Sephas,
He Who Knows
Many Things
God of wisdom, learning, and magic, patron of scholars, students, and the magically-inclined
Son of Aeto and Iona, younger twin brother of Valhas, Sephas is one one of the nine gods of the Ennead and is the god of wisdom and learning. He is also seen as the father of the various minor deities who are the patrons and the embodiments of specific disciplines. Sephas is most often associated with his brother, representing the ideal of strength and valour tempered by intelligence and morally virtuous conduct.
He is also popularly believed to be the father of any or all of the famous Three Great Sages of Realmgard — Sorphronius, Zardax, and Kevin. This is, however, generally believed to later poetic invention to emphasise the intellects of the Three Great Sages.
Sephas is viewed as the patron god of both art and science, which are generally viewed as complimentary rather than opposed to one another. Although different depictions and stories of Sephas emphasise different aspects of this patronage, his role as god as learning is understood to be all-encompassing and he is as often depicted with iconography representing the Arts as with iconography related to the Sciences.
During the age of the Elven Empire, Sephas was also widely viewed as a god of virtue and moral rectitude, due to the association of excellence of character with excellence of ability. Essentially, being good was not really distinguished from being good at something. Similarly, given the ancient association between academic education and physical education, Sephas also has some aspects of a god of sport and athletics.
This has become less common in light of cultural shifts across Realmgard following the end of the Empire, but this aspect of Sephas’ character has not been completely forgotten. While not possessing as many martial aspects as Valhas, Sephas is also occasionally depicted as a knight, particularly when the two brother-gods are being depicted together. This is get another symbolic representation of the complimentary nature of strength and intellect.
Sephas’ association with wisdom and learning has historically been viewed as his primary patronage. He is broadly associated with schools and schooling in general and in particular viewed as the patron deity of the Academy of Imperialis, the most prestigious centre of learning and largest library in Realmgard during the era of the Elven Empire, attracting scholars and students even from beyond the borders of the Empire.
Although the Academy in its original form ceased to exist with the fall of the Empire, a successor institution exists in the present-day city of Imperialis, still dedicated to Sephas and still courting students and academics from all over Realmgard and beyond.
Sephas is also closely associated with magic and Magicology. Indeed, Sephas is described in the myths as the deity responsible for first training mortals in the study and use of magic. Venerated as the Lord of Magic, Sephas is held to be the deity responsible for first introducing the study of magic to mortals, ensuring that they would not be overwhelmed by the unrestrained powers of magic they were attempting to harness.
Like his mother, Sephas is widely depicted in the mythology as a peacemaker and mediator, often by mortals to fairly settle disputes and even called upon by the other gods to arbitrate conflicts arising between the strong personalities and often fierce temperaments of the divine community.
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