Mithrai

Fight for glory! For yourself, for your country, for your cause - Mithrai cares not why. She revels in it all the same, in the clash of steel and the blast of a fireball. Create such a spectacle through your battles that Mithrai herself will be called down to watch.
—Excerpt from a speech by an unknown Razivian battle-warden

Mithrai (pronounced mith-RIGH) is the goddess of conflict, weapons, tactics, and healing.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Seek opportunities to fight, practice and hone your abilities, maintain your weapons and armor, heal a wounded fighter
Anathema: Ignore an issued challenge, kill or injure surrendered opponents, allow others to fight your battles for you, become complacent

Description

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Born from the ferocity of the struggle between Socharin and Lotan at the dawn of creation, Mithrai embodies the violence of combat. The reason for the fight or the methods used are irrelevant to her - all that matters are the emotions, strength, and sheer bravery that get swept together into the maelstrom of battle. Mithrai is not only the patron of those that fight, however, but also of those that ensure combatants can live to spar another day. The healers, the protectors - all involved in battle are glorious to Mithrai, not only the warriors themselves.

According to many of her clergy, Mithrai is one of the most frequent allies of Harinna in her great divine battles against Lotan. She often steps back from this role, however, in order to ensure no side gains an advantage and the fighting continues unabated. The displays of prowess involved are so extraordinary, so it is said, that she is willing to risk giving Lotan a chance in order to make sure the battles never cease.

Mithrai does not, however, condone mindless violence. An attack against a defenseless foe is a slaughter, not a fight. Victory is hollow against an enemy who can no longer pose a challenge.

Followers

Mithrai's faithful vary widely in alignment, status, and role. She will accept any who prove themselves through combat, whether that be an honorable soldier, a greedy brigand, mercenaries, or something else entirely. She is also worshiped widely by many competitive fighters and others whose combat takes more codified and considerably less lethal forms. Battlefield medics, war clerics, and surgeons all count amongst her faithful as well.

Perhaps more so than with any other deity, followers of Mithrai frequently find themselves on opposing sides. To her devotees, to fight another of the faith is one of the highest forms of worship possible, an opportunity to show one’s mastery of their chosen form of combat. Clerics of Mithrai often seek each other out in order to issue challenges in the form of ritualized prayer-duels. Wargames carried out by commanders are often seen as a form of worship as well.

Church structure

Followers of Mithrai generally eschew formal church structures. Temples to the goddess rarely officially affiliate with each other, though they generally maintain friendly if competitive relations. In places at war with each other, temples to Mithrai are often seen as neutral space where combatants can meet with the promise of protection.

Holy text

Mithrai's holy text is the Battle of the Gods, an epic poem narrating the tale of the fight between Lotan and the other gods at the beginning of creation. Followers to Mithrai often modify this poem to retroactively insert their saints into the epic, usually as attendants to Mithrai.

Relations

The faithful of Mithrai generally care little for theological disagreements or religious rivalries. They almost always have neutral to friendly relations with other faiths.

Depiction

Though the details vary heavily by culture and location, Mithrai is usually depicted as a battle-scarred soldier. Dressed in practical armor with minimal ornamentation and typically carrying a greataxe, most renditions of Mithrai are rather mundane in nature, rarely evoking direct divine symbolism. She is often depicted in the company of an armored animal companion, usually a large cat native to the region but sometimes another creature instead.

