Fenrath

Fenrath
Fenris; Godslayer; Great Wolf; Winter's Teeth

Symbol: A broken chain
Home Plane: Ysgard
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Cleric Alignments: Any Chaotic
Portfolio: Survival, Endurance, Winter, Freedom
Worshipers: Canid beastfolk; people in cold lands; barbarian tribes; anarchists and revolutionaries
Domains: Animal (Fur), Community, Ice, Liberation (Revolution), Preservation, Strength (Ferocity, Resolution)
Favored Weapon: Skeggox (same statistics as battleaxe)

Physical Description:
An immense wolf, larger than any lodge house, its breath steaming with the chill of winter, icicles clinging to its fur, its eyes as bright as the moon itself, trailing a long, broken chain. This is the image that Fenrath conveys as he tears across the frozen landscape, followed by his retinue of otherworldly wolves, made of the souls of those who served him in life. To see Fenrath is to know and understand the terror that comes from the face of the raw, untamed wild, or to finally grasp the meaning of its true freedom, depending on how civilized the viewer may be.

Description of Nature, Personality, and Dogma:
Fenrath is the god of survival in the face of great adversity, and the ability to endure even when all seems lost. Besides this, Fenrath is also the god of freedom from oppression, and teaches his followers to keep the hope of freedom alive inside of them, so that they can seize it when an opportunity arises should they ever fall under the power of others. A grim and terrible creature, Fenrath is given to terrible rages and dark passions that sometimes overwhelm his reason, and frequently lives through instinct alone. Nevertheless, Fenrath is very cunning, and there are few even among the gods who can match his skill for survival in the wilds. While such times are rare, he is also known for moments of great mirth, especially when he has partaken of too much alcohol (Fenrath tends to be a friendly drunk), and in such times he can be surprisingly merciful and even pleasant.

Survival of the fittest is the doctrine of Fenrath. How one survives is not nearly as important as that one survives. This can be through strength, through skill, through cunning, or simply through the ability to endure, but so long as one passes on one's lineage to the next generation, that is enough. Despite his focus on survival, Fenrath is not a deity of taking advantage of others, save for the purpose of obtaining what is necessary to survive, and never a god of excess or taking more than what is needed. Doing such things angers Fenrath, and invites his wrath, which has led to the downfall of many would-be empire builders. Fenrath recognizes that one of the best ways to survive is to work as a team, and so he strongly supports those who work together for their common survival, supporting the power of the group for the sake of all its individual members.

Clergy, Places of Worship, Important Rituals, and Servitor Races:
Anyone who wishes to serve Fenrath must first get the Great Wolf's attention. This is no mean feat, as Fenrath is somewhat disdainful of anyone who would prostrate themselves before another, even if that other is himself. Still, those aspiring to become clerics of Fenrath can undergo a harsh ritual to demonstrate their personal endurance and ability to survive, giving them a chance to impress Fenrath and gain his blessing. After several days of ritual purification, the exact form of which varies by regional tradition, the would-be cleric then departs into the wilderness alone at the harshest time of the year for that region, taking nothing to aid the journey, not even clothes. The cleric is then expected to survive for four full days alone in the wilds, one for each of Fenrath's savage canines, the teeth of winter. On the fourth day, if the acolyte has lived that long, Fenrath will howl for the cleric, and the cleric will follow the sound of the howl, howling in answer as the cleric - for now the acolyte is truly a cleric of Fenrath - joins the pack of Fenrath, if only for a brief time. When the cleric leaves Fenrath's pack, it will be back where the cleric started the journey, back at home, or perhaps at a new place where the cleric is meant to make a new home.

There are two sorts of worship site for Fenrath's followers. The first are erected standing stones in the shape of teeth, representing Fenrath's jaws. These may be placed anywhere, though they are usually set far from areas of civilization or even regular habitation, so that sacrifices to Fenrath (see below) can be performed there, and the carcasses of the sacrifices left for the wild beasts that roam these areas. The other sort of worship site for Fenrath is a natural cave which is then often decorated along its walls with a variety of paintings of important events in the history and mythology of the people who use the site for worship. These places become important for the survival of a given people's culture and racial memory, which can be just as important as simple physical survival, and also serve as places of refuge and hiding for the weak in case of attack.

