History and Religion

The History of Novemterra

Most of Novemterra's inhabitants couldn't recite the actual story of their world's origin word for word. However, most common folk have at least heard the legend, and get the gist of it. The story is passed down from one generation to another primarily through oral tradition. It is told in many different ways and has many different versions, but all share a general similarity. The version presented here is the general version that any typical common folk would have been exposed to.

The Legend
In the ancient times, the immortal over-deities walked throughout the mortal realm along with their subjects, coexisting with them side by side. They all lived in the presence of their Creator, who regularly visited the mortal realm to interact with everything it had made: the great lands and oceans of the planet, down to the tiniest detail. The over-deities freely interacted with their followers, offering hope, aid, wisdom, and guidance throughout the world. These beings often entered into free associations with those fellow immortals who shared their own thoughts and agendas. For many of them, their aim in the world was to advocate their own ideals among their followers, as each felt that the Creator's desires most closely matched his or her own.

Eventually, as the over-deities became more powerful through the faith of their followers and were blessed by the gracious hand of the Creator through the passage of time, they began desiring to spread their own influences and values to the followers of their fellow over-deities so that their own special light could permeate throughout the world and fulfill their perceived purpose. The Creator, residing within the center of the planet in its Core, allowed its creation to openly mingle with the over-deities and their progeny, occasionally venturing out to view the splendor it had created and impart wisdom to all sides.

The Divine Fall
Unfortunately, as powerful as these holy beings were, their covetousness for the minds, hearts, and faiths of the great multitudes of the mortal realm overcame the senses of their hearts, and they began to quarrel with each other, fueling the beginning of their holy fury. With the continued passing of time, the hearts of many over-deities grew dark and corrupt, and soon their holy fury was an unholy one. Many over-deities, seeing their fellow over-deities in anguish over the spreading conflicts, were also drawn into the exchange, hoping to prevent disaster. Powerful followers attempting to compromise by continuing in their previous free worship of more than one over-deity felt the horrendous displeasure of all sides, as many over-deities began rigidly forcing their followers to obey their own dogma exclusively, and ostracize, banish or destroy any who would not, the evil out of selfish ambition, and the good to protect their subjects from the growing power of consuming darkness.

In the ages that followed, kingdoms and tribes, clans and nations fell in the wake of the power struggle for the faiths of Novemterra's peoples, as the leaderships of the lands began switching back and forth between patron over-deities with frightening frequency. No over-deity wished to be devoid of faith from its followers, for the manifestation of that fact would result in its death - the only way a over-deity could die. Thus, the over-deities plotted against one another to destroy all opposing followers to rid the planet of each other, forming treaties and alliances with fellow over-deities to further their various missions, schemes, agendas.

The War of Ultimates
Seeing the coming inevitably of penultimate conflict, each over-deity shifted his or her focus from trying to indoctrinate the followers of their fellow over-deities in the world to preparing for holy war against each other by fortifying and enhancing their own followers. Their armies would be their followers as well as all the beasts of the land, sea and air that could be appointed or otherwise convinced to join them in their divine quest. Contracts were made with beings from the nether-regions of space to the fiery bowels of the Core. All implored the Creator through fasting, prayer, self-mutilation, sacrifice, and meditation to aid their own cause, for both righteous and unrighteous reasons.

The War of Ultimates was a time of fiery brightness and deep darkness, a time when the over-deities of the light showed the harshness of their hearts, and the over-deities of darkness reveled in the violence. Entire nations, tribes and kingdoms were extinguished, age after age. Even the greatest of heroes and champions of each over-deity's army became little more than footnotes in the blood-soaked book of history, so turbulent was the War of Ultimates. The Creator was overcome with grief, for this was not the destiny it had intended for its creation, and secluded itself within the Core. Divine beings attempted to obtain the blessings of the Creator to aid them in their zealous persistence to crush the other over-deities, but the sound of the Creator's voice died from the ears of the planet and all that was left was neither light nor darkness but a horrifying, dreary gray.

Cataclysm
Even at the height of the war, when the fighting as at its fiercest, there was still no clear victor. Finally, the divines themselves readied their fearsome weapons, their most potent magic and most powerful battle mounts, and strode into the fray themselves, alongside their surviving followers. Weapons of the cosmos and spells from the cores of the elements were unleashed in blinding, explosive eruptions of pure energy. At the conclusion of the War of Ultimates, many of the over-deities themselves had fallen, and those that remained were too weak to continue warring against each other on their own power.

