World of Khaas - Overview of Khaasian Gods and Cults

The Religions and Cults of Khaas

Khaas is a place of incredible religious diversity. Innumerable cultures have strode its shores, gazed at its majesty, and shouted to the night sky their defiance of death. This rejoice of life and rebelliousness to go easily into the night, has birthed hundreds, if not thousands of cultures. Each has looked at the world and life differently. Out of these differing outlooks has come a great multitude of gods, demons, and beings of power equal to either.

Survival in Khaas is tough. Even for the gods. The unique cosmology of Khaas is its nexus gates. These portals touch and impinge on thousands of realities. From these yawning doors to other places, times, and dimensions have come even more numbers of such powerful beings. Many of these were gods in their own right and came through the gates with all their power. This mingling has spawned a cutthroat arena in the heavens and at least one "God War".

So many things connect back to the nexus gates. Hand in hand with the influence of the nexuses comes a great deal of religious tolerance on the part of the people. Not to mention a little apathy by large portions of the population towards the wildly differing and wildly changing religions and dogmas. Nevertheless, in a land where the gods take a proactive (some say meddlesome) role in the day-to-day affairs of mortals, only the rare Khaasian does not pay at least lip service to some deity or belief.

Of course, some individual and cults are by their very nature intolerant of some or all other belief systems. Watch out for them! They think they have "The Truth", and they may well inflict it on you, given the chance. Unless, of course, you are one of those who knows he has "The Truth", in which case you may be seeking to inflict unto them before they can inflict unto you! The average Khaasian has seen this type of thing come and go. It can make life unpleasant or even impossible in some places for a while; still it rarely has much impact on the whole of Khaas. Quite another matter are the various banned cults, such as Timat and Lyrra. Cults generally get banned for advocating and practicing enslavement, torture, or murder. Their adherents are usually few but always fanatical. Society does not tolerate them.

Most cultures know a few gods to some extent. These below are by no means a complete listing. Joining this collection is the vast number of beings that have entered into Khaas from beyond the nexus gates or across its heavenly void; there is a great accumulation of demigods and godlike beings. Too much to relate here. Some are old gods fallen so deeply into the murkiness of time that they are all but wisps of their former power. Others are beings striving towards full godhood, lustily active in the great games of the gods. The list below is just the more prevalent ones. Most, if not all of these are outlined in greater detail in the World of Khaas, Legendary Lands of Arduin volume.

The following is a list of the Primary Gods and Cults (in no certain order of power). Each is hyperlinked to more detailed information in the Khaasian Gazetteer.

Aaos - The Mad God or the Demon Demigod.
Abbraxadon - The Father of All Demons, Demon Sire Cult.
Aegyptian Pantheon - Essentially the Egyptian pantheon of earth.
Amarydion - The quintessential Earth Mother-Goddess religion
Black Pantheon - The Elder Cycle, the Elder Gods.
Boreas - The Lord of the Winds
Borsala - The Temple of the Sea King
Brabnalda - The Four-Faced God or the Green Mother.
Cat-of-Fire - Fire Paw, Fire Eye, Fire Giver (or Bringer) and Light Bringer.
Chu-Khem - Bloody-handed female fertility-harvest goddess.
Deamonshyra - The Death Lust Cult, Children of the Deceiver
Demon of the Dark - Ever Wanderer, Black Moon, Wandering Moon
Diora - The Cult of The Bright One, The Brilliance
Emerald Star Cult - The transplanted earthly Irish and Celtic gods and goddesses
Eru - The All of the multiverse by his numerous followers.
Eyegrond - The Eye of All Creation
Fahde the Fair - Fair Water, The Tears of Life
Falhaine - Essentially a conglomeration of all the Muslim variations.
Galidos - Star Singer, Ever Light, Morning Star
Heldoré - The Artificer Cult, Forge Master and The Ferrier. She is the Great Smith of the Multiverse.
HIM - The Eye of Heaven
Hlalaploor - Also called Hlala or Alaploor.
Iridonos - The Glitter Lord, or The Corruptor.
Jaiquell - The Thieves Heart Cult; the god of thieves.
Justinorn - The Divider, Dark Judge, etc. called The Dark Judgment Cult.
Khrom - Northern god similar to Eru but much grimmer.
Khronos - The waning god of time
Khrysterios - Essentially the Christians religions.
Last of Three - The Life Bringers Cult. They sometimes call their god Atos, The Last of the First.
Lyrra - The War Queen, so called by her Brotherhood of the Spear
Machichrondahr - The Brotherhood of the Bloody Sand, the God has many aliases.
Marbonas - The Laughing One. Considered somewhat mad.
Megalon - The Soul of War.
Mordakk - Also called Doom Fire.
Niabus - The Black Sun Cult. The god of the end of time.
Nohrqualla - A southern counterpart of Brabnalda.
Olympic Mysteries - The range of all the earthly gods and goddess of Earth’s ‘Greek Gods'.
One Who Waits - The Followers of He Who Waits or The Guardians of the Wait.
Onshoom the Golden - The Golden Avenger or Golden One.
Pantheon of the Cards - Temple of the True Tarot: The followers are called Taroteers.
Pax Romana - The earthly gods and goddess of Earth’s Roman Pantheon of deities
Pegus - The God of the Daffodils!
Piadahr - Also called The Horned Singer or The Singer in the Woods.
Puck - The god of pranks, jokes, pratfalls and general mischief-making.
P'Vanz - The Perverse One.
Raush-Abnos - The Cult of the Ages
Sabadarum - Called The Star Dancer Cult.
Saren - The Sun God
Set - The Great Serpent, Ever Snake and Black Circle.
Shagrath - (The) Red Moon Spyder, Father Many Legs, Lord of Spyders, Nite Legs
Skirin - (The) Night Lord, Great Night Hawk, Lord of the Night, Blue Moon
Star Dragon(s) - The Star Guard and Dragon Riders.
Tanabras - (The) Lord of the Dead, Bringer of Death
Tarong the Timekeeper - Followers of the Temple of the Timekeeper.
Ta-Taru, The All Fire - Followers of the Temple of the Flame Eternal.
Temple of Iron - Essentially the whole Norse pantheon.
Terrapyndar - The Great War Turtle.
Timat - The Destroyer, World's Bane and Eater of the Sun.
Ulgotha - Hammer Hand, Old One Eye.
Vanaan - The Eternal Flame
Vedic Mysteries - The Hindu-Vedic religions of our own Earth.
Waraluu - The Wailing God, Taker of Souls and The Screaming God.
Xipé - The Heart Eater Cult
Xollonth - The Mother of Millions, Snail Mother and The Great Shell Goddess.
Xuanth - Also called The Hand/Fingers of Fate.
Yugoré - Called Star Eater, Star Mouth or Heaven Mouth
Zindibindi - Mother Mouth