Mitra

God of Law, Justice, and the Sun;  Sun Father; The Truth-Speaker

Greater God

Alignment: Lawful Good

Domains: Good, Healing, Law, Protection, War

Symbol: A golden sunburst surrounded by the trifoliate leaves and thorns of a myrrh tree

Garb: A seamless linen tunic and hood of pure white without ornament or footwear

Favored Weapons: Longsword

Form of Worship and Holidays: Worship services are held on the first day of every week with congregational singing and prayer, followed by acts of service among the community. The Calends of the eighth month is devoted to Mitra and are when a sacrificial collection of material wealth is made among the faithful for the purpose of establishing and funding hospitals and almshouses.

Typical Worshippers: Common folk, Foerdewaith knights and rulers, magistrates and judges, healers, the sick and disabled

Mitra has become one of the most commonly worshipped gods in Akados, despite being a transplant from eastern lands. Part of Mitra’s appeal is his emphasis on humility among his worshippers while at the same time championing justice and rule of law. Thus, while the powers-that-be worship Mitra to uphold their rightful rule and the laws of the land, he is appealing to the common folk for his insistence on the principles of mercy and fairness among the high and low alike. Another god that probably found its way into Akados through the crusading knights of the Foerdewaith, Mitra’s true rise to prominence in the West undoubtedly stems from a single incident some 700 years ago when he allegedly appeared to the Foerdewaith overking, Osbert II, before the pivotal battle of Oescreheit Downs. Mitra promised victory for the beleaguered Foerdewaith against the vastly superior numbers of the Heldring horde. When the Heldring were defeated and their threat finally broken once and for all, many took Mitra’s appearance to mean that he favored the rightful rule of the Foerdewaith overkings and adopted him as the patron of Macobert’s dynasty.

As a result of this changing attitude, the shift was gradual and took place only in small incremental steps, but its progress has been inexorable. The adoption of Mitra as a specifically Macobertian sponsor largely pushed the traditional recognition of Quell in that role to the side until recent centuries when the most devout loyalty to the Sea King has largely shifted to the maritime Empire of Oceanus. Other gods that have felt the greatest decline as a result of Mitra’s rise are the sun goddess Solanus (to such an extent that many folk of Akados have begun to refer to the sun as Mitra in the Eastern fashion rather than as Sol or Solanus as has been traditionally done in the West), Muir as a Lawful war goddess, and Thyr in his role of Lawgiver and god of justice. At one point in time, virtually every judge and court in Akados looked to Thyr as its patron, but now Mitra predominates in that role by a narrow margin, and his influence in the areas of the sun and healing ensures that his adherents’ growth continues even as Thyr’s declines.