The Sovereign Host

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The Sovereign Host
Alignment Neutral Good
Pantheon Eberron
Portfolio Civilization, craft, growth, plenty, community, justice
Domains 3E/5E: Too many to count, just look at the domains of the associated deities
4E: Civilization, Fate, Knowledge
Favoured Weapon Longsword

The Sovereign Host is Eberron's closest equivalent to a benevolent pantheon of good, each a deity devoted to upholding the tenets of civilization. Because of this, the Host is considered one of the most prevalent religions of all Khorvaire, but also one of the most diverse. A majority of the nations have them as the state religion and in those that don't, there's either a pocket cult of worship or missionaries out there spreading the word of nine gods.

Most of the Host's adherents understand that the divine is in all things, both the Host and the Dark Six (their opposite number), and thus seek to uphold the common good or just uphold life as they know it. The issue here is that this sort of belief is just as likely to be exploited to rob people of their free will if not leave them so susceptible to manipulation. On top of that, the fact that worship of the host is so broad can also work against the church - especially following the Last War, it's been known that various countries or territories have their own variations of worship, and thus certain beliefs and customs held in a church in Breland may not necessarily hold up when going to a small pocket church in Karranth.

Like their fellow gods, the Dark Six, the Host form one of the oldest religious organizations on Eberron. However, unlike other religions, such as the Silver Flame or the Blood of Vol, it doesn't offer any kind of escape hatch from the gloomy grey afterlife of Dolurrh. While a few individual sects offer some potential interpretations on the Realm of Death, such as the idea that it serves as a kind of purgatory in transit to a true afterlife or reincarnation, or that when mankind has helped to repair the world sufficiently it will instead become a pleasant place, for the most part the Sovereign Host asks its adherents to accept Dolurrh for what it is, and to live life and try to make the world a better place for their own sakes, rather than to gain some kind of eternal reward.

This might be part of why, despite still being the most popular religion in the world, these others are gaining ground.

The Gods[edit]

Arawai[edit]

Arawai

A stalk of wheat, or the Octogram in bronze and green, representing grains and plant life
Aliases Aarakti (Adar), Rowa of the Enduring Trees (Syrk), Rowa of the Jungle Leaves (Giant)
Alignment Neutral Good
Pantheon Eberron (The Sovereign Host)
Portfolio Fertility, crops, abundance, plants, the wilderness, birth
Domains 3E: Creation, birth, life, plant, weather
4E: Life, Storm, Wilderness
5E: Life, Nature
Favoured Weapon Morningstar

Arawai, Sovereign of Life and Love, is the goddess of nature and the harvest. Thus, she is usually worshiped by farmers who wish for a bountiful harvest, woodsmen who travel the wilderness, and citizens who wish to protect their lands. Most clerics of Arawai tend to be herbologists or farmers as well and navigate forests to guide the lost. She is sister to both Balinor and the Devourer, the latter of whom raped her, giving birth to the Fury. This was the inciting incident that caused the Dark Six to split from the Sovereign Host.

Arawai is portrayed as either a half-elf, a halfling or a human, and has even been portrayed as a bronze dragon.

Aureon[edit]

Aureon

An open tome, or the Octogram in shades of black and white, representing both ink on paper and the sharp division between knowledge and ignorance.
Aliases Ouralon (Giant), Ourelonastrix (Dragon)
Alignment Lawful Neutral
Pantheon Eberron (The Sovereign Host)
Portfolio Law, knowledge, learning, magic
Domains 3E: Force, knowledge, lore, magic, mind, oracle, spell
4E: Arcana, Justice, Knowledge
5E: Knowledge, Order
Favoured Weapon Quarterstaff

Aureon, Sovereign of Law and Lore, is the bringer of law and magic, writer of all tomes. He is considered the reason that magic can be controlled by mortal men, and it is by his vast wisdom that the Divine Host can act. Worshipers of Aureon tend to be the well-educated and the magically-trained, and his priests are usually required to be about as much of a bookworm as the average wizard.

