Godlands: The Thirdborn

THE THIRDBORN

In the beginning came He Who Arose First, and he created He Who Came Second and She Who Came Second. When these three desired worshipers, they created the Thirdborn. These fifteen beings are the gods that mortals revere. Though their pantheon has seen many changes, the Thirdborn remain the most influential beings in All That Has Been Created.

The Thirdborn, fifteen in number, together represent nearly everything in this world.

Their names are:

Sun In The Sky [in some lands, he is known as Pelor]

Heroism And Glory [in some lands, she is known as Corellon Larethion]

Revenge And Hatred [Gruumsh]

Dutiful War [Heironeous]

Hateful War [Hextor]

Armaments Of Justice [Moradin]

Traps Of Tyranny [Kurtulmak]

All Things Green And Growing [Obad-Hai]

All That Walks And Flies [Ehlonna]

The Arcane And Magical [Boccob]

The Deadliness Of Magic [Wee Jas]

Smile In The Shadows [Olidammara]

Death [Nerull]

Freedom And Roads [Fharlanghn]

Wanton Slaughter [Erythnul]

Glittering Gold [Garl Glittergold]

Oceans And Water [Who goes by many names]

These are not the only gods in the sky, but they are all of those who were created by They Who Came Second.

SUN IN THE SKY

Sun In The Sky is the oldest of the Thirdborn and the most powerful deity in All That Has Been Created. An embodiment of pure good, he rules his land, and his many followers, justly. Where The Sun Shines Brightest is a huge island, and circling around it are many smaller lands governed by priests of Sun In The Sky. It circles the world every day, following the sun so that it is always bright noon over the Palace Of The Sun. His religion is the largest in the world and the most strictly ordered, and his followers enjoy the benefits of his great strength and abundant miracles.

Sun In The Sky does not desire war. As the head of the largest and most powerful religion in the world, he is content to simply allow his influence to grow naturally, without tricks or conflict. His greatest desire is that the whole world be united peacefully under his rule.

Great Contributions - Sun In The Sky, as ruler of the pantheon, deserves credit for much of the work of the other Thirdborn. In addition to that, he is personally responsible for placing the sun in the sky and bringing light to the world. His reign has also kept order between many of the lesser deities; he does not desire war, and so he prevents it between other gods.

HEROISM AND GLORY

Heroism And Glory is the sister of Revenge And Hatred. Centuries and centuries ago, when the gods were still distant from mortal affairs, these deities, then known as the Chaos Siblings, were always together. They were child-gods, always performing pranks and laughing at shared jests. They were among the first to perform wide-scale miracles on the mortal plane when they transformed all of their worshipers into Satyrs. Wild and free, their followers were set apart from all others. Then the siblings had a great war over some unknown slight, and their worshipers did the same. Finally, Sister Chaos put out the eye of Brother Chaos, wounding him terribly body and soul. The two have never come together since except in war.

Those of her original worshipers who followed her instead of her brother were transformed into elves. However, without her brother, she can only change new worshipers into half-elves. All pure elves, therefore, are the original worshipers of the goddess who now calls herself Heroism And Glory or their descendants,and all half-elves are later worshipers or their descendants. When someone devotes himself to Paragon Of Elves, all of his descendants will bear her mark. Wherever they go, whatever they do, all will know that their family once followed her.

After the great war, Heroism And Glory has devoted her energies to wiping out evil through glorious combat. The elves seek out evil and wrongdoing wherever it hides and destroy it with the full might of the elvish nation. They are tireless but unfocused, constantly moving from one battle to another under the leadership of their eternal child-patron. Heroism And Glory herself does not spare her miracles, treating every threat with the utmost importance with the goal of wiping out all evil.

Where Elves Were Born is the land of Heroism And Glory. She has devoted much of her divine power to making the island move much faster than any other, so that it is constantly on the move from one glorious battle to another. Between wars, the elves revel and celebrate, with everything they desire provided by their goddess. The island itself is covered in trees that Heroism And Glory shapes to the needs of her followers. Though it weaves around the world, it is kept in a bubble of daylight, intended to be a shining beacon in the night.

Great Contributions - Heroism And Glory’s greatest contribution to the world is the elvish race. All of the art and music they have added to the world’s culture, and all of the evil they have stamped out in their eternal crusade, can be traced directly back to her leadership.

REVENGE AND HATRED

After his war with his sister, the god calling himself Revenge And Hatred took his followers and traveled to a distant land. He transformed the satyrs into orcs and imbued them with a bitter hatred of elves. He wrought a similar transformation on all of his later followers, but without his sister’s strength, they were merely half-orcs. Like elves, all orcs and half-orcs are marked by their worship of Revenge And Hatred.

