Faiths of Sublanarya: The Bringer-of-Rain (Danu, Apep, Shambara, Vritra)

Dyeus the Sky-Father and Tefnas the Earth-Mother were fighting all the time and the world suffered for it. One of the Old Ones, Danu the Liquid Goddess, slipped past the safeguards and even the watchful eye of Ptah-Ra, and combined her essence with that of the Cosmic Serpent, Apep. Though their union was brief, with Dyeus and Tefnas subduing the alien goddess, it brought about the creation of a new threat that the sky and earth, exhausted from destroying Danu and spreading her across the wind and sea, could not subdue. From Apep and Danu was born, Vritra the Consumer.

Vritra was a great wyrm, a dragon with serpentine features, born of disharmony and darkness. As an embodiment and harbinger of Izft, the Envoloper cast darkness upon the River Iru, choking the river, from which all life sprang in ancient Hamutia, with his form.

Along the river, Vritra's asuran servant, Shambara the Builder, built 100 fortresses,like massive temple complexes, in the name of the draconic deity. Around these 100 fortresses, Vritra wrapped a wall of darkness and began choking the life from the world.

Dyeus and Tefnas were weakened but settled their arguments long enough to have more children. Firstborn of the east was the mighty Indra, fierce as a tiger, fast as lightning and with a warcry like thunder. Indra immediately set about trying to tear down the wall of shadow alongside his twin brother, Agni and his four other brothers. But the darkness pushed them back and no amount of force could surpass it. Only the demon ships of Shambara's men were allowed to pass from the sea, through the wall, and along the river.

Mithras had a plan.

Mithras was the youngest and wisest of the brothers. He knew of all creatures big and small that swam in the ocean. For his plan, he knew of a great fish, Apa.

Together, the brothers got Indra drunk on soma, the divine drink of the gods, disguised him as an ox's head, and cast him into the deep part of the sea. The great fish Apa swallowed Indra whole but suffered terrible indigestion. Fighting the beast from the inside, Indra guided it towards a demon pirate ship and killed Apa from the inside. The massive fish floated to the surface. The greedy demons netted Apa, dragged it from the primordial sea, traveled through the wall of darkness and up the river Iru.

Indra had been stuck in the belly of the fish for too long. He was furious and hungry. The golden god ate a whole out of Apa's belly and killed the pirates. He then turned his attentions on the 100 fortresses of Shambara. Each fortress fell to the might of Indra, lightning crashed and thunder roared, as he made his way to the 100th fortress.

There he faced Shambara. The asuran warlord was angry, proud and spiteful. He insulted Indra's smell, from the guts of Apa, and this caused Indra to fly into a drunken rage. The storm king threw Shambara down and tore his head from his shoulders, so he could never hold his nose or snark at the god again, before tossing the head into the heavens. To this day, the head circles the cosmos as a comet that returns periodically called "Shambara's Head".

100 fortresses destroyed and Shambara slain, Vritra descended on Indra to avenge his servants and slay his immortal foe. The two fought a legendary battle with Vritra breaking Indra's jaw but, as the fiend gloated, Indra flew into his mouth and summoned a storm inside of Vritra that destroyed him, casting his body down, and crushing the rest of his servants. Indra then gathered up all the water and threw it into the heavens. From that day on, he was known as the Bringer of Rain and the Storm King.

Together, with his brothers help, Indra buried the Wyrm deep within the earth but his servants still hear his whispers.

Monster Mash: H is for Haathraji

Ancient scripture dictates that the beastfolk of Narya are the chosen people of their gods and Heramba's people, the haathraji or "elephant kings", care for the most innocent denizens of the jungle with generous patience and, when needed, protect them with unstoppable force.

These gentle giants  each stand well over twenty feet tall and weigh in at almost four metric tons and have the appearance and gravitas of their elephant ancestors.Their trunks notably split into two, allowing for even better manipulation of this secondary limb, and their tusks are proportionally smaller. They wear ornate outfits of a monk with white, red and gold linens strung up with beads and baubles ranging from materials as common as wood to their ancestor's ivory to jade and gold. These items hold mostly sentimental value, representing relationships and milestones in their life's path, and they have a fondness for gifts of all costs from their friends and allies.

