View source for The Gods: Council Quick-Reference

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{{Lorebooks infobox
| title = The Gods: Council Quick-Reference
| lochint= Found in Statehelm
| category= Gods
| area= [[Statehelm]]
| visibility= Ghosted Until Found
}}
[[The Gods: Council Quick-Reference]] is a [[Lorebook]] found in the [[Statehelm]] region.
== Content ==
'''The Gods: Council Quick-Reference''' by Ilvadare Irasce

This guide will help citizens quickly ascertain the domains, threat, and importance of any gods that they might hear about -- or even meet in person. Remember: gods are capricious forces of nature. Some gods have been friendly toward humanity in recent years, but nothing is permanent. Taking advantage of the kindness of "friendly" gods is a personal decision not to be made lightly.

NOTE: this symbol '''*NO*''' indicates that it is illegal to worship or contact that god, and their priests should be considered extremely dangerous.


'''Akhisa''' God of Patience and Cunning. Class 2. The god of spiders. Traditionally forbidden in human lands, we have recently loosened those restrictions in response to certain favors Akhisa has done for humanity. Nevertheless, this is the god of '''cunning''', so think twice before making deals with Akhisa's priests.

'''Arisetsu''' God of Hope and Warmth. Class 1. Worshipped by elves as the mother of their modern society, but beloved in many civilizations -- including humanity. Her priests provide a valuable service to the wounded.

'''Au-Shin''' God of Animals and Insects. Class 2. Brother to Ri-Shin. Not particularly important on this continent but is much more active elsewhere. His animal priests are safe to engage with... so long as you're kind to animals, of course.

'''Bogdelle''' God of Crafting and Craftsmen. Class 3. Dwarven god. Her place amongst dwarves is complex: she loves and protects craftsmen and artisans of all types, which dwarves like. But her priests also pass on crafting techniques to non-dwarves, which dwarves do not like. But her priests are generally safe and trustworthy.

'''Dale Renthian''' God of Creativity and Invention. Class 3. A human god. Dale Renthian is in good standing with the Council and is comparatively safe for mortals to approach.

'''Dreva''' God of Balance. Class 1. Claims to be neutral in matters of mortal affairs. Responsible for the "Druids", who help enforce his will. Their actions are generally beneficial to humanity, but treat them with caution. If the Druids were to decide your actions were "out of balance with nature", it could prove fatal.

'''Enoyos''' God of Oceans. Class 1. Enoyos has vowed to flood most of the surface world so that his favored race of frog-people have more space to live. This makes Enoyos a dangerous enemy of humanity. However, he is a capricious god, and we've learned that prohibiting sailors from making offerings to Enoyos causes incidents at sea. Sailors are thus permitted to make offerings, but remember his eventual goals.

'''Errana''' God of Harvest and Reproduction. Class 1. An elven god, but loved by many peoples including humans. Unfortunately her priests spread the plague of prostitution to our fair human cities. This is generally tolerated because they are also master crop-forecasters, but treat with care. I beg you not to get too close to a priest of Errana. They will break your fragile human heart. I speak from experience.

'''Fenna''' God of Beauty, Dusk, and Poetry. Class 3. Human god. Possibly the youngest god to currently exist. Technically the "daughter" of Ilth Hale, but so far she has not evidenced any ill will toward humans. She is currently in good standing with the Council and is welcome in our cities.

'''Garakh''' God of Commerce and Trade. Class 1. Worshipped by goblins, but technically a neutral god. Not as active on this continent as on others, but Garakh is as trustworthy as gods get. Priests of Garakh always fulfill their contracts or die trying. Their delivery caravans are the backbone of intra-species trade with the gob-lands.

'''Gulagra''' '''*NO*''' God of Anarchy. Class 2. Those who seek favor from Gulagra go mad. Not in an abstract or indirect way -- they very literally go mad. Please don't be a moron. Don't believe anything Gulagra says.

'''Harukita''' '''*NO*'''God of Hate. Class 2. The leader of the so-called "Chalice Gods" responsible for undead monsters. Stay far away.

'''Ilth Hale''' '''*NO*''' God of Sorrow and Loss. Class 3. Once the champion of humanity, but now despises humans. Her blood priests are very dangerous.

'''Imatia''' God of Knowledge and Learning. Class 1. The leader of the Crone gods, Imatia is the god of books. She is not especially active here, but her monks can sometimes be spotted buying rare books to bring back to her ivory book-towers. Generally trustworthy.

