At Tawwab (3.5e Deity)

Summary::At Tawwab, the Lord of Sin, is the god of purification, restraint, forgiveness, and sin. Born of remorse, he opposes Yimakh Shemo the Furtive Prince.  His scion is Qisas the Redeemer, who runs the city.

Origin
As Hiranyagarbha, father of the gods, returned to the world he found it dominated by the beings known as dragons. They rewarded the sinner and punished the virtuous man. To oppose them he created At Tawwab the Lord of Sin, who brought lost sheep back into the fold, and Yimakh Shemo the Furtive Prince, who erased sins cleans so that one may start again. These two creatures born of remorse of those whose actions brought in sin, they punish the sinner and exalt the kindly so that those who enter heaven are pure and righteous.

Out of the gods, At Tawwab's creation is most mysterious. It is said that the world had become corrupt so none may enter the upper realms, which was guarded by an angel with a burning sword. The priests of the age asked how to enter, and the angel took mercy upon them. He could not allow them to enter as they were, so he brought his sword to earth and spoke through it in the form of a burning tower, bringing the laws and methods of entering heaven. Equipped with the way in, the unknown angel was given a new task. He was exalted unto a deity and made guide for the souls, leading them towards the gates of heaven.

Regardless of the method of creation, he would later lose his allies to the darkness. He treats his fellow god as he does the mortals, and expects to find them within his city, where he shall scourge away the darkness and return his kin back to their original holy forms.

Description
At Tawwab's true form is obscured, but through visions he has always appeared as a tower of smoke and flame, roaring like a swirling tornado and rarely giving glimpses of a radiant entity within. When needed, At Tawwab manifests giant hands and eyes of spectral force, to which there seems to be no end to the number of hands and eyes it can manifest. He works closely with Rhadamanthus, who judges the souls as guilty or innocent, then brought to At Tawwab who removes the sin through punishment and reward. It's unknown what task he performed before Rhamnusia, the previous goddess of punishment, fell.

At Tawwab is known for speaking in obscure and commanding ways. He rarely works directly, using his scion often for day to day activities. Instead he merely seems to be the arbiter to decide the method of punishment or reward and to what degree. Some of the gods suspect At Tawwab's behavior, and especially that of his scion, since both of them have messy dirty jobs where it is easy to fall oneself, but At Tawwab claims it only has righteous thoughts in mind and does not enjoy the punishment, only the eventual and inevitable purification.

At Tawwab is typically associated with his favored creature, the scorpion. The scorpion's tail is a scourge which removes sin from the body and the mind.

Dogma
At Tawwab is concerned with purifying sin, and is more concerned with law and order the afterlife than law and order in the real world. His dogma leads many towards the ascetic life, removing all sources of temptation and denying worldly pleasures in favor for spiritual ones. Restraint is the most powerful tool they have, and they do not fear pain nor suffering. Truly, his followers are fearless and able to endure anything.

His scion is Qisas the Redeemer, the ruler of Poenitentia the Cleansing City. A beautiful city, it is nonetheless a prison of sorts designed to re-educate souls to the righteous way. Its upper levels contain the souls of the pure nearly ready for heaven, while the lower levels are dedicated to the literal scouring of sin out of the bodies of the impure. It is not well addressed, but as a place of punishment it is seem as a minor hell, though escape is not only possible, but expected. Different schools of thought teach different things, some claiming the torments to be mostly metaphysical and short, while others claim the suffering is for trillions of years, with reach and horrific means. Either way, a river of sin pours from the city and rains into the lower realms and beyond, finally dropping into oblivion at the bottom of the multiverse.

Qisas the Redeemer himself is an intimidating figure clad in spiked armor, a giant who oversees all gifts and torments. Curiously it is said he has a wry and dark sense of humor, perhaps jaded by the chorus of sorrow that emanates from under the city's depths. His appearance is a cause of terror in most, but he will often speak openly with those who address him as if they were friends.

Clergy and Temples
The temples of At Tawwab are large and impressive affairs, which serves to remind the people that they are mortal and will soon die. In doing so they promote piety and purity, as well as giving the church an impressive graveyard and catacombs for the dead. The catacombs for the church can extend significantly deep under a church, ever-increasing in size as time goes by.

His clergy dress typically in white, purple, brown, or red robes and black suits, with tight collars or crowns with spiked protrusions upon them to represent Qisas' role, or At Tawwab's divinity. Some have said they are rather dour, always judging others to be more ascetic while they themselves do not follow suit. This is not official dogma however, and many are expected to sacrifice everything they have in ascetic practice.

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