destroyed when devotees of other deities happen across them.

Unlike all other gods in the Orcish pantheon, Vemdu has no anthropomorphized form. Instead it is depicted as a massive and ever-changing beast, its body often obscured by innumerable gnashing jaws and flailing limbs. Orcs in Laurentia tend to give Vemdu a rather draconic form, but this is unusual outside that region.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Destroy order, take land for yourself, sow panic and fear
Anathema: None

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 |favored_weapon = None
 |symbol = Two-headed dragon
-|sacred_animal = Snake
+|sacred_animal = Dragon
-|sacred_colors = Brown
+|sacred_colors = None
 }}
 '''Tiamat''' {{Pronunciation|TEE-ah-maat}} is the dragon goddess of chaos, violence, and the night. She hatched from the same primordial egg as Marduk in the time before creation, before quickly turning to violence against her sibling as they attempted to imagine the universe that was to come in their own way. Through their struggles they tore apart the nothing and turned it into something, forming the cosmos as the ideals of both draconic deities were thrown together. After creation Tiamat retreated to the places out of the direct control of Marduk. She now resides in the night sky and the sea, untouched by Marduk's sun.