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Author Topic: The Tepestani Pantheon  (Read 2007 times)

MAB77

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The Tepestani Pantheon
« on: March 29, 2015, 03:38:56 PM »
Seeking to differenciate further the Forfarian beliefes from the Tepestani beliefs, the following information is all the Ravenloft canon information I could find regardind the Tepestani Pantheon and beliefs. The 3rd edition "Ravenloft player's handbook", the 2nd edition module "Servants of Darkness" and the "Doomsday Gazeteer volume V" have been used as sources. Let me know if I have missed anything.

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The Tepastani Pantheon
The Tepestani honor and worship a small pantheon of native gods, as well as acknowledge the existence of other deities such as Hala and the Lawgiver. Men and women can both serve as clerics. On the surface, they appear to worship the same pantheon as the Forfarians of Forlorn. The gods have the same names, and they are generally called upon or placated for the same reasons, but there are differences.

The Tepestani often mingle their legends of Belenus and other deities with time-honored tales of shadow fey, ravenous goblins, fiendish hags and witches.

Arawn
Goddess of Death
Alignment: Neutral evil
Domains: Death, Evil, Repose
Symbol: Skull wearing antlered helm
Favored weapon: Scythe

Arawn is considered a goddess rather than a god as in Forlorn. The Tepestani don’t so much worship her as they desperately attempt to placate her. The Tepestani honor her with occasional sacrifices designed to keep the unnatural creatures of Autumn from plaguing communities.

Belenus
God of Gods, God of Sun and Fire.
Alignment: Neutral good
Domains: Fire, good, sun
Symbol: Sunburst
Favored weapon: Sickle

In Tepest, Belenus is revered as the “god of gods”. Belenus bestows the life-giving light and heat of the sun on those who please him and withholds it from those who earn his wrath, cursing them with icy cold and darkness. Solar eclipses are considered dire omens. He is viewed as the organizer of their ranks, and without him, the world we know today would not have existed. In some tales, he is the prime creator, while in others he created our world by combining the singular creations of the gods into a coherent whole. He is also considered to be the god who cares most about humans and who is their greatest ally in the struggle against the fey. All Tepestani worship him, and each community has at least a small temple devoted to him.

Belenus is honored in noon-time services. This is also the time of day his priests pray for spells.

As the Inquisition has gained strength in Tepest, priests serving the other gods in the Tepestani pantheon have become increasingly uncommon. Subsequently, worship of other gods starts to fade. The Inquisitors are not actively discouraging devotion to the other gods of the pantheon. Rather, their strong, very visible stance against the evils that menace the Tepestani make Belenus appear to be the only god who truly looks out for the endangered Children of Summer.

More information regarding the Tepestani inquisition can be found in this thread.

Brigantia
Goddess of nature, industry and agriculture.
Alignment: Lawful good
Domains: Animal, Good, Protection
Symbol: Woman holding a hammer
Favored weapon: Warhammer

Sister to Manannan mac Lir, consort to Belenus and his frequent collaborator in matters of Creation. She is one the three main deities of the Tepestani pantheon. A goddess of the wild forests and beasts, as well as the domesticated animals and cultivated fields. She is also said to bless hardworking artisans. Honored by all Tepestani on his holy days and actively worshipped by some farmers, fishers, hunters and artisans.

Dagdha
Goddess of Fertility and the Forest
Alignment: Chaotic good
Domains: Good, Plant, Trickery
Symbol: Cauldron
Favored weapon: Club

Daghda is considered a goddess rather than a god as in Forlorn. Sister to Diancecht and consort to Lugh, she is seen as a dark and somewhat simpleminded reflection of Brigantia. A mistress of wild growing weeds and untamed wilderness. She is also a fertility goddess, and women call for her blessing when seeking to become pregnant. Along Lugh and Diancecht, she is cast as one of the creators of the fey and is therefore seen as the patrons of these enemies of mortals. This patronage is not attributed to malice, but rather to a misguided love for her dangerously flawed creations. She is typically only honored on her holy day or in services held with specific intentions in mind.

