Lost Gods

"I swear by all the lost gods, whoever they may be."

The Lost Gods are a pantheon of deities currently being rediscovered throughout Rathnir. While their origins are unverifiable, they seem to have originated from the nomadic Najer culture, then forgotten as the nomads settled in villages.

Currently, seven deities have been confirmed and named. Several others are theorized and are being researched.

The Lost Gods symbolize those who were lost in certain places, allowing them to guide you whenever you are there.

Organization and nature
So far, research has indicated that there were two major groups of deities historically venerated by the Najer. The first group governs physical things, such as the sky, heat, and sand. The second group governs metaphysical concepts such as death and dreams. Each group contains six gods. Each god has an object (token) and a virtue associated with them. Both of these are often deeply symbolic, tying in with not only each other, but with the symbols and virtues of other gods.

Each god is thought to be an embodied force, a manifestation of the world. Although they are often ascribed with human features such as bodies, genders, and personalities, most Najer scholars and theologians agree that they have no concrete form.

Menkauhor - God of Sand
Menkauhor, known also as the "Buried Bells," was the first god to have been rediscovered. The discovery of an ancient temple dedicated to him, known today as Najera'jad Temple, first kickstarted the Najer cultural renaissance in 1 AB. His token is a pair of bells. Many Najer villages have a pair of bells as a homage to this deity. The left one is chimed at births (life), and the right is chimed at funerals. (death)

He is commonly associated with renewal, symbolized through sand. The constantly shifting and resetting sand dunes bring to mind an infinite capacity to reset and rebuild. This also strongly associated with the Najer epithet "we remain," a traditional phrase used in the face of hardship.

Menkauhor aids those who have lost sight of their foundation, those who have forgotten their past, and those who wander.

Proverbs
There are two known proverbs referencing this deity, found inscribed in the temple at Najera'jad.
 * "Men, kings, and even gods may fall, but you shall rise again."
 * Written in response to when tragedy befalls someone.
 * "The Bell tolls for thee - the bell tolls for me."
 * Written to convey the passage of generations; The young surviving their ancestors.

Incomplete
There are also two incomplete sayings, obscured by the passage of time
 * "The sands spill away, and reveal a brand new day. One of miracles and whose bell rings for its"
 * "But for those guard the nest, Shall soon come their eternal So with eyes set on a setting sun, they hear a tolling duties"

Ajvudah - God of Heat
Ajvudah was the second god rediscovered. The unearthing of Nahrayn led to many artifacts and documents related to this god being made public, around 39 AB. Her token is a lantern. Lanterns, particularly soul Lanterns, are often arranged around significant sites, temples, and memorials as a homage to Ajvudah.

She is primarily associated with endurance and vitality. Life in the desert is difficult, and this god is sometimes looked upon negatively for this reason. However, Ajvudah represents the negative and positive aspects of heat, promoting a capacity to survive and overcome challenges.

Ajvudah aids those who have lost their strength, the sick, and those who are weak.

Gafa - God of Water
Gafa was the third god rediscovered. Residents of Sigtuna discovered the Vernadamal Cenote, thought to be a holy site to this god. Her token is a sea lantern, which are sometimes placed around oases as a homage to Gafa.

This god is strongly associated with peace. The symbolic sharing of water between Najer is significant because of the value and scarcity of water in the desert. Due to various conflicts over water throughout the long history of the Najer, many Najer revere Gafa to promote peace and understanding. A common phrase in the Najer language, translated as "Gafa bless you," is used in reference to warmongers.

Gafa aids those who are lost in imperialistic, bigoted, or greedy desires.

Taramsej - God of Stone
Taramsej was among the group of gods discovered by the cracking of the ancient Najer script. Research done by Najer scholars unlocked the secrets of many old documents, revealing this gods name and symbols. His symbol is a diamond. Diamond tools and adornments were commonly placed around significant sites, but over the centuries these have all been stolen or destroyed.

This god is linked with industry. Stone and other minerals take effort to obtain, and the desire to obtain these things is a driving force behind the desire to progress as a society, build cities, and become prosperous.

Taramsej aids those who have become lost in laziness or carelessness, and the impassioned.

Duyani - God of Flora
Duyani was among the group of gods discovered by the cracking of the ancient Najer script. Research done by Najer scholars unlocked the secrets of many old documents, revealing this gods name and symbols. Her symbol is sunflowers, specifically the desert dandelion, which is a type of sunflower. This dandelion is an important symbol for many Najer that connects the various gods together, and is the national flower of the Emirate of Najer.

