Daeus

Position	Greater Deity
Symbol	A Sunburst (Solis) or a Platinum Dragon
Colors	Gold, White, Platinum
Celestial Symbol	The Sun
Alignment	Lawful Good
Home Plane	The Dome of Heaven
Portfolio	Justice, Steadfastness, Sovereignty, Virtue, Good Dragons
Domains & Inquisitions	Glory, Good, Law, Sun, Nobility Truth, Valor, Banishment, Order, Spellkiller
Cleric Alignment	LG, LN, NG
Favored Weapon	Righteous Dawn (longsword)
Other Names	The Sun Lord, The Platinum Dragon, Rising One, Draco Solis (Myrddion), The Shining Knight, Morning Lord, The Supreme, Master of Law, (Stormgarde) The Highest One, Eli (sildanyar), Great Father (dragons, sith'makar), The Dragon Lord (Dragonier), Brilliant One, True Metal (khazad), Rising Sun, Ignis Divine
Commonly Associated Organizations	Temple of Daeus, Skyguard, Iron Book, Templars of the Holy Sword, Truthsayers, Order of the Crown, Order of the Hymn, Order of Peace, Order of the Seal

Mightiest of all the gods save his brother Maugrim, Daeus is often represented as the shining knight or mighty Platimum Dragon, the premier force of goodness and justice in the world. He is the god of light and righteousness. He was born of Elhim during the beginning of time, and stands in eternal opposition with the forces that would ruin and unmake the world, be these forces that of The Void or his wayward brother, Maugrim the Five-Fold Serpent. He represents the ever-vigilant and steadfastness of the Good, and its wont for justice.

Along with Maugrim, Daeus is held to be the divine ruler of the world and he and Maugrim together are known as The Twin Gods who are the oldest of the gods and born of Elhim. Both were born great warriors--Daeus with the radiance of the Sun behind him, embodied the searing light of his blade, the Righteous Dawn, or in the reflection of his shield. He represents good and just government and the justice inherit in the symbology of the shining knight.

Opposed to evil in any form, Daeus stands opposite his brother but also hopes that in the end he may be redeemed, for their true foe lies in the form of the Void. Daeus and Maugrim are, nevertheless, irrevocably linked by their origins and their natures. It is sometimes said their original battle was when Maugrim the Tyrant sought to claim mortal will. Filled with righteous fury, his brother brought blade to blade, and the two brothers have been at odds ever since.

The brothers' opposing doctrines pit their clergies against one another incessantly, a conflict often seen to the delight of other gods of evil as it allows their followers to be more active, free from the watchful eye of Daeus. Daeus's manifestations are rare but can be as overwhelming as the Sun or as subtle as a warming wind.

The Platinum Dragon is the figure for which he is most known and the visage of this mighty dragon adorns artwork, stained glass and more all across Gaea. During the Third Age, his manifestations included the Celestial Paladin, a tall bronze-skinned, deep-chested knight in platinum armor and white robes. Today, Daeus works through his clergy and other willing and destined souls. Of recent years, he is fond of less obvious manifestations such as in the form of an overweight but keenly sharp elderly scholar or an aged Templar of the Holy Sword or Dragon Knight, accompanied by an senile gold dragon, with surprising vigor despite his appearance.

Daeus is the devoted husband to Althea and their love for one another is well-known and seen as one of the steadfast measures of the universe. Their children are Gilead, Eluna, and Tarien.

Dogma

The foremost duty of his Holy Order is to seek justice in the world, to uphold the principles of what is good, and to stand against the corrupting forces of darkness. His followers are asked to stand for what is good and just, to be bright beacons in a world of darkness. He asks them to protect the meek and the downtrodden, to promote good and just governance. With the aid of the Canon of the High Law, his priests offer spiritual guidance to the people of the world that they might curb the festering darkness of Maugrim and His agents.

He holds the belief that a good and just governance is necessary for a free and stable society. Such laws protect the meek and provide justice to the poor, and encourage humility and righteousness on behalf of their rulers. As such, the faithful work with the righteous lords of the lands that they watch over, serving as judges, advisers or advocates. They advocate for justice, honor, compassion, and tradition.

Though Daeus is one of the most compassionate beings in the cosmos, he is also willing to act on behalf of the greater good. Daeus represents the might of the Sun as well as its righteous fury. This is most often in evidence in the form of His knights against the tyrants of the world.

