Phidas
Phidas Resona
Phidas embodies the divine version of the archetype of the scheming treacherous vizier. He represents the dark side of ambition.
He also represents a victim becoming a bully. His injuries were greater than any of the rest of the Nine during the the Divine Rebellion and Phidas uses his suffering as justification to make others suffer and to take what he feels he is owed.
On the positive side, he represents how selfish motivations can help the greater good, in the way Phidas is a living metaphor for capitalism. Phidas maintains the Barrier for purely selfish reasons but in so doing he protects the rest of the Nine and all of Scarterra. Phidas' mortal followers commonly do altruistic deeds because they want credit for doing good deeds.
More than the rest of the Nine, Phidas is more defined by his failures and shortcomings than by his successes.
Some theologians argue that the Nine do not have humanoid or draconic forms in the sense that most peasants envisage the Nine, but most Scarterrans believe that Turoch ripped off Phidas’ face. Phidas took most of Turoch's skin to forge a mask to hide his deformity. Some people say that Phidas walks with a limp, assuming gods walk.
However you measure it, Phidas has never fully recovered from the wounds Turoch inflicted on him. It is widely believed that the rest of the Nine have made full recoveries from their wounds inflicted by Turoch.
Phidas uses the fact that he was more greatly wounded than his siblings as an excuse for why he deserves more power and prestige, but the rest of the Nine do not accept his rationale for why he deserves more power.
In general the Lawful deities have few favored souls and the Chaotic deities have lots of favored souls. Officially, the Masks say that Phidas does not have favored souls because Phidas does not need or want them. Phidas’ detractors speculate openly that maybe Phidas does not have them because he lacks the capacity to empower them.
There is a small subsect of Masks believed to be heretical by some called Blessed One Seekers who believe that eventually Phidas will have a favored soul and he or she will usher in a golden age for Phidas' faithful.
Greymoria and Maylar have created a lot of new creatures. Phidas has created few if any though he has adopted many of Greymoria's cast-offs. Officially, the Masks say that Phidas does not need or want to create a slew of vanity races, but again some speculate that Phidas cannot create new creatures easily.
Phidas does not have a lot of active spirits, but he is far from impotent here. At any given time, Phidas usually has more spirit minions than Khemra and Hallisan at least. half-spirit/half mortals connected to Phidas are extremely rare, but they are not unheard of. So far, no half-spirit child of Phidas has manifested the powers of a favored soul.
by Me using Nightcafe
Phidas is famous for his mask. As a sign of devotion, Phidas' priests and priestesses usually wear masks during formal religious ceremonies so they are often called the Masks of Phidas, or simply the Masks. The Masks wield a lot of political and commercial influence throughout Scarterra. While martial prowess is not their main forte, the Masks do have a fair number of trained warriors, both conventional warriors and stealth warriors.
Accomplishments and Failures
Phidas' honeyed words (and is unwilling participation as a meat shield) allowed the rest of the Nine to strike at Turoch at the opportune moment.Scarterra is a very divided world and there are very few global things. But Scarterra does have a global standardized currency thanks to Phidas. They have a far more sophisticated banking and finance system than real world medieval Earth had, thanks to Phidas.
Phidas may not not be the most beloved deity in Scarterra, but he is respected (or possibly feared). Phidas' priests and priestesses at least have a foot in the door in nearly every royal court and guild association in Scarterra.
by Me with Midjourney
Divine Domains
Phidas’ Portfolio includes but is not limited to: Defense against the Void, oaths/contracts, commerce, wealth, legal cunning, punishment, contracts, oaths, disguises, pragmatic ruthlessness, protection, protection rackets, life stones, subterranean monsters
The favored spheres of Phidas' theurgists are Crafts, Protection, and Purification.
Phidas' primary Dominion is maintenance of the Barrier. Phidas primary Gift to mortalkind is currency and commerce.
Artifacts
Phidas symbol of power and Divine Trophy is a mask crafted out of Turoch's skin.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Most of Phidas prominent symbols involves masks to some degree hence why his followers are nicknamed "Masks." Other common holy symbols include coins, scales, daggers and quills among other things associated with commerce, contracts, oaths, and byzantine politics.
Tenets of Faith
Basic Tenets: -Obey all your oaths and contracts and repay all your debts.
