Kalari Pantheon¶

"In reverence to the High Lords who serve Kalar we keep these Golden Orbs; let those who seek glory cast their eyes down in humility." — inscription in the Vault of the Eye beneath the Monastery of St Morgan (S185)

The Kalari are the Gods of Light: the pantheon of Einar gathered around Kalar, the Creator, and the patrons of humankind and of most of the races Kalar made. In the Earlier Ages they ruled Terrun from their Astral Shards. By the Fifth Age they are the Dead Gods, the Riven, "worshipped to a surprising degree" by priesthoods that give no power and yet "remain convinced of their eventual return" (S020). Also called the Einar (in the oldest accounts, where the word names this pantheon alone), the Gods of Light, the Old Gods, the Dead Gods, and, in the mouths of the Sancturi, the Riven Gods or simply the Riven.

Membership¶

The newest reckoning of the gods (S420) sorts every deity by the Five Astral Domains and marks the Kalari with the sun. Five great gods head the pantheon; eight lesser gods carry the same mark.

Deity	Title in the newest reckoning	Domains
Kalar	The Creator; Lord of Creation; King of the Gods; Sun God; God of Order	all five
Khardas	God of the Earth, Lord of Stone; Lord of Industry	Matter, Thought
Orandos	Guardian of Light and Knowledge	Creation, Thought, Union
Arya	Goddess of Life	Life, Union
Quitas	Lord of Truth and Justice	Union
Moros	Keeper of the Dead	Creation
Lunaris	Goddess of the Moon	Creation
Damara	Goddess of Fertility	Life
Khaalor	Lord of the Woodlands	Life
Nexagar	Lord of Blue Fire	Thought
Vana	Goddess of Love	Union
Itreya	Goddess of Marriage	Union
Valtreya	Goddess of Valor and Battle	Union

Anariel, the Lady of the Morning and heir to the throne of Light after the Dark Sun, is absent from that roster; her page explains why her standing is contested. The five great gods are also the "primary Kalari still worshipped" in the Fifth Age (S020), and the same five, with Arya spelled Aria, have temples standing in the ruined capital of Angorath in the Fourth Age (S328).

An older inscription divides the pantheon differently. The Vault of the Eye keeps Golden Orbs "in reverence to the High Lords who serve Kalar", Quitas, Erolan, Orandos, Moros, Arcantus and Khardas, and Silvered Orbs "in devotion to the High Ladies who serve Kalar", Vana, Arya, Lunaris, Damara and Itreya (S185). Erolan and Arcantus are counted among the Unaligned Gods in the newest reckoning.

Earlier accounts¶

The compendia of the Earlier Ages (S429, S372, S384) give the Kalari as Quitas, Arya, Vana, Khardas, Lattia and Orandos, with Astrin counted Kalari among the Sleeping Gods. Moros and Tarus were "Twilight Gods" who "have taken over the dark side of their domains" but "are not in direct opposition to Kalar", and who "will ally themselves with the Kalari or Rakkai based on their own objectives". The newest reckoning moves Lattia and Tarus to the Unaligned and Moros into the Kalari.

Lesser members¶

Vana¶

Goddess of Love in the Domain of Union (S420); in the older compendia "Mistress of Fate, Beauty, Love and Marriage. The Weaver", whose symbols are "Wealth, Deer, Peacock, Canary, Woven Threads" (S372). She created the Nymphs, is the younger sister of Arya and the elder of Cordia, and is married to Quitas. The Vault of the Eye counts her first among the High Ladies.

Lunaris and Lunariel¶

Lunaris is Goddess of the Moon (S420), one of the High Ladies who serve Kalar (S185), and one of the deities of the Naher horse-clans (S524). The Fifth Age timeline opens at year 0 with the "Ascendance of Lunariel", under the heading "The Fall of the Old Gods" (S016); no other source names Lunariel.

