Gods and church branches - overview

The First Men of Gemnos

More than 11.000 years ago, men and women were created by Gemnos, by the Twins, or so the legends go. Those men and women, the first batch, if you will, are collectively called the First Men of Gemnos. They were paired in families by the Twins, and to this day, 57 families still exist around the world of Gemnos. Maybe not all of them can run an unbroken line to the First Men of Gemnos, but by and large, those 57 families are recognized as such. All of them wield power to some extend. Some are wealthy merchants, some are nobles, some are even kings and emperors. One way or another, they have over the years influenced the direction of life on Gemnos.

Cult of the Dragon

And the Oracle said: In the Year of the Broken One, a great purge will strike Gemnos, causing never seen death and destruction. From the ashes the dead dragons will rise and rule, as they were meant to. So I have seen, so it will be.

From Draconis Lore

Cult of the Dragon is a quasi-religious cult that venerates dragons and believes that undead dragons will at some point assume their rightful place as rulers of all of Gemnos.

This is why the cult spends it's time equally between hoarding gold to gift to the dragons, making alliances with evil dragons and last but not least, convincing and helping those dragons become undead dracoliches.

The cult has existed for about 400 years, and so far, no one knows where they came from. They are widespread across the lands of Gemnos, but as far as it is known, the different chapters or cells are extremely independent and there is no central organization.

The most prominent members are necromancers and priests, but the dragons have worshipers of all kinds.

The Black Robes

Worshiping gods distracts you from your true master, Magic. They are a waste of time, as they can not help you get all you want from life, only you and magic can do that. So take that symbol and destroy it, before I polymorph you into a mouse and feed you to your familiar.

Yii, Black Senator, year 5491 

The Black Robes are an organization of wizards. They have been the ruling class of Uruak for more than 600 years.

In the old days, the Black Robes were rarely seen outside their borders, but around 300 years ago, something changed. After many years of internal rebellions and wars against kings of the 100 Kingdoms and the Empire of Ortygal, the Black Robes seemed content with what they had and focused on keeping it, instead of expanding further. 

The next logical step was to build embassies in big cities all around the world, to keep lines of communication open with all potential allies or partners - or something.

At the top of the organization, you will find the Black Senate. The Black Senate is the ruling body of the organization and of Uruak. The Black Senate is comprised of 101 Black Robes, each chosen for their individual qualities or because of their alliances. The Black Senators rarely leave Uruak and generally spend a lot of time hatching plans and ruling Uruak.

The rest of the Black Robes are divided into cells. Each cells consists of 7 people, and although not all of them are necessarily wizards, it is rare that a Black Robe does not practice magic in some form. A cell usually runs a city, a town or a number of villages reachable within a day's travel. The cells also serve outside the borders as each embassy typically holds a cell.

While any race can be found amongst the Black Robes, humans are by far the most prevalent. However, no matter the race, they all have in common that they remove all hair above the chest and instead decorate themselves with tattoos instead of eyebrows, beard and hair.

Given that they run a huge country, he Black Robes are not at all a secret organization, but they are very secretive. This coupled with their non-aggressive expansion (the establishing of embassies everywhere) without a purpose has caused a number of rumors about them and most common man outside of Uruak are very distrustful (and usually very afraid) of them. Yet some are inadvertently drawn to them, after all, they have a vast magical knowledge, especially of magical items.

Also, since their embassies are always considered Uruakian soil, local laws do not apply there. This fact is not widely known, but it has certainly come to some's attention that it can be significantly easier to procure certain items through the Black Robes.

The Short Brothers

The Short Brothers' are more like a cult than like a guild. I once interrogated one of their low-level operatives for more than a week. I did unspeakable things to the half-man, and yet, he wouldn't give up anything about the guild or the other members. Zealots!

The Short Brothers, commonly called the Brothers, is a nation-wide halfling-only thieves guild, run by Jack, the King in the Shadows.

