Pholtus
Pholtus of the Blinding Light
The One True Way is a strict path but guarantees greatness. Show no tolerance for those who do not give all for the cause of Law. Fanaticism in the name of the Blinding Light is praiseworthy. Law's champions shall be rewarded in the era when chaos has been vanquished."Pholtus is the sun, the unwavering hand of justice, the impartial Judge, and a god in Astoria associated with law and order. He is said to be the embodiment of the sun.
Pholtian Legends
Once Astoria was lit by a greater sun, so great and powerful it burned the land and boiled the sea until even its own light extinguished in its intensity. From the ashes of the first sun was born Pholtus. With a sense of order his forebearer lacked, Pholtus slept each night, letting the moons champion the night, and all the Planes revolved around him and his One True Way. In most stories, Pholtus rights wrongs while showing mercy to those responsible. Others paint him as vengeful and merciless in his revealing light. Those who attempted to manipulate his judgment or lie about the lawlessness of others were punished without impunity. Pholtians tell a story about how grimlocks and other people of the Underdark were shunned by Pholtus to never feel the light of day. Some grimlock clans tell a conflicting myth that they chose a life separate from under the iron fist of Pholtus' order.
Ancient followers of Pholtus would not call on Pholtus to deliver justice, for his vengeance would burn all it touched. Pholtus allowed his two generals, the moons, to dispense justice in his stead and bound all to abide by their verdicts. This is also the purpose served by his champions: to fight battles against the champions of other gods so as not to shake the foundations of reality with their power.
Church of Pholtus
On a hilltop, just north of Blacktree Orchard, a post-glacier rock formation heralds the eclipse. During the eclipse, the early priests of Pholtus prayed and hung their pedantic suncatchers. When the eclipse passed, a ray of light shone down on the hill, and the rock started to glow with a blinding light. When the priests could see again (except the head priest, whose vision never cleared), the rock had been shorn down to a pillar with four perfectly flat sides. The laws of Pholtus were written upon it, and the priests built the first Church of the Blinding Light around it.
The One True Way
The One True Way is the set of worldly laws divines by Pholtus, a strict path which allows no deviation but which Pholtians believe absolutely assures rightness. There are hundreds of laws, and fully ordained clerics and faculae of Pholtus are expected to memorize them all in order to mediate absolute justice. Many of these laws have complex bylaws which stipulate different sentences depending on the context of the crime in question. Some (simplified) examples include: Law #008: Any person who is accused of straying from the One True Way is entitled to a fair and just trial by a member of the Church of Pholtus. Law #207: If any person has committed a theft ("physical removal of an object that is capable of being stolen without the consent of the owner and with the intention of depriving the owner of it permanently") and is caught, they shall be put to death.Law #207b: Any person who receives a stolen thing from a thief shall be put to death.
Law #207c: If anyone finds a stolen thing and returns it to its owner, the owner of the stolen thing shall pay them two silvers.
Law #222: The dead and the living shall be wholly divided. Any person who committed an act of necromancy shall be put to death and not allowed a funeral to put their spirit to rest.
Law #222c: Any person who performs a funeral for such a person shall be permanently exiled from their community.
Divine Domains
Force, Life, Light, Order.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Pholtus is a tall man in a white toga, baring bronze skin and eyes too bright to stare at too long.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Pholtus was born into Astoria when the Planes were cold and dark. He became a patriarchal bulwark of order and a source of energy for life to flourish.
In the early millennia of the gods, there was conflict between Pholtus and Ehlonna, who accused his light of burning her new land creatures (the dinosaurs). To "fix" the argument, the god of dragons and magic, Boccob created the aethersphere to protect the planes from the unfiltered holy power of the sun.
He has authority over the moon goddesses Selûne and Manna, his most trusted generals who reflect his divine light during the night hours. They are guardians in the time of darkness when the sun has less influence over the Material Plane.
Divine Classification
Deity
Religions
Church/Cult
Children
Comments