In most conventional fantasy settings there are Gods, in the darkrealm there are a number of different divine beings, believed in and venerated in different ways in different lands, and not at all in some. These creatures have a number of names, but the most common is Divh (singular Divhi), Divinities or Divines. This can be a by-word for anything that receives worship, and has a certain immortal potency. Dev are also a kind of Divh, used to describe Divhi who are bound to the mortal, waking world. Of course, no landsman faith thinks of their divine patrons in these terms, but the six landsmen Divh are actually better described as Dev.
Divh are usually associated with some aspect of the world or another in the faiths in which they appear. For instance the Divhi Haederas is worshipped as the War Divhi in a number of lands, but in his native Haedrasia he is much more than that, being seen as the only Divhi they need, their divine patron - though their culture puts a good deal of emphasis on the militant. A single Divhi may have a huge number of names, descriptions, religions and associations however usually it is not especially relevant to know that the Divhi a character worships in one faith may be the same being from another, even opposing faith. Many times sects have clashed over how best to venerate their patron. And it has not been unknown for two faiths devoted to the same Divhi to clash, without even realizing they share a patron.
By contrast, the seven Old Divh - known by older sources as Divhidere or Divhides - are something apart from all other patrons and immortals that receive worship. These seven are infinitely powerful, all-knowing, and utterly alien. They see aeons as mortals see hours. When they allowed O'ah the Creator to make the world they thought it a grand end to their eternity of emptiness. But quickly they began to fear that their very existence had been bound to the world. Now they wait with hateful patience on the ever-expanding fringes of reality. They care nothing for the affairs of mortals, but all faiths recognize debt to them, or else fear of them.
The term Divh or Divhi can be applied to any being that is the subject of worship, usually a supernatural one. Someone extensively learned might break the term further. Dev would imply those creatures bound to one world or another, but still immortal, such as the unascended Paragons, the elementals or the Baalfr. And Divhidre would imply those ancient, Elder Gods. Unimaginably alien beings that predated the inception of reality itself.
The Creator, Fate and the Seven Divhidre
In the beginning, before anything truly 'was', there was only the Creator. A being that existed outside space and time, for space and time did not yet exist. This Creator, for reasons as to which mortals can only speculate, created a seed. A thing that was, and in giving form to reality It forever changed everything, because for something to exist everything else must either exist or not exist. And to exist is to have scope, no matter how vast, and to be in some way finite. That seed was Fire, first of the elements, and because it Was, so the Creator came to Be. And while most mortals lack the understanding to even contemplate what the universe was before the Creator made Fire, what they do know is that this creation set off a chain reaction that gave rise to the world.
Looking upon the folly that he had wrought, the Creator sought to unmake Fire, but it was already too late and in that moment the Creator spontaneously birthed seven parts, and these were the Divhidre. Whatever names mortals know them by, the Divhides are hate, love, charity, greed, happiness, sorrow, and need. Fearful that they would be unmade with the Fire they opposed the Creator and they were many, and they overcame the Creator. Then the elementals grew in number and power, and rose up to challenge the Divhides, so to overcome the elementals they tore the Creator in twain, and half of the Creator became Fate and so time was born, and with it the world acquired a beginning and (as philosophers will have you believe) also an end, and thus an inscrutable and ultimate destiny when all would eventually be undone.
The Paragons and the Elementals
While the Creator was in conflict with himself, it became evident that Fire Was, and by its nature it must have fuel, and so it became apparent that Earth Was, and it was the second element. And so Air, Water, Light, and Dark came to be. But there was still only a single reality. With the schism of Fate from the Creator, so all reality was also torn forever in two, and all things became of one or both of these worlds, and they were joined together by the bridges that were Life and Death, last of the elements, and the elementals were bound to the prisons that were their physical forms until Fate deemed the world's destiny was final unmaking. The first world was the physical world, that of the elements, where time was law, and time defined mortals. The second was that of spirit, older than the world of physicality, and the barrier kept the Creator from touching the mortal world. Thus did the shadow world come to be, and thus were the elementals born - the vital and sapient energies of the eight elements.
And in time, the elements combined, and beasts came into being in the mortal world, and they were given form that best served the elemental that ruled them, but they had no souls. And eventually a single kind of beast was born of no elemental. These were the changelings, and they alone had soul. And with soul came choice. And with choice, the ability to choose their own shape. These changelings came to be on two great continents, once the world had cooled and the Divhides quashed the elementals. The Isle of Beasts and the Isle of Men. Each chose a single being after which to shape themselves, and while the changelings of the Isle of Beasts chose their example from the beasts around them so as best to navigate their world, the men invested their image in the finest of their number, in what many have called an incestuous celebration of their own form. These became the paragons.
Invested with the zeitgeist of everything that was that people, these paragons became the immortal embodiments - the eidolon of their chosen people. And now they remain the most worshipped beings of the world, whether they have left it or not.
Philosophies, Schisms and Ancestor Worship
Of course there are other faiths amongst all of this. Cults, and even entire faiths, devote themselves to the worship of mortals, or the pursuit of a philosophy, way of life or ideal. Some worship powerful mortal beings, others venerate soulless beasts whose forms are so perfect, or so mighty that they are perceived as divine. Many individuals claim that the Divhides are dead, never existed, or have no right to be worshipped. Others give them thanks as saviours of the world from the Creator. Others venerate their own dead, or celebrate beings that guide their lives in less obvious ways, so subtle that outsiders might doubt they are anything more than fancy. Such is the rich spiritual life of Allornus.
Divhi in the Darkrealm Game
Divhidre are all knowing, all seeing, omnipresent and all powerful beings, and unless noted otherwise, using them as antagonists against a mortal being is totally futile. They cannot be killed or overcome except in the most extreme of circumstances and omnipotence means that they are truly fearsome beings. Even amongst the Dev the plight of an individual mortal is largely of too little import for a Divhi to concern itself with, and while many religions believe the contrary (correctly or not) they are seldom interested in meddling in the affairs of mortal men. However the Dev are earthly beings, and especially the Paragons and Baalfr are isolated to bodies. No matter how potent and immortal, their perception and their ability to influence the world comes largely through their followers, not their own might, and they will work to court the faithful in a way their more powerful counterparts never would. This would likely account for their popularity.
| The Divh and Dev | |
|---|---|
| The Old Divh | O'Ah, Bahru, Modan, Athanas, Kalakhi, Elis, Otta, Sen, Makandar. |
| The Paragons | Haederas, Nofus, Rallah, Malar, Ghanda, Irik. |
| The Baalfr | Mabion, Nara, Kispin, Galachos, The Straw Divhi. |
| The Greater Eidolon | Allor, The Horned Father, The Singing One, The Pumpkin King, Deep Shana, Kenka, Papa Karax, The Dust Man, Aini-Mama, The Sea Dev, The White Wyrm, Gruna. |
| Major Faiths of Allornus | |
| Imperatry Temple Sects | Haederas, Imperator Cults, Hadranas, The Loyal Ancestors, The Inspirations. |
| Toldak Pantheon | Da'ak, |
| Carroghan Pantheon | Eku, |
| One True Faith | Makandar, |
| Diounic Pantheon | Aliel, Koroth, Ettin, The Five Oracles. |
| Jaronite Pantheon | Jaron, |