Raxivort, God of gods

Characters:   Sparhawk: Human Paladin (Oath of Devotion) Origin: Sparhawk started life under another unrevealed name. He was a soldier in the Kaan army. During his first command mission he led a group of soldiers to route out an illegal settlement on the boarder between Kaan and the Dwarven Kingdom. When he arrived he found a small, but thriving settlement of humans and dwarves living together led by a human paladin from Suu and a dwarven cleric. The soldiers under his command were sickened by this (Kaan is extremely xenophobic) and wanted action, but the future Sparhawk didn't want bloodshed. He was betrayed by his lieutenant and standard bearer, stabbing him several times and killing him.  He awoke in the Shadowfell, a dark and decaying reflection of the material realm. He searched the burned out buildings of the village, but found nothing. He was there for for an hour or so before he heard some noise in the fog. He saw a double of himself that rushed at him as he was transported back to the material realm... his soul returning to his body via revivification performed by the Cleric. The paladin and the cleric had drug Sparhawk into their chapel. He awoke to the sounds of the soldiers ransacking the village. In the ensuing fight, the paladin was killed and the cleric mortally wounded.  Sparhawk took the Paladin's armour and the maul from the Cleric. Before he died the Cleric told Sparhawk that he should reach out to the cosmos to see if his god (unknown at the time) was listening. He gave Sparhawk a pendandt of 'The Sparhawk", Moradin's companion. Sparhawk led the few surviving refugees out of Kaan and into Kurt to the town of Massal where he met Rowan, Hope, and Caelynn.  Current: Sparhawk, along with Hope and Caelynn, stumbled upon an ancient ruin that contained the remains of an old order of paladins and clerics known as The Vigilant Shield. As a reward for cleansing the evil from their resting place, the spirits of dead warriors bestowed an Oath of Devotion onto Sparhawk and gifted his maul additional power. In the ruin he also found a partial and highly stylized map hinting at other ancient ruins.  He has located several of these other locations, but has many yet to find. He is on a mission to learn all he can about the Vigilant Shield and their god, Torm. He has taken the very early steps at rebuilding the order by recruiting a young Eldritch Knight(Ezra) he saved in Orlane to act as Historian and his first acolyte.  He recently had a vision in which it seemed he was seeing through Torm's eyes. He was in an unknown realm (maybe Shadowfell) in a cell. He spelled out the word RAXIVORT on the ground for Sparhawk to see before being knocked out of the vision.  
Hope: Firbolg Druid (Circle of the Moon) Origin: The Firbolg society resides in what the human's consider 'The Forbidden Forest'. It is not considered part of any of the baronies. The Firbolg keep nearly exclusively to themselves, keeping their wood safe as it contains magical properties that other races would exploit. They are self governing and democratic. Hope, as she would later call herself, stumbled into a human village one day and was spotted, leading some men into the woods. They became lost by the magic of the Firbolg, and needed assistance to not perish from starvation as they were already weak from the famine in their village. Hope acted with compassion, leading the men out of the wood and providing them with a large cart full of food to get them through the winter. She became a bit of a local legend after a few generations of men. In the passing decades an invasive and magically resistant fungus penetrated the wood and threatened the Firbolg society. If the magic of the wood would fail, it was unknown what would happen to the world. Hope, feeling it may have been her fault for helping the human, took a sample of the fungus to Massal for a chance to consult the Skyvern.  Current: Following clue from the Skyvern, Hope eventually made it to Jaroo the Ashstaff in Hommlet. He aided her in a ritual to discover the origin of the fungus. In the ritual he and Jaroo were transported to the Shadowfell. Jaroo found a sample there of the same fungus. Upon their return, he explained that her path would lead to the Shadowfell, but the dangers there were great. She needed to learn more of her druidic craft before crossing over for the final cure.   
Caelynn: Elf Rogue (Inquisitive) / Cleric (Arcana) Origin: Caelynn is from an elven enclave outside Kurt Keep known as Ravenwood.  Her parents were founders of the enclave that was under constant scrutiny from the Council of the Trinity. After the disappearance of several elves, including her younger sister Saelynn, Caelynn was frustrated by the lack of interest by the human officials. She followed her own clues that led her to Massal at the same time as Sparhawk, Rowan, and Hope.  Current: Caelynn has learned that many people have been going missing across the realm, mostly those with Arcane talents, but not exclusively. She has been delving into her own arcane talents and strengthening her ties to St. Kirril (Knowledge).          Setting Info and Backgrounds: Human-centric world where the exotic races tend to keep to themselves. The dwarves have their main kingdom in the north west and the elves live in the jungles and plains on the central west coast. There are pockets of dwarves and elves in the realm, but only a family or two that have settled into human life.   Hierarchy of Population:

