Imphiel

Imphiel (Imphiela in some texts) is a deity originating within the Praetaran beliefs, and is the deity of humility, modesty and shame. He is of the Praetora deities, and has a concentrated following within Luna, due to the Resurgence of Luna.

Whilst he is a non-corporeal being, Imphiel will often take physical form, primarily atop the tower in the City of the Moon, to communicate with his apostles and closest followers to continue to spread his beliefs.

Age of Praetora
The origins of Imphiel are vague, but can be tracked back through Praetorian texts to the height of the Praetor ages. During this time, Imphiel was a strong influence within the Praetaran mythos. His ideals of maintaining humility in victory, and modesty in triumph, helped to keep the balance of pride in Praetorian society. Whilst not as physically dominant, nor wielding extreme power to assert control, Imphiel continued to be a major deity, due to several notable philosophers of the time maintaining his teachings, and the invention of many information spreading technologies.

Like the other Praetaran deities, his link to our world was through the Gate of Praetora, located in the centre of the Moon City. This would give many deities strength, but was purely dependant on the followers continuing to worship. For Imphiel, as he was not a God of pure power, this instead allowed him to manifest to give teachings.

Whilst his teachings did prevent many a disaster, words were not always a means to an end. As the age of Praetora was reaching it's end, Imphiel lost more and more of his grasp over Praetor. War-mongering and fringe warlords resulted in a breakdown of dialogue, making Imphiel's teaching more and more obsolete, as the philosophers were no longer able to teach, and libraries and books were burnt by the pile.

The Fall
With the burning of the Praetora, Imphiel and many other Praetaran deities fell into obscurity. Whilst some texts to vaguely refer to the mythos being practiced throughout the dark ages, it is not clear how widespread or influential it was. Pillaging and plunder was still rampant, and the former Praetora had fractured into many nations, all fighting for control.

Not much else is known of this period, as few artefacts of knowledge can be found pertaining to the time, but it is well known it was a time of pure chaos and mayhem. Due to the deities' powers depending on their following, almost all deities dropped off the planet, having near to no influence during these times.

However, during this time, it should be noted that there were small pockets of strong resistance to the downfall of Praetora. These primarily were the religious strongholds and sites which were predominantly inhabited by zealots, which refused to give up the ways of the old. However, due to being completely surrounded by aggressive Heathenry, each fell one by one, the relics and monuments being ripped down with them. The only known city to last through this era without any major destruction was Luna, which still suffered major casualities, however was vehemently defended due to the extreme importance of The Gate.

The Rise
Whilst almost every deity became all but forgotten, a notable acception was Amphus, deity of war. It is unknown why or how, because Amphus was unbound from The Gate and freely roamed the Earth. It is believed that in some part, he resides in the spirits of those who fell to chaos and violence, as they would often act out unfettered attacks regardless of who. This lead to the mistrust of the Apostles of Amphus, who invigorated by the bloodshed of the world, fell to chaos rather than attempting to control and maintain the proper use of aggression. In their madness, they split off from the rest of the Praetaran practices, and were outcast by the few remaining figures, in the extend possible for the time.

Resurgence of the Remnant
The next notable period was hundreds of years later, and is known as the Resurgence of Luna Remnants of the Praetaran beliefs gathered in the City of the Moon, Luna. The gate became more active, and several deities reformed, but as lesser forms of themselves. Many did not last, but a few remained. Imphiel was one of the strongest of these, as his teachings had picked up a large following due to his message of humility and modesty in a time of hatred and bloodthirsty carnage. (Another notable deity that returned during this event being Luna.)

There was a slight struggle for power between some of the Gods during this period, as they lesser followed attempted to regain control, but Imphiel remained. Once the dust had settled, Luna became the single location where Imphiel would manifest, as the power of the gate was limited. Upon hearing of the Resurgence of Luna, some neighbouring nations attempted to quell the city due to the perceived threat of the return of the deities, but no major nations were alerted to or aware of this, due to the large passage of time burying any knowledge of the Praetara.

