Sanctuary Gods

The two mingled pantheons of old gods that were worshipped in Sanctuary before the encroachment of the Western Kingdom over 500 years ago and the competing factions of the Powers of Light and Dark caused them to decline in power. Nevertheless, their observances are still kept by many of the inhabitants, and their influence is still felt in subtle ways. Some of them may have been demons in other guises, or not.

Anen

Anen is the god of grain and of beer. He is a wounded god whose death occurs every fall and whose rebirth comes every spring with the new crop. His worship is rumoured to contain ritual cannibalism; lay worshippers drink new beer and eat barley bread instead. His domains are the croplands and countryside. His worship is seasonal and marked by ritual and festivities.

Ayzuna

Azyuna is bound to the bed of Vashanka. Her nature is betrayal, and it is she that seduced her 10 brothers into revolution against Savankala. Vashanka's continuous rape of her binds her powers. She is worshipped only by desperate men who find no other aid. Azyuna seeks to sleep with mortal men that she can betray. Each time she is able to manifest herself this way she gains in power. She is always projecting avatars and then betraying her lovers to Vashanka.

Dyareela

Dyareela is the goddess of blood and lust, the waiting goddess, the bringer of deserts, the soul of entropy, the great dark. Dyareela is possibly an earlier name for Gremory. Just as the gods fulfill a function, and compete with each other to fulfill it, Dyareela stands in opposition to gods and their works. What they build up, she corrupts and consumes. Dyareela's worship has two aspects. The first is wanton debauchery. This is lust without fertility, consumption without rebirth. The second aspect is the deeper one and follows in Dyareela's worship. This is consumption and death. Where the first aspect would use (rather than share) sex, the second would consume it - including the death of the partner in the act. Dyareela is very similar to the Black Earth Goddess (Kali Durga). Above all else, Dyareela consumes, corrupts, and perverts.

Eshi

The Goddess of Love & Passion, Eshi's shrines exist in every brothel and cathouse in Sanctuary and the amorous whisper her a prayer to assist them in their endeavors. She is Anen's wife, and was once the other half of fertility from the All-Mother. Just as Shipri is the one who is fecund, Eshi is the one who is sensuous. Her rituals are celebrated with Anen's; when his fields are sown, so are hers. When he is eaten and drunk, she eases his transition. While Eshi is not continuously worshipped (except by working girls) she receives a great deal of attention at the yearly rituals and from those seeking help in seduction or marriage. There is no doctrinal statement to indicate whether she is faithful or 'free' and as such the flavour of her worship is left to personal tastes. These days, her worship and Gremory's are often intermingled, but she is a distinct power.

Heqt

Heqt appears to be a goddess of the waste places and a re-claimer. Known as the toad, the rain bringer and goddess of enduring life - just as a toad endures in the desert, Heqt renews and reclaims and guards against and in the waste places. She is the rival of Dyareela. Because Heqt is able to bring forth life from hiding, she is often mistaken for being a creator of life. Heqt was worshipped by all who travel by trail or travel the waste places. She was said to be strong, opposing evil and cleaning the lands of it. Possibly an early form of Bael worship.

Ils

The chief God of the old pantheon. Ils is dubbed Lord of a Thousand Eyes, and was said to preside over knowledge and wisdoms. In Sanctuary, those having a reputation for gathering rumours and secrets are still described as having "more eyes than Ils". Ils is a god of knowledge and wisdom, as well as a trickster. His domain is mastery by knowledge and the blunting of brute force. He is not a god who smashes his enemies down but one who beguiles, misleads, finds their hidden weaknesses, and eventually tricks and destroys them. He is a god for thieves, shamans, and leaders who need to know the time to plant crops and the time to harvest them. Ils is a pastoral wise man and an urban trickster.

Sabllia

Sabllia is Savankala's wife. She is an Arabiq goddess of stars and lore. She has the ability to reach men in any circumstance and touch their minds and hearts. She is close, distant, and provides some alternative for the nonviolent worshipper.

Savankala

An Arabiq god of light, heat, and life, of the sun and of passion. It is the sun that brings life and warmth to the day, the sun that drives away the dark, and the sun that man must thank for all that he has. Savankala worship never really took off in the comparitively rainy & cold climes of Sanctuary.

Shalpa

Shalpa was a god of thieves and outcasts and a lesser aspect of the trickster. Shalpa was the god of thieves and outcasts that fights back. Possibly Valefor in a traditional costume.

Shipri

Shipri All-Mother, Ils' wife and co-ruler. Shipri is a fertility goddess. Her aspect is that of bearing life. Her worshippers include women who seek fertility or those who are bearing children. She is also the goddess of healing and of family.

Theba

Theba was the goddess of outcasts and weaklings that comforts. Theba is now thought of as the weakling's goddess, but was a goddess of peace and Law. The rest of her responsibilities have been lost in time.

Thilli

Thuifir's wife or sister. She hasn't been worshipped for many hundreds of years, but was probably a hearth goddess. Possibly a protector of homes, focused on the hearth fire and warmth.

Thuifir

Thuifir is a son of Ils and Shipri. His worship has almost completely lapsed. He is a god of travel and a patron of trade and pilgrims. He is the road god, the one who connects, the unifier of villages into nations. Thufir's worship was mainly kept by those who travel often and those who live by trade. These days practical merchants donate to the demons, who are more reliable and have wider influence.

Vashanka

This old Ilsigi God of storms and war is still worshiped by the locals. There is some indication that in the declining years of the pantheon, Vashanka contested with Ils for its leadership but he has since largely displaced by Berith. Vashanka is the Son of the Stars (Sabllia) and Sun (Savankala). He is a god of violence and war. That which he touches causes death and destruction. Vashanka is a limited god, for anything he does must be violent. He cannot make love, only rape; he cannot harvest, only pillage; he does not rest. He is an ideal god for war but impossible for peace. In the lands Vashanka conquers the gods he forces to "flee" may actually remain. His worship has not progressed greatly in Sanctuary. Vashanka can impart his nature into weapons. Such weapons cost the buyer dear (often both life energy levels and strictures), and those who cannot afford the price die. In return the weapon contains the price paid manifested in a violent or passionate form. Fear, hate, death, poison, rancor; all are contained in Vashanka's weapons.