Katergaris

Katergaris is one of the three Halfling Automaths. With Gelio and Plirosi, he stepped out from the Enchanted Greathouse into the meadows of Yorth on the First Day. Followers of Katergaris, rare as they might be, maintain that he played a central role in the Awakening of the Halflings.   According to mainstream Halfling theology, Katergaris stood idly by while Gelio and Plirosi did the hard work of growing and Awakening the Halfling People. Devout followers of Katergaris, as well as some historians, dispute this, claiming that he reached out with his mind to manage the tilling of the soil, the sowing of the seeds, and conducted the music that finally Awakened the Halfling people. This version of events is considered blasphemous by mainstream Halfling society, and is rarely discussed.   What is agreed upon is that, once the Awakening was complete and Gelio and Plirosi prepared to retire to the porch of the Enchanted Greathouse to watch the fruits of their labor come into their own, Katergaris sprung into action. He delicately walked among the Halflings of the fields, whispering secrets to them with his mind. He told them of the other Awakened, and begged them to question why the Awakening might all be taking place among varying peoples and varying Automaths all on the same First Day. In their minds, Katergaris planted the seeds of doubt and questioning. Though Halflings over the ages have mostly succeeded, they believe, in ridding themselves of Katergaris' questions, it is an unspoken truth that the curiosity common to many Halflings can be traced back to these first great questions.   Though he retired to the Enchanted Greathouse with his companions at the end of the First Day, some claim that Katergaris continued to reach out to them, whispering his questions and secrets into their minds. Sometime later, Katergaris was also the chief architect of the Day of Tongues. On this day, the Awakened who still lived on Yorth suddenly found themselves able to speak and understand languages unique to their cultures, apart from the Common Tongue that all Awakened understood on the First Day. While Katergaris did admit that he had been the one to initiate the Day of Tongues, he begged the Awakened to ask themselves why the Automaths might keep this language from them.   Along with the Human Automath Omil, the Satyr Automath Skanda, and the Gnomish Automath Myala, Katergaris is considered one of the chief Dissidents by The Pious Union of the Awakened, and worship of Katergaris is expressly forbidden in Union lands. Nonetheless, the Ghostwise Halflings share a kinship with Katergaris owing to their ability to communicate with their minds, and often keep this fact secret from their neighbors so as not to rouse suspicion. Secret cults to Katergaris exist within The Union, and along with the other Dissidents, a major temple can be found on Tyrgos. A fair number of Halfling followers of Katergaris also relocated to Erewhon to live among the Gnomes.   Katergaris is often depicted as being gaunt, pale of skin, and dark of hair.   Priests and clerics of Katergaris practice the domains of Trickery, Knowledge, and the Mind.