Aether (3.5e Deity)

Author: Ganteka Future (talk) Date Created: 23 August 2015 Status: Tentative Completion Editing: Clarity edits only please

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Aether, The Sky

This deity is a part of the Deities of Rom.

	Lesser Deity
Symbol:	A cross
Home Plane:	Material Plane
Alignment:	Neutral
Portfolio:	Breathing, Gossip, Rumors, Secrets, Wind
Clergy Alignments:	Neutral, Neutral Good, Neutral Evil, Chaotic Neutral, Lawful Neutral
Domains:	Air, Knowledge, Weather
Favored Weapon:	Bow (any)

\'A-th&r\

Born of the wisps of breath that wash over the land and the last whispered words of The Sleeping God, Aether is an embodiment of air on the Material Plane. His existence ties the Material Plane to the Elemental Plane of Air as he draws power from it as well as fuels it himself.

Aether exists all about the Material Plane, but has no known form himself. He employs many air elementals as heralds to deliver messages and grant the requests of his followers. Aether nearly always designates his heralds to tend to his followers, as he is constantly listening in on the Material Plane. It is told that Aether hears every spoken word, every hushed endearment and every bellowed blasphemy. Though all mortals breathe Aether into their bodies, he can also take that breath away with a torrent of cyclones or howling winds that tear down everything in its path with time.

Aether and his sister, the water goddess Elnade, argue and bicker, driving the weather of many worlds. Some religious scholars suspect that the two deities argue simply out of a sibling rivalry, while others contend that the quarrel began over The Sleeping God's last words, as Aether has never told them to anyone, keeping the secret for himself. The true reason of the feud is unknown to mortals.

Dogma

Speak what you will and Aether will hear your words, but pray that you have the wisdom to hear his response, lest he take his wrath upon you for wasting his time on your ignorance.

Clergy and Temples

Aether is wise and learned, being a keeper of the secrets and knowledge of mortals, gaining secrets simply by his constant habit of always listening to everything upon the Material Plane. Those who wish to learn the truth of an event, recall a forgotten memory or discover a secret often praise Aether, marking their prayer with the sign of the cross. Those who pray to or follow Aether must always be cautious, for Aether is wrathful and temperamental. Thankfully, his vengeance is often quick, as his godly duties keep him far too busy to focus his attention on a single subject for long.

Since it is well known that he listens, some folk keep in mind that a quick prayer to Aether may be just enough to receive divine intervention when situations turn dire. As Aether likes hearing praise of his deeds, he may just assist those who reward his intervening with gracious praise as they spread the word of his doings.

The faithful of Aether often build modest temples for worship. While sparsely decorated, these temples often serve other purposes, such as concert halls, theaters and docking for airborne vessels. These temples typically house at least one grand pipe organ (if the temple is well funded). Occasionally, bard colleges found near temples of Aether for these reasons, which in turn, furthers the spreading of the words of Aether's teachings and deeds through songs and poetry.

Aether has a small instrument named for him, the aetheroarer. This instrument consists of a long, hollow wooden handle with a leather strap attached to one end and another piece of hollow wood attached perpendicularly at the other end. Often, small holes are carved into either pipe, which can be covered by leather straps, for use as a flute-like instrument. The aetheroarer is typically "played" by swinging it at various speeds by its leather strap, producing a chord of notes. Different regions construct and tune the instrument differently. The general shape of the instrument is the source of Aether's holy symbol, a cross, though, in certain regions, this cross takes on the form of a "T" with a loop at the bottom. As Aether's instrument namesake is often wooden, so are his holy symbols, carved from fine, hard woods. Symbols made from brass or silver are fairly common among the most prestigious faithful.

Winged races, cloud giants and storm giants often praise Aether, but so do sailors, who pray for favorable winds, as well as anyone who prays for weather to go their way.

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