SHADOWBOOK

Shadows being what they are, I needed their religion to be spooky. I’m using some of the aesthetic hallmarks of a Religion of Evil — priests wear black robes and do spooky rituals in imposing and creepy buildings that resemble twisted cathedrals, with some Lovecraftian elements, etc. Festivals resemble Early Modern conceptions of a Witches’ Sabbat (dancing naked around fires, etc.). Animal sacrifice probably isn’t as common among Shadows as it was among historical pagans, but there are some rituals that involve everybody getting drenched in blood. Debauched sexual rituals are definitely a thing, though I probably won’t go into them because that’s not the kind of book I’m writing. The gods themselves are loosely inspired by the Daedric Princes from the Elder Scrolls series of games, although their actual role in Shadow society is more benevolent. In short, Shadow religion is intended to look very scary to outsiders, but it isn’t. There’s a bit of history behind this pantheon of mine. My initial attempt at creating a religion for Shadows was basically just Wicca, because at the time I believed that Wicca’s mythology and concepts were universal. They’re very much not; they’re all a product of pseudo-history from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Myths, deities, and rituals that I thought were part of my ancient cultural heritage ended up being baseless and facile, not to mention appropriative. When I learned that, it shook me to my core. I don’t have a true pagan heritage of any kind, no native gods. So, this fictional religion is an attempt to create a mythological, mystical, and shamanistic tradition that is uniquely and entirely mine. Previously in my attempts to make pantheons, I have conflated gods from many different cultures together into abstract archetypes that I thought was the most “universal” form of that deity. That was, in brief, extremely misguided. What I’ve learned through my process of creating this religion is that fictional gods are more authentic when they are intensely specific to their unique culture and its values. I’ve put a lot of thought into what Shadows would worship and why. For example, Shadows are nocturnal, so they revere the Moon over the Sun. They have no concept of sin. Their values include introspection and accepting the darker parts of one’s personality instead of suppressing them, so some gods are personifications of darker impulses. There’s no specific god of sex, because most gods are associated with sexuality in one way or another. Shadows from other parts of Umbrgard may have different beliefs or emphasize different gods, as is true of polytheistic religions in real life. For example, the Shadows who live in the Underworld will not recognize the Moon and other sky deities. Shadow views of death are also unusual, because they believe that one can choose to either go up (to a dark divine realm called Thester) or down (to the Underworld; I’m considering that the dead might actually continue to exist alongside the Shadows that live there). My main source of inspiration for how this religion works is Ancient Greek paganism, because that’s what I know the most about (even though Umbragard’s culture is mainly British-based), but Umbragard’s gods are its own. I’ve also used a lot of my own intuition to determine the gods’ names and their roles in mythology. This is therefore the most organic and authentic-feeling fictional religion I’ve created.

