Gods of my Setting, Some nice concepts if I may say.

Lately I have been busy writing, reading, and working on my super jumbo setting with crazy amounts of information. Currently I am tackling the Sylvan aspect of the gods (being that of mortal, animals, and fey) and my first experiment has been with the gods of four winds and Koshchey himself.

Most of these gods are a bit sketchy and the only two gods I have really outdone myself in working on are Seriphien and Father Clarion. As you can tell I don't have portfolios and everything ready for these gods yet, that is to come later. What I am asking aid on now is ideas for additional titles/bynames and any other idea you might have concerning these gods. As I said they are pretty sketchy...so let's see if they are presentable...

But before I post the gods....I will give you a more in depth look of what the word Sylvan truely is in my setting, for your better enjoyment and understanding of these gods. The whole process is complicated and fleshed out so here is a brief and very untidy view of one of the many "beings" (which are Sylvan, Primordial, Fey, Celestial, and Infernal)

Also, as a sidenote, you might notice that the staple god of the south wind is missing...I am at a bit of a loss on this. I was thinking a maiden going by the epithet of "Ephemeral Daughter", a mortal goddess offspring of Father Clarion...but I decided not to go that route. Any ideas?

The Sylvan and Fey Gods
The Sylvan Gods are those who have close ties with the material world, humans, and animals or otherwise favor the mortals. The Fey Gods are those deities who frequent Fey Realm. The only difference between the Fey Gods and the Sylvan gods is the energies they originated from, and other than that small fact the two pantheons converge into a conglomerate whole. And thus both Fey and Sylvan gods are basically one in the same, so I have grouped them likewise. The only distinguishment I will make between these two pantheons is by putting [ ]’s and the gods’ being inside the [ ]’s, and then by putting the [ ]’s beside each god’s name. Some gods have certain roles that overlap and even bolster or dove-tail each other, and so these gods will be presented in separate listings but will have brackets by their names and titles as well, indicating what being they are of.
These two forms of deities coexist together and each belongs to a particular , each having its own leader and every member having relevance and reason to be in his particular . Other fey and the rare supernatural Sylvan creature of lesser status than that of gods can join a as well, and in principle it functions somewhat like a court, albeit a leisurely and commonly care-free court. The positions and authority of members of these are based around participance and impact on pivotal events concerning the court and role in the overall cosmological structure of things. Example: Svaurog, forger-god of sun and moon holds a higher position in his court than does Celina the goddess of the moon. Yet if Celina were to join a different court, in which you can only be admitted once per life and on terms of relevance (a sun god can’t join a moon court obviously), Celina would hold a higher position in that court than would Svaurog; perhaps she wouldn’t hold as much sway as the great forger –god, but she would have a higher position in her court, in which higher up officials would take a vote on the presented problem and also in which Celina and even the lowliest of Sylvan beings could participate in, so long as they are a member of that court in question.

Like I said...disorganized so far. Now, on to the gods of the wind and then the neutral god Koshchey without further ado!


The Gods of the Four Winds
The gods of the four winds are those beings who summon the winds with their beck and call. Along with presiding over either the east, west, north, or south wind each of these gods also has further qualities which distinguish them from simply being ‘gods of the wind’. Of these gods there are five, the fifth of which has control over every wind and aids the other four in their, at times, overbearing cause. Among the gods the gods of the four winds are very much steeped in mythology as are others of their ilk (that of the gods) and are revered throughout many Realms, omitting that of the Infernal and Abyssal Realms, duly because every god of the wind is in his/her own way a force of good or neutrality but never evil.

Favonian [Fey]
Favonian, the Westerly Warder, the Child of Wind and Tree, the Gentle Dervish.
Favonian’s appearance is odd. He looks like a slimly eloquent male just maturing from adolescence, a peaceful and fickle smile spreading across his features with good-intent. These very features are acute and developed yet leathery smooth, unpresent to flaw of any kind. The skin of Favonian’s face is a light tan, a warm presence radiating from its depths. The comely youth is resplendent in a loose, long-sleeved robe of darker forest tan and a laurel of green leaves, dried twigs, and an assortment of bright red berries which grace his head, upon which cascades a groomed, shining mane of long hazel brown hair. Favonian himself is as halcyon as his looks would suggest, an undisturbed soul not troubled in the least by such petty emotions as temptation, wickedness, greed, malice, even anger in its most minute of forms. Favonian harbors ill will against no one and favors all in return, the very winds of the west signifying this indiscriminate and magnanimous view.