Long ago, Aureon bound all the evil in his soul and banished it from his personage. This monster became known as the Shadow. It is said that Eberron will come to an end when he and his shadow rejoin.

The ruling members of the Wynarn bloodline are supposed to be blessed by Aureon, akin to a divine right. Outside of Thrane's vestigial nobles however, modern people tend to put little stock into that claim.

Aureon is the brother of Onatar and the husband of Boldrei. Aureon is portrayed as a gnome or human wizard and occasionally as a blue dragon.

Balinor[edit]

Balinor

A silhouetted pair of antlers, or the Octogram in brown and red, representing the flesh, blood, and fur of beasts
Aliases Baalkan the Beastlord (Orc), Banor the Bloody Spear (Giant), Banor the Bowhunter (Syrk), Bally-Nur (Halfling), Braahyn (Adar)
Alignment True Neutral
Pantheon Eberron (The Sovereign Host)
Portfolio Animals, the hunt
Domains 3E: Air, Animal, Celerity, Earth, Retribution
4E: Earth, Strength, Wilderness
5E: Nature, War
Favoured Weapon Battleaxe

Balinor, Sovereign of Horn and Hunt, represents all beasts that live in Eberron. He is the essence of survival and the constant battle between predator and prey, for this is the cycle of life. Together with his sister Arawai, they represent nature and what civilization can attempt to tame.

Though he is often worshiped by rangers and trappers, he believes only in killing for survival. Those who hunt for sport or for glory tend to earn his wrath more often than not. Balinor is usually portrayed as a burly human although occasionally he is drawn as a crude but good natured half-orc and even more uncommon, a stalking green dragon.

Boldrei[edit]

Boldrei

A fire in a stone hearth, or the Octogram in orange and gray, representing fire and stone.
Aliases Baaldra the Protector (Orc)
Alignment Lawful Good
Pantheon Eberron (The Sovereign Host)
Portfolio Hearth, community, marriage, government.
Domains 3E: Community, Family, Good, Law, Protection
4E: Civilization, Justice, Protection
5E: Life, Peace, Twilight
Favoured Weapon Spear

Boldrei, Sovereign of Hall and Hearth, is the wife of Aureon and goddess of communities, homes, and the hearth. It's mentioned that these two are the centerpiece of the Host's worship, as all civilization and everyday life exists because of both laws and communities. Her worshipers do not tend to any single sort of role, as their priority tends to be to protect their communities above all, be it through upholding law in civil service or as a soldier protecting the outskirts.

Boldrei is typically portrayed as a commoner of any race or a copper dragon protectively brooding over a nest of eggs.

Dol Arrah[edit]

Dol Arrah

A rising sun, or the Octogram in bright yellow-gold and white, representing light and purity.
Aliases Aengrist (Frostfell), Dularanahk (Dragon)
Alignment Lawful Good
Pantheon Eberron (The Sovereign Host)
Portfolio Honor, sacrifice, light, the sun, diplomacy.
Domains 3E: Glory, Good, Law, Sun, War
4E: Hope, Sun, War
5E: Light, Twilight, War
Favoured Weapon Halberd

Dol Arrah, Sovereign of Sun and Sacrifice, is the goddess of all light and good in the world, a role that often cause tensions with the Church of the Silver Flame who believe that their non-physical flame-based deity is the real deal. She stands for justice, chivalry, and moral integrity, making her usually the one that paladins typically devote to.

Dol Arrah is the sister of Dol Dorn and the Mockery (Dol Azur). In Karrnath, the three are worshipped together as the Three Faces of War.

She is often portrayed as a human or half-elf knight shining with holy radiance, and occasionally as a red dragon perched atop a cloud.

Dol Dorn[edit]

Dol Dorn

A longsword crossed over a shield (or just the longsword, if the symbol is drawn on a shield), or the Octogram in red and silver, representing blood and steel.
Aliases Garu-Umesh the One-Eyed (Orc)
Alignment Chaotic Good
Pantheon Eberron (The Sovereign Host)
Portfolio War, athleticism, competition
Domains 3E: Chaos, Competition, Good, Liberation, Strength, War
4E: Skill, Strength, War
5E: War
Favoured Weapon Longsword

Dol Dorn, Sovereign of Strength and Steel, is your standard fare war god, believer in strength of arms and glory in combat. Compared to Dol Arrah, he cares a bit less about what the fight is about, so long as the fight is considered fair and the cause just. He's also the reason Dark Six got booted from their pantheon.

