Gnora
From Mizahar Lore
 | |
| Race | Goddess |
|---|---|
| Title | Heartless One |
| Domain | Logic, Order, Balance |
| Divine rank | 3 |
| Symbols | Scales |
| Cults | The Ano Cult |
| Worshipped in | Throughout Mizahar |
Contents |
Domain
Gnora encourages order amid chaos and promotes clarity of mind, often at the cost of the will of the heart. Her goals are balance and precision, and a world that functions with the efficiency of wheels and cogs. If her absolute will were imprinted on the world it would be an merciless but orderly place, making her a figure both terrible and necessary.
While Eyris governs over wisdom, knowledge and various studies bettering the mind and spirit, Gnora represents the application of knowledge and the grand pursuit of order. Gnora's followers lack the heart and zeal of Eyris's, shunning academic pursuits that do not have a pragmatic application. An example of the intersection of the goddesses can be found in mathematics.
Gnora's highest concern is the balance of the world, that no one thing be able to dampen the continued existence of the world and its people. She views all things as able to have their season, be it peace or war, pain or pleasure. On rare occasions, she is directed to threats to balance by the loftier goddess Tanroa.
Attitude
Neither cruel, nor kind, Gnora is a goddess who stands at the center of things trying to bring order to a wild world. She is selfless, seeking the establishment of balance even at cost to herself.
Gnora's philosophy is that clarity and order should not be compromised by volatile emotion or sentiment. For this she has earned the title "Heartless One", but the seemingly derisive name is encouraged by her followers who think it praise. In their understanding, the outpourings and imaginations of the heart are more deceitful and wicked than what the logical mind could ever conceive.
Gnora views a mind unclouded by bias as the best dispenser of justice, and the most able to recognize truth. If a feeling aligns with logic, it is well-founded, but it is not necessary. When emotion begins to interfere with order and balance, it is to be removed.
Affiliates
Gnora spends time observing Kihala and Dira and studies the pattern of Lhex. She is not known to keep friendship, but will respect and protect those who pursue her ideals or suit her purposes of order and balance.
Cult
The Cult of Ano are dedicated to purging themselves of the influences that corrupt logic and order. They are always scholars of a sort, and somewhat ascetic. However, they lack the "softness" or artistic qualities of some academics. Their courses of study are varied as balance requires that both the mind and body be adequately fed, but logic dictates that a person emphasize a realm in which they show aptitude.
Ano Cult training often begins as children, as cultist parents encourage Gnora's principles in their children. Children are taught to control emotions and replace them with logic in both martial arts and academia.
Ano Cultist make formidable scholars and politicians. They are consummate tacticians with a predilection for games of strategy. Their pursuit of logic makes them somewhat dry or even confused by emotion, but they also lack the malevolent cunning of more emotional intellectuals.
Ano Cultists are recognizable by their precise diction and lack of emotion. They also tend to be utilitarian in their appearance, using finery only when it is logical or proper to do so. A unifying physical trait is the presence of scars on their hands and arms. These are marks from the Purjin trials in which the cultists, often as children, must withstand burns and cuts without an emotional response or interruption in their mental cogitations.
Gnosis
- Severing: the ability to dampen emotions and eventually pain.