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- Treacherous
- Sorcery
- Alchemy
- Gods
- Intercessor
- Soldier
- Toolmaker
- Mutilated
- Versinya
- Lacrymosa
- Verachtlich
- Illaria
- Deceased
- Powers
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- Fire
Arikel, the Toolmaker
Arikel is known as the toolmaker of the gods; it is said that at the beginning of time it was he who first harnessed Fire and forced it to act as a tool. These legends go to tell how Arikel tried to prevent humankind learning the secret of fire, or tried to take the fire away, around the time of the Intercession. Relatedly it is said that Arikel resents the Intercessor and his church more than the any of the other gods, although the exact connection is always vague. From these tales it might be thought that the Toolmaker hates mankind, but other tales tell that he is fascinated by the technologies that humans have created. In these tales Arikel is more of a uncle figure (albeit a very stern uncle) who inspires human inventors to their greatest inventions. Indeed, writings attributed to cultists of Arikel claim that he is the ultimate source of all technology. This may be an exaggeration, but here are plenty of accounts of inventors and engineers who later turned out to be cultists of Arikel. It should come as no surprise that the god gives out magical powers only sparingly; he prefers his followers to work with technology and science, occasionally helping them with his own ideas and devices.Socially, the cults of Arikel have a somewhat ambivalent position. All right-thinking people are suspicious of any god, but the emphasis of Arikel's cults on reason and progress has mitigated this to a certain degree. Still, it is not safe to be publicly known as a member of one of Arikel's cults. Legends also suggest a darker side to Arikel's work in the world, with the Church of the Intercessor leading the way in accusing Arikel of seeking to stifle human creativity, in the hope that mankind's achievements will never overshadow his own.
A few tales are told of Arikel's avatars. It is said that once every millenium he takes on two people as apprentices; these learn Arikel's crafts from him, and also act as his avatars. In the past these apprentices have achieved fame and notoriety as the Empire and the Church of the Intercessor have sought to destroy them and their influence. One of these took the name Michael Slanard but is more generally known as 'the Smith'; he built up a mighty business as a master armourer in Lasinia nearly a thousand years ago before being discovered and driven out by the priests of the Intercessor. In more recent times, a fairly well-known scandal was the fall of Iterech Alamar, appointed by the Emperor as the first Head Professor of the Faculty of Engineering in the newly completed Imperial University (about five hundred years ago). Under his rule the department thrived, but Alamar was uncovered as an avatar of Arikel. In some versions of the story he escapes from the city under cover of night; in other versions he is slain and burnt by the Imperial forces; in others still he switches his appearance somehow and survives in the department until a few years before the present day.