Religions of Eberron

The deities of Eberron differ from those of other realms in that they maintain distance. Their existence is largely speculation - while Clerics remain faithful to their chosen deities, more scholarly minds debate the true source of their power.

Some argue that faith is all that is necessary to create a deity, pointing to The Undying. Others argue that these faiths merely stumbled upon a truth, that there is power in the self, or tapped into an already magically powerful race. Others still consider it likely that gods do exist, however the sentient mind cannot be expected to know or comprehend their true forms, and a Clerics powers come from the deity their actions further the goals of.

In the end, the truth is a combination of these ruminations. The Gods exist, fuelled by the faith of their followers and thus they fuel their followers in return. A Gods power waxes and wanes with their believers, and thus a God may die. Regardless of the power of the deity in question, however, a Clerics powers remain the same assuming they retain faith. The deity in question is limited regarding how many Clerics it may power, however - thus a God with only a handful of followers may be able to answer the prayers of one Cleric, while a God with an entire nation behind it may be able to answer hundreds of Clerics.

There is no consensus amongst the people, however, and just as the people of Eberron vary, so too do the religions.

Kemetism

 * Anubis - funerary, death.
 * Bastet - Protective
 * Bes - Protector, fertility
 * Geb - fertility
 * Hathor
 * Horus
 * Neith
 * Isis
 * Nepthyse
 * Nut
 * Osiris - judge of dead
 * Ra
 * Set
 * Tefnut

The Duality
Two deities are worshipped by Yuan-Ti, Apep and Asclepia. A naturally neutral or evil race, Clerics of the light struggle to find matching beliefs.

Apep
The chief god of the Yuan-Ti, a chaotic evil mastermind of traps, poison, and murder. His domains are Arcana, Death, Grave, Trickery, Nature, or War. Apep represents Chaotic Neutral, Neutral Evil, and Chaotic Evil adepts.

The Ursine Pantheon
Hel - the realm of the dead and the goddess presiding over it

Valhalla - Hall of the slain... for heroes who have fallen... not just warriors (survivors).

The Endless
Inconceivably powerful, these beings represent powerful natural forces. They are older and more powerful than the Gods, and more enduring.

The only race to worship The Endless themselves is the dragons. Seeing them in their draconic forms, the dragons believe that they are only interested in the concerns of greater beings such as dragons. The draconic prophecies are sourced from Time.

Void and Time
Void was the parent of all, with Time shortly following. In aeons past, Void vanished, though Time remained.

Appearing asexual, Time is a tall, thin being resembling an elf or an impossibly large dragon. Time's age is impossible to determine, neither appearing old or young. With golden skin and hair - or scales - and slanted eyes with glittering, golden irises and pupils shaped as hourglasses, Time see's the passing of all things. As Time looks upon a living being s/he see's the passing of their life as if on fast forward, ageing quickly before the cycle begins again. From flesh to dust, life to death, beauty is lost to Time.

The eldest and most powerful of the Endless, Time existed long before life and will exist long after. Time is, was, and will be.

Chaos and Order
After Time, came Chaos - and with Chaos came Order. Instigators of change, they caused nuclear fusion, saw birth to stars, and eventually Life - and Death.

Chaos' form is in constant change. She most often appears as a pale, buxom human woman of petite frame, with wild curls that sway in an illusory wind. Her hair is the black of deep space, speckled with stars forming constellations unseen in the mortal realms. Her eye colour fluctuates constantly, every part of the spectrum identifiable at one point or another and rarely is each eye in sync with the other. Her skin is also in flux, morphing into patches of scales momentarily before they disappear once more into pale flesh, migrating over her body. Her teeth sharpen to fangs, only to return to normal a moment later. Her nails to claws and back, so quick as to be considered imagination. In a way, she seems motherly, but this wars with horror.

Order, on the other hand, is a tall, strongly built man. You would expect him to have a military bearing, but he doesn't, instead seeming perpetually nervous. His clothing is perfectly in place, his swords - the only thing about him to hint at strength - are well kept. Nonetheless, he seems to have to force himself not to fidget and fix imagined flaws. His hair is the same black of deep space in a military cut, though lacking the stars speckled throughout. His eyes are a honeyed-brown, and he is perfectly symmetrical from the faint freckles gracing his tan skin to the two swords on his hips.

Life and Death
From Chaos was born Life, and with Life, Death.

Life has a constant form - that of an elven maiden walking barefoot. While her basic form is static, being that of a curvaceous, well-endowed woman with flowing black hair and eyes which are windows into space, galaxy after galaxy spinning into existence within them before winking out moments later, her appearance does change some depending on the season.

In the summer, Life is vibrant. Vines grow through her hair, colourful blooms native to the season gracing the thick tresses. Her skin darkens, becoming deeply tanned, and you can find moist earth beneath her nails. Her smile is a glowing sun, her laughter a burbling stream, and her eyes are vivacious.

