Codex of Thayne Lore

The most popular religion of Althanas

The Core Deities

The Elder Thayne Deities and the City-States they championed.

Hromagh the Strong, Kachuck (Alerar)

• Aspect: Strength, Beasts, Retribution, and Wrath.
• Center of Worship: A temple of his stands atop a plateau, somewhere in Kachuck.
• Manifestation: Often depicted with the head of a bull, paws and mane in the semblance of a lion, and the body more or less of an upright bear. His size and weight is often depicted as variable, although it is generally accepted that he is of overwhelming size and stature. Depicted as male.
• Mannerisms: The “beast god” is known for his temper, and is said to be easily angered and provoked, with a reaction much, much more terrible than originally conceived. Illiterate, and speaks through body language: primarily his eyes. Native American, Norse, and Hatian in theme.

Acts Attributed to Hromagh: Mass unrest in the actions of beasts and a worldwide tendency toward strife.

• Chief Relic: The Madstone (See Relics and Artifacts).

Khal'jaren the Sage, the Black Desert (Raiaera)

• Aspect: Intelligence, Knowledge, Mathematics, Linguistics, History, Learning, and Arthropods.
• Center of Worship: An extensive library and observatory stands in the midst of the Black Desert as his center of his favor, now fallen into disrepair, yet still used.
• Manifestation: Whenever he manifests, either in dreams or otherwise, he takes the shape of a man-sized mantis. The patterns on his compound eyes have been characterized as a plotting of a mathematical equation so complex, it’s inconceivable to mortal minds.
• Mannerisms: The “sage god” is humble, yet can be somewhat patronizing in his seemingly infinite knowledge. When angered, he forms the most intricate plots towards someone’s downfall. When appeased, he grants his knowledge and counsel. Enigmatic, yet benevolent to those he deems worthy. Depicted as male. Middle Eastern in theme.
• Acts Attributed to Khal'jaren: Cultural Golden Ages, Dark Ages, and all things having to do with learning. He prefers to have less direct influence, and simply influence individuals and cultures toward greatness.
• Chief Relic: The Panopticon (See Relics and Artifacts).

Draconus the Ancient, Gorandis (Corone)

• Aspect: Constitution, Endurance, Fortitude, Longsuffering, Peace, Sloth, and Reptile-like creatures.
• Center of Worship: An ancient fortress stands somewhere in Corone, high walls and stable embattlements. No signs of wear at all.
• Manifestation: Reptilian and male, with characteristics of most reptiles all rolled into one. He usually is presented with a large ruff of skin behind his head (very similar to a “Frilled Dragon”). He presents himself as an enormous dragon, stricken with a blight of slow decay. His manifestations are often a progression of him going from healthy, to decaying into a rotting undead creature due to his being trapped in the Antifirmament (See Planes of Existence).
• Mannerisms: Calm, yet bitter. He can be extremely dangerous when his anger gains momentum, although he is characteristically slow to act. For this reason, his acts of aggression are often seen as unwarranted, simply because they’re so far detached from the provoking event. He is the embodiment of the concept of armor in both body and attitude, and is extremely difficult to move once he’s set his mind on something. At times he can be very stubborn, with a love for riches and grandeur. Also referenced under the titles of “Wyrm-God” and “the Drowned God.” Roman, Mesopotamian, and Incan in theme.
• Acts Attributed to Draconus: Destruction from an unknown source, survival against overwhelming odds, stirring of dragon-like or draconian creatures from their slumber.
• Chief Relic: Greylock’s Warsuit (See Relics and Artifacts).

Y'edda the Wild, Ruild (Concordia)

• Aspect: Dexterity, Cunning, Precision, Accuracy, Escape, Revolution, and winged creatures.
• Center of Worship: Ruild, a druid-town high in the Concordian canopy, is a shrine occupied by wood-dwarves who believe their town stands atop the shoulders of the fabled Root Walker (See Bestiary).
• Manifestation: Always female, and usually bird-like, she often takes the shape of a beautiful yet wild woman clad in woven vines, feather jewelry, and beadwork. When in bird form, she most often takes the shape of a bird of prey of unique coloring. The fastest thing in the sky. Also known as “Sky Queen,” “the Rogue,” and “Sky Mother.”
• Mannerisms: A born fun-loving daredevil; meeting all challenges with every inclination of success. Y’edda values freedom above all things, and has proven herself to be not only impossible to cage, but an escape artist as well. She is the most elusive of all deities, and you get her attention, keeping it can be an infinitely frustrating task. Asian in theme.
• Acts Attributed to Y'edda: Widely varied, as her intentions are chiefly her own, although protection of the Concordian Realm is one of her concerns.
• Chief Relic: Light of the Ebon Brand (See Relics and Artifacts).

