The Bohaar pantheon (pronounced boh-HARR) is one of the major regional pantheons on Kishar. Its followers believe the tangible world to be the domain of the evil god Ob, and all that cannot be touched to be the realm of the good gods led by Eraamn.
Overview
To worshippers of the Bohaar pantheon, the divines are a refuge from the mortal realm, which is held to be inescapably evil in nature. Everything physical, that which can be held, is the creation of Ob, against whom the other gods fight. Physical reality is an imperfect land of chaos and strife, and the only peace to be found is in the embrace of the good gods, who are responsible for all that transcends matter. Chief amongst these is Eraamn, the Solar Eye, the one-eyed goddess of time and the sun, who as the bringer of light is the foremost force in counteracting Ob. She is not alone in worship, however, as she is assisted in her efforts by her servants Seriil and the Nine Rivers of the Night.
Unusually for Stormlands faiths, the Bohaar pantheon places a strong emphasis on the importance of religious leadership, who through their divinations of the sun, moon, and stars act as intermediaries between the good gods and their followers. Historically these clergy have been closely connected with the emperor of Bohaar, and this association has remained even as imperial power has waned significantly in recent centuries. Holy texts are broadly absent from the faith, meanwhile, as far more importance is placed in understanding the current concerns driving the actions of the divines than in collecting the wisdom of the past, especially when the diviners can simply ask it once again of their patient gods.
Followers of the Bohaar pantheon believe there to have been two creations, the first by Ob and the second by Eraamn. In a distant era Ob, the earliest of the gods, shaped the stone and earth of the world. It was a barren world, for there was no light or time needed for anything to grow or thrive, as both were consumed by the Void-Mouth anywhere they appeared. It cannot be said how long this era lasted, but it was brought to an end when Eraamn self-created on the world in what was to become the Reed-Crowned Lake in Bohaar. She perceived there was form but no light, or consciousness, or warmth. To rectify this, Eraamn lit a spark, but it was snuffed out by Ob. She lit a torch but he did the same, then a bonfire, likewise to no success. Finally she rose into the sky and lit herself on fire, burning brightly enough, and far enough out of reach of Ob, that the light would reach across the world. Finding herself exhausted each day by the effort, Eraamn brought forth her consort Seriil and the Nine Rivers of the Night to assist her in keeping the Abyss of Time at bay, a battle they have continued each day and night to the present.
Worship of the Bohaar pantheon does not imply exclusivity, and many who do so also maintain traditions regarding the shaping and veneration of ancestor monoliths, or even those of the Dustwalkers.
Deities
| Name | Areas of Concern | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Eraamn | The sun, time, fire, air, sight, the protection of travelers | Eraamn (pronounced eh-RAHMN), the Solar Eye, is the foremost of the good gods of the Bohaar pantheon. She is the source of all light, heat, and time, and is therefore the bringer and sustainer of life to a once-barren world. As the sun she makes an parade across the sky each day, casting down life-giving energy to all mortal life and allowing the passage of the hours. This journey tires her immensely, as well as brings physical aging to the goddess, and as a result she must rest each night to rejuvenate and restore her strength.
The goddess occupies many roles. She is a life-giver, but a law-giver too, the protector of all who exist under the sun. Eraamn is particularly concerned with the safety of travelers and others who wander, physically or otherwise, as she has great care for those like her who cannot remain still. Eraamn was the second god, though notions of time are hazy when applied to the era before her existence, as such a force simply did not exist prior. She self-created on the world in what was to become the Reed-Crowned Lake in Bohaar. She perceived there was form but no light, or consciousness, or warmth. To rectify this, Eraamn lit a spark, but it was snuffed out by Ob. She lit a torch but he did the same, then a bonfire, likewise to no success. Finally she rose into the sky and lit herself on fire, burning brightly enough, and far enough out of reach of Ob, that the light would reach across the world. She is said to have lost her right eye in this first of days to a worm-tendril of Ob, which she then rescued from the god's maw and cast up into the night to create Seriil. The Solar Eye is the primary deity worshiped by followers of the Bohaar pantheon. Her diviners often eventually go blind through their labors, a condition they believe to be holy as it connects them to the damaged vision of their goddess. Eraamn is depicted as a humanoid woman dressed in clothes of fire, her head ringed by a sun disk. She is always shown with one eye, though the style in which this accomplished has varied over time, shifting between showing a missing eye or a cyclopean face. She is also frequently shown as simply a singular eye ringed by a sun disc, a simplified form that also serves as a holy symbol. |
| Seriil | The moon, sound, music, teleportation, portals, reflections, the travels of the dead | Seriil (pronounced seh-REEL) |
| Ob | Cold, darkness, earth, stone, all of material existence | Ob (pronounced OHB) was the first of the gods and the creator of all that can be held. He is an entity of stone and dirt, where light and sound cannot pass. |
| Nine Rivers of the Night | Water, rivers, stars, vigils, loyalty | The Nine Rivers of the Night are, collectively, the servants of Eraamn tasked to assist in her endless struggles against the influence of Ob. Each is responsible for a section of the night sky and the stars that dwell there, which they split themselves between each dusk as darkness falls upon the world and Ob's strength returns. As Eraamn rests and Seriil rises into the sky, the Nine Rivers join him, vigilantly watching over the world so as to direct the attentions of the Lunar Mirror at the first sign of Ob stirring.
During the day, meanwhile, the Nine Rivers of the Night inhabit the many waterways of Bohaar. They were the gods who first brought water to the world, after all, filling the previously empty seas and channels and bringing prosperity to the earliest inhabitants of the empire. Followers of the Bohaar pantheon believe water to be not truly physical but rather another reflection of light, and so the Nine Rivers are servants of Eraamn and not Ob. The Void-Mouth has certainly tempted them at times, however, as water does exist in close proximity to the material world. The Nine Rivers have without fail rejected Ob's offers of power as his attendants, remaining ceaselessly loyal to Eraamn. Unusually for deities within the Bohaar pantheon, there remains much theological disagreement as to the origins of the Nine Rivers of the Night. This is a settled question with regards to Eraamn, Seriil, and Ob, but not so with the servants of the Solar Eye. One school of thought, traditionally favored by the emperors of Bohaar, believes that they were formed by Eraamn from the remnants of the earliest flames she lit to illuminate the world, while another holds that they split from her after she rose as the sun. Each of the Nine Rivers of the Night possesses their own name, yet this is knowledge closely guarded by the diviners of the pantheon and not granted to all followers of the faith, primarily as a matter of respect for the gods. They are instead worshiped collectively, as after all they are of equal importance in aiding Eraamn. The Nine Rivers are depicted as humanoid women clothed in water with crowns of stars and are often pictured as straddling the mortal and divine worlds, their bodies rising out of the water and their hair disappearing into the night sky. |
Area of worship
Worship of the Bohaar pantheon is largely limited to the nation of Bohaar in the northern Stormlands. It is the predominant faith in the empire's riparian cities, a minority faith in Kad to the south, and effectively absent elsewhere.
Connections to other pantheons
While the Bohaar deities can, and certainly have, been connected to gods elsewhere on Kishar, the pantheon is remarkably isolated. It is the only major pantheonic faith in the Stormlands, a land where the veneration of heroes, ancestors, and ephemeral living gods is far more common.