Now the fate of the war and thus the world was left in the hands of the over-deities' mightiest followers, the avatars. The War of Ultimates had become a fierce struggle from within, the final test of faith and devotion. The avatars of each over-deity clashed, newly endowed with the very essence of divine guardian forces. The mountains heaved. The seas roared. The planet wept.

The conclusion of the Great War was the final battle known as Cataclysm. In this catastrophe between the forces of light and darkness, the planet cried out in one last unending shriek of pain as it was torn asunder. All mortal creatures whose minds were attuned and heard the screams of the Planet could not bear it and perished. Even those who heard the resulting echoes the Planet's cries were scarred forever, later to be haunted by their betrayal against the Creator for the rest of their lives and the lives of their children, down to the hundreds of generations that followed.

Ultimate Compassion
At last overcoming the forces of darkness, the side of light emerged victorious. They begged the Creator in the planet's Core to save their world torn asunder. As the entire planet began shaking in its foundations in the darkest reaches of the sky, falling apart in the aftermath of the volatile arcane energy that ravaged its war-torn surface, the remaining over-deities of light stripped themselves of their glory, and mourned the death of their planet, fellow over-deities, and their beloved followers, who had followed them until the bitter end. At last, after one hundred ages of mourning and weeping by the over-deities of light, the Creator was moved by them, and in compassion removed its own arm and stripped it to the bone. With its arm the Creator impaled the entire planet from pole to pole, forever pinning the world together and saving vast lands that had been floating into space, to be lost forever to the cold clutches of void. And with the blood spilled from its arm, the Creator forged new continents and lands to replace those which had been lost to the void.

The Divine Burden
Even the remaining over-deities of evil could not rise up directly against the love and compassion of the Creator, for their own meager existences had been spared eternal wrath. Some were moved to neutrality after these events, and many others even set aside their own bloodthirsty agendas to acknowledge a day of peace. But soon, some of the most evil over-deities began plotting the destruction of the over-deities of light so that they would stand unopposed to using the power of the Core to overcome the Creator and become the new Creator in their own might. The forces of light discovered this scheming and once again began planning to protect and defend their beloved planet which had been once torn asunder because of their blindness.

The Creator saw this and sighed, for no good could come out of this, only another war more horrific than the one before. So the Creator was still and gave these remaining over-deities time to discover the error of their ways, to reconcile with each other and repent from their deeds, hoping that they would see the folly of their ways. However, when it became apparent that they would not relent, the Creator called them all forth to stand before it in judgment, and decreed that each over-deity had to leave their followers and become living, working clockwork machines for the rotation of the planet to ensure that its celestial pathway would remain the same as it had been before the War of Ultimates, and all over-deities who were not charged with the momentous task itself were required to support the weight and turning of the new World Shells with their own bodies.

All of these remaining over-deities of light and darkness were thus banished from the realm of the planet’s reality for eternity, and in their place, the mighty avatars arose to power to become the deities of Novemterra today as we know it.

Today
To this day, the over-deities, held in place by the powers of the Creator and the Core, remain chained to their eternal stations, tirelessly turning and pushing the planet round and round throughout its various World Shell revolutions while support its weight. The Creator has once again retreated into the center of the Core, leaving the fate of the planet in the hands of the divine progeny of the new gods and their followers… for now.

THE MIDERTHIAN PANTHEON

Clerics hailing from Miderth must choose a patron deity from one of the following deities. Lesser deities are those found only on Miderth - inhabitants of other Shells might have heard of these deities or even know or worship them, but the core of their power is confined to Miderth, and their influence in the mortal affairs of other Shells is generally weak (with a few exceptions, which are noted). Greater deities are those whose divine power, presence, and followers encompass all of Novemterra, even though most of the churches located on different Shells who revere the same deity may never come into contact with each other. The lesser or greater status of a deity has no effect on the power bestowed upon their clerics, and is simply a descriptor of the deity's own divine power relatively to other deities of Novemterra (this has no mechanical in-game effects for your character).

The above rules take precedence over any flavor text/description of the deities themselves.