Gap

The sources do not say whether Lunariel is Lunaris under another spelling, a separate being, or another name for the Lady of the Morning who restored the Sun in that same year. The resemblance is noted here and nothing more.

Damara¶

Goddess of Fertility in the Domain of Life (S420); a High Lady of Kalar (S185); among the gods of the Naher (S524).

Khaalor¶

Lord of the Woodlands in the Domain of Life (S420). Nothing else is recorded of him.

Itreya¶

Goddess of Marriage in the Domain of Union (S420); a High Lady of Kalar (S185).

Valtreya¶

Goddess of Valor and Battle in the Domain of Union (S420). Nothing else is recorded of her.

Aric¶

In the Fourth Age the elven shrine of the Caerylas Tree in the forest of Uran'Syvalla, west of ruined Redallion in Angorath, is dedicated to "Aria, Aric" (S328). A staff-head of "Auric Crystal" from the same shrine shines with radiant light.

Gap

Aric, or Auric, appears nowhere else. Whether this is a god of the Elves paired with Arya at her shrine, or a second spelling of some better-known name, the sources do not say.

The shards and the Dias of Algahanni¶

Each Kalari god rules from an Astral Shard, and Kalar alone holds a shard in every one of the Five Domains (S420). The shards were cut from the Throne of Law, and "an astral shard is a living thing with its own will", so that "when a god works in concert with the intelligence, they are more powerful, when against, they are weaker" (S420).

The pantheon's common ground is the Dias of Algahanni, "a tiny astral speck which connects to a surprising number of shards across the Kalari pantheon", and "a meeting place for gods and ascendants for countless millennia" (S031). It is "no larger than the interior of a small temple", "eternally night", lit by braziers around a circle of chairs that spring up to suit each guest, and even after the god-sleep "you can still feel Kalar's presence here" (S071). It is neutral ground: "You may be a steward for Kalar, but this is neutral ground where you have no dominion," Khemeia reminds Kalar's own Ascendant there (S031).

The Algahanni Accords¶

The pantheon is bound by law. When the Ascendants proposed taking dominion of a plane from the sleeping Kalar, Aion, Ascendant of Kalar, called it "a direct violation of the Sacred Codex, the Algahanni Accords, and half a dozen other agreements and laws which form the foundation of this pantheon" (S031). Monan, speaking for Nyx, answered that "the laws of the pantheon have always been flexible, and the need here is existential." The name survives among mortals: Algahanni is the secret word that opens a vault of the Raven Concord in Proturas (S051).

Gap

No source gives the text or terms of the Algahanni Accords or of the Sacred Codex, beyond the rule that one member of the pantheon may not take dominion from another.

History¶

The rebellion against Izhtari¶

The Kalari began as a faction of the Einar. In the Age of Titans the Einar fell out over the demonic invasion, and Izhtari, who ruled from the Throne of Law, "declared those Einar who were not with her as outcasts and banished them from the Astral Plane". A group led by Kalar "made a pact with four imprisoned Primordial Elementals and managed to break into the Astral Plane and destroy the Throne of Law", after which "individual Einar took possession of the remaining shards and power of the Throne" (S386). One account makes Kalar Izhtari's "favorite, and firstborn son", and traces the rebellion to his rivalry with Zatan over the creation of demons (S498). The victors were the Younger Gods, "Kalar's faction" (S208); the old compendia add that "all of the 'younger' gods were also once Elder Gods", and that "not long after, they split due to disagreement into the 3 factions of gods (light, dark and twilight)" (S372). To the Eldritch, the chosen of the murdered high god Tamariel, this is "the Rebellion of Kalar", and Kalar is "the Usurper" (S164, S147).

