On Loria Broadly:
The Deities
The deities of Loria are not gentle guardians nor simple tyrants. They are forces wearing faces — grotesque, shifting, and beautiful in equal measure. Some are remembered as horned giants, others as winged carrion things, still others as great satyrs or hulking wartoads. These are the angels and demons of Loria: not wholly good, not wholly evil, but embodiments of the wave itself.
Few have seen their true forms. Fewer survived it. For most people, the deities exist through temples, myths, cults, and symbols scratched into wood or stone. They are worshiped, feared, or bargained with according to need.
Thalyth (THAH-lith)
Often shown as a crooked satyr with a spine bristling in jagged bone, Thalyth bends storms and rivers alike. Fishermen carve spirals into their boats to court his favor. His symbols are horns, spirals, and flood-worn stone. In hushed stories, he wanders Loria in mortal guise, testing the patience of those who build too boldly against the current.
Veyrahn (VAY-rahn)
A hulking wartoad in myth, Veyrahn is alternately protector and devourer. Farmers mark his likeness into boundary stones, hoping to keep vermin at bay. His mark is a wide circle with rippling lines, like a pond under rain. Some cults speak of his belly as a bottomless pit, where offerings vanish into endless hunger.
Elthariel (EL-thar-ee-el)
A luminous carrion-winged figure said to walk between graveyards at dusk. Scholars note her association with endings that give way to beginnings. Offerings of black feathers and copper coins are left at crossroads. In some regions, mourners whisper that she eats the name of the dead, carrying it safely into the next turning.
Morghain (MOR-gane)
Depicted as a pale giant whose head is wrapped in blindfolds of reed. Morghain governs silence, forgotten names, and dreams that turn to warnings. Worshipers etch straight lines into cave walls, believing them to ward off false voices. A pale pinecone, strange and out of place, is sometimes used as his mark — said to be the key to hidden perception.
Calveth (CAL-veth)
Told as a fire-blackened smith with four arms, Calveth brings both invention and ruin. Miners whisper his name before breaking new stone. His signs are hammers, broken chains, and sparks struck in darkness. Legends recall him walking in mortal form, gifting impossible tools, then vanishing before they could be understood.
Isketh (ISS-keth)
A goddess said to wear the form of a skeletal bird, long-beaked and watchful. Traders swear her eye determines whether voyages prosper or fail. Skulls, feathers, and hourglasses are tied to her worship. In paintings, she is always one step removed, a shadow over the ledger.
Orviel (OR-vee-el)
Called the patient root, Orviel is imagined as a vast mass of twisting limbs, half tree and half flesh. Healing shrines burn damp moss in her name. Symbols are interwoven knots, spirals, and dripping leaves. Some say she listens through the roots themselves, answering in the slow rhythm of sap.
Zhyrith (ZYE-rith)
The trickster. In one story, he gifts fire; in another, he eats the sun. Always grotesque, always laughing. Dice, mirrors, and masks are his marks. Worshiped in alleys, feared in courts. He is said to appear in shifting human forms, exposing hypocrisy before vanishing in smoke.
Dovraen (DOVE-rain)
The war-shaper, depicted as a many-jawed beast clothed in steel. Armies both curse and honor him. His symbols are fractured shields, red banners, and scars that never fade. Commanders sometimes claim he walks beside their ranks, faceless and vast, until the field runs black.
Halciryne (HAL-sir-een)
A shifting form, half serpent, half woman, wrapped in water and mist. Sailors swear by her, priests curse her. Conches and tidal patterns are her symbols. Some tales say she coils around ships not to destroy, but to judge if their voyages carry true purpose.
Torvhael (TOR-vay-el)
A massive figure of stone who walks with lanterns embedded in his chest. Said to dwell beneath mountains, guarding ancient roads. His mark is the lantern, the cairn, the standing stone. Stonemasons believe cracks that close overnight are his silent repairs.
Ythira (EE-thir-ah)
A skeletal maiden with flowing hair of spores, Ythira is tied to decay and renewal alike. Villages scatter offerings of bread into forest soil in her honor. Her signs are circles within circles, rings of mushrooms, and fallen crowns. In darker myths she is a queen who feeds kings to their graves, only to crown the soil itself.
The Fallen One
Whispered only in shadow, Velgrunnath is said to have been the lost thirteenth — a power who turned inward, feeding on fear. Cast out, bound, and buried, his name is considered bad luck to utter. Yet rumors persist of his generals:
- Xok Errex, the shadow in the doorframe.
- Myddrynth, the maw that eats voices.
- Traz’goneth, the rider of burning beasts.
Some say these figures haunt the deep earth, others that they dwell in the marrow of nightmares. None agree, and perhaps all are true.
Demi-Gods and Lesser Powers
Beyond the Twelve, countless tales speak of demi-gods — born of divine union, accident, or manipulation of the Myrrhn itself. Some are almost mortal, blessed only with a sliver of strange perception. Others wield abilities so focused they rival the greater deities in narrow ways: healing with a word, walking unharmed through flame, or glimpsing a single future thread.
These figures walk among mortals more often than the Twelve. They spark cults, lineages, and legends that weave endlessly through Loria’s history.
Closing Notes
Temples rise and fall. Cults flicker out or grow strong enough to rival Houses. Every region has its patron or its scapegoat deity. Some Lorians believe the gods are simply faces of one nameless Source, the hum at the world’s core. Others whisper that the Twelve themselves are not creators but caretakers — flawed programs of a deeper design.
Whatever truth lies hidden, their presence is undeniable. Even in silence, the deities of Loria speak.