A pantheon of nature, moon, and star deities who ruled before Phaethon's ascension. Cast into the Cimmerian Deep, they are neither dead nor alive — and their faithful still whisper their names in the dark.
The Pantheon Before the Sun
Before the Age of the Sun, the peoples of the Sunswept Continent worshipped a pantheon of chthonic and celestial deities tied to the rhythms of nature, the moon, and the stars. When Phaethon ascended, he declared them responsible for (or complicit in) the Cimmerian Blight and cast them into the Deep.
Known Old Gods
- Selûne-Kos — the Moon-Mother, goddess of tides, dreams, and hidden paths. Her light was silver and soft.
- Thaldor — the Earth-Father, patron of dwarves and deep places, whose bones became the mountains.
- Vessa of the Boughs — the Wildmother, goddess of forests, harvests, and untamed growth.
- Astraeus — the Star-Watcher, keeper of prophecy and fate, whose scattered children became the constellations.
The Eclipsed Faith
Their worshippers were not exterminated — they went underground. Today, Old God cultists operate in secret cells throughout the Empire, concentrated in the Duskweald, where the Blight's proximity to the Deep lets them feel their gods' imprisoned whispers. They gather at hidden altars like the Eclipse Altar to perform forbidden rites.
The Empire's official doctrine holds that the Old Gods caused the Blight. The cultists believe Phaethon created it as a weapon and framed their gods — or that his imprisonment of them is what makes the Blight grow.