Old Gods of Leng

Deity	Symbol	Portfolio
Ahti	Sea Serpent	Sea, Waves, Weather
Azuth	Hand Pointing Upward	Magic, Knowledge, Sharing
Incantus	Eye and Shield	Duty, Protection, Vigilance
Molyb	Laughing Face	Insanity
Myrkul	Flame and Triangle	Fire, Cleansing, Trials
Nimbul	Lute	Shadows, Forgetfulness, Music
The Rat God	Three Rats	Revolution, Kinship
Xan	Book	Balance, Harmony

Ahti

One of the old gods, Ahti is still widely worshipped by sailors, pirates and seafaring men around the world, and is one of the few gods who are shared by Norse and Southrons alike. He is depicted as a mighty warrior, and his symbol is that of a sea-serpent. He is a god with two faces; on one hand, he is the patron of fishermen, of sailors and particularly of warriors on the sea. He has power of the winds and the waves, and sailors pray to him for a smooth voyage. He is said to bestow his favor on the daring and the brave, and any captain who abandons his ship invokes the curse of Ahti.

Ahti has a darker face, though; that of the depths. He is said to have spawned the dark sea monsters the dwell beneath the waves of stormy oceans, and to bring terrifying storms upon those who displease him, to drag them into the deep. It is said that Ahti takes valiant warriors who die at sea to his halls at the bottom of the ocean. Ahti dwells in the Deep Hall, a realm of the Elemental Plane of water that can be reached through the deepest parts of the ocean. However, he spends most of his time unclothed and without mortal shape, travelling as a spirit through the waters of Morus. He is always attended by a number of water elementals.

Professional Edge: Stormcaller
Requirements: Seasoned, Arcane Background (Miracles), Priest of Ahti, Faith d6+

Ahti grants clerical powers to those who follow his ways; those who hold the waters sacred, who understand the importance of courage and the sanctity of a ship’s crew and its honour. Priests of Ahti gain the ability to call up favourable winds and control the weather in various ways. The exact effects of this ability is down to the GM’s discretion, but the Stormcaller’s power is strongest on the sea, where they can crush their enemies’ ships with terrifying storms. It is weaker on the coast and almost powerless inland. As such, priests of Ahti tend to stay close to where Ahti’s songs can be heard in the sea air.

Azuth

A god of magic-users and spellcasters in general. Worship of Azuth was taboo throughout most of Leng’s history due to the widespread hatred of spellcasters, but has experienced a resurgence in recent times. He embodies principles of scholarship, the freedom of information and sharing of knowledge, and a feeling of kinship and brotherhood between magic-users. The core principle of Azuth is that whatever their moral and ethical standpoints, all magic-users are brothers in magic, and the pursuit of magical knowledge comes before all else. The greatest crime amongst the followers of Azuth is the destruction of magical lore, spells or magic items, no matter how dangerous. Temples of Azuth are often sought out as an alternative to finding a master for magical training, but they are not very common.

Those who venerate Azuth are taught to uphold knowledge, especially the free sharing of knowledge. Worshipers of Azuth believe that “information wants to be free”, and that all people will be improved in the long run by the free sharing of knowledge. The idea of a necessary secret or of something too dangerous to be public knowledge is something they view with disdain - in the long run, they say, knowledge is a force of liberation. Hiding it is a form of oppression, perpetrated by the strong against the weak to preserve their power. A spell is a force that elevates the capability of the one who wields it; it is the wielder who decides whether to use it for good or evil.

Temples of Azuth store magical lore and spells, and will trade it for lore that they do not already have. They are very rare, however. Most magic-users are taught to respect Azuth, but he has little in the way of organised religion outside of the Scribes, a faction of adventurers dedicated to protecting and preserving knowledge, based out of the city of Antiras in Lorknir.

Incantus

Incantus is a popular god throughout Leng; his temples tend to consist of small groups of warrior-priests that pledge themselves to their duties. Incantus is the god of protection, vigilance, and duty - he is known as The Watcher and Great Eye. His symbol is a great ever-watchful eye emblazoned upon a shield. Followers of Incantus dedicate themselves to the principles of duty, protection and the eternal vigil. They respect those who are straightforward in their dealings and who dedicate themselves absolutely to their cause with conviction - whether that cause is good or evil.

