Gods of Tera (Lore/Some Spoiler)

We live in an Age of Mortals. The world of TERA belongs to the humans, high elves, amani, baraka, castanics, elins, and poporis—though their civilization is a tenuous thing. The time of the gods has passed, but some still walk the world in a diminished state. A few gods—Velik, Kaia, and Mystel, for example—still aid the races they’ve adopted, despite having only a fraction of their former power. Others, like Thulsa, Akasha, and Ishara, scheme from the world’s secret places, trying to regain the divine majesty that was once theirs.

Most gods are dead, however—casualties of the Divine War that pitted brother against sister, parent against child. Some gods died nobly, while others were victims of circumstance or targets of sinister plots from those they trusted. While the following gods no longer influence mortal affairs directly, they cast a great shadow across the world of TERA.

And if the entire world is a dream, who is to say that these gods will never return?

Arun/Shara: The creators of all, the Titans

The two sleeping Titans, the creators of the gods. The titans were fleeing from a realm of endless strife. We don’t know a lot about it, but legend says that they managed to escape their reality through some sort of rift, and found themselves in a void. Exhausted from their flight, they lay down and dreamed the world of TERA into being.

Arun: One of the Gods who created the world. The name now signifies one of the continents containing Velika.

Shara: One of the Gods who created the World. The name now signifies the continent containing Allemantheia and Kaiador.

Arun-Born Gods

Karas
Departed

Patron of the Elves. Helped enforce peace between Amarun and Zuras. Karas withdrew from the world in anger when his wife Elinu fell into a deep, deathlike sleep following the birth of their children Balder and Ishara. No god would help him revive her, and in retaliation he cursed the Ancient Light, making it no brighter than our moon. Vowing revenge, he disappeared, leaving the elves to their own devices.

Karas, creator of the elves, was the de facto leader of the twelve original gods. He took an active hand in raising his son Lok, but became mournful and bitter with grief after Elinu’s death. Karas cursed the world with perpetual twilight, then departed the elven homeland. He hasn’t been seen since.

The elves never sought another god, instead choosing to mourn and honor Karas’s grief.

Zuras
Unknown location

Goddess, First of the Devas. Waged war against the Amani.

The most seductive of the original twelve gods, Zuras created the many clans of devas, including the clan that would eventually become the castanics. Whether through disguise or her natural allure, Zuras bore children from three different fathers. Her children range from the benevolent (Mystel, Velik, and Kaia) to the malicious (notably Thulsa, who still plots to regain his divine power).

Zuras disappeared near the start of the Divine War and hasn’t reappeared despite entreaties from the devas she created.

Gidd
Deceased

Gidd was both covetous and vain, and prized above all his winged horse, Perios, and his greatspear, Cranos. When he created the first humans, they too coveted Perios and Cranos, and made plans to steal them both to use as leverage to bend the god’s will. Gidd caught them trying to make off with the spear, and was outraged. He poured out his wrath on the humans, cursing them to wander the world for 2,000 years with no hearth nor home.

One of the original twelve gods dreamed into existence by the titans, Gidd created the human race. But he found his creations troublesome and rebellious, so he cursed them to live a nomadic existence for centuries—a curse the humans overcame only recently.

Gidd’s dalliances with the goddess Zuras resulted in many divine children, including the prophetic goddess Mystel and the sinister god Thulsa. Gidd led the gods of Arun into battle during the Divine War, but the goddess Akasha lured him away from the battle, then killed him.

After Gidd’s death, the goddess Velik adopted the human race and remains their patron to this day.

Amarun
Deceased

Creator of the Amani, Amarun was one of the first gods to take up arms against another deity: Zuras. Amarun and the amani fared poorly in their war against Zuras and the devas, and a string of defeats resulted in the enslavement of the amani people by the giants.

A battlefield casualty in the final days of the Divine War, Amarun never lived to see his “grandchildren” freed. After his death, the goddess Kaia adopted the amani and built them a city, Kaiator, that bears her name.

Tithus

One of the most trusted of the original twelve gods, Tithus created the giants (including the scholar caste that became the barakas).

Tithus tried to act as a peacemaker among the gods, but his efforts were increasingly heavy-handed. Thulsa led a group of rebellious gods into battle against Tithus and killed him, widening the Divine War.

Elinu
Youngest of the gods. With her divine essence, she created the Elin.

• Wife of Karas, Elinu fell into a deep, deathlike sleep following the birth of their children Balder and Ishara. No god would help revive her.
  
