Helior
The Daybringer, foe of the dark, who asks the hard mercy and the open hand.
Devotees The Lightbearer — The Lightbearer, devotees, charitable orders, and pilgrim communities — most common in Lygos and the South
Invocations Invoke the Sun God
Domains The sun/day/light, Hope/courage/aspiration, Mercy/charity/kindness, Truth/revelation, Fire/burning/warmth
Also called the Daybringer, the Sun God, Beacon of Hope and Mercy
Mercy is hard, and Helior calls for it anyway. The Daybringer is god of sun and light, hope and mercy, the fiery foe of the dark — one of the four main gods of Stonetop, generous and demanding generosity in return. Only a few ever hear the call clearly enough to act on it.
Worship
Helior has a shrine in Stonetop's pavilion of the gods, but the worship of Helior runs deepest in Lygos and the South, where it is ancient and widespread. Elsewhere it may be a new thing, an old thing forgotten by most, or even widely persecuted. Practices vary — solemn hymns, serene meditation, joyful song, ascetic denial, fervent dancing, formal ceremonies, drugs and intoxicants, pain and sacrifice — and each community will have its own reasons for the form it takes.
The Lightbearer
Helior's appointed servant is the Lightbearer, wielder of his power and grace. There has only ever been one active at a time. If The Lightbearer sits at the table, they are it; otherwise the spirit of a prior Lightbearer might still walk, bestowing visions and quests. The Invoke the Sun God move targets creatures and spirits "of darkness" — The Things Below and their thralls, spirits of night and dark places, and almost all undead.
Hooks
Reach for Helior when the question is whether mercy is still possible. Pilgrims gather around a working Lightbearer; fanatics grow up from devoted communities; charlatans claim the mantle for their own purposes. The light he brings is unambiguously good, but the people who carry it are still people.