Haederas

Haederas is War-Divhi, patron of the Haedrasian people, and ultimate ruler of the Imperatry Templarate of Haedrasia. He is the last of the earthy Divh who once ruled over the race of men, with his brothers and sisters long since departed for the heavens, and his cult the world over venerates him as Divhi of war, victory, rulership, wisdom, poetry and protection. He is the patron of all those with Haedrasian blood, of soldiers, poets, kings and recently of all landsmen.

Haederas endures in the world long after his siblings departed, and has forsaken his ability to return to the heavens in favour of guiding and leading his people. The Haedrasians are profoundly grateful for their Divhi's sacrifice, for they would never have achieved the greatness they have now without the eternal wisdom of the war-Divhi, Divhi-Imperator of their vast dominion. However other faiths question Haederas' motives, suggesting that his hunger for power and domination could not be sated in the heavens, and his interference in the affairs of man and myr is unjust tampering, showing favour to his chosen people beyond that owed by a Divhi to his followers. Still, he has many cults and followers outside of the Haedrasian lands, and his is one of the most popular faiths to be found anywhere in the world.

The Haedar were the first amongst the tribes of men, and it was Haederas who led the great exodus from the Isle of Men to the shores to the north in the face of the death of Nofus. As the eldest of the landsmen Divh, he was in many ways their leader, and others would defer to him whether or not they were stronger or wiser than the war-divhi. However over the settled years after the sundering Haederas grew to mistrust Irik and Rallah, and to hate Malar the betrayer, seeking only the council of Ghanda. When Ghanda slipped into eternal sleep, Haederas ceased to have any contact with other Divh, making war on the people of his siblings and making their peoples his own.

Names
Haederas (Haedrasia), The Divh-Imperator (Haedrasian alternate), Harhamut (Southlands), Haedra (Ralstaa), Hadda (Southlands and Inner Sea), Haru (Iria)

Associations
War; Soldiers; Rulership; The Haedrasians; Strength and Forbearance; Courage and Daring; Victory; Poetry; Hearth and Home; the Race of Men.

Depictions


The perpetual presence of a Divhi-incarnate means that depictions are usually based on the person of the mighty lord of mankind, though farther flung cults often have fanciful images of the war-Divhi. Haederas is the very paragon of his people. Towering, cocoa skinned, powerfully muscular, and long of limb, his fierce beard is woven with silver thread, and his fierce eyes are black as night. Two immense vertical scars disfigure his muscular back, but otherwise the body of Haederas could not be more perfect in its form and function. Graceful, powerful, and supremely confident, those who have enjoyed the privilege of an audience with the Divhi-Imperator know what it is to truly wear the world like a possession. In non-landsman cults Haederas is often depicted as a dark-skinned man with the head of a golden bull, or sometimes just as a golden bull, and horns often appear in his iconography.

Dogma


  • Death with a weapon in hand guarantees entrance into the heavenly host that awaits Haederas' ascension.
  • Many orders of templars strive to make their hands weapons, so that they are never without a weapon in hand should they die out of battle.
  • Warriors are always entombed or buried with their weapon in their hand, and on a battlefield chaplains move about giving the dead weapons.
  • Priests are always mummified, so that they can serve in Haederas' final army, even in death, should he need them.
  • Condemned criminals have their hands removed and burned before execution to ensure they cannot join the host.
  • When these hands are not destroyed they become hands of glory, dangerous and forbidden magical talismans.

Faiths


a list of major faiths devoted to Haderas

The Earthly Divh, Patrons of the Landsmen
Ghanda, Haederas, Irik, Malar, Nofus, Rallah