Ziune

Ziune, God of Souls, ascended during the Shattering at the dawn of the cosmos. Also known as the Ferryman, the Wanderer, and the Path, Ziune is recognized and deified by all peoples of Aedelor. His domain is everywhere and nowhere as he wanders across the astral sea, and he commits to no divine court.

Ziune is a mysterious entity to many. As he is known by most of the peoples of Aedelor and prayed to commonly, he holds a great deal of power among the gods. Some would make the case that he is among the most powerful of the gods. His overall goals are unknown. He has never challenged the other gods, nor attempted to usurp one of the god-kings or god-queens. He has never served in a divine court, and has never created his own, though he has occasionally allied with other deities for certain causes.

Ziune rarely appears to mortals. When he does, it is almost always after their death as their soul is lingering between planes. Though it is possible for souls to return to Aedelor after this, memories of this time are largely if not entirely lost. As such, depictions of Ziune are unreliable and each culture in Aedelor often depicts him in a way that is in line with their own beliefs.

Despite all of this, Ziune does have a preferred avatar. He appears as an unshapely figure, tall enough to tower over most mortals but not as tall as a giant. His limbs are disproportionately long when compared to his torso and head, with his arms hanging especially low. He appears entirely clad in a deeply black cloak and robe which is torn and unkempt and which hangs heavily upon his form, longer still than his gaunt form and dragging upon the ground. A large hood fully obscures any facial features save for two motes of dim white light that slowly orbit around one another. He carries a lantern that emits an ethereal, swirling light.

Ziune has more knowledge of the astral plane and of the intricate nature of creatures' souls than any other god in existence. He has been highly sought after by others for this knowledge. Other gods frequently try to sway him to their courts but he has consistently refused. He has remained neutral in all conflicts between the gods. Although he claims to not prefer one god over another, he does not equally distribute lost souls to the planes. This causes him to be less popular among some gods, and some believe him to be a hypocrite. Ziune's method of choosing where a soul deserves to spend its afterlife is based on his knowledge of souls and he rarely explains himself to the other gods. Still, a soul is a precious thing to possess and no god has ever turned away his gifts.

Although he has never instigated conflict with the other gods, he has been the target of ill will from those who would seek his powers or domain. Vitalinus frequently comes to his aid in these cases, as well as other gods who would rather see him continue his work. In all cases, Ziune's power has been underestimated by the gods and Ziune has always successfully defended himself from the attacks of others.

Ziune is known by almost all the peoples of Aedelor, though he does not actively engage with any organized faith dedicated to him. Such faiths have tried to be established by different cultures at different times, but his lack of engagement with them largely makes them short-lived. Instead, Ziune is a god that is held in people's hearts in their own ways. More often than not, Ziune may only be at the forefront of someone's mind when they or a loved one is nearing death.

Because of his nature, Ziune is rare among gods in that he is relevant to everyone in Aedelor, even if only at select times. While most of the other powerful gods command fervent worship from groups of people that organize into structured faiths, Ziune's power comes from the unilateral prayer and reverence he receives. He is among a handful of gods whose shrines can be found in all corners of the world.

Ziune was created as a result of The Shattering. Unlike many other deities, Ziune came to being in the Astral Plane. For an unknowable length of time, Ziune was disconnected from the planes and his essence slowly waned. He wandered the astral plane looking for a domain to call his own, but the distances between the planes were unfathomable. By the time Ziune had found other gods, they had already staked their claims and had no desire to welcome Ziune into their courts as weakened as he was. And so Ziune was turned away from godly domain after godly domain and continued to wander the astral.

While traversing between planes at a point in time that approximately correlates to the beginning of the Thousand Year Wars, Ziune came upon two lingering motes of light. They were the souls of two creatures that had died in Aedelor and had been floating through the expanse not unlike Ziune. Not knowing their nature, Ziune collected the motes and continued on his way. After a while, Ziune would find these motes with increasing frequency and the more he gathered the more he would feel rejuvenated. When Ziune came upon the plane of Celestia he met the minor goddess Vitalinus. Vitalinus was able to conclude that these motes of light were creatures' souls and tiny fragments of Bahamut which the gods could utilize to become more powerful. Ziune offered the souls he had collected so far to Vitalinus, save for the first two he found. Vitalinus accepted the gift and urged Ziune to stay with her in Celestia, though he refused and returned to the astral plane. Ziune's curiosity had been sparked and would never again be fully sated. Newly obsessed with the souls of mortals being lost in the astral plane like he was, Ziune would dedicate his existence to finding the souls and ferrying them to the plane of existence he believes they most belong.

Knowledge of Ziune and his role spread to mortals in Aedelor primarily by way of other gods and god-kin with Ziune himself never contacting the inner planes. Gods would communicate with their followers the existence of Ziune in the hope that Ziune would in turn ferry souls to their realms. Like many things that gods do, it was an attempt to gain more power by currying favour with Ziune. Though it wouldn't go on to influence Ziune's opinions of the gods, it did lead to the worship and reverence of Ziune by mortals which would in turn make Ziune stronger. Because Ziune would not directly communicate with the inhabitants of Aedelor, different peoples only learned what other gods wanted them to about Ziune. Their depictions and understanding of Ziune varied across cultures and faiths. Ziune began to be associated with the “light at the end of the tunnel” that people claimed to see during near-death experiences. Despite remaining an enigmatic deity to the peoples of Aedelor, he would go on to become one of the most widely known and powerful among the gods.