Greater Gods of the Unbalanced Pantheon

Before I start digging into some of the myths of Terefa, I thought it best to outline the greater gods of the pantheon. I'll explain the "unbalanced" bit below...

• Choriam: The primary god of the setting, Choriam is the king of the gods. Depicted as a wise and fair ruler, always smiling and always truthful, Choriam is allied with his blood-brother Klos, and united with his wife Li. He is opposed by The Twins out of their avarice for his position, and by The Thought for no reason either can articulate. Of course, he opposes and is opposed by The Usurper.
  
• Klos: The god of community and tradition, Klos is the deity most commonly worshipped by dwarves, but he is favoured in all civilised lands. He is an implacable enforcer of laws, and protector of civilisation, but he can be hide-bound and slow to change. He is the blood-brother of Choriam, having fought at his side for millennia to bring order to an unruly creation. Klos is allied with Choriam, and respects The Thought most highly for her wisdom and her work-ethic. However, he opposes Li, as she is always trying to poison Choriam's mind against him, and by The Twins, as they would undo all that he has made. Of course, he opposes and is opposed by The Usurper.
  
• Li: Ah, Li, goddess of passion, beloved of artists, poets, and degenerates of all stripes. Li is married to Choriam, but her nature is fickle and so she has dallied with many other deities, demigods, and mortals. Li is allied with her husband Choriam, and with The Twins as both she and they have strong appetites. She is opposed by Klos as she spurned his advances in ages past, and by The Thought whom she finds staid to the point of boredom. Of course, she opposes and is opposed by The Usurper.
  
• The Thought: The youngest of the greater gods, The Thought sprang into being following the Upheaval, due to an unmet need in the universe. She is the goddess of wisdom and industry, ever busy with a philosophy or a task. The Thought is allied with Klos, as her love of industry parallels his guardianship of community. She is opposed by The Twins and Li, all of whose passions she deplores, and by Choriam for reasons neither of them can articulate.
  
• The Twins: Inseparable since their birth, The Twins are depicted variously as brother and sister, two sisters, mother and daughter, as friends closer than siblings, or even as lovers. They are the goddesses of the sun, of change and of want. The Twins are constant and yet ever-changing, as their orbits cause them each to wax and wane in turn. One, the older of the sisters, is regarded as the more stable of the two, bringing constancy and plenty, while the rise of her fickle sister brings great change and upheaval, and the denial of many wishes. The Twins cannot truly be divided, and are never worshipped or even named independently. They are allied with Li, as their passions are often aligned, but are opposed by the more hidebound gods Klos and The Thought.

In addition to the five greater gods, there are four additional powers of note:

• The Usurper: Trapped within the Fastness of the Divine since the time of the Upheaval, The Usurper once attempted to overthrow the order of the universe by deposing Choriam. However, he was defeated by the combined might of Choriam, Klos, and Li. Some heretics claim the The Usurper was once married to Li, but that they quarrelled, leading to his downfall.
  
• The Stonefather: The lengendary forefather of the dwarves, none know what happened to the Stonefather, or even if he ever existed at all. If he ever did exist, he is certainly no longer accessible to mortals of Terafa.
  
• Jolin: The creator of the elves, Jolin was once the god of the sun. His portfolio included both art and magic. However, following by schism with Lorissa, Jolin lost his standing with the greater gods. Jolin will be detailed further with the lesser gods, in another post.
  
• An Unknown God: The Thought was brought into being after the Upheaval due to an existential need in the universe. This need was caused by the death of a previous god or goddess that was slain at that time. Nothing else is known about that deity, and all attempts at divination fail, with those who attempt such blasphemies risking insanity or worse.

The Unbalanced Pantheon?

The fact that their are five greater gods means that the setting can never be truly balanced - as the ego of the gods is such that they will always have an opinion on any topic in question, they will forever find themselves taking sides... and with five of them there can never be even numbers on each side. At present, the triumvirate of Choriam, Klos, and Li stand pre-eminent amongst the gods, but their hold on matters is tenuous at best, not least due to the emnity between Klos and Li. However, it wasn't always like this. By rights, the pantheon should have six greater gods, thus providing the necessary balance and giving the universe harmony. Unfortunately, that harmony was shattered by a conflict between Choriam and The Usurper over the stewardship of the souls of humans. But more of that later.

Secrets

There are several secrets buried in the list of deities, including some that go right to the heart of the setting. I may address some of these in a later post. Though I may not, under the philosophy of "don't show all your working." We'll see...