Gaepyopizi-Worldsister

The Sand and Stones

Areas of concern: Travel through deserts and mountains, crafts with stone, gems, or glass, strength

Edicts: Do not let stone be broken without reason, Defend your tribe/chosen people, Choose your moments of anger and violence.

Anathema: Destroy works of stone, purposefully bring danger to your tribe, let emotion guide your judgements

Divine Attribute: Constitution or Wisdom

Religious symbol: An amythyst spider

Sacred Animal: Lokiceratops

Sacred colors: Crimson, White

Devotee Benefits:

Cleric Spells: 1st: Magic stone or Instant Pottery (chosen at character creation), 2nd: Rubble step, 5th: Engrave Memory

Divine Font: Heal

Divine Sanctification: Holy

Divine Skill: Society

Domains: Earth, Dust

Favored Weapon: Sling

Aphorisms:

Keep your ear to the stone: Listen carefully. A common statement for guards and guides, this occasionally is meant literally to listen for oncoming dangers, but is more often used as a quick way of saying "listen carefully and pay attention, because lolligagging is dangerous."

The Sands are shifting: The situation is changing and if you are not careful, you might be caught in a poor situation. This reflects the dangers of sand that are easily avoided with caution, such as quicksand and sandstorms.

Champions

Champions of Worldsister are common, and are often guard-captains and well-respected desert guides. These were the cave wardens and the first line of defense against the Jant. Now they serve in the same capacity, though with their humanoid forms, the ability to protect with a sling has given them a ranged advantage against their foes. Like all Anadi champions (with the exception of those champions of En-shanni-Vatti-Brother Shadow) they stand in direct opposition to slavery, and will bring about a violent end to anyone attempting to take one of their tribe for that purpose.

History:

Gaepyopizi was always interested in stone, It was hard not to be when it surrounded you your whole life. Gaepyopizi lived in the caves, before the Anadi trekked the deserts. Back when the people only left the caves to hunt, then hid back in their caves. Gaepyopizi was a cave warden, and it was her job to protect her people. Her mother was the tribe's Shaman, and told the old stories. Gaepyopizi would carve these stories on the walls of the cave, listening to a voice in her heart, knowing that these stories would be important to tell.

Gaepyopizi weilded rocks thrown with her silk to keep the creatures of the jungle at bay and was so skilled with their use that her cave never came under seige more than once from the same creature. She was well-respected, and well liked, but she never took advantage of her position of respect, and would do everything in her power to teach those who served with and under her the use of these skills .

When the hunters did not return one evening, Gaepyopizi went in search of them. It was unusual being outside of her cave for so long, but also freeing. She whispered to Pyotyukae- They of the Flowers and Trees to protect her as she travelled through the Jungles. She easily found the tracks of her friends, but also larger prints. From that point only the larger prints went on. Her friends had been captured. She followed the tracks until the jungle thinned, and a pass went through the mountains.

She followed through the mountains, though she knew that this was forbidden land, beyond the jungle Pyotyukae held little sway, and Brother Shadow would require her to be clever. She cling to the walls of the pass for what seemed like days until she came out on the other side. Blazing sun scorched the ground, and a camp was set up at the base of the mountains. Large humanoid creatures had her companions in cages: ogres. But the Ogres were resting in the sun, not paying attention.

Gaepyopizi scaled the wall above the ogres and gathered many stones, slowly, as the sun baked her carapace. As the sun began to go down, and the ogres appeared to take an interest in her compatriots again, she knew she had to strike. One after another, she flung the hundreds of little rocks at the dozens of ogres. At first, they seemed confused, and many fell before they realized what was happening. Finally, when they saw her, they began to climb. She was outnumbered and running out of rocks as the dozen surviving ogres crested the rise. But then, as if a miracle, or simply due to the weight, the edge of the cliff gave way, and fell with the ogres, crushing them below in a rockslide.

Gaepyopizi climbed down and freed her friends. Those who saw the event began to call her Worldsister, as the rock of the cliff came to her aid. She did not dare argue, as that might offend the spirits of the stone. When she returned with her friends in tow, her story was added to the stories of the past. As time went on, she took up a role on scouting the desert passes, and walked upon the sand in search of a new home. She travelled to the other tribes and shared with them her crafts, and showed them the glistening sun on shimmering sands.

