Avatol

Avatol is a guardian and creator deity of Hygard that takes both a celestial and a human form. The Avatolian Church is a major multi-national faith that spans throughout the Hygardian Empire, with well-established churches in Pinsmouth and Dologoth, and with missionaries in Kitrus and the Fire Islands.

The Avatolian faith is not inherently monotheistic, as it acknowledges the pantheistic presence of other inter-planar beings. However, its founding principles center Avatol as the central celestial presence, with all other spirits as ancillary or even directly opposed to his power. Avatolian theology often disregards the distinction between Dysperia and Pandemonium (and therefore Devils/Demons), identifying them all as creates of Evil - a kind of compound force comprised of Darkness and Chaos.

Unlike many deities in Kainos, which are believed to perform acts on the Material Plane and even at times take physical form, followers of Avatol profess the belief that their God no longer makes direct contact with the world following his Last Act.

The Last Act
The central tenant of the Avatolian faith is the belief that Avatol created Humans during the Sunless Age to save Kainos in what is known as The Last Act of Avatol. Avatol is purported to have placed humanity on the Hygardian continent in a flood of light, having shaped them perfectly to resist and destroy the Draconic Threat. For this reason, Avatol has many facets, being not only a Sun God but also the God of Humans and the God of Dragon-Slaying.

After the Draconic Extinction and the beginning of the Golden Age, the Avatolian Church decreed that humanity had accomplished its first purpose and would continue doing Avatol's work on the Material Plane by spreading his light across the far reaches of Kainos. This notion arose from a combination of Avatolian texts with the scriptures of the Telosian Elves, who wrote extensively about the shape of the world and the purpose of beings in it. The continued invasions of Dologoth following the extinction of dragons were known as the Wars of Light, in honor of the mission that Avatolians envisioned for themselves.