Pantheon overview - White Lodge

Infobox

The White Lodge

Base Info

Alias	- The Lodge - The Lodge of White - The Lodge of Light - The Everglow (by Elves)

The White Lodge is shared ‘seat’ of the Gods, and allows them to be everywhere at once. It does not exist in reality. Ascendancy to the Lodge is the highest level of Ascendancy possible for a soul. It allows a soul to exert immense influence over multiple plains, mainly those of their domain, including the Material Plane of Califhen.

Overview

The White Lodge is considered the highest power in Califhen, with the exception of Space, Time, Fate, and Blood¹. Within the Lodge are Titles that souls from mortal forms ascend to upon achieving ‘Balance of the Four Truths’, the process of which is undefined. Titles are established and abolished as the Lodge itself deems necessary, and can be fought over or die out. Titles serve as designations within which the God acts and watches over the universe. A title is most commonly occupied by a single soul, but can in rare occassions be occupied by up to three souls.

When a soul reaches Godhood, they become incorporeal, near-indestructable, unbound, and immortal. Their ascendancy is broadcast in a way they see fit, but felt by all those faithful to the title, if it was previously occupied. The God will often reign over their own Realm within the Astral Plane, where they shape and mold their perfect world as a blueprint for the Material realm. Old or destroyed gods leave behind their realm ungoverned and unmaintained, often falling into ruin.

Current Title list

Though the titles do not differ in ranking, the titles of Growth, Light and Decay (as past, present, and future) are often considered the core of the pantheon. Their worshippers can be found all over Califhen.

Title	Currect occupant	Alternative titles	Denonym
Godess of Growth & the Journey	Aneon	She Who Lost All, Everchild	Everchildren
God of Light & the Truth	Lito	Steelforged, Godray	Fellen
Godess of Decay & the End	Ta’yen	Plague Queen, Brewlord, the Tunnel	Faetid
God of Matter & the Celestial	Vovodin	Lord of Dust, Wavemaster	Dustborn
Godess of Nature & the Spirits	Juldynar	Many-Horned, Fell Beast	Barkhides
God of Darkness & the Untruth	Olmari	The Unexistant, Lying Prince	Unshades
Godess of Elements & the Reaction	Thil’ir	Graviturgia Superior, Countess of the Frigid Flame	Aethista’s
God of Sight & the Existance	Pelgostr	Domainmaster, Host of the Lodge, Hearthfather	Kindling
Godess of Hope & the Ruination	Urygg	Lady of Despair, the Last Resort, Mother Luck	Forsi
God of Emotion & the Fury	Eppa	The Penitent Host	Pentia’s
God of Corruption & the Mirror	Jol	Wormduke Incarnate, The Wendigo of Origins	Cairnites
God of Myth & the Ancient	N.a. 2	‘Tercir’, Repositorant	Lorcen’s
Godess of Might & the Flesh	We’hnessa Ixciturosa	The Exalted	Untames
Note that there have been occurrences of Titles no publicly known.

Redundant titles

The following is in inexhaustive list of previous titles that were either merged, destroyed, or forgotten.

Title	Reason for redundancy
God of Passion & the Laugh	Tricked into destroying itself
God of Seasons & the Journey	Forgotten
God of Reaping & the Void	Laid vacant for centuries, formally abandoned
God of Terror & the Reckoning	Only existed briefly, then destroyed by the Lodge
God of Speech & the Stars	Dissapeared, never reinstated
God of Trickery & the Dissapointment	Kept secret for ages. Upon its discovery, it destroyed itself
God of Blooming & the Harvest	Usurped / merged with other Titles
God of Order & the Forgotten	Usurped / merged with other Titles
God of Direction & the Books	Usurped / merged with other Titles

Other Pantheonic ranks

The following are an inexhaustive list of other ranks and states of being that occur within or due to the Pantheon’s existance.

• Avatar - An Avatar is a physical manifestation of a higher being, such as a God, Demigod, or Titan. They are pieces of arcane energy severed from the being warped into a separate entity. The severed energy regrows over time, or can be restored by reabsorbing the Avatar.

• Conduit - A Conduit is a living organism, whose purpose to the Pantheon is to allow for a steady arcane bond between realms through which energy can flow. They are living, breathing, walking holy sites. A Conduit can be born as one, chosen by a high-ranking celestial, or trained to become one. It is also possible to become one due to exposure of raw energy, though this can also be very deadly. Those born as conduits may not realize it until they either incidentally reap benefits or become sick due to their affliction, as not sustaining the Conduit’s bond will cause the organism to become ill.

• Shards - Shards are creatures that are able to exist without complete Immateria, but not meant to be. In most species, a creature lacking Space, Time, Fate, or Blood will rapidly deteriorate them, but the accidental or purposful overcoming of this can lead to great powers. Some gods see them as mistakes, others bless them. For example, the God of Myth & Corruption is famous for allowing Shards lacking Time, while the Godess of Decay & the End often allows the lack of Blood.

• Lumodin - Paladin Generals that have been recruited by their respective God. They will often have their own titles and further ranks depending on the being they serve, with Lumodins being the highest tier among them.

• Primordials - Most primordial beings are denizens of the Elemental Planes, from elementals to genasi. The largest of these are the Primordial Titans, who hold sparks of Elemental Essence in their form.

The Everglow Ritual

Within Califhen, the chant that is often regarded as the most infamous due to its frequent use in ceremonies and teachings, is the Everglow Ritual. The chant pronounces in full all current Gods and their respective titles, in a request for their overall favor and worship. It is said that it wards one from the Ire of a particular God, in acknowledging their prescence as one within the Pantheon of all.

When a change in the pantheon occurs, the wording of the Ritual is adapted to suit the new occupancy of the White Lodge.

Everglow Ritual

Hear us, all who behold the prayer of the Eternal Glow. All who take a seat at the table of the White Lodge. All who behold how our souls cry out to you.

In this ritual we consider you as one, as the stars who can behold in the past, present, and future. Hear our prayer, for the souls of us and our loved ones.

To Aneon, Goddess of Growth, She who lost everything, we pray our journey. To Thil’ir, Goddess of Elements, Countess of the Frigid Flame, we pray our retinue.

To Lito, God of Light, The Steel-Forged, we pray our truth. To Olmari, God of Darkness, the Non-Existent, we pray our untruth.

To Eppa, God of Emotion, the Remorseful Host, we pray our anger. To Urygg, Goddess of Hope, Lady of Despair, we pray our ruin.

To the Unnamed, God of Myth, Preserver, we pray our antiquity. To Jol, God of Corruption, Duke of Worms, we pray our reflection.

To We’hnessa-falaghri Ixciturosa, Goddess of Might, The Exalted, we pray our flesh. To Vovodin, God of Matter, Lord of Dust, we pray our heavenly body. To Juldynar, Goddess of Nature, Many-Horned, we pray our spirit.

To Pelgostr, God of Sight, Hearthfather, we pray our existence. To Ta’yen, Goddess of Decay, Plague Queen, we pray our end.

Hear us, ancestors. Hear us, descendants. Hear us, those present. By the grace of the White Lodge we take Fate in our hands, Space in our presence, Time as our master, and our blood as our right. These Four Truths, as four facts, shall yet be ours unto Immateria.

We are. We thank.

Footnotes

1. Space, Time, Fate, and Blood are collectively called Immateria, The Four Truths, or The Four Facts. ↩

2. Traditionally, the occupant of the Myth title dispells their name from existance. It is thought that this is because it limits disturbing those that follow its wake most deepest whenever a new occupant arises. When addressing them, the name of the first occupant ‘Tercir’ is often used. ↩