Krolos

Krolos

Known as the god of War, also called Kral, Kullas, Lord of Battle, Master of Swords, Lord of Crows.

One of the Six Who Reign Above

His symbol is the sword, or in the North the battle axe. He is often depicted as a great lord in glittering armor or a bare chested bloody barbarian. Though not given mastery of the skies he is sometimes worshipped as god of thunder and lightning and also on cold, desolate places.

Krolos has a strange duality. He is a once a symbol of the strategy of war. The calm thinker and planner. The embodiment of the nobility of battle.

But, he is also war's ruthlessness and brutality. Those filled with the blood rage of battle are said to be possessed by Krolos.

Most of the early tales of Krolos revolve around his great battles with giant beasts of legend or other gods themselves.

One such battle involves the birth of the place known as the Sundered Hills. Legend has it, long ago Krolos, the Lord of Battle, went to Vaul, the Maker of Things. Krolos asked Vaul to make him a great war hammer that would be the envy of all who beheld it. Vaul agreed, and labored many days and nights to complete it. When the hammer was done, Krolos stared in wonder at its beauty and might. Vaul asked for payment. Still in awe, Krolos said he would pay anything for it. Vaul asked for the hand of Valena, goddess of love, and sister to Krolos.

Snapped from his trance by these words, Krolos laughed and refused Vaul his payment. The god of the Forge was enraged and snatched back the hammer. The two fought.
Their battle spilled into our world. They wasted the land in their struggle, and thus the Sundered Hills were born.
Children of Krolos are the great heroes of old. Thurn the Splitter, Ulkess of Arnar, Goroth the Mighty and Kell the Black to name a few. 
Paladins of Krolos always are at the head of every battle line. His clerics bless the common soldiers before every fight. Both are always where the fighting is thickest.
After the battle, it is said the Lord of Crows walks the corpse strewn field selecting bravest for his blessings. Krolos's daughters take the souls of the bravest warriors to serve as his own bodyguard. They spend an eternity feasting and fighting.
Whether common soldier or emperor, Krolos is an indifferent master. He only rewards the brave and the bold with victory. Cowardice leads only to his punishment.

A well used shield most likely carried by the 8th Legion of the Carro Dynasty, proudly emblazoned with the sword of Krolos.

Ul-Merr

Ul-Merr
Known as the Lord of the Sea, also called Murr, Urras, Deep Father, Master of the Depths, Master of Storms and the Taker.
One of the Six Who Reign Below
His symbol is the trident, or the kraken. He is often depicted as a bare chested, green bearded man or a great merman or squid.

Ul-Merr is brother to Arnor. To him was given mastery of the seas. As Arnor is distant and aloof, Ul-Merr is rash and inconstant as the sea. He may speed a ship along its way with gentle winds, or just as easily smash it against the rocks.
Seafarers often affix his symbol to the prows of their ships with three nails. Three being Ul-Merr's sacred number. Cautious captins make three sacrifices before each voyage. First is a gift of gold, as Ul-Merr delights in shiney objects. Second is a gift of food. The third must be a gift of blood. It is said, those who die at sea, become servants of the sea god, denied passage to Gates of Morr. Thus, one of his names id the Taker.

Ul-Merr has taken no wife. Instead he delights in enticing mortal women. He rarely stays long enough to see the birth of his offspring. Many women die giving birth to a demi-god. Those progeny that survive often become lesser gods of rivers and springs, most with their father's temper.

When not bedding mortal women or smashing ships, Ul-Merr hunts the depths for those vestiges of the dark gods. Mammoth creatures of the deep.

Gods and Goddesses

In the beginning, the primordial World was ruled by the Old Ones. Dark gods of chaos, ever changing as the planet itself. They were entropy and darkness incarnate. Then, came the One. The One was a light in the darkness. The One fought the dark gods and destroyed them. But, in the battle, the One became fractured, some say wounded. Depending on which priest you ask, the One either bled twelve single drops of blood onto the now stable world, or split into twelve pieces.
These twelve pieces became the pantheon of today. They are known as the "Twelve-Who-Are-One", or more often "The Six who Reign Above and the Six who Reign Below".
These gods have many aspects of themselves, versions that represent different things to different peoples and races. They have many names. In the Empire, Krolos is the god of War. To the men of North, the Thundri, he is Kral, god of War but also of Winter, and cold forgotten places.
The priests would have us believe they take very active roles in our lives. Their works, they say, are all around us.
Most adventurers will tell you they have seen many strange things. A whispered prayer that saved them from a dark beast. A talisman that holds back the dead.
To begin, we should start with the Father...

Arnor
Known as the Father, also called Aenir, Aesirah, the Lord of the Heavens, the Sun King and the Traveler.
One of the Six Who Reign Above.
His symbol is the sun and stars. He is often depicted as bearded man crossed with a sun, or wind manifested as face blowing clouds.

Arnor was first to rise from the One's ashes. As such, he chose mastery over the sky, the air and the sun. And with it he became Lord of Light. He is also master of Order and Law.
Travelers often pray to him to light their way, but it might just as often be a farmer, praying for good weather. But Arnor is an aloof god, as befits his station, distant from the world of men, He is neutral in his stance and really only intervenes when the forces of Chaos might prevail.
Many a priest or paladin chosen by Arnor spend their lives tested by their faith. The Sun King does not shower his faithful in gifts, but those who stay in his service often become those heroes of history.
Long ago, when the Empire was born, the first Emperors chose Arnor as their symbol. Even though Emperors through the ages have added their sigil to the Imperial standard, it is always surmounted by the sun of Arnor.
Arnor's wife is Nyalla, the Mother. As Arnor is master of those things above, she holds sway over those below. Theirs is a contentious marriage, as anyone who has witnessed a tornado or earthquake will tell you.