"Thus did Androgenae's soldiers fall around him, overrun by the countless orcs of the Voordlands. And Androgenae cast his hands to the heavens to call Yatindar's wrath down upon the servants of Mazripos; destruction did he rain down upon them from the stars themselves. Androgenae strode from the Voordlands alone, and the orcs were no more until the rise of Katheledon."

The gods of Gaeleth are very real (and very powerful) to all its peoples -- few question their existance. Through their servants, mountains have been destroyed, nations created, and lovers have been married. They sometimes stride the world, to impart gifts of wisdom and knowledge to their followers. Faith can truly heal, prayers are answered, and curses can bring the wrath of a god full upon a man.

Religious scholars know that any one of the gods of Gaeleth could kill another with a mere thought. Students of history sometimes feel there is a set of rules that govern the gods, though who made the rules, or created the setting, is unknown. Just as much mystery surrounds the need of each god for a divine Relic that serves as the resting place for all the souls that a god accrues. Those that have returned from the Relics, through the powerful prayers of the faithful, have reinforced the concepts of heavens and hells, limbo and purgatory.

Alignment Color Coding Guide
LG	LN	LE
NG	TN	NE
CG	CN	CE

Deities	AL	Portfolios	Worshippers	Clerics	Domains	Weapon	Animal Totems
Agincoth The Goddess of Knowledge	TN	magic knowledge power history	mages historians druids	TN NG NE	knowledge magic travel protection	the mind	owls desert tortoises
Arpelos The Sun God	CG	sunlight responsibility slayers	farmers slayers	CG NG LG	good sun healing protection retribution	great sword	lions hawks
Argunas The Demon God	CE	demon summoning death destruction	demons	CE NE CN TN	chaos destruction evil fire strength	spiked chain	cockroaches flies
Barith The Harvest God	TN	plants harvests wines	farmers foresters druids	TN NG NE LN	plant protection sun water	scythe	boar deer
Brigain The God of Storms	TN	storms destiny prophecy lightning	prophets druids clerics	TN NG NE LN	air destruction sun travel water	two-bladed sword	raven deathwatch beetles scarab beetles
Curiss The God of the Lost	TN	death scavengers	kobolds survivors morticians coroners	TN NG NE LN CN	death healing luck protection destruction	light flail	vipers buzzards jackals coyotes
Dakis The God of Malevolence	NE	undead malevolence	undead necromancers	NE CE LE	evil trickery destruction war	bastard sword	black widows rats
Elinthar The God of the Hunt	NG	animals travel hunting	hunters rangers druids	NG CG CN TN	animal travel protection luck	short bow	tigers stags moose
Galanus The God of Stealth	NG	deserts stealth redemption	desert elves nomads gypsies rogues rangers	NG TN CG	death fire protection trickery	spear	chameleons anoles
Galgiran The God of the Forge	LG	smithing dwarves masonry	dwarves smiths	LG CG LN	earth law fire war	war hammer	cave bears badgers
Habrem The Goddess of Music	CG	music math love	musicians bards mathematicians lovers	CG NG LG	chaos luck air trickery travel	throwing dagger	song birds crickets
K'Tath The God of Vengeance	LE	retribution battle vigilance	warlords ograns slavers mafias	LE NE LN	evil law war retribution	battle axe	velociraptors tigers vipers
Lul The Merchant God	NG	merchants coinage books	merchants traders students	NG TN LG LN	knowledge luck trickery good (magic)	heavy mace	eagles raccoons
Mazripos The Rot Goddess	CE	disease sadism masochism	ograns kobolds masochists	CE NE LE	evil destruction healing death	whip	giant lizards maggots
Mikindim The God of Work	LN	engineering sanitation work	engineers workers	LN LG LE	strength earth knowledge law	heavy pick	oxen ants bees
Olorin The Goddess of the Seas	LN	oceans waves seas	sea-goers merfolk kraken crabmen	LN TN LG LE	water law travel strength	short spear	dolphins sharks
Nabrol The Mad God	CE	blood sacrifice madness	Nabrolians	CE NE	destruction death evil chaos	spiked gauntlet	piranha scorpions
Rahne The Goddess of War	NG	warfare wisdom defense	warriors fighters militias	NG CG LG LN	war knowledge retribution protection good	long spear	wolves cougars
Samis The Shadow Goddess	NE	theft darkness languages	rogues linguists	NE LE TN	trickery knowledge evil law	short sword	praying mantises bats
Whalin The God of Compassion	LG	healing martial arts compassion	healers commoners	LG CG NG LN	good healing protection law	the body	elephants cobras butterflies
Xoriah The Flame Goddess	CG	fire fury hope	druids mages	CG NG CN	fire war healing luck	punching dagger	phoenix fire beetle salamander
Xynosalionisis The God of Memories	NG	archers dragons rangers	rangers dragons archers Wuron S'fa	NG CG TN	air animal knowledge magic protection	long bow	elephants house cats
Yatindar The God of Justice	LG	justice honor protection	paladins law enforcement commoners	LG LN	law good knowledge strength war retribution	long sword	bison ibis dove

