The Dread Gods

The Tyrant

The Tyrant is the dark master of the Dread Gods. He is the lord of cruel justice, enforcer of the dread way. The Tyrant keeps the nobility high and the commoners low, and the nobility at each other's throat, and the commoners hungry and always ready to turn their own in, or on their own. He is cruel, unforgiving, and merciless. He takes what he is owed.

The Blood

The Blood is the dark mother, she is the hidden knife, the poisoner, and the fecund one. She births her children from the unwilling, and her closest kin are bastards and the children of rapists. If the Tyrant is the evil father, then the Blood is the most wicked of mothers.

The Whore

The Whore is the patron of prostitutes, whores, and sluts. She is the enemy of modesty, innocence feigns and otherwise. Likewise she favors thieves, burglars, liars, and those who live lives of trickery and deceit. 

The Immortal

The Immortal is the aged one, the deathless one, the keeper of secrets, master of misdirection, the sorceress, and the consumer of the young, the despoiler of youth. Every infant that dies is considered a tithe to the Immortal One, each life she takes extends her own.

The Sellsword

The god of mercenaries, murderers, and the the feeder of crows, the Sellsword only blesses those who fight for coin or joy. Those who fight for king, country, or out of duty or service are better served by offering their prayers to the Tyrant. 

The Slave-Keeper

The Slave-Keeper is the dread god of labor, commerce, trade, and travel. His great works are all carried out with the lash, and his host of slaves and victims beyond number. 

The Old Friend

The Old Friend is the only member of the Dread Gods who is not hard, cruel, or wicked in nature. The Old Friend is also known as a teller of jokes and one who ends pain. The Old Friend is death, and in the Hardlands, Death is an old friend.