Pantheons of Chthon

PANTHEON OF THE MORTAL RACES: ORIGINAL

deity alignment domains symbol info
Lakhre N Death, Grave A glyph of a skull with closed eyes God of Death and chief god of the mortal races. (they/them)
Somt CN War, Knowledge, Blood A ruby crown God of Dynasty. (he/she)
Flint NG Forge, Light, Arcane, Knowledge A simple flint hammer God of Forgework and Craft. (he/she/they)
Astin CN Trickery, Tempest An upside-down goblet God of Wine, Jesters, Music, and Tumult. (he/him)
Caliban LN Arcane, Nature, Tempest A pair of red-gold eyes God of Storm and Justice. (she/her)
Scytha CG Grave, Nature, Light A golden scythe God of Bread and Harvest. (she/they)
Jurr NG Light, Life, Tempest A lighthouse God of Paths and Homesteads. (he/they)
Oblis LG Life, Arcane, Blood, Knowledge A lock God of Knowledge and Bond. (they/them)
Heem N Blood, Death, Knowledge A vial of liquid God of Medicine and History. (they/them)
Urlun NG Arcane, Knowledge, Trickery A magic wand God of Magic and Poetry. (they/them)

The gods of Chthon are considered to have once been mortal beings who walked on the ground of the planet. They did not create it but were its first people, and grew to possess powers far above most mortals. Ascension to godhood is possible for all on Chthon, according to this traditional faith, but it only happens after death, and it is never, ever in your hands. Across Chthon, people deify the dead, and who becomes a minor god depends on the local culture. Large empires deify kings, while small rural villages will deify elders.

The traditional worship of Chthon resembles Hindu worship; gods are fed and dressed and treated as honored guests. The forms of the gods vary by household, as there is no consensus on which race each god was. Minor gods rarely have icons, but do have local shrines. Gods are invoked often and with joy, and worship is rarely a solemn event.

PANTHEON OF THE FEYBORN RACES: ORIGINAL

deity alignment domains symbol info
Lorne N Blood, Life NONE God of Eternity.
Minon CN Trickery, War A snarling mouth God of Pleasure and Fear.
Hart N Blood, Nature The ears of a rabbit God of the Eaten.
K'liss CN Tempest, War A glowing sword God of Wind and Fire.
Na-maat N Knowledge, Arcane A scroll God of Spellcraft.
Quob LN Life, Trickery A faerie hill God of Court and Hill.
Vaha CN Tempest, Nature A stormcloud God of Weather and Ecstacy.

The pantheon of the feyborn is infinitely large, and depending on who you ask may contain thousands of archfey and faerie lords. These are the most common fey gods, and of these, only Lorne is a main god, the others being minor deities. Any of the minor deities also can serve as Archfey warlock patrons. For feyborn, the difference between a cleric or paladin and a warlock is the relationship with the god. Faerie tend to be transactional, but those with a taste of the mortal plane sometimes crave a more devotional relationship.

Worship of the fey pantheon is strange to the mortal races -- they do not feed their gods, and tend to treat them more formally. Many choose not to have relationships with the gods at all, which is unthinkable for much of Chthon. The feyborn invoke their gods at important events, similarly to the mortal races of Chthon, but are altogether more distant.

Pantheons & Planes by O. Captain

PANTHEON OF CHTHON: CURRENT

deity alignment domains symbol info
Lorlis NG Blood, Life, Light NONE Chief god of Chthon, god of eternal life and prosperity.
Somt-qu CN War, Knowledge, Blood, Life A ruby crown God of Dynasty and Obligation. (he/she)
Flint NG Forge, Light, Arcane, Knowledge A simple flint hammer God of Forgework and Craft. (he/she/they)
Astin CN Trickery, Tempest An upside-down goblet God of Wine, Jesters, Music, and Tumult. (he/him)
Vahamino N Tempest, Nature, Arcane A stormcloud with gold eyes God of weather, Ecstacy, and Retribution.
Jurr'liss CG Light, Life, Tempest, War A signal tower burning God of Path and Protection. (he/they)
Na-lun LN Arcane, Knowledge A scroll God of Magic and Word.

Currently, the pantheon of Chthon is a mix of feyborn and mortal divinities. Notably, death gods are shunned and not a part of the pantheon. There is a significant decrease in the number of deified ancestors -- those that had been deified are often referred to as spirits rather than gods, in keeping with feyborn traditions.

Worship is similarly mixed; there are more formal temples now than there were before, and images of the gods are more standardized. They are still treated as guests, dressed and fed, and honored, but they are less often regarded. The gods are still often invoked by the purely mortal. There is not exactly a solemnness, but the disregard of death has left an absence that is felt by many.

Worship of non-pantheon fey gods is common to feyborn, and mortals will sometimes worship ancestors and leaders as divinities.