Lesser Deities

Verdauga Greeneyes, Lord of Mossflower
Alignment: Lawful Evil (LE, NE, N, LN)
Domains: Chaos, Evil, Metal, Craft, Pride
Portfolio: selfishness, rigidity, tradition, punishment, authority
Favored Weapon: Dire flail (bludgeoning)

Verdauga Greeneyes is an incredibly resourceful, cunning, and brutal deity. He rules the region of Mossflower Wood through the merciless might of his followers, who often hold positions of power and authority in many of the cities, tribes, and nations inhabiting that area. He is feared by all across the land, but is also known for his occasional acts of exceptionally outspoken mercy. This is, of course, relative to his usual doctrine of brutal iron-fisted rule, and would mostly include the sparing of a perpetrator’s life with only sufficient punishment for the crimes committed to teach lessons of obedience without inflicting undue harm. However, while Verdauga ensures that his subjects rule their people with concern for their well-being (the strength of one in power is dictated by the strength of many, after all), a typical day under such rule is characterized by a heavy blanket of oppression and hardship.

The patriarch of a powerful divine noble house of his namesake, the Lord of Mossflower is equally feared among his own attendants in the divine realm, so much so that over the eons, many of his own lieutenants have tried to poison him, even his own daughter, the evil goddess Tsarmina. However, such efforts were in the end simply used by Verdauga Greeneyes to empower his own authority and solidify the loyalty of his other divine agents through punishing such culprits.

Verdauga’s doctrine is that the strong must rule the weak, and such rule must be stern and efficient, without mercy. However, such rule must not consistently exclude honor and reason, or else the ruler is only a depraved animal. Violence and bloodshed are tools that must be used, and can be used often, but should not dominate the wielder. While the key to obtaining power is a show of greater power, the key to maintaining such power is to withhold it until the time is right to use it. Discretion is essential to conquest. Extreme measures should only be taken when necessary, but must be undertaken for the ultimate benefit of the strong who rule, and then secondarily, for those who are ruled. Image is a part of one’s capability and power, though not on the same level as raw fighting ability or cunning.

Verdauga Greeneyes’ clerics hold themselves in a proper manner, and wear tasteful clothing of rich greens, blues, yellows and lavender. After all, image is a part of one’s capability and power.


Tsarmina, Queen of the Thousand Eyes
Alignment: Chaotic Evil (LE, NE, CE)
Domains: Evil, Law, Madness, Pride, War
Portfolio: drowning, paranoia, distrust, disharmony, betrayal
Preferred Weapon: Composite Longbow (piercing)

The insane, tyrannical daughter of Verdauga Greeneyes, Tsarmina was once one of his lieutenants who tried to poison him during the War of Ultimates in order to gain the command of his Thousand Eye army through the work of her most cunning divine followers that attempted to infiltrate his ranks as double agents. Their efforts were foiled by Verdauga’s own agents, who had already infiltrated Tsarmina’s inner circle of commanders as counter-double agents, and ultimately, by the Lord of Mossflower’s own handwriting, she and her loyal subjects and co-conspirators were sentenced to be executed by drowning. It is notable that Verdauga’s own double agents were also similarly sentenced, as their own motives and allegiance could no longer be trusted. It was during the sentencing time that Tsarmina developed an intense phobia of water.

Escaping the execution through the deceptive Fortuna’s witchcraft (then known as Fortunata), Tsarmina lay with the drowned corpses of her most powerful divine followers and Verdauga’s own dead agents for weeks, enduring both the burning and burial. Eventually, when left alone and completely devoid of her sanity, Tsarmina began gouging both the eyes of her dead minions and those of Verdauga’s agents and fashioning a garment from them, using those of her minions as the main piece and those of Verdauga’s agents as the cowl surrounding the neck so that she can view them at all times to assuage her paranoia.

Now, whenever Tsarmina appears on the mortal realm, she depicts herself as a slender woman with the sleekness and slight features of a feline, with eyes as black as the void and constantly crying black tears, wearing her horrific Cloak of the Thousand Eyes so that no one may ever catch her unawares again. Her paranoia and fear accent her maniacal evil, and she admonishes her clerics to act brazenly, committing wanton acts of violence in the name of self-preservation. Everything under the sun must become hers because she was denied the power she was worthy of, she dictates. Relationships mean nothing, and must always be tested, built up, and sundered in order to reveal the truth in people’s hearts. As even her followers treat each other with the utmost suspicion, there are no real established churches of any kind under her authority. Instead, splinter groups, hidden shrines, and underground cults exist throughout the countryside, and even in the cities themselves.

Clerics of Tsarmina wear pale blue or purple robes that are often bloodstained, and many of her most fervent followers mimic her sick, depraved fashion sense by taking the eyes of their fallen enemies (or former comrades) and wearing them all over their bodies. Followers of Tsarmina that travel openly in civilized societies use every opportunity afford by their lifestyle and occupation to sow the seeds of distrust and discord among people of all kinds.


