CrownedSun/LanjiGods
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the Gods of the Lanji
History of the Lanji Gods
When the Great Elemental Dragon of Air came to the lands around the Lanji Mountain, he found a functioning bureaucracy of Gods already awaiting him and matters more or less in hands. True, the 'bureacracy' was largely the dominance of the strongest spirit -- a brutal blizzard spirit, White Mountain, who styled himself the King of Winter -- over all those who he could bully into his service. However, there was peace and order instead of chaos and the battle of god against god. Thus the Dragon stopped here only briefly, forcing the powerful blizzard to bend knee before his rightful superior in Yu-Shan and oathing him to obey the Celestial Exalts in all things and see to it that his subordinates perform their duties as required of them by the Celestial Bureaucracy.
That small chore accomplished, the Dragon departed and left the Court of White Mountain in peace. If the Gods under the service of the Blizzard spirit were not happy with their lot, that was perhaps forgivable. They were not being forged into trophies or otherwise mistreating at least, and with the oversight of Yu-Shan their station and privledges would be guarenteed some minimum respect.
That, of course, is all that White Mountain ever gave anyone -- the minimum respect that they were due. A cruel and lofty God, who viewed all of Creation as beneath him and subserviant to his whims, the self-styled King of Winter ruled over his Court with as little pomp and decorum as possible and as much brutality and arrogance as he could get away with. White Mountain could be almost cordial if he wished to be; when his superiors from Yu-Shan or a Celestial Exalt visited his court, he practically glowed as a perfect celestial functionary. When their eyes were turned away, however, he misappropriated Quintessence and forced his subordinates into binding oaths of service.
The litany of his crimes would be a long one, though most would be small and venal. A few excesses, however, were beyond others and would stand out to one who knew the fullness of them. A union of lust forced upon one who could not love could have been the downfall of the King of Morning, but his Queen could no more hate him than she could love him and so the thought of complaint never entered her mind. Settlers and explorers perished in blizzards and fell weather summoned by the king, who did not desire the presence of humans among him -- if the Exalted suspected his hand, however, they said nothing. The Presence of the Everwinter Forest, however, was the spur of his greatest crimes. Many Gods were assigned to the Forest, arguably under his purview. All went rogue against the Celestial Bureaucracy, serving the Forest instead...
...yet, except for the few occasions when the Exalted came to handle matters personally, the King of Winter ignored such crimes and let the rogue gods survive in their forest. Sentences of justice were not carried out, and lies or excuses were sent back to Yu-Shan. The rolls of the Gods include no few divinities thought dead, that linger on in that accursed place. All because White Mountain did not wish to trouble himself with carrying out such justice. Fear, or some darker motive? Who can say??
Thus things continued throughout the reign of the Solar Deliberative. Larger crimes hidden with small crimes, and the perpetual escape of the attention of the Censors. If one bumpkin God on the borders of Creation wishes to cause trouble, after all, who is to blame? For though the First Age stretched beyond the mountains of the Lanji, the Everwinter Forest made it a harsh reminder of ages past and a frontier that the Solar Exalted had no wish in settling. A few Exalted built manses on the Dragon-Lines of the Lanji Mountains, but for most the only interest in the area was that it abutted the Glacial District of the Old Realm and it's great domed cities.
The Solar Exalted grew more vain and powerful, and White Mountain ceased to even care. Gods under him were mistreated openly, and he paid little attention for Yu-Shan. What did he care if the Gods of Heaven found his behavior questionable? When the Solar Exalted desired the Death of someone, he was sent to 'Lanji'. A city that did not exist, in the heart of the barren wasteland, where White Mountain would ensure that he would freeze to death and none would ever hear his tale. In a world of excesses and brutality, it was perhaps a small thing. A small outlet for those Solars that retained some sense of subtlety and style.
The Usurpation came as a surprise, and a somewhat unpleasant one at first, but the God adapted well to the turbulance of the times. The Celestial Bureucracy was failing and this time the Five Elemental Dragons did not care. He had begun his reign as a bully and a power-mad god, and this is the stage in which he ended it as well. The power of Yu-Shan a myth, the Solar Exalted dead and destroyed, once again the King of Winter was a mad god with no superior but himself. Those subordinates and lessers that had grown used to the way of things began to chafe, as now they had no one to represent or protect them, while even the stronger Gods found themselves suffering under the unrestricted reign of White Mountain.
