The gods of Aetheris sit under two opposed cosmic forces: Harmony and Discord. Imperial law, through the Covenant of Illumination, sanctions worship of the Harmony pantheon and forbids the other. That the Discord gods are worshipped all the same, quietly, by people with their reasons, is one of those facts the Inquisitors know about and cannot be everywhere to stop.
For the deep reference (symbols, offerings, followers, temples and the sayings that attach to each god), see the pantheon working document. What follows is the shape of it.
Under the Covenant of Illumination, lawful worship is confined to the Harmony pantheon, and within it to a set list.
Major gods: Aquilon, Astraia, Durandel, Erebos, Helia, Magethos, Oneiroa, Verdantia.
Minor gods: Nocturna, Zephyros.
The remaining Harmony gods, Tempus, Terra and Cindros, are honoured in places without holding official standing. Worship of the Discord pantheon is forbidden outright and suppressed. Anything outside the sanctioned rite is judged by the Inquisitors as either tolerated heritage or discordant tradition, and which one it is is theirs to decide.
Above the Harmony pantheon sits Omnios, supreme arbiter of balance and order, who presides from the Harmonic Sanctum and is invoked in oaths and treaties more than in daily prayer. Below him stand the major gods, and below them the minor.
| God | Domains |
|---|---|
| Aquilon | Weather, Sea, Travel |
| Astraia | Stars, Navigation, Destiny |
| Durandel | Compassion, Endurance, Suffering |
| Erebos | Death, Shadows, Secrets |
| Helia | Sun, Light, Healing |
| Magethos | Magic, Arcana, the Current |
| Oneiroa | Dreams, Visions, Illumination |
| Verdantia | Nature, Growth, Fertility |
| God | Domains |
|---|---|
| Nocturna | Night, Stealth, Protection |
| Zephyros | Air, Music, Inspiration |
| Tempus | Timekeeping, Rhythm, Chronology |
| Terra | Earth, Agriculture, Harvest |
| Cindros | Fire, Forge, Inspiration |
The Discordant pantheon is ruled from the Discordant Abyss by Malethos, embodiment of conflict, chaos and division. Its gods are the sanctioned pantheon turned inside out: where a Harmony god steadies a thing, its Discord counterpart breaks it. Worship is forbidden and actively suppressed, which has never been quite the same as absent.
| God | Domains |
|---|---|
| Fearstorm | Madness, Fear, Nightmares |
| Pyroxis | Fire, Destruction, Ambition |
| Sylvanus | Wilderness, Untamed Nature, Anarchy |
| Echron | Time, Disorder, Change |
| Umbriel | Shadows, Decay, Corruption |
| Vortexus | Conflict, Bloodshed, Havoc |
| God | Domains |
|---|---|
| Ignifex | Molten Fury, Passion, Craft |
| Orraka | Earth, Cataclysm, Change |
| Stratos | Wind, Movement, Freedom |
| Nocturnus | Night, Stealth, Shadows |
| Somnia | Dreams, Chaos, Transformation |
Each Harmony god has its Discordant mirror. The clearest of them:
| Harmony | Discord | The tension |
|---|---|---|
| Helia | Umbriel | Light against decay |
| Durandel | Vortexus | Endurance against strife |
| Aquilon | Fearstorm | The storm outside against the storm within |
| Verdantia | Sylvanus | Cultivated growth against the untamed wild |
| Nocturna | Nocturnus | The night that shelters against the night that hunts |
| Tempus | Echron | Ordered time against broken time |
| Oneiroa | Somnia | Dreams against nightmares |