Fiosachd and his place in the world

Throughout my Deochs in the land of Temuair, I have had time to contemplate much, both as a rogue and as of late in the direct service of our Lord Fiosachd himself.  I doubt there is a more misunderstood deity within all of Temuair.  Patron of wit, stealth, luck and wealth, our Lord Fiosachd is certainly enigmatic. What puzzles me most is his 'exile'.  There is little mention of this rather significant event, and even less said for the cause of it, or why it continues to this day.  Also, I found it disturbing that few of my fellow priests consider the relationships of all the Gods.  Most concern themselves only with their own Holy Trinity.  To this end, I searched the fragments of history, scant remnants from the library and other sources as well.  In between my journeys and my studies I prayed for guidance.  From temple to temple I traveled, speaking with priests of all faiths.  Here I lay before you my thoughts and insights on what I have read and learned...

~The Trinity 

The warrior, the scholar and the free spirit, a more unlikely trio you will not find. How can a Warrior come to call a trickster brother?  How can a Judge call an Exile friend?  With his allies being the extreme opposites, decisive action, and methodical neutrality.  One would think that they would have little in common.  Neither of his allies has any real capacity for guile or wit.  They are the ‘absolutes’ on the opposite ends of the spectrum.  Fiosachd is without a doubt the ‘balance’ between the two.  Skilled and knowledgeable, free spirited and willful, but tempered by the experience of his travels and trials.  Testing the wit and will of both in turn, bound by a common thread of survival and the memory of a dream.  They are the survivors of the fall of the Aosda. 

~Fiosachd as a Diety. 

            'Fiosachd is the God of swiftness and wealth.  He is sometimes deceptive and silent.  He cultivates treasure.  He is prayed to for luck.  Fiosachd was cast out of Aosda.  He wandered, surviving the transformation of the Aeons.'
~Audny, Temple Attendant

To understand Fiosachd, you must know of the Aosda, and more importantly the ‘fall’ of the Aosda.  The fall of the Aosda civilization was a terrible loss, the destruction of civilization itself. In the end, it was the Aosda themselves that caused the destruction of their culture and themselves, their quest for power and knowledge being their downfall. In their arrogance, the Aosda sought out the darkness, thinking they could contain or control it.  They discovered their folly all too late.  The resulting chaos and strife left in its wake has left much of the lands ravaged and the lives of those that survived forever changed.  By the time they realized what they had done, nearly all had been touched by the darkness in some way or another. Many believe that the Dubhaim and the element of darkness are recent occurrences.  This is not true.  The ‘discovery’ of the dark element was little more than the re-birth of lost knowledge. More than anything it was the meddling of the intellectuals and wizards that was the undoing of the Aosda. While their power was great, they failed to realize there must be a ‘balance’ within all things.  Of all that fought the tides of darkness directly, only four remained.  Ceannlaidir, who only grew stronger as the battles raged on. Luathas who realized the folly of what had been done, both directly and indirectly, and tried as best he could to stop it. Fiosachd, whose exile may have been mandated by Luathas himself.  And though Gramail was present, his role in the battle was lesser, though by no means unimportant.  It was his efforts and knowledge that allowed any to escape at all before the fall. 

~Fiosachd and Ceannlaidir

Fiosachd and Ceannlaidir have always been comrades, long before and even after the fall of the Aosda, the King of rogues called Ceannlaidir ‘friend’.  Ceannlaidir is absolute conviction of skill and prowess, decisive and direct in actions and in words.  While the God of battle is skilled at arms, tactics and strategy, he lacks subtlety and finesse. While Fiosachd is known to be the patron of wit, luck and wealth, what he ultimately believes in is change, progression.  What most people perceive as luck is much more than that.  What we call ‘luck’ is merely the ability to perceive an opportunity when it arises and have the wit and skill to use to your best advantage.  Many of Ceannlaidir’s victories can be directly attributed to an observation or insight given to the Battle-God by Fiosachd.  Also, as any warrior knows, while skill at arms is important, the quality of equipment is equally important.  Fiosachd and his followers, his ‘rogues’ have always been known to be excellent tailors and blade smiths. 
Of those who survived the Aeons, Ceannlaidir was the most corrupted by chaos without being consumed by it. His lust for battle running to bloodthirsty slaughter.  None can say when exactly the God of war threw his lot in with the foul Dubhaim-God Sgrios, as Ceannlaidir had long fought against the darkness that had spawned Deoch and Sgrios.  Some think it was a gradual shift, over the Aeons, as the chaos spread that drew the battle lord to the dark one.  Only his love, and hatred, of Glioca has kept this in check.  He blames Luathas directly for the fall of the Aosda and much of the troubles that plague Temuair.  Firmly believing that if he and his meddlesome wizards had ‘left well enough alone’, then much of what happened, would not have happened.  There is little chance he will forgive Luathas.  The God of battle is a very different figure from what he once was, as he strives to keep his honorable ways in battle without succumbing to the blind rage of chaos that now bubbles deep within his soul.  Many Aislings are naturally drawn to Ceannlaidir’s ways, the fiery God’s temperament matching the passion of their spark and love for conflict.   