Although membership of the guild is for halflings only, they are frequently employing big and strong members of other races as muscle, when that is needed. It is not uncommon for leading men of the guild to have 7' foot tall bodyguards.

The Short Brothers primarily deal in information, ladies and boys of the night, fencing and gambling, but as many other shady operations, not much is known. Of course, rumors abound about them. Many of those rumors center around the Brothers having much more power than they appear to have. Some even go as far as claim and they from behind the scenes run most thieves' guilds in the Seven Army Nation, all while keeping their hands clean with the authorities. One thing is for sure, the Short Brothers always seem to know a lot about just about everything, and often before others. Some say that all halflings are secretly working for the guild and that the many traveling halflings help pass on messages and information, while others say that Jack uses devils to communicate with the other cities. The truth is probably somewhere in between.

What is known, is that Jack runs the guild from Laketower and that every single member seems to be utterly and completely loyal to him, even though most could never have never met him. Is it fear, is it devotion? Hard to say for sure.

The Death Dancers

The Death Dancers? What a quaint notion. You do realize that no such organization has never existed within our church, right? Those are just lies spread by other divine agents. Probably by the church of Torax. I can assure you that our Dark Lady needs no mortals to get her souls. She just takes them, if it is their time.

 - High Raven Hrolar, Starkhold

The Death Dancers are an ultra-secret, outlawed branch of the church of the Raven Queen. Following a version of reality that none other are privy to, the Dancers see themselves as the prolonged arm of the Dark Queen, bringing death to those that deserve it, those that should have died. At least, that is according to themselves. Or rumors. Some perceive them as nothing more than very expensive and effective assassins for hire.

Either way, the Death Dancers, said to be cloaked in black and wearing raven and gold masks, allegedly leave no one alive who sees them. The magically-trained orphans raised by the church of the Raven Queen strike at night, in the dark, with their silver daggers and never leave any clues.They do leave behind a black raven feather whenever they kill.

The Black Mass

It's kinda ironic - or frightening perhaps. Despite the fact that Kranak was the head of a church that kidnapped thousands of people and tried to turn them into undead, despite all the vile things he did against our fair city, he will always be known as the father of Krakas the Dark.

 -José Stark, year 5846

The priests of the Raven Queen were for a very long time exclusively run by women. Around 5310, that changed and the Black Kings were formed. A male-only fraction of the church, which through the years grew to power, a in some parts of Gemnos even managed to wrestle control from the women.

The Black Kings were focused, nay obsessed with the death aspect of the Raven Queen. Only through death could you truly understand the Dark Queen, only through death could real power be gained. In fact, all members of the fraction had to die before joining. Not for long, obviously, because it resurrection was not the way to come back, nor was undeath. No, you had to die, just for a minute or two, then be brought back through the will of another priest, if you wanted to join.

At first viewed with some distrust by the general population, the Black Kings soon found themselves admired. Dying for their faith, only to come back, even stronger. Now that was something even the common folk could admire, and in some areas of Gemnos, the Black Kings flourished.

After the Second Demon War, when people returned and built what is now Starhold, the Black Kings had a huge part in the rebuilding and their power in Starkhold grew. Come 5750, it was a forced to be recognized.

High Priest Kranak took office and was not only running the church, but also a close advisor of the Starks.

However, unbeknownst to everybody outside the church, the Black Kings had begun to push the teachings of the Raven Queen in another direction. Obsessed with death and power, the clergy had begun experimenting on live victims to create intelligent and obedient undead. They thought they could find a way to create an unbeatable army and conquer the Seven Army Nations. For years, literally thousands of people disappeared and were experimented upon, and had the experiments been allowed to go on, surely the Black Kings would have been able to complete and perfect their necromantic ritual.

Unluckily for them, someone in the dark of things decided to spill the beans and the Starks were told what their close allies were doing in the dark dungeons of their temples.