Often depicted as a heavily muscled human, dwarf, or half-orc - and occasionally, as a powerful silver dragon - Dol Dorn is the brother of Dol Arrah and the Mockery.

Kol Korran[edit]

Kol Korran

A nine-sided gold coin stamped with the Octogram, or the Octogram in gold and silver, representing the wealth of precious metals.
Alignment True Neutral
Pantheon Eberron (The Sovereign Host)
Portfolio Wealth, money, commerce, trade, theft
Domains 3E: Charm, Commerce, Pact, Trade, Travel, Wealth
4E: Civilization, Skill, Trickery
5E: Trickery
Favoured Weapon Heavy Mace

Kol Korran, Sovereign of World and Wealth, represents all forms of trade and commerce, elements that only show up after a civilization has established itself. Because of this particular distinction, sometimes he's considered a bit of a jealous hanger-on of the god, never able to be counted equally among the rest of the Host. Of course, this can be represented at its worst through memes about le crafty joos as well as his own brother.

Kol Korran is the son of Olladra and Onatar and is often depicted as a cheerful, fat human or dwarf and occasionally as a white dragon laying atop a pile of ice blue gems.

Olladra[edit]

Olladra

A domino, or the Octogram in white and dark gray, representing both good fortune and bad.
Aliases Hleid (Frostfell), Ollarasht the Gambler (Orc)
Alignment Neutral Good
Pantheon Eberron (The Sovereign Host)
Portfolio Good fortune, feast, plenty
Domains 3E: Feast, Good, Healing, Luck, Pride
4E: Change, Freedom, Luck
5E: Life, Trickery
Favoured Weapon Sickle

Olladra, Sovereign of Feast and Famine Fortune, is your equivalent of Lady Luck, the goddess who grants her blessings in a manner neigh-inscrutable to most mortals. Considering that her sole providence tends to be fortune with feasting more of a tacked-on side aspect, it's difficult to really identify what her devout tend to do, though gamblers, bards, hedonists, merchants and entertainers tend to flock to her in hopes of getting on her good side.

Most often Olladra is depicted as a young halfling, an elderly human, or a black dragon.

Onatar[edit]

Onatar

Crossed hammer and tongs, or the Octogram in red and orange, representing the different shades of fire
Alignment Neutral Good
Pantheon Eberron (The Sovereign Host)
Portfolio Crafts, weapons, tools, smithing, fire, innovation
Domains 3E: Artifice, Creation, Fire, Good, Metal, Warforged
4E: Civilization, Creation, Strength
5E: Forge, Knowledge
Favoured Weapon Warhammer

Onatar, Sovereign of Fire and Forge, is essentially Hephaestus except not horribly crippled. He is the fire of creation and the bringer of weapons made by those fires. Forges always turn to him for worship and even some Warforged tend to follow him in their search for a purpose when religions based on their own don't cut it.

Onatar is often portrayed as dwarven smith and occasionally as a brass dragon. Married to Ollandra, he is the father of both Kol Korran and the Keeper (Kol Turrant).

Sects and heresies[edit]

Like all religions in Eberron, there are several different sects and heresies, though in the case of the Host, these are born mainly due to cultural differences, and due the preference for integrating the faiths and customs of other cultures and races to their own religion. It can be said that the entire faith is nothing but a collection of variant sects.

Church of the Wyrm Ascendant[edit]

The main sect of Stormreach, the Wyrm Ascendant doctrine claims after the dragons defeated the children of Khyber, Eberron and Siberys blessed the mightiest among them, who became the Sovereigns, and they watch over all mortal creatures. The members are greedy and obsessed with dragons, seeking anything related to them, and imitating them by building themselves a hoard. This also is a part of their teachings, in that if you get a big enough hoard you can buy your way to the realm of the Sovereigns and become a celestial dragon yourself.

