Old Gods

This page is missing information from Call of the Father The Old Gods were the original masters of Var’Tareen. None know where they came from and in the modern age, little is recorded about their following or their era. The old gods were immensely powerful and dangerous. They knew more about magic than their modern counterparts and had fervent religious followings. Eventually the Gods sought to dominate the mortal countries. This started the thousand year War of Ascendance. The Old Gods created living weapons to fight including monsters, Poi’Mareath, and Drel’Mareath. Eventually six of the gods were slain and their powers transferred to the mortals who killed them. Of all the Old Gods, only Nezeril lives now. He remains an enemy of mortals and their new pantheon.

Creation
Nobody knows how the world came to be nor does anybody knows how long it has been. But everyone knows there were seven gods. Some say the gods themselves forged the world from the empty sky. Others say great beings known as the Starmother and Voidfather created the world for their children. Some say the world simply was and the gods were humans who became so powerful they could claim the mantle of divinity. All were fair and all carried power beyond measure. They ruled the land which was named Var’Tareen in their tongue. The seven consisted of a god of the skies, a god of the earth, a god of the oceans, a god of night, a god of day, a god of emotion, and a god of the four seasons. They were Ghendar King of Winds, Brenmon Master of the Sea, Raerdrin Father of Soil, Desma Guardian of the Stars, her sister Hlesmil Guardian of the Dawn, Fjara Queen of the Soul, and Nezeril Herald of Change. No mortal knows if they formed humans in their image or if humans were created with them and left in their care. Either way the planet suited their interests quite nicely and they had the power to so change it as they willed. The seven could call storms and shift mountains. They flew among the lands of men and fostered the world in their gentle grasp. All the lands and its people were brought under the care of the seven. Under their guidance civilizations were formed and the world was shaped. Using the gods power, technology and knowledge spread. The gods created and had made great works of art. These where in the form of songs, in the form of cities, and in the form of monumental fortresses. Working with mortals they created magic. Channeled through stones unique to each god,  it allowed humans to access the powers of the divine.

But eventually the gods grew dissatisfied with their mortal counterparts. They found humans to be weak and capricious. And soon instead of guiding the civilizations of men, they started to rule them. The seven became tyrants and ruled with terror and force. Any who questioned were silenced. So humanity revolted in what became known as The War of Ascendance. A war the likes of which will never be seen again. At first the war went poorly for the humans. How could they withstand the powers of the divine. They fled and hid in mountains and desert. But as the war went on more and more humans joined the growing rebellion. Soon the gods had no one to fight their battles but themselves. Though effective they were only seven. So they created armies. First there was the Poi’Mareath, twisted human foot soldiers augmented for war. These were their frontline troops. Then they made great monsters to bring the world to heel. And so they did. After hundreds of years the war seemed as if it were almost over. The great beasts had pushed humans back to their last settlements and refuges. But then the unthinkable happened. The god of the skies was killed. It was a human woman who killed the deity. Her name was Rallia. And when the the god was dead at her feet she found she could take the divinity into her being. And so Rallia became the new god of the skies taking the title Queen of Storms. The Poi’Mareath serving the old storm god failed when he died. So a new armies of clay soldiers took their place not as effective but loyal to the end. Despite the new army, the war was slowly won by humanity. A new pantheon was established. Six of the deities had their powers claimed by mortals over the war. All but the god of seasons who snuck away.

Ghendar King of Winds
"'That's Ghendar. The first god of the skies and the first god to die.'" "-Janie Kerias 6th of Sharus AeP 446: Silver Mists and Bloody Tides Session 3 Echoes of the Ancients."Ghendar was the old god of the sky domain. He was the first god of the old pantheon to die. He was slain by Rallia in YoW 289. His holy animal was the eagle. In the mosaic found on Karabour he was depicted as a tall and dominating man with long white hair, golden armor, an opal glaive, and a whip. In that mural he also had two servants with white feathery wings.

Brenmon Master of the Sea
Brenmon’s domain was the sea. He was killed by Li-Shara in YoW 743.

Raerdrin Father of Soil
The first god of the Earth. At some point in YoW 502 he fought a battle with Rallia and Cainar. He was subdued and sacrificed to Ghuramor.

Raerdrin's fabled home was Alkalandra'Mar, which means the City of Golden Sands. It was rumored to be in the desert, though no one ever found it.

Desma Guardian of the Stars
Desma was the first god of night. She was the sister of Hlesmil. At some point a few decades before the War of Ascendance she commanded the Unknown King to build her a fleet of ships and give her his youngest daughter Maya. Her home was called the Heighted Land. In YoW 866 she was killed by Selviir.

Hlesmil Guardian of the Dawn
The sister of Desma and the first god of day. She was executed and replaced by Yaerrin in AeP 0. In the 8th century of the War she fought against Sandamar, the king of the Nurmendemar. She melted his shield but failed to kill him.

A painting of Hlesmil was found in a vault containing hundreds of Drel’Mareath. It depicted her as a tall woman with red hair and golden armor. Her right hand was extended above her head, holding the sun. Her left arm held a shield woven with a plethora of colors. The Shield was her famous weapon, named the Prismatic Aegis and was said to take the colors of Hlesmil’s enemies. The portrait itself caused colors around it to dull and feed its power. The two followers of the who remained in the room, had sickly faded skin. The two monsters with them seemed to be immune.

Fjara Queen of the Soul
Fjara was the first god of emotion. Cainar killed her in YoW 440. Before the War of Ascendance, her priests developed a material called Red Obsidian. This let them channel magic related to emotional control better.

Nezeril Herald of Change
The last of the old gods to walk this earth. He is the god of seasons. In the modern age he has disappeared but kept his cult. They were the main antagonists of the War of Nezeril.

List of Appearances
Campaigns


 * Silver Mists and Bloody Tides Session Three: Echoes of the Ancients (Mural of Ghendar)
 * Crypts of Carufell (Statue of Nezeril)
 * The Tale of Storms and Clay Session Eight: Beneath the Cold (Painting of Hlesmil)