Part 1 : The Human Gods
Hynand, the Beast God
Hynand the Beast God was the deity who ruled the Veld in the days before the Four Sisters. In the days of Hynand, men lived like animals, without agriculture, cities or civilization. It was in those days that the gods erected the Encircling Mountains and dug the great trench which holds the Encircling Waters so that the beasts would not wander off the edge of Kazuria and into the realm of the gods.
It is said that Hynand does not make his home with the other gods, still being greatly wroth at their invasion of his lands. According to his worshippers, he now rules a great wild plain filled with fabulous beasts beyond the edge of the world. The beasts who roam the plain are the followers (both man and beast) of Hynand in this world.
In the days before civilization, all men worshipped the natural world and in the days since, those true to Hynand have done the same. Thus all those who are ignorantly called priests of Hynand and actually worshippers of the untamed natural forces of the ancient world. They call themselves Druids and have strange powers of shape-shifting.
Ishai, God of the Magi
Ishai, God of the Magi is said to have once been a mortal man who found the secret pass through the Encircling Mountains that leads to the land of the gods, Amnassem. There, he spied upon the gods for many years, copying their knowledge into bound books of papyrus. After many years, he returned to Kazuria and with his newfound knowledge he became the most powerful mortal ever. His intimate knowledge of the elemental forces of which the world is comprised allowed him to create a science, whereby he could teach any mortal to manipulate these forces.
Seeing that his power was beginning to exceed their own, the gods offered Ishai a place amongst their number on the condition that he ration his knowledge and keep secret the most powerful science. Initially, Ishai would not agree but when the gods promised to show him their very deepest, most hidden knowledge of the universe, he withdrew behind the Encircling Mountains, leaving a son and daughter to lead his followers in Kazuria.
Ivno, God of the Encircling Ocean
Before Ivno, Kazuria was surrounded by a shallow sea, covered in weeds and filled with twisting, writhing creatures. In those days, it was possible to wade across the ocean to distant realms but only if one could face the terrible amphibious monsters, which teemed through the waters.
In those days, Ivno was a god of travel who spent most of his time away from Kazuria, visiting other lands and their gods. But one day, upon his return to Kazuria after a long voyage, he saw that the sea and its creatures had crept up the rivers and spilled out onto the land, terrorizing the people. The other gods sought his counsel to determine how they might purge the land of these foul creatures. After much debate, the gods chose to dredge the sea in a great arc, surrounding Kazuria and cutting off the other realms. Some of the foul creatures found refuge at the bottom of the trench, others on the shores or in the estuaries but most died. For this reason, Ivno is the enemy of amphibians.
Kedlund, Son of Ishai
When Ishai passed beyond the mountains through the secret gate to Amnassem, he left a son and a daughter: Kedlund and Mizithra. Kedlund the Archmage was an obedient son who soon became the chief of Ishai's order on earth, a group called the Magi. His order offered great power in exchange for loyalty and discipline. All who wished to study with the Magi were admitted to the First Circle; initiates who proved that they would not abuse their knowledge of science could then pass into the Second Circle. And those who proved both apt pupils and persons of restraint would be admitted to successive circles.
It is said that there are nine circles of Magi, the highest of which is occupied by the Archmage and the Archmage alone. To ascend to each circle, the mage must swear to a Code that prohibits abuse of his powers and binds him to maintain the elemental balance of the world. As well, he must pass tests showing that he has deepened his understanding of science. Only one member of the eighth circle may ascend to the rank of Archmage. When he does so, his soul merges with that of Kedlund and all previous archmagi to make him part of the living god Kedlund who rules from the College of Magi on Exetubin in Lake Iriktova.
Ksheytrand, God of Empire
After the coming of the Four Sisters, there was a long time of peace but as the Sisters brought such plenty to the land, the number of people in the world multiplied. Soon, it came to pass that as land passed from fathers to their sons, the once great plantations and fields were divided and divided again. Strife arose as each generation found itself poorer than the one that went before. This strife grew to war as men banded together into states and fought one another, each state seeking to increase the size of its lands.
After many centuries, the people found themselves constantly at war, each state coveting the others' verdant fields and promising them to the young men they levied to go to war. Greatest amongst these states was the state of Kazuria. Still, Kazuria was not immune to the strife of other states and so there came a time that the great king Mandaloth was nearing the end of his life. Instead of dividing his realm in two, he willed to his eldest son Oramon the fields and plantations and pasturelands while to his youngest son, Ksheytrand, he willed dominion over the city of Kazuria.
Both sons were pleased with the old king's choice, though few understood the reasons for Ksheytrand's pleasure. But as time passed and Oramon fought constant wars, the city of Kazuria grew in might, its citizens growing fat from trade and learned in the arts beyond any men in the world.