High priest Kranak and all other Black Kings were brought to justice in Starkhold and had their heads chopped up, while (allegedly) the Death Dancers of the Dark Queen brought swift justice to all other followers of the Black Kings. In a few weeks during 5797, the Black Kings, along with their temples, were no more.

Of course, as everyone knows now, Kranak left behind a son, Krakas, who would soon grow to be even more infamous than his father.

The Saints of Heaven

If any mortals had actually met an arch-angel while they were still alive, and spent some time with him, they wouldn't be so quick to bow down and idolize them. The angels might represent the virtues, all the goody stuff, but embody them, they sure don't. Cold and distant characterize them much better than kind and helpful.

 -Asmodeus, allegedly

The common perception is that the Saints of Heaven are the arch-angels that run Heaven for Bahamut. Each is associated with some virtues, each have a specific role in Heaven.

Saint Michael the Arch-angel
Chastity, knowledge, honesty and wisdom
Also called Heaven's General. Commonly seen as the most powerful of the angels, and the right hand of Bahamut. In some areas of Gemnos, he is more widely worshipped than the gods. According to lore, Michael is the leader of the armies of angels. While angels rarely ever fight battles as us humans understand it, he is the strategist behind every move and plan they hatch.

Saint Gabriel the Arch-angel
Temperance, justice, honor, self control
Commonly named the Judge but also the Merchant - Gabriel is the one in charge of bargaining for the souls that go to Heaven. He is the final arbiter whether Heaven will haggle for your soul or not. Quite a few pay at least lip service to him just for that. Gabriel is therefore mostly found in the Underworld,  although he leaves most of the haggling with the infernal opposites to angelic delegates.

Saint Raphael the Arch-angel:
Humility, bravery, modesty
Saint Raphael the Protector, as the name implies, is the angel in charge of the security of Heaven, or in other words, he protects the gates of Heaven. It is said he knows everything that goes on everywhere in Heaven. No one can sneak in, no one can do anything without Raphael knowing about it. Whether he acts on it, only Bahamut knows.

Saint Azrael the Arch-angel
Peace, mercy, suffering
Nicknamed the Angel of Death, Azrael's job description is much less sinister than the name would imply. Once Gabriel has won a soul, Azrael is the one to come get it, or at least he is in charge of the someone coming to get it. Seeing Azrael while alive is considered one of the greatest things for worshippers of Bahamut, as it indicates that their faith has been so strong that they are skipping the Underworld part of their transcendence and move directly to being reborn in Heaven. Some souls are just not worth haggling over.

Saint Uriel the Arch-angel
Charity, benevolence, generosity, sacrifice
After Michael and Gabriel, Uriel is the arch-angel with the largest following. Called the Teacher, because, according to the Writings of Bahamut, he walks the earth, at the behest of Bahamut, teaching mortals the word of Bahamut, the only sure way to end up in Heaven. There are literally thousands of stories about the travels of Saint Uriel, and he alone is the reason why very few Bahamut worshipers will turn away a wayward soul in need of shelter or food. Because it just might be Saint Uriel in disguise.

Saint Lucifer the Arch-angel
Kindness, satisfaction, loyalty, compassion
Saint Lucifer is the Caretaker. Once souls arrive in Heaven, they need some looking after, someone to  show them the ropes of immortality and eternity. That's Lucifer. Seen as the embodiment of all that is good, Lucifer is none the less surrounded by a lot of controversy. Some lore seems to suggest that Saint Lucifer hasn't always been angel, but instead he was born a devil. However, thousands of years ago, something happened after a chance encounter between Lucifer and Bahamut, and the devil changed his ways so much, that Bahamut elevated him to arch-angel. Of course, that is probably neither accurate nor the whole story, but that is what some mortals claim.

Saint Amesha the Arch-angel
Diligence, Persistence, effort, ethics
Saint Amesha, the only angel portrayed as a female, is most often called the Messenger. Not much is known about her place, other than she seems to run communications between Bahamut and the other arch-angels, and even sometimes, between Bahamut and the mortals. Some sages believe her to be nothing more than a glorified messenger-girl, others call her the true right hand of Bahamut, since everything he wills go through her, whether it be instructions to the angels or guidelines to his church.

