Diluvia (Deity)

Diluvia is the central deity of The Church of Diluvia (Diluvianism), the dominant religion on the supercontinent of Eingrad. She is the primordial goddess of water, and later worshipped as goddess of all living things after she became incarnate through her avatar, called a Grail (or Aasimar), Lorelei, two millennia ago. While not being revered as the creator of the World itself, her worshipers claimed that she gave life to the natural world. Her worshipers also contend that she was the creator and source of all mortal races. Diluvia was first worshipped in ancient Axiphos along with the other deities in their pantheon. After the period of her existence as Lorelei, known as the Era of Lorelei, her followers evangelized all throughout Eingrad. Diluvianism is the definitive religion for most humans and halflings, as well as a fair number of other races. Her revelation is collected into the Diluvian holy text, the Somnolence.

Role In Creation
From legend, the world before Diluvia was a barren, desolate place. Creation of the sun, sky, and land preceded Diluvia's arrival, however it was but a vast nothingness betwixt the Black. Perhaps inspired by prehistoric Axiphosi explorers of the Glasslands, the World was raw earth sundered by the beating sun. Diluvian is said to have descended down from the Black to the earth out of loneliness. She disrobed and bared her naked body for the earth, and her dress became the Endless Ocean. Diluvian wrapped her arms around the earth as she laid with it, and the imprints could become the numerous rivers across all of Eingrad. Impregnated by the earth, she gave birth to all life, plants, animals, and mortals alike. Tired from her labor, she retreated back into the Black for cyclical slumbers. Her dreams are said to be the way in which she interacts with the world, granting mortal intermediaries (like clerics and warlocks) aspects of her divinity.

Era of Lorelei
According to the Somnolence, Lorelei was the sole incarnation of the goddess Diluvia. Doctrine states that Lorelei was a beautiful human girl, born in -20 AL to coastal Axiphosi tribe. As a young child she is said to have fell deathly ill to an unknown infectious disease (believed to be leprosy), forcing her parents to cast her out into the ocean. In Diluvia's greatest and longest dream since creation, Diluvia found the ill-fated girl and gave her mercy. With her dying breath, Lorelei formed a pact with the goddess, giving Diluvia her body in exchange for the eradication of her people's disease.

Lorelei returned to shore an entirely different entity. She gained golden hair and golden eyes, wielding unimaginably powerful magic impossible by even modern techniques. Some time later, Lorelei would venture to the ancient city of Arcadia ("Akkadia" in ancient Axiphosi) to spread the word of Diluvia. Her followers would call her the Grail, or Aasimar in ancient Axiphosi, worshipping her as the chalice that collected Diluvia's waters. She would eventually be joined by her companion and later husband Anton, as well as her beast familiar Kita, performing teaching and working miracles for the people of Axiphos. The Somnolence even states that the Sea of Iskandar was created by her hand to provide nourishment to the northern inlands. In the year 0 AL, Diluvia would finally wake from her dream while Lorelei was in a place called the Arbor Sepulchre. As Diluvia ascended from her vessel, Lorelei laid peacefully to the earth and died.

Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Lorelei existed historically, although the quest for the historical Lorelei has produced little agreement on the historical reliability of the Somnolence and on how closely the legendary Lorelei reflects the historical Lorelei. Lorelei was a female of golden hair and golden eyes, who traveled to the city of Arcadia and began preaching. In certain artifacts, Lorelei is depicted with two figures that vary in their appearance. One of the figures, a male, is typically referred to as Anton. The other, a monster or beast, is referred to as her familiar Kita. To date, her burial place, the Arbor Sepulchre, has not been formally located; while several places have been suggested, its true location has been lost to time. After her death, the community of followers she amassed what would become the Church of Diluvia.

Diluvianism
The Church of Diluvia is the most structured religious organization in all of Eingrad. While it has historically been linked to Axiphos, it is now a politically neutral entity thats goal is to preach the teachings of Lorelei across the world. Higher Church leadership is made up entirely of women, on the basis that Lorelei was a woman; however, men may take up priesthood below the rank of bishop. Led by their Grand Prioress, the Church possesses its own military wing, the Antoneum, and headquarters, the Blue Cathedral, in Ithaca. The Church's calendar (AL, "after Lorelei") is used as a standard in all of Eingrad, with 0 AL centered on Lorelei's death.

Game Master's Notes
Diluvia is inspired by several water deities, including Tiamat and Poseidon, as well as traditional fantasy nature gods like Chauntea. Lorelei and the Church of Diluvian are primarily imagined from Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church, respectively.