Mystic Arms Campaign

The Secluding Wall that ended The Grand Inclusion helps to protect the Material Plane from further incursions by the Divine Elementals and the forces of their creation. But that was not the only effect of that powerful barrier. The Secluding Wall does not prevent only the elementals from reaching the Material Plane, but all outside entities are barred from interacting with the plane. One of the unforeseen consequences of this was the end of the power and influence of the gods.

The powerful beings that once transferred their power freely to their followers were suddenly barred from doing so. For a time, Clerics and Paladins – and even warlocks – suddenly found that they were unable to fully connect with their patrons and deities as they once had. This severing of connection helped to cause the faith of the old gods to fall from favor among mortals. But mortals are always looking for a higher source to solve their problems and tell them what is right. So, while gods are distant beings, the world has found new idols to adore and worship – not all of them pleasant or noble.

The world has found any number of New Idols to replace their Old Gods. But these new beings aren’t truly gods. Many of them are (or were) mortals, and many as well are otherworldly beings that were trapped on the Material Plane by the Secluding Wall. Some others may not even actually have existed, but through the shared belief and worship of hundred of thousands, if not millions of souls, they now do. Whatever the case, the shared belief of their followers helped to promote them to the level of Idol, and they now act as gods on Ferrum – though most don’t do much with their Idol-hood.

Most commonly worshiped by the people of Luchent, the followers of Ahura Mazda are often referred to as Lux Armiger. The Worship of Ahura Mazda was once one of the most popular religions of the world, with nearly a third of the people on Orientum following the faith openly, and a believed additional 10% to 20% of the population worshipping them in secret. It has become far less common in the current world, due mostly to the effects of the War of Terraformation.

Most of the followers of Ahura Mazda remain in Luchent. However, it is a worship that has spread across the world – specifically due to the interactions of the Lux Armiger with Agualian merchants. Many took the ideals and tenants of the religion and found them enlightening and powerful. As they travelled, they brought the teaching with them. Nowadays, the worship of Ahura Mazda is still considered a somewhat uncommon god of worship outside of Luchent but is common enough that temples to them exist in most large towns and cities.

According to their faithful, Ahura Mazda is a divine being that descended to Ferrum during the Grand Incursion. They had originally intended to help the mortal races of the Material Plane but was captured and restrained by the Tenebrauctor and their followers. Ahura Mazda was held captive until the Secluding Wall was erected, breaking the flow of magic from the Tenebrauctor that kept them bound. Stuck on the Material Plane, Ahura Mazda decided to help the mortal races anyhow, but guiding them toward a more perfect world.

The Ahura Mazda’s teachings focus on rooting out evil and destroying it wherever it may fester, as well as altruistic benevolence – helping others for the sake of their needs and nothing more. The Ahura Mazda condemns the act of lying – even small lies. Because of this, many of her followers are painful honest at all times. Another of the prime tenants of their worship is that a corrupted soul can only be saved by death. Mortals who have been tainted by evil cannot ever recover from the vile intrusion – though some may be able to halt its spread with devout worship. Others can only be saved through death, where upon their passing, Ahura Mazda will welcome their soul and purify it.

Ahura Mazda is largely treated as an ephemeral being, without a physical form. However, many Lux Armiger have been known to claim they have seen Ahura Mazda and even spoken with them. Many describe the Ahura Mazda as an androgynous humanoid figure, with flowing blond hair and glowing with an intense radiance that prevents most of their other features from being seen. Ahura Mazda is never referred to as he or she, but rather as they or them.

Aiteachas is an idol of agriculture, fertility, and health. The origins of Aiteachas are bound strongly to the Sylphe people and their idol of Morrigna. Stories say Aiteachas was once a powerful fey creature that served the Morrigna and helped to care for and regulate the Sylphe lands. One day, a massive drought and a deadly famine spread through the Sylphe lands, spoiling the land, and taking many lives. Aiteachas supposedly sacrificed his being to merge with the soil and stave off the deadly event.

