Lesser Gods of the Unbalanced Pantheon

The lesser gods are more numerous but less significant than the greater gods - whereas most of the greater gods appear in most of the legends of the world, lesser gods tend to appear only in a few such legends. Collectively, the lesser gods are less important than any single greater god. Indeed, there is a body of thought that indicates that the universe has an existential need for exactly five greater gods, while the lesser gods have no such restriction.

Theologians believe that each lesser god draws some measure of power from the overlap between two greater gods. As such, there is scope for the existence of no more than ten such gods, as there are ten potential overlaps between greater gods.

The current lesser gods are as follows:

• Chronicle: The god of legacies, Chronicle was the son of Klos and the predecessor of The Thought. He is one of the few beings capable of accurately recalling the events of the Upheaval, including the death of his mother, but is rendered unable to pass this information on to others - the hearer can only comprehend the reality of the new paradigm.
  
• Cyrene the Liar: the herald of the Usurper, Cyrene travels Terafa poisoning right-thinking mortals against the true pantheon. She has been rendered mortal by her travails, but has a strange power over even greater gods such that Choriam dare not strike her dead.
  
• Dolowrath, child of lies: The youngest of all the gods, Dolowrath is the youngest son of Choriam and Li. However, he finds that his power is not as it should be, and his standing as even a lesser god is tenuous at best. Dolowrath is known as a great deceiver, and is the god of seduction.
  
• Drachias: Once a mortal mage of great power, Drachias siezed the mantle of demigod by pure will, and then rose to the standing of lesser god during the Upheaval, slaying and usurping a now-unknown lesser deity. He is the god of ambition, and now has his sights set on further advancement.
  
• Illusta: The goddess of joy, Illustra is the daughter of Li and Choriam, although she is utterly unlike her father.
  
• Horizon: The goddess of wanderers, Horizon appeared at around the same time as The Thought, although there is no indication of a relationship between the goddesses. None know whence Horizon came, including the goddess herself, but it is known that she is not native to the pantheon, and expected that in time she will again depart.
  
• Jolin: One of the original greater gods, Jolin was once the god of the sun, patron of the arts, and lord of all magic. However, when the schism with Lorissa occurred and the sun was split in the sky, Jolin and Lorissa were each reduced in stature. Jolin is now the god of the elves, music, and swordplay.
  
• Kuebe: The daughter of Klos and Li, following a brief and unhappy dalliance, is the goddess of regret. She is a quiet, unhappy creature.
  
• Lorissa: It would be a mistake to label Lorissa the daughter of Jolin, or even to say that she is the younger of the two - she was once a part of Jolin that was forced out in the schism over the fate and souls of the elves. At that time, she was reduced in stature to a lesser god. She remains the lover and partner of Jolin, though their relationship is poisonous in the extreme. Lorissa is honoured as goddess of elves, magic, and poison.
  
• Morr, the static god: The whispered legend has it that Li once had an affair with the being known as Stonefather and conceived a child. However, unlike her other pregnancies, this one was anything but smooth - she remained pregnant for twenty years and was unable to birth the child. Eventually, in extreme pain, she sliced herself open and birthed Morr - fully-grown but already frozen in stasis. Morr isn't so much the god of anything, he's rather just a fact, and as such is worshipped by those who crave stability in all things.
  
• Nemesis: The second interloper of the gods, Nemesis arrived at Terafa from elsewhere at the time of the Rebirth. She is the goddess of revenge, and as such is widely called upon if not truly worshipped.
  
• Shallanah: The second daughter of Li and Choriam is no more like her father than Illusta. Legend has it that her heart was once stolen by a mortal rogue, and that she therefore birthed him a race of children. However, fearful that Choriam would persecute her children for the sins of their father, she reduced them in stature and ordered them to remain wanderers, that they might go unnoticed. Shallanah is therefore the patron goddess of halflings, as well as the goddess of rogues and luck. Finally, she is the goddess of money - she inherited that portfolio from her twin sister, who was slain by The Usurper.

In addition, the Fastness of the Divine is home to some lesser gods:

• The Jailer: The son of Choriam and the predecessor of The Thought, The Jailer is responsible for ensuring none leave the Fastness of the Divine. Although weaker in stature than The Usurper, he has special power in his own domain to allow him to restrain even a greater god. The Jailer rides a two-headed dragon.
  
• The Four: Sometimes named as the North, South, East, and West, these are the followers of the Usurper. Forbidden by divine edit from ever venturing near one another, they are bitter rivals of each other as well as of the true pantheon. It is whispered that if ever they were to unite their power, The Jailer would not be able to contain them.

The Secret

As noted at the top of the post, Terafan theologians believe there is scope for no more than ten lesser gods, representing the overlaps between the five greater gods. They are almost correct - there are actually six greater gods, leading to fifteen such overlaps. Of these, five are contained within the Fastness of the Divine: The Jailer and The Four.

However, a careful count of the other lesser gods will show that there are twelve named, not ten. There is a two-part reason for this. Firstly, neither Cyrene nor Dolowrath fully has the mantle of lesser god - Cyrene lacks the immortality that might be expected, while Dolowrath's standing is noted as being tenuous at best. This is due, quite simply, to their not being enough power to go around.

Additionally, this seeming discrepancy ties into the notion of the Unbalanced Pantheon - such is the nature of the imbalance that even its internal rules are subject to being broken.

The consequent effect of the pantheon not quite working is that the world as a whole likewise doesn't quite work - the whole is spinning slightly off its axis, and the chaos that that inflicts should grow more pronounced with time.

At least, that's the theory.