Titles: The Stormkeeper, the Woman in Clay, Khatun
Inspiration: brg, shabti, ananiel, trishanakru, pramheda
Biography:
Long ago, before the fall of the first peoples, those who lived beyond the reaches of the great cities were scattered and weak. The firstborn ruled alongside the gods and still were unable to maintain balance. When those in the wilds rose against them, they were vanquished without a moment’s hesitation. Those that remained fled across the seas and into a world unknown. There they were free. There they were able to live as they pleased.
Many years passed and the free peoples were happy. But they knew the dangers that lay ahead. The firstborn would not be satisfied in ruling the known world. They would come for the unknown world as well. It was a matter of when, not if. So the free peoples assembled. And in their freedom, they formed the greatest army the world had ever seen. Ready to attack, they sailed across the seas. Facing the perils of the open ocean and all of its mythos, this great army sailed boldly into the heartland of the firstborn.
But it was the firstborn who dealt the principal blow. They knew the danger this army represented and conjured a mighty storm. However, the free peoples had sailed through mightier storms and pressed further. When the firstborn realized this, they summoned their greatest and, tapping into the very leylines of Eideiri, created a storm of cataclysmic proportions. Knowing they would likely face extinction otherwise, they sent this storm to annihilate the free peoples and annihilate them it did. In death, they were free.
The storm continued to serve in destruction to masters who knew not their own inability to contain it. The storm claimed as many firstborn as it did free peoples. Fearing the destruction of their children, the gods intervened and delivered a conduit to contain the storm.
But the free people were not yet finished. A single ship of the free peoples from a forgotten hamlet off a forgotten coast had sailed into the capital and took the city by storm. They then took the conduit and unleashed the full might of the storm before sealing it into the conduit. Now they were free.
Free to roam the known world, they ventured to take more power from the first peoples. One by one all elemental spirits became bound in conduits of their own making. The journey came at a great cost, however; few remained of the free peoples and they had become stranded in the wilds of Eideiri. The title and powers of Stormkeeper was passed down with time to the many leaders of the free peoples. As they traveled, they settled in more areas and gathered more elemental powers for the Stormkeeper. Many tribes settled over time and became specialized in their own elements. All were free to live as they pleased. All served willingly under the Stormkeeper.
The great passage of time saw the Stormkeeper’s power grow tremendously. The other gods learned to fear it, and in time, surrendered all power over the elements to the Stormkeeper’s peoples. The title and powers of godhood continue to be passed down to mortals among the free peoples but they lie dormant in the wilds, living in their own ways.
Worshippers:
Elementally attuned tribes around the world
Places of Worship:
The wilds, places of extreme elemental exposure
Worship:
The Stormkeeper is revered by their people across the world. Throughout the wilds are several independent tribes, each tied to their own element, who offer their worship to the great Stormkeeper. Although each does so in their own way, the measure of true devotion hinges on a single factor. In order to express devotion to the Stormkeeper, it must be loud. The louder the event, the greater the devotion. For some, this is done with deafening chants and dances before a battle. For others, this is carving their symbol onto the face of a mountain for the world to see. In mourning, the closest loved one might howl atop a mountain. The greater the avalanche, the more sympathy they have from the elements.
Although expression is crucial to the devotion of the Stormkeeper, a more spiritual approach recognizes the importance of a bond with the elements. The ability to capture power and store it into conduits has been passed down alongside the power of the Stormkeeper. Some devotees have even been able to store their own souls in a conduit. Those who take a spiritual approach are able to see the elements more clearly and both build and tap into the forces of the natural world. For them, there is a duty to preserve the might of the elemental world in nature and they are always willing to express that might.
In the great cities and the wilds beyond the tribes, the elements are a threat to all. Alongside the world’s increased propensity to have natural disasters, the tribes are known for using them to soften a battlefield before an attack. All peoples, other tribes included, know to prepare for possible ambush when dealing with a natural disaster. The fear, alone, is why most pious denizens give the Stormkeeper a place of respect among the gods in their ritual offerings.
Servants:
The Conduits
There are many who do not belong to an elemental tribe but still feel a strong connection to the planetary elements. While the conduits are rare, and largely in territory controlled by the tribes, there are many out in the world and access is generally a matter of greatness rather than location. Some choose to worship them or access the immense power available to them from an elemental conduit.