• Human (Very Common)
• Half-elf, Half-orc, Half-dwarf, Halfling (Common)
• Dwarf, Elf (Uncommon)
• Tiefling, Dragonborn, Gnome, Firbolg (Rare)
• Lizardfolk, Aasimar, Kalashtar, Gith, Triton, Kenku, Goliath, Tabaxi (Very Rare)

  Ecology:

• Standard seasons (Winter[short], Spring, Summer[long], Autumn)
• 3 Moons (Red, Blue, Silver)
• 2 Suns (Cycle together giving standard 24hr days - Travel closer in the winter giving shorter daylight and apart in the summer giving longer daylight)
• North is coldest, South is warmest

  Realms:

• Barony of Suu (Blue) - Largest barony with a lot of natural resources and farmable land. Includes Hommlet. Baroness Ventra Suu
• Barony of Kurt (Silver) - Smallest barony that survives on trade of their artisans and gems. Includes Massal, Leafside & Greensedge. Wants to expand into the east desert. Baron Emon Kurt
• Barony of Kaan (Red) - Paranoid society due to bordering Dwarf and Elf kingdoms. See themselves as protectors of the Realm of Men. Includes Orlane. Baron Rezza Kaan
• Mulhorand (Southern Desert) - Reclusive Egyptian society ruled by a Pharaoh who is the High Priest of Horus-Re (Two in One sun god)
• Dwarven Kingdom (Northwest) - Thane Griddon Rockbreaker
• Elven Freelands (West Coast) - Jungle Elves (Wood), City Elves (High), and Mountain Elves (Good Drow) have an informal council over a free society.
• Firbolg (Firbolg Grove) - Democratic Free society (Unknown to all other societies)
• Snow Goliaths (Frozen Island-NE) - Tribal society
• Lizardfolk (Jungle Island-SW) - Pirate society
• Tabaxi (Savana Island-E) - Clan society
• Dragonborn Ascendancy(East Jungle Peninsula) - Monastic society
• Primal Island (Southern Island) - Warring tribes of primitive Tieflings, Aasimar, Kalashtar, Dragonborn, and Goliaths in a brutal realm inhabited by dinosaurs.
• Sanguis Luna (Red Moon) - Gith Empire*
• Aqua Luna (Blue Moon) - Triton Empire*
• Canus Luna (Silver Moon) - Prime Kobold Empire*

*The humans of the realm believe the moons are the three gods. They are actually small planetoids/other realms with their own inhabitants. They don't actually have anything to do with the gods, it was just a convenient structure to base the religion around.   Gods:

• Baba Mavi - Father (Blue Moon) - God of knowledge, cultivation, and prudence. Known as the stable force in the trio of gods.
• Ogul - Son (Red Moon) - God of sacrifice, war, and struggle. Known as the force of change in the trio of gods.
• Ruh - Spirit (Silver Moon) - God of craft, art, and creativity. Known as the unifying force in the trio of gods.
• Saints - While the three main human domains are based on a trio of god, they do not directly worship them. Instead, they worship saints that represent various alignments and virtues within their god. There are too many to name.
• Horus-Re (Dual Sun God) - Main deity of Mulhorand
• Torm (The Hand of Righteousness) - Ancient god of Law, Loyalty and Duty. Worshiped in the old kingdom by the Order of the Vigilant Shield who served as protectors of the realm.