Favonian is a very playful and curious deity, high-spirited in his every act. When bored or otherwise waiting on something this mercurial youth of a god will dance about in the sky weaving a mesmerizing pattern, his hair sweeping along moments behind his steps and a tranquil smile playing across his level lips and firm jaw-line, the result of this being the trade-winds. Of all the gods Favonian and Vitiris are the two who most like to travel to mortal realms. When Favonian does so he appears as he is and enjoys observing both animal and human habits and saliently whirring about in the forests.

When so coming to the mortal realm and dancing Favonian always does so in the forests, to the exuberance of every tree, shrub, and animal! For in such wondrous bouts of movement the very forest delights in Favonian’s presence and joins him in the ballet: leaves effortlessly flow with his every movement in unseen currents, trees merrily sway, grass giddily rustles, the winds sigh, the streams gurgle in response, and the great ground itself chuckles with the echoes! Times as these don’t only provide enjoyment for the Favonian himself and the forest however; even the animals of the wood are lost in such loving and gentle of a caprice, impulsively frolicking, gamboling, whistling, singing, and doing whatever else befits their nature. The only animals with the will to escape and the wisdom to run from these dances are the keen owl, longing wolf, and articulately devious snake.
Favonian’s red-white lips are always pursed and he is said to have never before spoken, it being speculated that observation of all beauties in their natural states, untainted by word of mouth or undesired communion, is the occasion for Favonian to be so content. It is also said that if Favonian were to speak all lands and realms would be filled with his sweet melodious voice, a voice that fluidly runs like a stream of insubstantial water through the brook, softly flowing over the pebbles and stones of the brook’s bed. A voice surpassing the most pleasant of warblers and lively of call; then all would be lost in trance, even the gods themselves overwhelmed by such undiluted notes, and all memory of all, living and non-living, would be lost forever in the crystalline clear medley.

Favonian has no universally accepted symbol, or established religion for that matter, aside from kindness to others and maintenance of cherishable qualities, especially in adversity.

Zephyr [Fey]
Zephyr, the Stern Counsel, (A great thanks goes out to Alesian@ the Wizards of the Coast forum for sparking the idea of a misty horse within my mind. If you see this then thank you for the idea Alesian!)

Zephyr takes two forms: that of a long, grey-bearded man, grim-faced and rough complexioned with a hint of kindness in his features a stern voice and rigid, bushy eyebrows, his beard also rigid and its plainness offset by lines of dark brown and that of a noble courser composed of ether-mist, almost solid to the eye and vaguely opaque. The ether-mist spoken of is a form of natural magic originating deep from within the realm of fey, occasionally seeping into the Sylvan realm and, by being attracted to the most sacrosanct of natural locations, thereby gracing them as well. This “fey-mist” as some would have it takes on the qualities of earthly mist, albeit in the shroud’s deep folds sparkle a myriad of bright colors enchanting to look upon: blue, red, yellow, green, orange, and, at rare instances, when the mist is particularly concentrated, a deep and rich purple.

This mist of sorts is believed to possess latent magical energies and from this mist does Zephyr’s second form appear as; a muscular and esteemed steed with a flowing mane of dark grey, a body bespangled with a thousand lights that blink in and out of existence, unto gems for beauty, and, where eyes should be, deep wells of a dark, piercing lurid blue light that reflect a timeless knowledge. The domains of Zephyr are the east wind and knowledge, which along with comes wisdom, an equal blend, an equal epitome if you will, of those three qualities.
Zephyr himself is solemn and insightful, keen and pragmatic, sage and wise; not a somber entity, all though his casual attitude would depress some, what, with his knowledge of past faults doomed to be repeated endlessly, but not a lively entity either. Equanimity, control in temperament, level-headedness, deep thought, sharp senses yet an aloof mind and an unbounded wisdom—all describe Zephyr. As god of knowledge and wisdom Zephyr is keeper of the “Convurgios Record” (Which it is said he has summoned on will when occasion demanded it), a voluminous tome that contains within it much more than there appears to be, page upon page of prose covering all events, even the most trivial, that have played a crucial role in existence, and unending cause-and-effect book that also covers all events to happen since the “Convurgios Spasm”, or the beginning of time.

