The Shrine of Hamaskis.
Supernatural Beings
The Shrine of Hamaskis.Supernatural Beings | |
When Elim, Ashra and Vuh created the worlds in the universe, they also created the first inhabitants. Over time, these beings interbred and multiplied to form the families now known to mortal scholars as gods, demons, tricksters, elementals and ethereals. These deities vary in power from Titan, father of the Celestial Court, down to the lowliest will o' the wisp.
Long before time began, Elim, Ashra and Vuh created all the worlds in the universe, including Titan. In each world, they placed a number of families, some made by just one of the original three, some by two working together and some by all of them. These families have been given different names, although the interbreeding between them now means that they are not applied a rigorously as one might wish. For example, a Lesser Fire Demon should properly be known as a demi-demon-elemental. The first families created were as follows:
| Ashra created the gods | Filash and Glantanka. |
| Ashra and Vuh created the gods | Titan and Sindla. |
| Vuh created the gods | Hydana, Sukh and Pangara. |
| Vuh and Elim created the root elementals | Earth Root, Air Root, Fire Root and Water Root. |
| Elim created the demons | Death, Disease and Decay. |
| Elim and Ashra created the root ethereals | . |
| Elim, Ashra and Vuh created the tricksters | Logaan and his two companions Kata and Petros. |
Supernatural beings vary in power and influence and scholars have sought to categorize the various non-corporeal beings in a variety of ways. However, these all rely basically upon the traditions of etiquette between different deities, and so can be seen as an arbitrary distinction of rank, rather than any indication of real power. The following table outlines the categories currently in use:
| Category | Example Gods | Example Demons | Other Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyperdeities. The collective name given to Elim, Ashra and Vuh. | None | None | None |
| Superdeities. Created at the same time as the world of Titan, itself. | The senior gods such as Titan, Sindla, Hydana and Filash. | The High Lords of Chaos; Death, Disease and Decay. | Logaan the Trickster, the senior trickster god, along with Kata and Petros, two spirits seeming to symbolize the conflict between Good and Evil, seen pulling Logaan first one way and then another. Also the root elementals which maintain and underpin the physical realities of Titan; and the root ethereals which likewise control the realities of the higher planes. |
| Major Deities. The first generation of offspring of the original inhabitants of the planes of Titan, these deities are widely worshipped or at least revered amongst the peoples of Titan. | The children of the senior gods are the most commonly worshipped beings in the world. They include both the physical gods, such as Throff and Lunara, and the gods of the emotions, such as Telak and Slangg. | The Dark Lords of Chaos, who were banished to the Void after the First Battle, although this title may include certain other beings who have joined the side of Chaos, such as Slangg and Tanit and even demons of lesser power, who actually rank alongside the Minor Deities. | The Supreme Elementals of Law and Chaos are rarely seen on the corporeal plane, where they hold mastery over the physical matter of which the world is made. The Supreme Ethereal Spirits control the characteristics of the non-physical planes as elementals control the physical and as such are largely unknown to mortals as they have never been known to stray to the corporeal plane. |
| Minor Deities. The offspring and favoured servants of the Major Deities and their parents. All are influential individuals in their own right, although not usually as widely known as the major deities and their worshippers are often limited in number and diversity. | Minor Gods fall into several categories. Some are lesser physical gods, such as Lorodil or Solinthar, worshipped devoutly by small groups but rarely regarded by the masses; others are the animal gods, and others still are primarily occupied with non-physical interests and so barely known by mortals. | Primus consists of the Demon Princes, masters of the Pit, including the Night Demons. Secundus is the Greater Demons, divided into classes depending upon their parentage, temperament and abilities. The captains and commanders of the Legions of the Damned are not usually worshipped, although some evil creatures may take one as chaotic patron. | No trickster beings have been identified as belonging to this class or the one above, but it is the sort of thing which might please the Tricksters to refuse to be classified in the same way as other beings. Greater Elementals control powerful natural forces in the physical world and the elemental planes. Difficult to summon and to control, it is unusual to find them outside their natural habitat where their associated element is strongest. Greater Ethereals are found at particular centres of force in the non-physical planes and do not generally interact with the inhabitants of Titan. |
