Dominus



Dominus, the Crownless King, is the god of those who either live long enough to fulfil their ambitions, or die trying. He’s the god of brave souls who do not simply settle for living, but instead compete for something greater. The faithful who follow him carry beliefs that are as hard steel, forged by their own will and might. The only followers who earn his might or respect are the few elites who stand strong enough to survive the necessary slaughters.

The good aligned followers of the Crownless King tend to worship his positive aspects such as ambition or victory, while choosing to completely ignore his more malevolent traits.

 The Man Called Dominus 

All Dominian historians agree that Dominus, the mighty god-killer, was once just an absurdly capable and determined man. He was said to have been born a slave of the Isthailin Mandate, sometime before the start of its great Diaspora Era. Dominus was a great liberator of Isthailin slaves and an even greater conqueror. Ancient strongholds were burned to the ground with a few words, entire peoples were freed with a single gesture, and hordes of nobility slaughtered with the draw of a blade. Over the course of just a few years, Dominus went from being unknown, to being feared and admired by all of the Mandate. To those who feared and admired him alike, he was known as the Crownless King. His followers called themselves the Dominians, a harsh bandit people who hailed from all across the Mandate and were brought together through blood and belief.

The Feast of Ascension

Dominian texts describe the events leading up to the ascension of Dominus in a variety of exaggerated and fantastical ways, but this much is agreed upon.

After firmly establishing the Dominians as a power, in the south of the Mandate, the Crownless King marched north to a great Isthailin fortress. Upon arriving, a horrifying being hurled down from the heavens. This immortal was none other than the Graveorchard, the Isthailin god of agricultural slavery. The Graveorchard was no god of war, but after seeing countless of his plantations reduced to ash and many more of his slaves freed, the old god challenged Dominus. A glorious battle ensued in which Dominus, after a duel that nearly proved fatal, managed to slay the slave god. News of this event quickly spread across the continent, contributing greatly to the slow collapse of Isthailin Mandate.

Through an unknown ritual, Dominus stole some of the Graveorchard's divinity and used it to brake into the slave god's old realm. He twisted it and rebuilt it as he saw fit. He called this new domain of endless combat Tyrant's Dream, a 9 layered plane containing both heavens and hells. Dominus spent the better part of a millennium within his new domain, making little to no contact with the outside world. Many Sentinel historians believe that he was digesting the divinity of the Graveorchard, so he could be reborn into true godhood.

The Bright Lie

Dominian historians assert the following through journals full of rants, charts, and timelines.

The gods of Valdr took advantage of the absence of Dominus and attempted to remove knowledge of him from existence. They call this divine shadow-war the Bright Lie. Soon after the Gods came to power in the beginning days Rivenmark, their followers led crusades of falsehood with the goal of destroying Dominus’ legacy. They twisted him into the devil figure known as the “Betrayerbeast”. Paranoid historians speculate that the Gods committed these great crimes simply in a frightened attempt to slow down Dominus' foreseen siege on Gods’ Home.

Dominus as the Betrayerbeast

The “Betrayerbeast” has been the most well known version of Dominus for decades, as it was the name given to him by the Church of Bright Valdr. In religious tales, Dominus takes the form of a shape-shifting wolf who is determined to lie his way into Gods’ Home. The Betrayerbeast is often viewed as an evil counterpart to Valdr, as Valdr is a god of law and truth, the Beast is said to be a demon of chaos and deception. Valdr gives oaths and morals, while the Beast is said to hungrily devour both. Dominians claim that this version of Dominus, is nothing more than Valdrian propaganda.

The Relative Wars

When Dominus ascended into godhood, he left over a hundred of his children among the Dominians. The blood of these children became laced with shards of divinity. These shards manifested as crests on their skin that summoned great and powerful armaments. Dominus ordered these children and their descendants to fight to the death, until only one bloodline prevailed.Those not bearing crests could enter the fray by slaying the heir to a household. These Relative Wars raged for centuries in the Meadowdens, the birthplace of Dominus south of Rivenmark.

In the days leading up to the Usurpation of Bright Valdr, only two bloodlines remained; The Egoanna, lead by Valice Dominus Egoanna, and the Ashthones, headed by Ring Dominus Ashthone. These households battled for control over Valdrsburg, with the aid of allies: the Black Sentinels for Valice and the mighty Heros of Falconcrag for Ring. In the end, Ring defeated Valice in a historical duel. Soon thereafter, he ascended to join in battle of Gods’ Home by reforging the scattered shards of divinity and becoming the Lord of Ash and Wine.