• Once called Mother Nature, she is the goddess of Generosity.
  
• Q. Considering Elinu is resting within the sacred lake where Pora Elinu lies, how deep must one dive down to reach her uh... sleeping form? A: No mortal can reach her. It's possible Karas left something behind to deter the mortals, and even the gods, from desecrating her.
  
• Elinu, creator of the elins, was the first god to die—in childbirth long before the Divine War, bringing the twins Balder and Ishara to life. Her death was a crushing blow to all the gods, but especially her husband, Karas.

Shara-Born Gods

Sikander/Shikander

He sealed away his own power and went into deep slumber after his lover Isren was killed. The phoenix, first of the Sikandari.

Gomo/Gluda

Dark master of the Gulas and Vampirs.

Gluda created two races at the dawn of history: the gulas and vampirs. A born schemer, Gluda insisted that her two creations battle each other for her favor.

Jealousy of Zuras consumed Gluda, and many suspect that she or her daughter, Akasha, quietly murdered Zuras as the Divine War began. Perhaps fittingly, it was betrayal and intrigue that resulted in Gluda’s death. Thulsa had allied with Gluda and her children in battles against Tithus and Isren, but Thulsa coveted the power of the gulas and vampirs. Thulsa led a strike force that fought through armies of gulas and vampirs to slay Gluda in one of the largest battles of the Divine War.

Ur

God of the Wendigos.

Isren

Was once a Goddess of Peace and the creator of the Faerie race, however she was dragged into the War of the Gods and was murdered.

Queen/Goddess of the Faeries, Isren was another victim of Thulsa and the other rebellious gods. Like Tithus, Isren attempted to remain neutral among the contentious gods, but unlike Tithus, she merely tried to stay out of conflicts rather than mediate them. When Thulsa and Gluda’s children turned on Isren and killed her, all the gods realized that there could be no bystanders in the Divine War.

Spoiler:

Saleron/Shaleron

Once the Leader of all Gods but after the loss in the War he became a prisoner by his son Killiun and was incarcerated. Lord of Prions.

Spoiler:

Dagon

Known as the father of the serpentine Naga, Dagon killed the Baraka God of Wisom, Oriyn. God of Snakes and the creator of the Yuanti Race. His old temples and ruins remain around the world still.

Children of the Gods, Other Gods & Notable Characters


Balder
Deceased

Child of Elinu and Karas. Lok had forged the Crown of Phanes to cure Balder, but instead it killed him.

Even as a child, Balder was held in high regard by all the other gods, who saw a lot of his mother, Elinu, when they looked at him. After Tithus’s death, Balder stepped into the peacekeeper role among the gods. Despite deep divisions and bitter rivalries among the gods, almost everyone respected Balder, who was entrusted with the keys to the heavenly abode where the gods were at their strongest.

Karas’s curse of darkness came to an end when Balder sacrificed his sight so that others in the world could see. Balder tore out his own eyes and hurled them into the sky, where they became the twin suns that give the world light to this day.

Yet even the wisdom of Balder could not keep the gods at peace forever. Balder’s twin sister, Ishara, sought Balder’s power and convinced their older brother Lok that Balder was descending into madness. Lok unintentionally killed Balder upon placing the Crown of Phanes upon him, and stole the keys to the gods’ heavenly abode.

After Balder was killed, his friend and bodyguard, Shakan, killed Lok before Lok revealed where he had hid the gods' power.

Ishara

Balder’s twin sister, Ishara, sought Balder’s power and convinced their older brother Lok that Balder was descending into madness. Lok unintentionally killed Balder and stole the keys to the gods’ heavenly abode.

Ishara's mother and father were Elinu and Karas.

Kaia

Helped free the Amani from slavery. God of Warriors. The goddess Kaia had long held warfare classes for young amani in the city center's open plaza.

Kaia and her young students defended Kaiator during its first and only breach by Argon siege drills. Several hundred workers and students died in the plaza. A hundred soldiers died in tunnels under the city, driving away the argons before other drills could surface. Only five students survived.

Zuras' children range from the benevolent (Mystel, Velik, and Kaia) to the malicious (notably Thulsa, who still plots to regain his divine power).



Lok
Deceased

Karas and Elinu are Lok's father and mother.

Worked with Kaia and the Castanics to help free the Amani from slavery.

As the giants plotted to rebuild their empire, the amani prayed for deliverance. Their own god had long since abandoned them, but Kaia took pity on them and asked Lok to intervene. Lok and his deva artisans could not resist the puzzle of an unbreakable seal. After three years of work, Lok gave the amani the keys of freedom.

