Greetings! I realize that this thread is LONG dead, but I recently stumbled onto it, and have found much inspiration within. As it turns out, I am employing much of the content of this thread in my current campaign, and have been putting some work into the deity part especially. I have written quite a bit as far as the history and interworkings of the deities goes, and have decided that it would be best, despite the ancient nature of this thread, to post them here, along with all the other stuff, for those who wish to employ the items found within yet not driven enough to create their own information. Excuse me if this causes any problems, for this is not my intent.
Ashri and Ashore: Twin Goddesses of Magic:
Ashri – The Sullen Maid Ashri is one of the twin goddesses of Magic. Once the goddess of foresight and predictions, Ashri’s domain now encompasses the darker side of magic, specifically illusion and enchantment.
Ashore – The Crone Ashore is Ashri’s more benign counterpart. While Ashri’s sphere is the darker stuffs of magic, Ashore takes the more benevolent aspects of magic, such as divination.
History: When the world was still young, and civilizations first started to spring up in isolated places around the world, it was Ashri that first granted them magic. Legend has it that when Ashri witnessed the beauties and hardships of life, she felt it necessary to bestow a gift upon mankind that would aid them in their survival, and accordingly she blessed seven crones throughout the world with strange and prophetic powers. Those blessed by Ashri became the first Seers, and developed strange prophetic powers. By gaining the ability to predict future events with astonishing accuracy, minor civilizations flourished in ways previously unknown. Droughts and famines could be prepared for long in advance, and domestic hardships altogether ceased.
Society under the Seers prospered, but only for so long. A day came when the power of the Seers was used in a way Ashri had not intended. A prophecy was told that one of the kings, an ancient king of great power, whose name was lost to time, would be slain at the hand of a Devergar peasant. Rather than let his fate come, this king decided to incite hatred against the Dvergar, and led a massive extermination. Ashri, who intended to aid humanity, was deeply troubled by the tragic outcome of her divine inspiration. Ashri was however, in a bind. By taking away the power she had granted, humanity would lose faith in the divine beings and begin a downward spiral into oblivion; By not doing anything, humanity would continue to misuse her power to their own selfish ends.
Ashri sought the council of her seemingly older and infinitely wiser counterpart. Ashore, then the goddess of perceiving and understanding, knew what her sister must do. Ashri, at Ashore’s command, plucked out her own eyes. The power of divination changed entirely. Instead of seeing the very threads of fate, Seers could only see veiled images of the future which were limited to a shorter term and infinitely changeable. No longer could humanity use the gift of foresight to wreak havoc on itself. Ashore, with the absence of Ashri’s sphere, was forced to take on the mantle of divination.
Ashri, eyeless and temporarily weakened, became overcome by sadness, but lacking eyes, was unable to cry tears, and was instead forced to weep blood. The incredible melancholy felt by Ashri pent up, and boiled over into an insurmountable rage. In anger, Ashri decided that the truth was often unnecessary and distasteful, that lies were more palatable, and formulated the first illusion. Ashri’s Playground, as it came to be known, is a massive illusory realm inside the world above where Ashri holds court over her own imagination. Many scholars attribute illusion magic to spillage from Ashri’s Playground into the other worlds.
Again, thanks to all of those who contributed to this thread, as it has inspired me greatly.