Forest Sages. Haathraji spend most of their time in nomadic familial troupes, often shepherding elephants as a discipline, and their daily routines are focused on meditation, exercise, music, martial arts, and, of course, finding food to sustain themselves. The elephantfolk usually avoid human civilization which, from experience, is driven by material desires, have little respect for nature, and pervert the spiritual truth. Still, they get along well with the humble and poor, especially those living rurally near or in the jungle. The haathraji have no quarrel when it comes to helping others out of trouble but avoid creating a dependence between themselves and humans.

If a human truly wishes to seek wisdom and enlightenment, haathraji are more likely to welcome them into their troupe and share their deep insights.


Warrior Priest of Heramba. While being peace-loving creatures, primarily concerned with enlightenment, when roused the Haathraji are legendary warrior monks that can stand toe to toe with almost any threat to or from the jungle. Despite their size, the haathraji can move as quietly and quickly as a dancer, and on the battlefield toss their enemies, if they don't flatten them, like blades of grass being blown about by the wind.

They especially despise fiendish and unnatural creatures and can be roused to a cause against them.

Monster Mash: C is for C'Horthid

There are many strange and horrible creatures lurking in the buried tombs of the Ptah-Hamutian god-kings but, perhaps, none are worse than the transformed priests of Khepis the Scarab God. Like many mortals, they feared death and sought a sort of immortality through the Swarm. These foolish priests were misled by their superiors into surrendering to a forbidden ceremony that granted them immortality but stole from them their humanity, identity, sanity and freedom to serve the dead as guardians and to be used as living weapons by the priesthood. The priests called them C'Horthids (Kohr-theedz], which translates to "Butchers of Souls".

Immortal Horrors.  C'Horthids creep in the darkened chambers of pharoahs, untouched by time or the sun for centuries, and lie in wait for tomb robbers that ignore the warnings painted in heiroplyphics on the walls.

Each C'Horthid is clad in armored plates of black chitine with writhing form of over three meters in length, with a multitude of wretched scythe-like legs running along a segmented thorax that attached to an upright abdomen armed with a pair of toothed scythes for forelimbs. Most horrifying is that rather than an insectoid head it has a large grey humanoid head with cruel red eyes, a mouth full of razors and pincers. They make inhuman coughing noises, like the wheezing croak of a thousand locusts, as they choke on death itself. For it is the breath of the C'Horthid that is the true danger: the black gas it emits from its maw paralyzes its prey. It is then that the C'Horthid's horrifying intent is revealed as it will attempt to devour the soul of an incapacitated humanoids.

The only way to release the souls so they can join the afterlife, once devoured by a C'Horthid, is to destroy the beast.

Mindless Servants of the Scarab. The long term purpose of these creatures is unknown and alien as the mind of their god Khepis but it is believed that they will be rewarded by the swarm lord when he returns to pick the desert clean of all life. Until then, they remain trapped forever in their bodies, which act as a prison for the souls as their prey.

It is believed that some priests of Khepis, as well as other evil beings capable of controlling these insane horrors, are able to use these creatures as personal protectors and have a way to extract the souls to be used as a part of dark rituals involved with the scarab god. Only the most wicked of souls would create or use these monstrosities.

Terrible Weapons. And the have been used for more than guarding dungeons: some priests managed to cultivate and grow C'Horthids of monstrous size for use in warfare. These C'Horthid "invaders" were used as siege weapons, unleashed upon the enemies of the Scarab cult, and a few of them could destroy and consume thousands of souls. These legendary horrors and the rituals to create them have thankfully been lost to the sands of time but there are stories from raving madmen of caverns beneath ruined cities holding these horrors in wait for some darker purpose.

Fun Fact: This week's monster's name was inspired by the ancient Roman word for high heels "Kothorni", which were worn by butchers in places like Ancient Egypt to keep their feet from touching the bloody floor of the abattoir.

Evolving Timeline of Narya Part II: Modern History of Sublanarya

For Part I: Ancient History of Sublanarya, click HERE.

