The Red God
Depiction:
The Red God is said to take the shape of a man with a grotesque, angry face and anywhere between 3 to 6 eyes. He wears a red cloak made of blood and his hands are skeletal.
Divine Domains
The Red God (Naosh: Zayth She) also known as the Red One, is a deity of life and mainly death. He is also a God of blood, suffering and ancient magic, and is believed to be the creator of the Blood Runes. Because he watches over life and death he is also known as the All-Seeing God and therefore associated with being able to see into the future.
His friendlier aspects include being a God of healing and fierce protection.
His friendlier aspects include being a God of healing and fierce protection.
Artifacts
The most important "artifact", if it can be called that, is the set of blood runes, which were created in a horrible civil war between the redwood elves of old. They would slaughter each other to reveal the powerful secrets of their brethern's blood. One rune for each fallen elf. This is believed to be a revelation of power from the Red God, along with a lesson of what happens when one gets too greedy and abuses it.
Holy Books & Codes
The Book of the Runes lists all Blood Runes and what they are used for, as well as a guide on how to combine them to make new meanings. There are also specific prayers, songs and incantations dedicated to the Red God, in order to soften his temper, ask for assistance and other things. It is less a holy text in the sense that it contains stories or myths about the Red God and his faithful, and more a collection of things attributed to him. The singular exception being the story of how the runes came to be and were discovered in the bloody masacre that was the Blood Rune Wars. It is a cautionary tale, one that reminds the redwood elves never to forget the debt they owe their ancestors.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Three Eyes drawn in blood are used to symbolize the Red God, as well as red masks of contorted, angry faces that also have multiple eyes.
Tenets of Faith
Worshippers give blood offerings from hunted animals to the Red God, along with nonagonal pieces of paper that contain prayers and sometimes Blood Runes. Candles made of red wax, often in the shapes of tortured elven bodies are lit in his honour. small bone sculptures with their tops painted in red are also given as offerings. Bones are also used to make prayer beads, which are worn as talismansaround the wrists or necks of the faithful. They are used to count prayers by the clergy, but the lay population uses them to make sound during chanting.
Holidays
The Blessing of Wounds: A holiday where those who have suffered great wounds and losses receive the Red God's blessing because their afflictions strengthen him. The blessing is supposed to bring relief to those who suffer.
The Consecration of Blood: A holiday where the acolytes and magicians who use the blood runes often consecrate their blood to the Red God in order to get better results in their craft. It's a holiday where a great public ceremony is held and those who wish to consecrate their blood do so in front of spectators, by drawing it and performing a ritual.
The Honouring of the Dead: A holiday to remind everyone of the horrible sacrifice their ancestors brought to access the blood runes. It's not directly related to the Red God, but since he is seen as the creator of the runes and his realm is that of death, offerings are made to him as well as the dead, in order to appease them.
The Consecration of Blood: A holiday where the acolytes and magicians who use the blood runes often consecrate their blood to the Red God in order to get better results in their craft. It's a holiday where a great public ceremony is held and those who wish to consecrate their blood do so in front of spectators, by drawing it and performing a ritual.
The Honouring of the Dead: A holiday to remind everyone of the horrible sacrifice their ancestors brought to access the blood runes. It's not directly related to the Red God, but since he is seen as the creator of the runes and his realm is that of death, offerings are made to him as well as the dead, in order to appease them.
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