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I'm writing a bronze age fantasy novel. Please propose minor deities.
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<blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 8847520" data-attributes="member: 63"><p>The region is very much inspired by real-world Mesopotamia, so I'm going for a Sumerian/Akkadian vibe, with some neighbors who are Egyptian-esque, and distant connections to cultures inspired by the Indus Valley Civilization and by a sorta anachronistic iron age Slavic area.</p><p></p><p>I think I want to avoid a general 'luck' concept, because it's more fun in my view to have people appeal to different gods for luck in specific areas. </p><p></p><p>Time is an interesting one. I've got a storm god, but hoo boy that's a complicated bit of backstory to explain. Basically a very primitive god of the concept of 'eternity' once in prehistory was asked by the god of desert storms to wield his power so the storm god could go about the world as a mortal. But the eternity god was unable to return that power, and so he added storms to his purview. He later gained the power to alter the nature of reality simply by speaking, at which point Sica sacrificed her ability to speak so he could not speak either. </p><p></p><p>Ever since then, this god, whose real name is Lorem but whom everyone thinks is El the god of desert storms, had very few followers, just tribes wandering in the desert. That changed after thousands of years when a priest happened to proclaim himself the voice of El - the Logos - and so he was able to affect the world nearby him by wielding El's power.</p><p></p><p>El was unsure what to do with this development, and tried to teach this group as his chosen people, but they were vulnerable and outnumbered by the followers of other gods. So El sought to create a storm in the desert so great it would drown the rest of humanity, while his people would be protected on arks. However, a coalition of champions of those other gods found out what El was planning, and they struck and averted the great deluge.</p><p></p><p>One champion slew El's Logos and shouted to the sky that if El did not grant him the same power, then he would order the death of all of El's chosen people, leaving El once again without a voice. El submitted, thinking perhaps he could wield power over this group instead. But one of the first decrees the new Logos made was that the Logos would speak for El, and El would not speak for himself. And so mortals had stolen the power of the most powerful god in the world. Once each day, the Logos could make a commandment that would affect the world within his vicinity, with basically god-like power.</p><p></p><p>In the following centuries, a series of Logos have used their power to create laws in a great city, and to rule a civilization around it. While the power came from El, the civilization treated him as basically a power source, while it was the other gods -- the ones whose champions defeated him long ago -- which decided how to run things. At times this civilization was noble, at times wicked, and recently it grew decadent, and threatened to impose its will across the whole world. But then, El vanished, and the last Logos no longer had the power to alter reality with a decree. The great city and its lands still benefit from the miracles already spoken into existence, but they are vulnerable, and other nations wish to be free of their dominion.</p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p>Another element of the setting is that the high priest of the old god who oversaw the sun and moon abused his power and was threatening the whole nation, and so the high priestess of the same god sacrificed her own deity to sap the high priest of his power. Since then there are a lot of sun and moon cults, but none has been recognized as 'the' god of the heavens.</p><p></p><p>Nasda is the one who 'adorns the night sky with legends,' and is credited with creating constellations. I suppose there could be some element of timekeeping there. There's also Chebas and her concern with the timing of floods, planting, and harvests. I might add a note of Jetwan overseeing the calendar, since I have given him a bit of the same vibe as the Roman god Janus, being master of thresholds, from doorways to the transition between years.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RangerWickett, post: 8847520, member: 63"] The region is very much inspired by real-world Mesopotamia, so I'm going for a Sumerian/Akkadian vibe, with some neighbors who are Egyptian-esque, and distant connections to cultures inspired by the Indus Valley Civilization and by a sorta anachronistic iron age Slavic area. I think I want to avoid a general 'luck' concept, because it's more fun in my view to have people appeal to different gods for luck in specific areas. Time is an interesting one. I've got a storm god, but hoo boy that's a complicated bit of backstory to explain. Basically a very primitive god of the concept of 'eternity' once in prehistory was asked by the god of desert storms to wield his power so the storm god could go about the world as a mortal. But the eternity god was unable to return that power, and so he added storms to his purview. He later gained the power to alter the nature of reality simply by speaking, at which point Sica sacrificed her ability to speak so he could not speak either. Ever since then, this god, whose real name is Lorem but whom everyone thinks is El the god of desert storms, had very few followers, just tribes wandering in the desert. That changed after thousands of years when a priest happened to proclaim himself the voice of El - the Logos - and so he was able to affect the world nearby him by wielding El's power. El was unsure what to do with this development, and tried to teach this group as his chosen people, but they were vulnerable and outnumbered by the followers of other gods. So El sought to create a storm in the desert so great it would drown the rest of humanity, while his people would be protected on arks. However, a coalition of champions of those other gods found out what El was planning, and they struck and averted the great deluge. One champion slew El's Logos and shouted to the sky that if El did not grant him the same power, then he would order the death of all of El's chosen people, leaving El once again without a voice. El submitted, thinking perhaps he could wield power over this group instead. But one of the first decrees the new Logos made was that the Logos would speak for El, and El would not speak for himself. And so mortals had stolen the power of the most powerful god in the world. Once each day, the Logos could make a commandment that would affect the world within his vicinity, with basically god-like power. In the following centuries, a series of Logos have used their power to create laws in a great city, and to rule a civilization around it. While the power came from El, the civilization treated him as basically a power source, while it was the other gods -- the ones whose champions defeated him long ago -- which decided how to run things. At times this civilization was noble, at times wicked, and recently it grew decadent, and threatened to impose its will across the whole world. But then, El vanished, and the last Logos no longer had the power to alter reality with a decree. The great city and its lands still benefit from the miracles already spoken into existence, but they are vulnerable, and other nations wish to be free of their dominion. --- Another element of the setting is that the high priest of the old god who oversaw the sun and moon abused his power and was threatening the whole nation, and so the high priestess of the same god sacrificed her own deity to sap the high priest of his power. Since then there are a lot of sun and moon cults, but none has been recognized as 'the' god of the heavens. Nasda is the one who 'adorns the night sky with legends,' and is credited with creating constellations. I suppose there could be some element of timekeeping there. There's also Chebas and her concern with the timing of floods, planting, and harvests. I might add a note of Jetwan overseeing the calendar, since I have given him a bit of the same vibe as the Roman god Janus, being master of thresholds, from doorways to the transition between years. [/QUOTE]
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