Etrion Diade
The Withered Lord
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The Withered Lord
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Death, Fate, Life, and Time
Etrion Diade is also known as the Withered Lord. He is the one primarily responsible for maintaining the balance between Death and Life. He is also responsible for maintaining the Flow of Time and ensuring the Fates are met by all. Etrion is somewhat carefree when it comes to the specifics, and cares more about the end result rather than the process it took to get there. As such, he cares not about how a being lives or dies, only that it _actually _does live and die. As such, mistakes are easily ignored, and failure to meet his demands is not necessarily a problem. He has all the time he needs, and sooner or later, even the other gods will bend to the Fates. He has the most determination of all the gods and never loses his resolve when it comes to what he feels must be done.
Etrion has little freely given support from the realms, and instead is revered and worshiped because of fear. This fear is not his own doing, and is a result of a misrepresentation or misunderstanding of him by most mortals. Etrion's true devotees come to him after life changing events, that often result in them losing everything they have, but their memories. During these times, they realize that Fate will not bend for you, and Time will not stop.
"The wine is poured, will you drink it?" "Each life owes a death - there are no exceptions." "Remember your moments, the coming and the going."
Common Phrases used by Followers of Etrion Diade
Threats to Etrion's power are non-existent in the beginning. He knows what is and what should be at any one moment. As he realizes the fate of one who would call him enemy, he starts to set the stage for them to realize this fate themselves. Once they realize, they rebel against his notions of Fate, their ultimate demise, and eventually will fulfill this Fate by fighting against it. More often than not, this results in beings striving to achieve immortality or attempting to change events throughout time. These beings tend to call him enemy, while he considers them just another grain of Sand. As such, he has no known group that actively rebels against him, and most other gods are wary of working with or against him, as such a thing puts them directly in the path of the Fates, who frequent the Fated Points.
Etrion goals are fairly simple: ensure the life and death of all that should be, ensure the Fates are met, and ensure the Fated Points stay true.
The Children of Fate believe it is their duty to purge vengeful spirits and destroy those that would attempt to live forever. As such, it should be noted that they are indifferent towards the ideas of necromancy, so long as the Undead does not contain a Soul. While these duties have been appointed by his Church, Etrion has been rather uninterested in the Children of Fate. Their last goal is to find Timos Sandalis, and consume the Sands of Time, allowing them to serve their Lord by expanding their hunts to those that would twist the Fated Points.
I have seen worlds, through the eyes of the living and dead. I have witnessed the never-was and the could-have-been. I was present at the rise and fall of empires and gods alike. I am a child of Fate, and all of these moments are mine.
Revelation of the Children of Fate
Manealu, or sometimes called Soul Bearers, are responsible for collecting the soul of the recently deceased. Each soul has a Manealu bound to it at its creation. When a creature dies, its Soul becomes trapped and forced to wander the realm unless its debt is paid. No-one knows exactly how much any one soul's debt is, since that depends on how their lives were lived.
A Manealu appears exactly 13 minutes after a creature dies and starts to collect any remaining valuables from the the Soul's former body, but only up until the necessary debts are covered. If sufficient worth is found, the Manealu guides the Soul to Timos Sandalis where it can be reincarnated.
If the price cannot be paid immediately, the Manealu collects everything present, and bears the weight of the Soul until such a debt has been paid in full. Most Manealu will also visit loved ones and acquaintances of the Soul's former life, and collect any offerings left to guide the Soul. A Soul is also capable to directing the Manealu to hidden caches in order to pay its debt, assuming those caches have not be claimed by another. During the time in which a Manealu bears a Soul, the degrades and with sufficient time, becomes corrupted and twisted. It then consumes the Manealu and re-emerges in an incorporeal capacity as a vengeful spirit.
Sometimes a Soul is collected by another powerful being, before the Manealu can bear its burden or guide it to Timos Sandalis. In these rare situations, the Manealu continues to be bound to the Soul and the acts as if the Soul's former life has not yet ended.
Timos Sandalis Hidden away on one of the realms, exists a great desert known as the Timos Sandalis. It is said that every grain of sand contains the moments of a life that was, a life that is, or a life that will be. That is not the only unique thing about these deserts though. There are dangers here not found anywhere else in the realms. The Artesians have a common saying, "Timos Sandalis cares not of your power and will show your true worth. Divinity and Magic are but words there. Only inner strength will determine the worthy."
Rules: Besides dangers that are standard to a desert. Magic cannot be used within the boundaries of Timos Sandalis, regardless of whether it came from a mortal or a Deity. Alongside that, there are 2 addictions which exist only in Timos Sandalis: Eter-Addiction and Chronicum Addiction.
Fated Points The Fated Points are mentioned several times by the Church and it is believed that those that consume enough of the sand found in Timos Sandalis can start to see the Fated Points. These are moments in time that are locked. They must always happen as they are, and cannot be altered. To alter one of these points will invoke the full force of Etrion Diade's power. It is said the last being that attempted such a thing was the Divided God. After having committed such an atrocity, it was Etrion that singlehandedly destroyed the god and fractured his being into the two new gods: Ogin Crator and Salu Serai.
