Warhammer Fantasy Gods

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Like any other fantasy setting, Warhammer Fantasy has its own gods.

In early editions of the game, and sporadically throughout, it was stated that there are no gods and only Chaos Gods exist. This is a typically Daemonic twisting of the truth (although the reveal was enough to make Archaon go full-Anakin Skywalker). There is also some discrepancy between fans of Warhammer 40000 who believe that Fantasy magic works in the same way that Psyker energy works in 40k. The final issue is The End Times and Age of Sigmar as well as their 8th edition lead-in, which changed quite a bit of existing lore as retcons disguised as "revealing the truth".

The Nature Of The Divine

In early Warhammer lore gods simply existed and had their own faiths. Chaos supplements, as mentioned above, suggested there was no gods and that only Chaos exists with the nature of the Chaos Gods being insane beings who pretend to be other personas in order to fight each other and themselves, like a giant 1000 character game of Dungeons & Dragons with no DM and only four people wearing blindfolds so nobody knows who is who other than that one asshole with an actual case of multiple personality disorder who's peeking.

In truth, all non-material plane things are made of magic. Souls are magic, the Winds of Magic are magic, Chaos Gods are magic, Daemons are magic, and so are gods. This is the "truth" that Archaon learned, because the teachings of his faith are that magic is Heresy and apparently gods were just shitting miracles out of scientific stardust or something.

The End Times event revealed quite a bit, all of which is fairly skubby. The history of Warhammer is that the Old Ones descended from some unknown place, possibly another dimension, planet, or place in the timeline, on a primitive world full of Dinosaurs, dragons, and neanderthal versions of the classic Fantasy races then created the Warp Gates to suck magic from the Warp which they used to alter the world and create a race capable of fighting Chaos (which would eventually come regardless) before the Gates collapsed causing Chaos to arrive much sooner on an unfinished world whereupon the Old Ones fucked off to who knows where or died. The new lore is that this isn't the first time this has happened; Warhammer existed in a time loop, with the Old Ones stealing magic from Chaos which causes the Chaos Gods to feel entitled to own the material plane like Slaanesh to the Eldar in 40k, where they spend the rest of their history draining magic from the local gods until a cataclysmic event where a handful of Elves survive on a world outside of existence and guide evolution until the Old Ones show up again, rinse and repeat. This cycle was broken finally by Be'lakor (who's time-travel and alternate universe fuckery is apparently something new to these timelines, despite the "it always existed because there is no time" nature to Chaos because GW writers can't into consistency) who did...something to the new Elf gods in the next world which altered the cycle. The new cycle involves far more than just the Elves, as many characters survived the old setting and became gods in the new one (some didn't become gods, why isn't clear).

Gods exist that aren't part of the cycle as well. Sigmar for example was a mortal man who became trapped in the magic of the Heavens Wind, greatly limiting his power to affect the mortal world but giving him godhood. Gork and Mork (or is it Mork and Gork?) have no proper origin, but are somehow able to grant godhood to members of their own pantheon such as through the Spider God who was just an ordinary spider who bit Gork (or possibly Mork). Some of the Elf gods were survivors of the old setting, some have unknown origins and others were just an existing god mistaken as a separate entity. Ranald gambled his way into divinity.

Pantheons

Elves

The Elf pantheon is divided between the Cadai (positive gods) and Cytherai (negative gods). Some of them are shared with 40k, although beyond portfolio and name they are entirely different. High Elves worship the Cadai light gods and simply try not to piss off the Cytharai by being pansies (which they fail at). Wood Elves worship some, and the others they've modified the mythos of to be more Wood Elf-y (see how they have got Isha and Kurnous bought back to their 'earthy roots). Dark Elves entirely ignore the light side of the pantheon, and worship the darkest aspects of the darker gods (who don't seem to care much about the twisting of the myth since the DEs are the only ones actively worshiping them, and someone getting your myths wrong is better than nobody). The humans of Albion worship their own version of a few of the Elf gods as well, and it's possible some masquerade as the gods of the Old World. As revealed in the end times, the Lady is Lileath! Shock, horror.