Gulo Dramz, the Savage Heart
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (LE, NE, CE, N, CN)
Domains: Chaos, Madness, Planning
Portfolio: spontaneity, appetite, freedom, sleeping,
Preferred Weapon: Claws/Teeth, Claymore (greatsword) (slashing)

The Savage Heart is truly unpredictable. As a being of total freedom, there is no telling what Gulo Dramz, who espouses no significant views, may want or do. Completely reserved one moment and wildly feral the next, he is just as likely to be depicted in art as eating grass as he is depicted eating other deities. His form of preference is an enormous hunched over humanoid resembling a cross between a bear and a badger, with large paws and small gleaming black eyes, but he often appears as a rock, a tree, or small female pixie. Dwelling in the Land of Ice and Snow, Gulo Dramz lived peacefully until one day, his evil brother Tsukikage stole an artifact from him said to contain his formidable mental abilities. Reduced to a mad, raving animalistic creature, he killed his father without fully understanding his actions, and set out to find his brother. Since then he searches the realms endlessly for his Tsukikage, not of sound mind, devoid of many of his memories, only knowing that something of his was taken.

Gulo Dramz’s followers often describe their master’s insanity as a release from the clutches of worldly agendas, referring to such a state as “true freedom”. They can often be seen constantly murmuring to themselves, talking randomly to bushes, trees, rocks and flowers as though such objects were their deity in disguise. They are known for their erratic daily lifestyles, which conform to no set schedule or regimen of any kind. What needs to be done is sometimes everything, and quite often nothing. Equally strange (and dangerous) is their diet, which mimics the spontaneity of their deity, ranging from wild plant life to grand cooked meals to each other. Followers of the Savage Heart are taught that life can only be truly appreciated when following no established pattern of any kind. Most of his followers are also insane as a result of contemplating the idea that a life without pattern still arguably follows a pattern, and such contemplation to bring about madness is often quite deliberate.

Gulo Dramz’s clerics have no set dress code, and their fashion sense runs the gamut. Because of their unstable disposition, they are not likely to hold any one occupation within society for long, but they often function as entertainers, competitors in various games and sports, mercenaries for hire (who often don’t care for the money), professional mourners, or anything else.


Fortuna, Heals-With-Death
Alignment: Chaotic Evil (CE, LE, NE, N)
Domains: Chaos, Evil, Lust, Slime, Envy, Pestilence
Portfolio: deception, secrets, wickedness
Preferred Weapon: “Spinesheath” (poisoned dagger)

Fortuna often is depicted as a sly, seductive humanoid fox with golden-red fur and sparkling green eyes. She was formerly known as Fortunata, and helped her friend, the goddess Tsarmina, cheat death at the hands of her father Verdauga Greeneyes. Fortuna acts under the guise of a healer, when in fact her promises to heal others of their afflictions manifests in the form of death inflicted by poison. A master of half-truths and lies of all shapes and sizes, Fortuna covets secret knowledge and hidden passions.

Her favored weapon, a wickedly sharp wavy-bladed dagger known as “Spinesheath,” constantly drips with green poison. Fortuna’s followers usually wear garments that cover their bodies, revealing nothing of their physical form to the eyes of others. They are most widely known for the sinister fox-like masks that they always wear over their faces, and their weapons are almost always wavy-bladed and have grooves cut into them through which they channel poison into the wounds of their enemies. Fortuna’s clerics often obtain positions of political power to thwart and twist their superiors to the agendas of their dark deity, seducing them with power and unprecedented prosperity. They also can be found guarding ancient ruins, especially the site of much ancient knowledge, such as old cave fortresses, crypts, abandoned libraries and sanctums, and other such locations.


Damug Warfang, the Rapscallion General
Alignment: Neutral Evil (LE, N, LN, CN, CE)
Domains: Evil, Law, Competition, War
Portfolio: solidarity, cruelty, evil rodents, carnage, athletics
Preferred Weapon: “The Rapscallion Sword” (fullblade) and “Heart Crusher” (greatclub)

Most often appearing as an anthropomorphic rat, Damug Warfang is notoriously renowned for his acts of undeniable cruelty. With a strong following along the Eastern Coast of Miderth, the hordes that follow the Rapscallion General worship him through emulation - and what better war to wage than an ongoing, bloody campaign against the kingdoms of the central mainland? In the War of Ultimates, the Rapscallion General, wielding each of his mighty weapons in each hand, dueled against the Woman-King, Arthuria, permanently blinding her as a result before the forces of evil were vanquished at the conclusion of Cataclysm.