Diancecht
God of Healing
Alignment: Neutral good
Domains: Good, Healing
Symbol: Leaf
Favored weapon: Dagger

Diancecht is the god of healing. Brother to Daghda, he is considered a dark and somewhat simpleminded reflection of Manannan mac Lir. Along Daghda and Lugh, he is cast as one of the creators of the fey and is therefore seen as the patrons of these enemies of mortals. This patronage is not attributed to malice, but rather to a misguided love for his dangerously flawed creations. He has a nebulous position in so far as he is called upon when the Tepestani wish to cure or protect themselves of illnesses or to ensure a healthy childbirth for a woman. Diancecht is credited with creating all illnesses in the world, but he is not thought of as evil like a god with his portfolio might be in most faiths. Instead, he is merely misguided. He is credited with being the only one of the trio who is trying to make amends for the mistakes he visited upon the world; hence, although he created illnesses, he is also the one who is most adept at curing mortals. Some shrines and temples dedicated to Belenus also reserve a small corner for Diancecht so he can be called upon easily. He is typically only honored on his holy day or in services held with specific intentions in mind.


Lugh
God of the moon and arcane magic
Alignment: Chaotic neutral
Domains: Chaos, Knowledge, Magic
Symbol: Eight-pointed star
Favored weapon: Mace

Lugh is the god of the moon and arcane (and fey) magic. Consort to Daghda, he is considered a dark and somewhat simpleminded reflection of Belenus. Along Daghda and Diancecht, he is cast as one of the creators of the fey and is therefore seen as the patrons of these enemies of mortals. This patronage is not attributed to malice, but rather to a misguided love for his dangerously flawed creations. He is typically only honored on his holy day or in services held with specific intentions in mind.

Manannan mac Lir
God of the lakes, rivers and aquatic animals
Alignment: Lawful neutral
Domains: Animal, Law, Water
Symbol: Fish
Favored weapon: Trident

Brother to Brigantia, best friend to Belenus and his frequent collaborator in matters of Creation. Manannan mac Lir is the third main deity of the Tepestani pantheon. He is the master of all lakes and rivers, as well as the creatures that dwell within them. Honored by all Tepestani on his holy days and actively worshipped by some farmers, fishers, hunters and artisans.

Math Mathonwy
God of Dark Magic and Secrets
Alignment: Lawful evil
Domains: Knowledge, Magic
Symbol: Iron Scepter
Favored weapon: Quarterstaff

The god of dark magic and secrets is almost universally ignored by the Tepestani and in so they mirror the gods in their tales, except in certain funeral rites for Outlanders who die within Tepest. These rites are intended to call upon Math Mathonwy’s mercy so that he doesn’t cause the deceased evil person (because all Outlanders are by default considered evil) to return as one of Winter’s Children but instead remain peacefully in the ground.

Morrigan
Goddess of Discord and War
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Domains: Destruction, Evil, War
Symbol: Crossed swords
Favored weapon: Greatsword

Morrigan is the godess of discord and war. The Tepestani don’t so much worship her as they desperately attempt to placate her. The Tepestani honor her with occasional sacrifices designed to keep the unnatural creatures of Autumn from plaguing communities.

The Tepestani Myth of Creation

The Tepestani believe that their gods created the world one season at a time, starting with Spring, and populated each season with its own beings. Some versions of the story say that each season was originally an attempt by individual gods at making separate worlds and that eventually the gods combined their creations into one world.

Regardless of the version, the creation starts with Spring. Along with Spring, the gods created the Children of Spring — the fey. These immortal nature spirits neither knew nor experienced death, so to this day they have no respect for life or death. In the versions that state each season was the work of different gods, Spring is credited as the work of Daghda (goddess of fertility and the forest), Diancecht (god of healing), and Lugh (god of magic and secrets).

Summer and Summer’s Children came next — mortal men and women, and natural animals. All versions agree that the gods felt giving the fey immortality was a mistake and therefore created Summer’s Children with a limited life span. Since Summer’s Children experience all facets of life and death, they develop an appreciation and understanding of the joys and the pains that make life what it is. The Tepestani consider summer’s children to be the only “trustworthy” type of spirit. The versions that credit seasons to individual gods say that Belenus (god of the sun) was the main architect of Summer and of men and women, while his consort Brigantia (goddess of nature, industry and agriculture) and her brother Manannan mac Lir (god of the water and aquatic creatures) created the animals and helped with defining how mortal beings moved through their life-spans.