Each name-rune that represents them doubles as a picture of themselves in abstract, as well as a few hidden images (like Lileath being both the devil horned invocation of magic that early High Elf models had, the twin moons, herself seated in an elegant pose, and a few standard High Elf runes mixed throughout). Many of these emblems appear fully on High Elf shields, banners, capes, and any other flat or ripply surface really.

In the Black Library series Defenders of Ulthuan/Sons of Ellyrion the Elf gods are portrayed as very real and very powerful, but outside of that series they are described as dying, faded, or outright consumed by Chaos.

Cadai

• Asuryan, the Creator Father god, survivor of the old setting. Despite always being portrayed as the creator of the Elves he was actually not their literal father and is more the creator of their culture...sort of (thanks to a retcon mess; Wood Elves are the true culture of the Elves, High Elves were what Asuryan created to fight Chaos but the Dark Elves are the result of Khaine and Chaos influence as well as what Asuryan's desired end goal for Elves to be was. Don't think too much about it, its a fucking mess). Zeus expy, although rather than fuck everything he basically sat on his throne and plotted. His priesthood were warrior monks with halberds that cared for the Phoenixes of Ulthuan and maintain a chronicle of history including every single event that ever has or will happen. In a very skubby part of the lore he possessed Malekith rather than Tyrion in End Times, and faded into Malekith's being which possibly made him a nobler and less Darth Vader-like being.

• Vaul, the Maker Smith god. Saved Isha and Kurnous from Khaine after they saved the mortal Elves, forged the Widowmaker. Crippled and shackled to his anvil. Status as real unknown.

• Isha, the Mother Mother god, survivor of the old setting. Gave birth to Lileath as well as the first mortal Elves. Lived in Avelorn in Ulthuan until an unknown point in time when she relocated to Athel Loren then thanks to the draining of Chaos lost much of her divine power and became Ariel. Due to retcons there's a snarl as to what exactly the Everqueen connection to her is; previously, she existed as an entity within the Everqueen surrounded by the souls of all other Everqueens and was able to fight Slaanesh as an equal when fully charged up. As of End Times it was revealed that Lileath actually poisoned her with a shard of eternal ice, slowly killing her until the Everqueen could consume her soul while Lileath absorbed her power.

• Kurnous, the Hunter Father god, survivor of the old setting. The actual father of the mortal Elves. Lived with Isha in Avelorn until they traveled to Athel Loren. Became Orion with the weakening of Chaos. Due to retcon fuckery, there's an issue where he apparently also dwells in Ellyrion and selects champions from the Elves there to lead the fight against Dark Elves and Chaos even though he spends most of his time in Athel Loren killing Bretonnians and Beastmen for the lulz in the Wild Hunt.

• Hoeth, Lord of Wisdom Scholar god. Conflicting sources tie him as part of the reason magic behaves the way it does, and attribute various things to him. Status as real unknown.

• Lileath, the Maiden Daughter of Isha and Kurnous, sister to the entire Elf race. Goddess of prophesy to a degree that her father who is omniscient can be surprised by her, somehow. Took on a villainous role in End Times for engineering events that caused massive failures and deaths across the setting while trying to protect the cycle and send her Wood Elf husband Araloth as the new Asuryan/Kurnous, the High Elf Prince(ss) Eldyra as the new Isha, and her children with Araloth to be the rest of the pantheon of the new world which was destroyed somehow by Be'lakor making all of her sacrifice and sabotage for nothing. Was also The Lady of Bretonnia and using their entire race as her pawns, and had the persona of Ladrielle as well.

• Loec, the Shadow Dancer Trickster god, created several magical artifacts. Status as real unknown.

