User blog:Harold Burned-Mane/RP Idea: Half-Gods of Tamriel

So everyone, with the unfortunate death of The Walking Dead, I am going to be making a new RP to fill its place. I decide that out of the 4 I said I was going to make in the future Half-Gods was the one to make first.

Some of you may remember the other Half-God RPs GMed by Miraak Obama, well, this RP will not be following the same story. I am rebuilding the entire lore of Half-Gods from the ground up. It will take a few days for me to write everything down in the blog, so bear with me.

History and Premise
After the Thalmor were successful in shutting down he last of the towers, the barrier between Mundus, Oblivion and Aetherius was broken. Initially this caused many problems for Tamriel as it adapted to their new situation and fought against the Thalmor that tried to take advantage of this and rule the whole continent. After decades of fighting, the Thalmor were defeated and Tamriel slowly began to adapt to the New Era.

It is NE (New Era) 1995, the Empire and the Dominion have been disbanded for over a millennium and in its place numerous theocracies rule what was once the 9 provinces. In the New Era they found that because the barrier was broken, the Daedra and even the Aedra were able to manifest themselves in the mortal world. Mehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal and others tried to use this to further their goals and conquest Tamriel, but their efforts proved fruitless. For with Aetherius connected to Mundus, magicka became more prominent and powerful. However, it wasn't just magicka that save Tamriel from the Daedric Invasions of the New Era, heroes saved them.

The broken barrier let the Daedra and Aedra manifest themselves and with that some of them could not resist mingling with the mortals of Mundus and produced off-springs with them. These children became known as Half-Gods and they inherited powers from their godly parents. While not all of them used their powers for good, many of them used them to better the lives of the people of Tamriel.

Now, it has been 500 years since the last Daedric Invasion. The Theocracies of Tamriel have warred against each other during most of the New Era, but they only petty wars that didn't involve more than two of them. These petty wars were merely religious skirmishes over small pieces of territory and different ideals. None have thus far dared to start a great war, for each theocracy has their own Half-Gods and a war between them could very well bring about the end times. Will this uneasy peace last? Or will Tamriel face open war and destruction?

Gods
Every God from The Elder Scrolls Mythology is a part of the world. Both Aedra, Daedra and the others. The only exception are the former living gods of the Dunmer Tribunal, for they lost their divinity before dying.

Some Gods even have different aspects from different pantheons, like Kynareth and Kyne. Different aspects of the same god can act very differently, some being more aggressive than others in certain pantheons. The gods appear to their worshipers in the aspect that they personally worship, for example Kynareth appears to the Nords as Kyne, not as Kynareth. Gods appear to their followers as they are perceived. For example: The Nordic aspect of a god appears to his worshipers as a Nord looking human while the Altmer aspect of the same god would appear as an Altmer looking elf.

Because Argonians are generally an atheistic race, only some Argonians outside of Argonia worship gods, there are no Argonian aspect of the various Aedra and other gods. So the Argonians can only mate with the Daedric Princes and a few select gods that can take any form that they wish. This has caused a very small number of Argonian Half-Gods to exist, almost all of which are found outside of Argonia.

The Aedra, however, can't manifest themselves physically without an Avatar, a representation of themselves in Mundus. An avatar can either look mortal be and animal that represents them, in the case of the Nordic Gods. They don't directly intervene in the mortal world.

The Daedra can manifest themselves physically, even in their true forms. However, because the Daedric Princes' true selves are much to powerful to fully manifest, they chose to wear a lesser form when entering Mundus. Lesser Daedra can travel to and from Mundus at their own free will, without having to be summoned by a Conjurer. They mostly like to directly interfere with the mortal world. Daedric Princes almost always appear however they like to their followers, but some that have a more humanoid appearance choose to look similar to their worshipers to further appeal to them. For example: to the Dunmer, Azura would appear as a Dunmer looking elf while to the Khajiit she would appear as a Khajiit looking humanoid.

There are gods that refuse to have children with mortals, most notably Mara. Mara, in all her aspects, is married to an aspect of Akatosh. Despite being one of the Goddesses of Love, she is also the patron of family, home and marriage. Her temples are almost always used for marriage ceremonies. As such she is not one to cheat on her husband.

There are some gods that cannot manifest themselves physically in Tamriel, not even with an Avatar, only spiritually. These gods are called "Dead Gods". The most notable of these are Shor, Tsun and Alduin. These Dead Gods cannot have children.

Some gods often have more children than others due to their specific sexual activity. Dibella, Mephala and Molag Bal being the most prominent example of this. Dibella is the goddess of love, sexuality and beauty, as such her avatars are known to sleep around with numerous beautiful men. Mephala is a goddess of lust and sex, as such she is known to seduce various men. Some even claim she kills her sexual partners after taking their seed. Molag Bal is the god of rape, as such he is known to rape various women and spread his corrupt seed across Tamriel.

