GODS
of
AENYA
Zoë
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The Goddess of Nature adopts many names. Among the Ilmarin people, she is Alashiya, or simply Mother Goddess. In the Hedonian Empire, Aea, Tyrnael, and Yefira she is called Zoë. As the embodiment of the world itself, she is also known as Aenya.
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HISTORY: Humanity joined under the banner of the Zo following the Septhera Rebellion circa 9800 BGM (Before the Greater Moon), after centuries of cruelty and oppression, in honor of life herself. Centuries pass until the collapse of the Zo Empire and the Great Cataclysm, leading to declining worship of the Goddess in favor of the warrior gods, Solos, Sargonus, and Strom.
On the island nation of Aea, Zoë represents Wisdom and Balance. She stands between her sisters, Irene (Goddess of Love, Lust, and Peace) and Maki (Goddess of Justice and War).
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In the Ilmarin creation myth, Alashiya is the daughter of Anu and Eru, two primordial gods who traverse the Cosmos, making love continually and birthing worlds. Her brother is the Sun God, Solos, who gifted her with the ilm. The Goddess personifies life itself and is part of all living things, but can be sensed in natural phenomena like wind and sunlight. Sometimes, she adopts physical forms. Her avatars include the unicorn, phoenix, archenelk, and on rare occasions, "ilma," or humans. In the fable of the Tyrant, the meat-eating saurian and all its descendants are turned into chickens by the Goddess as punishment for its insatiable appetite.
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Appearances: Ages of Aenya, The Princess of Aenya, The Feral Girl.
Sargonus is the god of the Sea, chief deity amongst the coastal states of Hedonia, Thetis, and Thalassar. His pyramid temple, located in Hedonia, is considered the greatest architectural achievement of the modern age. Worshippers worldwide flock to the city to see the temple and the idol housed within it. Sometime after 5000 AGM, when settlers from Aea colonized the coast of Sarnath, Sargonus's statue was built over the ancient coral idol of Gulgola to commemorate humanity's victory over the merquid who originally occupied the area. The statue is sculpted from a single slab of green marble with eyes of giant pearl.
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Sargonus is venerated in other parts of Aenya but is of lesser importance. In Northendell, he is mentioned in The Song of Strom as brother of the Delian chief god, Strom the Thunderer, God of Storms.
Appearances: Ages of Aenya
Skullgrin goes by many names and is universally revered throughout all the lands and city-states of Aenya. He is often called Death, but mostly, he is referred to as "The Taker," as in, "he who takes life" or "he who takes those you love." Evoking his true name is considered bad form and is thought to bring about bad luck. While the Taker is dreaded by the young and healthy, to the sick, dying, and decrepit, he is a merciful god. To the fearful, he appears as a horned skull. To those who have accepted the inevitable, he is a kindly old man in black, tight-fitting clothes, usually wearing a skull-faced choker.
In The Princess of Aenya, Radia relates the story of her distant ancestor, Prince Kormin, who journeyed to the Underworld to free his recently deceased wife. While a guest in Death's domain, Kormin makes a remarkable discovery about life.
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Appearances: Ages of Aenya, The Princess of Aenya, The Feral Girl.
Solos is venerated wherever the sun rules the heavens. The blazing celestial body in the sky is often called the Eye of Solos. In the Great White Flat, the Dead Zones of the West, and the desert Ocean dominating the Western hemisphere, Solos is a cruel overlord who desiccates every living thing. In the more hospitable regions of the Twilight Boundary, his adherents rely on the deity to nourish crop fields, while in the Dark Hemisphere, his influence is practically unknown.
According to Ilmarin lore, Solos is responsible for the first life form to develop on Aenya: the ilm flower. Seeing how his sister, Zoë, is lonely and without children, he takes up his hammer, Gravity, and forges Light. (The myth reinterprets the science of star formation taught to the Ilmar by Kjus).
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Centuries pass when the race of ilma (humans) lose respect for their mother and defile the Goddess (razing forests, polluting the waters and the atmosphere). Watching from above, Solos flies into a terrible rage, immolating the sky and the land below and everything in it. The only ilma to survive are those the Goddess protects in her womb deep below the earth. (Again, the myth most likely refers to the historical period, c. 0 BGM, when the sun expands into a red giant, resulting in a mass extinction event whereby 99% of all species perish).
Mentions and appearances: Ages of Aenya, The Feral Girl
Strom
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Like all the Gods of Aenya, the Thunderer is worshipped worldwide and is responsible for all weather phenomena. Farmers pray to him to deliver rain to their crops or to be delivered from the devastation brought about by tornados, floods, and lightning strikes. To the Delian people, Strom is chief among the gods, brother to Sargonus, and represents "manly" virtues like strength, bravery, and prowess in battle. Strom is proud, boastful, and quick to offense. In song, he is called Red-Bearded and Red-Knuckled.
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While Delians show little interest in literature, they love a good story told in song. The Song of Strom is the most famous of these stories. Often recited by a skald at weddings, funerals and by King Frizzbeard in his mead hall at Hoarfrost, the Song of Strom plays a pivotal role in the creation myth of the Delian people.
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Mentions and appearances: Ages of Aenya
Irene is the goddess of peace, love, sex, and beauty. On the matriarchal island nation of Aea, Irene is one of the three primary gods, alongside her sisters, Maki and Zoë. Her temple features prominently in The Ballad of Titian and Midiana. While Maki's priestesses swear to a life of celibacy, the clerics of Irene engage their congregants in sacred orgies. While the goddess is popular among the coastal states, foreigners from more conservative regions find the wantonness of her followers off-putting and morally repugnant. Irene's most significant role, however, is to counterbalance the violent whims of her sister, Maki, while Zoë, the eldest of the three, stands in judgment between the two extremes.
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Mentions and appearances: Ages of Aenya, The Ballad of Titian and Midiana / The Gorgon's Lover.
Maki is the goddess of war and justice. She is worshipped on the island of Aea as one of the three primary gods but is venerated throughout the coastal regions of the One Sea. In the famous tragedy, The Ballad of Titian and Midiana, Maki was enraged after one of her celibate priestesses, Midiana, was seduced by her male lover, Titian. As punishment, Maki transformed Midiana into the dreaded gorgon.
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Appearances: Ages of Aenya, The Ballad of Titian and Midiana / The Gorgon's Lover.