Dazhbog
The Red Sun. LG intermediate power of sun, light, spring, prophecy and rulership [any pronouns]
Pantheon: Slavic
Symbol: A wheel with six spokes
Realms: Mount Celestia / Mercuria / The Splendid Sky
Proxies: Egory the Brave (human proxy fighter/bard [he/him] / LG);
Zarya / Vechernitsa (planetar aasimon proxy [she/her] / LG);
Strafil (phoenix proxy [she/her] / LG)
Dazhbog (though they’re rarely called this name nowadays) is the power of sunlight, and he certainly looks like one. The Red Sun is an androgynous power with a golden skin so luminous, that she looks like a ball of light.
Dazhbog is the god of rulers, whether they’re hereditary monarchs or chosen representatives. It grants them divine insight and wisdom, but only if they strive towards the good of their subjects. Another important part of Sun’s portfolio is springtime—peasants offer prayers to Dazhbog, when the Spring is coming late. Finally, it is believed that Dazhbog sees everything under the sunlight, so its priests often pull double duty as seers.
What’s the deal with Dazhbog’s gender? Well, the petitioners of the Red Sun prefer to call it just that—the Sun, and thus use “it” as a pronoun. Dazhbog doesn’t seem to mind either way.
There’s a curious bit of dark concerning the Red Sun — Svarog’s petitioners claim that their metalworking power somehow “forged” Dazhbog. Aasimon, who’ve seen the power, agree that it does look a lot like an exceptionally powerful quesar.
Dazhbog’s realm, Splendid Sky, sits atop the Birch of Life, a giant tree that towers on the slopes of Mercuria. The realm is a giant vertical disk, one face shedding sunlight across Mercuria, while the other emits its own gravity and bears a city of white stone. This burg is the Dazhbog’s main abode, where its petitioners live. Most of them pull their duty as scribes, chroniclers and sages. Only a few petitioners become gatherers, since the canopy of the Birch of Life provides The Splendid Sky with plentiful resources. However, there aren’t a lot of bashers running around the disk—Dazhbog actively encourages its followers to climb the Mount Celestia further and further, instead of stagnating in one place.
Proxies: As a power of rulership, The Red Sun does not shy away from granting its blessings to proxies. In full accordance to the Rule of Three, these are three of his most loyal servants: Egory the Brave, Zarya and Strafil.
Egory the Brave (human proxy fighter/bard [he/him] / LG) — The spear and the shield of the solar deity, Egory is the main proxy of Dazhbog. He leads celestial armies in battle against the enemies of his pantheon and speaks to mortals on the Red Sun’s behalf. There are many tales regarding Egory’s exploits such as single-handedly defeating dragons, fighting swarms of monstrous iron-beaked birds and pacifying colossal earth elementals. Some folks have even started to worship Egory, and chant goes that he’s already on his way to become a full-fledged power. Egory wields a flaming spear and a fireproof shield, and his singing has the power to quench chaos and calm emotions.
Zarya / Vechernitsa (planetar aasimon proxy [she/her] / LG) — Now most cutters who have some knowledge of Slavic powers, actually assume these are two different assimon; one who serves the Sun, another serves the Moon. However, in truth, Zarya and Vechernitsa are the same blood. This red-haired aasimon spends half of her time with one Dazhbog, and the other half with Khors, a kind of proxy for both of the powers at the same time. Zarya ensures communication between the two celestial bodies (and some say—influences their relationship)
Strafil (phoenix proxy [she/her] / LG) — It is unknown how this gargantuan phoenix (or more accurately her ancestors) came to be allied with the Slavic pantheon. Strafil has been living atop of the Birch of Life for thousands of years, as did her parent Grypsos, and others before him. It was a magnificent event, when that phoenix descended to the Silver Sea of Lunia to leave an egg floating right on the waves. For a few days, the sea miles around an egg became even calmer than usual, so as to not disturb the unborn bird. It is not clear, however, what is the purpose of Strafil in the Splendid Sky. Once in a while, she flies away for a short trip, presumably visiting higher levels of Celestia, but no one has yet figured out the dark of her visits.
Sources: Margarita and Jon Winter-Holt. Margarita notes: While this homebrew power is based on Slavic folklore and beliefs, the amount of actual information we have on pre-Christian Slavic deities is so minuscule that building any kind of lore out of it is impossible. However, there are a lot of folk beliefs about things these deities are thought to represent, which I have worked into the piece.