Revision as of 17:37, 10 May 2008

The Celestial Bureaucracy: Destiny, Heaven, Seasons, Humanity, Nature

The Bureau of Nature

The Superintendency of Nature Grand and Humble concerns itself with the wilderness, with plants and animals, and with objects not created by man. The bureau operates through two inefficiently parallel hierarchies. The Hierarchy of Type categorises by appearance and tangible characteristics, while the Hierarchy of Function categorises by abstract principles.
Divinity Count: 45

Hierarchy of Type

• Flashing Peak, the God of the Imperial Mountain, the Shogun of the Hierarchy of Type
  • Amandre, Goddess of Moonlight, Regent of the Moon (Quendalon)
    • The Lunes, Those Who Tread the Moonbeams (Quendalon)
  • Audjal, Goddess of Islands (Quendalon)
    • Chel-hu, the Lord of the Blessed Isle
  • Boangombe, the White Queen, Goddess of Cattle (Quendalon)
    • Ahlat, the Southern God of Cattle and War (see PowerCombat/Ahlat)
      • Goddess of Calving and Milk (HotBG p73)
      • God of Thoughtful Cud-Chewing (HotBG p73)
  • Khar-Yi, God of All That Shines (Quendalon)
    Khar-Yi is the god of all bright things that occur in nature. He takes the form of a Dragon King made of jewels, metal and obsidian, with eyes of burning coal. Glowstones encrust the mirrored walls of his palace; lightning dances along slim copper spires; dragonflies sparkle above his garden's reflecting pools. He is less adamant in his opposition to the spread of civilization than many of his fellows in the Bureau. He has alliances with certain gods of mining and crafting, for he loves to see his gems and metals shine their brightest.
    • Hotaru, Chumyo of Illuminated Nights, the God of Fireflies (Patkin)
      Hotaru takes the form of a cloud of flickering fireflies in a vaguely humanoid shape. Hotaru serves as one of the Bureau of Nature's internal-affairs officers, ensuring that the departments keep to their duties, as she is perfectly willing to shine light upon the darkest shadows, a trait which has led to resentment and loathing from gods demoted for her zealous investigations.
  • Kukkauket, Sovereign Ruler of the Night, God of Darkness (Quendalon)
    The god Kukkauket has a thousand forms, and they are all of them obscure, for it cloaks itself in darkness at all times. The light of the Unconquered Sun never shines upon the dragon-backed roofs of its villa, nor do the other gods know what transpires in its secret vaults. The god of night holds a great deal of authority in the Bureau, and has allies and contacts throughout the Celestial Bureaucracy. It may yet be waiting for the right moment to attempt to seize control from Flashing Peak, but if so, it has shown no sign.
    • Camayasha, the God of Bats (Quendalon)
      The Prince of Bats owns many dwellings throughout the Celestial City, and a darkness clings to all of them. His children wander the earth, gathering knowledge for their master, and they fly in Yu-Shan as well when the darkness descends there. He serves as an information broker among the gods, and his network is said to extend even into Hell and the lands of the dead.
    • Wogura, the God of Moles, Lord of the Underpaths (Patkin)
      The Duke of Moles is practically blind, stubborn and often pushes into matters of grave importance unannounced. Those are his good qualities. He's also petty-minded and willing to look the wrong way for the right price. However, it's said that he has an insight into the underways of Creation and the Labyrinth beneath that said to come from first-hand knowledge.
    • Zhuziao, Lord of the Deep, Master of the Dark Depths
    • Folito</b>, God of Shadows and Sleeping Things, High Protector of Things Unseen (DS)
      Folito normally appears as a giant man with iron skin and four joints to each of his six fingers, dressing in black silk and with a crown made of black pearls. He feels slighted, being stuck in the Bureau of Nature, and staged a coup to wrest control of Sleep and Dreams from that preppy upstart Brestom- who had no right being in the Bureau of Heaven. Although he has been appointed as the Protector of Sleeping Things, he has not yet bene granted a place over sleep and dreams- and the office politicing has been causing Brestom to neglect his work, leading to the dreams of mortals ranging ever more and more without oversight.
      • <b>Io</b>, God of Blindness, Advocate of Ravens and Courtier of the Ever Dark World. (DS)
        Io appears as a frail old man or woman, bearing at his hip a large clay jar that looks like it should hold sake, or some other intoxicant. Instead, as he often demonstrates, it holds pickled eyes- the eyes of everyone who's eyes will never again open. He often can be seen chewing on them slowly- but freely offered eyes are more tasty than those he is appointed to take by Kukkauket, and it is said that by roasting a pair of human eyeballs in his name, he will sometimes restore sight from someone he has taken it from. Io is also a very old God, and knows a great deal- he claims to be able to see through the eyes that aren't of everyone he has stolen from, just like the ravens he defends- and thus quite wise and full of secrets that few suspect.
      • <b>Siakal, the Western God of Sharks, Slaughter and Battle (see PowerCombat/Siakal)
  • The Rentava, Lady of the Emerald Oasis
  • Teok-Teon, the Shaking Lord, God of Volcanic Eruption Nikink
    • Honogang, the Forger of Stone, Goddess of Magma Nikink
      • Ju-Kai, God of Steam Vents Nikink
        • Wafting Sweetness, Southern Steam-vent Goddess, spurned lover of Ahlat (HotBG p89)

