Pantokra

God of Civilization, Justice, Laws, and Oaths

Who seeks the light shall there find it.

Lord of Civilization, The Shining King of Justice, God of Mortalkind, the Great King, the Lord in Heaven, He Who Makes Just, Cherub of Justice, the Marshal of the Host, the Unconquered Sun, the Voice Within Us, the Extinguished God, the Shattered Sun

Once upon a time, Pantokra was known as the God of the Sun. No more is that domain, taken back from him by its rightful owner. But unlike most deities, Pantokra was able to escape obliteration when his Throne was taken back from him. During his time as the God of the Sun, he had forged for himself a new throne, the Throne of Civilization, which he had always desired. As one of the Cherubim, an angel of the First Hierarchy, Pantokra was privy to all the evils that mortals indulged in, and with his superior wisdom saw all the ways they could be improved — if only someone was there to guide them. But Hausōs does not guide and she does not wish; she simply is. This infuriated Pantokra and culminated in his rebellion against the Better Half of the Lord. Now Pantokra is finally in a position to guide mortalkind to Goodness and the better world that every soul deserves.

Evil, as defined by Pantokra, is inherently self-destructive. Evil will unfailingly destroys evil, and the traitor betrays always himself. But that alone is not enough to reach the paradise he imagines for mortals. Pantokra has seen the path to salvation, and as the shining king who strives to mould the world into its perfect state he will lead mortalkind to it. They need only listen and apply their efforts and creativity towards the road he has already laid down.

Clerics

The clerics of Pantokra have a high reputation among the common folk, yet this is to be expected; for the God of Justice appoints as his representatives only those who his eye has beheld and judged worthy. Almost all who are appointed by Pantokra are of impeccable moral fibre (judged by the standards of their civilization). They may still make mistakes and are not infallible, but few would accuse a cleric of Pantokra as being morally corrupt or evil. When such an accusation is made, Pantokra himself may take another look at his servant, to see if the one he had chosen as worthy in youth has been corrupted by the passage of time. If found guilty, the cleric is instantly stripped of all of his power - though the ever-just and merciful Pantokra is always willing to forgive, for those who show repentance.

Pantokra has an abnormally high chance of answering prayers; even prayers by commoners with no priestly authority often see answers. On the other hand, they are usually quite literal answers; Pantokra rarely replies to prayers for material assistance or aid in a way which can be directly attributed to divine intervention, and does not give opinion on questions of what is: asking Pantokra what is upon the mountain will get no answer, even when asked by a high ranking priest. On the other hand, questions about what morally ought to be done given the asker’s knowledge consistently receive answers after a period of prayer, and mostly consistent ones at that. Doctrine differs about why no answers can be obtained from Pantokra about what is, when surely he has the vision to see the mountaintops, but no consensus exists.

Theology

Unlike most gods, Pantokra has an established theology; also unlike most gods, Pantokra asks not only for worship but for faith, for belief, for agreement that he is correct. To respect Pantokra as a god, in the mainstream Cuatanian interpretation, is to simultaneously respect Ninanna — the Child of Victory — and Makeyosin — the Spirit of Righteousness — as gods also. Whether these gods are homoiousian, homoousian, homoian, or heteroousian depends on the branch one belongs to and the theological nitpicks involved; most followers simply assume that all three are “on the same side”, so to speak.

Evil is not native to the souls of mortals, and it is weaker than Good — so says Pantokra. While the Demons of Below are stronger than mortals, they are weaker than Demons of Above; so too are evil mortals always overcome by those who are virtuous. Every mortal has the opportunity to make the Choice - the only relevant Choice - between Good and Evil. But in reality, says Pantokra, this is not a choice, but a trap. Hausōs gave mortals the ability to be wrong, even if being wrong makes them miserable. The correct choice is Good, and any temptations to stray from the path are trivially overcome — if only mortals are brave enough to resist it.

Cuatanian Church

The Cuatanian Church, also simply known as the Church of Pantokra, is the largest and most popular religious organisation in most lands, not least because in many lands it has no real competition. It is unlike most other priesthoods; in each independent nation it has a specified head, the Grand Pontiff, which claims to be chosen directly by the god in question, and its higher representatives are supposedly all vetted by Pantokra personally via a trial where the participants, if judged unworthy, lose most of their priestly authority and must begin anew. The Church is extremely striated and every member has one, and only one, direct superior who they are immediately answerable to in the Church hierarchy. This, along with the high activity of Pantokra in responding to prayers and His active “vetting”, allows the Cuatanian Church to operate with a level and scale of organisation rarely seen by servants of other gods.

Church of the Splendor

A heretical sect of the Church of Pantokra, though distinct enough that it is arguably an entirely different religion, worshipping the same god. By the doctrine of the Church of the Splendor, Pantokra is known as The God Who is No Longer, The Suns Which Were, and The Extinguished God among other titles, and said to have died in order to create free will for mortals; within each of them lies an ember of a sun now extinguished. While some other gods (as well as the Cuatanian Church!) may object to this notion, the servants of Pantokra notably do not. The Church of the Splendor is just as structured as the Cuatanian Church, but its presence is somewhat smaller and more local, and they have no national Grand Pontiffs.