Maered (3.5e Deity)



Summary::Stripped of much of his power and chained to an iron throne, Maered continues to struggle against the shackles that bind him, an eternal example for all his followers.

The second son of a powerful over-deity, Maered was never good enough compared to his older brother. Regardless of how hard he tried, he could never find any worth in the eyes of anyone, and even when his accomplishments were greater than any other's, his brother took claim of the fame. Finally however, Maered accomplished a feat that his brother could not take the fame for, beating him in one-on-one combat. Finally seeing his second son succeed, Maered's father praised him for his prowess, and showing his favor for the first time upon his son; yet the older brother was angered, and in his fury he committed patricide and ordered Maered to be secretly taken and chained deep within the prison, his eyes burned out so that the last sight he would ever see would be his triumphant brother taking the throne by force.

Years became decades as time passed, but Maered never forgot his hate at his brother's crimes. Slowly, Maered changed, accepting the darkness within. He began changing with the darkness, until the surrounding darkness didn't bother him at all, and knew that he would do anything for freedom. After accepting the darkness within him, Maered was able to escape from his prison, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake and a message for his brother that he would be back.

From there he began to wage a guerrilla war against his brother, one that took many months before coming to a bloody end as Maered slew him, but not before the older brother uttered a curse upon the younger one, that he would never have what he truly wanted. Maered scoffed at this, for what he wanted was right in his grasp--the throne! He ascended the throne, meaning to use the new power to allow everyone to be free of the chains that bound them just as he had broken his own, and then his brother's curse came into effect. Magical chains grew from the throne, restraining him to it and leaving him unable to move, now immobilized as well as blind. Restrained and almost powerless, Maered finally understood his brother's curse, for he then understood that what he had wanted more than the throne, more than anything else, was his own freedom to be under no man's law but his own, yet now he had not even the power to stand. Millenia have passed since then, and Maered has grown bitter and melancholy, unable to use even a fraction of his full power in his current state, yet ever straining against the bonds that hold him in an attempt to break free.

Dogma
Just as Maered broke free of his prison and slew his oppressors by force, so do his clerics encourage those under tyranny to do the same. Sometimes, they even break those free who are happy under rule, saying that in the end no man should live under another's whip. However, the evil followers of Maered see death as the ultimate freedom from mortality and deliver it to people, at times coming at odds with the good clerics who strive to only free people from dictatorship rule.

Clergy and Temples
The followers of Maered are often templars and battle-priests, practicing the martial arts of war to hone their ability to free people from evil rulers and the like. Free spirits and oppressed people often turn to Maered, seeing his story as one which they can follow, though his clerics warn of the prospect of too much power over other people, pointing out what happened to Maered when he took the throne despite his benevolent intentions.