Diety and Demons

The Divine:

First and foremost, to make this as clear as possible, the gods and goddesses never physically manifest, appear, or visit the known world of Lyran Tal. At no time will any of them - or their avatars - be seen physically interacting in the Crosswinds Tavern, in the streets or homes of the various regions, or anywhere else. However, characters may have visions, hear voices, or believe whatever they will about their religious convictions. There are myths surrounding the supernatural that may or may not be based in fact.

Furthermore, this is not a definitive listing. The gods and goddesses described below are some of the religious beliefs of the humaniod races (humans, elves, half elves, and half-los) of the Silver Moon Empire. The listing does not contain the Divine of the Shrikes, the Merfolk of Northern Oceanuus, the Dwarves of Dvarnia or any of the beliefs that may exist within the Badlands.

The people of Lyran Tal are diversified and may worship in obscure and unusual ways. This means that houses of worship, shrines, temples, churches or other 'holy places are not on every street corner in every city. Rare, in fact, is the city that has a large enough population of any one faith to have a house dedicated to particular gods or goddesses.

Anolinde - Sister of Rodien, the Mistress of Dreams, the Guide of Wayfarers and Travelers, Lady of Lasting Love.

Cannibal or Cannubal - God of War, hate, fear. Brother of Gom. (In truth, a malevolent spirit summoned to the material plane to inhabit the body of the redcap Gane Torask. His children possessed the bodies of thirteen orphans sacrificed to Cannubal's evil schemes) Originally a purer god before his corruption, his domain was honor, bravery, and noble battle. (See: History and Legends of the Mad Brothers in the Imperial Library.)

Cepheus - Great father of the divine, the Sun God, Bright Father. Husband of Nostrella.

Estrella - Sister of Nostrella, the Vigilant Daystar, the Lady Knight, Morningstar or Star of the Morning, Lightbringer. A rebellious goddess, she avoided responsibility and faded almost entirely from the histories. (For more information, see The Secret Goddess.)

Gaia - Goddess of Earth, Gentle Mistress of Flora and Fauna, Heart of Geomancy. (Sometimes known as 'Terran,' a male incarnation.)

Gom - Brother of Cannubal. Associated with necromancy. (In truth, a malevolent spirit summoned to the material plane to inhabit the body of the lich Fores Mish'al.)

Inele - God of Protection and connected with mersite/brineyglow and good fortune. (See The Traditional History of Southern Oceanuus)

Ninidia the Blue Maid - Goddess of truth and balance and fertility. (See The Traditional History of Southern Oceanuus)

Nostrella - Goddess of healing and life; the Lady of Hope, Mercy and Life. Wife of Cepheus, sister of Estrella, mother of Anolinde and Rodien.

Rodien - Brother of Anolinde, the Master of Falsehoods, Harbinger of Nightmares, Lord of Lies.

Rusalka'Lir - Lady of the Bottomless Depths

Sulevia - Lady of Flame, the Fire Witch, Breath of the Quintak, goddess of fire. (See: The Sulevia Mythology in the Imperial Library.)

The Demons:

What a character within Lyran Tal may call a Demon or Devil is simply the 'word of choice,' as most lack a comprehensive education on the subject. Beings so labeled are in actuality horrific perversions of spirits and souls. Some of these insidious spirits have created a hierarchy or 'pecking' order simply by sheer brutality, power, shrewdness, cunning, etc.

Spiritual

Beings of the Spirit World, or the plane of the Spirits, are different from the spirits that the Druids worship and refer to as the High Spirit. Druids are attuned to and draw upon the spirits that are natural (spirit of all things upon the Earth), as well as the spirits of souls who have passed from life onto death. Witches, on the other hand, draw from the spirits that reside in the Spirit World. This plane is mostly inhabited by restless souls of those that have died, and other supernatural beings that never had an origin as a mortal nor are connected to anything of the tangible world. Scholars of magic say that the demons summoned in the Demon War were from the spirit plane. Witches seem to be attuned to the inhabitants of this dangerous and unpredictable Spirit World, rather than the natural spirits that pervade the mortal world.

Much speculation remains on where exactly this 'Spirit World' exists. Current beliefs say that the Spirit World is actually 'Twixt, but there is no evidence which can prove this theory. Some scholars say that 'Twixt is but a middle ground, a realm that acts as a bridge between the nether-realm as well as the separate plane of spirits. The exact nature of these spirits is frequently debated; current beliefs link the spirits to both benevolent and malicious types. The benevolent spirits are called simply that: spirits. The malicious types are commonly referred to as Demons. The 'Demon War' which ravaged across the Silver Moon Empire had the redcap Gane calling on an army of 'Demonic' forces. Whether these forces were the same types of malicious spirits has yet to be proven. Some claims have the demons coming from another dimension entirely. The origins of the spirits that the Witches invoke, as well as the nature of the nether-realm and 'Twixt, continue to remain a mystery.

The affects of these non-corporeal beings upon the living and on objects are limited. 'Ghostly activity' can be connected with pockets of cold air. Supposedly, this is because in order to manifest the ghost needs energy, and taking the energy out of the air around it makes the air colder.

Spirits can speak. This is most generally heard as whispers.

Spirts can manifest in a number of ways, from orbs of light to a form that looks like a real, complete person.

Some spirits can manipulate objects to a limited extent. Open and close doors. Move things around. Slide a barstool a bit, make a bottle fall off the shelf.

The danger to people isn't necessarily that a spirit/demon could assault them, but that with some creativity, a ghost could do damage. For example, appearing suddenly before a horse and causing the rider to fall off and be injured or killed. Spirits who desire to be malicious have the ability to whisper in a person's ear and play on their paranoia...

Corporeal

So-called 'demons' can be summoned to Lyran Tal. Usually, this requires incredible magical ability to open a passage for the 'twisted' spirit to manifest. However, sometimes great moments of incredible human suffering, vileness, and other extremes in emotions and actions can momentarily tear a rift that briefly allows a Demon to roam.

In other instances, such as that of Cannubal's Thirteen Children, a malevolent spirit summoned to the material plane can inhabit the body/bodies of the recently deceased or, on rare occasions, the malevolent spirit can displace or expel the spirit-owner of a body, as was the case with Icaruss inhabiting Tumian's body. This 'occupied' body is called a host. Cannubal and Gom were malevolent spirits summoned to the material plane, and the armies of Cannubal were composed of materialized spirits (demons) and possessed victims. Spirits with a powerful enough force of will can affect the world around them without a host. But with a host, they're much more effective.

On an additional note, animating dead bodies is the province of necromancers, and summoning spirits is within the realm of animancers. While said spirits or demons may be summoned there is no guaranteeing that they will remain in the control of the summoner.

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