The Paragons

In the Shattered Realm, divine order does not rest upon gods but upon the enigmatic and perilous Paragons—24 immortal beings of immense power, each embodying a primal force or aspect of existence. These Paragons are no benevolent shepherds; rather, they are capricious patrons, often more interested in their own agendas than in mortal affairs. Worshiped by those who seek to wield their favour and feared by those who know the price of their gifts, the Paragons offer power, insight, and influence to their followers—but never without cost. Each dwells within a plane shaped by their essence, accessible only to those bold (or foolish) enough to court their presence. In the Shattered Realm, to revere a Paragon is to embrace both danger and transformation, for their blessings can elevate or unravel a mortal soul. ___ ### Alodar *Paragon of Life, Vitality, and Soul* *Altruistic/Good* Alodar is the gentle flame in the darkness, the whisper of breath in a new-born’s lungs. A towering figure of woven light, his body a living lattice of golden veins that pulse like a heartbeat. His face shifts between youthful vigour and aged wisdom, and his hands scatter seeds that bloom mid-air. Where he walks, grass sprouts in his footprints, and his voice hums with the sound of a spring breeze. His eyes are twin suns, but their gaze is gentle—warm as a hearth, never burning. Alodar is worshiped by healers and midwives, who see his touch in every recovery and birth. Though benevolent, he does not shield life from suffering—only ensures that it endures. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#Beacon|Beacon]] – A radiant, ever-bright expanse where the essence of living things gathers like motes of light, swirling in an eternal dance of renewal.* ### Barrogoth *Paragon of War, Destruction, and Slaughter* *Evil/Principled* Barrogoth is war given form, a disciplined butcher who believes in the sacredness of strife. A four-armed behemoth wreathed in the ashes of burned kingdoms, his crimson skin cracked like drought-struck earth. He dons a helm crowned with broken weapons, and in each hand wields a sacred weapon of war: A sword, a torch, a chain and an empty fist. His voice is not one sound, but three layered: the roar of cavalry, the creak of gallows, and the silence of mass graves. Barrogoth does not revel in chaos; he enforces a brutal code: war must have meaning, or it is wasted. His followers are warlords and duellists who swear by his iron tenets. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#Ruinfall|Ruinfall]] – A shattered wasteland of smouldering battlefields, where the echoes of clashing steel never fade and the ground thirsts for blood.* ### Beynn *Paragon of Order, Justice, and Law* *Principled/Altruistic* Beynn is the scales and the sword, the unshakable judge who sees justice as the foundation of civilization. A nameless soldier in unadorned plate armor, his helm devoid of eye slits or insignia. His voice echoes as if spoken by a chorus, and his movements are precise, mechanical. The only break in his anonymity: a single scale hanging from his belt, forever balanced. Beynn despises corruption but understands mercy—his rulings are harsh yet fair. His brother Haphit’s chaos gnaws at him, but Beynn stands resolute, a beacon for magistrates and oath keepers. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#Bastion|Bastion]] – A towering citadel of unyielding stone, where every corridor is a contract, every arch a verdict, and no secret goes unjudged.* ### Cyrix *Paragon of Valour, Courage, and Heroism* *Principled/Good* Cyrix is the fire in the heart of the defiant, the voice that roars "forward" when all seems lost. A scarred lion of a man with flame-red hair and a cloak made of storm clouds. His skin is etched with glowing runes that brighten in battle, and his teeth are filed to points. He stands with one foot always forward, as if mid-charge. Cyrix favours those who rise against impossible odds, not for glory, but because it is right. Paladins and rebels alike invoke his name, though he offers no promises—only the chance to prove oneself. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#Longmarch|Longmarch]] – An endless, storm-battered road winding through valleys of doubt and peaks of triumph, where every step is a test of resolve.* ### Dalgost *Paragon of Home, Family, and Community* *Altruistic/Principled* Dalgost is the mortar between bricks, the hand on a shoulder in times of grief. Their face is a blur of smiling strangers’ features, and their hands are always holding something: a loaf of bread, a child’s toy, a knife to cut the bonds of outsiders. Their voice changes to mimic whoever listens—a mother’s lullaby, a brother’s laugh. They are neither male nor female, only family. While other Paragons demand worship or trials, Dalgost asks only that you tend the fire and pass the bread. To harm a guest in their Realm of Kinstead is the only sin they cannot forgive. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#Kinstead|Kinstead]] – A sprawling, ever-welcoming village where hearths never cool, doors never lock, and no voice goes unheard.