From that day forward, the practice of honoring Aiteachas became common among the Sylphe. While they still worshipped Morrigna above him, he became a traditional piece of their culture, especially during the spring and the harvest. Aiteachas even has a holiday in Lusach that coincides with the end of the harvest, where festivals and celebration to thank Aiteachas for the bounty he bestowed.

The stories and beliefs about Aiteachas have spread across most of Hespiris, and even to some regions of Orientum. He is commonly worshipped by farmers, as has begun to be considered part of all earth on Ferrum, rather than just Sylphe lands. Farmers pray for bountiful harvests, or to stop pestilent plagues from destroying their crops.

Another Sylphe tale about Aiteachas eventually led to him being known as the god of fertility, as he supposedly had intimate relations with Morrigna. After their copulation, it was said that their was a surge in babies among the Sylphe. Because of this, many expectant mothers, and those looking to conceive may seek blessings from Aiteachas as well.

The historical figure of Iden is one the world can agree existed at some point, but there is some controversy around whether or not Iden was one person, many people, or something else entirely. The stems mostly from the idea held by many that Iden, somehow, lived for at least 500 years. Even as an elf or dwarf, this amount of time is unrealistic for a single person to live.

Iden emerged in the frozen wilds of what is now Jokull, and developed a devoted following of Jokyn warriors. She preached the idea of strength and victory – of bravery and noble combat. Many people often attribute the ideals of War to Iden, but Iden actually abhorred war for the most part, and instead believed disputes should be settled by single combat on a neutral field of battle.

Iden’s idolism of strength and victory has led much of the religion and culture that follows her teachings to seem violent or aggressive. This comes from the exemplified ideals of standing one’s ground and not backing down. Followers of Iden can often seem stubborn and obstinate.

Though its unclear if Iden every actually exhibited powers or dominance of ice in life, she has come to be represented by the winter and snow – likely due to her connection to the Jokyn and Jokull itself.

Jafnaor is a powerful, celebrated idol that exists across the world of Ferrum. He represents righteous combat, justice, honor, and loyalty. People often invoke his name in wars to insinuate they fight the good battle against oppression. It is probably not surprising, then, that the Ironborn are some of his more devout followers.

But Jafnaor’s origins are unclear. His first is mentioned sometime during the 3rd Century, and his earliest followers seemed to have been in Umbras, Nars, and the Orkan Confederacy. But what inspired his rise to idol-hood is a mystery. The name does not match any known heroes, nor any of the Old Gods. Instead, the name is actually very similar to an old form of a Terran word meaning justice. But during the 3rd Century, there are no accounts of Terran being spoken anywhere on Hespiris. So the origin of his conception is unclear.

Jafnaor preaches justice and punishment for the sinful. He promotes the ideals of freedom, and condemns tyranny and oppression. While Jafnaor is a representative of loyalty, his is loyalty to the ideals of good – and not blind loyalty to authority. One should always act to do what they feel is right, even if those around them or complacent in their sin.

Kaskal is a figureless idol. They might be considered more akin to a guardian spirit than a powerful idol. Kaskal is an idol of safe journeys and weary travelers. Anyone who ever leaves their home town often takes a moment to pray to Kaskal for their safe passage and return home. Merchants often carry a small token or ornament that bears his mark. It is said travelled without Kaskal’s blessing is asking for trouble.

Some believe that at some point, Kaskal may have been a Shepherd that spent his life protection travelers on their journey. It is believed that on his death, the Shepherds may have elevated him to idol-hood, as the most common place to find temples and shrines to Kaskal is in Shepherd Dens.

Kaskal promotes protection of all – good or evil. He does not condone any action or ideal, but instead is a guardian spirit of those who wander the world, shielding them from chaos and enemies who would do them harm.

Mendacium is the name of the archwizard that helped to craft the Mystic Arms and end The Grand Incursion. After the Secluding Wall was erected, it is believed that he vanished into the world. However, his name was never forgotten, and generations of wizards, sorcerers, and all sort of other spellcasters elevated his name to idol-hood.