  Political Landscape: The three baronies exists in a perpetual state of cold war. There are small skirmishes from time to time, but they mostly coexist in a tense trade agreement that none wish to jeopardize. They are all fairly matched in military might except for Kaan, but they must always keep some resources trained on their other borders. This evens out their might. It wouldn't take much to tip the scales towards one of the baronies, opening up the realm to war.   History: In ancient times the realms man were ruled by a single king. The noble lineage were a fair and wise breed. Dwarves and Elves coexisted in open trade with the kingdom and many other races also lived peacefully among the humans. A host of paladins and clerics kept the commoners safe from any evils within the realm. Scholars today do not know what event reshaped the world, but at some point the kingdom split into three baronies. The dwarves and elves no longer wanted to deal with the humans. They flourished in their reclusive realms, leading to envy and hostility on the part of the humans. Without a single cohesive order of paladins and clerics, evil was able to grow and spread throughout the realm.     The real deal: You are Raxivort, former demigod, citizen of the abyss, and creature of the Xvarts (much to your chagrin). You were able to steal an artifact known as the Divine Shard that imbued him with god-like power. You used this power to imprison the most powerful gods in the celestial realm, locking them away from their followers on the material plane. You then engineered a great calamity on the material plane that wiped out the current kingdoms and forced them to rebuild. You recruited two other demi-gods (Mars and Yuzzhan) and went about forming a new theology in your image. You worked your influence on several humans and began the long work of building a new religion. In this church you set yourself up as Baba Mavi, the Father, with Mars as Ogul, the Son, and Yuzzhan as Ruh, the Spirit. Your disciples scoured the realm for references to the old gods and the 'Kingdom that was' to be destroyed, promising them power and influence in this new paradigm. It has gone this way for a couple thousand years, and the Council of the Trinity is a power cabal that works to keep all other deities in the background and maintain influence over the human baronies. You have allowed the lesser demi-gods to remain and act as 'Saints' in service to one of the three or as the god of reclusive societies you care little about. This is where the Clerics get their power. You have set it up that you do not need to share your power with anyone, the lesser gods do that for you.  Everything has gone well, and you were working on a plan to strengthen your power while destroying potential foes until you felt that Torm had a new follower on the material plane. With no written history or other guidance someone had connected to Torm and you could feel his power flow into the realm. You imprisoned the current ruler of Shadowfell, Pendergost the Betrayer, in a gem as punishment and instilled a new ruler, the recently defeated Kalarel the Vile (Red Metalic Dragonborn Necromancer). He was killed by a group of heroes that includes Torm's follower. You believe his resentment for them will motivate him nicely. You do NOT know that Torm and Sparhawk made any direct communication, only that a spark of Torm's power flowed into the material realm. You do not know anything about the fungus in the Firbolg Wood, that is not part of your plan, and you don't care if the Firbolgs are wiped out. You do know about the disappearing magic users. The Council of the Trinity is working in league with denizens of the Underdark to capture all arcane magic users. They pose a potential threat to future consolidation of power, all power should be controlled by you, dished out on your command by the lesser gods as it suites your needs. Caelynn's sister was one of these potential threats. She had massive arcane energies, but before she could be taken she used her powers to broker a deal. She reasoned correctly that Caelynn would also be a target at some point as she came into her power, so Sealynn offered herself freely if you promised to spare Caelynn. Knowing you could put Sealynn's powers to use you made the deal. What Caelynn doesn't know is that Sealynn is her twin. You forced St. Kirril (actually the lesser god Kirith Sotheril) to change Caelynn's memories. She believes that a younger neighbor girl, Yenleigh, is actually her sister Sealynn. Yenleigh was actually taken into the underdark as well, since many elves posses arcane talents. The deal is only broken if one of your agents kills Caelynn. If she dies searching for Yenleigh, you end up with a win/win. You have turned Sealynn into an enforcer in the Shawdowfell, helping the current ruler keep all the souls, gods, and various creatures in line.    The Current Situation: The Baroness Ventra Suu seemed to be pulling away from the Council of the Trinity in favor of advise from a wizard named Devic. You had the Council embolden one of the Baroness' advisors to orchestrate a coup.  Lord Saxton hired a clan of Orcs to kill the Baroness and her family, then used a mercenary company to consolidate power as Regent. Lord Saxton knows about the deal with the underdark and wants in as well, offering help from his newly minted Knights of the Three Roses (former mercenaries). Before he can do that he needs to snuff out the Orcs so they cannot release the secret of the employer. You are not confident that he can finish the job, so may want to double down on plans to take care of the Orcs that have taken up in some old ruins outside of the town of Gravesford.  There is some 'law of phyisics' or something that prevents deities and the like from just showing up on the material plane. It's an ancient power, maybe as old as the universe, but there are places and times when the veil between the realm of the gods (Celestia?) is thin and it's possible to communicate in various ways. One of those instances is about to happen in an ancient Temple of Torm that was believed destroyed. The party is in the Valley of Haven dealing with a beast (Bulette) that was sent from the Silver moon to search for something. Queller, a silver kobold from the silver moon, is with the party trying to fulfill his 'mission'. If they are successful at defeating the Bulette and it's offspring they will likely find the Silver Dragon Crystal that Queller is searching for. He will use it to create a portal back to the silver moon since this location was chosen long ago as a temple because of it's thin veil between worlds. Right after the portal closes, there would be a window of opportunity for Raxivort to project an image (likely false) of himself and speak with the party. I have listed possible topics and information I had come up with, but let me know if any sounds good to you or if you have your own ideas... or if you would not contact them at all. As a reminder, none of the are from Suu, so Caelynn would be more familiar with Ruh and Sparhawk with Ogul, but they do know that Baba Mavi is the Father and main deity of Suu which they are currently in.    You hear a voice, "Hello, my children." In the place where the portal had been stands an average looking man, except for his blue skin. He is of an average height, and average build. He has short, dark hair with brown eyes, and a distinguished looking beard. He wears the brown trousers and a two-toned brown tunic of a commoner.