* ### Eltia *Paragon of Love, Fertility, and Passion* *Rebellious/Good* Eltia is the spark before the kiss, the reckless abandon of the heart. Her skin the colour of dusk and her hair a cascade of living vines that bloom when touched. Her lips taste of honeyed wine, but her tears are salt and nettles. She moves like a river, her body never fully solid—sometimes translucent, sometimes weighted with desire. Eltia scorns rules that chain love, whether in courtly tradition or cold pragmatism. Her followers are poets and revolutionaries, but also those who love too much—the jealous, the obsessive. She welcomes them all, for even thorns have their place in her paradise. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#The Gardens|The Gardens]] – A labyrinth of blooming vines and hidden glades, where desire takes physical form—roses that sigh, rivers that cling like lovers, and fruits that taste of memories.* ### Fyena *Paragon of Nature, Beasts, and Wilderness* *Rebellious/Opportunistic* Fyena is the hunt and the storm, the claw in the dark. She is not cruel, but neither is she kind. A colossal, six-eyed panther with antlers of gnarled oak and a pelt that shifts between fur and foliage. Her breath reeks of wet earth, and her growl shakes the roots of trees. Prey animals walk unafraid beside her—until she chooses to strike. Fyena aids those who adapt, abandons those who falter. Druids and outlaws revere her, though she offers no blessings, only challenges. To enter her realm is to become prey, or predator, or finally, part of the land itself. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#The Wilder|The Wilder]] – An untamed expanse where forests breathe, rivers change course on a whim, and predators rule without apology.* ### Haphit *Paragon of Chaos, Anarchy, and Impulse* *Rebellious/Opportunistic* Haphit is the laugh in the face of kings, the coin that never lands. A lanky, ever-grinning figure with too many joints, his body a riot of clashing patterns (stripes, spirals, eyes). His face changes with each blink—young, old, beast, void—and his fingers drip paint that alters reality where it splatters. Haphit is the opposite of his brother Beynn, yet not his enemy; chaos, to Haphit, is the universe’s way of staying awake. Thieves and artists pray to him in equal measure, though his "gifts" often come with teeth. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#Fracture|Fracture]] – A realm of shattered logic, where gravity buckles, time stutters, and every rule is made to be broken.* ### Jynryss *(pronounced Jinn-Riss)* *Paragon of Madness, Insanity, and Anguish* *Rebellious/Evil* Jynryss is the whisper in the dark that laughs when you beg for silence. A gaunt, elongated figure, her skin peeling away in fractal patterns to reveal swirling voids beneath. Her face is a shifting mosaic of screaming mouths and weeping eyes, never settling long enough to recognize. Her fingers end in hooks that _pluck_ at the air, unravelling sanity like thread. The air around her hums with a tune only the broken can hear. A jagged circlet of fractured mirrors floats above her brow, each shard reflecting a different, warped version of reality. Jynryss doesn’t seek worship—only victims. Her "blessings" are curses, gifts of terrible clarity that leave her chosen babbling or broken. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#The Brink|The Brink]] – A fractured, ever-shifting nightmare where walls scream, skies bleed, and sanity unravels like a frayed thread.* ### Kahreya *Paragon of Light, Magic, and Elements* *Good/Altruistic* Kahreya is the sun’s kiss, the unseen hand guiding the arcane. An ever-shifting wisp of prismatic energy—sometimes a towering figure wreathed in auroras, sometimes a child-sized spark darting between raindrops. Their voice is the crackle of lightning given words, and their touch leaves temporary tattoos of celestial runes on skin. Mages revere Kahreya as the source of magic, while peasants pray to them for gentle rains and clear skies. Kahreya asks for no temples, only that mortals wield their gifts wisely. Some claim to have glimpsed them—a shimmer in the air, a voice in the wind—but none can say for certain. Astral Plane: Unknown (A growing number of followers believe that [[Planes of Existence#The Shatter|The Shatter]] itself is [[Planes of Existence#Kahreya's Astral Realm|Kahreya’s domain]]) ### Kal-Drameth *Paragon of Death, Murder, and Blood* *Evil/Altruistic* Kal-Drameth is the end that comes for all, but not without purpose. A skeletal giant clad in robes of dried blood, his hollow ribs caging a pulsing black heart. Above his brow floats a circlet of blood that perpetually spills over his skull, yet never stains the bone. His face is a polished bone mask, its expression unchanging. His shadow writhes with the forms of his victims and his voice is the sound of a last breath held too long. Kal-Drameth culls the weak, the corrupt, the unworthy, believing that only through his hand can balance be maintained. Assassins serve him as holy executioners, while the doomed whisper his name like a prayer. To die by his will is to be chosen. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#Necropolis|Necropolis]] – A silent city of bone-white spires, where the dead walk in solemn procession and every shadow hides a blade.* ### Kaldmiir *Paragon of Song, Art, and Revelry* *Altruistic/Rebellious* Kaldmiir is the crescendo, the brushstroke that defies rules, the dance that never ends. He often appears as an unassuming, portly man with a laugh that shakes his triple chins, his cheeks perpetually flushed with wine. His beard is braided with tiny bells, and his fingers—stubby but deft—strum an invisible lute. His belly jiggles like a drum when he walks. Kaldmiir despises stagnation, uplifting artists who break tradition and outcasts who find solace in song. But beware: his gifts can intoxicate, and some who enter his Realm of Mirthreach forget to leave. