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- Treacherous
- Sorcery
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- Gods
- Intercessor
- Soldier
- Toolmaker
- Mutilated
- Versinya
- Lacrymosa
- Verachtlich
- Illaria
- Deceased
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- Fire
Dead Gods
Many more deities are mentioned in the tales of the Mythic Dreamtime than are believed to be active today. Many sorcerers have loudly declared that the gods are a dying race, and that mankind will ultimately eclipse their achievements; whether this arrogant prophecy is true or not, it does seem to be the case that the barges of the Gods are growing dark and silent.Here we describe a number of Gods who live no more. Whilst they themselves answer no prayers and grant no spells, mystics and wizards are always on the lookout for relics and remnants of their power. Occcasionally, cults have been formed to worship them, but such misguided outfits are never successful; members drop out rapidly when they realise that their prayers are falling on cold, dead ears.
Thezir - God of Knowledge
In the Mythic dreamtime Thezir (the God of Knowledge) was at his most powerful. The world was changing so much, and there was so many things to learn about and knowledge to be recorded that he was in his element, and with every new thing to be learnt and every being wishing to learn about it, his power grew.He set about recording everything he could in large tomes so that all could learn what he had learnt if they so desired. But he guarded his knowledge well and granted it only to those who pleased him. Other gods tried to steal his books and take the knowledge away from his control – they threatened to weaken him.
Man at that time was docile and easily influenced, so with his cunning Thezir persuaded Man to build a monument to him to house his store of knowledge. However, in the completion of this task and spending much time in the presence of the God of Knowledge, Man's own knowledge increased and brought him that bit closer to becoming fully awake and gave them the idea of books. Perhaps if Thezir had not built his storehouse, man would not have risen so easily against the Gods – but that is something that will never be known.
Thezir finally left this world forever soon after the start of the First Age (and to this extent had only one avatar – a man who read too much). Man created his own books and stored his own knowledge between the pages, so the tomes of Thezir were no longer needed. It is thought that Thezir took most, but not all, of his knowledge with him when he left.
The God of Oaths
The God of Oaths seemed to die at some point before the end of the Mythic Dreamtime. Tales are told of how he was honourable to a fault, fulfilled his Oaths to a word, and was merciless when he got his hands on an oathbreaker. Many regard him as an admirable role model, and even the Church of the Intercessor has conceded that he might not have been malevolent as the gods who survived the Mythic Dreamtime. Others are not so sure - one of the most thought-provoking plays in the Horizon theatre recently was Song and Words, an adaptation of an epic poem concerning the God of Oaths' killing of his own wife, the Queen of Song, when he learned that she had been unfaithful.No avatars of the God of Oaths have arisen in recorded history; furthermore, there are certain Oaths he makes in the ancient tales that he never gets around to fulfilling, and given his nature it's certain that he would have had he lived.
Rumours about the God of Oaths
The God of Oaths didn't die - he became the Intercessor. The Message of the Intercessor is his last and most potent Oath.The dogs of Horizon are a gift to mankind from the God of Oaths - a gift that even the Church doesn't dare condemn.
Dogs were first created by the God of Oaths; when he died, his duties and powers fell to them, as his heirs.
The God of Oaths gave mankind the gift of speech, so that they could swear Oaths to the Gods and to one another.
The Deus Irae
The Deus Irae ("God of Wrath" in Old Imperial) is referred to once, in the ancient song-cycle The Vengeance of the Gods. The song-cycle speaks of the terrible curses, punishments, and fire-and-brimstone horror that the Deus Irae would inflict on the world "if e'er man says no to his masters, if e'er the Gods are defied". His spectacular failure to deliver on this bombastic promise is the major indication that he is either dead or incapacitated - if he ever existed, and The Vengeance of the Gods is not just a clever forgery of a Mythic Age saga.In the First Age, a ferocious madman known as Richard the Wild attacked and destroyed a number of isolated towns and villages in Lasinia, and was eventually slain by a hail of arrows from local militia. The widespread assumption is that Richard possessed his manic strength and burning anger because he was an avatar of the Deus Irae, and his aimless slaughter was a wild lashing-out following the death of his master - however, others have suggested he was a powerful shaman of the Fire, if not a daimon in human form.
Rumours about the Deus Irae
The Deus Irae was killed, or crippled, or mortally wounded by the Intercessor, and that's why the Gods failed to punish mankind for its rebellion.The Deus Irae was never real: he was a bluff on the part of the Gods, who in the flesh are weak and fragile. When the Emperor struck down and killed a God, he called the Gods' bluff - and they paniced and fled.
The Deus Irae is the God that the Emperor killed to begin the rebellion against the deities. Let's face it, if you're going to rise up against your oppressors the guy who's in charge of stopping you is going to be your first target.
The God of Oaths and the Deus Irae were one and the same, The Vengeance of the Gods being an Oath the Deus Irae swore to his fellow deities. When he failed to deliver, he killed himself in shame.