Where Orcs Were Born is Revenge And Hatred’s land. It is a frenzy of constant warfare. The island floats around the world attacking everything it comes across. When Were Orcs Were Born finds another godland, it smashes into it and orcs flood across the new territory, razing everything to the ground. Then it flies on, leaving a destroyed husk behind it. Between attacks on other islands, the orc tribes attack each other. Revenge And Hatred resurrects all fallen orcs every 24 hours, so they fight with abandon and revive every sundown to fight again. The land is covered in spiked mountains and surrounded by perpetual darkness, a black omen against the horizon.

Greatest Contributions - Revenge And Hatred is not interested in contributing to the world; he seeks only to destroy everything he comes across. Despite that, his existence has nevertheless affected world society. The everpresent threat of the orcish nation has caused all large nations to increase their defenses. Additionally, Revenge And Hatred creates powerful weapons for his warriors, which are often left behind on the corpses of the slain.

DUTIFUL WAR & TYRANNICAL WAR

Like the Chaos Siblings, the Brothers of War were born together. The twins were identical in every way and were always together. They dueled constantly, reveling in the pure joy of battle. They were masters of combat in all of its forms, matched only by each other. One day, they were battling each other, laughing as they dueled. But one brother’s lance slipped and impaled the other, killing him. The surviving god, distraught, went to Death and begged for the return of his brother. Death agreed, on the condition that he give up what was most important to him: the joy of combat. He assented, and his brother was returned to the world of the living.

His brother had changed, however. Having seen the spirits of the dead, drained of all volition and will, he grew to despise the weakness of living beings, and eventually to hate everything in the world of the living. Because of this, he believes he should own everything. Naming himself Tyrannical War, the dead and resurrected brother has gone to war with the world, and he intends to win. From the flying fortress-nation Where Empire Sits, he wages an eternal war against everything that does not belong to him.

The surviving brother, bereft of the joy of war, was horrified by his brother’s actions. Naming himself Dutiful War, he has set out to do whatever he must to stop his brother from killing and conquering. From the flying fortress-nation Where Justice Stands, he tirelessly stands guard against the evils of Tyrannical War.

Greatest Contributions - In their endless arms race, both of the Brothers Of War have contributed greatly to the advance of military science in the world.

ARMAMENTS OF JUSTICE & SNARES OF EMPIRE

After they began their mutual war, the Brothers Of War recruited lieutenants from the other Thirdborn.

Dutiful War recruited Armaments Of Justice, the great smith, to arm and armor his army. Armaments Of Justice transformed his followers, who count among their numbers some of the greatest craftsmen of the world, into dwarves. They reside in the cave system in the base of Where Justice Stands and work day and night to create powerful armaments for Dutiful War.

To counter this, Tyrannical War recruited Snares Of Empire, the sinister craftsman, master of traps, to create devious pitfalls for his enemies. He transformed his followers, some of the world’s most sinister trapmakers, into kobolds. They reside in Where Empire Sits’ matching cave system and work day and night to create wicked traps and weapons for Tyrannical War.

Greatest Contributions - Nearly every weapon used today was invented by one of the craftsman gods.

ALL THINGS GREEN AND GROWING

Long, long ago, All Things Green And Growing created the world. With the help of Oceans And Water and All That Walks And Flies, he created the land, the water, and the animals. When he showed it to the other Thirdborn, they were overjoyed. They quickly populated the land with humans to worship them. The humans began killing animals for food and clearing forest for wood. All Things Green And Growing was enraged, but he could not stand against the combined might of the pantheon with all of their new worship. He grudgingly agreed to play by their rules and came down to the world with them. Though he resented the humans for their destruction of the natural world, he was willing to accept their worship if they were willing to respect the land. He soon realized that he could be worshiped by intelligent animals, and set about awakening the animals in his land around the world. He had no territory to call his own, but he was present around the world, wherever there were trees or plants.

When the lands lifted into the sky, All Things Green And Growing was left without a godland. Instead, he created a colossal, flying whale, imbued it with intelligence, and rode it into the sky. He planted a forest in its back, and Garden Swimming Over Clouds now flies through the world, dropping seeds on other islands as All Things Green And Growing seeks to return the world to its natural state. The animals he finds he awakens, and the humans who worship him he turns to animals. His goal is to return the world to its original, perfect state; nothing more, nothing less.

Great Contributions - All Things Green And Growing created the world and everything in it. Though he has no interest in human society, he was obviously very important to its development.

