Thaliak

Thaliak is the god of rivers and of knowledge, specifically of the natural world. To him, the world is a wondrous place, full of mystery, and he wants to record it all. He is the patron of bookbinders, recordkeepers, and naturalists, but also of the epic story and oral history. His epithets include the Scholar, the Recorder, and the Water-bearer. Rarely, poetically, he is called Oschon's Hearth.

The scroll and the ewer are his symbols. The scroll represents his role as a collector of accumulated knowledge. The ewer represents the mythical water source, from whence all waters flow, as well as metaphorically the passage of knowledge from generation to generation.

Oschon is his partner and lover, who wanders the planes. They are said to have met purely by accident. Oschon sought refuge from a storm at Thaliak's door, and traded stories of his travels in exchange for shelter. Although Oschon set forth again the next morning, he found himself returning to Thaliak again and again, to an eager ear for the stories Oschon would bring. Eventually Thaliak offered to share his bed and home, permanently, and the two gods were henceforth united, although often apart.

Llymlaen is the daughter of Thaliak and Oschon, born from the union of the knowledge Oschon brings back to Thaliak from his wanderings. From her fathers, she understands the relationship between the mountains, plains, rivers, and seas that shape the world and how the wind moves through them, giving her her role of navigator.

Alephan is his teacher, Thaliak his assistant, although their interests and methodologies differ. Whereas Alephan seeks to understand the universe and its workings, Thaliak merely wishes to record what is seen and experienced. Alephan's devotees sometimes criticize worshippers of Thaliak as not seeing the bigger picture, and Thaliak's followers sometimes believe Alephan misses the trees for the forest.

As a god of nature, he finds easy alliances with Nophica, Draefendi, and Dohter, who all are said to bring him interesting things. He has a complicated relationship with Balogar, with whom his husband Oschon often travels - on the one hand, their adventures often make for good stories to take down, but Thaliak is said to fret for Oschon's safety whenever he goes out with Balogar.

The Order of the Cobalt Soul is a monk order dedicated to Thaliak and Oschon.

He has a particular hatred of Zuggtmoy. While death is as interesting to him as life, the Lady of Decay seeks to reduce all to a base, unchanging state, making the world less interesting. Vecna hates him as a god of knowledge, and he is rivals with Gruumsh, who has no love for beauty or nature.