Yet there was little that they could do. Raventalon, once courtier to Yu-Shan, became a court jester and the kings amusing bird. Fun to look upon, yet stuck within a gilded cage. The Antlered God was forced upon bended knee, lest his children find no safe haven from the winter and perish in the harshest fields of the North. Frilla suffered her masters rough interest, when the cold passion of his wife failed to interest him, and she said nothing. Broken Ice Spear suffered such in silence as well, though he burned inside; even his silence bought him little, as the pitiful little lord of ice was threatened with forging nearly every year.
Of all the Gods of the Court, only Chill Morn seemed unaffected. The attentions of her husband descended upon her, as always, but as always she simply did not care. She was a creature of cold, of chill, of ice? If she was annoyed at being owned, she did not show it.
Thus things remained, until one hundred years after the Great Contagion.
The Lanji Mountains had fared better than most places, in only the fact that it did not interest the Fae in the least. There was little there but animals, not sick and dying of the Contagion, and so the Hordes of the Wyld passed by uncaring -- coming, and going. Thus it was that when a trio of Lunars, leading a tribe of Icewalkers, came seeking a new home they turned their eyes to the lands of the Lanji Mountains. The Wyld had barely touched there, and the land was solid and whole. It was a hard land, and life would be difficult -- never had it been settled in the First Age, and the rumors of it's dangers were many. Yet compared to the rest of Creation, it seemed a paradise.
Thus, in RY 103, three Lunars came to the Court of White Mountain. Balea Storm-Warden, Barolo Silvertusk, and Walks with Shadows; the Elder-Gods of the Lanji, came before the Great King of Winter, and asked of him permission to settle the lands of that he watched over. Little more than pups, new-born in the light of Luna, the great Blizzard spirit laughed at their quest and sent them howling from his court chased by chill winds.
Raventalon
Once a rather unimportant God of Northern Birds, the Patron God of the Lanji comes from humble beginnings. Once he was the messenger and herald of the King of Winter, sending the Courts business to and from Yu-Shan and serving as White Mountains errand boy. With the Usurpation and the dissolution of the Celestial Bureaucracy, his position became even less important -- traffic with Yu-Shan was best avoided, and a messenger of little use, but the King of Winter was loathe to give up a servant. So Raventalon descended to the pretty bird in a cage, his presence in court to amuse guests and serve as White Mountain's whipping boy. In the dissolution of the Bureaucracy, one might wonder why Raventalon did not dessert his position and fly away into the mountains of the North. Yet honor and duty held him, and hopes of revenge -- and love. Even more than he hated his master, even more than he detested his position, he loved and adored Chill Morn...the Queen of Winter, and his Lords' wife and consort. So he suffered the abuse of his lord, and performed what duties were still required of him, as humbly as he could.
When the Lunars came to the Court of White Mountain, asking for patronage and the safety of their adopted people -- a safe haven to winter, a homeland to settle and a chance to thrive in the harsh lands of the North. Yet, hearing these requests, White Mountain laughed and sent the Lunars away into the wilderness. Raventalon, though, was as keen eyed as his children and saw the opportunity that awaited him -- he sneaked away to discuss with the Lunars an alliance that would be of advantage to them both. The King of Winter would be deposed, Raventalon raised in his place -- given command of the Court, the hand of Chill Morning, and the respect that his estate demanded among the Barbarians that the Lunar's protected. In return he would act as the heavenly patron and protector of these barbarians, and ensure that the Lanji Valley served as their home and shelter from the cruel North. An agreement was reached, in the shadows, each side convinced that they had gotten the better of the other.
Thus the King of Winter was deposed, defeated, maimed, and sent with a Kiss into the White Glacier of the North.
Now Raventalon is the Greatest of the Gods held in the hearts of the Lanji, and for his part he loves the strong spirit and glorious strength of his adopted people as well. They are survivors and warriors and hunters -- just as a hawk. Thus Warriors of the Lanji protect themselves with hawk feathers blessed by priests of their God, and women of the Lanji stick feathers fallen from the cold sky in their hair. The sight of a raptor in the sky above a battle is held as an omen of good luck. When winters are mild and harvests are good, prayers are offered out to Raventalon to thank him for keeping his wife’s hand at bay for another year.
Priests of Raventalon are warriors and hunters, and the greatest of them are sent a heart-companion -- a hawk, that rests on their shoulder and lends them some of the grace of their God. Raventalon's priestesses are less common, except in the Lanji Capital of Northgale where they advise the Jarl Iol. Pale of skin and white of hair, they carry the word and lore of the Hawk God and are sought out most often for advice and lore. No woman makes a more demanding wife than a Priestess of the Hawk-God, but still they seldom have any shortage of suitors. Most marry great warriors, village leaders, and other notable individuals.
