Campaign guide plight of the tuatha (1) 30

Chapter Two: The Gods of Aeliode
Subdomains: Ancestors, Deception, Exploration, Language, Memory, Protean, Souls, Thought, Trade
Favored Weapon: Sap
Minor Ritual: Reading the entrails of a falcon.
Sample Blessing: “May the Ox be waiting far down a
long road.”

Symbol of Advenus
Outside of the priesthood who tend his shrines, very little
is known about this god. In the Holy Texts of Calabus,
Advenus can be seen weaving his way into the plans of
Allafar and Allamar. His goals always hidden and mysterious. There is a secret text, the Scrolls of Tacitus, read only
by his priests that is said to reveal the mind of the god, but
his priests hold the god’s secrets well.
Advenus is the only one of the Avitian gods who is
known to travel among mortals. He takes on the outer
shape of travelers, merchants, and even livestock and walks
the dusty roads of Aeliode. As he travels he aids some he
meets and harms others. He has given powerful gifts to
some while others he takes all they own. If there is an endgame to all of his actions, it is likely that only he knows
what it is.
Mortals do know that when they die, Avenus will
appear to them as a massive ox. He will carry them from
the life they lead up into the sky to the Manor of Allamar
to be judged. During the journey Avenus will always stop
and whisper a secret to the soul, a secret so powerful that

the soul may never repeat it. It is believed that every soul is
told a different secret. As with most of Avenus’ actions, he
reason for doing this is known by no mortal. Some believe
that these secrets affect the judgment of Allamar, but if it is

for the better or the worse is itself one of Advenus’ secrets.
Priests: Priests of Advenus are few and rarely encountered.
They tend towards reclusive lifestyles and no major temple
to the god is known to exist. Priests may keep a small shrine
in a larger temple dedicated to another god or build small
shrines in remote locations, but this is rare. Most priests
travel with more portable shrines that are ornately sculpted
clay vessels containing an icon or two.
The exception to this rule is the Sect known as the
Ladies of Passing. This sect is a silent order whose role
in society is to gather and prepare the dead for funerary
services. The members of this sect are well versed in the
death rituals of most other cultures and, though they ultimately serve Advenus, are comfortable and able to perform
the rituals proper to the beliefs of those they serve. Even
though the sect is called the Ladies of Passing, there are
some men who have joined the sisterhood.
Worshipers: Those who worship Advenus tend to be
engaged in morally grey pursuits or find themselves in situations in which “the unknown” plays a great role. People
who find themselves lost, both physically or metaphorically, often offer up prayers to Advenus in the hope that he
will show them a path. The advice received from the god is
often followed warily as he has been known to lead a worshiper not in the direction they wished to go, but towards
a direction that serves the god’s own purposes. Those who
have suffered a recent loss to death often prayer to him
for their loved one’s safe passage to Allamar. Sailors and
merchants will make offerings when they begin new business ventures. Those whose professions take them outside
of the law also pay homage and sacrifice when beginning
a dangerous and illegal activity. Most in the world believe
Advenus sole role is to carry the dead to Allamar and are
unaware of the god’s occasionally malevolent teachings.

Pantheon of the Issian Peninsula
The gods of the Issian Peninsula are often referred to as
belonging to the Viscian Pantheon by clerics and religious
scholars. As a whole the gods are fickle and demanding.
The gods capricious interfering with the world is in part
due to the capture and imprisonment of the more moral
gods by the darker deities of the land. The Viscian Pantheon is itself broken up into three groupings of gods.

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