The History of Scarn - The Gods Part 8
Drendari
Drendari, the Mistress of Shadows, is the goddess of shadows. Drendari is said to be the daughter of a siren and the god Enkili. The story goes that Enkili, while wandering along the shores of one of Scarn’s more remote oceans, spied a beautiful siren and suggested to her the perfect way to help him recover his strength. The Trickster was somewhat surprised, but very pleased, when a year later the siren appeared to him and presented his daughter. The daughter was already able to twist the shadows to her will, and was originally known as the Shadow Child.
When Drendari was still very young, she was captured by the Slarecians, who subject her to horrible torture. They stole away much of her magic. In time, the gods and titans joined together to go to war against the Slarecians, and Drendari was rescued by her father and Tanil the huntress.
Drendari joined the other gods in their struggle against the titans, enjoying the sport and adventure of it. She also had great affection for her father, sharing his temperament for chaos and trickery, and wanted to help him defeat those who had so humiliated him. She worked from the shadows during the Divine War, and build up a large following of rogues, scouts, and a few assassins who became known as Drendari’s Faithful. They acted as essential spies during the war.
Since the war, her followers have become known as the Shadow Walkers and Shadow Dancers. They have fought a secret war for centuries against the organization known as the Penumbral Lords. The Penumbral Lords were known as the Eyes of the Night in ancient times, and wield magic stolen from Drendari by the Slarecians.
Unknown to all but Drendari’s highest and most faithful servants, Drendari’s siren mother was not what she seemed. In truth, she was the goddess Belsameth in disguise. Drendari kept this a complete secret up until the recent resurrection of Jandaveos. Belsameth’s part in his return gave Drendari reason to become distrustful of her mother, thus she warned her followers to beware of Belsameth’s followers.
Drendari appears as a beautiful and seductive woman with long dark hair and pale complexion. She avoids confrontation if at all possible, and will typically use spells and deception to trick her opponents. When she must fight, she uses her Sword of Shadow. Drendari holds dominion over the occult plane of Shadows.
Erias
Erias, the Dream Master and the Lord of Dreams, is the god of dreams. He is the offspring of the titan Mesos and the goddess Belsameth. Stories say that Mesos disguised himself as a giant swan and tricked his daughter Belsameth into coupling with him. Belsameth has adamantly denied this claim, although it does appear that there was some sort of trickery or coercion from Mesos. There are also legends which suggest that there has always been a Lord of Dreams, long before the coming of the gods, yet it is clear that Erias was born in the same era as most of the other demigods, adding a little more mystery to his origins.
Erias normally appears as a lanky, dreamy-looking youth with long unkempt hair and wide eyes that glitter and gleam, seemingly with the light of other worlds. He usually appears clad in long robes of midnight-blue silk that flicker with multicolored pinpoints of light. His manner is nearly always distant and aloof, and when he speaks, his tone is usually dour and imperious. While serious, Erias is a benevolent and nonviolent god, and shuns direct combat. When necessary, he uses illusion and enchantment magic to confuse, trap, and disable foes. But he is not above sending terrible nightmares to those who have committed crimes against him or his followers. He does have a physical weapon, a gift from his mother, the Dagger of Soul Slaying, but he has never been known to use it.
On Ghelspad, Erias’ followers primarily live on the Drifting Isle, a community fully dedicated to the study of dreams and the worship of Erias. Other groups of Erias’ worshipers exist at the grove of Soos in the Ganjus forest, and in the city of Shelzar among the Lotus Eaters. Among his followers, Erias’ holy symbol is usually the lotus flower, and his most common holy weapon is the shuriken.