Mendacium, the idol, is not considered to be the same individual as the fabled archwizard, but instead embodies the ideals of the pursuit of knowledge and magic. It is believed this Mendacium is responsible for the sudden bursts of inspiration people receive – magical or otherwise. While he is mostly like followed or respected by spellcasters, he is also popular among the Kagaku scholars of Arashi no Kuni. This is because he encourages the pursuit of all knowledge – good or bad. Only by knowing everything can you truly understand the world and your role in it.

Morrigna is one of the few examples of an actual living, breathing idol that walks the world. The head of the Adhrasnadar faith and the Sylphe people, as well as the leader of Lusach, Morrigna is a Fey creature of unknown origins. Over the centuries of veneration by the Sylphe people, she has ascended to the level of idol-hood, powered by the unwavering belief of one of the world’s largest religions.

Morrigna is the closed to an actual god on Ferrum as any creature could be. Even before she became the center of a massive religion, she was already known to be quite powerful. Now, she supplies divine powers to thousands of followers, as well as exerts her influence and authority over most of Lusach, watching it closely in a near omnipotent fashion.

Luck would have it that she does not care for control or more power, but rather just wants to protect her home and people. She preaches symbiosis with nature, and the believe that even the plants of the world have souls and should be respected and revered.

Mortifax might be the best example of a shared notion across the world becoming reality. During The Chaos, stories of a ghastly spectral creature wielding a wicked and crooked scythe began to circulate the world. The original stories now are believed to refer to one or more Avatar’s of Death that were called to the world through unknown means. But as the shared notion of it being a singular monstrous creature spread, the idol Mortifax was born from that shared consciousness.

Mortifax is an idol of death – a collector of lost souls. It is believed that whenever a creature dies an untimely death that Mortifax had its hand in creating that situation. Most superstition posits that The Creeping Death was a creation of Mortifax, allowing him to collect hundreds of thousands of souls all at once.

Mortifax does operate on strict rules, though. He is apparently not allowed to collect souls of those who have perished naturally or from general combat (though some stories do say it can collect souls that died during a war under some conditions). As desperate as Mortifax is to gather more souls and increase it’s power, it cannot do so of it’s own accord. Instead, it must be summoned or beckoned by a mortal soul and a deal must be forged. Typically, it is summoned when creature’s wish to kill another, but there is a real danger to this. Once Mortifax is summoned, it may not leave – remaining until it is content or until the person who called it is killed; at which point, Mortifax claims their soul as well.

Mortifax is often worshipped by assassins, sadists, and malicious people. Some people also pay homage to Mortifax as a means of trying to get within it’s good graces.

The Poet has grown in popularity in recent years, having originally been a rather minor idol that was popular in a few of the kingdoms of the Orkan Confederacy. The Poet is a patron of love, wit, and beauty – especially in terms of art and music, but also in general terms. The poet has always been an idol of Bards in the Orkan Confederacy for longer than any of them have existed, being birthed from tales of a charismatic ne’er-do-well that roamed the lands seducing men and women before vanishing into the night.

A play written in Agual about 200 years ago boosted the popularity of The Poet by retelling the story of his origin. Much of philandry and seduction remained, but the play also painted The Poet as a hero. In fact, it merged the story of The Poet with that of King Karlin Scamall and telling an epic narrative of his defeat of Gala (a story that is largely fiction interwoven with kernels of truth). This helped change the world’s view of The Poet slightly and made him much more accepted.

Sagan is both a god of oceans, as well as a god of wealth, gold, and merchants. Sagan was conceived in the Kingdom of Badur, and over the centuries, as become the primary idol of Agual. He is said to be responsible for ocean storms, and parying to him before departing on a ship is said to ensure safe travels and strong winds in your sails to get you to your destination quicker.

As Agual and his religion spread and developed, he began to be a popular idol of Agualian merchants, and he inherited the ideas of wealth and gold into his dominion. Many merchants – Agualians especially – keep a small idol or symbol of Sagan in their shops or on them. Sagan is said to ensure lucrative deals and prevent you from being swindled or cheated. He is said to help uphold contracts, and any who fail to meet their contractual agreements incur his wrath. When a ship is sunk by an ocean storm, the common belief is that someone aboard had broken a contract or cheated a trade partner.

