Rhadamanthus (3.5e Deity)

Summary::Rhadamanthus the Stone Judge is the god of justice, order, wisdom, and respect. Born of disapproval, he opposes Nemesis Rhamnusia.  His scion are the 9 Judge Knights of the Ordo Inquiere.

Origin
As Hiranyagarbha, father of the gods, returned to the world he found it dominated by the beings known as dragons. They made laws as they pleased, and hypocritically broke them with no recourse. To oppose them he created Rhadamanthus the Stone Judge, arbiter of what is fair and right, and Nemesis Rhamnusia, who kept contracts and enforced justice. These two creatures born of disapproval to the inequality before them, they met out justice and helped those who were wronged.

The tales say Rhadamanthus was a golem carved from stone. The prayers of justice from mortalkind were so strong, it was given life and immediately sought out the wrongdoers and brought them in to be judged. Though this miracle the father of the gods took notice, and ascended him to the role of judge of all things. Devoid of a heart, it can judge all things fairly, with logic and efficiency.

Regardless of the method of creation, he would later lose his allies to the darkness. As one would expect, he found the fallen gods to be guilty of being traitors, and was the one who sentenced them to their prisons. He maintains their prisons, and the rumors of the logos malius circumventing their punishment concerns him greatly.

Description
Rhadamanthus' true form is obscured, but through visions he has always appeared as a giant stone golem, or a giant, in black robes and with a large stone mask. Some say the mask is his face. The face is given a perpetual scowl of disapproval regardless of mood, and is said to be quite intimidating to those with sin in their hearts. However, Rhadamanthus rarely deals the punishments himself, for he is a judge. The task was once the realm of his counterpart, Rhamnusia, but with her fall from grace another god, At Tawwab the Lord of Sin, has taken over the role. As a result, they are often found close after each other. The only punishment he concerns himself with personally is the imprisonment of the logos malius.

Though his facial expressions are fixed, he is said to be lengthy with words when speaking about law, with a detail beyond compare. He is ever focused on the tasks given to him, and completes each dutifully. Though his efforts, he believes that an orderly society is the best society, for the unexpected brings with it trouble.

Rhadamanthus is typically associated with his favored creature, the eagle. The eagle's regal appearance commands respect, and it is commonly seen as a messenger to the gods.

Dogma
Rhadamanthus is concerned with law and order, and as such is a favor to judges and police all over. His dogma is precise, leaving little room for interpretation and vagueness, and his laws immutable and strict. Each law serves a purpose to better the community, or at least so his followers would agree. The followers of Rhadamanthus are often difficult to work with, for they are determined and insistent to a fault. They pick apart things and leave no stone unturned, but to their credit they are also known to be fair and equally hard on all parties. They have an unshakable willpower beyond any mere being.

While other goes put all their power in a single scion, Rhadamanthus found it best to split up his power into his 9 Judge Knights of the Ordo Inquiere. The Ordo Inquiere organization is the business end of his church involved in law and order, and among them 9 are said to hold divine power over all others. This makes them weaker individually, but they are also one of the only scions to have an active and obvious prescent in the mortal world. These judges are usually only called in for special events and important trials, and their decisions can effect the law for generations to come. The exact nature to qualify to become one of the nine is as complex as it is obscure, and its said that whatever gift one receives to obtain a fragment of their power forever changes them permanently into avatars of justice.

Clergy and Temples
The temples of Rhadamanthus are utilitarian, and are often courtrooms both in form and function. He desires little fanfare with his religion, merely order and the proper rule. His temples often incorporate stone, or embossed images of his face next to the rules of law.

His clergy dress as judges, or if part of the ordo inquiere, in steel or stone armor and gray, silver, and black motif. Though often mundane and dull, the suits of armor of the ordo inquiere are often quite ornate and fancy. His favored weapon, the light hammer, represents the gavel of a judge.

Pantheon
Rhadamanthus is a god of the Logos Benius pantheon, on planet Maya.