• Mathlann, Lord of the Deeps God of the sea, confirmed to be a real god in End Times although unknown if he is a survivor of the previous setting or not. Known for saving his champion Sea Lord Aislinn from death constantly, later revealed to actually be Sea Lord Aislinn. Considered a positive aspect of Ellinill in retconned lore.

Cytharai

• Khaine, the Bloody-Handed God Evil Asuryan. Confirmed to be real, unknown if he is a survivor god or not. Khorne but with magic, he spent most of his time fighting Asuryan for control of the Elves as well as Isha and Kurnous, and just generally being a prick who fucked everything up. Although not on the side of Chaos, he didn't focus any efforts on fighting them and instead caused Elves to fight each other and lose their ability to fight Chaos effectively. Manifested himself in the bloodline of Aenarion, in a very skubby part of the lore he possessed Tyrion rather than Malekith in End Times and died when Asuryan/Malekith killed Tyrion (Tyrion got better, Khaine died).

• Ereth Khial, the Pale Queen Survivor god of the old setting, fate unknown. Goddess of death for the Elves although thanks to Chaos she gets almost no Elf souls (lore contradiction as apparently the Death Wind contains the bulk of the souls of the dead, even though lore also says Slaanesh eats almost every Elf soul and apparently Ereth Khial was gone or faded by the time of End Times despite Elves that should have already been trapped in the Wind or consumed by Slaanesh appearing as ghosts; arguments can be had in any direction). Suffered in the cold darkness of the new world with Isha and chose to remain alone rather than cling together for comfort as Isha wanted until the new world began with the coming of Asuryan, desired to have him as her husband but he rejected her causing her to hate all beings and torture the Elf souls far worse than Chaos (which represents oblivion rather than suffering). Her domain is called Mirai.

• Nethu, Keeper of the Last Door Son of Ereth Khial, father unknown. Keeper of the gates of the Mirai and comparable to a Grim Reaper figure. Since Morr is described as an Elf god in a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay supplement, this may be his true identity. Otherwise his status as real or not is unknown.

• Anath Raema, the Savage Huntress Evil Kurnous, whips around the savage parts of the hearts of the Elves until they go on a Great Hunt but unlike Kurnous she sees all things as game. Given that the lore surrounding Kurnous became fairly evil in regards to his hunts, Anath Raema only represents a lack of concern with preservation and balance rather than outright evil. Status as real or not unknown.

• Morai-Heg, the Crone An old and wrinkled Elf goddess (yes, apparently they can age) of prophesy who's primary shrine is on an island of Elf amazons who bewitch men to come to the shores that sail too closely then kill them and pave the island with their bones. Status as real or not unknown.

• Hekarti, Mistress of Magic Goddess of magic, evil Hoeth. Revealed to be Morathi in End Times, whether she is a survivor god or not is unknown.

• Atharti, Lady of Desire Goddess of pleasure, twin sister of Hekarti. Worship of one of them without equal worship of the other causes the less loved one to curse the favoring devotee. Created in 7th edition because Dark Elves worshiping Slaanesh was against Gav Thorpe's vision for the race, which is better is the subject of much Skub (although players of the Cult Of Slaanesh army are strongly against it). Morathi went from being Slaanesh's high priestess and favored mortal to being the biggest worshiper of both Hekarti and Atharti. With the reveal that Morathi IS Hekarti, its left unknown who exactly Atharti is and who punishes you if you prefer Hekarti. Given that in End Times Morathi went quite insane and a little senile after coming under the delusion that first her son Malekith was Aenarion, then the Khaine-possessed Tyrion was Aenarion, Morathi may have been both entities.

• Ladrielle, Lady of Mists A persona of Lileath, a master manipulator. Given that this is a Cytherai and thus one of the less pleasant gods, this may be a better description of Lileath.

• Ellinill, Lord of Destruction God of destruction, once a very powerful god with hundreds of children who ran amok throughout the world with him. Drakira tricked Isha into asking Loec to trick him into believing his children were going to revolt, and he went about killing and eating as many as he could. His strength was greatly diminished in his battles. Unknown if real or not. His children are known as the Ellinilli and the only ones that survived are those who hid in the mortal world. Unknow if real or not.