The Temptress is a vague, ominous idol likely born from run ins with Succubi in the ancient past. She has her origins among Umbral lore, and embodies the more carnal and physical aspects of love. She is known to protect women, and punish rapists severely by forcing herself upon them and sucking every last ounce of their life through the act.

The Temptress is not often worshipped, but her name is often invoked by scorn women, or sometimes even men. She is presented as extremely lustful, selfish, and egotistical – believing herself to be better than all others.

Tenubrum is a shadowy malevolent force that was said to be created by the death of thousands of demons. With their essence unable to return the abyss, the evil malice of their beings congealed into a massive and chaotic cloud of vile energy; Tenubrum.

Most stories paint Tenubrum as a real thing that exists deep in the Underdark, coursing through the caves and caverns of the underground like a parasite. It ravages all it comes across, regardless of who or what they are. Tenubrum is often revered by demons still on the Material Plane, though even they fear it. It is a horrible boogey man – a story one tells to warn people from venturing where they do not belong.

While it may be strange to hear, the worship of the Divine Elementals is still fairly prolific across the world. This can likely be attributed to a number of factors, including people simply acknowledging that they are true, definitive gods and their powers have been clearly proven. As well, while not many exhibit the signs, nearly all the world has been infused with various degrees of elemental energy. Some races or people exhibit this clearly. Others do not. Many also believe that they will eventually return to finish their work on the material Plane and that worshipping them may spare them from their wrath in the future.

Whatever the reason, the worship of the Divine Elementals is fairly widespread. But even given that, it is not something most do openly. Many of the Divine Elementals are considered evil by mortal races. So, their worship is usually done in private or in remote regions of the world.

Some people worship all or multiple Divine Elements, but the majority typically choose one they hold above the others.

The Aurauctor is the Divine Elemental of Air. He has mastery of the wind and sky. In the times of The Grand Incursion, he was one of the first – if not the first – to pierce the barrier and invade the Material Plane. His powers made him neigh untouchable in the past, with perfect control of the flow of air. He can fly and tremendous speeds, summon tornados or hurricanes with a snap of his finger, and create barriers of air that negate or deflect most attacks. But perhaps the most dangerous power he ever displayed was the ability to halt the air around someone entirely – making it impossible for them to pull the air into their lungs and breath.

The Aurauctor is also supposedly connected to the air in strange ways. Stories say that he can see with perfect clarity any point in space that has even the smallest amount of air. This meant he was omnipotent.

Another odd feature of a being many consider malevolent is a power known as the Breath of Life. With it, the Aurauctor could revive the recently deceased. He often twisted this as a means of torture, combining it with his suffocation abilities to constantly kill and revive mortals until they were broken.

The Gelauctor is the Divine Elemental of Ice and Snow. He has mastery of the cold and the frozen. The Gelaauctor was always described as a giant among giants – a being of titanic size. Stories claimed he would use the mountains as his throne, and a simple breath was all he needed to send an everlasting winter over the land. Mortal men who dared approach him typically were frozen solid before they even got close. He was the origin of ice and the end of all things. The Gelauctor’s goal in The Grand Incursion was to bring everlasting winter to the entire world. Once of his first actions was to try and freeze every drop of the oceans.

The Gelauctor was a being of strict order and law. His elementals operated under tight restraints, and the gelauctor’s need for total control of all things was one of his biggest flaws, and one that was easily exploited. The Gelauctor had a cold temper – making him angry was sure to bring on slow and stretched out pain and misery so long that you would beg for death multiple times before it found you.

The Ignauctor is the Divine Elemental of Fire and Flame. She has mastery of scorching flames and sweltering heat. Stories of her presence on the Material Plane stated that everywhere she stepped burst into flames that would burn for weeks, if not months or years. Smoke billowed from her head constantly like a wild mane of waving hair. Her eyes glowed like brimstone, and her touch could turn even your soul to ash.