Disciples[edit]

The disciples are those who devote themselves fully to one of the Sovereigns and largely ignore the others. They don't disdain the other deities for no reason, most simply feel that their lives fall largely under the purview of only one deity, like a career soldier worshipping only Dol Dorn, as life is nothing but fighting to survive for him, or a farmer who only worships Arawai, having never left his stead and knowing any other way to live.

Faiths of Rushemé[edit]

The giants of Xen'drik worship a wide pantheon of spirits and gods, with the spirit of the land, Rushemé, as the main focus but others worship also other spirits and gods, like Vulkoor, and among them are: Ouralon the Lawbringer, a god of law and magic who was devoured by his own shadow, Rowa of the Jungle Leaves, a goddess of life and nature, prone to passions that drive her to a destructive rage manifesting as natural disasters, Banor the Bloody Spear, a god of hunting and giants role in the natural world, who also becomes a war god when needed, and Karrak the Final Guardian, a keeper of the dead who saves the worthy ones from disappearing into the whole of Rushemé, preserving them until needed again in Eberron. Followers of The Host quickly point out the similarities with their gods and the giant ones, and the giants point out that their traditions are at least several thousand years older than the human ones.

Hierocrats[edit]

The hierocrats differs from the above disciples in that where they consider belonging to one gods purview, the hierocrats believe that one of them is simply superior to other deities. The Blades of Dol Dorn believe that civilization only grows by conquest and battle and preach the superiority of their patron, while Scions of the Forge are warforged who believe that Onatar was the creator god and the other gods his servants, who created the mortal races and, through his inspiration, they created the warforged.

Lesser pantheons[edit]

Worshippers of the lesser pantheons usually give praise to few sovereigns over others, like in Mror Holds where they worship mainly Dol Dorn, Kol Korran, and Onatar, but the most heretical ones combine the Sovereign Hosts deities with those of the Dark Six, as they claim the division between them was merely a mortal creation, contradicting the mainline teachings. The Three Faces of War, a secret society in Rekkenmark Academy, worships Dol Arrah, Dol Dorn, and The Mockery, recognizing them all as aspects of war. The Restful Watch ties their worship of Aureon to The Keeper, claiming that he seeks to preserve great souls for the future. Goblinoids in Rhukaan Draal worship Balinor, Dol Arrah, Dol Dorn, The Mockery, and The Shadow in equal measure. The Nine and Six and One embrace all of them, a concept that is generally associated with those on the far edges of the civilized world, though not-necessarily evil.

Some scholars claim ancients worshiped not strictly divided Host and Dark Six, but instead worshiped The Mockery, The Fury, Aureon, Boldrei, Dol Arrah, Dol Dorn, Kol Korran, Olladra and Onatar as deities of civilization, while also worshiping Arawai, Balinor, The Devourer, The Keeper, The Shadow, and The Traveler as primal deities of the wild.

Proxy cults[edit]

Some people believe that the deities are beyond mortal comprehension, or that they cannot properly honor them, so they form cults around Radiant Idols and dragons, worshipping them as mouthpieces of the gods.

Sela's Path[edit]

The sect of the half-elven House Lyrandar. They tell that their founders, Lyran the Firstborn and Selavash, were chosen by the sovereigns Arawai and Kol Korran, having recieved a vision of them upon gaining their Marks of Storm, and they were the true children of Khorvaire, ruling over nature and commerce. They then travelled to the various half-elf settlements, preaching of their own visions and performing miracles. The cult worships Arawai and Kol Korran almost exclusively and claims that Lyran and Selavash act as their intermediaries to the half-elves.

Talenta faith[edit]

In Talenta Plains the halflings worship various animal and ancestral spirits, with Balinor as their head.

Voice of Aureon[edit]

A sect within the half-elven House Medani. The priesthood consists of dragonmarked Medani, who are taught how to use their mark to peer into the past and the future. Mainly spend their time in contemplation and studying, when not working for their house.