Kalari and Izhtarus¶

Peace did not hold. "Some of the Einar had formed a group among the gods whose goal was to restore the Throne of Law and undo the changes brought about by Kalar", and the Einar split again into Kalari and Izhtarus (S386). The Izhtarus recruited Primal Dragons and arch-wizards with the gift of Ascendancy, and the First Dragon Wars followed. In the God Wars of 1005 to 1611 of the Age of Magic "the Izhtarus seemed to have the upper hand for several hundred years, and one by one, Astral Shards fell into their hands. Many Gods also were committed to the endless sleep during this time, including Kalar" (S386). The old compendia call this the War of the Gods, in which Kalar "was killed and is now a sleeping god", and say that "some of the Einar have turned away from Kalar, embracing the dark side of their aspects" (S372).

The Godswar and the Dark Sun¶

The newest account of the end of the old order calls it the Godswar, "started by the Dark Gods". Necatus "discovered a way to transfer sharding away from the sleeping god Kalar", and "like a floodgate, this has begun a contest between the gods who are now almost universally fighting over the unguarded shards of Kalar". It "split the Kalari between those intent upon defending Kalar's shards, and those that feel Kalar's fall is inevitable and taking from Kalar ensures that the gods with Kalar's goals end up with the most control of his power" (S420).

The war ended in the Death of Kalar, when the sun "becomes a beacon of suffering, corruption, decay and madness". Orandos, who had been sheltering his brother, sacrificed himself to empower the moon and to split his shard and Kalar's "to avoid the Dark Gods getting hold of it", scattering the fragments to his followers and Ascendants as the Scions of Light (S420). Afterwards "about 30%" of the two gods' shards came to Anariel, and "the remainder of their shards were split among the Kalari, Rakkari and Necatus" (S422). At 0 SM "the Lady of the Morning restores the Sun" (S132), and two years later Sanctorum was founded "by Telgrim and the followers of Anariel" (S326).

The Fourth Age¶

In the Fourth Age the five great Kalari are worshipped openly. The ruined capital Redallion keeps temples to "Aria, Kalar, Khardas, Orandos & Quitas", and its survivors shelter at the Temple of Khardas under a dwarven High Priestess, whose blessing still protects them against the Earthblight (S328). Marshford has a Temple of Kalar with its own High Priest (S359). The old compendia call the Earthblight "Kalar's Bane", land "no longer able to sustain life, of any kind" (S498).

The Riven under the Sancturi¶

In the Fifth Age the Sancturi "preach that the Kalari and Rakkarim are powerless, impotent gods", whose faithful "don't have anywhere to go after death and therefore remain behind to terrorize the living", which "reinforces why forced conversion is necessary" (S318). From 554 to 565 SM the Great Purge saw the Sancturi "purge all Riven (Kalari & Rakkari) priests and raze all shrines, churches and temples. Riven-worship is made a crime, and those refusing to convert to the Sancturi Pantheon are enslaved" (S326). The contempt is proverbial: "You are a Riven-worshipper!", or "the Riven-scum seek refuge in the lands of the faithful because their own pathetic gods can't provide it" (S132).

What was left of the Kalari fought the Hellgate War as one of three pantheons against the forces of the Abyss, allied uneasily with the Rakkarim: "They still distrust each other but try (with some difficulty) to work together", seeking to "recover their power, restore or gain control over Mithis and the Sun" (S132). The Riven Gods of that war are named as a triumvirate, Arya, Khardas and Rakkar.

Beyond the Imperium the faith endured in the Riven Kingdoms: Alghert under its patron Kalar, "staunchly Kalari" Athagilion, the Kalari theocracy of Udenica, the Anariel theocracy of Icrophan, and Trikavan, an Oesterkull city founded by Kalari converts (S319). The Knights of Ex-Malefica are "directly supported by most Kalari and Rakkari priesthoods", and the Brotherhood of the Sun collects "many ancient Kalari relics which are still imbued with the creator's power" (S319), though it has been "heavily infiltrated by Sancturi, Asmodean and Eldritch agents" (S152).