When Oramon died childless in battle, his lands passed to Ksheytrand who surprised many by arming Kazuria's warriors with weapons of great beauty and craft, building siege engines beyond the learning of other men and enlisting mighty wizards in his army. For the next forty years, the realm of Kazuria grew, swallowing state after state. But instead of giving the lands of the other states to the young sons of Kazuria, the kings and queens of the other states were left on their thrones and their nobles left on their plantations if they would swear fealty to the Kazurian throne.
At the end of forty years, Ksheytrand had unified all of what is now Kazuria. And the people loved him for he had given them knowledge, justice, writing and taught them mighty arts and cunning crafts. Instead of fighting to inherit their fathers' lands, sons now fought for the chance to enter the imperial bureaucracy or join the imperial guard.
Seeing the great peace and prosperity of the people, the Gods asked Ksheytrand to pass into their realm and join them after his death that the Gods might achieve a peace themselves as great as that enjoyed by men.
Kurauno, God of the Underworld
At the beginning of time, the gods were numerous and varied. A few protected the mortal creatures of the world but most hated or indifferent to them. To protect the mortals, the Gods of the Veld fought a long war against the other gods to expel them from the world of mortals. Most of the Gods of the Veld died in this war, sacrificing their lives for the lives of men and beasts. Of the gods expelled from the ordinary world, Kurauno is the only god whose name is still remembered. It is said that there were dozens of gods who were placed beyond the reaches of the mortal world, now worshipped only in realms far from Kazuria or not worshipped at all. These gods are known sometimes as the Other Gods or the Nameless Gods
But Kurauno is remembered because while the Nameless Gods joined the Gods of the Veld in battle, Kurauno wrought a deep magic binding himself to Zhivathavno, the God of the Sky, linking their fates for all time. For he knew that no matter how angered the other gods could become, they would never sacrifice the sky, being lovers of the stars and sun just as mortal man was.
So while the Nameless Gods fought against the Gods of the Veld for dominion over the ordinary world, Kurauno retreated, betraying the Nameless Gods to cast his spell. As soon as the spell succeeded, the plan of Kurauno was laid bare to the Gods of the Veld but it was too late. Instead, the gods were forced to cast a counter spell, removing both gods almost totally from the world. The sun retreated high into the sky and the stars became little more than pinpricks, unreachable by man. The underworld, too, was withdrawn from the world and became almost totally unreachable by mortal man. Some speculate that the underworld now hangs in the night sky, too, a white ghostly presence chasing the sun through the heavens. Others say that it has been pushed farther down, leagues below the deepest mines. All followers of Kurauno seek to liberate their god and find a way for him and the Nameless Gods to re-enter the world.
Lucky Jim
Take an eye for an eye
Take a tooth for a tooth
Just like they say in the Bible
Never leave a trace or forget a face
Of any man at the table
When the moon is a cold chiselled dagger
Sharp enough to draw blood from a stone
He rides through your dreams on a coach
And horses and the fence posts
In the midnight look like bones
Well they've stopped trying to hold him
With mortar, stone and chain
He broke out of every prison
Boots mount the staircase
The door is flung back open
He's not there for he has risen
Well he once killed a man with a guitar string
He's been seen at the table with kings
Well he once saved a baby from drowning
There are those who say beneath his coat there are wings
Some say they fear him
Others admire him
Because he steals his promise
One look in his eye
Everyone denies
Ever having met him
He can turn himself into a stranger
Well they broke a lot of canes on his hide
He was born away in a cornfield
A fever beats in his head like a drum inside
Some say they fear him
Others admire him
Because he steals his promise
One look in his eye
Everyone denies
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
(Yes, this is the song Black Wings by Tom Waits -- I always wanted to come up with a D&D game based on it)
This is the song sung by bards about Lucky Jim; many are mystified by what the term "bible" might refer to. Most formal religions dispute whether Lucky Jim is a god. He is only recognized as such by worshippers of Mizithra and Hynand. Lucky Jim is thought to be somewhere between 100 and 200 years old and is believed to have been born in a field of maize somewhere near Veldrek to a woman who died in childbirth. Legends abound as to the identity of his father, the most popular being that he is the son of a giant praying mantis.
Lucky Jim has many followers but has no church per se. In fact, it is somewhat unclear as to whether Lucky Jim even knows that he has followers. Nonetheless, his followers can be divided into six basic groups: the Messengers, the Little Jims, the Holy Assassins, the Healers of the Undeserving, the Weedmen and the Unravellers.
Miranov and Orthanov, Sons of Ksheytrand
When Ksheytrand died, he left two sons. The eldest, Miranov soon ascended to the throne after his father but where his father's rule had been peaceful, Miranov's inflamed old rivalries and set the kings and nobles of the land against one another. Where his father's rule had been equitable and fair, Miranov's rule was capricious and cruel. Where his father had gained the respect of the people, Miranov ruled through fear. But the work of Ksheytrand would not be undone; the empire did not fall or fragment. Instead, the kings and nobles of the land convened a great council in Kazuria where they voted to be ruled by Orthanov, Ksheytrand's younger son.
