Lore

Deities of Imarel - by T.A. Saunders ©2013 v1.0

Iridi, Risen Deity of Love Lore

The story of the God of Love is one that dates back to the dawn of Imarel, despite their status as a new power. A gift was given by Hazad, to his beloved Tashalasheeri, a chalice that had come to be known as the Vessel of Consolidation, for it was a symbol of the consolidation of their love. When Tashalasheeri fell into grief and rage at the death of her beloved this chalice became lost to the Queen of Dragons, falling into the hands of servants of the Klet`isenel, Risen deity of Hate, who were said to have spent over a thousand years corrupting the vessel to warp it into an unholy grail of their scorned Niraethian God.

This relic - now called the Wellspring of Hate - that was long forgotten by any but Tashalasheeri and Hazad themselves, appeared once again during the War of Eternals, used to enhance the hatred in the Shar`Vaire’s hearts and helped further fuel the campaign against the people of the Kingdom of Shei. During the Cataclysm of D`Mir, when Klet`isenel, Spirit of Hate escaped Niraeth through rifts in the fabric of Adanum, but was defeated by the former Spirit of Vengeance at the cost of his own immortal existence. After the defeat of Klet`isenel and his D`Mirian cult, theWellspring was entrusted to a Shar`Vaire Shadowmancer loyal to Mourne and his Enforcers, who sacrificed his existence to become a lich and bind himself to the chalice to better ensure that it not fall into the wrong hands again.

It was for nearly another fourteen hundred years that the Wellspring of Hate was forgotten by the world, until Mystics of Albadosia learned of its existence through their scrying. Desperate and engaged in a three-way war with Taijun and the Xos-Aligned Zissah of Vocor, a unit of Albadosian Ahemsheret - warrior scholars in the service of the Warlock King - were dispatched to unearth the item from the Burning Lands.

This plot was foiled by a group of heroes under the command of the Vyssian Princess-heir acting under the name of Naia, Crusader of Mercy. These same heroes, under the guidance of Trentarius, Spirit of Life, cleansed the Vessel, which was carried by Dame Shivar Dvrakal, one of Tashalasheeri’s Reavers, to the Draconic Enclave, where it was brought to Hazad.

Hazad found himself in a difficult situation - return the Wellspring to Tashalasheeri, and risk drawing Kaal’s ire, or deliver it to Kaal, and risk his beloved’s. In his wisdom, Hazad delivered the Wellspring to Kaal, reasoning that Tashalasheeri’s wrath with him would be a bearable burden, and far less catastrophic than if it were directed at either Kaal or mortals.

It was Zorah however, who found the best way to settle this matter for all parties. After it was delivered to Kaal - a gesture that did a great deal to heal some of the millenia-old rift between the Dragon Queen and the God of Justice - Zorah proceeded to fill the cup with Kaal’s blessed beer. Gripping a length of Kaal’s beard, the capricious Goddess used it to stir the foam before casting the vessel into Mirdhal, into the sight of Tashalasheeri’s dream so that she might always gaze upon it.

From the now overflowing froth, Iridi rose, becoming the newly-formed God of Love, with the Vessel of Consolidation becoming their new domain within the astral realm.

Iridi’s appearance is fluid, and they tend to manifest in whatever form they assume will be the most acceptable to whomever they are presenting themself to. Most often, though, they will appear as a mostly androgynous, but still overwhelmingly attractive Asyn-Shei youth, clad in a toga of opalescent foam, with shoulder-length blonde curls and blue-green eyes. They do not identify themselves as a single gender, and if asked will identify themself as all genders. They do not wield weapons in combat, and much like Philisteenja projects an aura as her method of self defense. This Aura of Amory causes mortals (and a great number of Spirits and Gods) to lose their will to attack them, overwhelmed by a strong sense of love and/or affection instead.

Iridi has no formal priesthood, and their places of worship are virtually anywhere a faithful wishes to, provided they put care and genuine affection into constructing it. The colours associated with her faith are platinum, red-orange, blue, opal, and gold, and her few followers have taken to wearing an intricately crafted olive wreath on special occasions and during worship. Iridi is not a god that tolerates lip service and false praise, however they will not directly harm those that invoke their wrath, instead preferring to guide the way. This does not mean Iridi will not cause woe for the false, however, in doing so. After all, some of the greatest love stories are tragedies.