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#Mirthreach|Mirthreach]] – A sprawling, ever-changing festival where wine flows from fountains, music bends time, and every joy is amplified tenfold.* ### Kiowen *Paragon of Night, Shadow, and Dreams* *Principled/Opportunistic* Kiowen is the veil between waking and sleep, the keeper of hidden truths. She appears to many as a [[Lunari 🛠|Lunari]] child, her body covered in sleek black fur, her ears twitching at unseen whispers. Her eyes are pools of night sky—complete with drifting constellations—and she hums lullabies in a language no one knows, yet everyone understands. Kiowen is neither kind nor cruel, but playfully selective, offering visions to those who intrigue her and nightmares to those who trespass. Scholars and thieves seek her favour, but she answers only to those she favours in turn. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#The Gloam|The Gloam]] – A twilight realm of shifting illusions, where dreams take form and every shadow holds a secret.* ### Koris *Paragon of Knowledge, Wisdom, and Truth* *Good/Principled* Koris is the scholar’s patron, the light in the dark of ignorance. A colossal dragon with scales like parchment, each etched with glowing, ever-shifting text. His wings are tattered scrolls, his breath the scent of aged ink. His eyes are hollow pits where constellations swirl—not to observe, but to _record_. His claws are silver quills that scratch truths into the ground as he walks. Koris despises lies, yet understands that some truths must be earned—or endured. His followers are historians, scientists, and truth-seekers, though many go mad from what they learn. To Koris, enlightenment is worth the cost. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#Sanctum|Sanctum]] – An infinite library where every book is a life, every shelf a timeline, and every truth has a price.* ### Molgeron *Paragon of Disease, Poison, and Plague* *Evil/Opportunistic* Molgeron is the fever that whispers, the parasite that teaches. A bloated mass of tumorous flesh, their body a landscape of weeping sores and pulsating cysts. Their face is a smooth, featureless mask—until it splits open to release a swarm of flies. Their voice is the gurgle of a drowning rat. Flowers grow where their blood drips—beautiful, but lethal to touch. Flies crown them like a living diadem, but never land. Molgeron doesn't hate mortals; they test them. Some emerge stronger, immune to all ills. Most do not. Apothecaries and warlocks bargain with them for secrets of resilience, but every cure from Rotmire comes with a price. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#Rotmire|Rotmire]] – A festering bog where the air is thick with spores, the water is black with rot, and life reshapes itself in grotesque ways.* ### Nytaris *Paragon of Subjugation, Hatred, and Torture* *Principled/Evil* Nytaris is the chains that fit perfectly, the tyrant who believes his cruelty is necessary. A towering warlord clad in jagged, spiked armor forged from the weapons of his conquered foes. His face is hidden behind a helm of screaming faces—each one a prisoner eternally bound to him. His voice is the sound of chains tightening. Nytaris does not torment for pleasure, but to prove his philosophy: freedom is an illusion, and only through absolute control can order exist. His twin sister Nythis is his eternal rival, her very existence a mockery of his ideals. Slavers and warlords revere him, though none dare call themselves his equal. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#Dominion Scar|Dominion Scar]] – A fortress of black iron and jagged obsidian, where every corridor is lined with cells and every wall bears the scars of a thousand rebellions crushed.* ### Nythis *Paragon of Freedom, Serenity, and Voyage* *Rebellious/Good* Nythis is the salt on the breeze, the unchained laugh, the compass that points away. A lithe woman with wind-tangled hair that shifts from storm-gray to sunset-gold, and bright, ocean-blue skin. Her body is wrapped in sails that never stop billowing, and her feet never quite touch the ground. Her voice carries the salt of the open sea. Nythis is the antithesis of her brother Nytaris, and their eternal conflict is the push-and-pull of the world itself. Sailors, fugitives, and wanderers whisper her name like a blessing, for she gifts no favours—only the chance to escape. To call her Realm of Eversea home is to accept that you may never dock again. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#Eversea|Eversea]] – An endless ocean under a sky of shifting constellations, where the winds never cease and every wave carries a new horizon.* ### Oreus *Paragon of Chance, Luck, and Change* *Rebellious/Altruistic* Oreus is the dice in the gambler’s hand, the sudden wind that changes a war. A rakish, golden-eyed gambler in a coat stitched from playing cards, their sleeves always hiding one more die than possible. Their entire appearance hair shifts with their mood, and their laugh is the sound of a roulette wheel spinning. Oreus cares not for justice or cruelty—only possibility. Some call them fickle, but Oreus believes in potential—the chance for anyone, anything, to become more. Their followers are risk-takers and revolutionaries, though none can say if Oreus favours them or simply enjoys the spectacle. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#The Wheel|The Wheel]] – A colossal roulette wheel suspended in the void, where each spin rewrites fate and even gods hold their breath.* ### Ozros *Paragon of Time, Fate, and History* *Altruistic/Principled* Ozros is the pendulum’s swing, the scribe who records all but intervenes in nothing. A bald, ageless man in a plain gray robe, his only notable feature a single hourglass pendant that never runs out of sand. His voice has no echo— his words vanish as soon as they’re spoken. Ozros believes fate is immutable, yet paradoxically, he aids those who seek to understand it. Historians and oracles beg him for glimpses of tomorrow, but his answers are often cryptic. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#Eon|Eon]] – A vast, clockwork expanse where rivers flow backward, cities rise and crumble in moments, and every step echoes across centuries.* ### Rhyond *Paragon of Trade, Craft, and Innovation* *Good/Opportunistic* Rhyond is the spark of genius, the handshake that enriches both parties, the blueprint that defies limits. A short, broad-shouldered smith with soot-stained skin and hands that gleam like polished brass. His beard is woven with tiny, clicking gears, and his apron pockets spill endless tools—each one impossibly precise. Said to be the Father of the Warforged, Rhyond is revered among conscious constructs of all kinds. Merchants pray to him for fair winds, while artificers risk madness in pursuit of his designs. To bargain with Rhyond is to walk away transformed—for better or worse. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#The Foundry|The Foundry]] – A colossal, ever-expanding workshop where forges burn with celestial fire, and inventions too grand for mortal minds take shape.* ### The Unnamed One *Paragon of Twilight, Passing, and The Unknown* *No Alignment* The Unnamed One is the door without a handle, the question without an answer. A formless presence that wears the voices of those who address it. It has no face, no body—only a ripple in the air, like heat haze over a grave. When it speaks, it’s in echoes of the listener’s own tongue. Necromancers and philosophers seek it, but The Unnamed One offers no wisdom—only the certainty that all paths end here. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#The Hollow|The Hollow]] – A silent, mist-choked threshold where souls linger before their final journey, and the air hums with unanswered questions.* ### Valketh *Paragon of Trickery, Secrets, and Schemes* *Rebellious/Opportunistic* Valketh is the smirk in the shadows, the card up the sleeve, the signature forged in perfect detail, the friend who *might* betray you. A lithe, lavender-skinned figure, his grin is a knife’s edge, and his cloak is stitched from stolen secrets. From his scalp writhe thick, ropy tendrils of glistening brain matter, but as they coil downward they become unmistakably alive: sinewy tentacles tipped with sensory nodules that flicker like dying stars. Some say his shadow winks at you when you aren't watching; a disconcerting omen that you may be unknowingly wrapped up in one of his many plots. Spies pray to him for flawless disguises, thieves for locks that want to be picked—but Valketh’s gifts always come with traps. His only creed? *"The truth is whatever you can make them believe."* *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#The City of Shroud|The City of Shroud]] – A sprawling, fog-choked metropolis where every street bends into another deception, and nothing is as it seems.* ### Woe *Paragon of Grief, Despair, and Misery* *Altruistic/Evil* Woe is the hand that strokes your hair as you sob, the voice that whispers *"I understand"*. A towering willow tree with bark like cracked porcelain, its branches heavy with weeping vines. The faces of the sorrowful press against its trunk, mouths open in silent screams. Its roots drink from a pool of tears shed by those from across the Shattered Realm. Woe does not delight in suffering; it believes despair is the truest form of connection. Mourners and the lost are drawn here, and some never leave. To Woe, compassion is not kindness—it is the acceptance that everyone hurts. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#The Weeping Vale|The Weeping Vale]] – A valley of perpetual rain, where the ground is soft with tears and the trees grow twisted from sorrow.* ### Xafiiysha *(pronounced Za-Fee-sha)* *Paragon of Avarice, Indulgence, and Decadence* *Opportunistic/Evil* Xafiiysha is not one being, but 999 sisters locked in a glittering war. The crown of their late mother, the demon queen Vai’zyzryn, rests at Jewelspire’s summit, and whichever daughter claims it becomes the true Paragon—until the next betrayal. Each daughter distinct—a riot of jewel-toned skin, serpentine limbs, and hungers as varied as their forms. One has emerald scales for hair, another drips molten gold from her fingertips, a third has a tongue that forks into coin-chains. No two sisters share the same eyes, but all reflect the crown’s allure. To bargain with Xafiiysha is to court ruin, for their price is always your soul. *Astral Plane: [[Planes of Existence#Jewelspire|Jewelspire]] – A mountain of gold and gemstones, its peak crowned by a throne of bones—each one a former ruler who held the title Xafiiysha.*