Altmeri Pantheon

 * Auri-El: God of Time and Purity. Chief of the Altmeri Pantheon, called the "King of the Aldmer". Considered the direct ancestor of the Aldmer. The Altmer believe that he will teach them to ascend to godhood, but only those of the purest Aldmer blood will accomplish such a task. He is married to Mara. Altmeri aspect of Akatosh.
 * Jephre: God of Nature. More important to the Bosmer than the Altmer. Jephre is considered one of the oldest Aedra, being the first of the Ehlnofey, "Earth Bones". He keeps the natural order of nature, which he established. Altmeri aspect of Y'ffre.
 * Lorkhan: The Trickster God and the God of Early Mankind. Despised by the Altmer for cutting their connection from the Aetherius and godhood, considered the enemy of the Elves. Also called "Doom Drum". Seen as a human to the elves. He is one of the Dead Gods, he was killed by the other Gods. Trinimac was the one that personally removed his heart. The two moons, Masser and Secunda, are said to be his severed corpse.
 * Mara: God of Love, Compassion and Maternity. She is also the patron of marriage. She is married to Auri-El. While she was originally adopted into the Altmeri Pantheon from the Nordic Pantheon, she is seen not seen as a human and is instead perceived as an elf.
 * Phynaster: Hero-God of the Summerset Isles. God of Cunning and Endurance. He was an Aldmer that gained godhood in the early Merethic Era, as such he is considered an ancestor of the Aldmer. He has his own artifact, a ring baring his name, that constantly changes owners. He was the one that taught the Altmer how to live naturally long lives, in an attempt to help them reach godhood as he had long before.
 * Stendarr: God of Mercy and Forgiveness. Was originally adopted from the Nordic Pantheon after the two pantheons ended their war. He is the apologist of men, trying to mend the wounds between mer and men. Seen by the Altmer as a human and thus is not very well liked by them.
 * Syrabane: God of Magic, patron to warlocks and apprentice mages. Like Auri-El and Phynaster he is considered an ancestor to the Aldmer. Is revered by the Psijic Order. He has his own artifact, the Warlock's Ring.
 * Trinimac: God of Warriors and Strength. He was the champion of Auri-El. Like Auri-El, Phynaster and Syrabane he is considered an ancestor to the Aldmer. He led the armies of the Altmeri Pantheon against the Nordic Pantheon. He fought against the Daedric Prince Boethiah and was defeated. He was killed and turned into the Daedric Prince Malacath, however the Altmer do not believe this. The Aedric aspect of Trinimac is one of the Dead Gods.
 * Xarxes: God of Ancestry and Secret Knowledge. He was the scribe of Auri-El and is the patron of scholars. He created his wife, Oghma, and wrote the Oghma Infinium. The Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora claims that Xarxes is his faithful servant, but the Altmer do not believe this. His name is used by the Altmer in a phrase to express anger or shock, "Xarxes' Backside!".
 * Xen: God of Toil (hard work/labor) and patron of "payment in kind". He is not worshiped often by the Altmer and is considered one of their lesser gods. He is the Altmeri aspect of Zenithar.