History and Relations:
Fenrath was once the titan most feared by the gods. He was not the most powerful of the titans, for there were those who were stronger or smarter. What made Fenrath feared was that he knew the secret of slaying gods. Many attempts were made to slay Fenrath, both by the gods and also by those titans who feared Fenrath as well, but Fenrath was a master of survival in terrain where even the gods could not hope to live for long, and he always eluded his hunters. Finally, however, Fenrath was lured out by Lydia, who seduced the Great Wolf. When Fenrath lay beside Lydia in slumber, the other gods slipped up silently and wrapped a great chain around him, binding Fenrath fast, before they shackled him to the roots of the world itself. Howling in fury when he awoke, Fenrath strained his mighty form against the chains, but they held, and so he remained trapped for an age, his fury growing with each passing moment. Then the Fallen Ones came, tearing out of the boundaries that separate reality from the Far Plane, seeking to unmake everything. In desperation, facing creatures that had power equal to that of the gods, the gods went to Fenrath and begged for his forgiveness and also his aid. Offered the chance to become a god himself, as well as freedom, Fenrath accepted the offer of the gods, as well as a binding oath that he would not attempt to slay any god that did not attempt to slay him first. The instant Fenrath was freed, the magic of the chain removed by the gods, he lunged out of the dark place where he had been bound, tearing the weakened chain in pieces before the gods could remove it as well, trailing its end behind him as he plunged into the fray with all the eagerness of a wild thing unleashed. It was Fenrath that broke the power of the Elder Elemental Eye, allowing the other gods to imprison that terrible monstrosity, leaving only Worm behind, a mere shadow of his former might.

Known as Godslayer by many, Fenrath has no love for the draconic gods, or for any god that might dare to lay any sort of claim on his fealty. He still has a weakness for seduction, however, and also for cunning words, and these tools can be used by the gods to trick the Great Wolf into doing their will. The Small Ones regularly use their talents for misdirection and glibness to keep on Fenrath's good side, and while Fenrath sometimes threatens to eat them, he has a fondness for the Small Ones, as they are no real threat to him, and he feels they have a right to a fair chance at survival, just like anything. Sin, Bellakadina, and even Lydia regularly manipulate Fenrath, and it is for this reason that the females of wolfen tribes tend to have so much power, provided they are clever and subtle in exercising it. Wysha and Fenrath have a longstanding love-hate relationship, for they are both proud and so very different in personality, Wysha being sophisticated and erudite, while Fenrath comes across as a brutish savage. This extreme difference of personality means that their relationship is always at one extreme or the other, never somewhere in-between, but for some reason neither is able to leave the other alone, finding the presence of the other addictive and enticing despite their differences. Fenrath is also in a relationship with Velos, which is ongoing, and in which Fenrath is the dominant partner. The relationship is an open one, but both feel a sense of deep attachment and commitment to the other, even if Fenrath sometimes gets a little rough when he is in one of his frequent savage moods.

Favored Offerings and Justifications for Direct Intervention:
For a deity like Fenrath, only blood sacrifices will suffice. Commonly, hunters dedicate their first kill of the cold of winter and the starting warmth of spring to Fenrath, leaving the carcass where it is known that wolves or other wild canids roam, so that they can feed on the fresh meat. For people who are more settled, slaying one of their livestock in the dead of winter, when food is scarcest, and at the start of spring, just before the new grass comes in, and then leaving the animal far from their homes, where wolves and other wild canids can feast on the carcass, is the best way to honor Fenrath and to ensure that he gives that people the strength they will need to endure the harsh times, while turning away the worst of winter's wrath.

There are only a few things that will cause Fenrath to intercede for his worshipers. For the most part, Fenrath believes strongly in survival of the fittest, and those who are foolish or weak do not deserve to live. However, Fenrath recognizes that there are times when, after one who is strong and cunning has done all that is possible, it will simply not be enough to survive some trial, especially challenges against the ravages of nature. Additionally, Fenrath despises tyranny (but not slavery that consists of the strong possessing the weak - only oppression where the otherwise weak are able to unnaturally dominate the strong), and his attention is drawn when a free people find themselves being overtaken by a more powerful and organized and "civilized" oppressor. In these cases, Fenrath has been known to breathe a touch of his immense power into his followers, granting them physical prowess and skill in the wilds and in battle beyond their normal capacities, even allowing them to go without food or sleep or even rest for days on end without suffering ill effects.