The Ignauctor wanted to use the Material Plane as fuel for her everlasting fires. Her desire to turn the world into an ash pit often put her at direct odds with the Gelauctor, and the two rarely – even to this day – share followers.

The Praeclauctor is the Divine Elemental of Light and Brilliance. Stories say she breached the barrier of the material Plane not to conquer the lands of ferrum, but to bring a stop to the warring of her fellow divine elementals. The Praeclauctor was known for stepping in to protect the mortal denizens of the plane, and attempt to break up battles between other divine elementals.

The Praeclauctor provided light and shelter, even food to those that swore to follow her. But she showed no mercy to those that would fight with the more chaotic and tyrannical of the divine elementals – even if they may have been forced to.

The Sylvauctor is the Divine Elemental of wood, and plants. She was often described as rather beautiful, with flowers blooming everywhere she walked. Stories all paint her as a rather harmonious soul, that simply wanted to spread the beauty of nature. But if someone were to mar or damage her creations, stories say they suffering in some of the most painful ways imaginable.

The Sylvauctor is attributed with being the being that created the Feylei Forest, or at least instrumental in it’s spread. It is not uncommon for those that worship Morrigna to also worship the Sylvauctor as they preached and followed very similar ideals.

The Tenebrauctor is the Divine Elemental of shadows and trickery. They were a voracious tyrant that coerced and manipulated even the strongest wills to bend a knee before them. They worked in the shadows, rarely coming forward to directly interact with anyone – always sending agents of their will to do their bidding. Because of this, there are no good descriptions of the Tenebrauctor. Even the accounts of their defeat do little to mention or describe their presence. Some believe their visage was so terrifying it would strike a man deaf and dumb, unable to comprehend the horror they witnessed.

The Tenebrauctor is believed to have been instrumental in convincing the first few divine elementals to cross the threshold and invade the Material Plane. They were clever enough to even trick gods on their own level.

The Terrauctor is the Divine Elemental of earth and stone. She was powerful enough to sink continents or part the oceans with massive mountain ranges. On multiple occasions, she completely reshaped much of Ferrum, changing it drastically as a means of preventing combat and fighting. Much like the Praeclauctor, the Terrauctor was motivated primarily by a desire to stop the other Divine Elements from destroying Ferrum.

The Terrauctor did her best to mitigate the damage caused by herself and other Divine Elementals, but the simple truth is that her power was simply on a scale that was incongruent with her motives. Small exertions of her power were enough to level cities hundreds of miles away. While she wanted to protect everyone, she often seemed to hurt many more than she helped.

The Tonitrauctor is the Divine Elemental of lightning and thunder. He was a powerful figure that wielded tremendous power. There are many ancient tales that state the other Divine Elementals feared the Tonitrauctor, and if he himself stepped up to battle, they would back down from their conquest and flee.

The Tonitrauctor was a behemoth of a god, able to grow and shrik in size as he deemed fit. He could choose to tower over the Gelauctor or match the size of a human. When he was angered, his body would erupt in a spray of lightning and sparks that could turn living matter for miles into nothing but ash.

The Undauctor is the Divine Elemental of oceans and water. She was a powerful figure that could be wherever there was water – leaping from one puddle, to an ocean on the other side of the world in a single instant. The Undaucter could control the waves, and the rain, and could move rivers with a flick of her finger. Many believe the Undauctor arrived on the Material Plane eons before the Grand Incursion, and it is a common believe that she is the water itself, and only her consciousness was expelled back to the Elemental Plane of Water.

The Undauctor was the least active in the Grand Incursions events, and is the most likely of the Divine Elementals to still be worshipped. While it is true should would use the oceans to wipe away enemies from the land and storms to blow them from the skies, she typically did not engage the other Divine Elementals unless they tried to boil her oceans or freeze her seas.