~Fiosachd and Gramail

Many puzzle at the relationship between Fiosachd and the God of Law and Justice.  They seem to be as day is to night.  With Fiosachd being impulsive and a free spirit, Gramail is the exact opposite, reserved and grounded.  Firm in his neutrality.  Gramail is methodical and precise, law free of emotion.  He was the least affected of the Aosda by chaos.  Partly due to the fact that he was the most withdrawn.  Fewer knew of him then than they do now. It is a rare Aisling who truly understands the God of justice.  It was Gramail’s ability to bend time and space that allowed them to escape the destruction of the invading darkness.  But prior to that, it was rumored that it was Gramail who passed the judgment of exile on Fiosachd. Yet if this is so, our lord did not hold this against him.  Gramail shares Fiosachd’s distrust of the Dubhaim, despising Sgrios and with good reason.  The fall of the Aosda still echoes in Gramail's memory.  He too views Glioca as dangerously naive in her unconditional compassion, fearing it may bring doom upon all.    He knows all too well that good intentions can have disastrous results.  In his mind, Law is absolute, with no room for emotion or compassion.  He has wisely allied himself with the remaining Aosda that he knows.  Gramail  places high stock in the intellectual and divine knowledge of his brethren, Luathas.  He places his trust in Fiosachd as he knows where our lord’s ultimate interests lay.    

~Fiosachd and Deoch

Debauchery, gluttony, rapture and excess.  While at a glance this might seem right up Fiosachd’s alley so to speak.  No one will deny the Rogue’s love of wealth and his continual accumulation of wealth.  But let it not be forgotten that Deoch was, and still is a Dubhaim.  Though there are whispers that Deoch was once a human, corrupted by darkness.  Could it be a remnant of his humanity, a small fragment of compassion or emotion, re-kindled in his 'love' for Danaan that caused him to turn from his master?  Though he claims to have changed his ways, because of his love for Danaan, this gives our lord no more cause to trust him.  To put it simply, Deoch is a traitor. He betrayed his lord, his kind and himself. Even though he has sacrificed his worldly body and claims responsibility for giving the Aislings the spark, this has not ‘inspired’ our lord to change his opinion.  Fiosachd knows that ultimately the Dubhaim are the servants of Chadul and Chaos.  Which were the results of the Aosda's folly and the tools behind the fall of the Aosda and much of civilization as it was known.  The only reason Fiosachd does not hate Sgrios with equal fervor is that the Dark One makes no attempt to disguise his true nature.  And our lord understands that there must be balance within all things, but this does not mean that he is not wary or has turned a blind eye to the nature of the Dubhaim.    

~Fiosachd and Cail

God of nature, born of the Daughter of Danaan and his closest friend and ally, most would think that our lord would welcome Cail with open arms.  Not so.  While Fiosachd does not place much stock in Ceannlaidir’s fear of his son Cail, he does not trust Cail in the least. Though the young Godling, claims to be a purveyor of ‘balance’ and natural order.  The opposite seems true, which is especially evident in the fellowship of Cail.  In striving for ‘order’ they have created and mired themselves within a bureaucracy.  Though they claim good intentions, it was a similar ‘bureaucracy’ that led to the fall of the Aosda.  In addition, Cail’s dislike of our Lord Fiosachd’s ways, and association with Ceannlaidir, has led the young God to foolishly turn his back on our Lord.  Though the young God has also sworn Sgrios as an enemy, he does so without any real understanding of the dark one.  In his folly, Cail would strike down Sgrios without thought to the consequences of his actions.  On the opposite side, he respects and trusts (though some say blindly) Luathas and his quest for knowledge.  Let us not forget where the path of the God of Gnosis has led too many already, and what resulted from it.       

~Fiosachd and Glioca

The daughter of Danaan, the epitome of compassion.  She bears equal love for all things.  Though our lord bears no ill will towards the Goddess of compassion, he does not truly support her either.  He views both Glioca and her offspring as naive, unprepared to fight the darkness.  The fact that Glioca was so easily seduced by Ceannlaidir, and that Cail would foolishly rise against his father only cemented this belief.  His opinion is slightly hardened by the fact that no one took Danaan’s sacrifice harder than him.  While he saw the benefit of Danaan’s sacrifice, the loss of the Goddess embittered the King of Rogues.  The fact that Glioca has allied herself with the former Dubhaim Deoch, has only added to Fiosachd’s apprehensiveness.  Glioca shuns the brutality of Ceannlaidir’s ways, but still holds love for him.  While Gramail’s rigid ways, and complete lack of emotion or compassion,  leave no room for one such as her.    