The 2nd Epoch: Modern Narya (0 CE to 6667 CE (Present))

The first epoch, what Sublnaryan's call the "Ancient Epoch", is a time of great uncertainty, where reality and myth are intertwined, and the gods are locked in a series of brutal battles over the dominion of time and space. The space itself was constantly shifting in reaction to these battles, as gods can raise mountains and raze forests with ease, and time itself was warped by the destructive cosmic power of war on a scale beyond the understanding of mortals. It was a time that chaos reigned supreme and order struggled to gain a foothold. The current epoch is different.

In the current epoch, order has more than gained a foothold. It has put a boot on the jugular of chaos and the "Current Epoch" (CE) is one of some certainty. If the first epoch was defined by the struggle between order and chaos, between the authorities of the universe, the gods, and those who wish to destroy it, then the current epoch is one shaped by the struggle of good and evil. While both of these metaphorical and material struggles are of concern to the gods, the struggle between good and evil, right and wrong, are of much more consequence to mere mortals. After all, mere mortals are rewarded or punished based on their actions. Gods are all but absolute.

It is important to keep in mind when looking at the last seven millennia of Naryan history, told from a Sublanaryan perspective, that while the gods still guide the peoples of the material plane, the people are now, ultimately, the ones who shape the current state of the world. For better or worse, this is a time of civilizations, of kings and queens, of masters and slaves, and of armies and hordes. This is a period defined by the actions of mortals upon mortals.

The Current Epoch is tangible. Time and space can still be contorted but are less pliable. Years are 400 days long (10 moonths of 40 days) and each day is 25 hours long

Epoch II: Modern Narya

 (Summary)
1st Age: The Age of Wonders and Wandering

2rd Age: The First Dark Age: Rise of the Giants

3rd Age: The Age of Restoration

4th Age: The Second Dark Age: The Beastmen Invasion and The Holy Crusades

5th Age: The Tytanyan Age

Here goes:

Character Crunch: Vanara (Monkey-Folk)

In southern Raj-Hamut, deep in the Dandaka Forest and between the Ondon Mountains, hidden in mist and legend, is Kishkindha, the kingdom of the vanara: the "forest people". The vanara of Kishkindha resemble monkey-like humanoids. They are mostly known to be clever, curious and playful creatures that might irritate less patient creatures with their constant questioning and almost naive honesty. While vanara often admire the accomplishments of human society, they find human's comparably uptight customs and rules amusing. They prefer to play tricks upon people rather than resorting to violence to expel them from the sacred sites, such as temples and burial grounds, they often make their homes. That doesn't mean they won't defend themselves.

The vanaran patron deity Hamuman the Mighty is famous for the feat of lifting an entire mountain with one hand and leading armies of vanara to assist the 7th Avatar of Sahasranama. They are known for being impressive warriors who use their unmatched agility and bestial ferocity to overcome their foes. And their foes are, usually, evil, which vanara oppose universally. Vanaran heroes prefer martial arts whether they be masters of force like barbarians or fighters or instead prefer the subtlety of rangers or thieves or choose to find a balance with a monk.

The heroism, loyalty and bravery of vanara warriors is legendary.

Vanara are rarely found outside of Kishkindha but they are not unheard of among veteran adventurers who have ventures to the south-eastern continent of Raj-Hamut. They are usually drawn into a life adventure by curiosity and loyalty; many a human adventurer has found themselves Kishkindha on a divine quest and befriended a vanara. Perhaps the human save the vanara's life or better yet their tribe and so, out of devotion, obligation and/but mostly out of the desire to join them on their quest, they join the hero on their adventure and become adventurers in their own right.

Vanara come in two distinct varieties on a spectrum of more monkey-like to more human-like in appearance. They both often intermingle and are more alike than either are with monkeys or humans. There are mountain and valley vanara.

Preferring to live in hills and crags of the Ondon Mountains, the mountain vanara could almost pass for humans or elves at a glance.

They usually are built similarly to elves-- tall with slender builds-- with similar facial structures and even have point ears. Unlike elves, their pointed ears tend to be much more pronounced and bestial. The biggest give away to their vanaran nature are their prehensile simian tails, long fingers and toes, and pronounced canines. They often have lighter hair from blond to brown to red hair that matches the fur on their tail and some even have thick fur-like hair on their bodies as well.They have the same range of eye colors as humans that flash to red when angry or in battle.

