The Eternals
The Comhairle Nefol, Kenzian for "The Eternals", are the embodiment of essential concepts or forces. Except for Beade, the ancient ones are never manifest in the realms. They have no facets of their own and can exist without the worship of mortals. They are the forces at work that the apparent deities rely upon and claim as their domains. They are who they are, for they are the body.
The Eternals are:
The goddess of Nature, Beade is considered the mother of the planet. She watches over all that is living, and also the forces that affect the planet, such as weather and the seasons. Worship of Beade is usually practiced out of doors and away from centers of population, where her followers can be in tune with nature. As with the rest of the Ancient Ones, Beade plays only a small part in the affairs of mortals, being more focused on the world as a whole. Many rangers worship Beade, and it is widely believed that the entire profession originated from the early druidic practices of the priests of Beade, although the two have now taken separate paths. Lacking the structure of formal temples, many shrines to Beade still exist throughout the realms. Mysterious earthen structures dot the landscape in many areas, remnants of ancient forms of worship. Modern times have found the true followers of Beade retreating further into the forests of Thrael and becoming more reclusive.
Eyssa has the largest following among the gods, and by far the most priests. She sits in the very middle of both pantheons, working to keep the balance of the scale even. Goddess of death, rebirth and everything in the cycle of life, her priests were the first to discover the power of resurrection and are still the dominant religion of restoring life to those who have died. As the sole deity responsible for balancing all of the essential forces in the cosmos, Eyssa is rather schizophrenic and distracted. She often appears to be whimsical and flighty as she tries to keep her attention divided upon all that happens in her domain. While not actively involved in the day-to-day workings of individuals in Thrael, she definitely takes an interest in events or objects that effect the greater workings of the cosmos. In addition to being widely worshipped, Eyssa is also the most recognized of the deities. This is most likely due to her clergy's resurrection capabilities, although followers of other gods have since discovered this ability. It is safe to say that most homes in Thrael will offer up a prayer to Eyssa as well as their patron deity.
Perhaps with the smallest following of all the gods, Kel is not quite understood by many today. One of the Ancient Ones and thought to be the creator of the universe, his tenets are abstract and hard to comprehend. His temple relies very little on spirituality and more on natural and physical laws. He sees most forms of magic as a weakness and seeks to invent or theorize ways to replace magic. Though most of his followers are brilliant, their technical babble and slightly distracted nature create a wide rift between them and the rest of the populace. They dislike the outdoors, preferring instead to tinker around their strange laboratories performing physical experiments, and trying to create new laws to explain the universe.
Very little is known about Ng, whose name is rarely spoken out loud on Thrael. Instead, he is referred to by his nickname, "The Nameless One." One of the Ancient Ones and not a member of either pantheon, Ng represents the unknown, paradox, antimatter and unlife. Scholars have described him as chaos incarnate as he constantly seeks to unmake what is made. Luck, especially bad luck, is attributed to Ng, although few actually suspect he intervenes that closely into mortal affairs. No organized following of Ng has ever been discovered and it is doubted that one exists. It is not likely that any mortal could withstand the spiritual presence of Ng without becoming insane, since we cannot comprehend the paradox he represents. Many view Ng in direct opposition of both of the two pantheons, though actually pinpointing his stance has of yet been impossible.