A commonly asked question is, "What are the Relics?" Essentially, the Relics are where the souls of a particular god reside -- and where the essence of that god exists. Within the Relic, each god is all-powerful, and the souls that worshipped it before death reside in a kind of localized heaven. The Relic also serves as the home for all the greater souls -- more commonly known as angels and archons. Each Relic is relatively small, and appears made of some strange metal, but within the Relic, space is infinite, depending on the whim of the god that Relic represents.

The Relics are indestructible, save by the will of another god -- thus there is a winnowing process by which unstable or homicidal gods are snuffed out by the majority of the other gods. The Relics, while indestructible, do not give off auras, magical eminations, or any kind of radiant energy; aside from their strange metallic color, each Relic might be just a piece of jewelry.

Where they come from and who makes them remains as much a mystery to the gods as to mortals. When a 'blank' Relic is found, however, it is often imprinted with the needs and wants of the mortal that finds it, giving birth to a new god.

The ranks of the gods varies, based off of the number of worshippers they have on the mortal plane, and the number of worshipful souls they have gathered into their Relics. More powerful gods have a vast number of souls and worshippers' powers to draw upon, and their priests tend to be more powerful. Weaker gods tend to have lesser numbers of souls or worshippers to draw upon, and thus have relatively weaker priests or churches.

Pantheons
Pantheons -- collections of gods into groups by mortals -- adds to the power of the gods. For instance, a mortal choosing to worship three specific gods gives his power equally (or unequally, depending on his tastes) to those three gods; the three gods all benefit from the power of the worship, and there is no lessening of the power shared between the three of them. Because many of the gods have similar designs, or their churches seek similar ends, there are a number of nearly standardized pantheons.

Clerics worshipping these pantheons gain their choice of any two domains among the pantheons, but cannot advance in ecclesastical rank unless their chosen domains fall within a single god's perview, and the cleric can only advance within that god's church. For example, Torduneth might worship as a cleric of the pantheon of the Karatikans -- naturalistic gods -- choosing the plant and fire spheres as his domains; he can only advance beyond the level of 'priest' in a given church by choosing one church, and the domains belonging to that church.

Clerics of pantheons do not gain the special abilities granted to priests who choose to follow only one god.

Among almost all pantheons, Brigain is a common thread, making him arguably the most powerful of all the gods of Gaeleth. Common pantheons include (but are not limited to):

Nature: Arpelos (the sun), Barith (plants), Brigain (weather), Elinthar (animals), Mikindim (earth), Olorin (water), and Xoriah (fire).

Nobility: Brigain (destiny), Mikindim (works), Rahne (war), Whalin (compassion), and Yatindar (law).

Evil: Argunas (demons), Brigain (power), Dakis (the undead), K'Tath (vengeance), Nabrol (madness), and Samis (theft).

Empire: Barith (harvests, alcoholic drinks), Brigain (destiny), Elinthar (mounts, work animals, and food animals), Galanus (maneuvering), Lul (merchants), and Rahne (war).

Dwarven: Brigain (destiny), Elinthar (mounts), Galgiran (steel), and Mikindim (stone).

Elven: Barith (plants), Brigain (destiny), Elinthar (animals), Galanus (stealth), Habrem (life), Xynosalionisis (memory).