Autumn and Autumn’s Children followed. This season came about because some of the gods felt they could improve upon Summer but failed miserably in their effort; none could match the splendid creation that resulted when all the gods worked in consort. The creatures of autumn are all inferior and twisted reflections of Summer’s Children — goblins, hags, lycanthropes and other monstrous beings. In the “separate worlds” myth, Autumn and its children are the creation of Arawn (goddess of death) and Morrigan (goddess of discord and war) because they were jealous of Summer and felt they could create a superior world. Unfortunately, the fundamentally vile natures of both deities seeped into their creation, making it a place of death populated by unnatural, hate-filled creatures.

Last in the order of creation was Winter, as well as Winter’s Children. Interestingly, all creation myths credit this creation to Math Mathonwy (god of dark magic and secrets), apart from the rest of the gods. Most commonly, it is believed that he initiated his creation as an expression of spite toward the other gods, because none of them consulted him during their efforts. Other interpretations suggest that Math Mathonwy was attempting to perfect Spring and Spring’s Children, but that his own cold and evil nature tainted his creation beyond any ability to support life, or that he was creating the ultimate repository for the evil magic and secrets that he wanted to preserve. To this end, he had snow blanket Winter and created the undead and elemental beings — strange reflections of Spring’s Children, eternal as well, but utterly devoid of life.

In the “separate worlds” version of the Tepestani creation tale, Belenus visited all the various creations and decided that if the gods combined their worlds into a single place, it would be a more perfect creation — a place where Summer’s Children in particular could flourish. All the gods agreed, and so the world was born. In both versions, the gods agree that in order to avoid the problems that arose with the Children of Spring on a cosmic scale, their world would eventually die. The Tepestani believe that subsequently all of history follows the course of a single “year,” as seen from the vantage of the gods. The world will follow the course of that single year, and then it will end.

According to the Tepestani, we currently live in the Autumn of creation. Untold eons ago, the fey reigned without challenge and kept mortals in fear with chaotic and unpredictable magic. Eventually, mighty heroes arose among the mortals and forced the fey into the wildest depths of the forest. As the fey retreated, magic became more orderly, and humans became increasingly more powerful and important in the world. With the retreat of the fey, the Summer of the World began.

Tepestani Beliefs
It is believed that the appearance of the Shadow Rift, and apparent destruction of G'Henna and Markovia in 740, was the devastating first strike in a resumed campaign by the people’s eternal enemies, the fey. Following which the Inquisition of Belenus was established to drive out the foul spirits of the forest before they could seduce more souls or take more lives.

The Tepestani are an incredibly superstitious lot. The feys are blamed for all manners of misfortune that might affect them.

Tepestani opinion about undead is that if they are left alone, they won’t trouble the living.

A long time ago, only women were allowed to be servants of the gods. They were called the cailleaigh, the "wise women". A few of those eventually succombed to the temptation of the feys, seeking to learn how to control the power of the Weave without divine guidance. They were turned into hags, and the term cailleaigh now designates these horrid creatures.

The Tepestani believe that with the elimination of the cailleaigh, the fey managed to draw the world from Summer into Autumn. Twisting and blighting the forest around them and causing the emergence of Children of Autumn:  goblins, goblin beasts and worse beings.

Burying the body of a convicted criminal at a crossroad is said to confuse the spirit of the deceased and prevent it from coming back to haunt the livings.

The outlander goddess Hala is not perceived as a goddess of healing and beneficial magic, but as a patron of the fey and a protector of those who consort with them. Members of covens are thought to be fey in human guises and will be burned at stakes if found. Hatred for the Halans comes from three sources.
1) There is an epic of ancient Tepestani heroes questing against a woman named Hallah, who attempted to usurp the gods and seize control of the destiny of all mortals by spinning magical threads that represented each mortal life. By weaving these threads into tapestries, she dictated fates, and by cutting threads she ended lives.
2) The Inquisition believes that Hala may have been one of the three original corrupted wise women or that she may be the fey creature who seduced those women. The Inquisition dismisses any suggestion that the version held by Hala’s followers is anything but lies to shroud their evil natures. Some more recent bardic tales have merged modern beliefs with the ancient epic song and cast Hala as one of the fey who originally seduced the Tepestani wise women and who continues to spin deadly magical threads that corrupt all who become entangled in them.
3) There are the aforementioned facts that worshippers of Hala refer to themselves as Witches and Warlocks and that the Tepestani translations for those titles imply inherent evil. Tepestani logic dictates that anyone who goes out of their way to describe themselves as evil must be evil.
« Last Edit: March 29, 2015, 03:45:04 PM by MAB77 »
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MAB

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