Incantus is seen by many as a guardian deity, and is invoked by those who wish to keep a thing secret as well as by those who wish for something to be warded against abuse or misfortune. It is traditional for builders to engrave his holy symbol into the foundation stones of their buildings. Above all, Incantus values stability and tradition; for this reason, his priests are often seen as conservative, preferring to preserve society as it is rather than progress it and risk losing something.

As a god of law and order, Incantus is rarely worshiped in eastern Leng. In Lorknir and Vingaard, the gods of the Trinity are far more likely to fulfil this role. However, even in the east he has a position as a patron of builders and architects, and a god to invoke to protect one’s property before leaving it on a long journey.

Molyb

Molyb is known as the Jester, the Idiot King, and the Laughing Man. He is a god that is little worshipped, one who is absolutely insane. There is absolutely nothing he desires, no end he wishes to further, no enemy he wishes to defeat. He is an entity of chaos and an agent of change, and he desires only one thing: novelty. The only thing that Molyb prizes is that which is new, which is different, which is interesting. Apathy, mundanity, and boringness are anathema to him, and a servant who does not pique his curiosity will not survive long. Molyb does not take clerics, but those who serve him can be powerful indeed, for his gifts are bestowed freely upon his servants. In truth, Molyb is not a true god, but an immensely powerful demigod who, despite lacking true divinity, taps into chaotic powers that would put some gods to shame. It is this that allows him to interact so directly with his mortal followers.

Molyb dwells in the Laughing Castle, a great obsidian fortress in the plane of Pandaemonium, where he dwells along with those followers who were interesting enough in life to join him in death. Through countless obsidian viewing portals, he watches his earthly servants. Though he takes humanoid form, he is in truth a great incorporeal being whose consciousness spreads through, and is, the Laughing Castle.

Molyb is no traditional god, and has no clergy or clerics as such. His temples are few and far between, mostly built in times gone by. They depict a peculiarly carven face that seems to assume different expressions depending on the angle it is viewed at, in front of which stands an obsidian altar carved of a single block of the volcanic black glass. These obsidian altars link directly to his realm, and those approaching them may enter into his service, with all the potential benefits and dangers this represents.

Myrkul

A god local to the natives of the Sea of Pearls, with its colonisation by Arelon she persisted in the new colonies, and worship of Myrkul is now spread throughout Leng. Myrkul is a goddess of fire. Her followers believe that fire is the purest form of energy and that as such, it has the power both to consume and cleanse, burning away impurities and leaving that which is raw and clean beneath.

Those who follow Myrkul believe that the ideals of good and evil are human constructions that cannot be trusted. The primal energies of flame, on the other hand, are objective; dross and filth is burned away while that which is pure and strong will flow and run true. Fire is something to be respected and revered, for it is a force of destruction just as much as one of creation. The forest fire extinguishes countless lives, but it lays the groundwork for new life to grow. In the same way, followers of Myrkul believe that it is necessary to burn away weakness in order to allow strength to flourish.

On a day to day basis, worshipers of Myrkul should not listen to the veiled words of politicians of priests who speak of good and evil. Instead, they should seek primal and fundamental truths that transcend human perception. The only way to do this is to test the world for themselves, subjecting it to the fire - whether literally or metaphorically. That which survives the trials and hardships is said to be tempered by the fire; closer to essential, elemental truth. That which crumbles and breaks when placed under pressure has no value, and can be discarded.

In this way, each of the followers of Myrkul is encouraged to draw their own conclusions and find their own path through empirical means. They are known for testing and pushing others, even close friends. From the perspective of a priest of Myrkul, causing another person to endure hardship and test the strength of their ideals and perceptions is a pious act, even if it brings no personal gain to the priest or to Myrkul himself.

Professional Edge: Tempered
Requirements: Novice, Arcane Background (Miracles), Priest of Myrkul, Faith d6+

Priests of Myrkul who have been “tempered” have undergone the secret rites of their god, and have emerged cleansed and untouched by fire. They cannot be harmed by normal, nonmagical fires. Very hot fires or those that are magical in nature are still dangerous, but they receive some measure of protection even from these. They receive a +2 bonus to Trait rolls made to avoid or resist the effects of such flames, and are considered to have 2 points of Armor against them, similar to the Arcane Resistance Edge.