The Dead Gods¶

"The Kalari are all dead gods. This means they provide no active guidance or power to their priesthood. However, they are still worshipped to a surprising degree" (S020). "The age of benevolent deities passed with the death of the Riven Gods (who saw the races as their children)" (S014). Their fall freed the Elder Gods from "their prisons (formed by the Riven Gods)", and left the Eldritch soulcruxes that "the Kalari only kept ... as holy relics" scattered as Kalari relics (S014, S141). In the Divine Period that followed the fall of Sanctorum, the Divine "was able to take over most of Kalar's old shards" and "killed Arya" (S112).

Yet the faith travelled. Proturas "was founded in 626 AL as a secret refuge by exiled and outcast Kalari priests" (S107); its Kalari faction, the Children of the Light, is "one of the three original founding factions" and rules the City of Light (S078). Lorsythe "declared Kalari and spellcasters pagans" and hunted them (S107), and in the Divine Alliance a boy raised on "frequent Kalari sermons whispered to him by his mother" could be converted by "a hidden altar and library of forbidden tomes about the Gods of the Kalari" (S004). Proturas became "the last bastion of the Kalari races in the north-eastern part of Astia" (S077), and Lyrspire, "a full time settlement of Kalari races in the rift", was lost in the Second Araxian War (S066). A Church of the Light sits on the Grotto's Conclave (S026), and Sun Priests of one Kalari sect "dress in red robes with a yellow sunburst" (S038).

Worship and practice¶

The Kalari Calendar has five seasons of three months, 360 days, and a six-day week ending in Godsday, also Kalarsday or Creatorsday, when "most people don't work" (S388). The week has one day "for each of the 7 old gods, minus Rakkar", though the seven are not named. Three month names, Aryus, Kal and Quirus, resemble the names of Arya, Kalar and Quitas; the calendar text does not draw the connection. See the Calendar.

Kalari priests "consecrate burial grounds/tombs and it is critical that the faithful dead be buried there", and "sell consecrated symbols for warriors or other nomads which serve as a replacement for consecrated ground, so long as they are buried with it". Funeral pyres "have gone out of fashion in Kalari lands, and are considered very dangerous and the practice of heathens" (S318). See Death and the Afterlife.

The priesthoods differ in temper.¹ Kalar's are "protectors, guardian", with paladin orders that are "almost exclusively defensive"; Orandos's are "crusaders" (S428). Their relics are many: holy symbols and runestones that deal "radiant damage to those not ordained of the Kalari" (S008), the Tears of Kalar, "small white crystals" used "as a prayer focus in the absence of a holy symbol" (S004), and the Mithis gems named for the Creator, Aurumite "Blood of Kalar", Maban "Tears of Kalar" and Maril "Eyes of Kalar" (S419). Their rites and writings are kept in a Kalari holy language, the "Ancient High Kalari Language" (S186, S142), and inscriptions in Celestial pair Kalar, Arya, Orandos and Khardas with the Sun, the Leaf, the Moon and the Gem (S008).

Orders and priesthoods have their own pages: the Kalari Priesthood, the Light of Kalar, the Brotherhood of the Sun, the Children of the Light, the Orders of Arya, the Orders of Moros, the Orders of Anariel and the Knight Orders of Orandos. The White Fire "follow the path of Kalar, the Creator. However, they are not a religious order" (S319).

Pages in this section¶

Page	One line
Kalar	The Creator and King of the Gods, sleeping since the War of the Gods, dead since the Dark Sun.
Khardas	Lord of the Earth, Stone and the Forge; a Dwarrow who became a god and made the Dwarves.
Orandos	Kalar's brother, the cold light; gave himself to empower the moon.
Arya	The Lifegiver; her shard shattered into the Blood of Arya.
Quitas	Lord of Order, Justice, Law and Reason.
Moros	Keeper of the Dead and his three Ascendants.
Anariel	Lady of the Morning, heir to the throne of Light.
Nexagar	First Apprentice, Lord of Blue Fire.
Inwe	Ascendant of Arya, whose soul the Raven Concord shares.

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