The children of the primoridal gods Nyctu (the night sky, "Void Above") and Areoth (the mists of the underworld, "Void Below."). Liath is the personification of the Moon, and functionally the head of the pantheon. She is associated with good fortune and abundance. A nocturnal society would be utterly dependant on the moon for agriculture as well as timekeeping, so she rules the cycles of nature and bestows the knowledge to understand them. She and the Night Wind are considered the divine ancestors of Shadows and other night creatures. There’s definitely a myth about why the Moon has phases, but this myth probably focuses on why she is bright instead of why she is dark. She is inextricably tied to darkness but never fully apart of it, and that matters to Shadows. Ildos is the Night Wind, usually depicted as a man with the wings of a bird or bat. He brings the darkness with him at night, and is associated with mist and storms. While Liath has a very dependable and loving personality, Ildos is unpredictable, lustful, and more indifferent towards humans. He is as erratic as the weather, and associated with sudden fortune or misfortune. Although he’s the wind, he’s really a personification of folds, which are a magical substance that Shadows wear instead of clothing. Folds look like robes woven of black mist, and are the source of a Shadow’s power. Therefore, Ildos is associated with strength, power, and protection, and one’s personal sense of identity. He’s also a psychopomp who brings the souls of Shadows to one of their possible afterlives. I’ve decided that Night-Gaunts exist in Umbragard, and that Shadows consider them sacred to Ildos. Tiphra is the Twilight and the god of beauty. He is a personification of dusk, the liminal blue-gray light between day and night, and the vivid colors of the sunset. He is associated with dew, flowers, and nocturnal animals. He is also associated with storytelling, singing, and theater. He appears as a gentle and beautiful young man, with a playful and joyful personality. However, being a Shadow god, he has a very pronounced dark side. Books like The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Secret History have really drilled into me that pursuing beauty over all other things can be very dangerous. Vhasta is the Night Stalker and the resident Horned God of this pantheon (though not the only one). He is the god of the wilderness and hunting in all its forms — not just the hunting of animals, but also the “hunting” of humans for their life-force (which Shadows consume to thicken their folds). He wears a cloak covered in moss and feathers, either has antlers or wears an antlered headdress, and wields a white tusk or claw as a spear. He eternally hunts The Lurker, and when he catches her (probably sometime in August), they have sex and she kills him in the process — not on purpose, but simply as consequence, because she is a dangerous monster. When Vhasta dies, he goes to the Underworld and becomes the mate of Kerre, the bat queen. He eventually returns with a procession of the dead, a Wild Hunt, with Gren as his mount. He is therefore associated with death and rebirth, and he is probably worshipped through ecstatic trance and other shamanic practices. He has many names, including Woesta, Kartakas, and Karnannen. Gren is the Lurker, the beast-goddess. While Vhasta is usually stoic, Gren is almost always impassioned. She is the goddess of strong emotions and violent or lustful impulses — basically, pure id. She is associated with Umbragard’s monstrous wildlife, such as Wargs, dragons, and a beast called a sarbin (basically if a bull were carnivorous). She is also associated with the “hunter’s ecstasy” that comes at the moment he catches and kills his prey. She is the spirit of the animal that dies, and the hunter must pay homage to her in return for the animal’s life. This extends to the frenzy of battle and the taking of human lives in battle. She also represents the most raw and animalistic form of sexuality. She usually is depicted as a beast, sort of lionlike but with sarbin horns (that resemble a rhinoceros’s), and she will have a beast’s head if depicted in humanoid form. Azothis is the Magician, the god of magic and arcane knowledge. They can appear in many forms — a stereotypical old and wise wizard, a beautiful Witch Queen, a child, an animal — but they usually appear as an androgynous person with long blond-black ombre hair, wearing green and purple robes and gold jewelry. Their basic aspect and personality is a very Hermetic interpretation of the god Hermes. (I almost always visualize them carrying a caduceus, though I probably won’t include this.) They are a trickster deity, and a lot of myths probably concern their misadventures. They are associated with wisdom, storytelling, and initiation. Their symbols are snakes, foxes, and eyes. “Azothis” is not their real name, it’s a use-name that they allowed me to use. Azoth is a word that alchemists used to describe quintessence, the substance of the Philosopher’s Stone, but it’s actually just the Arabic word for mercury. Sograth is the Dream, the god of dreams, nightmares, and travel. Because Umbragard exists in a magical Otherworld dimension (which I’ve been calling Aion), any sort of travel within it is akin to dreaming. This includes both physical and magical travel; Sograth is the god of portals, and one must have their permission in order to use portals. They rule all the changeable weirdness of the Otherworld, and the boundary between worlds is their domain. They also are associated with divination and prophecy, and the peace of sleep. They wear a dark blue traveling cloak with the hood up, and carry a lantern.

