Gods & Demons II: The Elder Host

In the beginning, the Wyrld was, and around the Wyrld there was Nothing. Then Te stepped from Nothing into the Wyrld, and lifted up his voice, and called forth the Elder Host from Nothing.

Counting Te, the Elder Host numbered twelve. It is known that Erdis, King of Nothing, was the first to come into the Wyrld; the rest of the Elder Host were Ados the Learned; Aela, Lady of Blessings; Darghin the Nightlord; Fatia, Mother of Hope; Larril the Wandering Queen; Orod, Lord of Bones; Ruandir the Skyking; Tamati the Bloody Queen; Umoth, the Burning God; and Yau, the Gentle Lady.

Together the great powers crossed the expanse of the Wyrld to its heart. Where they stepped, a multitude of strange and wondrous beings sprang up - elementals and fiends, celestials, angels, and djinni.

Erdis, the eldest but for Te, loathed the Wyrld, and sought to unmake it. The others strove against him, and finally slew him. From his blood they created dragons; from his bones giants. Humans were shaped from his flesh, and gnomes from his inner organs. Darghin, Tamati, and Umoth stole away his head and shaped their own races from it, including the powerful occuluth, treacherous dopplegangers, and foul orcs. Finally, Yau gathered up what was left of Erdis and carried them into the Nothing to be at peace again. Today, the only remnants of Erdis in the Wyrld are fragments of his heart, and these artifacts are numbered among the most fearsome and terrible in existence.

Te is numbered among the Elder Host, but stands apart from them. He grants no powers, shows no favor, and his faithful are few in number. He speaks only three times in the course of the Wyrld: once to call forth the Elder Host, once to unmake the bindings and barriers the gods have laid on the Wyrld (this occurred about a hundred years ago in game time), and once to summon the Elder Host back to the Nothing.

With Erdis dead, Yau undone, and Te set apart, the Elder Host effectively number nine.

• Ados is the god of learning, history, and wisdom.
• Aela is the Mother Goddess, patron of life, fertility, and growth.
• Darghin is the god of darkness, secrets, ambition, and hatred.
• Fatia is the goddess of hope, the future, and destiny.
• Larril is the lady of luck, and since Yau's dissolution, the goddess of water and love.
• Orod is the god of souls and the dead.
• Ruandir is the lord of the sky, storms, and leadership.
• Tamati is the goddess of change, war, strife, and turmoil.
• Umoth is the god of fire, light, and wrath.