Daeus encourages followers to undertake the nature of what is good, to be righteous, and to offer guidance and protection to the people of the world in order to better themselves. In this he diverges from his brother Maugrim to whom mortals' free thought is their greatest sin. To Daeus and other deities of Light it is both necessary and right, though what is good he believes, should be the driving force behind actions and the crafting of law or tradition. Mortals will make mistakes, but the point is they are allowed to do so.

Daeus encourages many of his wisest followers to be advisers and shining beacons in the darkness. At times the forces of neutrality ally themselves with those of light to stand against the dark and preserve the world, but Daeus often sees these alliances as tested by what he perceives as a lack of commitment.

However there is another side to Daeus and that is the side that pursues the darkness and strikes against the foes of the world. Among his Temples, this aspect is painted with his sword, the Righteous Dawn, overhead. When provoked to wrath, it is greater then the burning wrath of the sun. Nevertheless, Daeus believes in the ability for evil to be redeemed.

Clergy and Temples

Titles
Cleric	Sunguard
Paladin	Sunblade
Inquisitor	...coming soon!

As the state religion in several of the largest human kingdoms and numerous followers amongst humanoid races, the Church of Daeus, sometimes simply called The Church, is the most powerful religious institution in the western world. Working on an international scale, the church advocates peace. Despite its peaceful nature, it does recognize that warfare is sometimes necessary and that not all disputes are settled with words. During times of war, it concerns itself with seeking to make sure that wars are fought honorably, that the wounded are properly cared for, and that the proper respect and last rites are given to the dead.

Being a lawful church, much of Daeus' efforts are concentrated through his clergy which is structured and organized with an established head and leadership. The dogma of the church is based upon The Canon of the High Law, which is a work of writings inspired by the gods, and based upon the original text from books known as The Aegenean Gospels. His church is very rich and influential in the lands of Myrddion and adjacent kingdoms. Priests of Daeus tend to work very hard at menial labors and are hard workers and not afraid to dig in and aid the common people. Daeus' priests are expected to provide spiritual guidance to the people of Gaea as well as defend the world from evil. They believe that good and just government is necessary for a free and stable society. They often act as advisors to rulers of a region, sit as judges in their communities and work to heal the wounded spirits and provide shelters for those who are wrongly accused and have been abused by misuses of The Law and also work to change those misuses.

The Church of Daeus is headquartered in Bryn-Myridorn, the capital city of Myrddion. Here, an enclosed in sovereign region of the city exists, known as the Tempus Sanctum. Within the sanctum are several buildings including smaller churches, libraries, smithies, living quarters and the headquarters of several knightly orders such as The Templars of the Holy Sword or The Sunguard, who are charged with protecting the local temple and flock of a given city. The Highcourt Cathedral is the actual physical housing place of the leaders of the church and is the greatest temple to Daeus in all of Arcania. The order known as The Platinum Council reigns as the chiefs of the church of Daeus. The leader of the church, The Chosen Prophet of Daeus, also serves as the council head of the Holy Order of Ea which is a joined collective of willing religious orders that operate under the doctrine created by Shadam the Elder, who brought the Aegenean Writings into the west.

Clerical Vestments

Clerical vestments for the priesthood of Daeus tend to follow a motif of white or platinum with silver and gold trimmings. White robes are favored; for traveling priests overtop these are worn ornate platinum and gold breastplates emblazoned with the symbol of a sunburst or a platinum dragon. Among warrior-priests, full plate is often worn overtop the white robes with high plumed helms and mighty tower shields with the symbol of the platinum dragon upon it. The Sunguard, temple knights and war priests derived from the Templar of the Holy Sword sect, are known for their draconic armor motif, large imposing pauldrons and great sweeping curtain-like robes and capes. Maces are common among the clergy but those trained to expect battle often carry ceremonial longswords in homage to Daeus' own blade.

Avatars

Daeus is traditionally depicted in one of two ways. As a humanoid, he often appears as an armored knight, deep and thick-chested, broad shouldered, sometimes bearded and with shining eyes and platinum colored hair that is often long. A slender crown is upon his brow and his armor is extravagant, brilliant but also the armor of one that is preparing for war with golden and argent robes beneath. His sword, Righteous Dawn, is at his side and he also carries with him The Canon of the High Law, which is said to contain within it the laws of the gods. Daeus’s second form he takes when he deals with dragons and that form is of the great platinum dragon. As the platinum dragon he is wise, great to look upon, and bears the spiritual guidance and wisdom of all the good dragons of the world.

It is said his palace is as majestic as it is serene, bathed in pure, platinum light.