Small god submission section.

[Poolson]

Rather than making several threads for one topic (and this is not to rag on who did this before), I thought it'd be beneficial to have a place for this to be posted in one place for the sake of tidy bookkeeping. Post freely.

The Man in the Mirror

Alignments: Neutral Good, Neutral Evil, True Neutral.

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Primary Domains: Drow, Elf, Halfling, Dwarf, Orc, Gnome. (Vessels of the mortal form).
Magic (The power that binds the world).
Knowledge (The understanding of self).

Secondary Domains: Strength (The sculpting of oneself into their ideal image),
Metal (The silver surface of which Reflection is glimpsed upon),
Renewal & Healing (Like metamorphosis, what is a flawed husk can be rejuvenated, sculpted and given life anew, both in purpose and in function),
Sun (As in the light that illuminates the mirror and permits Reflection.),
Charm (The narcissist's infectious charm that comes with staring into one's own image),
Suffering (The hardship one endures to mold themselves into their true image of self.),


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Symbology: A mirror, mounted on top of a floral wreath and enwrapped in a veil. Within the mirror, it gazes back with the eyes of an obscured face.

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Dogma: Reality is defined by the perceptions that mortalkind uses to perceive the world around them. It is by Narcissa's boon of Reflection that all is laid bare. All merits, all flaws. With Reflection, we may best determine how best to mold ourselves to the image of perfection and walk amongst the celestial bodies within the sky as equals, or find acceptance of our mortal nature and therein find true inner peace, the road required to achieve harmony between the body, mind and soul. Reveal all for what it is, erase or correct all that embellishes or lies about the nature of what can be perceived. Banish darkness, both in the curtain of night and in the hearts of men, for without light, there can be no Reflection.


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History: Although history is scarcely found in the City of Rings, The Man in the Mirror is a timeless entity of minor note. It is said that before the primeval age of man, mortalkind had no physical form, only the essence of the soul. When the brilliant star was born - the sun- darkness fell upon the land, not as a curtain, but like rain, rapidly taking shape in whatever way it fell. Narcissa, The First, was said to be one of the first to see this new realm born, yet questioned the nature of their being. Where great oaks casted long shadows, they casted none. Where stone had weight, they were weightless. Where the air was cool, they were neither cold nor hot.

Yet, when they came before a lake, they were moved. They saw the image of looming clouds and the glimmer of the sun. When they walked before it, they wept, for there was no image. Their tears streamed into existence- and they were given an idea, as they saw them manifest. Invisible hands harvested these great tears and like a painter before a canvas, began to paint their own image. Under the warmth of the sun or the moon that radiated in the sun's love, they painted... sculpted... shaded...

... until, at last, they were satisfied, for when they gazed upon the image they had created, it was theirs, and adored it as much as they cherished the glittering stars and floating clouds. Not content to sit idle, Narcissa would share this gift wherever it could be found. They doodled the frogs, stroked the elk into existence, molded the boar and painted the bear. Drawing inspiration from the twigs of the tree's mighty boughs did they make the elves and in their shade did they make them darkened kin, just as they drew inspiration with the dwarves, by stone above and cave rock below. By hills did they mold the fine halflings and gnomes. They formed the orcs in the visage of the mighty, colossal mountains, their bodies tall and strong.

Yet, as tears are wet, so too do they dry, and one day the very pigment that they had wept faded. Although they had vanished from sight, their presence never faded, and it is by their gift that life is defined, and it is by this same gift that mortalkind lives within finite periods.

The greatest gift of all, of course, was the image made to reflect. It is by Narcissa's boon that mortals may perfect or best accept themselves, just as Narcissa had created and perfected their own image.

But who was Narcissa? What did The First look like? Well- it is as simple as looking into the eyes of The Man in the Mirror. Not man, as male, but man, as mortal. The Man in the Mirror is made in the image of you, the image of me and all who surround us, for it is the pigment that painted us our shapes.


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Clergy & Relics: Reflections (Clergy) come from all walks of life, though those with a heightened understanding of the religion's philosophy sometimes take on strange mannerisms. It is often said that adults insult you, while children describe you- this saying can be applicable to some of The Man in the Mirror's preachers. "You twist your head downwards when you walk." "Your posture sags." "You walk as though your spine was a plank.". Not without malice, but rather an observation. To them is either a compliment, or a demonstrated flaw that can be worked upon.

Reflections often gain power by their own image. It is because of this that their relics which grant them power are things such as hand mirrors, glass baubles with wide surfaces or jars of water, dyed to a color that doesn't fade out one's image beneath the sun's light.

Some faithful heroes, such as The Silver Knight, bore a large mirror as a tower shield, and with it, they could reflect the great furies of the earth, such as the intense heat of a burning blaze, the crash of a raincloud's thunder and even the phantasms of a witch's tricks. A children's tale of the Green Knight sometimes depicts a leal and constant companion The Silver Knight, who clashed against The Hand of Fate, a titan's animated gauntlet of its own free will that took and crushed as it pleased, The Silver Knight bore the full weight of its balled fist upon its shield, then, with a bash, returned it in full. A moraled story advising the listener to give as they would wish to be given in kind.

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Philosophy & Preaching Points: Reflections of The Man in the Mirror preach the acceptance and even revel of the naked truth, no matter how glorious or uncomfortable. A violent man is not disparaged by The Man in the MIrror for being violent, he is being true to his nature- just as it is true to one's self to oppose a violent man. A socialite is looked down upon, for honeyed words and half-truths create a reality that simply is not and are even encouraged to untangle the webs they weave. Reflections are polarizing presences in the Peerage Ward and in neighboring communities, welcomed for their honesty and loathed for their blunt and oftentimes intrusive honesty.

The enticing truth reflections offer, the one they call Reflection, is that one mustn't suffer the lot they are born with. They can rid themselves of their skinny physiques and grow fat, or do away with curled hair and straighten it. For the things they cannot change, it offers a path to self acceptance to tolerate and perhaps even appreciate these unwelcome features.

In a way, they offer the absconding of self respect, for when you do not care for your physical image, it no longer bothers you and cannot be used as a barb against you.


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Blessings & Banes: The blessings of the Man in the MIrror tend to favor things of a transmutation nature, for it lines up with the ideology of sculpting oneself into the image of perfection. Illusions are frowned upon, for they are deceiving and can embellish or create full falsehoods. The Man in the Mirror will grant no spells of an illusion nature.

Those who deal in deceit and incur the divine, ornery wroth of reflections are cursed. Either in an image that best reflects their inner nature (such as chickens, or pigs), or leave them physically frail to represent the weak foundation of character they depict themselves as.