Anassa is the daughter of Liath and Ildos, and a sovereignty goddess. She personifies the physical land of Umbragard itself, and both political and magical power over it. A king or queen of Umbragard may only rule with her consent. Before their coronation, the monarch must experience a ritual called the Rite of the Onyx Throne, in which they learn her true name and gain power over the land (as well as a sympathetic connection to it). If the monarch abuses their power, she can revoke it. This manifests as famines, storms, military losses, and other disasters. If the monarch doesn’t get their act together, so the legend goes, they will be out of power (likely dead) within a year. Anassa appears as a woman with the face of a barn owl and a white feathered cloak. Her name is simply a Greek word meaning “queen” — it’s not her real name, but she hasn't given me a different one. She has four husbands. The Four Dark Lords are Anassa’s husbands. I’m exploiting the difference between mythology and religion here; mythologically, they are different figures with different parentage and backstories, but in the context of religion, they are all aspects of the same deity. They are all associated with altered states of consciousness, death, and rebirth: Phylox is the Lord of Nightmares, and has antlers. He wears a deer skull mask, nad has batlike wings. He is the son of Vhasta and Kerre, and follows his father up from the Underworld. He is the god of ghosts, nightmares, and madness, and gives spiritual insights by means of Lovecraft-style insanity and delirium. He’s very likely associated with hallucinogens. Sograth is his tutor. Boranzath is the Lord of Frenzies, the son of Vhasta and Gren. He is bloodthirsty and represents the ecstasy of violence, but also liberation and destruction of old patterns. He has bull’s horns. Atellis is the Lord of Pleasures, the son of Tiphra, and… a less-extreme and less-evil version of Slaanesh, let’s say. He is a god of festivals and excesses, joy, and the thrill of new experiences. He usually appears to be dripping with… something. He has goat’s horns. Teloch is the Lord of Secrets, the son of Azothis. He acts as a confessor, so Shadows can go to him and tell him things that weigh upon them. (Though this is less like confession and more like telling secrets at a slumber party.) He collects their secrets in little bottles and probably feeds off of them. He gives secret knowledge and advice in return. His name is the Enochian word for death, implying a death-related aspect that hasn’t presented itself yet. He has ram’s horns. Komm is the Sun. Shadows aren’t big fans of the sun, to put it bluntly (it doesn’t kill them the way it might kill vampires, but it gives them migraines and they avoid it). In mythology, the Sun was born in the Underworld, which is why he climbs out of it and returns to it each day. The Moon called his presence to bring warmth and make plants grow, but he was so unruly and dangerous that he nearly destroyed the world. The gods forced him to follow a set path across the sky each day so that he will behave himself and calmly do his job while the Shadows sleep. There’s probably a separate myth about the seasonal tradeoff — Shadows complain about the Sun and demand more darkness, but with less sun, the world grows so cold that they can barely live. Some compromise must have been reached. Most of the gods only tolerate him, except Tiphra, who’s in love with him.

