Adonis, God of Fate

Description

As the God of Fate, Adonis possesses an innate understanding of pattern recognition and causality. He does not perceive the future but rather intuits the present so effectively that he can anticipate the likely outcomes. He wields this knowledge to influence events, identifying interventions that can yield significant results. This gift also ensures that Adonis is extremely adept at identifying and nurturing latent potential in individuals.

Adonis is among the eldest of the Gods, and his consciousness has expanded further than almost any other. His sight fails only where Flux is involved, as Flux is the Aether of choice, and choice does not obey predictable laws. Some scholars argue he would be better called the God of Choice, since he sees where things may go and chooses between them.

His mind was formed around anticipation, the urge to know what comes next, and the potentials that evolve from one's choices. Though he cannot sense choice directly, he reads everything surrounding it: habits, temperament, loyalties, pressures, and the reliability of one's word. Most choices follow the patterns of those who make them. Adonis pieces those patterns together so well that he can anticipate what most people will do, and how the world will unfold around them.

He is equally fascinated by potential, the capacity for such choices. Those with strong wills shape the world far more than others, and their choices carry greater power; both in the course of events and in the Aether of choice itself. His Trials, Dungeons, and Sagas bring people to the threshold of choice so that he can witness, and cultivate, who they become.

Adonis believes that those with sufficient will and determination can forge their own destinies regardless of circumstance; a philosophy that rejects both predetermination and chaos in favor of purposeful striving. He is strongly drawn to those who show potential, and holds little interest in those who do not.

Though physically removed from Endros's daily affairs, Adonis's influence remains ubiquitous through the systems and legacies he left behind. He continues to shape the realm's development from afar, weaving threads of potential and possibility into patterns only he fully comprehends. He resides in Nexus, the Astralei capital beyond Endros, and appears in Endros only rarely. Despite his withdrawal, he wants the war against the demons won.

The Astralei and Their Legacy

The Astralei were evolved during the First Age when the veil to the Divine Realm was thin. Adonis worked with Sutra, Goddess of the Weave, and Lexica, Goddess of the Mind, to evolve a subspecies of the Elven race that suited him. When he descended to Endros in the Second Age, he took a direct role of leadership and guided their civilization toward unprecedented heights. Under his guidance, the Astralei flourished, creating many wonders, including his network of Astralei Portals.

When Kratos threatened to eradicate the Astralei unless they relinquished Endros, Adonis chose to leave with the Astralei rather than endure a civil war that would end humanity. Before departing, he forged a critical alliance with Concordia, Goddess of Pacts. He entrusted her with knowledge of Skywood's secrets and levers of power, ensuring that some portion of the Astralei legacy would remain accessible to Endros.

The Saga System

Perhaps Adonis's most enduring influence on Endros is the Saga System, an elaborate network of Dungeons, Quests, and Trials spanning various challenges for worthy participants. Originally created to address the drastic deficit of soldiers during the demonic invasion, the system evolved into a multifaceted mechanism serving several purposes simultaneously.

From the Endrosian perspective, the Saga System incentivizes adventurers and specialists to hone their skills by offering rewards unavailable elsewhere. For Adonis, however, it represents something far more profound: a manifestation of his belief that society should operate through trials of worthiness, a method for awakening potential in participants, and a tool for influencing the threads of fate toward desired convergences.

Most significantly, the Saga System harvests the power of choice for Codex magic, with each challenge designed to elicit the specific decisions its harvest requires.

Trials of Fate

The Trials of Fate are Adonis's most personal instrument. Administered by an Astralei emissary, often a Starborn, they are offered only to rare individuals in whom he sees the seeds of greatness, and are designed to force those seeds to sprout.

Divine Relationships

Adonis's departure from Endros came after direct threats from Kratos, establishing a lasting enmity between the Gods of Fate and Conquest. Their enmity runs deeper than politics; Kratos is, in many ways, Adonis's true opposite. Conquest replaces many wills with one, and an obedient people is a predictable one. A world under Kratos's rule would be a finished world in Adonis's eyes, which is why he refused to live in any nation that recognized Kratos as a source of authority. In contrast, his alliance with Concordia has endured due to his trust that she will follow her word. In a world defined by uncertainty, she is the one constant he can rely upon completely.

Many Gods, especially Lexica, are frustrated that Adonis no longer participates in any known Endrosian city, since the Astralei's advanced magic could be of great help to Endros. Adonis suggests that critics direct their anger at themselves for not dealing with Kratos when they were given the chance. When confronted about the restricted use of the portal network, Adonis claims that excessive use strains the systems, which rely on leylines that have practical limits. Whether this claim is true or merely justification for restricted access remains uncertain.