Being trusted by the celestial gods, Zephyr was also given the three keys to the Abyss to protect and be bearer of. These keys, also named the “Keys of the Bottomless Pit” are a belying set of common looking keys: one copper, one brass, and one silver, all three secured to a copper loop. Woe is the one to mistake these keys as what they appear to be, a set of mundane keys, and by doing so, opening the Abyss and unleashing all of its maledictive secrets tucked away for good cause—to prevent the most evil of evils from infracting its revenge on all realms, this evil being Hell itself.

By galloping across the sky on ethereal hooves does Zephyr summon the east wind. Zephyr, being naturally reclusive when not first approached, enjoys loosing himself in profound thought; under such circumstances is when he prefers not to be disturbed. And although he carries such an attitude and many burdens on his shoulder, Zephyr has plenty of allies and comrades, comrades who know that once Zephyr has been aroused (or drunk too much of Iddun’s golden apple-wine) he is nearly as jolly as Old Father Clarion and thrice as witty!

Casters, wisdom-seekers, scholars, philosophers, lords, and even kings of all
stripes worship Zephyr for his good counsel and near omniscience, but despite his popularity among mortals and animals alike Zephyr has no emblem to present himself and his worshippers, and he plans to keep it that way. Over animals and other such beasts (omitting humans) Zephyr has a placating quality, able to soothe the fiercest of rages with care, and among mortals Zephyr is both compassionate and candid, giving stern council to peasant and king alike in order to aid their choices with prudence.

Father Clarion [Fey]
Father Clarion, the Clarion Father,

The Clarion Father assumes one form: an eight foot tall, imposing, towering, composedly muscular and rangy troll-like being with wax-leathery green skin pox-marked with oily whelks and broad pustules. One would fear of harm coming from this beast until they noted the convivial smile stretching ear-to-ear, the slender, sharp-tipped ears, vestiture of prominent red and mixed green, slanting yellow eyes brimming with mirth, and the long golden trumpet (with which Father Clarion can summon the northern winds) held in hand—and Lo! It could be none other than jolly ol’ Father Clarion! Father Clarion who, is indeed, father of many things.
First and foremost Father Clarion is the god of cheer and jolliness, of charity and giving, of light-hearted trickery, good-will, lavish revelries along with other such occasions of merriment, and hospitality. A well-known fact that belies his lively, inspiriting aura is that he is purported to be one of the greatest of all gods, a fey who ascended from his once callow state and went on to surmount the ranks of gods! The verity of these rumors are unattested to, as Father Clarion assumes the role of both a minor and major deity in multiple sources of mythology.

The “Alpine Squirrel” is the one said to have started such conflicting rumors about Father Clarion being the least and at other times greatest of gods, the Father secreting away his true power in either case with the façade of exuberance. The Alpine squirrel, gossiper and agitator of all realms, is a very unreliable source at best, so no truth has been drawn from these rumors just yet. When confronted with this question the Clarion Father bursts into laughter and gives a hearty pat on the back to the one to ask such a thing, answering with this enigmatic question, or moreso paradoxial poem, of a response in his full, exultant, and booming voice:

“All that glitters is not gold; all that walks is not old.”
"But there are, there are, us who are!”
“Now the truth must be told.”
“Over yonder *hill am I. Look do you see?”
“Long distance will I travel afore I divulge,”
“The truth about me, young or old?”
*Father Clarion uses this interchangeably with any location, landmass, object, etc.
, and with that the Clarion Father, of his own design, vanishes from sight with an echo of laughter.

Such is this god’s generosity that long ago he created “Yule’s Day”, a time of party and sharing with one another. In Fey Realm this most respectable of holidays is celebrated ever year in Father Clarion’s honor. Father Clarion himself has an especially fond love for snow, frolicking and gamboling about in the fine powder every first and last snow of the year, which is by his discretion, as you will read.
And so, when the time for Yule drives near Father Clarion blows once on his trumpet to summon the north winds to carry the snow he so enjoys and twice to manifest the snow itself. When he is feeling especially festive Father Clarion forsakes the north wind’s aid but still sounds his clarion twice, giving Zephyr a right surprise when flakes of snow fall all around him to be bourn on his winds like some kind of transit service!

