About the Divinity within Lankhmer

The gods of Lankhmer are infinite, far too numerous and expansive to ever be comprehended by a mortal mind. Mortal beings are too small, too short lived to hope anything such. The gods of Lankhmer that are known to mortals are a fraction, the likes of which cannot truly be categorized or organized, though mortal minds will attempt such for their own special circumstances.

Every single thing that exists in the mortal world traces its descent from gods that died in past eons. Great skeletal figures forming the core stone and metal of the earth, erosion grafting soils and sands, basic elements that would give rise to the life that inhabits the world. Great features in the landscape, ancient relics of unimaginable function, the ability to wield magic, weather patterns - all things that have come to be through the gods that have died. As earlier described, men have tried to peer back to the earliest of times, and no man has ever come close - and some have claimed it to be impossible; that there is no beginning.

The major groups of deities in the world of Lankhmer are as follows:
The Resplendent Gods, The Dead Gods, The Lurking Gods, and The Lesser Gods.
In the common tongue they are respectively known as: The Edean, The Asdean, The Aordean, and the Faeri.

Most mortal cultures draw back to a story of creation, an origin for their people and their place in the world. Many unifying elements cross creation stories, and many chalk it up to the human experience, or powerful narrative. A noticeable differentiation between some peoples and others, is what occurs to their gods during the creation.

The most common belief system of new world theology is the idea that the people have a god, or gods, that look down upon them; their gods are known of as The Resplendent Gods. This god is their direct ancestor, that established their original ancestor in some action - which trickled down from the Divine Plane - and gave birth to them or their pedigree. This religious system is usually centered in civilized areas, and spreads outwards to others, and through rural areas. They often adopt various detailing features, but are usually organized and sophisticated, with intricate rituals. An almost universal trait between all religion owed to the Resplendent Gods is that the mortal’s soul’s quality is measured by faith and completed ritual.

In some variants of the creation, the gods of the people in question die, or in some way - do not exist as gods any longer. These gods are said to be the Dead Gods, in that they do not actively exist in the Divine Plane any longer. All forms of worship exist for Dead Gods, from lowly bands to great civilizations. They can run a vast variety of features, but generally exhibit a culture that considers the mortal soul’s quality by their actions - not their faith.

Other gods are made known to mortals, but there is a particular difference between they and the others that are worth mentioning. These gods are alien, distant from humanity, and typically are not involved with mortal life unless their interests are immediately involved. Whereas the Resplendent Gods may be passive, or perhaps even indifferent in some cases; these gods are entirely uninterested in mortal affairs - and seek only their own ends. These gods are known as Lurking Gods, and their nature defines how they can be approached by mortals. Organized establishments do not interest the Lurking Gods, only function. Great displays or reverence do not appease them. They are wanton, callous, and though all gods have behaviors and mindedness that are not like that of a human - the Lurking Gods are almost always considered to lack the feeling of empathy, respect, or the value of a mortal life.

Mortals of the world are keen to worship that which is greater than they are. Small, isolated communities are like to have localized religions, with localized religious beliefs. Folks of more settled, civilized lands tend to call these innumerable belief systems the Lesser Gods, or Faerie. Usually grouped into some school of theological thought, the Lesser Gods range in power and presence - usually all derived from some localized feature or phenomenon. A village settled upon a crevice that descends endlessly into the earth may worship the unnatural whistling sound that comes from it as a god, and develop practices to please it.



The world of Lankhmer being built from the remains of prior gods leaves many questions. The existence of the gods and what little mortals can comprehend of them is something in itself that mortals will never be able to fully grasp. There is such a gap between the mortals and the prime creative force of this world that it simply cannot be done. The schema of the universe is very particular, and has been described by the greatest minds throughout history with particular features and structure. Such a things are only a limited understanding of how it truly is and functions, but is perhaps the best currently that mortals can perceive their existence.

The Sublime Plane: It is unknown exactly what goes on in this plane. The lattice of every possible action, reaction, thought, emotion, and memory is latticed together in a structure that the few whom have glimpsed it have called The Sublime Flower. Many give rambling, incoherent accounts of its description, and many seem to lose some of their grounding in the mortal world for having seen it. It is assumed that the whole of probability resides in this plane.

The Divine Plane: Here is the plane in which the Gods reside. It is great and seemingly unchanging, save for the movements of the gods - whose subtle acts, thoughts, and emotions effect all plains beneath it. Gods will reside here until their death. The gods of the world represent the whole of its matter and energy.

The Elder Plane: This is the plane that contains the immediate debris of a dead god. The remains coalesce and swirl in an attempt to balance the churning power of the sphere. The basic forces of the universe seem to be based from this plane. Gravity, electromagnetic, strong and weak nuclear forces all are resultant from the churning storm in this plane.

The Light Plane: At this point in the universe, the great glow of the Divine Plane and the Sublime Plane has been taken in by the remnants of the gods that now sit peacefully apart from each other in a state of equilibrium. These glowing remnants carry all light into the lower planes, creating the fundamental basis for light, dark, and shadow. It is also believed that every remnant rings with a perfect pitch and tone, thus creating all sound in the universe.

The Astral Plane: Also known as the Material Plane, this is where divinity has interacted with divinity, in an unknown and complicated process - creating life. In the Astral Plane, life exists in a nonphysical, malleable, immaterial state. This is where emotion is drawn from, where thought occurs, where mortals go to dream, where visions of the future can be gleaned from the coming together of many thoughts and feelings. Restless spirits wander the Astral Plane, before ascending, before being reborn, before being drawn back into the world unnaturally through sorcery, or being dragged downwards.

The Material Plane: Also known of as Middle Earth, the Middling World, The Midden, and many other references to being the middle of existence by cultures across the world. This is where life as we know it resides in its physical state. Learned peoples tend to associate sapience with connection to other planes.

The Abyssal Plane: Typically seen as a hellish place where no mortal person should hope to go, the Abyssal Plane is the furthest from the Sublime Plane known, and the least occupied of the planes. It is assumed that all energy that seems to be 'wasted' in scientific calculations, in magical practices, or in reincarnation winds up in this place. It is seen as an unwholesome place, its machinations unknowable and capable of driving a person mad. Some theologies make it out as a place for terrible, unwholesome souls to be drawn. Others speculate that it is the fate that awaits the universe at the end of its days, when the spark of all life has finally faded. What is true, no one knows. This plane is seen as the driving force of Entropy in the universe.