Pharaonic Theology
The foundational theology of Draconia is not a tale of good versus evil, but of the perennial struggle between Order and Chaos. This history begins on the Astral Plane, where a different reality was destroyed. From that fallen cosmos, the deity Ptah wandered, and in his travels, he came to know the power of creation. When he found a new primordial space, the Sea of Chaos, he called forth the very principles of order. Yet, in that same moment, a terrible consequence arose: Apothis, the primal lord of Chaos, rose from the deep, binding his fate to the fate of all that would follow. Shortly after, the Sons of Order, Ra and Thoth, emerged, and they worked to push back the encroaching darkness.
Ra then began to expand the pantheon with his creative will. From his own being, he brought forth two children: Shu, the god of the dry desert air and preservation, and Tefnut, the goddess of the moist river air and change. In turn, Shu and Tefnut bore Geb, the god of the earth, and Nut, the goddess of the sky. The most important generation of deities for mortals, however, were the children of Geb and Nut: Isis, Nephthys, Osiris, and Set.
Ra continued this act of creation, bringing forth two more daughters: Hathor and Bast. Bast later married Bes, a foreign god who was brought into the Draconian pantheon. Though the elder gods—Shu, Tefnut, Geb, and Nut—are still alive, they are so remote from the world that they are no longer actively worshipped. However, they remain a part of the cosmos: Geb is said to still be found on the Material Plane, Nut resides on the edge of the Astral Plane, and Tefnut assists Osiris in the judgment of the dead.
The pantheon's history took a tragic turn when Ra, grievously wounded in a battle with Apothis, ascended to a distant corner of the Astral Plane to preserve his life. He left the throne of the gods to Osiris, but his brother Set, consumed by jealousy and a sense of betrayal, murdered him to seize the throne. Horus, Osiris's son, then rose to challenge Set and was made the new King of the Gods. At the same time, Ra’s last high priest, Khepri, ascended to godhood and took over Ra's duties as Sun God. In the wake of this betrayal, Nephthys, who had borne a son, Sobek, with Set, fled her husband's evil.
Two other deities stand as unique figures in the pantheon's history. Imhotep was a mortal who achieved divinity through his revolutionary knowledge of science and medicine. Apothis is not considered a god, but a primal, chaotic entity who has no place in the pantheon and whose only purpose is to destroy the Order that the gods have built.
Ra then began to expand the pantheon with his creative will. From his own being, he brought forth two children: Shu, the god of the dry desert air and preservation, and Tefnut, the goddess of the moist river air and change. In turn, Shu and Tefnut bore Geb, the god of the earth, and Nut, the goddess of the sky. The most important generation of deities for mortals, however, were the children of Geb and Nut: Isis, Nephthys, Osiris, and Set.
Ra continued this act of creation, bringing forth two more daughters: Hathor and Bast. Bast later married Bes, a foreign god who was brought into the Draconian pantheon. Though the elder gods—Shu, Tefnut, Geb, and Nut—are still alive, they are so remote from the world that they are no longer actively worshipped. However, they remain a part of the cosmos: Geb is said to still be found on the Material Plane, Nut resides on the edge of the Astral Plane, and Tefnut assists Osiris in the judgment of the dead.
The pantheon's history took a tragic turn when Ra, grievously wounded in a battle with Apothis, ascended to a distant corner of the Astral Plane to preserve his life. He left the throne of the gods to Osiris, but his brother Set, consumed by jealousy and a sense of betrayal, murdered him to seize the throne. Horus, Osiris's son, then rose to challenge Set and was made the new King of the Gods. At the same time, Ra’s last high priest, Khepri, ascended to godhood and took over Ra's duties as Sun God. In the wake of this betrayal, Nephthys, who had borne a son, Sobek, with Set, fled her husband's evil.
Two other deities stand as unique figures in the pantheon's history. Imhotep was a mortal who achieved divinity through his revolutionary knowledge of science and medicine. Apothis is not considered a god, but a primal, chaotic entity who has no place in the pantheon and whose only purpose is to destroy the Order that the gods have built.
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