Paradyn, God of Fallen Ideals
The Gray Son
(Demipower of apostasy, the abandonment of ideals [He/Him] / CG)
Realm: Dust / Core Dust / Doomglory
Pantheon: Dust
Symbol: A holy book, finely ground, usually kept in a sack
Paradyn was never idealistic, never a champion of anything. His two older brothers were though, and they died for it, killed by a lord of the Abyss (although older stories say they died in battle against a rival tribe). Paradyn donned his own suit of armour and went to the road to convince people to never die fighting for foolish ideals and creeds. “Stay home,” was his motto, “and live.” Ultimately, Paradyn found his own petty divinity in this philosophy, and a small group of loyal followers.
The Gray Son is the enemy of nearly everyone in the Outer Planes; only his isolated location and lack of great power and influence keeps him safe. He is aware of the paradox of his quest to end all quests, but considers it to be the only cause worth having, if the plane will let him keep it.
Doomglory
Paradyn’s realm contains many crumbling churches and recruitment centres, filled with rot and corruption. Its highlight, however, is a long, seemingly endless graveyard. Row after row, column after column, of gravestones poke out of the dust. Each stone memorialises someone who died fighting for a cause. Even fiendish veterans of the Blood War get a section here, and Paradyn grieves over them as well. The stones are the only memorial many sods will ever have.
Paradyn’s proxy is Relinquish (planar baku proxy [he/him] / N), an elderly baku and former member of the Harmonium who was disgusted by their activities in Arcadia. Paradyn sends Relinquish all over the multiverse on missions to preach apostasy, where its anti-philosophy keeps it on the run. He’s occasionally aided by Athar who wish to tacitly assist in spreading the message of abandoning powers, although there’s a delicious irony in the faction assisting the proxy of a power who doesn’t approve of their beliefs any more than they do of him.
Source: Lane Ripley and Jon Winter-Holt
