Erdreus

Overview

Erdreus is the youngest of all of the Greater Gods. As the son and heir of the former Goddess of Love Tsophia, he has assumed her place in the Blessed Gods’ pantheon under the guidance of his aunts, Khitar and Nimway. As a young and benevolent deity, long dormant as the world moved on without him, he is quite naïve to the ways of the world and the workings of other major powers, and often relies on trusted allies to help him make decisions.

Erdreus appears as a youth with silver-white hair, but is much older than he seems. Formed in the image of humanity, he has rounded ears, and his dark gaze is said to be eternally filled with compassion. He is most often clothed in white or blue robes rather than armor, and carries a staff grown of living wrenwood, whose flowers are a symbol of happiness and goodwill.

Titles: God of Love, Son of Starlight

Domains: Love Domain

Symbol: A circle of five pairs of clasped hands enveloping a mirror. Often worn in pendant form with the center polished to a mirror shine, anyone who looks into it may see themselves reflected there.

Herald:

History

First God War

Tsophia, once a powerful goddess of Love and Healing, was a prime target during the First God War and, knowing that she was unlikely to survive it due to how heavily she was being targeted, Tsophia instead chose to conceal the Love Domain, hiding it away so that mortals wouldn't lose access to Love when she disappeared. In exchange for control of the Healing Domain, the Twins (Khitar and Nimway) assisted Tsophia in the creation and concealment of a sanctuary on Haerúna, the larger of Lorithandar's two moons, where some of her beloved mortals and other creations could take refuge from the God War. Tsophia then swore the other two to secrecy with divine magic before retreating to her new temple, where she created a child from her own divine power: an heir to Love who would shepherd the mortal races in her stead. Tsophia then passed every ounce of power that remained within her (as well as access to the Love domain) to her son before concealing his very name and, shortly after, disappearing from existence - the devotion and sacrifice of a mother for her beloved child keeping him safe and hidden for millennia, until the sanctuary was discovered by the Unseelie Queen Maeve, who nearly managed to steal him away before he made his way into the care of the Twins themselves.

Relationships

Erdreus' existence was so hidden that his sudden appearance was a bit of an upset to the pantheon of the Blessed Gods. Despite this, he was generally well-received among them due to Tsophia being perceived as generally unproblematic by the majority of the remaining greater gods, with the exceptions being Irrilandrilla and Kao. Their main point of contention is that some of the Love Domain's powers might be effectively weaponized against them, however, Erdreus does not seek conflict with any of his family and would be inclined to continue his mother's work building bonds among the Blessed Gods if given the chance.

Of all the Blessed Gods, Erdreus has the greatest rapport with Nimway and Khitar, as the two of the immediately assumed responsibility for his protection and wellbeing when he first awakened from dormancy and began to wield his divine power. Nimway is the more reserved of the two, as she is slightly bitter at the loss of her role as the unofficial goddess of love since Erdreus joined the pantheon. She bears him no ill will, but maintains a slight distance that her twin Khitar doesn't hesitate to close. The wrathful goddess is both fond and protective of Erdreus, but dislikes his apparent aversion to conflict, which is often a point of contention between the two.

Erdreus considers his greatest enemies to be whichever entity caused his mother's death and the archangel-turned-Deadlord Apollion who was corrupted and, twisted in his insanity and grief, lays the blame for Tsophia's death on Erdreus. Apollion and his legions of corrupted angels actively work against Erdreus wherever possible. The Unseelie Queen Maeve also nearly spirited him away before he made it safely under his aunts' protection, and he is wary of her machinations.