Oft times Father Clarion drinks too much of Iddun’s golden-apple wine on Yule’s Day vigil, and on rare occasions he drinks an exceeding amount more! Due to his occasional passing out (very occasional, as Father Clarion can handle much more wine than you would think, out drinking the best and most bawdy of party gods!) not all Yule’s Days are blessed with the snow of Ol’ Clarion, this being the reason why. Why else would it snow you silly mortal!? Of course, before the Sylvan Realm was created it didn’t snow, but on one of his many adventures of old Father Clarion discovered and captured snow in his huge satin red bag that can store unseemly mounds of the stuff, and has enjoyed it ever since.

Worshippers of Father Clarion are many and all of those with the capacity for joy, kindness, and charity are potential followers of this riddle of a god. Father Clarion’s symbol is a slightly slanted golden trumpet superimposed upon a field of bright satiny red, the field being outlined in a hoary white reminiscent of snow. As far as parties are concerned Father Clarion is a prime and never uninvited candidate in Fey Realm, and those he bears as patron to should be just as outgoing as he and hold or join one revelry a week at the very least! Father Clarion is keen to being invited to every party he can be, and so those who pray to him and hold him as patron should always pray for their ‘Father’ to join the party, to liven things up if not lively enough, and to carry them through this party and insure it is even more chaotic than the last! Oddly enough Father Solstice does frequent these parties in spirit and mind, sometimes conjuring a bit of light mischief up of his own accord to kick things off or end the whole shebang with a boom.


Seraphien [Celestial]
Seraphien, Mother of the Seraphim, the Samite Lady,
In her natural state Seraphien appears as a lithe woman with a sweeping cascade of teal for hair, an uncanny height of 8’5”, lustrous samite skin scrubbed to a nearly mirror sheen, vivid arctic blue orbs like unto a bursting star for comparison, eyes that can will to hold even the most steadiest of gazes and check the most volatile beings from averting such a gaze one it is established, and four immense, pure white and blissful soft wings that radiate from the centre of her bare back in the four cardinal directions, these wings able to encompass the whole of her form if bidden to.

In her second embodiment Seraphien is a fair woman of flesh and blood, 5’7” with carven features, long silky black hair, a loving expression, and a silver band worn as a diadem which is studded in the front with an icy-clear and many-faceted crystal. This form of Seraphien is garbed in a velvety black cloak which is fastened tightly at waist by a girdle of fine, glossy material that seems to be a mix of beige and slightly silver hues (unicorn’s mane), which outlines her thin body and curvy form.

Despite her frail build one can extrapolate, by means of her commanding presence that demands obeisance, that Seraphien has a hidden power kept concealed to offset her foeman or foemen in the midst of battle, as the case may be. And such extrapolation would be true; lest one would consider the terrible strength Seraphien possesses an incompetent force, end extremely rare are those who rightfully think so, the likes of those three, the “Forsaken Three”, ostracized and isolated from all existence in “the Bottomless Pit”.

Seraphien is a god of equity, justice tempered with mercy, progenitor of the seraphim, and guardian of the four winds. Her bottom left wing commands the west wind, her bottom right wing the east wind, her upper left wing the south wind, and her upper right wing the north wind. Her left hand is mercy and her right hand unwavering justice, both of which wield terrible blades that make her terrible to behold when risen in anger—Ebony and Ivory. As secondary roles Seraphien is both a goddess of love and of speed. Goddess of love by virtue of her sincere beauty, goddess of speed by forcing each of her wings to frenetically flap and to evoke all four winds at once. By doing so Seraphien can fashion the winds any which way she desires, creating a sphere of unearthly velocity in order to hasten her every movement and turn her every sword-stroke into a rathe blur of action, or in a like manner creating a tunnel of wind in which she can travel simply extraordinary distances in an ephemeral space of time. Seraphien is also a warrior goddess as law, justice, and such diverse abilities would testify to, these abilities bolstering her already formidable prowess.

Seraphien’s symbol is a red rose over which a sword intersects in an upward lateral position, point to the left, all on a field of teal. Seraphien has many worshippers who deeply admire her and whom she loves in return.

You can see the picture that inspired me to create Seraphien if you follow this url and go down to the same spot as I have inserted this hyperlink. The picture does good with the beauty, shape, and hair of Seraphien, but it is completely off on nigh everything else.

