Taal

Taal is the god of nature, beasts, mountains and forests in the Old World Pantheon, one of the older gods of the Human tribesmen that created the Empire. He is a member of the "northern" or "country" family of gods, husband to Rhya, the Earth Mother, goddess of agriculture, fertility and nature, brother to Ulric, the god of war, winter and wolves, and father to Manann, the god of the sea.

Having been worshipped since the earliest days of Human occupation of the lands of the Empire, there are many local names for Taal that honoured a particular aspect of him. Some minor, regional deities are aspects of an official Imperial deity, and thus tolerated by the official cults. Human fishermen and those living on the river honour him as the god of forests and rivers, Karog, which was possibly the name of an ancient Kislevite deity.

Hunters and trappers of Talabecland and Middenland meanwhile make sacrifices to Taal as the god of beasts, Karnos. Karnos is also the Tilean name for Taal, similar to the Elven god Kurnous, also called Karnos, probably due to the Tileans' translations of the ancient scrolls left by the High Elves in their Old World colonies in the southern realm that is now Tilea. Kharnos could be another name of the deity in the Classical tongue, since this is the name of a constellation and of a forest in the Border Princes. Notably, the Wood Elves of Laurelorn know Taal in a feminine aspect as the goddess of rain and rivers called Torothal.

Many Jade Wizards are devoted to both Taal and Rhya in their original, combined identity of Ishernos.

Taal is also known as "Father Taal," "God of the Wild," "God of Wild Places and Animals," "King of Nature," and "Lord of Nature." As Karnos he was known as "Lord of Beasts" or "Lord of the Beasts." As Karog he was named "God of Rivers" while in Talabheim, a city founded on river trade where he was the chief god, he is called the "Father of Rivers." Taal was also called "All-Father," and considered the "King of the Gods" by his followers in the Cult of Taal and Rhya, a title disputed by the other cults of the Old World.

Taal rules nature and all aspects of nature are under his purview, from the snaking rivers to the tallest mountains, from the smallest insect to the greatest beast. He is the lord of beasts, forests, and mountains, the power behind gales and downpours, waterfalls and rapids, avalanches and landslides. He makes the rain fall from the sky, the rivers flow, the animals breed and multiply, and the plants grow. Taal claims the wild places as his domain and makes them develop unchecked by civilisation.

Taal represents the power and majesty of nature, not only of the physical world of stone and wood, but also the primal urge of life within all creatures. He is not only the physical heart of a person, but also the spark that makes the heart pump. Taal represents vigour and growth in all its forms -- especially the transitions from childhood and adulthood, when life is at its peak. Taal inspires wildness; the primal fury of the beast is his domain and he is primarily worshipped by hardy woodsmen, trackers, and rangers.