When the Secluding Wall was erected at the end of The Grand Incursion, it created a strange situation on the Material Plane. Extraplanar forces that had long influenced and manipulated the material Plane suddenly were not able to interact with or manipulate aspects of the plane. This included many of the divine and profane beings that created the races of the plane and warred for their souls. Suddenly, entire pantheons of gods were gone, and their followers at a loss. As well, those that had pledged themselves to them found their powers difficult or impossible to muster. Their loss had a great effect on the world, but they are not entirely forgotten.

The colloquial phrase ‘the old gods’ is still fairly commonly used, even millennia after their influence was stifled. However, most people no longer have a clue who ‘the old gods’ actually were – even among groups that were the staunched and proudest supporters.

The Old Gods is used to refer to any of innumerable gods form the times before The Secluding Wall. This includes many primary human deities, such as Pelor, Heironeous, of Kord. But it also encompasses non-human pantheons and gods such as Corellon Larethian, Moradin, Garl Glittergold, etc. It can also be used to refer to some evil gods of the past like Vecna, Grumsh, or Lolth.

Given that the term is all encompassing, saying someone worships or serves ‘The Old Gods’ means nothing to most in the context of righteousness or villainy. It does invoke some feelings of suspicion or curiosity, given that their worship is increasingly rare, but other than thinking a worshipper of theirs’ is strange, it comes with very little subtext.

Given that ‘The Old Gods’ refers to so many different deities, there is not a strict practice or tradition common to all worshippers. Some may follow the old ways and worship the lord of the harvest and light, Pelor. Others might pay homage to their progenitor god in the form of Correllon Larethian.

It is also important to note that this severing of connection with their creators has had impacts on the cultures and motives of some traditionally evil races. For instance, goblins largely are not considered inherently violent, as they are no longer bound to the ways of Maglubiyet. The same is quite true of most orcs. Those like all other races, there are still those among them that might still follow the old ways and The old Gods.

The Old Gods are largely unable to gift or bestow their powers directly to their followers – even Clerics and Paladins. This was a large problem for many centuries, but sometime during The Chaos, their followers managed to find a means of indirectly connecting to some deities.

The more powerful of The Old Gods often had one or more relic that had been blessed or created by them lying someone in the world. These relics were often directly connected to their divine or profane power source somehow, and people eventually realized these relics continued to function, even through the Secluding Wall. Clerics were eventually able to find a means to channel this power to restore the powers once blessed to them – though they found this to be slightly less potent than it once was.

Clerics set up temples to their gods around the world – many of them still remaining and manned by their remaining followers. These temples each hold a font of power – a piece of a relic of old that was shattered to be used for these temples. By praying for 8 hours at one of these fonts, a cleric of an Old God can restore their divine connection. This connection remains for roughly 1 month, at which point it must be restored or replenished by praying at a font once more. Some of these clerics do report problems if they wait the full 28 days between prayers, but otherwise it works just like any other cleric’s magic and abilities would.

There isn’t really another good place to put this, so let’s discuss the concept of Warlock Patrons. Typically, a Warlock would form a pact with an otherworldly being of some sort, be it a fiend or a celestial, or whatever. Given that it is impossible for extraplanar figures to interact with the material plane, typical patrons have fond some ways around this.

The first possibility is that a Warlock’s patron is actually stuck on the Material Plane as well. This allows them to easily make contract and form pacts. It’s likely (though not guaranteed) that such patrons aren’t as powerful as others but are still capable of granting incredible power. Such patrons likely also don’t have more than one or two warlocks bound to them.

The other possibility is that the Warlock is still on another plane. In these cases, their currently bound warlocks and other faithful followers act as intermediaries for their patron’s power. Those already linked to a patron somehow become a conduit for that power and able to bestow it on others. Once it has been bestowed, the pact strengthens, and eventually the warlock simply draws straight from their patron’s power – rather than through their conduit.

It is not clear how these otherworldly patrons are able to connect with their pact holders through the Secluding Wall, while Clerics of the Old Gods seem to have difficult with it. A common belief, though, is that the formation of a pact binds the soul of a warlock to the patron, creating a link that transcends the powers of the Secluding Wall.