~Fiosachd and Luathas

Once an Aosda, the intellectual Luathas was so learned that he was touched by Danaan herself and elevated beyond his mortal self.  Luathas seeks out all knowledge in all forms, sometimes without first thinking as to why or what ends such knowledge will bring about.  While Fiosachd does not call the God of Gnosis enemy, there is little chance that the two will ever be truly allied.  The fall of the Aosda, the release of the Darkness and the corruption of Ceannlaidir lays squarely on the shoulders of Luathas and his meddling wizards.  They sought out knowledge without the wisdom of thinking of the possible consequences of their actions, and the results were disastrous.  Perhaps it was Luathas who called for Fiosachd’s exile from the Aosda.  Though the reasons surrounding this are not entirely clear.  It is rumored that our lord may have taken some secret knowledge, possibly the knowledge of the dark element and hid it away from Luathas and his kind.  It is even whispered that he hid it so well that even he could not find it himself.  Theft, deception, and trickery, most definitely not above Fiosachd’s abilities.  The denial of knowledge would certainly have inspired Luathas’s ire.  With this in mind it is easy to see how Gramail could have passed the judgment of exile, for law is law.  And the God of Gnosis would have created a thorough and damning case against Fiosachd's actions.  Which our lord, in the faith of his own reasons, would probably had no reason to deny, and even less reason to explain.  Silence can be more damning than truth or lies.  As it stands, the only bond shared between Fiosachd and Luathas is their mistrust of Deoch.  Though the God of Gnosis has been tempered by his trials, his followers, wizards in particular, still remain dangerously reckless.     

~Fiosachd and Sgrios

Spoken of only in whispers, Sgrios is the God of destruction and decay, scion of Chadul and brother to Deoch.  At a glance it would seem a more likely enemy than his 'converted' brother.  At one time, Fiosachd was the sworn enemy of Chadul, the Dark One and all minions of chaos.  Though Danaan’s sacrifice chained Sgrios’s master, Fiosachd still remains wary of his dark servants. Though Sgrios is but a shadow of his dark master, his power is pervasive and consuming.   The corruption of Ceannlaidir has made Fiosachd all the more wary.  To make matters worse, the Dark One sees Cail as easy prey and invites the enmity of the younger God. Despite misgivings, Fiosachd realizes that there is a ‘place’ for things such as Sgrios.  While they must be kept in check, a balance must be maintained.  While he openly opposes Deoch, Fiosachd uses Ceannlaidir’s rapport with the dark one as an excuse to keep an eye on Sgrios.  After all, who better to face the darkness than one who knows the shadows?  Unsurprisingly, the Dubhaim allies himself with his former brother, feeding off the souls of those that come to his realm.    

~Fiosachd’s Exile 

Exile.  The very word draws visions of loneliness and despair from many Aislings.  To be cast out from one's home and people, is often the worst punishment a culture can devise.  Worse still than imprisonment or execution.  It is reserved for only the most heinous of crimes, the most terrible of sins.  Perhaps it was something simple, such as I put forth:  Fiosachd, denying Luathas something sacred, knowledge, and keeping his reasons for doing so secret.  Or perhaps it was something more, something so terrible that even the Gods themselves will not speak of it. But if that were the case, then why would any God, much less the God of Law and Justice ally himself with such a contemptible soul?
Though the why and how of our Lord's exile may be shrouded in mystery, his acceptance of it is evident.  And despite being 'cast out', Fiosachd seems to hold no ill will because of it.  Neither denial nor accusation has emanated from our lord.  Instead, he bears it as a small inconvenience and thrives in spite of it.  There can be no doubt that Fiosachd flourished during it.  It is evident that he spent much time among the ‘lesser races’ and mundanes, learning many crafts and skills.  More than one tale or legend of the King of rogues still circulates to this day.  Fiosachd has always been fond of material things, including wealth.  It was during his exile that this fondness grew.  He came to appreciate all forms of material pleasures and is rumored to have had several mortal offspring.
His presence was most felt however, in the shadow wars.  He’d seen two civilizations destroyed by attempts to meddle in the unknown, to reach into the darkness and draw its power forth.  He taught Aislings how to defeat creatures without having to rely on other ‘magics’ or ‘elements’.  Also he some how to ‘see’ the element of a creature or person, so that another may strike more effectively.  Under his guidance, many ‘rogues’ were trained and learned his secretive arts and skills, not to mentioned benefited from the labors of his considerable crafting skill.  The end result of all this, of all the Gods, Fiosachd is closest to the Aisling.  And of all the Gods, Fiosachd is the most tolerant of his followers, allowing each Aisling of his fellowship, to ‘go their own way’, free of restriction or binding dogma.  Though Deoch may have given the spark, an Aislings nature is most decidedly akin to our Lord Fiosachd’s. 

~The Fellowship as it stands

Individuality, diversity, our strength is our weakness.  Though at times we may seem to be squabbling children, arguing over matters of little import and the scraps of our Gods favor.  When diversity comes, we can present a more formidable front than many would believe possible. Most of our clergy has their own quiet way, some in the shadows, some in the light.
Though there is no proclaimed 'Law' within our fellowship or our temple, each Aisling is a law unto themselves.  The only freedom is knowing that no matter what happens, no matter how luck turns, for better or for worse, each person walks their own path.  A simple but profound truth I found long ago sums it all up:  'I am responsible for all that I do, and all that I do not do.'