Pantheons & Planes by O. Captain

The Planes

Faerie

The plane of the fey beings, those who do not die by natural means. Faerie was the original home of the feyborn races. It is a transient and fickle place, with shifting entrances and exits. It attaches and detaches from worlds at will, sending fey to terrorize or assimilate as they will. It is a plane entirely separate from the prime material, and it does not keep its shape or form. Faerie is affected by the belief of material creatures.

Hell

The plane of demons. A transient plane, like Faerie, and somewhat in opposition to it. Denizens of Hell tend toward order, but as with fey and chaos, this is far from a rule. It is a hierarchical structure. There are nine kings, who rule with assured authority, but underneath them dukes, princes, counts, and marquises squabble. Each has certain domains and information, and they can be approached as a fey can be approached. Demons are not in opposition to gods, but simply offer a different afterlife, and different abilities and knowledge. They are called on as teachers, known to be exacting but patient, and unlike fey, they are very straightforward. They often ask for service after death in exchange for their lessons, so they are despised by the fey, who wish to deny death. The levels of power they grant depend on the supplicant's level of commitment and what they promise in return. Higher-ranking demons are able to provide more power, but you'd have to offer more. Contracted souls remain there for a number of years, usually upwards of 100. When their service is concluded, they are either reborn or returned, or, if nobody remembers them (which is common for those who serve in Hell for many years), they go to the Abyss. Very rarely, if a demon is pleased by a soul's service, they'll offer to extend their time in Hell. They'll do this whether or not the soul is going to go to the Abyss, and it's stated in all contracts that no notice of where the soul goes after its term in Hell will be provided.

Very far back in the history of Hell, the Nine Kings made a treaty. they divided the plane amongst themselves, each ruling a hellish domain. underneath the Kings, however, various ranks squabble, and try to overpower one another, gaining legions of souls to perhaps rival their king, and dethrone them. the Kings of Hell mostly do not interact with one another, except in the assignment and acquisition of Illriggers, who for the purposes of Chthon are agents of Hell specifically designed to watch the world for Faerie invasion. Hell is a world of order, yes, but squabbles among demons is chaotic, and there is a fear that should Faerie influence Chthon entirely, the old Kings would lose their grip.

Illriggers are a peculiar contract case, because there may be a time when their debt is settled before they die, and thus they have no afterlife obligation to Hell. Usually, however, unless Faerie happens to make an extreme bid for power, Illriggers will have to serve some time in Hell, although not as long as other contract-ees.

Once they've died, if they must serve, they usually work closely with the Kings, and keep an eye on living Illriggers. Their allegiance is to the covenant of Hell more than to a singular King. The contract is 'sponsored' by a particular king, however, who gives them their orders. demons of lesser rank offer contracts to gain souls to join their hosts; more serving spirits grants greater political power in Hell. It sounds dramatic, but is often quite banal--very occasionally champions will face-off, if the numbers are close enough. Very few have managed to challenge one of the Kings, but when they do, it is usually an Illrigger who becomes the King's champion.This is a stipulation of the contract: the Illrigger is free to move about Chthon and use their powers as they will, but a) they must keep watch for Fae invasion, and b) they may be summoned at any time to serve as a champion in Hell. Illriggers are sworn fighters of Hell, yes, but more in a knightly-vassal sort of way. they're kept around the Kings, and are deployed as necessary, which isn't very often, and mostly against usurpers. Hell is deeply afraid of Faerie, because none of the Kings have a plan for if Faerie succeeds in taking over Chthon. they know that they will likely lose their thrones, for even if death is vanquished and the hosts are no longer filling up, the orderly machinations of Hell could be easily overthrown. Faerie, chaotic as it is, might choose to help a demon if the deal was good.

Hell is opposed to the chaos of Faerie because it's a threat to their order. The underlings of Hell may lean toward chaos if it can get them what they want, which is a throne, but likely, once they get there, they'll clamp down again on chaos, because they won’t want to be overthrown themselves. Faerie's desire is not out of desire to harm Hell, but to benefit themselves. They're down to help a demon if the deal is good, but it often doesn't work out for the demon, after they get what they want.

The Afterlife

In traditional Chthon belief, the afterlife does not exist. Once one dies, they are, according to their soul’s wish, either reborn or returned--the latter ending the soul’s existence. If they have made a deal with a demon, instead their soul goes to the plane of Hell to fill out their service. If they have made a deal with fey, they are most often transported to Faerie, and made an immortal servant.

The Abyss

The Abyss is denied. It is the place of those forgotten, those twice-dead, those un-made. When a loved one dies, those who remain do not know for certain whether they have been reborn, so they keep alive the memory of their lost kin, so they do not descend to the abyss. In recent ages, more souls have gone to the Abyss, as practices having to do with death are shunned in feyborn-heavy areas.

Pantheons & Planes by O. Captain