Jomil the Hermitess, Wilderlands (Berevar)

• Aspect: Wisdom, Unmaking, Entropy, Amphibians, Chaos, Introversion, and Sadness.
• Center of Worship: Technically, it is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Jomil travels constantly, thus taking the “axis mundi” of her influence with her wherever she goes. She never stays in one place for too long, although she always returns to a region of Berevar she refers to as the Wilderlands.
• Manifestation: Female. Almost always, she manifests as a humanoid clad in a ragged, burlap robe. According to accounts, however, of those who saw her bare skin, she has a pale blue-green tinge to her flesh, with irregularly placed dark teal flecks, and rivals the beauty of her sister V’dralla. Despite her dress, she seems impervious to Salvar’s biting cold. Also known as the “Queen of Unmaking,” because in her presence, there is a high chance that mortal-crafted objects begin to corrode.
• Mannerisms: Extremely humble, and assumes everyone thinks she’s hideous as most of the attention has been given to her sister, V’dralla. A quiet and gentle soul, she has tendencies to collapse into herself and leave everything behind (often in ruins). Nearly obsessed with her appearance, although in a tragic, negative sense. One of her biggest flaws can be her tendency to be self-defeating. Slavic in theme.
• Acts Attributed to Jomil: Mushrooms in a staggered line (said to sprout in her footsteps), devolution, retrograde motion of stars, low tide, wilting of plant life.
• Chief Relic: The Icehenge (See Relics and Artifacts).

V'dralla the Fair, Bal Cada (Elorren)

• Aspect: Charisma, Beauty, Persuasion, Fertility, Nature, Immortality, the Elements, and Narcissism.
• Center of Worship: There are rumors of a hidden shrine to her on the island village of Bal Cada, said to possess revitalizing waters with the ability to grant youth to the weary.
• Manifestation: Female and faery-like. As the dominant force of nature, she has four prime manifestations in concordance with the four seasons. Winter gives her a pale allure that’s led many an adventurer to a freezing death. Summer, however, is a radiant figure that can blind those who dare to look at her. Her spring manifestation is, by nature of the season, quite fruitful and supple. Autumn, in contrast, is the exact opposite. Where her spring manifestation bestows youth and new life, her autumn manifestation saps youth, for a rebestowing of it in the spring. Her purpose here is that of a pruner, constantly giving life to some beings, and taking it away from others.
• Mannerisms: Vain. Extremely vain. She feeds off of compliments, and rewards flattery with pleasure, thus leading her to be one of the more popular deities among males. She is, by her very nature, a femme fatale. V’dralla has been said to be somewhat playfully cruel, in leading men blindly to their deaths with her beauty.

Acts Attributed to V'dralla: Changing of the seasons, high tide, natural disasters, rampant growth, disease, fertility and lack thereof.

• Chief Relic: The Cup to V’dralla (See Relics and Artifacts).

The Lesser Thayne

Narnal'neth: A male, half-celestial creature that sired an inbreeding, matriarchal race known as the Hegido. Not much is known about this demigod, other than him being very family oriented and suspicious of outsiders. Their system of nomenclature is quite unique, in that the first generation is Narnal’neth himself, whereas other cultures have a tendency to list first generation stock after the patriarch/matriarch (See Bloodlines).

N’jal: Female. By all rights, N’jal should be an Elder Thayne, although she has been forsaken by the other six. In The Siring (See The Book of Thayne), when the single entity known as the Thayne divided itself into seven parts, there were six portions of it that had inherently distinctly and positive force. What was left over, however, what was left over was the being’s negative force: a destroying and corrupting energy that manifested itself in the form of a foul-looking spider, banished to an asteroid in far orbit around Althanas. She has since sworn to bring back The Days of the Torrent (See The Book of Thayne), and bring a great remaking upon the world. Her disciples, known as the Children of N’jal (See Cults and Sects), are furthering this goal. Understanding that for her revenge to be complete, she mustn't strike down the other Thayne, as her own power will always be tied to theirs. Instead, once the world became rich, and opulent with wealth and resources, she would begin her descent on Althanas not as a spider descends from a ceiling, but with the entire craggy asteroid that she was imprisoned on, thus creating a planet-wide rebirth, and begin again the Days of the Torrent. She currently has no recognized centers of worship, or relics to speak of, and her chapter in the Book of Thayne has either been removed from all copies of the text and hidden, or outright destroyed. It is said that through this book, the path to becoming a N’jalian Mage (See Bestiary) can be taken. Ronus: Male. A dwarven ancient about as old as the mountains themselves, Ronus is said to have communed with V’Dralla (See The Elder Thayne), which could very well mean that he is immortal. Ronus is rumored to have the power to summon the fabled Rootwalker (See Bestiary).