'''Irhetsu''' God of Wind, Song, and Story. Class 2. A very old god that has altered the nature of our reality slowly over many years. Friendly but inscrutable. Be wary.

'''Janice Alberith''' God of Scientific Research. Class 3. A young human god that is slowly gaining prestige and followers. However, other gods are offended by the notion that their actions should be constrained by scientific principles. She has many enemies among older gods. It is wise to seek her aid, but not wise to stick around too closely.

'''Kajich''' '''*NO*''' God of Fear and Intimidation. Class 2. A cruel god who should never be interacted with, let alone trusted. Brother to Harukita and Tuvillus. In the past Kajich has led the armies of the undead to ravage mortal cities. His behavior is cyclical and we expect him to rise in prominence again soon.

'''Kirad''' God of Hearth and home. Class 1. Dwarven god. Our continent of Alharth ("All-Hearth") is named after Kirad's proclamation that all of this land is his Hearth, and thus under his protection. Kirad has recently been less active here, but his dwarven priests provide valuable home protection services and are well-tolerated in human society.

'''Laeth''' God of Time and Space. Class 1. Apparently an elven god. Little is known about Laeth. She doesn't seem to be made of quite the same stuff as other gods. Laeth is not to be worshipped so much as obeyed: if she feels the need to intervene in mortal affairs, it's imperative that we follow her instructions and get her to leave as quickly as possible.

'''Lo-Maj''' God of Power and Might. Class 2. Little is known about this god, who hasn't been seen in this country in decades. His traditional avatar is of an extinct species of lizardmen wielding a hammer. I don't recall ever meeting a priest or follower of Lo-Maj.

'''Melkar''' God of Individualism, Self-Sufficiency, and Hunting for Sustenance. Class 3. An orc god. Patron of many an outdoorsman that fancies themselves a "loner". Melkar dislikes cities and avoids society in general. But he is generous to his adherents and is considered trustworthy.

'''Mirraverre''' God of Sleep and Dreams. Class 2. An elven god. Oversees the dream realm, protecting it from intrusion. Rarely seen, but typically considered a neutral god. Some sages say her palace in the dream realm is a safe meeting place for gods.

'''Norala''' '''*NO*''' God of Hunting and Animality. Class 2. An orc god. Responsible for the curse of lycanthropy. She is the god of hunting for sport rather than survival. She acts on behalf of Tast, often directly against humankind. Stay away.

'''Ormorek''' God of Self Doubt and Bitterness. Class 3. Dwarven god. Best known for drinking extremely bitter beer and complaining. Relatively safe to interact with, should you meet him in a dwarven city.

'''Paullus'''' God of Revelry and Alcohol. Class 3. Claims to have invented alcohol but this is very much disputed. A benign human-appearing god who is in good standing with the Council.

'''Randolph Alberith''' God of Travel and Journeys. Class 3. A human god, most often found by those on epic treks. Safe to interact with, but beware -- many a vagabond along the road pretends to be a priest of Randolph. Keep your guard up and demand evidence before trusting.

'''Remga''' '''*NO*''' God of Piracy and Rape. Class 1. The leader of the goblin gods and patron of all pirates. In the past we allowed sailors to make offerings to Remga to ensure safe travels, but new laws disallow this. If you must make offerings, choose Enoyos instead. Enoyos is no friend of humanity but Remga has proven even more despicable and untrustworthy.

'''Ri-Shin''' God of Plants and Trees. Class 2. Ri-Shin's priests oversee all lumberyards to ensure proper replanting. In exchange, trees grow bountifully. Ri-Shin can react with hostility to those who harm forests. So don't do that. ''It's against the law to anger Ri-Shin.''

'''Saledar''' God of Cooperative Society. Class 2. A goblin god. Goblin healing-priests worship Saledar instead of the more common worship of Arisetsu. Saledar's adherents claim he is the god of Empathy, but Saledar permits slavery, so I disagree. His followers may or may not be safe to interact with -- it depends on the individual. Be wary.

'''Strekios''' God of Self-Improvement and Competition. Class 3. Strekios is oddly absent from human culture but is well known in the Crone Lands. Known as the "Cruel Taskmaster." Be wary.

'''Tast''' '''*NO*''' God of War and Militaries. Class 1. Tast favors the orc race and often grants orcs boons when they assault human civilizations. Stay away from Tast lest you inadvertently become a weapon against humanity yourself.