This god has many associations, including plantlife, creation, and beauty. Flowers in particular symbolize expressions of aesthetic, color, and passion. These connections tie the Najer love of life to their deep respect for nature. Duyani is commonly venerated at festivals, celebrations, and other lively events.

Duyani aids those who lack willpower or inspiration, as well as those who love nature.

Koshaf - God of Sky
Koshaf was among the group of gods discovered by the cracking of the ancient Najer script. Research done by Najer scholars unlocked the secrets of many old documents, revealing this gods name and symbols. Although the least-understood god, his symbol is the quill pen (or feathers in general).

This god is associated with prediction, foresight, knowledge, and innovation. The sky can foretell many natural phenomenon, and holds the keys to many secrets. While the sand represents remembering what was, the sky represents finding something new.

Koshaf aids those who lack knowledge.

Metaphysical group
This group, with the exception of Mayassioh, is much less well-understood, and is still being researched.

Mayassioh - God of Night, Dreams, and Foresight
This God is a mysterious and very ancient one. We do not know their true face (as they use a veil), nor their original name, as even our Najer ancestors did not know it and thus were not able to pass it down to us in written record or through oral tradition. The name that reached us means Lord of Night in ancient Najer. We know that this is not Mayassioh's real name as the script it was written on does not match the style of the statue chronologically; thus we can conclude it was a later addition. The Lord of Night was probably an epithet of the deity instead. What we know about this elusive deity is that he is a protector of all those that sleep, is responsible for weaving and bringing dreams to everyone (regardless of their belief), and exceptionally can provide visions of the future as a gift or as a warning. These visions, however, are never clear, and might give the wrong impression to those who were blessed by it. The symbols most associated with Mayassioh are the upward facing crescent moon (called a Bacra in the Najer language) and a wodden bowel.

This deity is also closely linked with Noxist deity Baldemar, “the bringer of dreams”. Most evidently, both are responsible for the dreams of everyone (believer or not), moreover their faces are unknown to us mere mortals. Baldemar was also connected to mysticism in Noxist religion, as he had the ability to give visions to people (“giving people the power of seeing both the dreamworld (the land of the dead) and the land of the living”), however he stopped using this power as frequently as time went on. The main center of worship for this new God is the Sandstone Cave, north of Kijaro and surrounding temple complexes (Tala’ii Temple). The cave, which we do not know when or by whom it was built in-game, has a central spire that very closely resembles a Noxist temple (this plus the establishment of New Sovdal next to Kijaro birthed the idea of making connection with a Noxist deity). In the past, the proto-Najer civilization would have built a temple complex (Tala’ii) next to the cave in which people could visit to receive the divine foresight that was given by Mayassioh to an oracle that slept every night at the center of the cave’s spire. In the spire, offerings of incense were burned at sunset and the oracle would receive the visions during their sleep, aided by an inebriating gas that emanates from the cave’s porous floor during the night. The cave, and the ruins in its interior, would have been constructed in the far past by the Noxnorr during their migration North (following the Afton - the North Star - to their future homeland). This cave was then used as a temple to Baldemar, and the worship of this god would have been passed to the Najer. It is possible that the other Noxist Gods were also worshiped in that cave (no archeological evidence was found so far), but only Baldemar’s cult survived the Noxist departure.

Eventually, when the Noxnorr continued on with their migration, the worship of this god persisted with the Najer of the area, coming to the cave to perform rituals, praise the Lord of Night, and receive his visions. With time, a pyramidal temple (Tala’ii) was built next to the cave to host the oracle and a small village was organized nearby (from this village only the building next to the temple survived until today). As the god made its visions rarer and rarer (due to risk of death to those who received them), the temple and cave started losing its importance among the Najer and the god was forgotten to time.

Still, there are some remnants and evidence of the god’s existence in Najer oral tradition, for example: Vushootnas, the first Annaba to become Seyoh, is said to have had a vision of his Seyoh’s premature death and his rise to power while sleeping on a large sandstone cave. Asdrubal also suspects that the dream that lead him to join the Fellowship was a vison given by Mayassioh so that the Najer people would be able to praise him once again. The Bacri Pom (the tribe of Vushootnas and Asdrubal) is one of the few Najer tribes that still give Mayassioh a position of greater relevance in their pantheon. They say that this diety is their patron god, and that Mayassioh protects them from evil, specially during the night and sleep time, and that gives them the power of foresight through visions in their dreams.

The god is depicted as a veiled figure, whose appearance and especially, the face, is hard to pinpoint a description. The deity is normally also depicted with an upwards facing crescent moon on its back.