Raventalon is typically appealed to with sacrifices of game hunted on the snow, and especially favors (+1 resource value) any game captured with the aid of a hawk. Woe to anyone who mistreats a bird, however -- Raventalon loves his people, but is very protective of his children. Any time it becomes necessary to harm a bird (during lean winters, which are not uncommon) simple prayers of appeasement must be said to ward off ill luck. The Hawk God dwells in the Lanji Capital of Northgale, in his palace of Ice and Silver. A grand edifice, the largest of any in the city, it stands as a thing of beauty throughout the North. Private gardens, fountains that flow even in the heart of winter, and beautiful treasures beyond count await the honored guest who is allowed within the palace. Few are allowed within, however, except the Lunar God-Heroes and a rare hero of the people.
Other Gods of the Lanji
Chill Morn, the Queen of Winter\\ Few know what manner of divinity Chill Morn was once, ages ago, before she was the Queen of Winter. Some say that she was a Goddess of Cold, or the Fresh Fallen Snow. Others look at her beauty, and say, no -- she was the goddess of the perfection, the beauty, of winter. The embodiment of the first perfect snowflake. Yet like the beauty of winter, she is cold and uncarring. There is no love held within her heart, and any emotion of warmth and caring is foreign to her. Even the Fae, it is said among the Lanji, have more empathy than their Goddess -- for the Fae can imagine love, and caring, and hope. In the First Age, she was known as the Wife of White Mountain, the Queen of Winter. She did not truly desire marriage or love, for she did not understand it, yet she did not protest. She was not asked to give anything but her body, and the violation that she should have felt was not present -- for what does the snow care of who treads upon it?
When Raventalon betrayed her husband, she did not care. Why should she be wroth? When White Mountain was exiled, his broken spirit cast out from his Court, she walked up to him and granted him a kiss upon his cheek. She leaned down beside him, and whispered something in his ear. None except the King and the Queen know the words that she whispered, yet when she rose the Kings' face was broken and filled with a certain horror. She left him then, and he was exiled.
Now she is the wife and consort of Raventalon. She does not love him any more than she loved White Mountain, and in some ways their relationship is less functional. It was easy to be the wife of White Mountain; he wanted very little. It is more difficult to be the wife of Raventalon, who wants so many things that she cannot ever provide. She cannot love him, nor desire him. The closest she comes is respect, which is at least more than she ever felt for White Mountain. The most powerful emotion she feels in responce to their marriage, however, is disappointment in being unable to fulfill his expectations. She is the essence of perfection, and to be imperfect in any way gnaws at her.
Much of the stolen power and lost treasures of the King rest in her hands, and she is much stronger now. She is truly the Queen of Winter, and all the Lanji give her their respect. They say prayers in her name, asking her for many things. Beauty, love, and purity most often. Few beg her intercession in the weather or the seasons; it is considered rude and unwise. Some, however, give compliments to the goddess after an especially beautiful day in the heart of winter. She is known to favor the sacrifice of things valued but of little worth, especially if they are loved and cherished by those who destroy them. Cast off that which you hold most dear, and Chill Morn might favor you.
She spends most of her time in Northgale, with her husband in his Palace of Ice and Silver. However she also maintains the Court of Ice, the former seat of the King of Winter. It has changed since his Exile, adapted to her essence and function. She goes there when she grows tired of her duties to the Lanji and her annoyance at Raventalon -- there she can be herself, unbridled, in all of her simple glory. When she is known to be away from Northgale, the Lanji typically prepare for cold weather. She usually returns after a month or two, at the latest, and normally much sooner. These cold spells are generally acceptable...but all Lanji remember the stories of a time long years ago, when she disappeared to her Court of Ice for over a year. No few villages perished in the terrible blizzards and dire chill that followed her anger, until Balea eventually dragged her back to Northgale (literally) and forced the two gods to make up. Whenever she disappears, a string of sacrifices and prayers typically follows her, begging for her mercy and hoping for her swift return.
the Antlered-God\\ The Lanji God of the Caribou, and patron to the nomadic Lanji that still wander the lands of their forefathers.
Broken Ice Spear\\ Lord of Northern Ice, Broken Ice Spear exists in a state of depression over the loss of his wife, leaving his domain in disarray. Yet the Lanji still honor him, and his servants as well.
Rogue and Enemy Gods
White Mountain, the King of Winter\\ The former leader of the Court of the Lanji Mountains, and the self-styled King of Winter, now exiled into the cold glacial lands of the North...where he lurks, and plans vengeance against those who deposed him.
Frilla\\ Beauty and heart, this Goddess of the White Sea used to be the wife of Broken Ice Spear -- the Ice Lord of the Lanji.
