Monday, December 22, 2008

777 Gods of Vanth

Conventional wisdom holds that God City is so called because the Vulkins who opened Vanth to Galactic commerce posed as angels and divine beings in their dealings with the benighted natives. "Technology came to Vanth when the Vulkin Star Empire established a starport there to begin trading, but they were careful to present themselves as supernatural visitors from the heavens, and the starport is known as God City," writes Henry Riley in the Vanthian history Encounter Critical.

However, as Riley goes on to note, "nobody really believes God City is the home of 'angels' anymore." Yet the name persists. One reason for this must surely be the influence of the Institute for Deist, Immortalistic, Omniscientific and Theological Studies -- the IDIOTS. Founded during the height of Galactic trade with Vanth, the Institute sent exploring scholars to gather sacred texts and relics from across the face of Vanth. In so doing the Institute itself became a place of pilgrimage for both the devious and the devout, who sought in equal numbers to con and to convert the scholars. In due time an entire temple district sprang up, centered on the IDIOTS, such that 777 gods are said to live in God City.

It's my hope to compile a list of all of these gods in their hundredfold glory, beginning with the few below. I welcome any contributions my readers might have in the field of Vanthian religious studies as well. Please post any information on gods, demigods, godlings, Great Old Ones, sentient AIs, genius loci, legendary heroes and household saints in the comments and I will compile them in a master list.

1. Arugulon, The Green Giant.
2. Bongo
3. The Century Toad, who dwells in the hollow core of Vanth, or so some say (cf. Great Writhing Wormhole).
4. Conical Lint Creature, the Sleeper in the Darkness Beneath the Bed.
5. Count Worbinu, god of vampires and vorvons.
6. Esquivel
7. The Great Writhing Wormhole, the howling space-time vortex said to dance mindlessly at the center of Vanth. Placated by its worshippers with horrifying rituals of jazz flute. Repudiated by the followers of the Century Toad (cf.)
8. Hodgmozandias, Who Invents All Facts and Despairs. Patron saint of encyclopedeists, trivialiers, and liars.
9. Huron the Oathsome, barbarian godling.
10. Jubilex the Squishy
11. Phlugg
12. Smelt, War God of the Deep, He Who Came From Beyond the Stars to Spawn in the Sea; rogue klengon fish god.
13. Sun Ra and his Myth-Science Arkestra.
14. Manos, The Hand or Hands of Fate (see footnote in Comments section below).
15. TX-47 Beta, prototype Artificial Omniscience.
16. Voola & Kinos, the ur-vulkins. Though revered, the First Mother and First Father are not worshipped by more than a handful of defiantly illogical vulkins. Most vulkins regard them as a foundational myth rather than historical figures. However, several cargo cults centered on the pair sprang up in the wake of the Vulkin Star Empire's first contact with savage Vanth.
17. Zabu the Immodest
18. ZZZy, the Penultimate God.
19. Kitt Hatare, goddess of cats and temptation [Peace be upon her]
20. The Dude, He Who...well, surely you know.
21. Xagyg the Trickster (about whom see comment below)
22. The Egg of Coot, "...a giant thickly hided egg, pure energy....that...carries out its activities through the use of surrogates which it controls or has programmed." Scholars vehemently deny that Xagyg and the Egg are one and the same, though it is acknowledged that their sects overlap.

2 comments:

Tavis said...

Xagyg the Trickster. Slighted in the official history of Vanth, despite the acknowledgment given to such minor demigods of the his pantheon as Kask the Editor, Xagyg is best known for a castle squatting atop deadly subterranean passages said to be unmappable. Multiple attempts to prove this untrue have been met with terrible fates.

Will Douglas said...

14. Manos, The Hands of Fate.


Some research theologians insist on including Torgo as the Pinky Finger of Fate.

Others argue that Manos is only the Left Hand of Fate, not both. Efforts to identify the Right Hand have thus far been fruitless.


[And then, on a purely cheeky note, there is Tando, the god of stuff you have to type in to prove you're not a robot when you reply to a blog entry...]