Liath, The Moon Domains/Attributes: The moon, light, good fortune, agriculture, abundance, time, the duality of the soul, practical knowledge of cycles and processes. Epithets: Mother, the Bright, the Gentle, Palace: The Twelve Heavenly Palaces (i.e. the signs of the Zodiac) Animals: Barn owls, white horses, unicorns, wolves. Plants: Apples (especially moonapple), moonwort, willow, lilies, white flowers. Symbols: Crescent moon, mist. Planet: The Moon Elemental Affinity: Light Colors: Silver, white, black Crystals: Diamond, moonstone, selenite, clear quartz and black quartz Zodiac Signs: Cancer, Libra Tarot Cards: The Moon Ildos, The Night Wind Domains/Attributes: Folds, weather (wind, rain, clouds), sudden fortune or misfortune, stars, protection, power, portals, death and passage to the afterlife. Epithets: The Howling, Misty, Enveloping, Palace: The Howling Caverns, a network of caves in a mountain that the wind blows through. Animals: Most birds, bats, Stryges, Night-Gaunts Plants: Mugwort, asphodel, poppy, ash, hemlock, mint. Symbols: Folds, feathers, black cloth Planet: Uranus, Jupiter Elemental Affinity: Darkness Colors: Black, midnight blue, dark purple. Crystals: Onyx, black tourmaline Zodiac Signs: Aquarius, Scorpio Tarot Cards: Tiphra, The Twilight Domains/Attributes: Beauty, liminality, blessings, sublimity, joy, love, peace, theater, bards, jesters, storytelling. (A personification of Lestat’s “Savage Garden.”) Epithets: The Beautiful, Palace: The Palace of Nightfall, made of sunset clouds and the mists of dusk, both dark and bright. Animals: Bats, cats, owls, raccoons, deer, fireflies, other crepuscular animals, swans Plants: Night-blooming flowers, roses, jasmine, hawthorn, elder, citrus fruits. Symbols: Stars, lakes, most kinds of flowers Planet: Venus Elemental Affinity: Water (mist, dew) Colors: Lavender, gray, blue, teal, pink, orange (sunsets) Crystals: Opal, lapis lazuli, jade, citrine, malachite Zodiac Signs: Taurus, Virgo Tarot Cards: Vhasta, the Night Stalker Domains/Attributes: Hunting (both kinds), forests, swamps, the wilderness in general, herding, death, rebirth, ecstatic trance. Epithets: The Hallowed, the Kissed, the Whispered Palace: None, simply the woods itself. Animals: Deer, wolves. Plants: Oak, pine, holly, yew, wilderwort, hellebore, foxglove, fern, Black Pearl, mushrooms and mosses. Symbols: Antlers, animal masks, a spear, bones, berries. Planet: Saturn Elemental Affinity: Earth Colors: Red, green, brown Crystals: Agate, carnelian, garnet, tiger’s-eye, jet Zodiac Signs: Capricorn, Sagittarius Tarot Cards: The Hunter (The Hanged Man) Gren, The Lurker Domains/Attributes: Raw emotions such as anger and lust, wild animals, demons, battle, taking a life. Epithets: The Savage Palace: Her lair, usually believed to be a cave and an entrance to the Underworld. Animals: All animals, but especially sarbin and beasts like manticores and leucrotta. Plants: Marrowroot, bloodroot, pomegranate, bat’s wing (a swamp plant), cypress. Symbols: Horns, blood, animal heads or skulls Planet: Mars Elemental Affinity: Fire Colors: Red, orange, black Crystals: Obsidian, sardonyx, bloodstone, ruby, topaz Zodiac Signs: Aries, Leo Tarot Cards: The Beast (The Tower). Azothis, The Magician Domains/Attributes: Magical power, creativity, alchemy, knowledge, fulfillment, fortune, initiation. Epithets: The Hidden, the Cryptic, the Arcane, the Wise, the All-Knowing, the Archmage, Star-Shaper, the Alchemist, the Devious, the Thrice-Great Palace: None Animals: Snake, fox, cat Plants: Sage, mint, rosemary, cinnamon, vervain, hazel, ivy, rowan, mandrake, aconite. Symbols: Eye, wand, mask Planet: Mercury, the Sun Elemental Affinity: Anima Colors: Purple, green, gold Crystals: Quartz, Herkimer diamond, amber, onyx, fluorite, emerald, aventurine. Zodiac Signs: Gemini Tarot Cards: The Magician, The Alchemist (Temperance) Sograth, The Dream Domains/Attributes: Dreams, nightmares, travel, meditation, peace, divination and prophecy, portals, liminal spaces. Epithets: The Guide, the Liminal, the Silent, the Seeking, Palace: The Palace of the Dream, a magnificent palace made of blue glass or ice that reflects the stars and the aurora in the night sky. Animals: Horse Plants: Wormwood, chamomile, lavender, valerian, violet, laurel, belladonna. Symbols: Lantern, stars, mirrors, clouds and mist Planet: Neptune Elemental Affinity: Air Colors: Indigo, pale blue, minty green, violet, black. Crystals: Amethyst, smoky quartz, sapphire, hematite Zodiac Signs: Pisces Tarot Cards: The Lantern (The Hermit)