Lok unintentionally killed Balder and stole the keys to the gods’ heavenly abode. His Crown of Phanes creation killed Balder.

Lok inherited his father Karas’s cleverness and quickly became renowned as an inventor. He fashioned the magic device that freed the amani people from their magical enslavement by the giants. But his intellect was greater than his wisdom, and he believed Ishara’s lies about Balder’s insanity. Lok created a device that would steal the gods’ collective power from Balder, but he didn’t realize the device would kill Balder—until he used it.

Lok channeled the divine power away for later use and stranded most of the gods away from their heavenly abodes, but Balder’s friend and bodyguard, Shakan, killed Lok before Lok revealed how or where he hid that power.

Nerezzar

A necromancy practicing god worshipped by the devas.

Oriyn
Deceased

A god murdered by Dagon during the Divine War. The Barakan God of Wisdom.

Velik

Current patron of Humans and Goddess of the Hunt and of Bravery. She offered Humans a home after they were cursed by their creator, Gidd.

Velik, tired of the Divine War, vowed to end violence within the vicinity of her city. Velika's reputation as a place of peace spread throughout Arun and Shara, and refugees from wars elsewhere traveled there. But racial tension rose until a civil war broke loose.

The violence outside her palace infuriated Velik. As the sun set over the burning city, Velik stalked the streets, ending anyone with the temerity to break her proclamation. Hundreds died on that "Night of Black Arrows"—human and nonhuman alike.

Zuras' children range from the benevolent (Mystel, Velik, and Kaia) to the malicious (notably Thulsa, who still plots to regain his divine power).



Selen/Seren

Goddess of the Moon, the lakes and the Guardian of Elementals. She is the protector of the Popori race. The latest Mysterium research suggests that the goddess Seren has taken on the task of making spirit into flesh.

Mystel

A wandering Goddess able to foresee the future. She is always delivering the will of the Gods.

Gidd’s dalliances with the goddess Zuras resulted in many divine children, including the prophetic goddess Mystel and the sinister god Thulsa.

Spoiler:

Icaruna, God of Fear
Rebirthed

"Icaruna died during the Divine War. The Historical Record is Sketchy on that point."

Spoiler:

Thulsa

"The original tuwangis were bred by Thulsa as weapons against his foes in the divine wars. Although scholars have claimed that such a powerful god would not have created a race of small children to fight his battles, I argue in Divinus Bellum, Volume 2: Sibling Rivalry, that the tuwangis’ appearance was designed to unsettle his enemies. Imagine facing an army of innocents."

Gidd’s dalliances with the goddess Zuras resulted in many divine children, including the prophetic goddess Mystel and the sinister god Thulsa.

Thulsa coveted the power of the gulas and vampirs. Thulsa led a strike force that fought through armies of gulas and vampirs to slay Gluda in one of the largest battles of the Divine War.

The origins of the kobolds date back to the Divine Wars, when Thulsa and Lakan performed genetic experiments of a dubious nature on captive faeries, hoping to create a race of expendable warriors.

Tae-Go

A God who held the artifact able to allow the "magic kill cycle" skill to be used.

Akasha

Gidd led the gods of Arun into battle during the Divine War, but the goddess Akasha lured him away from the battle, then killed him. Akasha's mother is Gluda.

Spoiler:

Lakan

The origins of the kobolds date back to the Divine Wars, when Thulsa and Lakan performed genetic experiments of a dubious nature on captive faeries, hoping to create a race of expendable warriors.

Torsten
Prion Prophet

I remember the sacred words: "On the eve of the end times, pain shakes the earth. A mere mortal treads lightly, hunting the harbinger. A vision evokes sorrow, betrayal, defiance."

Thus spake my Ancestors

Killian
God of Terror

Spoiler:

Eeeeee, can we note this thread as potential spoiler content? Sure everyone has access to lore about Balder, Lok, Velik, Kaia, etc. from the get-go, but some of these other players in the pantheon are revealed late in the game through major quests.

Baeshra wrote:Eeeeee, can we note this thread as potential spoiler content? Sure everyone has access to lore about Balder, Lok, Velik, Kaia, etc. from the get-go, but some of these other players in the pantheon are revealed late in the game through major quests.

It's a good thing i haven't read any of it yet, thanks for the warning. BTW Good Job on the info, Voriel!

FIXED!

Sorry about that, marked out spoilery stuffs.

Some other amazing shots!

Kaia