Arven

Arven was the chief god in the Thauzunian Orthodoxy, associated with creation, order, authority, knowledge, sacrifice, foresight, and the burden of rule. In pre-Fall belief, Arven was not merely the originator of existence, but the one who understood it. Creation under Arven was inseparable from comprehension; to create was to know the limits, costs, and consequences of what was made. He was associated with structure at every scale—cosmic arrangement, institutional hierarchy, and the internal discipline required to sustain them. His role combined origin, oversight, and inevitability rather than protection or mercy. Orthodox doctrine described Arven as the god of hard knowledge: truths that could not be unlearned and understanding that demanded sacrifice. Insight under his domain was never free. Gaining clarity required loss—of certainty, comfort, or prior belief. Arven was associated with study, observation, long vigilance, and the willingness to endure discomfort in pursuit of understanding. Wisdom was not inspirational or uplifting; it was heavy, isolating, and often incompatible with peace. Those who ruled were expected to accept this burden as inherent to authority.   Arven was also associated with sovereignty, strategy, and the maintenance of order through restraint rather than force. He governed kingship not as privilege, but as obligation. Rule under Arven’s domain required foresight, patience, and acceptance of responsibility for outcomes that could not be fully controlled. He was linked to councils, long planning horizons, succession doctrines, and the idea that leadership meant choosing the least damaging option rather than the best one. Victory, when it occurred, was attributed to preparation and understanding rather than strength. Additionally, Arven was associated with sacrifice as a structural necessity. Pre-Fall teachings emphasized that stable systems required something to be given up—freedom, excess, immediacy, or personal desire. Arven embodied the principle that nothing of value existed without cost, and that refusal to pay that cost led inevitably to disorder. He was not worshiped for favor, but acknowledged as the reason limits existed at all.   No knowledge of Arven survives into the post-Fall era. There are no remaining references to his name, symbols, myths, or associated practices in modern Vey’Zari society. The Thauzunian Orthodoxy itself is unknown, and with its collapse, all formal understanding of Arven disappeared. He is not remembered, reinterpreted, or distorted into later belief systems. To the modern world, Arven does not exist—not as a forgotten god, but as one whose existence left no surviving trace of recognition or awareness. Arven’s relationship with other gods was hierarchical but distant. Even the creation goddesses, Ilyra and Eshara, were believed to operate within the constraints he established. He did not command them directly, but neither could they act outside his framework. When conflicts arose between gods, Arven was invoked as the final arbiter—not because he intervened, but because his law was already binding. To break Arven’s order was to unravel existence itself.   In the centuries leading up to the Fall, Arven’s worship shifted from reverence to fear. His priests increasingly emphasized inevitability, sacrifice, and obedience, teaching that civilizations collapse not because Arven abandons them, but because they abandon structure. After the Fall, Arven was widely regarded as silent or withdrawn. Some traditions claim he turned his gaze away from the world once its laws were broken beyond repair; others claim he still watches, waiting to see whether order will be rebuilt—or whether creation has failed its final test.