Mountain vanara are known to be a little more reserved than their valley kin and tend to build small villages, usually around a sacred tree or spring or in or around an ancient temple, where they can live simply and carefree lives. They tend to be the most pious and most vanaran priests for both the mountain and the valley vanara. This doesn't mean they are not known for their trickery and playfulness but they do tend to be more responsible when it comes to duties.

Valley vanara are noticeably more ape-like than their mountain cousins.

Valley vanara, covered in a coat of white, grey, black, brown or orange fur, with elongated muzzles, large lip-less mouths, big, round ears and facial fur, more closely resemble the "monkey-folk" that are described in popular legends. Some have non-prehensile tails and other have either extremely short or no tails. They tend to have slightly longer limbs than their mountain cousins and their eyes are usually only black or brown in hue that also flash red when enraged.

Valley vanara are hunter-gatherers who live in small family groups usually sharing territory around a central point of interest. They have a more laissez-faire lifestyle, doing as they please, and relaxing away most of their days. Due to their more wild environment, they do have to contend with predators and evil creatures more frequently than mountain vanara. For this reason they have more of a reputation as warriors and hunters than their cousins.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity increases by 2.
Age. Vanara have lifespans equivalent to humans.
Alignment. Vanara
 Size. Vanara are similar in size and stature to humans, standing between 5 and 6 feet, with slender builds. Your size if medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Tree Climber. Because of your monkey-like hands and feet, you are almost as well acclimated to climbing as walking. You have climbing speed of 3/4 your walking speed rounded down (minimum 20 feet).
Primal Pounce: You may use Dexterity when determining your jump distance.

Extra Language. You can read, write, speak and understand common, Vanaran, and one extra language.

Subraces. There are two subraces of vanara; the mountain vanara and the valley vanara.

Mountain Vanara
Ability Increase. Your Wisdom increases by 1.
Skill Proficiency. You have proficiency in the Acrobatics skill.
Prehensile Tail: Can pick up and carry small objects but not use as weapons. Can use Sleight of Hand with tail.

Valley Vanara
Ability Increase. Your Strength increases by 1.
Skill Proficiency. You have proficiency in the Athletics skill.

Bite. Your jaw is a strong natural weapon, which can be used to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.

I wanna note, Vanara are found elsewhere and there is more than one "monkey king". I hope you guys enjoy my take on this classic race from hindu mythology and Oriental Adventures.

A House Divided: The Hamutian Religion

First, let me clarify the nomenclature involved in describing Hamutian subjects:

Hamut means "kingdom" in Hamutian, the Hamuts are the two kingdoms,  Hamutia refers to both kingdoms and all territories they control, and the people and all things from Hamutia, collectively, are described as Hamutians. Hamutia is split into two kingdoms: Ptah-Hamut to the west of the Hamutian Sea and Raj-Hamut to the east of the Hamutian Sea. Peoples from Ptah-Hamut are called Ptah-Hamuts and peoples from Raj-Hamut are called Raj-Hamuts. They speak Hamutian and their gods are collectively part of the Hamutian pantheon.

The Hamutian religion is one that focus on creation, preservation, and destruction of everything from the universe to the individual.

Faiths of Sublanarya: Mal-Dorig the Dread Conqueror

Among the gods, there are mortals who rose to prominence and challenge the dynasty of Grimnir Blue-Cloak for dominion of Narya itself. The story of one such god, a god whose name and story inspires ambition, cruelty and tyranny, began in the Wyrd Wars of the First Epoch.

Not much is known from the first epoch, as much of the history and lore were lost and the gods that reigned are either dead or do not linger on the memory of it, but the final era is known to have been a time of endless war. Empires rose and fell, conquering and destroying each other, mortals became gods and even immortal gods met their demise, the landscape was torn apart by magic and the bones of men littered the and, eventually, human civilization was left in cinders. The greatest conqueror was Mal-Dorig.

Mal-Dorig was born a slave of an old serpent empire that once covered southern Sublanarya.

His people, the Mal, were enslaved long before he was born and trained as foot soldiers for the reptillian's endless conquest. The reptillians usually preferred their slaves docile and transformed, but Mal-Dorig's people were valued for their ferocity and cleverness and were resistant to transformation. Mal-Dorig was the result of generations of breeding to create the perfect warrior but the yuan-ti created their own end. Mal-Dorig noticed his masters, naturally cold and calculating, had become fat, decadent and lazy, and, when a slave of Mal-Dorig's caliber notices that those who wield the whip and lash have grown weak they make their move. The serpents were recovering from the celebration of Mal-Dorig's latest victory when he led the Mal to raze the imperial capital and slay their old masters.