The Lords of Hell

It's amusing how all mortals assume the gods were here first. They weren't. Hell is much, much older than the gods. They might be the most powerful beings at the moment, but nothing but Hell is eternal. Then again, maybe they aren't the most powerful beings around. Maybe that it just something they need to believe....

- Asmodeus, somewhere in Hell

Hell, while ruled by Bane, is run by the seven Lords of Hell and their infinite hordes of demons and devils. For thousands of years, they have warred on the angels of Heaven and against each other. The seven Lords are:

Baphomet
Symbol: Bull's head with flaming red eyes

Portfolio: Savagery

Also called the Prince of Beasts, Baphomet is a demon with the the appearance of a huge humanoid with a bull's head, a bovine tail, and broad, stubby hands and feet. Baphomet's rippled body is covered with coarse charcoal black hair. His horns curves downward and outward and are at all times surrounded by hellfire. He wields a giant spiked warhammer called the Worldcrusher. It is said that his spit and drool is unholy water. Amongst the Lords of Hell, Baphomet is often considered the dumbest, the most simplistic. The brute with no subtlety. He is also the guardian of Hell, both entrance and exit. Baphomet's Hell is a huge maze full of roaming demons of all kind.

Asmodeus

Symbol: A red-black upside-down pentagram
Portfolio: Lies

Asmodeus is descibed as the strongest, most cunning, and most beautiful of all devils. He usually appears as a huge human. He has lustrous dark skin and black hair, handsome yet deadly. His crimson eyes gleam with infernal power, a pair of small sharp horns crown his forehead. He dresses in regal finery of red and black robes studded with black diamonds and fiery rubies of incalculable expense.  Beneath his clothing, Asmodeus's body is covered in bloody wounds. His wounds oozes blood daily, and the drops of his blood which touch the ground in Hell is said to grow new powerful devils and demons. Whether in battle or on his throne, Asmodeus is rarely far from his famed Ruby Rod, said to hold the souls of an arch-angel. If Asmodeus is not the leader of the Lords of Hell, but he is certainly the first amongst equals and most assuredly the brains behind most of the greater schemes the Lords come up with. Asmodeus’s machinations are long in the making, and they might take centuries, if not millennia, to see resolution. He works on a grand scale, carefully constructing insidious and inexplicable intrigues, maneuvering the forces of wickedness like chess pieces on a board that encompasses all of Gemnos and the rest of the planes. Asmodeus' Hell is an infinite castle where backroom dealings and backstabbings are on the order of business.

Orcus

Symbol: Mace with human skull as head
Portfolio: Decay

Orcus is typically described as having the head and legs of a goat, although with ram-like horns, a bloated body, bat-like wings, and a long tail. Orcus cares for nothing save himself - not even his devotees and undead servants - and focuses only on spreading misery and evil. One of his most identifiable symbols is the artifact, the wand of Orcus, a skull-topped mace with the power to slay any living being. Orcus' Hell is a giant graveyard filled with ruined temples and broken mausoleums.

Demogorgon

Symbol: A serpentine forked tail, wrapped around a skull.
Portfolio: Insanity

The huge demon towers above everyone else. His body at once sinuous like that of a snake and powerful like that of a great ape. Two baleful baboon heads leer from atop his lumbering shoulders, from which writhe two long tentacles. His lower torso is saurian, like some great reptile with an immense forked tail.

Demogorgon not only spreads insanity, he is insane. He is said to believe that he is destined to rule all of Gemnos, due to the twin connection
Demogorgon's hell is a vast tropical jungle that exists under a constant cacophony of sounds from animals that do not exist and a fog so thick that you can cut it. In the depth is his twin towers of madness.

