Deities and Faiths

Gods within the Firmament take a different form to those in traditional Pathfinder/D&D/similar settings. Gods are not inherently tied to celestials or fiends - though some choose to keep them as allies - and are generally less likely to directly intervene in the affairs of mortals. Rather, gods have their own agendas that they enact, along with myths and legends that follow them. Gods have worshippers and cults, and gods choose clerics and champions just as in other settings, but encountering a god's chosen is much less common, and most who serve in churches or temples have only ceremonial or ritual power.

Gods always come from something else in the world of the Firmament, sharing a commonly mortal ancestry. In addition, few who desire godhood ever reach it, and the secretive and esoteric processes of attaining godhood are likely to come only to those passionate about a cause entirely unselfish in nature. As a result, there are no truly "evil" gods in existence; the existing gods would work together to prevent such an entity from attaining godhood well in ~~advance.~~advance of their ascendance. Gods tend to be morally and ethically complex proponents of personal causes: some good, some neutral, plenty in-between, but rarely any truly evil. As such, their followers can sit anywhere on the alignment scale, and without the cosmic forces of good or evil that are often present in similar settings, even the gods would struggle to define such terms precisely.

The entries presented below reflect the most common ways of referring to each known god rather than intimate personal knowledge of said god; as such, it is very much possible that these accounts differ from reality.

Atris (they/them)

Once the god of heroic battle and conquest, Atris faced a reckoning following their direct part in the Cascade - and the fact that their precepts had, in their eyes, been the direct cause of the event. Those rumors that survive from before the modern era tell of Atris as a god of war who charged headfirst into combat without risk, all in the pursuit of justice and glory. That changed abruptly after the Shattering of the first layer, an event which caused Atris to seriously reevaluate their place in the world.

Atris now claims no title, though those who know of them would most likely call them the god of repentance and redemption, possibly adding introspection and meditative reflection to that list. They dedicate themselves to repairing the damage caused by their past conflicts, remaining adjacent to or within the first layer to this very day.

Most depictions of Atris are from pre-modern times and therefore are shown in their old fashion: a warrior with long hair atop a charging horse, sword outstretched and mouth open in a war cry. Even among those who know of the god's continued existence, there is little broad consensus on their modern depiction.

Myths & Legends of Atris

Few myths of Atris survive to the present day, as the god is unknown to all but the longest-lived peoples outside of the plane of Aether. Those that do are mostly about historic battles from before modern memory, though there are whispers that the angels occasionally spotted in the skies of the Aether may have some relation.

Iela (she/her)

Iela Worship Within Sheora (on the Mortal Plane)

Myths & Legends of Iela

Kratune (he/him)

Myths & Legends of Kratune

Mephine (she/her)

Resting adjacent to the lowest layer of the Firmament, the Void, Mephine (meh-feen) is the goddess of solitude and respite. Many of the souls of the departed find their final rest in Mephine's domain, and she is happy to provide them the comfort they need. Some see her as a bringer of death, but the more common view is that she serves the duty of protecting the souls of the fallen from unwanted intrusion, escorting them to where they can be comfortable and safeguarding them for eternity.

Mephine is a friend to those seeking quiet solace, and to those to whom the world dealt an unfair hand. In their passing, Mephine is said to stay with them personally until they can be at peace, and some legends even state that Mephine gathers kindred spirits together so that solace does not turn into loneliness.

Mephine is commonly depicted as a woman with a shadow-cloaked face, wearing loose robes that cover her whole body. Often, she's shown cradling or holding an infant or some other representation of a lost soul.

Myths & Legends of Mephine

Miorr (he/him)

Myths & Legends of Miorr

Yotz (he/they)

Yotz is the god who travels the planes out of an unending wanderlust, searching for whatever adventure or excitement they can stick their nose into. He's the patron of explorers and travelers just as much as he is the patron of nomadic peoples; gnomes often have an exceptional fondness for him as a result, and he's been known to show up as a guest to fey and gnomish parties on many a plane.

Most know that Yotz demands no formal worship, just that they show favor to kindred spirits. When statues or shrines to Yotz are constructed, the variations are as different as the planes, but all include the wide-mouthed toothy grin characteristic of the god.