ALL THAT WALKS AND FLIES

All That Walks And Flies assisted All Things Green And Growing in making the world. As such, she sympathizes with his mission to return the world to its natural state. She is more in tune with the wants of living beings than he is, though, so where he is aloof and distant, she is present. She acts as his high priest, bringing his message to the people of the world and helping to return the world to its natural state.

THE ARCANE AND MAGICAL & THE DEADLINESS OF MAGIC

The Arcane And Magical is a god seemingly unconcerned with worship. Arcane magicians are unable to worship, and so The Arcane And Magical is merely an incredibly powerful wizard, with less divine power than many of the other Thirdborn.

Where Magic Has Built is an arcane construct that does not follow the rules of other Godlands. Once ruled by The Arcane And Magical and hundreds of simulacrum, Where Magic Has Built is an island literally made of magic. The entire island was constructed wholesale from pure arcane energy,  rather than earth lifted out of the ocean, and as such can move much faster than other godlands and even teleport and turn invisible.

Decades ago, The Deadliness of Magic completed a master plan centuries in the making and slew The Arcane and Magical. She took control of Where Magic Has Built and has been slowly turning its ancient stores of knowledge into tremendous arcane firepower. Soon, she will be able to challenge the world.

Great Contributions - The contributions of The Arcane And Magical to the wizards of the world are incalculable. Nearly every spell cast today has come from his mind, with the exception of those in the school of necromancy. Necromancy was invented and perfected by The Deadliness Of Magic, as well as the profession of warmage. While those who use their magic for peaceful purposes or the pursuit of knowledge owe their allegiance to The Arcane And Magical, The Deadliness Of Magic is queen of those who use arcane magic to kill.

DEATH

Death, the end of all things, is the most patient of the Thirdborn. As master over death, he knows that all will come to him in time, and he need only wait. His nation, Where Death Is, has no living inhabitants. Whenever a human begins to worship him, or whenever they come to his island, he kills them and raises them as ghosts. Then, he gives them a choice: worship him or face true death. His nation is a nation of the dead. They are content with their lot, for they feel no hunger or pain. And Death is content to wait, for all will come to him in time.

SMILE IN THE SHADOWS

Smile In The Shadows is the goddess of rogues, revelry, and chaos. She is opposed to convention and loves to upset anyone who seems to attached to an ordered life and a predictable routine. This has led to clashes with Sun In The Sky, whom she sees to be the most “stuck-up” of the thirdborn.

Centuries ago, Smile In The Shadows was the first deity to come down to All That Has Been Created. She soon became the most powerful of the Thirdborn. With her new strength, she attacked Sun In The Sky. He survived the attack and fought back, crippling her and scattering her followers. She disappeared with a smile and promised to return to finish what she started.

Though she has no nation, and she has not appeared in many years, her worship still gives strength, and her name is praised in taverns across the world.

FREEDOM AND ROADS

When the Thirdborn came down to the world, Freedom And Roads claimed the largest nation, but also the weakest. He was the first to raise his land into the sky, to defend it from constant attacks by the other gods. He soon grew tired of the endless warring and conflict over land and decided that he wanted no part of it. He then shattered his godland into many tiny islands and set them floating through the sky. He now travels the world himself, traveling and seeing all there is to see.

Freedom And Roads is opposed to the strict organization that the godlands represent. Consequently, whenever he gains a new worshiper, he helps them break free by transforming them into a raptoran and giving them a portion of an island for their own. His dream is a world of tiny islands and raptorans, all people going where they please.

WANTON SLAUGHTER

Wanton Slaughter does not care about worship. He cares about nothing but destruction. Because he does not care about directing his divine energies, those who worship him gain disproportionately large powers which are particularly well-suited to a life of murder and death. However, this comes with a price: Wanton Slaughter seeks to destroy everything, so he hunts down and kills his own worshipers.

GLITTERING GOLD

Glittering Gold was the god of wealth and greed. He transformed his worshipers into gnomes, well suited for deceit and theft. He was killed, many years ago, and his worshipers were left without a patron. No living man knows how or why.

OCEANS AND WATER

Oceans And Water assisted All Things Green And Growing with the creation of the world, but did not share his philosophy. He created many aquatic races to worship him and gladly took command of the world’s oceans. However, these disparate races with their disparate mindsets worshiped him in different ways. When the godlands lifted into the sky and left only the ocean, whole and undivided, this became more pronounced. All of this divided worship eventually divided him first into two beings, then three, and now infinitely many. He appears differently in every body of water in the world, split apart by the varieties of the religious experience.