• I am Baba Mavi, also known as 'The Father' or the 'Blue Moon'.
• This is a holy place, the veil to the realm of the gods in thin here, allowing me to communicate with you.
• I have been watching you and wanted to thank you for handling the threat of Orcus*. The arrival of such a terrible evil to Benim** would have been disastrous. My faith in you was well placed.
• Torm was one of my many children, and as you know children can be unruly sometimes. Along with many other of my children such as Melora, and Peallor I was over thrown and locked away for a time. Such things never last forever though and a great cataclysm brought their ruin. With their power gone from the realm I was able to ascend once again.
• Torm is in Shadowfell, realm of the lost? That would be fitting if true, but no matter his deeds in the past he is my son. I shall speak with the Lord of Shadowfell.
• I look over Benim with my son (Ogul) and my daughter (Ruh).
• I inspired my followers to destroy evidence of the old gods as a mercy to the people of the realm. You cannot mourn for which you know not that you lost.
• The rulers of Suu have become corrupt and my followers set a plan in motion to correct that. Unfortunately, some chaotic elements may have derailed my plans. There is a ruined keep near the town of Gravesford, root out the chaos there so the barony may thrive once again.

*Kalarel was trying to summon Orcus at the Tower of Flash (location of Ruins of Caldoon, the buried capital of the 'Kingdom that was'.) **Raxivort's name for the realm of the material plane... feel free to change it.