Daeus

Greater Deity

Symbol: A Sunburst (Solis) or a Platinum Dragon

Colors: Gold, White, Platinum

Celestial Symbol: The Sun

Alignment: Lawful Good

Home Plane: The Dome of Heaven

Portfolio: Loyalty, Paladins, Justice, Good, Light, Law, Sovereignty, Virtue

Worshipers: Royalty, Diplomats, Paladins, Fighters, Judges, Good Dragons

Domains: Good, Sun, Heaven, Law, and Protection

Cleric Alignment: LG, LN, NG

Favored Weapon: Longsword (Righteous Dawn)

Other Names: The Sun Lord, The Platinum Dragon, Rising One, Draco Solis (Myrddion), The Shining Knight, Morning Lord, The Supreme, Master of Law, (Stormgarde) The Highest One, Eli (Elves), Great Father (Dragons, Sith-makar), The Dragon Lord (Dragonier), Brilliant One, True Metal (Khazad Duin), Rising Sun, The Holy Tyrant (Dran, Barbarians), Ignis Divine

Mightiest of all the gods save his brother Maugrim, Daeus is the exemplar of holiness and true nobility and is the patron of the great virtue of charity. He is said to be the master of law and the father of good. The god of light, he was born from the right hand of Elhim during the beginning of time and he has stood in eternal opposition with the forces that would ruin and unmake the world, be these forces that of The Void or his wayward brother, Maugrim the Five Fold Serpent who would remove the world's free will while Daeus would preserve it. He always thinks of the greater good first. He upholds free will and freedom of choice as well as the freedom of people to choose their own destiny, but prefers, naturally, that people will choose to do good as opposed to evil. At times the forces of neutrality ally themselves with those of light to stand against the dark and preserve the world, but Daeus often sees these alliances as tested by what he perceives as a lack of commitment. Along with Maugrim, Daeus is held to be the divine ruler of the world and he and Maugrim together are known as The Twin Gods who are the oldest of the gods and born of hand of Elhim. The radiance of the Sun, the purity of silver and platinum, the splendors of a majestic palace and the brightness of a shield are all manifestations of Daeus's nobility and serenity. His is the divine right of kings, lawmakers, leaders and good and just government.

Opposed to evil in any form, Daeus stands opposite his brother but also hopes that in the end he may be redeemed for their true foe lies in the form of the Void. Daeus and Maugrim are, nevertheless, irrevocably linked by their origins and their natures. Today, the two are now eternally opposed and at war. Their opposing doctrines pit their clergies against one another incessantly, a conflict often seen to the delight of other gods of evil as it allows their followers to be more active, free from the watchful eye of Daeus. Daeus's manifestations are rare but can be overwhelming as well as subtle. The Platinum Dragon is the figure for which he is most known and the visage of this mighty dragon adorns artwork, stained glass and more all across Gaea. During the Third Age, his manifestations are most often perceived as the Celestial Paladin, a tall bronze skinned, deep chested knight in platinum armor and white robes. Today, Daeus works through his clergy and other willing and destined souls. He is fond of less obvious manifestations such as in the form of an overweight but keenly sharp elderly scholar or an aged Templar of the Holy Sword or Dragon Knight, accompanied by an senile gold dragon, with surprising vigor despite his appearance.

Dogma

The foremost duty of his Holy Order is to uphold the principles of righteousness and virtue and to pursue and destroy the corrupting forces of darkness. With the aid of the Canon of the High Law, his priests offer spiritual guidance to the people of the world that they might curb the festering darkness of Maugrim, should it take root in their hearts. He holds the belief that a good and just rule of Law, and hence governance, is necessary for a free and stable society. Such laws protect the meek and provide justice to the poor, and encourage humility and righteousness on behalf of their rulers. As such, the faithful work with the righteous lords of the lands that they watch over, serving as judges, advisors or advocates, and nobility becomes an ideal to be upheld, a concept that moves beyond a noble birth and becomes a set of ideals based on honor and compassion.