Miranov appeared to accept their decision, believing that Orthanov would soon become as unpopular and untrusted as he, that the people might find themselves yearning for his return. But instead, Orthanov righted wrongs and settled feuds and soon became nearly as beloved as his father. Even to his hated older brother, he was generous, treating him as a trusted councillor and according him great respect and a place at the right hand of the throne.
But this respect and generosity merely inflamed Miranov's hatred of his brother. And so, after a time, he challenged his younger brother for all that he had gained, invoking his ancient right to a resolution by a single combat. Being bound by the ancient laws, Orthanov accepted and the two brothers fought in the Great Arena of Kazuria before thousands assembled to watch this duel.
While Miranov was not a good ruler, he was a great swordsman and he quickly dispatched his brother, who had refused a champion, in single combat. So impressed were the gods with Orthanov that upon his death they granted him a place among their number. But Miranov petitioned the gods for the same status, saying that he had won his brother's place amongst the gods in the trial by combat. The gods were divided on this matter, questioning the interpretation of the ancient law but finally they decided that Miranov and Orthanov would share a single place amongst their number, one sitting with the gods while the other continued to rule Kazuria.
And so it is that when the Emperor is fair and just, Miranov sits amongst the gods while Orthanov inhabits the emperor's mortal form and when the Emperor is tyrannical and corrupt, Orthanov sits amongst the gods while Miranov inhabits his mortal form.
Mizithra, Goddess of Oracles
When Ishai passed beyond the mountains, some of his followers would not agree to be bound by the rules set down for the Magi by Kedlund. The leader of these people was Mizithra, the daughter of Ishai, learned in his craft. Mizithra became an outlaw, despised alike by the Magi and by the Gods. While the Magi became leaders and bureaucrats, Mizithra's followers became wanderers. Where the Magi prized reason and careful study above all other virtues, Mizithra's followers prized independence and intuition.
Not being bound by the rules of the Gods, Mizithra's followers were sought out for many years as oracles and seers, unique amongst all people in being able to see into the future. Many, including Mizithra, believed time was powerless over her until one day she was wounded by a great and powerful mage and lay dying. It was then that she came to peace with her father Ishai and in exchange for continued immortality agreed for her followers to be bound by the laws of the gods.
Rovnoth, God of the Encircling Mountains
After the Gods of the Veld locked the Nameless Gods outside the world, they too chose to withdraw from Kazuria and leave the realm to mortals. When they decided this, Ivno had already dug the Encircling Ocean and the Sky and Underworld had been taken out of mortal reach. Not wishing to permanently cut themselves off from the mortal realm, they could not withdraw beneath the earth, above the sky or beyond the seas so they raised the encircling mountains in the west of Kazuria and withdrew to a plateau beyond the impassable wall of stone.
Because a time may come that the gods need to re-enter the world or a mortal needs to reach the gods, Rovnoth created the Gate of Amnassem, in a high pass which leads to the realm of the gods. As the god of the mountains and Keeper of the Gate, Rovnoth represents everything about the earth that the Four Sisters do not. Where the sisters are yielding and maleable, Rovnoth is hard and unbending; where the sisters are fertile and generous, Rovnoth is cold and inert.
Rovnoth is the enemy of Hynand who holds him responsible for the Gods' decision to divide god from man and man from beast.
The Four Sisters
(Segweru, Sekari, Seyuru and Sechavi)
The four sister goddesses are said to have crossed the sea from a far-off realm in the days when Hynand still ruled the Veld. Their ship was made of a giant gourd of an unknown plant which cannot grow in Kazuria. When they arrived, they found men living like beasts, killing one another, even their own children. While the men fought and foraged, many women had taken refuge in caves to shelter their children.
The Four Sisters led the women down from the caves, first to hillsides they taught them to terrace and till and eventually out onto the Veld. Soon, men joined the women in tilling the fields and planting crops and civilization began. Each sister led her followers to a different place -- Sekari to the foothills of the highveld, Sechavi to the plateau of the highveld, Segweru to the midveld and Seyuru to the lowveld. Since then, every farmer has had to swear their devotion to only one of the four sisters; every tiller of the soil must prize one crop above all others -- herbs, spices, maize or aloe.
Zhivathavno, God of the Sky
Zhivathavno, it is said, loves mankind more than any other god. It is for this reason that he agreed to withdraw from the world to protect mortals from his sworn enemy Kurauno. It is said that each star in the sky is one of his children who died in the war against the Nameless Gods. On the anniversary of their deaths in the great war, he weeps for them, drenching the Veld in his tears.
There is much debate whether Zhivathavno lives on the plateau with the Gods of the Veld or whether he is consigned to live like Kurauno, removed from the world, trapped in his own realm.