Grazz't 

Symbol: A black six-fingered hand
Portfolio: Lust

One of the smallest of the Lords of Hell, Graz'zt appears as a lithe, muscular humanoid, although still much larger than normal humans. His skin shines like polished obsidian, and his eyes glitter with malevolent green light. He has yellowed fangs, pointed ears, and six slender fingers decorating each hand. He is sometimes described as having six small black horns half-hidden amid his thick black hair. As Asmodeus, he can almost be considered beautiful. and he also dresses in some of the most expensive and elegant finery on the entire plane.

Wielding an acid-drenched greatsword in one hand and a profane shield in the other, Graz'zt, also called the Dark Prince is a veritable killing machine, but also a true and extremely intelligent war commander. When Graz'zt isn't fighting the angels, he spends time in his own personal hell. Graz'zt's hell is a harem of never-ending pleasure and pain.

Lolth

Symbol: An eight-pointed metal star, with the points connected by intricate webbing
Portfolio: Murder

In drow form, Lolth, sometimes called the Spider Queen, appears as an "exquisitely beautiful" female dark elf, sometimes covered in clinging spiders. In her arachnid form, Lolth takes the appearance of a giant black widow spider with the head of a female drow or human peering from between the eight spider-eyes. Sometimes, the two foremost pair of her spider-legs are actually humanoid arms.

Lolth is the assassin of the Lords, the one that dwells and strikes in the darkness. Her hell is a plain of rocks with chasms and rocky gorges. It is full of many pits and craters. The land appears dead and covered in pitchblack darkness. If you could see in the darkness, you would see that there are giant petrified spiders with webbing found everywhere..

Yeenoghu 

Symbol: A triple-headed flail
Portfolio: Torture

Yeenoghu combines the worst features of a gnoll and demon in one immense form. His body is huge, gaunt and lanky, and patches of yellow fur stained with brown spots cover him. Leprous gray skin and suppurating wounds mar his body, revealing the corruption of his flesh and spirit. His head is a large, anthropomorphic hyena’s, with glowing red eyes and a toothy maw from which spills strings of drool. He is often depicted wielding a three-headed flail.

Once souls arrive in Hell, they are tortured. While any devil or demon can torture, most that do answer to Yeenoghu.

Bel

Symbol: A chest of bloody coins.
Portfolio: Greed

Crimson scales cover this large fiend, from its bestial head to its clawed toes. From its back spread great bat-like wings. Foul green venom drips from its teeth, sending up streams of smoke wherever it falls. Cinched around its waist is a belt of a dozen shrieking angel heads, their necks neatly severed by the massive flaming sword the creature holds in his clawed fist. Not much else is known about this Lord of Hell. Some sages speculate that he has only gotten his title recently, while other surmise that he is just that good at keeping mortals in the dark about his machinations.

Mephistopheles

Symbol: A cross(road)
Portfolio: Corruption

This diabolical fiend is huge, has crimson skin, with handsome yet diabolical features that include a set of massive red leathery wings, curling horns, his eyes are white with red irises and pupils, and long, straight black hair. He has huge muscles that befit his great strength, and his speech is whispering wind. His wings, horns, and talons are deep red and his scales are sooty black. Swathed in a flowing black cape, he is the vision of evil. While all the Lords benefit to some degree from the souls that end up in Hell, Mephistopheles is the one that control the demons and devils that do nothing but corrupt the mortals of Gemnos. Some say that while most deals are struck through intermediates, sometimes Mephistopheles himself show up to close the deal.

House of Nobles

The House of Nobles, or just the House for short, has been the main advisory voice to the warlords of Ironville Crossing. Each of the 100 noble families has a seat there, and they meet once a week to discuss where Ironville is heading and what can be done. Whatever they agree and vote on, is presented to the Warlord.

Traditionally most warlords have always been present at these proceedings, but according to word on the street, Sophie Ran has yet to show her face in the Mandate, which is the name of the building where the meetings are held.

The meetings, which are famous for sometimes lasting days, when tempers are hot, are otherwise closed to the public.