| Subdeities. Although these beings do have individual personalities and particular areas of influence, they are rarely obvious or important and are better seen as junior servants to their more powerful bretheren. | These gods are rarely revered on their own merit, being most often seen as servants and assistants to the greater gods. Some lesser animal gods are also subdeities. | Teritus comprises the shock troops and slayers. Whilst the several orders of Lesser Demons are easily differentiated, individuals within each class are all but indistinguishable to mortals. There are also some minor demonic entities who are effectively slaves to the more senior demons. | When one thinks of the archetypal servants of the Tricksters, one almost invariably thinks of the Genies which are Logaan's most versatile agents. Lesser Elementals are similar in every way to their greater counterparts, except that they are smaller in size, although only slightly less dangerous to the unwary summoner. Only slightly more is known about Lesser Ethereals than about their greater equivalents. Indeed, so alien are ethereal spirits that it is entirely possible that some have been misclassified as lesser when they should be greater. |
| Demideities. The most minor class of divine being, demideities are rarely treated as individuals, either by their fellow deities or inhabitants of the corporeal plane. | The Demigods and divine servants make up the bulk of the celestial court. Only two subclasses are of any interest: the Servants of the Gods and the spirits of mortals which have experienced apotheosis. | Quartus consists of the haunters and killers, such as Shadow Spirits and Demonic Spirits, along with spirits of the dead capable of maintaining an independent existence as a Wraith or similar being. Known in the Pit as the Greater Undead, as many can only inhabit the corporeal plane in an Avatar, usually a corpse, cadaver or skeleton. | It may be that these unnamed servants of the Trickster Gods inhabit simulacra or the bodies of their supporters, such as the Riddling Reaver or Netherworld Sorcerors. Less powerful - and more mischevious - than the elementals, minor elemental spirits are more common on the corporeal plane than their masters, where they use their limited control of their element to good effect. In all probability there are many native Ethereal Spirits, but the only inhabitants of the ethereal plane known to scholars are the souls of mortals which have attained a higher level of existence, often called Ghosts. |
| Major Spirits. Although of divine origin, not generally regarded as being divine themselves, spirits have almost no independent identity, except when inhabiting a body which has a sense of self. | The Souls or Spirits of the sentient races created by the gods, and of their descendants, fall into this category. Whilst in the body, the soul takes on the personality of the host. After death, a few souls retain sufficient consciousness to survive as demigods, greater undead or ethereal ghosts, but the majority join the minor spirits on their travels. | Quintus is the Lesser Undead, namely skeletons and zombies. The majority were created by their demonic masters, but others were once the souls of living beings, now trapped in eternal servitude to the dark lords. A few such souls are strong enough to maintain an independent existence, however, and these join the ranks of the Greater Undead as described above. | The souls of humans and their descendants form the great bulk of the Trickster spirits. They inhabit a body whilst it lives and then move on, into the non-physical planes. Where a spirit travels will depend upon its attitudes during life; either through the ethereal planes to the Celestial Court or the spirit planes to the Pit, but either way, it is unlikely to retain much of its former consciousness, although there are exceptions. The lowliest elemental spirits have little in the way of intelligence or personality and still less in the way of real power over the elements. Most work on a purely instinctive level, and hence can be dangerous as there is no way to reason with them. Uniquely amongst the five groups of supernatural beings, there is no record of mortal souls being converted into elementals. The reason for this omission is not known. As with ethereal spirits of demideity level, little is known of the native ethereals, but it is known that many mortal souls are trapped in the ethereal plane, usually due to some action or omission in their lifelime, unable to continue to the Celestial Court. These poltergeists and related creatures can only continue their journey when their unfinished business has been completed. |
| Minor Spirits. Unlike the higher orders, it is quite common for spirits, both major and minor, to be of indistinguishable type, as ethereals or demons are born into mortal bodies as souls and the spirits of the dead become trapped as demonic spirits in the pit, for example. | Non-sentient beings such as animals and plants also have souls, although they are generally believed to be of a lesser calibre than those of men. After death, the spirit is free to travel the planes, usually gravitating either towards the pit, where it will be assigned duties by the demons there, or towards the Celestial Court, where it remains with the gods. | The etiquette-obsessed demons divide this category into two. Sextus is the Brainless Ones, the Clones, which can only act to the specific instructions of a leader. Septimus comprises the Scum, the formless Demonspawn which proloferate in the pit. |
In addition, the Abyss contains some inhabitants which seem to have arisen completely independently of any of the above families.
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