Damug Warfang admonishes his followers to cooperate with each other for one express purpose - that together, they can inflict more cruelty and evil upon the world around them than possible if separate. The Rapscallion General is glorified by conflict, in which he relives with burning anger the War of Ultimates and the woeful defeat given him despite his personal victory against Arthuria. Only through sharing hatred, anger, bitterness, and violence, preaches Damug Warfang, can a group of people find true meaning in their relationships with each other. There is a reason why darkness is so prevalent in the world, after all, and all good-aligned creatures are fools to oppose the tendencies of things in nature to revert back to their purest form - that of evil.

Damug Warfang’s clerics wear brown and dark gray clothing, and the champions of the Rapscallion General are feared as prominent forces on the battlefield, dual-wielding weapons that take on a similar form to Damug Warfang’s own. They are often found in society as professionals primarily in areas of athletics, exercise, and teamwork for the express purpose of dominating all opponents without mercy.

Damug Warfang’s clerics actively oppose Arthuria’s clerics whenever they encounter each other.


Bragoon and Sarobando, Brago and Saro
Alignment: Neutral Good (NG, LG, CG, N, CN)
Domains: Good, Animal, Family
Portfolio: friendship, willpower, charity
Preferred Weapon: Longspears and sword & sling (piercing, slashing, bludgeoning)

Two inseparable friends, Brago and Saro traveled the earth as companion wanderers, choosing the forms of an anthropomorphic otter and anthropomorphic squirrel. During the War of Ultimates, they composed a poem about the power of one’s will and the strength of friendship, and ultimately sacrificed their lives for their loved ones fighting against impossible odds at the entrance to the Great Divide. Moved after reading their poem which celebrated life and the bonds of companionship and instilled confidence and courage in those who read it, an over-deity resurrected Brago and Saro in order that they might continue composing such similar works. After a creature of evil stole the work and split it into many different pieces, the over-deity granted Brago and Saro divine powers, allowing them to take out their vengeance against the transgressor. Gently refusing to do so, Brago and Saro instead began ministering to families and wildlife throughout Miderth, aiding them in times of need with slivers of their power.

The bond of family relationships and friendships brings with it a strength that cannot be defeated, even in death, preach Bragooon and Sarobando. One should value one’s friends, for in trying times they are the ones who provide hope and courage and even salvation from the trials of those times. The community is a vital place, and everyone should be given the opportunity to belong and contribute their love to the warmth of the whole.

Brago and Saro’s followers wear rich brown garments with green cloaks and capes draped on top. They are most widely known as humanitarians (regardless of race), seeking the rights of all peoples to love, freedom, community and happiness, and actively campaign against those who would seek to deny others of such things. They also often adopt the young ones of various races, to provide for them the warm, loving home they believe all are entitled to.



Basil Stag, the Hare General
Alignment: Chaotic Good (LG, NG, CG, N)
Domains: Good, Pact, Trickery
Portfolio: confidence, unconventionality, camouflage, humor
Preferred Weapon: Kick (bludgeoning)

A member of the Fur and Foot Fighting Patrol and the 47th Hare Border Rangers during the War of Ultimates, Basil Stag has always selflessly served his superiors with courage and valor, if often with unconventional tactics. A master of camouflage and a lover of good humor and practical joking, the Hare General’s surname was used to describe an entire species of animal, which take after his regality and bearing. Basil Stag suffered what his followers describe as an “honorable war wound” against Cluny the Scourge General, as he slew the evil gods Slagar the Cruel and Malkariss the Malevolent during the final assault on the latter’s kingdom, in a three-on-one battle. Legend has it that Basil Stag allowed Cluny to retreat because he did not want to spare the Scourge General with a swift death. “You will continue to exist,” he is reputed to have said, “Always remember the wound you inflicted upon me and the victory you almost gained against me when you attacked me honorably with two of your depraved friends. The lesson? Next time, come with more friends!” The legend then says that Basil Stag let out one of his world-renown bellowing laughs.

Clerics of Basil Stag practice taking life with a grain of salt whenever possible, knowing that maturity allows one to discern when seriousness is needed, such as when opposing the forces of evil. His followers enjoy humor with fellow clergymen, friends and family, and also relish a good battle against powerful foes. They are undyingly good sports about almost anything, and freely extend such behavior to their evil foes without regard for their judgment. Basil Stag’s followers wear comfortable but proper, simple clothing that can be used for military functions as necessary. His followers serve society as instructors, trainers, comedians, and ambassadors.