The Lady of Mystery and her Dukes on Duria

Worship of Abaris was considered innocuous for much of Duria’s history, with her small clergy focused primarily on wizardry and esoteric research than political or societal matters. Unfortunately, the insane dreams of Davalor the Mad, founder of Lun Dorak, were revived by the last Mage King, Lucasa the Heretic, sparking the Mage War at the conclusion of the Third Age of Man. During his relatively short reign, Lucasa succeeded in conquering much of the continents of Duria and Aurea in Abaris’ name, subjugating all non-casters as slaves and establishing wizards and sorcerers as a ruling elite. After the Mage King’s defeat and the Recession of the Gods, worship of Abaris was outlawed in some human nations on Duria and wizards were actively hunted down and burnt at the stake, regardless of whether they supported the Mage King’s naked aggression. The small priesthood of Abaris went underground in these regions, working to protect those wizards who refused to heed the Mage King’s call.

Eventually, pogroms against wizards began to abate, in no small part due to the work of the Wizarding Guilds that began to establish themselves throughout Duria. Originally predominant on Gallorea, during the Third Age of Man only a few of the Wizarding Guilds had any real presence on Duria (and in those cases, most were based in or near Neptaris). Those Guilds began to work for recognition among nations that were persecuting wizards, eventually succeeding in becoming something of a self-policing force that actively ensured renegade wizards were hunted down and turned over to the government for punishment. By the dawn of the Fourth Age of Man, most wizards in human lands on the continent of Duria belonged to one or another of these guilds, most of which looked to Abaris or one of her Dukes for patronage. The Church of Abaris on Duria slowly came out of hiding, though the vast majority of Mysterioriums on the continent ignored, if not actively opposed, edicts from the Grand Mysteriorium of the Seventh Carnation in Lun Dorak. Politically, the worshippers of Abaris realize they are in a very tentative state as far as the free peoples of Duria are concerned and work hard to ensure the mistakes of the Mage War are not repeated.

Of the Dukes of Mystery, Faunaros, Pavor, Sarpedon and Selene tend to maintain the most respect throughout Duria, though worship of Melpomene and Paelemona is respected in most nations. Of the Dukes, only Tethys tends to be relatively reviled by most human nations:

• Faunaros, god of hunting, is extremely popular in Koramia and is likely the third-most popular deity in that nation (behind Podalirius and, of course, Vortumnus). Ironically, Faunaros tends to also be very popular in Ciritasnia, a fact that was significant in arranging an alliance between the Ciritasnia and Koramia in the early years of the Fourth Age of Man. Despite his association with Abaris under the guise of Bidari the Warmaster, Duke of Evocation, worship of Faunaros did not wane in the areas where Abarisian worshippers were persecuted.
• Melpomene, goddess of Clouds, has never had a large or politically powerful clergy and few lay worshippers on Duria. She is often propitiated by expectant mothers and those seeking a change in the weather. As Jomaera the Ever-Changing, the Duchess of Mystery of Transmutation, Melpomene is somewhat distrusted still in human lands because of her association with Abarisian worship and notable Jomaeran clerics who fought with Lun Dorak in the Mage War.
• Paelemona, the Fateweaver, has long been extremely significant not only to those seeking advice on the future, but to clothiers and weavers throughout Duria. As Scalla the Spider-Queen, Duchess of Mystery for Divination, Paelemona is somewhat distrusted by those who recall the assistance Scallan worshippers provided to the Mage King’s armies in the waning decades of the Third Age of Man. Though never specifically proscribed, temples to Paelemona tend to be restricted primarily to cities and other areas with large numbers of clothiers or weavers.
• Pavor, the god of travel, is popular throughout western Duria, with small shrines along all the major trade routes and temples in any significant trading town. Though worship of Pavor as Pavari Longshanks, the Duke of Conjuration, was unpopular in regions where Abarisian worshippers were persecuted, Pavor was never formally listed as a prohibited deity.
• Selene’s popularity waned after the fall of the Third Age of Man, but only insomuch as people turned more to more utilitarian deities during those dark and difficult times. Though worship of the goddess of beauty was never proscribed, even in her aspect as Alera the Alluring, the Duchess of Enchantment, many temples closed or fell to ruin prior to the rise of the Fourth Age of Man. Her small clergy have begun to rebuild, but even still most people only implore Selene when they need something specific, such as falling in love or when needing inspiration for art.
• Worship of Sarpedon, god of guardians, actually increased as the Third Age of Man came to a close and continued to surge after the dawn of the Fourth Age. Congregations are composed mainly of town guards, warders and even some soldiers. In his aspect as Sard, the Duke of Abjuration, worship of Sarpedon waned only inasmuch as those who worshiped him in this aspect (i.e. wizards) were forced underground.
• Worship of Tethys, the goddess of undeath, has long been proscribed in most human nations and worship of the deity during the Dark Times was considered a capital crime. As the Crone, the Duchess of Mystery for Necromancy, Tethys is still generally reviled, particularly because more than a few necromancers plied their trade in support of Lun Dorak during the Mage War. Even with the coming of the Wizarding Guilds, direct worship of Tethys is prohibited in most human nations, despite the presence of a shrine to the Crone in most Abarisian temples.

All of the Dukes of Mystery remain popular in Lun Dorak, where their temples receive state support from the ruling council.