Atruaghin

Atruaghin
Feathered serpent, or warbonnet and tomahawk
Alignment	Lawful Good
Divine Rank	Hierarch Immortal
Pantheon	Mystaran (Matter)
Portfolio	Atruaghin Clans, Azcans, Diplomacy, Wisdom, Balance, Truth, Fighting Evil
Domains	Matter, Law, Good, Knowledge, Persuasion
Worshippers	Atruaghin Clan members, Azcan followers of the New Way
Favoured Weapon	Tomahawk

Atruaghin, also called Quetzalcoatl or the Feathered Serpent, is the patron Immortal of the Atruaghin Clans and a former ruler of the Azcan Empire in the Hollow World.

History

Born as Atruatzin, he was chosen as the Priest-King of Azcans after his fathers death. Though he was a just and wise ruler, his reign coincided with the ascension of Atzanteotl, who had been lurking among the Azcans for a century and a half, and had begun corrupting the to his own ends. Atruatzin was also targeted by his corruption, but resisted.

Eventually, in his old age, he contracted the plague that had begun to spread throughout the city of Chitlacan, during which three Immortals visited him in his sleep. The first one told him that he would be forced to leave his city and people behind, for the forces that would seek kill him were too strong for him. The second one told him he would be able to rule for etenity, if he would bow down to him and acknowledge him as his equal. The third one told him that he would wander though the earth and emerge in a new land, he would never age, and return to his children eventually. Atruatzin rejected their sayings, and when he awakened, he had become fifty years younger. When he returned to his people, they had abandoned their faith in old gods and begun to worship Atzanteotl, claiming Atruatzin dead of the plague.

These events forced Atruatzin to escape from the city, along with a group still loyal to him to the city of Quauhnahuac, eventually being driven from there by the armies of Atzanteotls followers. In his escape he made his way into the realm of the fairy queen Xochiquetzal. She promised Atruatzin, whom she had fallen in love with, and his followers that they would be safe in her lands, if they promised to stay there for all eternity, which Atruatzin and his group rejected. Though dejected she still aided the group by helping them navigate throught the caverns. From there they came across the ruins of a city, which the group believed to be Mictlan, the city of the dead. Here they stayed in a ruined building they, which they consecrated for Kalaktatla and Otzitiotl. Atzanteotl however had directed a group of elves, the ancestors of the Schattenalf, to their location, leading to the demise of Atruatzin's followers.

Atruatzin then wandered the depths of the earth until one day he arrived to the surface world, where he met with the ancestors of the Atruaghin Clans, who adopted him, giving him the name Atruaghin. He lived among the clans, eventually uniting them peacefully and becoming their chieftain, bringing an era of peace much like he had in the Azcan Empire. Eventually though he and other members of the clans noticed how Atruaghin did not age at all, remaining in the peak of physical and mental development. Atruaghin decided to leave the clans behind, going to seek answers to his condition, leaving a governor in charge of each clan. His journeys took him around the Known World, even reaching the Northern Reaches, and distant Alphatia, and back into the Hollow World, where he created his Mystic Conveyor, which linked the Hollow World with the surface world, shrouding it with the magics he had learned.

With his journey completed he returned to the clans, who had been enslave by Orcs and other humanoids. He gathered a cdre of warriors around his side and waged war against the humanoids freeing the clans. In order to ensure the continued safety of the clans, Atruaghin called upon his patron Immortals, and with the magic he had learned, he raised a great plateau for the clans, which elevated him to Immortality. Meeting with his patrons, Ka and Ixion, both offered him a place in their respective sphere, with Atruaghin choosing the sphere of Matter.

Appearance

When ever he appears, Atruaghin is a middle-aged, copper-skinned cheiftain, wearing a bonnet with colorful feathers. In cases where needed, he also appears surrounded with fire.

Personality

Atruaghin is very kind, soft-spoken, patient, and understanding. Though he prefers diplomacy and talking things out, he understands that sometimes brute force is necessary to make some people listen. He beliefs that true strength comes from knowledge and determination. He never lies or resorts to deceit, respecting law and justice greatly.