Mal-Dorig then led his army of slaves, of the Mal and all the others freed from the serpents, across the realm. He conquered most of Sublanarya and beyond, freeing slaves from their inhuman monsters but also enslaving/slaying all who resisted, razing cities to the ground. Many temples and libraries were annihilated.  It was the latter act that destroyed many records of this age. In place of the worship of the old gods and histories, great monuments were built to the conqueror. His arrogance grew and his designs on the world did too. He gathered power, conquering enemies, and sought to conquer the world. Eventually, he came to blows against enemies he could not surmount and was wounded in battle. He lay dying on the battlefield and feared an end to his conquest.

That was when he was visited by the worse half of the trickster god Puck, his beautiful and terrible shadow, Darkheart. Darkheart schemed, endlessly, to defeat the gods and bring about the end of the world. It was to this end that he helped Mal-Dorig to achieve godhood and to repay him as a general in some divine war to come or in the end-times.

He led Mal-Dorig to a dark forge in the bleakness of Hades, where he had taken Brigid the Smith hostage, forcing her to pour her talents into building a helm and suit of armor the likes of which the world had never seen. It was made from the void shadows itself. Mal-Dorig donned the armor and was changed. His cruelty, malice, cunning and strength multiplied.

He became a god.

With monuments already built in his name and legions of warriors at his beck and call, his return was given divine recognition by his armies and they followed him without question. His armies redoubled their efforts and the last of his enemies fell before him. It seemed none could touch the conqueror as his army swelled with new followers, picking up demons, devils, giants, elementals and all evil beings who wished to follow his conquest over the forces of good. Thanks to the armor built by Brigid the Smith, it seemed that Mal-Dorig was unstoppable, and his forces overwhelmed countless heroes and gods alike. He was unstoppable.

Eventually, Mal-Dorig led his army to the gates of heaven itself and laid siege to the home of the gods. It seemed all was lost but, even in darkest times, there is hope. A light in the dark. For as Mal-Dorig and Darkheart concerned themselves with conquering Heaven, they left their dark forge in the underworld unguarded.

A young hero, Zyghardt, mentored by the hero god and the godling sons of the fire goddess Pyrra, Strata and Nimb, made their way to the dark forge. There they freed Brigid the Smith, the sister of the twins, and she set to making weapons that could harm Mal-Dorig. For her brothers, she finally crafted for them great bolts of lightning to smite their foe and the brothers became the new masters of the storm. And, for the young hero, Brigid the Smith forged a sword called "Dawnbreaker".

The storm twins first set out against Mal-Dorig. Nimb threw lightning bolt after lightning bolt and Strata shook the dark Armin with his thunderous voice. Their onslaught set the army into disarray and forced Mal-Dorig to enter the fray. He tore the brothers down from the sky and would have slain them a moment later if not for the intervention of the Zyghardt wielding Dawnbreaker.

The hero swung his blade, the light reflected from it shining in Mal-Dorig's eyes, causing him to stagger back for a moment before turning his attentions to the hero. The two fought, brutally, before Mal-Dorig knocked Zyghardt to the ground, placing his foot upon him, and demanding his submission. He offered the hero a place in his court after he conquered heaven.

In defiance, Zyghardt struck Mal-Dorig's foot, piercing his armor, even as the dread lord crushed him beneath his boot. Mal-Dorig was crippled by the blade, his armor pierced, and for a moment he was vulnerable. The brothers renewed their attack and their blows tore his armor apart.

The battle recommenced for seven days and seven nights, but eventually the forces of good won the day and the Mal-Dorig was defeated.

Before they could take him prisoner, Darkheart whisked the injured villain away and Mal-Dorig vowed that the next time he lay siege to heaven that it would fall.

As long as there are those wishing to rule their world, Mal-Dorig will inspire cults and temples across Narya. They pray to him for guile to outsmart their rivals and strength to defeat/conquer their enemies.