As her story grew, over time, it was as if the world listened, and she began to exhibit powers of control over stone, until much like Pyotyukae- They of the Flowers and Trees she ascended to guide her people across the sands and through the stones. It is said that she can often be found walking with the Nightmarchers in the sands of her people. She knows now that her story led to her ascension through the storyteller, and is wary of Brother Shadow's machinations to retake her powers, should he ever catch Storyteller .

The Church:

The Church of Worldsister, like most that of most Anadi deities is a tribal matter. No sprawling edifices, though there are holy sites. The main pass into the desert is a holy site for anadi, and it is a necessary pilgrimage as the tribes take their nomadic marches. As such, the followers of Gaepyopizi were instrumental in assisting the Aulvi in building the road that would go through the pass, as well as the path it took straight through the desert. A number of Anadi who do not live with the tribes, but who wish to venerate Gaepyopizi do so by taking positions among the traveling guards of the road, or crafts people in one of the Many pyramid towns looming over the roads.

Other places of power for shamans of Gaepyopizi are mountaintops and caves, and her shamans are often interred in burial caves, or under cairns of stone. Prayers to Worldsister are simple, as with most Kolobvol Deities, it is a whispered hope when working on a task, and a whispered thanks. But most importantly, it is important for the story to be told so that the people will always know how they came to be.

Followers:

Followers of Gaepyopizi are Shamans and travellers. While almost all Anadi worship her as they do the other deities, her most fervent worshippers are those guiding others through deserts, stone crafters and artisans. Glassblowers and guards. One of the first things Anadi began to do upon gaining their humanoid (or more commonly Aulvinoid) was to learn how to use slings, and as such the weapon has become the holy weapon of the church. Many Anadi tribes will have accuracy competitions, and the winners are well-respected after their victories.

Relationships:

Worldsister gets along with all of the Anadi deities to some degree, but maintains a cold wariness around Brother Shadow, both for the danger her presents, and due to the lack of care he has for the enslavement of the Anadi- Kolobvol people. They are not enemies, but certainly not allies. Likewise, Worldsister knows too little about Storyteller to consider him an ally, despite having gotten her divinity through his machinations.

Gaepyolaenga- Mercurial Maiden is the closest ally she has among the Ancient Aenadia, and she sees the Mercurial Maiden as something of a younger sister or neice. The two have a similarity as well in their hatred of Gohgbohb Gahghahk-Mountain King, if possible, even moreso than the other deities due to his using mountains and metal to enslavee their people. While the rest of the Ancient Aenadia are allies, none are so close as these two.

Outside of Daebzat specifically, Worldsister has enmity towards Galvander, and a deep interest in the L'jos - The Crucible of Souls due to his affinity to the earth itself, as well as an appreciation for Ashana's attempts to free her people.

Divine Allies:

Like most of the Ancient Aenadia, Gaepyopizi has earned the respect of an ancient elemental, Crashing Stone. The elemental refuses to state if it was there when the ogres fell, but has never denied it either, though Worldsister has her suspicions. Crashing Stone is a monolith of stone infused with a part of the ancestral shamanism of the Anadi people's devotion. Larger than a giant, it is easy to see how he might be related to a cliff-face. He appears to be made of Quartzite, and has hard, sharp, features, and appears, when he appears to followers (or foes) to he a roughly carved spider of shimmering stone.

Realm

While Gaepyopizi has no specific realm, the mountain caves of Daebzat are close to one for her, and that is why the Anadi always leave one of their caves unused, so that she may use it as her realm, for her court, but as an elemental spirit of divinity, her domain over stone and gems allows her realm to be within the facets of gems, or at the heart of a mountain, and oftentimes, these are exactly where she meets with her court of spirits and elementals.

Divine Intercession

Minor boon: You are considered concealed from opponents as long as you are standing on a stone surface.

Artifacts:

The homing Stone

Holy Books and Codes:

Much like other anad deities, there is very little written down, so no holy book exists specifically for Worldsister, though the codes of her champions are carved into the walls of the pass between outer Daebzat and inner Daebzat.

Holidays:

alzëwënde æodat (falling Stone): A small feasting ceremony wherein competitions for rock throwing, and slinging are held

gæpëkil eëk (broken rock): A somber ceremony remembering those who have fallen against the Jant .

Divine Goals and Aspirations

Grow in power

Learn Storyteller's identity

Make the sands and stones of Daebzat safe for all Anadi