-Help others fulfill their commitments when they falter slightly. Punish them when they fail entirely.
-Create order to encourage the keeping of one’s commitments and fortify the world against destruction and chaos.
Holidays
Phidas' Zodiac Month is the start of winter in Scarterra. More or less the coldest forty days of the year. Phidas' Dawn, the Zenith of Phidas, and Phidas' Solace mark the beginning, midpoint and end of Phidas' Zodiac month.
Because it is so cold, ordinary Scarterrans are not to eager to get involved in Phidas' Zodiac holidays. The Masks use it for internal affairs though on the Zenith of Phidas the Masks often give away free food to get crowds of lay people to attend the ceremonies.
Phidas and his Masks may be selfish schemers, but they are selfish schemers who seek good public relations. Not wanting to be impeded by cold weather, they commonly celebrate a holiday in Midsummer called Gift Day or sometimes even Gift Week where they bestow food, coins, and free magical services on the general populace. Secular lords and lady are encouraged to follow suit and also bestow gifts on their subjects.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Before Turoch was destroyed, he swore that he'd be back and that he would kill Phidas first. Phidas takes this threat very seriously and he pushes his mortal followers to be very active in any ecumenical organization safeguarding against the Void and/or preventing a Third Unmaking.
The Masks are expected to put all their ongoing schemes on the shelf and work with even hated rivals at the faintest whisper of Void demons in their vicinity.
by Me with Midjourney
Social
Contacts & Relations
Phidas probably gets along best with Greymoria. On the mortal plane, Phidas Masks work with Greymoria's Children often. The Masks really value arcane magic and arcane magic items, but they have very few mages in their own ranks, so they trade with the Children. In return the Masks provide the Children money, supplies, shelter, and in occasionally even legitimacy.
Phidas may pine for Khemra's affections but Khemra doesn’t like Phidas as much as Phidas likes her. On the mortal plane, Masks often take care of the Keepers' proverbial dirty laundry for a bit of respectability from public endorsements by the Keepers or simply for some gold under the table.
Hallisan and Phidas are definitely rivals. Their mutual similarities only keep them apart. They compete for influence in the halls of power, they compete for influence underground, they compete for the right to dominate the trade in magical items. The Masks and the Guardians rarely fight physically, but they are nearly always competing politically and economically.
Phidas’ minions rarely fight openly with Mera's minions openly, but they certainly do not get along. The Masks love to provide healing magic in exchange for money and favors, but the Tenders provide their healing magic to the masses for free! It really wrecks the Masks' business model. The Masks try to undermine the efforts and reputations of the Tenders whenever they can do this subtly because it looks bad if they are caught undermining them.
There is no love lost between Phidas and Zarthus. Their minions are at each other’s throats all the time. The Lanterns hate tyranny and they believe the Masks are agents of tyranny, but at this point the reason for their feud doesn’t matter much. The Masks and Lanterns fight each other almost on reflex now. If the two groups are not fighting openly, they are having a cold war. The one thing they agree on is that Turoch is bad. Every sane person is opposed to Void demons but the Masks and the Lanterns are among the most aggressive demon fighters and they occasionally surprise outsiders by their ability to work together when fighting minions of the Void.
Composite Display of the Nine's portraits by Zeta Gardner
Phidas and Korus don’t work together well, but they don’t fight each other much either. They just focus on separate things.
Phidas finds Nami annoying but not very threatening. On the mortal plane, the Masks generally believe that they are smart enough to convince the Rovers to go annoy someone else. Sometimes they are right. Other times the Rovers see through the charade and make the Masks pay dearly for the insult. Phidas believes while Maylar is more dangerous, he and is minions are easier to trick than Nami.
Scaraqua
In Scaraqua, Phidas is commonly referred to by the name Resona, one of the Sons of the Sea Floor. Resona is a relative bit player in Scaraqua . Scaraquans frequently lump Resona and Mangcha together as "Sons of Sea Floor" or the "Feuding Brothers." Both Resona and Mangcha are associated with photosynthetic chemical vents that provide food to deep sea creatures and both are associated with crustaceans and shell fish, so they are commonly worshipped by Astakalians.
Divine Classification
god
Alignment
Lawful Evil
Current Location
Realm
Church/Cult
Children
Sex
male
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