Koshchey
Koshchey, the Reliable Emissary, Impassive Envoy, Wailing Apostle
As his many titles suggest Koshchey is a messenger of repute, for every realm in fact, delivering important missives to and fro, his many sojourns always aided by the likes of his deathly gaunt, hoary-grey steed with lurid orbs of emerald flame as eyes. Although Koshchey is a passionate and fickle-minded individual, those select of their distinct realms place great reliance in him, as Koshchey is the unwavering epitome of neutrality and thus he operates for no one side, merely conveying his messages with a grim bearing and heeding no boon of any god’s request.

When Koshchey and his Courser race across the firmament the blue expanses cloud over and the mighty horse’s hooves can be heard thundering above. When his matters require more of a clandestine method of transport the roaring of his horse’s hooves is suppressed as to be absent, although it’s tail still trails dark billows of cloud, both of which (the tail and the hooves) are the reason storms occur—the lightning following the thunder is the irate actions of the god Perun, whom Koshchey has slighted more then on one occasion, always in pursuit of the dauntless rider when he crosses the welkin to distribute this letter and that.

Although Koshchey is of, for a surety, entity status, it is not known whether he is actually a god, but the fact that this daring liaison should, even to contemporary times, evade the lightning god with ease each and every onset is a startling one alone, but when coupled with the rumors of Koshchey having once defeated the brash god of lightning, the verity of Koshchey’s prerogative to godhood is very much deserved. The tale of Koshchey’s victory over Perun, and the events thereof, are told in great detail within the ancient manuscript known as the “Hrunajr” (Her-ah-inn-ah-jah. The ancient classic of mythology and fairy tales in which many popular tales can be found. Also in which the anecdote of Koshchey’s achievement can be found amidst many other stories of deity-esque proportions, the one in which we speak titled “The Triumph of Thunder Over Lightning”)

Interesting. I'm not one with an eye for setting fluff, as I tend to prefer more minimalistic descriptions in game, but for any gamer desiring an original set of NPCs, this is it.

I do recognize Koshchey, in some form, but the others.. are they your creations or pulled from Earth mythology?

Also, many lulz... I had linked to your "Land of the Mystic Feys" board a while ago just as a curiosity I had found on Google!!! (see general discussion)
How ironic, you're a part of that... wow, we Fey fans really are far and few between.

Wow! Looks quite interesting...I'll be back with more useful comments after I've taken the time to read all of this.

Yeah, I may have been a bit too wordy with some of them but all of these gods also have alot to be wordy about...I'll try to scythe some of the over-info out later perhaps.

Besides Koshchey every idea there was created by me. Alesian's setting did help Zephyr along, as I thought a horse made of shrouds of mist was just too awesome to pass up. Aside from the misty horse part and obvious name though I also made Zephyr, although much credit is Alesian's due, which I noted by Zephyr's name.

Oh...and Seraphim+The Key to the Bottomless Pit, both are from the bible. Not Seraphien mind you, but those she is matron of, the Seraphim. And Father Clarion is obviously Santa Claus inspired. Favonian...Favonian is just a very happy image of me to tell you the truth...although I do wish I was that happy and good at dancing...I fancy to think I have a decent singing voice, but that is pure self-denial more than likely.

Don't be so blonde Sig. I am lazy after I have written so much. Where do you think I got that url from? Also, perception is key, as noticing the meager amount of posts I had and join-date would have told you I was relatively new to that board. Me thinks someone is too involved with their works.

Naw, just didn't notice the post times. I'm bad about that.
So, you followed my link to that board, and posted the same?
Be careful about their material usage agreement, if there's any contradiction with Feybook!
Such as, "anything posted here becomes property of ___", like with WOTC. haha

Yeah, I'm checking into that now. As long as I can use my creations for my own setting, have rights to them as everyone else and the said material is free material then I am content.

These are some very awesome gods. I really liked Seraphien, despite my usual dislike of Christian refferences in role playing games ("keep your dirty legitimate religion out of my D&D!"). I can actually see the fey worshiping some of these gods, even though they don't usually like deities very much.
You, good sir, get 20 jibneypoints.

I think that the south wind is responsible for fog in greek mythology, but Zephyr already fills that roll. Maby one wind would be responsible for driving off evil? (Great job on Father Clarion, by the way)

Great idea, the weaver. And now that I look back on this, I realize the "God of the Four Winds" bussiness is from Roman mythology, Zephyr and Favonian being two of those gods. I created the descriptions at least. ... Goes to show the potency of imagination and the danger of creating the "traditional", same old jazz drawn from other works and mythology that has been reworked myriad over.