Though Daeus is one of the most compassionate beings in the cosmos he must at times utter judgment upon the world in the name of the greater good and in such events innocents are often caught up in these configurations. His empathy for the downtrodden, the dispossessed and the helpless. is, nevertheless, great, and he urges his followers to promote good but also wants them to be capable of fighting their own battles when they can. Daeus' followers are exuberant, cheerful, joyful and swarthy hard workers but also traditionalists, stubborn, righteous, and seen as the judges of what is good and compatible with Daeus' vision of the world.

Daeus values effort and sincere work. Even if you do not succeed, the act of at least trying will earn you his favor so long as you remain true. However there is another side to Daeus and that is the side that pursues the darkness and strikes against the foes of the world. The guilty must be brought before the law and good stands in contrast to evil. When provoked to wrath, it is greater then the burning wrath of the sun, but he always believes in the ability for evil to be redeemed. Because of this, his priests are expected to stand ready to offer spiritual guidance, redemption and wisdom to the people.

Clergy and Temples

As the state religion in several of the largest human kingdoms and numerous followers amongst humanoid races, the Church of Daeus, sometimes simply called The Church, is the most powerful religious institution in the western world. Working on an international scale, the church advocates peace. Despite its peaceful nature, it does recognize that warfare is sometimes necessary and that not all disputes are settled with words. During times of war, it concerns itself with seeking to make sure that wars are fought honorably, that wounded are properly cared for and that the proper respect and last rites are given to the dead.

Being a lawful church, much of Daeus' efforts are concentrated through his clergy which is structured and organized with an established head and leadership. The dogma of the church is based upon The Canon of the High Law, which is a work of writings inspired by the gods, and based upon the original text from books known as The Aegenean Gospels. His church is very rich and influential in the lands of Myrddion and adjacent kingdoms. Priests of Daeus tend to work very hard at menial labors and are hard workers and not afraid to dig in and aid the common people. Daeus' priests are expected to provide spiritual guidance to the people of Gaea as well as defend the world from evil. They believe that good and just government is necessary for a free and stable society. The law is for the lawless and so they often act as advisors to rulers of a region, sit as judges in their communities and work to heal the wounded spirits and provide shelters for those who are wrongly accused and have been abused by misuses of The Law.

The Church of Daeus is headquartered in Bryn-Myridorn, the capital city of Myrddion. Here, an enclosed in sovereign region of the city exists, known as the Tempus Sanctum. Within the sanctum are several buildings including smaller churches, libraries, smithies, living quarters and the headquarters of several knightly orders such as The Templars of the Holy Sword or The Sunguard, who are charged with protecting the local temple and flock of a given city. The Highcourt Cathedral is the actual physical housing place of the leaders of the church and is the greatest temple to Daeus in all of Arcania. The order known as The Platinum Council reigns as the chiefs of the church of Daeus. The leader of the church, The Chosen Prophet of Daeus, also serves as the council head of the Holy Order of Ea which is a joined collective of willing religious orders that operate under the doctrine created by Shadam the Elder, who brought the Aegenean Gospels into the west.

Clerical Vestments

Clerical vestments for the priesthood of Daeus tend to follow a motif of white or platinum with silver and gold trimmings. White robes are favored; for traveling priests overtop these are worn ornate platinum and gold breastplates emblazoned with the symbol of a sunburst or a platinum dragon. Among warrior-priests, full plate is often worn overtop the white robes with high plumed helms and mighty tower shields with the symbol of the platinum dragon upon it. The Sunguard, temple knights and war priests derived from the Templar of the Holy Sword sect, are known for their draconic armor motif, large imposing pauldrons and great sweeping curtain-like robes and capes. Maces are common among the clergy but those trained to expect battle often carry ceremonial longswords in homage to Daeus' own blade.

Avatars

Daeus is traditionally depicted in one of two ways. As a humanoid, he often appears as an armored knight, deep and thick-chested, broad shouldered, sometimes bearded and with shining eyes and platinum colored hair that is often long. A slender crown is upon his brow and his armor is extravagant, brilliant but also the armor of one that is preparing for war with golden and argent robes beneath. His sword, Righteous Dawn, is at his side and he also carries with him The Canon of the High Law, which is said to contain within it the laws of the gods. Daeus’s second form he takes when he deals with dragons and that form is of the great platinum dragon. As the platinum dragon he is wise, great to look upon, and bears the spiritual guidance and wisdom of all the good dragons of the world.