At present, the main herd of the Shattered Isles worship two deities; Izmir and Nué. However, island dwellers are reminded that they are free to worship whoever they please and the population respects the roles each member of the pantheon has in the balance of the earth as a whole. They aren’t above speaking a prayer to a god that isn’t their own if the problem they find themself confronting falls outside of their main gods’ domain. Knowing their predominant gods’ relations to the other deities (which is mostly one of mutual respect) they find no qualms with doing so. The worship of Vronne is, however, seen as a vast disrespect to Izmir and Nué and is perhaps the only worship that is not tolerated in Mirroweld.
Izmir
[IZ-meer]
Personality
Izmir is a benevolent, curious, and patient god. With his many eyes he likes to keep a passive yet keen watch over his followers and the isles in general. Whilst his gaze tends to rest most frequently on the shattered isles (due to the culture surrounding the worship of him and his mate) that does not mean he holds other followers in any less regard.
He values knowledge, balance, and philosophical thinking due to his own interests in learning and intellectual pursuits. A true believer in that there are two sides to every coin, Izmir tends to get along well with the other gods in the pantheon and rarely harbors ill will. He understands the complexity of circumstance, timing, nature and nurture but can sometimes be heavy handed and persistent in piecing apart a problem (or individual). Whilst trying to aid a follower or fellow deity in introspection or problem-solving, he can often miss the finer nuances of social circumstances or unevenly weigh their importance.
Whilst Izmir is mostly by and large a rational, mature, and kind god, it doesn’t exclude him from finding the occasional amusement in teasing his fellow gods or the mortals he watches over. He tends to still approach his whimsies in a respectful manner and it mostly tends to serve to teach someone a lesson or gain insight in a more lighthearted manner.
Overall Izmir has a strong desire to learn about anything that he can, endlessly curious and sometimes a little nosy. With a deep reservoir of patience he dedicates a lot of time observing the mortal society for this reason. If he is pushed past his limits however, he can quickly turn to become sharp and quietly ruthless. If someone should wrong or anger him he prefers a more mental and ominous approach to punishment.
Role
Izmir the Magician – god of arcana, balance, knowledge, and patience.
He is seen as a mentor to the herd who aids in their discovery of self knowledge and the world around them. Both he and his partner are responsible for the creation of empathy and illusion magic.
How Mirroweld views them:
Among the Mirroweld, Izmir is viewed as a mentor who guides its residents through life through the growth of self knowledge and understanding of the world around them. The relationship is viewed to be evenly give and take. Those who believe in him share their findings with him and in turn they believe a lot of their epiphanies and moments of inspiration or clarity come from the god in return.
Myths & Legends
The Eyes of Izmir
Legends tell of how Izmir gained his domain and some snippets of ancient knowledge tearing away power from his father. Izmir came to disagree with his father about their responsibilities towards other realms and was direly punished. His father, an ancient, used his power to call forth a flock of 10,000 birds (amongst which his own siblings, the younger twins Imos and Onir forced into raven form) to tear Izmir apart. As the birds tore at his eyes, he breathlessly whispered his forgiveness to them over and over again. His eyes torn out and body broken, the god managed to break free and fall to the mortal realm. The swarm followed but as the god reached out his now freed magic, he found no resistance to his outstretched plea as he cut from them the malicious and poisoning threads connecting them to his father through the aether. In the events that followed Izmir would kill his father in an effort to save his dam, suddenly assimilating the powers of an ancient within his own.
Now known widely as ‘The Eyes of Izmir’ an ominous omen of a flock of black birds including magpies, crows, lyres, and starlings all with a third eye on their forehead reminiscent of Izmir’s upon closer inspection travel the isles. It is said it is the god’s way to get a closer inspection of the mortal realm but there are some who see it as a bad omen. For Izmir’s interest to be peaked, something important or detrimental must be happening nearby. Especially, if the most keen observers are two unnaturally large identical ravens.
Nué
[NEW]
Personality
Nué personifies both beauty and tragedy. At her core, she is a gentle and positive being, but also has the duality of dreams and nightmares. Because she was tormented for so long with the nightmares and pains of the mortals, it wore her down and made her withdrawn, tentative to interact on a closer level with the phae of Mirroweld. The pain and suffering of the world tormented her deep within her soul.
As she and Izmir grew closer, however, he helped her to balance the darkness and coaxed back out her loving, motherly nature. She is a true empath in every sense, feeling strongly the emotions of everything and everyone. At times, it is still overwhelming, but as she has gained more followers after she and Izmir were reunited at the start of the Dark Age, she has better learned to react with equanimity.
As the goddess of dreams, she embodies creativity. Artistic energy flows readily from her, and she is always conceptualizing and building up her ideas. She is especially attached to phae who share these aspirations, and most often interacts with those of a similar nature.
Some of her personality is still a mystery to her followers, as she is illusive, flitting in and out of dreams like a hummingbird between flowers. But peace and tranquility follow her touch, and those who face emotional difficulties often lean on her to bring them comfort.
Role
Nué the Dreamwalker – goddess of dreams, hope, and love.
Nué is the goddess of dreams and hope, but not just of the good facets of those domains. She brings dreams to the mortals, both wonderful and nightmares. She is knows as the dreamwalker because she is most often seen in the dreams of her followers. While she brings pain through nightmares, she also brings hope and love.
How Mirroweld views them:
Nué is beloved by all of Mirroweld because of her relentless pursuit of Izmir before the coming of the Dark Age. They believe that without her efforts in rallying the other gods, they would never have escaped the shadow of Vronne. For this, they will always be grateful to her.
Myths & Legends
n/a
Vronne
[VROAN]
Personality
The ultimate narcissist, Vronne embodies selfishness and callous disregard. He has an utter lack of empathy and consideration for mortals and gods alike, regarding them all as little more than ants to be trodden beneath his hooves. In his eyes, he is the only important creature in the universe, and as such he deserves the complete attention and admiration of everything and everyone.
He craves power and is always seeking a way to steal from the other gods, and has only succeeded once before when he ensnared Izmir. Deceit and manipulation are central weapons for enacting his plots, and one can never trust him to tell the complete truth. He draws perverse pleasure from those who follow him, regarding him as an ultimate source of freedom. This belief could not be farther from the truth. Vronne seeks to enslave the world to his will, to bend it and bring it to its knees before him in ultimate surrender.
Deep within his core, his need for attention and worship is drawn from incurable jealousy and fear that he can never be as powerful as the other gods. Thus, his underhanded pursuits.
Vronne has become withdrawn since the Shattering, biding his time. . . waiting and planning for his opportunity to seize control once again.
Role
Vronne the Avaricious- god of ambition, thievery, and power.
Vronne exists solely to please himself. He cares nothing for mortals and god alike, and he cares not whom he affects when carrying out his plan. The embodiment of selfish desire, he will only do what makes him happy from moment to moment. The only thing that pleases him is power, and he lusts for it eternally.
How Mirroweld views them:
Vronne is hated by the Mirroweld for what he did to both them and Izmir. He is the reason their people suffered and their homeland had to be broken. In their eyes, nothing can redeem the damage he caused. He is regarded with disdain across the archipelagoes, and few view him in a positive light.
Myths & Legends
n/a