Arceus (5e Deity)

Arceus

Arceus, center, and his sons, counter clockwise from upper left, Palkia, Giratina and Dialga, by Astero

Alignment. Neutral Good
Domains. Life, Nature
Divine Rank. Greater Deity

Domains

Arceus is largely worshipped as the god of creation. He granted life to all of the pokemon and, in particular, created time, space, and the reverse world through his three sons, Dialga, Palkia and Giratina. His sons compose the trinity, with him being at the apex of all. His control over nature is especially interesting because while his sons seemed to control powerful aspects, he controlled the matter which constructed them and all life. He wields 18 plates which usually can coalesce into the form of jewels. These plates form when he wills them and can be given to those whom Arceus truly trusts. Each of those plates contain the immeasurable power of an aspect which makes up life. They are: fire, water, plant, earth, rock, metal, ice, psion, darkness, spirit, draconic, magic, physicality, normality, air, lightning, entos, and poison.

Arceus largely loves his creations. When times were hard, he would use his powers or even lend them to humans so they could flourish. However, his trust is not naively placed. Humans have tried to hoard his power away from him, refusing to return that which he lent. In his rage at their greed, he would gladly raze their city to the ground. It is said that Arceus does not have infinite patience. One day, he may just decide to wipe his creation off the earth in disgust at their gluttonous tendencies.

Residence

Arceus resides in a realm outside that of his sons. That is, he lives outside time, space and reverse. Thus, he never ages or is affected by the whims of matter. This space is known to some as the space of creation or origin. Usually, Arceus observes his creations in quiet here, only venturing out every millenia or so. He can be summoned from his realm, supposedly, if one is able to gather the essences of his 18 plates into one place. From the solitude of his realm, he feeds off energy from the Elemental Planes to sustain himself.

Avatars

Arceus is depicted as a white equine with a gray, vertically-striated underside. The striated pattern has similar recurrences on the underside of its tail-like mane, tail, and face. Its four pointed feet are tipped with golden hooves. Its long mane juts away from its head, and its face is gray, with green eyes and red pupils, and a green circular pattern below its eyes. Arceus also has a streak of gold coloration on its head, and ears that point upward. Its neck is fairly long, with two pairs of extrusions to the sides, and a flap-like feature on the neck's underside that is colored white like much of the body. Arceus also has a golden cross-like wheel attached to its body by its round abdomen, which changes color along with its eyes and hooves based on its current type, which depends on the element he decides to channel. The wheel also has four jewels attached to it. The pattern of striated gray of Arceus's underbelly resumes past Arceus's waist. Its limbs have gray undersides and pointed extrusions at the tops of the legs. Arceus's tail is fairly like its mane in terms of shape and coloration.

It is said he has 1000 arms but he is never drawn or sculpted with them in art. Usually he is shown alongside his sons or the various other deities that populate the regions of the pokemon world. The main places of worship sporting his images are often old ruins, drawn by the ancients. There exist a scant few churches dedicated to him. His paraphernalia otherwise exist mainly in museums. Dialga and Palkia usually have more statues than he in public eye.

Pantheon

Arceus is the main and central god of the Sinnoh pantheon, and an extremely important figure in all of pokemon theology as well. It is believed he created everything after all. He does not always get along with his sons, due to a rebellious nature and how the three love to quarrel and put his creations in danger. According to the Sinnoh lore, Arceus created his sons of nothing and his sons went on to create their own deputies and figures, who became other deities. Fore example, Dialga allegedly created the time space from which all Celebi are born and replaced from when one dies.

Worship

Those who worship Arceus are known to be peaceful but usually eccentric. This is because only those attuned to Arceus can be his true followers, which he anoints. True followers can pass their attunement down to their offspring. Others are just friends or acquaintances. Arceus expects his followers to uphold his compassion for life and admiration of the beauty of nature. He despises ravaged beauty like factories and pollutant churners. His followers may mirror this and enact swift justice, sparing their lord the trip.

Arceus is also a judge who passes judgement on all. Thus, his followers are expected to be able to distinguish the side of good and truth. They must eschew evil and its forms, because Arceus despises the turncoats and exploiters. He favors the earnest and hard working, who wear no cowardly intentions nor masks of insincerity. Likewise, his followers, be they clerics, paladins or theurgists, must reflect these same values and qualities.

Lore

Arceus created the world in one day using his thousand arms. He rivals the pokemon Mew in prevalence as the oldest pokemon. It is a rather contradictory story since Mew is said to be the ancestor of all pokemon. However, Arceus holds power even Mew does not, thus disproving that theory. Regardless, Kanto lore prefers to stage Mew at the center of their religions, calling it an origin. Arceus is known by another name as the "Original One" who birthed the "trio of creation."

In Kalos lore, Arceus gave the domain of life over to Xerneas, who is the god of life over in that region. Supposedly, to spite him, Giratina bequeathed a pokemon named Yveltal the power over death to contest Xerneas. Arceus was furious and so banished Giratina to the Reverse World forever, forcing him to remain wandering in his own world. It is said before this event that Giratina enjoyed free access to the Material Realm.

Arceus once gave a plate to a man named Damos to cultivate the land and make it plentiful. However, Damos was tricked into betraying Arceus, thus sparking a grudge against Damos and his descendants. His descendants utilized the help of Dialga to travel back in time with an unnamed hero to right the past. The hero allegedly fixed the past so Arceus' anger was quelled.

It is said Arceus holds an innate grudge against mankind due to their manny fallibilities. He had not made them perfect but he made them to live alongside pokemon, who were more free-spirited and less destructive. As humans banded in evil organizations dotting the world, they came to abuse pokemon to horrible degrees and destroy nature. This hardened Arceus' heart and one day, he will enact his judgement on all of creation to rid it of its imperfections.

Gifts and Relics

There is supposedly a flute in existence which, when played with a specific tune, is said to open the way to the realm which Arceus dwells in. The song is supposedly the song Arceus sang to his children as a lullaby, known as the Song of Beginning. Its tune is unable to be learned, only granted in an epiphany from Arceus. Thus, only his chosen may scale to his realm and meet him. Those unwelcomed are deconstructed where they stand.

Arceus' most prized possessions are his own plates of life, which are said to form from the energy he feeds on. When he so wishes to grant someone he trusts with his power, the plate granted will condense into the form of a jewel which can passively affect its surroundings or holder. However, this gift is merely on loan, and Arceus always makes a due date to return. Whoever is greedy will face the consequences of withholding that which is not theirs.

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