Avendar

The Prime Material in which Avendar resides was created by the Overgods Iandir, Jolinn, and Ashur. They in turn created many deities of Their own to help steward Their new creation; over time, yet more deities came from elsewhere or ascended to godhood from ordinary mortality to preside over various aspects of the Prime. All deities ultimately bow to the will and might of the Overgods, whose power is absolute, though some more resentfully than others.

The gods are ubiquitous in Avendar and intervene regularly to the degree the Compact allows in the lives of mortals. Even the casual, passing attention of a divinity can leave a mark on a person's soul that manifests on their body in some way, known as a god touch. Particularly notable devotees of a god will sometimes be given a sigil, a usually-visible symbol of their devotion and a visible representation of a deity's investment in that mortal. These individuals will usually be quite long-lived at the very least, and some are even functionally immortal.

Deities of Avendar

Deity	Chosen Lineage	Values	Icons
Iandir	None	Earth, order, law, leadership, honesty, creation	a crown of any style
Aeoleri	aelin	Purity, romance, gallantry, refuge, guilt, charm	roses, silver blades
Alil	aelin	Empathy, liberation, responsibility, spectacle, transformation, reaction	lotuses, butterflies
Serachel	aelin	Corruption, provocation, secrecy, grief, obsession, preservation	forget-me-nots, masks, hedgehogs
Enirra	alatharya	Balance, equality, rebellion, vigilance, stability, lost causes	an equilateral triangle, a single open eye
Alajial	caladaran	Peace, healing, diplomacy, mercy, compassion, charity	lilies, flowers in general, bumblebees
Chadraln	caladaran	Knowledge, precognition, history, diligence, continuity, pedagogy	a leminscate, an open book, a quill
Jalassa	caladaran	Transcendence, reason, patience, meditation, restraint, penance	a set of scales, a snowflake, a mandala
Elanthe	chaja	Stories, narratives, inspiration, heritage, drama, the bardic arts	moths, any musical instrument
Kurion	chaja	Fate, dread, apathy, pessimism, misery, depression	a spiral, spiders, a web
Kyana	chaja	Perseverance, prophecy, defiance, sympathy, suffering, comfort	the stars, a candle
Rystaia	ch'taren	The Weave, freedom, passion, joy, zeal, revelation	a pegasus
Vaialos	ch'taren	Hope, sacrifice, martyrdom, poignancy, memory, insight	a teardrop
Elar	ethron	Cultivation, symbiosis, renewal, nurturing, natural magic, growth	a leaf or new shoot, any tree
Nariel	ethron	Hunting, anarchism, heroism, mischief, vivacity, disobedience	an arrow with white fletching, a longbow
Lielqan	ethron	Mortality, surrender, fate, rebirth, hard truths, boundaries	the sunset, sharks
Dolgrael	human	War, honor, pride, metalsmithing, victory, defeat	any weapon, a forge hammer, a hound
Jolinn	human	Water, life, protection, community, purification, healing	a spear, shield, or chalice made of sapphire
Lilune	human	The moons, blood, wonder, ambition, duality, enervation	various phases of Lunus or Rhos
Ayaunj	nefortu	Trade, contracts, wealth, cooperation, strategy, discretion	coins of any denomination
Yolsei	nefortu	Air magic, travel, trickery, cunning, luck, ephemerality	the wheel of fortune, a lightning bolt
Bayyal	nefortu	Fire, wrath, ruin, violence, consumption, malice	a flame
Arkhural	shuddeni	Domination, bloodlust, sadism, larceny, pleasure, excess	a clenched fist, a knife, a scorpion
Ashur	shuddeni	The Void, death, demons, apocalypse, silence, finality	a void dragon or drake
Rveyelhi	shuddeni	Tyranny, subjugation, industrialization, efficiency, bureaucracy, attrition	a black staff, interlocked gears
Fenthira	srryn	Swamps, evolution, fertility, shelter, supremacy, gratification	a clutch of eggs, a nest
Sitheus	srryn	Undeath, punishment, jealousy, obedience, decay, exile	a black serpent
Sythrak	srryn	Expedience, territoriality, the hearth, xenophobia, loyalty	the hearth, claw or bite marks, red scales

Nature of the Divine

The gods of Avendar are a diverse group of immortal beings of miraculous and immense power. Each god pursues their own interests, purposes, and plans, and most of the various native lineages each have their own presiding trinity of deities that lay claim to that lineage's destiny and which have heavily shaped their chosen peoples' culture and history. Alongside this focused stewardship, deities freely welcome worshippers from any lineage or culture provided they act in accordance with that deity's values and purpose. Through their following, religious artifice, Great Houses, and individually chosen and sigiled immortal divines, deities may enact their designs and spread their influence upon the world in accordance with the ancient Compact laid down by the Overgods.

Deities rarely manifest bodily in the world, but when they do it is usually in the form most familiar to their chosen lineage, even to those not of it. The exception is the Overgods themselves, who appear in various forms appropriate to the lineage they are manifesting for. Each lineage or culture thus has wildly different ways of perceiving each of the Overgods, down to their species, gender, and general disposition.