Hierarchy of Function

• Burnished Talon, Daimyo of Mammalian Predators, the Shogun of the Hierarchy of Function
  • Bashixun, Lord of the Surf, God of Crustaceans, the Shore, and Shoreline Fishermen
  • Kireeki, Huntress of the Waves, God of Non-Shark Oceanic Predators
  • Liluri, Goddess of the Beasts of the Mountains (Quendalon)
  • Nan-Chal, Eminence of Mammals
    • Ghukan, God of All Ungulates (HotBG p72)
    • S'Nanties</b>, God of Predatory Mammals (UncleChu)
      Like many gods in the Hierarchy of Type, S'Nanties has benefited greatly from the coming of the Second Age. Predatory mammals that couldn't be utilized by man were slaughtered to make room for endless fields full of prey inaccessible to her predators. S'Nanties especially disdains the gods in charge of Nomer and his subordinates, considering them no better than mortal livestock. S'nanties is completely garbed in the ragged pelts of herbivores. Two glinting eyes peer out from beneath a hood, and her hands are horrific masses of wicked claws, completely unsuitable for doing anything other than tearing.
      • <b>Nomer</b>, Dewan of Domesticated Predatory Mammals (UncleChu)
        Nomer's always in a really good mood, and has grown fat on his spoils. He always tends to his duties, he just does it at his own pace, when he's finished napping. He is a very vocal supporter of the Unconquered Sun's leading in the Games of Divinity, for then Yu-Shan is bathed in sunlight, and Nomer can find a shaft of light through a window to sleep in along with Rajani, Arshyan, or Kimble (Nomer insists, and the three gods have little say in the matter). Nomer would enjoy a nap with S'Nanties, but is too afraid she'll hide under his bed and tear him apart if he asked. Nomer takes the form of a chubby, androgynous prepubescent, and his robes are constantly covered in hair shed by his underlings.
        • <b>Rajani the Inscrutable</b>, Maharani of Cats, Liaison to the Bureau of Humanity (_Ikselam)
          • <b>Mufasa</b>, the Lion King (Ikselam)
          • <b> Tybalt</b>, Prince of Cats, Cat-God of Nexus(_Ikselam)
        • <b>Arshyan the Stalwart</b>, Shogun of Dogs (_Ikselam)
          • <b> Big Dog</b>, King of Dogs, Dog-God of Nexus(_Ikselam)
        • <b>Kimble the Sporadic</b>, Guo Wang of Ferrets (UncleChu)
          Kimble found himself as Guo Wang despite all his initial reluctance. His sights were originally set on Officer for Undercover Investigations in the Bureau of Humanity, but through some unexpected and rather comic twists during the Usurpation, he found himself as Guo Wang of Ferrets. Grumpy at first, Kimble has grown to love his new position. He rarely leaves the form of a man-sized orange ferret, all but abandoning his old form of an overly muscle-bound man in a buff-jacket.
      • <b>Gharazu, Chief of Walruses Nikink
        • Lady of Sweet Desires Goddess of Walrus Mating Nikink
          • Long Tusk, God of Walrus Mating Fights (HotBG p79)
  • Pallien-Budhi, Goddess of the Beasts of the Wood (Quendalon)
    • Gweske-Yobanu, God of Forest Predators (Quendalon)
      • The Hejkal, Those Who Cry Out In The Wood (Quendalon)
  • The Red Lady, Goddess of Scavengers and Carrion Nikink
    • Odiferous Talon, Goddess of Southern Carrion (HotBG p78)
    • Bali-Lali, Goddess of Spiders and Corpse-Eating Bugs (Han'ya)

Comments

Ikselam, shouldn't your gods of cats and dogs be in the Hierarchy of Type? Since they're, you know, gods of Canines and Felines, instead of "predatory, domesticated animals". I'm going to make that god now. Anyway, what's the function of cats? "Domesticated Mammalian Predators in charge of Pest-Control" perhaps. Dogs maybe are "Domesticated Mammalian Predators That Provide Companionship and Aid in Hunting." I'd better stop thinking about this or I'll go insane with trying to create gods to fill all the roles. Forget I said anything, I'll just attribute it to the byzantine nature of the Celestial Bureaucracy.--UncleChu