Nimbul

A local god of Leng believed to have originated with the natives of Dalmar, Nimble is the god of shadows, feats of skill and forgetfulness. He is little worshipped, and often looked to by thieves, acrobats and vagabonds. Halflings, as well, tend to idolise this god, who embodies their tendency to compensate for a lack of brute power with trickery and quick wits. Nimbul is believed by some to be the son of Jaeril. Nimbul is chaotic neutral, and while he does not give clerics, he is said to manifest in the dreams of pious thieves, as well as in the form of a sixth sense for danger.

Nimbul is also the patron of musicians, who often must walk the roads to make their way and trust to their own fast fingers to bring bread to their mouth. An old folk tale has musicians as favorites of Jaeril, who chastised an arrogant Nimbul by forcing him onto Morus and cursing him so that his deft legs could move only in a minstrel’s dance, and his sly fingers could be used only to work the lute. Since that day, it is said, Nimbul has had a special appreciation for the plight of the minstrel and safeguards them always. Every headquarters of the Collegiate of Bards has a small shrine to Nimbul.

The Rat God

Burrows and deep places. The heartbeat of the undercity. A thousand eyes. Sharp fangs flashing in the darkness. Brothers and sisters innumerable - what is one life, with a thousand kin to take your place? Acolytes of the Rat God wear brown robes and they meet with torches in sewers, surrounded by their brethren - both human and otherwise. They serve the Rat God, and the Rat God demands tribute. From the wealthy, the strong. Those who live in shining houses with perfumed servants, wearing robes of silk and chains of gold. These are the enemy of the Rat God; their wealth must be sacrificed to him. In exchange, the Rat God will protect you: slave, urchin, street rat, beggar, thief. Come to the Rat God; he will not betray you. He protects the downtrodden, the diseased, the filthy. He is the patron of the swarm - the many who must overcome the few. Good and evil do not matter to the Rat God; only kin matters.

Servants of the Rat God despise and distrust those who are aloof, selfish, and powerful. Self-reliance is the domain of the privileged - those who are wealthy enough or strong enough to stand alone and cast aside all others. No matter how powerful they become, the servants of the Rat God do not do this. They will never abandon their kin, their family. Becoming a Rat-Priest’s kin is easy - you must join the family. You must put aside your selfishness and become part of the pack. Give the Rat God his tribute, obey his priests as they hand down his will, and the Rat God will protect you. For the Rat God protects his own. Rat-Priests help their kin first of all, but after them come the weak, the filthy, the starving and the downtrodden. They treat beggars, lepers and the poor as equals and will often help them in times of need, though they will implore them to join the Rat God’s swarm all along. As noted above, the Rat-Priests mistrust loners and the rich most of all. They are strongly opposed to the ruling class and as such are considered a treasonous cult in many places.

Professional Edge: Vermintongue
Requirements: Novice, Arcane Background (Miracles), Priest of the Rat God, Faith d6+

Those who serve the Rat God faithfully grow close to their bestial kin, and gain the power to communicate with them. Rats of any kind will never harm them unless compelled to do so, and they are able to speak with any rats they come across. The ratpriest cannot give them commands, but they can bid a rat to gather its kin for the priest to speak with.

The rats will relay anything they have seen, but communicating with individual rats is difficult and tiresome. A few rats will give very little information, but 100 rats can speak with the unified voice of the Rat God. This makes the Ratpriests very powerful in large cities.

Xan

Some gods deal in good or evil, in law or chaos. Others deal in their own motives; the destruction of a certain hated being, the upholding of a universal tenet. But not so with Xan; Xan deals in no absolutes. Rather, as Keeper of the Book, Xan deals in the balance. Even the druids only seek for a balance between nature and civilisation to preserve the existence of both, but Xan’s insight is deeper. Xan knows that the shadows are deepest when the light is brightest: without the light, no shadows may be cast, and without the darkness to contrast it, the light is meaningless. Even as they rail against each other, neither opposite may be allowed to eradicate the other. The balance must be maintained; this is the will of Xan.

Since Xan’s will and ways are alien and their arbitrariness is absolute, there is little organised religion, although some Druids pay him homage. His priests can be found scattered across Leng, where they use the gifts he grants them to maintain the balance between good and evil, law and chaos, and light and dark. It is said that servitude to Xan can calm the heart of a man with a heavy burden of evil deeds and bring peace and order to his life. After all, Xan’s ethos is ultimately about ensuring each thing occupies its proper place.