Bosmeri Pantheon

 * Auriel: God of Time. Chief of the Bosmeri Pantheon, but not their most important and most worshiped god. He is called the "King of the Aldmer". Considered the direct ancestor of the Aldmer. He is married to Mara and is the father of Ark'ay. Bosmeri aspect of Akatosh.
 * Ark'ay: God of Life, Death and the Seasons. He is the patron of burials funeral rites. He is the one that keeps the balance between life and death and helps Y'ffre maintain the overall balance of nature by controlling the seasons. He is the son of Auriel and Mara. Bosmeri aspect of Arkay.
 * Baan Dar: Patron God of Thieves, Tricksters and Beggars. He is a lesser god to the Bosmer and was adopted from the Khajiiti Pantheon, where he is much more important.
 * Ius: God of Animals. Know for his agitation, is called "Ius the Agitated" or "Ius the Extremly Agitated". He is known for carrying around large scales and a rod and myths claim he has eaten mortals before. Is seen as a misshapen humanoid.
 * Jode: Big Moon Goddess and Goddess of Waves. She represents Masser, the large red moon. She is associated with Mara and is called "Mara's Tear". Is considered a part of Lorkhan and called the twin sister of Jone. Is prayed to to prevent bad weather during sea voyages.
 * Jone: Little Moon God and God of Forgiveness. He represents Secunda, the small gray moon. He is associated with Stendarr and is called "Stendarr's Sorrow". Is considered a part of Lorkhan and called the twin brother of Jode.
 * Lorkhan: The Dead God and God of Early Mankind. Unlike the Altmer, the Bosmer do not hate Lorkhan and neither do they seen him as their enemy. They dislike him for cutting them off from their godhood, but do not despise him. He is one of the Dead Gods but the Bosmer believe his spirit, with the help of Mara and Stendarr, was split into two entities: Jode and Jone. Despite him being seen as a human by the Bosmer, both Jode and Jone are seen as elves.
 * Mara: God of Love, Fertility and Maternity. She is also the patron of marriage. Is known for her compassion. She is married to Auriel and is the mother of Ark'ay. While she was originally adopted into the Aldmeri Pantheon from the Atmoran Pantheon, she is seen not seen as a human and is instead perceived as an elf. The Bosmers, likewise also view her as elven. She is responsible for the creation of Jode.
 * Stendarr: God of Mercy and Righteousness. Considered the bane of evil, but is also known for his compassion. Was originally adopted from the Nordic Pantheon after the war between the Aldmeri and Atmoran pantheons ended their war. He is the apologist of men, trying to mend the wounds between mer and men. Seen by the Bosmer as a human. He is responsible for the creation of Jone.
 * Xarxes: God of Ancestry and Secret Knowledge. He was the scribe of Auriel and is the patron of scholars. He created his wife, Oghma, and wrote the Oghma Infinium. The Demon Herma-Mora claims that Xarxes is his faithful servant.
 * Y'ffre: God of Song, Forest and Nature. He is called "the Storyteller" and is the most important god in the Bosmeri Pantheon. He keeps the balance of nature and is the spirit of "the now". He is the god that turned the Bosmer into whom they are today and is the primary pillar of their culture, having formed the Green Pact with them during the Merethic Era. He was able to quell the chaos of the mortal world after its creation by becoming the first of the Ehlnofey, "Earth Bones".
 * Z'en: God of Toil and Commerce. He advocates "payment in kind". He was adopted into the Bosmeri Pantheon from the Kothrigi Pantheon and is thus seen as a metallic/gray skinned human. To the Kothrigi he was their Chief deity and an agricultural god, but the Bosmer don't practive agriculture so those aspects of him were not adopted. Bosmeri aspect of Zenithar.

Bosmeri Pantheon

 * Herma-Mora: Demon of Knowledge. He was adopted from the Nordic Pantheon by the Bosmer. He is also called "The Woodland Man" because of a legend that he wanders the woods trying to tempt travelers with secret knowledge only to inflict a curse of them instead. Bosmeri aspect of Hermaeus Mora.

Altmeri Pantheon

 * Magnus: God of Sorcery. He is the one that created he schematics for Mundus and so is sometimes called "the Architect of Mundus". Considered by many as the strongest of the Et'Ada because he left Mundus before having his power all used to create the mortal realm. He has various followers, lesser Et'Ada, called the Magna Ge. Some consider the Magna Ge his "children".

Myths
In both the myths of the Aldmeri Pantheon (Altmeri Pantheon) and the Atmoran Pantheon (Nordic Pantheon) the two fought in numerous wars. It was in these wars that the gods did battle and ended up slaying some of each other. Shor/Lorkhan was killed by Auri-El/Akatosh and the other Elven Gods, as was Tsun. The war between the pantheons only ended when Kyne took over command of the Atmoran Pantheon and brokered a peace between the two groups of gods. She married her handmaiden Mara to Auri-El/Akatosh and forged an uneasy peace between the two groups. Despite some gods being adopted by the Aldmeri Pantheon (Mara and Stuhn/Stendarr) it wasn't until the Imperial Pantheon (Eight Divines) was created that the two group of gods finally ended their hatred for one another.

Despite this, there are some gods from one of the pantheons that still hold a grudge against ones from the other. Most notably Shor, whom claims that he will lead an army of souls from Sovngarde during the End Times to fight the Elven Gods once more.

There are some Atmoran legends that claim that when Mara was merely a handmaiden of Kyne she had an affair with Shor, before he was killed by the Elven Gods. Some use this to claim that Kyne didn't only marry her off to Auri-El/Akatosh to make peace, but also to send her away for sleeping with her husband.

Bosmeri legends claim that when the war between the gods was over and Mara and Stuhn/Stendarr were adopted by the Aldmeri Pantheon, that they both mourned the dead Shor/Lorkhan so much of their strength that from his from his severed corpse (Masser and Secunda) two new entities emerged: Jode and Jone. The two gods became new gods worshiped by the Bosmer.