Variations by pantheon

Pantheon	Name	Notes
Aserdian	Markab	Markab (pronounced MAR-cab) is a goddess of war, conflicts, and healing. She is widely seen as a deity one worships out of necessity, prayed to when threatened and in need of strength. Many call upon her in times of strife, but in other times she remains a relatively minor deity in the pantheon. As is common with interpretations of the goddess across pantheons, Markab and her clergy do not condone mindless violence. An attack against a defenseless foe is a slaughter, not a fight. Victory is hollow against an enemy who can no longer pose a challenge. Her followers vary widely, from tribal warriors to professional city guards to the herder that picks up a weapon to defend their flock. Her most devout frequently set up sparring matches with each other, using the ritualized violence as a form of prayer. Temples and priests of Markab are widespread. They rarely keep holy texts, preferring to learn from direct experience in the form of challenges sent from their goddess over picking up knowledge from a book. Markab is depicted as a scarred warrior, usually dressed in practical armor with minimal ornamentation and carrying some type of weapon, most often a spear. In some depictions her weapon is shown as broken, representing those that continue to fight for survival even when the odds are strongly against them. She is nearly always pictured in the company of an armored animal companion, usually either a large cat or a dinosaur.
Chaskan	Mithrai	Mithrai (pronounced MITH-righ) is the goddess of conflict, weapons, tactics, and healing. She is closely associated with adventurers and those who willingly set out to brave the dangers of the world. Mithrai's faithful vary widely in alignment, status, and role. She will accept any who prove themselves through combat, whether that be an honorable soldier, a greedy brigand, mercenaries, or something else entirely. She is also worshiped widely by many competitive fighters and others whose combat takes more codified and considerably less lethal forms. Battlefield medics, war clerics, and surgeons all count amongst her faithful as well. The goddess does not, however, condone mindless violence. An attack against a defenseless foe is a slaughter, not a fight. Victory is hollow against an enemy who can no longer pose a challenge. Perhaps more so than with any other deity, followers of Mithrai frequently find themselves on opposing sides. To her devotees, to fight another of the faith is one of the highest forms of worship possible, an opportunity to show one’s mastery of their chosen form of combat. Clerics of Mithrai often seek each other out in order to issue challenges in the form of ritualized prayer-duels. Wargames carried out by commanders are often seen as a form of worship as well. Born from the ferocity of the struggle between Socharin and Lotan at the dawn of creation, Mithrai embodies the violence of combat. The reason for the fight or the methods used are irrelevant to her - all that matters are the emotions, strength, and sheer bravery that get swept together into the maelstrom of battle. Mithrai is not only the patron of those that fight, however, but also of those that ensure combatants can live to spar another day. The healers, the protectors - all involved in battle are glorious to Mithrai, not only the warriors themselves. According to many of her clergy, Mithrai is one of the most frequent allies of Harinna in her great divine battles against Lotan. She often steps back from this role, however, in order to ensure no side gains an advantage and the fighting continues unabated. The displays of prowess involved are so extraordinary, so it is said, that she is willing to risk giving Lotan a chance in order to make sure the battles never cease. Followers of Mithrai generally eschew formal church structures. Temples to the goddess rarely officially affiliate with each other, though they generally maintain friendly if competitive relations. In places at war with each other, temples to Mithrai are often seen as neutral space where combatants can meet with the promise of protection. The goddess' holy text is the Battle of the Gods, an epic poem narrating the tale of the fight between Lotan and the other gods at the beginning of creation. Followers to Mithrai often modify this poem to retroactively insert their saints into the epic, usually as attendants to Mithrai. Though the details vary heavily by culture and location, Mithrai is usually depicted as a battle-scarred soldier. Dressed in practical armor with minimal ornamentation and typically carrying a greataxe, most renditions of Mithrai are rather mundane in nature, rarely evoking direct divine symbolism. She is often depicted in the company of an armored animal companion, usually a large cat native to the region but sometimes another creature instead.
Hellean	Meda	In the Hellean pantheon, Meda is seen as a headstrong instigator of fights.
Khapeshan	Maahes	In the Khapeshan pantheon, Maahes takes a very chaotic form, worshiped for strength yet simultaneously feared for the blood-lust she unleashes. She is also widely associated with beer and alcohol, said to be able to satiate her appetite for destruction.
Laurentian	Vihansa	In the Laurentian pantheon, Vihansa is seen as closely related to Nemedaz, an intrinsic part of the violence of a harsh landscape. Her aspect as a goddess of healing is especially important to followers of her Laurentian form.
Dwarven	Mismora	In the Dwarven pantheon, Mismora takes on a more protective form as the patron of guards who destroy subterranean enemies. She is a patient goddess who is willing to wait out her foes if necessary.