Hycis Uriris

Hycis Uriris is a goddess in the High Elven Pantheon, whose purview is rebellion, the collapse of the wall between worlds, and the sudden outbreak of magical disaster. She is perhaps the youngest of all the gods in her pantheon, and known by a variety of epithets including the Laughing Chaos and Mother of Titans.

Her symbol is a prismatic splash of colour. As a neutral good deity, she grants her followers access to Air, Chaos, Earth, Fire, and Water domains. Her sacred weapon is the double sword, and those entitled to a proficiency through her are granted mastery of the same.

History

Born in the seduction of Camus Inakas by Shalaevar Shamaris, Hycis's principle intervention against elvenkind was the failure of the Southern Campaign, an action some feel resulted in (or at least helped precipitate) the Great Collapse. She continues to speak whispered plans into the minds of the rebellious to encourage them to lash out against the Emperor.

Relationships

Though a young god by comparison to the rest of her pantheon, Hycis has wasted no time in making enemies, having even alienated Camus Inakas, her father together with Shalaevar Shamaris. Her propensity to break apart elven unity and abuse those who delve too quickly into the arcane has made enemies of much the rest of the pantheon, particularly Rophalin Imperitor, with whom the Atarlie Empire is personally identified, with her father Shalaevar Shamaris as her only ally and mentor.

In particular, she attempts to court the attention of Lysanthir Lugolor, keeping none of those her plans slay and instead offering them up to him. While he accepts the souls of these among all other Elves, he does not approve of her methods, or, it seems, her personally.

Some whisper that she makes plans in the Abyss with the gods of other Pantheons and even the Lords of the Abyss. In particular, she is rumoured to have been among those with whom Gul Spell-Speaker made deals for his own divine mastery of the arcane.

Appearance

Hycis stands head and shoulders above elves, but otherwise appears as a member of their race, with flowing burgandy hair and inkwell eyes. She is said to have a curious youthful impression, in spite of her otherwise fully-grown appearance and demeanor. She often appears in a gown of material that prismatically changes its colour as the eye slides over it.

Realm

Hycis has been cast out by the elvish divine family (and the laws of Cosmology), and so makes her realm for herself in the Abyss, in a territory known as The Titan Wastes, a chaotic swamp-plain of magical energies in their raw and destructive states, at the center of which she maintains a personal sanctum served by the few among her followers who can survive such conditions.

Providence

Hycis is known more for ill than good, but many who petition her do so for her blessing to succeed in their magical experiments - sacrificing less to get knowledge from her and more for her to find her amusement in the suffering of people other than themselves. Her true faithful hear her whispered voice in the back of their minds at odd times, ranging from babble and cryptic nonsense to powerful arcane lore.

Servants

A race of elementals known as the Titans serves Hycis and are frequently sent from her realm into other domains to cause chaos and devastation when the mood strikes their master.

Unique Servants

Itha'katos

An enormous aboleth of incredible age, Itha'katos is a powerful sorcerer with the unfortunate trait of having been made into both an oracle and herald of Hycis. Trapped in a lake at the center of her realm in the Abyss, it is unclear if her herald serves her willingly or as a punishment for some past transgression, and though he is unfailing in his obedience, the two are transparently unfond of each other.

Church

For most Elves, worship of Hycis Uriris is a distasteful and mercifully rare part of the spiritual life of the Atarlie Empire. The vast majority who worship at her temples do so to buy her continued ignorance and divert her attention, though a rare few have the opposite intention, serving as her priests or otherwise worshipping obediently in public or secret, hoping to direct her attention to some end or another.

Worshippers

Rebels who would seek the destruction of the current Empire or overthrow of part or all of its aparatus form the bulk of her true believers and followers, though often these goals are secret, even to others within her church. Some mages, who wish to continue their experiments in oftentimes profane directions, without incurring her wrath, also pay her fealty.

Clergy

Few and far between, Hycis' clergy manage their affairs in covert ways. While publically serving as intercessors in helping the mainstream elven population avoid the wrath of the Queen of Titans, in private, the Clergy are often courting Hycis' attention deliberately, either to earn from her the right to use arcane energies to their own ends, or to direct her wrathful attention at those they perceive as actually needing the "intervention".

In addition to those powers granted by their divine patron, many of Hycis' followers are thaumaturges or theurges, blurring the line between arcane and divine spellcasting.

Temples & Shrines

Temples are small affairs, quite different from those of the more mainstream gods of the pantheon, and in keeping with both Hycis' standing as a new divinity and the church's narrow popular appeal. In keeping with their main draw - averting disaster for magical efforts - they are usually established near centers of higher learning or occasionally directly within arcane laboratories. Most who frequent such temples are not themselves evil or chaotic persons - instead, they are attempting to buy off the Queen of Titans so that they can continue their works in peace.

Holy Texts

Hycis's most holy text is the Doctrine of Lies, a profane and arcane document that might be the smallest of all holy scriptures among gods who maintain the arcane in their portfolio, comprising just three volumes. The text itself is considered heretical and downright incorrect by most other churches within the empire and most schools of magical theory - it is rare to find a copy outside of the collections of her clergy, and it is not taught to laypeople the way the scriptures of many other religions may be.

Church History

Hycis' church is only a generation or two old in elven terms. It has not had the large cultural impact of many of the other churches, and so is not much of a player. It's quick spread, in small but well-spread pockets throughout the empire, is more of a testment to the elven reliance on Arcane magic and their concerns about her intervention than any zeal or passion for her among the Elves as a whole.

Holidays

While not universal and usually only marked by her clergy, her birthday is a sacred day to her true faithful and marked with the sacrificial destruction through burning of arcane texts (and in some rare cases where her followings are large enough to manage it, arcane spellcasters).

Favoured Animals

No one beast is held as sacred to Hycis Uriris.