As Autumn progresses, the flowers slowly fade, replaced by leaves of gold and red. She becomes quiet, in a calm way, as if waiting. Her skin lightens slowly, until Winter when it is the palest translucence. The vines in her hair wither to black, blending in with the other tresses. She becomes withdrawn, tired. A faint trace of frost may be found gracing her hair.

In the spring, her hair becomes an explosion of colour as flowers bloom, as life returns. She remains pale, with spring time blooms gracing her hair. Her smile carries the promise of new growth, and her eyes are full of hope.

One thing maintains, throughout her forms - at the bones of her personality, Life is cruel. Life believes that death is an inevitability, and thus only strength of character will help you survive. Nobody else.

Her sister, Death is identical in some ways - a curvaceous, well-endowed elven woman with flowing black hair and eyes which are windows into space. Death is eternal, however. Death does not change with the passing season or with whim. Her skin is pale, the white of a sun bleached bone. In the Winter, it was hard to tell the dichotomy apart by appearance. Death, though, is kind. Death is optimistic, adventurous, and does not discern by race, gender, or any other separator. In death there is equality, a friend to accompany you into the unknown. A smile lingers on her face, and she laughs with her entire self. Her eyes are kind, speaking of release and relief.

Reality and Dream
Reality and Dream are closely related to Order and Chaos, having a foot in their domains.

Reality is down to earth, a brunette human woman with a short pixie cut. She is average height, and wears sturdy, but plain clothing. Her skin is lightly tanned. She often is found calculating probabilities, collecting facts, and scribbling in an ancient tome that never grows in size nor runs out of pages. Her eyes are the dark blue of the deep ocean, clear and calm. She is inquisitive, always trying to ascertain the facts of the matter.

Dream, on the other hand, is a tall, rakish man. His face is framed by shaggy, wild black hair and he is handsome, in an ethereal way. It's difficult to judge whether he is human, elf, or some fae creature. Despite his ethereal appearance, he seems the most human of his siblings. His eyes are multicoloured, the left an ice blue, and the right amethyst. When they look at you, he seems to see into every crevice of your heart. His smile promises your dreams to come true, and his eyes, while sharp and discerning, promise hope.

From these siblings - Void, Time, Order, Chaos, Life, Death, Reality, and Dream - came the lesser Endless. These represented more every day things, and their presence was more often noted in the mortal realms than those of their elder siblings.

Desire, Disgust, Joy, Sorrow, Anger, Love, Fear, Hope, and Magic
These siblings are often in contention, their domains overlapping.

Desire has no true form - the viewer see's that which they most desire. The only constant is a smile with sharp edges, like broken glass, and eyes that pierce. When she moves, she has the deadly grace of a jungle cat stalking prey. Desire was a promise, and a threat.

Disgust has a static form, tall and thin. Her skin is pale, her hair a platinum blonde. She is beautiful, but her eyes are the pale blue-grey of ice chips - glacial. Her lips are constantly upturned in a sneer, twisting her proud face. She does not walk, so much as glide. Her regal nature makes paupers of Queens. On the rare occasion she smiles, it is all sharp teeth and cruelty. When she laughs, it is sharp, jagged, derisive. She looks down on everybody, knowing herself to be above them.

Joy is golden, bubbling like champagne. Her eyes are sunlight spun to be solid. Here smile was constant, her whole body taking part. Her voice is tinkling bells and burbling brooks, tinged with laughter. When she moves, it's a dance, light as air.

Sorrows eyes are the deepest blue, her hair so deep black as to shimmer navy in the light. She is sombre, quiet, and pessimistic. Her voice, on the rare occasion she speaks, is the mournful toll of bells and a deep, slow moving stream.

Anger has flowing scarlet hair, seemingly with a life of its own. She is petite and tan, constellations of freckles crossing her face. Her iris is black around the outer edge, with deep crimson bleeding into the pupil, and they promise pain to those that cross her. She is a slow simmer, waiting to be triggered. Her voice promises violence, and she is impetuous. When you suffer at the hands of Anger, she destroys you slowly, using each dark corner of your heart as a torture implement, each hidden fear.

Love was reserved and quiet. A petite elven woman, she had milky white skin and flowing black locks. She wore a flowing black dress seemingly cut from the velvet-soft fabric of space. Diamonds speckled the fabric, glinting with soft light and promises of hope. Over her dress lay a floor length cloak of pure white rose petals, so fresh as to seem still attached to the stem. The scent lingered, soft and delicate. Her eyes were endless holes into the depths of space, sparkling with a quiet love of all things, flawed or not. She was reserved, having been hurt, but when she loved she did so with wild abandon. It consumed her, becoming the very air she breathed.