'''Talerra''' '''*NO*''' God of Hopelessness, Depression, and Knowing the Truth. Class 3. Best known for the tantalizing bargain she offers: she can answer your burning questions in exchange for your hope. But hope is essential for survival! You must accept the fact that it's sometimes better not to know.

'''Tuvillus''' '''*NO*''' God of Greed and Jealousy. Class 3. Brother to Kajich and Harukita and said to be the co-creator of vampirism (alongside Ilth Hale).

'''Umrad''' God of Minerals, Metals, and Mining. Class 3. Dwarven god. Can sometimes be found visiting dwarven cities, and is reasonably safe to approach, but is highly suspicious of non-dwarves.

'''Vol''' God of Death and Renewal. Class 1. Claims to be neutral in matters of mortal affairs, but seems to favor dwarvenkind on occasion. Despises the undead. It's said that all mortals eventually meet Vol when he carries their soul back to the Soul Sea.

'''Zare''' God of Secrets. Class ?. We barely know of Zare's existence. We have no understanding of Zare's role in our world. Occasionally Zare's emissaries can be found swapping secrets, but there is no reliable way to prove they are who they say. Assume that most so-called "Priests of Zare" are lying.

'''Zhia Lian''' '''*NO*''' God of Whimsy and Unpredictability. Class 3. While less problematic than the other "Chalice Gods", Zhia is innately unpredictable. Her avatar is human and she occasionally has humanity's best interests, but chaos follows her every move, and chaos is bad for society. Keep her out of our cities!

====Appendix A: Famous Dead Gods==== 
Sages can list well over 100 deceased gods. These are the most commonly referenced in news and literature:

'''Cae-a-Lee''' God of Elves. Was extremely powerful and influential. Deceased for approx. 20,000 years.

'''Elshana''' God of Ingenuity. Elven god. Deceased for approx. 17,000 years. Passed on her domains and memories to Dale Renthian.

'''Freta''' God of Justice and Punishment. Lizardman god, then dwarf god, and finally crone god. Deceased approx. 400 years.

'''Hargur''' God of Earthquakes, Landslides, and Tsunamis. Orc god. Recently deceased.

'''Romast''', God of Martial Arts. Lizardman god. Deceased for approx. 3,500 years.

'''Urtigal''', God of Revulsion and Disgust. Brother of Harukita, Kajich, and Tuvillus. Recently deceased.

'''Volzek''', God of Death and Undeath. Hypothesized to be the "proto-form" of the gods Vol and Zek, before they separated into two gods. Deceased approx. 40,000 years.

'''Zek''', God of Undeath. Brother of Vol. Deceased for approx. 17,000 years. His power over undeath was recovered by the so-called "Chalice" gods led by Harukita.

'''Zura-Fin''', God of Fungus. Sister of Ri-Shin and Au-Shin. Recently deceased.

====Appendix B: Notes on God Classes====
God classifications are hotly debated amongst sages, and our opinions change often. No doubt many of the god classes used above are wrong. This is especially true of gods who aren't active in the Council Lands, because we have less experience with them.

'''Class 1''' gods can alter reality on a whim. They can create new races of creatures, invent new types of magic, create or move entire land masses, and much more. An elaborate system of truces and agreements between themselves prevents too much obvious intervention day to day, but we cannot really even guess at what they're doing behind the scenes.

'''Class 2''' gods are weaker, but can still spread their influence far and wide. These gods are often the benefactor of a chosen race or protector of important aspects of the world.

'''Class 3''' gods are the weakest full gods, and although incredibly powerful by mortal standards, they usually need to localize their actions through their avatars, so their impact on the world is smaller. Most Class 3 gods only have one or two active avatars at a time, whereas Class 2 gods can have a score or more, and Class 1 gods can have countless avatars (when they bother with avatars at all).

There are also Class 4 and Class 5 nature spirits, but these are not gods. What makes a god a god, you ask? Here's my very practical rule of thumb: if a Class 1 god has tried to kill them and they survived, they must be at least Class 3. If they died, they must have been 4 or 5. Conveniently, Vol tries to kill every new god that appears, so we know that all the gods listed here can survive Vol's wrath, at least for a short time. (Of course, should Vol attack alongside his allies, all bets are off. Gods have their own complex politics that are best avoided by mortals.)",

== Related Lore ==
; [[Guide to Nature Spirit Classification]]
; [[Nature Spirit Mortality]]

[[Category:Lorebook]][[Category:Register of Lore]]