Stil'Khan: Male. Stil’Khan is said to possess an amazing understanding of science and the function of the world, and even rumored to have brought innovations such as the wheel and pully, and lever systems to Althanas. According to legend, he was supposedly cast into isolation for the crime of murdering his wife and fellow lesser Thayne, Ta'Rah, and has never been seen since. Stil'Kahn was a Human with sparkling blue eyes that seemed to glow with a strange inner light when he worked on his many projects. His skin was evenly tanned despite his lack of exposure to sunlight. Legend says his love for his wife brought all the light he needed to his life. Current appearance, if alive, is unknown. However, despite his human physiology, he spawned an entire different race of creature known as the Stilkink (See Expanded Player Races).

Ta'Rah: Female. A powerful geomancer whose blood was spilt on the very land she cultivated, she was believed by some to have been resurrected by an Elder Thayne. In life, Ta'Rah was an elegant human female. Long orange hair adorned her head and sparkling green eyes shone from her face. She commonly wore green linen robes usually coated in dirt as she often worked the land creating her many gardens. Current appearance is unknown. She spawned the Geohm race, a people who speak to the rocks of the earth. In truth they are speaking to Ta'Rah who uses the earth on which her blood was spilt to communicate to her children. Few know of the Geohm (See Expanded Player Races).

The Many Planes

Firmament: The material world that we can all see and touch. That which occurs in the Firmament affects the Antifirmament directly.

Antifirmament: The world of ghosts, and spirits that haven't passed to the afterlife. Grey, hollow, and desolate, that which occurs in the Antifirmament affects the Firmament directly. The Great Nether: Damnation. All curses that were put over a being's head in life befall him tenfold in the Great Nether: a place of continuous death, torture, plague, and overwhelming strife - a constant, never-ending melee Phantaria: The nexus between all planes of existence that ties them together and links them while simultaneously keeping them apart - a land of doors.

The Lands of Judgment

The Containment: The place of ultimate judgment, where decrees made in the Pyre are carried out, characterized by a fate-crafting forge upon which new lives are struck.

The Pyre: Souls who haven't proven themselves to be either benevolent or maleficent are placed atop the Pyre to determine their next life. The Elder Thayne gods create the being's body in whatever form the flames craft.

The Two Gates

Dream-Gate: Nightmares stem from the Antifirmament and extend into the Firmament, and "astral projection" broadly conceived places one's mind in the Antifirmament (and possibly the Containment). A gate traveled subconsciously by most, though 'mind walkers' use this gate to prey on their victims.

Wulfgrud, The Dream-Gate Guardian

As a shield maiden of the same time and land as Björmund, but as his antithesis. She's nowhere near as fatigued as her direling (See Expanded Player Races) counterpart, as she hasn't been fighting nearly every attempt to pass through her gate. She's much more permissive in that regard, though fending off the projected mind is much easier than something's spiritual existence, she feels it best to allow the living to hear what the dead have to say in their dreams. She does have trouble with the occasional mortal turning ethereal or extending their consciousness into her realm, and the few that make it past generally have little effect on the Antifirmament.

Wulfgrud is armed with a magical throwing axe named Whyrm, that returns to her grasp after striking its target. Her shield is coated with a mirrored finish, that traps projected consciousness attempting to cross the gate, and sends it back to its native plane. She wears no armor, but rather the clothes of a peasant. One must be more lithe and wary to combat a mind's onslaught. Death-Gate: Haunting and some forms of undead travel the Death-Gate to the Firmament, and the recently departed travel to the Antifirmament where they are taken to the Lands of Judgment.

Bjormund, The Death-Gate Guardian

A direling as ancient as the continent of Salvar itself. He stands firm under the arch of bone, through which the dead are said to pass when they travel to the Antifirmament. Each soul requires his permission to pass in and out, though he's much more concerned with keeping souls from leaking out of the Antifirmament, than keeping them from getting in.

Resting his arms on an enormous claymore, Bjormund is clothed from head to toe in furs and stands like a mountain in the midst of a blistering, biting arctic wind. He becomes more tired with every passing day, allowing a few spirits to slip past his wavering guard.