• Estreuth, Lord of Hunger God of famine. One of the Ellinilli. Almost no lore given.

• Addaioth, Bringer of Fire God of fire. One of the Ellinilli. Decided to fight his father rather than hide, and was almost killed until Ladrielle (AKA Lileath) saved him and hid him in the mortal world with his siblings. Has prepared to kill his father ever since, thinking of himself as Vaul 2.0 but only creating shitty arms and armor. Unknown if real or not.

• Hukon, the Sunderer God of earthquakes. One of the Ellinilli. Almost no lore given.

• Drakira, Queen of Vengeance Goddess of revenge, one of the Ellinilli who was picked on by her siblings and neglected by her father. Manipulated Isha's sorrow at the suffering her family caused mortals into becoming hatred, and all beings have been careful not to offend her ever since. Worshiped heavily by Dark Elves, but loves all Elves equally and keeps part of them any time they make a deal with her. Unknown if real or not.

• Eldrazor, Lord of Blades A god of war and duels. Although he doesn't seek war, once it begins there is nothing out of bounds for him. Basically a more reserved and less aggressive Khaine. Unknown if real or not.

Dwarfs

Dwarf gods are mortal Dwarfs who attained godhood, and as such are referred to as Ancestor Gods. They have only three, but Dwarfs can invoke the names of their own heroes and ancestors religiously as well.

• Valaya Goddess of hearth, home, brewing, healing, defending against Chaos, and basically every single other thing the other two don't do. Settled the first and greatest Dwarf Holds, ancestor of the greatest Dwarfs, invented the Dwarf written language and every other aspect of their culture. The least important god because...reasons. In End Times she was discovered to be slumbering by Queen Neferata in a long-forgotten Vault in a ritual to charge up a magic gate and create a new golden age for Dwarfkind. After a battle between Nef, Night Goblins, and Thorek Ironbrow the Dwarfs were left dead and Valaya's divine power was consumed by Nagash. She didn't receive an Age of Sigmar resurrection, because reasons.

• Grungni Dwarf smith god. After Valaya invented runes, he figured out how to smith them into objects to give Dwarfs magic. Fought in End Times, but survived into Age of Sigmar.

• Grimnir Dwarf god of war. After Valaya invented Grudgekeeping he became the patron of them. Became the first Slayer, has a fortress inside of the Warp where he endlessly slaughters the forces of Chaos. Gave up his divinity to Gotrek in order to die in the final battle after Gotrek died and avenged his own sin, and in the final battle all Grudges were considered resolved. Gotrek/Grimnir survived into Age of Sigmar where he sat on Sigmar's council until he got bored and was sent to kill a giant monster, causing both to explode and spread throughout the Realms whereupon the mortal Dwarfs who are his devotees collect his parts to reassemble him.

Lizardmen

Lizardmen revere the Old Ones as their gods. Lizardmen are brought fully formed into the world as full fighting units from magical spawning pools, some of these units have somehow been marked by one or more of the Old Ones for some specific purpose these are known as sacred spawnings.

• Sotek Unlike the other Old Ones Sotek was not among the original pantheon that created the Lizardmen and uplifted the humans, elves and dwarves. Sotek was brought into the world during the invasion of Lustria by the Skaven clan Pestilence. After numerous blood sacrifices turning rivers red by the Lizardmen, a gargantuan snake appeared and chased the Skaven out of Lustria. Those marked by Sotek have a red stripe on top of their heads and sometimes running down their backs, they are fiercer than other Lizardmen. Sotek is the only Old One known to have sacred spawnings of skinks, fitting as it was these little WS 2 T 2 shits that made rivers run red with rat blood.

• Chotec Chotec is revered as the god of the sun by the Lizardmen. Those of Chotec's sacred spawning are marked by the colour yellow and are more stoic than other Lizardmen.