Aanelustre

The God of Time


Also called: The Endless Serpent, The Many-Formed

Deific Rank: Greater Deity

Symbol: A wheel of lunar phases with a hourglass at the center

Home Plane: The Infinite Tower

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Portfolio: Aanelustre (the smaller moon), destiny, seers, time, visions

Worshipers: Kitsune, oracles, seers, diviners, druids

Cleric Alignments: CN, TN, CG, CE

Domains: Luck, Prophecy, Trickery

Favored Weapon: Formless (whip)

One of the twin children of Rekmaa, Aanelustre (Ah-nay-los-tray) is the god of the smaller moon which also bears his/her name. Aanelustre is far stranger than Fieraa, for as the moon goes through its cycles, the god's form changes, from a fox-headed boy to a masculine form with glowing silver scales to a white fox with ten tails to beautiful woman with three gemstone eyes, each a different color. The god of time whose madness and seeming complete detachment from affairs makes him/her extremely difficult to understand, Aanelustre is the inventor of riddles and the author of complex prophecies. It is believed by some that the Fated were created by the Many-Formed, but the god simply refuses to answer any question on the subject.

History and Relationships
Aanelustre was not always mad. Thousands of years ago, the lunar deity maintained a single form for as long as desired. In those days, Aanelustre could grant the Time domain to his/her followers, and provided coherent guidance to the past and future. However, a vast meteor was drawn into Arc Arjet's orbit and nearly collided with the world. Despite the warnings of the other gods, Aanelustre used his/her dominion over time to halt the meteor long enough to shift the smaller moon into its path, intercepting the impact. However, the damage to the satellite had an adverse effect on the time god's mind, leaving him/her constantly changing forms and with a fragmented psyche. It is believed that if Aanelustre the moon were ever somehow repaired, Aanelustre the deity would recover. For now, the Endless Serpent dwells with Fieraa, quixotic and detached, and most of the other Anur are content to let them be.

Dogma
The form of a thing is but one which it may possess; do not trust the shape of things.

Reality is an illusion.

Time is infinite and obeys only one master.

What is ordained to happen is inescapable.

The Mandate of the Fated
"Through my will, you are will made manifest. The happy craftsman sings and work is as play. Through my sight, you are sight made manifest. I am the master of time and will suffer no rival, so I give you the power to defy time. Through my wisdom, you are wisdom made manifest. As you are beyond mortals I am beyond you; as I am beyond gods, you are beyond me. I grant you the Mandate of Heaven: Obey No One But Yourself. All fates are mine to weave; your fate is your own. Through my will, you are will made manifest.

''I give you the stars as blessing and burden. Obey the Mandate and disobey me. You are my will and my instrument, and these instruments are not mine to play."''

Clergy and Temples
Aanelustre's clergy tend to the mentally ill, and provide a safe sanctuary for such outcasts. They are usually garbed in plain white, with black gloves. The time god's temples are constructed according to visions granted by their deity, and so each is unique. However, all are constructed around a central chamber where an armillary sphere is kept, mapping the behavior of many celestial bodies. Naturally, Aanelustrite clerics and druids pray for their spells at moon-rise.

There are rumors of a heretical sect of Aanelustrites who have somehow tapped into the time god's fractured psyche to gain access to the Madness domain.