Imphiel would also seek to spread his influence throughout Alathra, and did this through the conception of his son, Urses the Demigod, who became his primary apostle, spreading and confounding the people in the faith of Praetora. This method was effective within the walls of Luna, but spread to other cities was slow due to the closed nature of the people, who wished to guard themselves from the barbaric outsiders. However, over a prolonged period of time, the age of chaos would subside and the surrounding areas became more peaceful, allowing for the city, and it's people, to open and prosper.

Current Day
Imphiel is widely considered the second most influential deity within the city of Luna, second only to the Goddess Luna. Ursus is a prominent member of Luna politics, and can be seen often working to forward his father's teachings both inside and outside the walls which he presides in. Surrounding villages, whilst sceptical, have become more accepting of the people of the Moon City, and branches of the Imphiel apostles can be seen working inside nearby settlements, spreading humility and modesty.

Personality
Those who have met Imphiel describe him to be respectful in nature, regardless of the significance of those who he meets, but becomes hostile towards those with an untempered ego or feeling of self-entitlement. He has been seen lecturing and reprimanding those who are seen to be in "high positions", often playing the side of the underdog.

Whilst taking modesty seriously, Imphiel is known to take a liking to humbling his followers through humorous methods. A famous example of his "comedic justice" is an incident during the Praetaran Age, when he made his famous apostle Euclio Bodenius Mulier Vestorius held a ceremony in the Temple of Modesty im Proma, and in front of an estimated 2500 followers, had himself pulled out from under his feet onto a woollen table top. (It is disputed as to whether this account is genuine or a story to emphasise the personality of Imphiel, as the Temple of Modesty would only hold 950 people during most ceremonies.) He is also a somewhat zestful character around his close followers and apostles.

Appearance
All of the below are accounts from individuals, compiled together to form a general idea. Imphiel has no true corporeal form and only appears in rare events.

Praetora Era
Whilst Imphiel is able to manifest in many forms due to the nature of his being, most appearances from the Praetora Era follow a similar general description. He appears as a male of the race of the observer, with an androgynous appearance, and animated personality. His height would vary from 175-500cm, and could sometimes appear more muscular at specific dire times. He would also have an angelic appearance, often utilising wings to move.

Post-Resurgence
Similar to the Praetora era, Imphiel manifests as the race of the observer, androgynous and with wings. However, he has only extremely rarely been seen to be larger than 190cm, and only uses his wings when needing to travel vertically. He is also often carrying a poleaxe.

Abilities & Non-corporeal Effects
Imphiel has various effects and abilities that are both possessed by many deities, and also some specific to himself and relating to his domain of godship.

His primarily used ability was to manifest a body through which he would communicate with his followers, although it is seen that he is able to speak to mankind without form through “voice transmission”. Imphiel has also been noted to occasionally utilise kinetic abilities, although any attempted “testing” of such power is prohibited by the Order of Humility, for reasons unknown.

Teachings
These are not all the teachings of Imphiel, but some select ones of greater importance.

Qresa Humilitates
One of the primary teachings of Imphiel is to find humility in all situations. The "Three Humilities" are the three times at which one should focus most to keep humble and modest.

The Three Humilities:
 * Humiliate Victoria (Humility in Victory) - Reminding oneself of the virtue of remaining humble in victory, not gloating in the domination over others.
 * Humiliate Irascibilis (Humility in Aggression) - Remembering the virtue of keeping yourself modest in aggression, keeping yourself controlled in your actions and not letting hatred get to control you.
 * Humiliate Fora (Humility in Good Fortune) - Not boasting of one's good fortune, remembering your circumstances and empathising and helping with those around you instead of acting only in self-interest.

Humilians Sua
A teaching often brought up often, the “Humilians Sua” translates to “Self-humbling”. Followers must remember that to be able to function within society, they must first be able to function on an individual level. This can function in a variety of levels, whether from the smallest level of not blaming others for small deeds, to taking on large burdens of responsibility rather than bragging about your stronger abilities to others.

The most common application of this by apostles is to talk on the idea of “Shifting burdens”, where one can often resort to pointing to others for ineptitude, instead of self-reflection and looking at how one can better their own actions. For this reason, Imphiel's teaching are often categorised as “individualist” in nature.