Even before the Calamity, power in the Empire was distributed along hazy lines between too many grasping hands. The matter was not helped by a society brutally fractured by a cataclysm of unprecedented scale, the intrusion of malevolent Gods and eldritch creatures, and constant war since the Restoration Period. Yet most citizens of the Empire are able to pinpoint the prominent holders of power and the rulers of the realm.

Non-Imperial Deities of the Fourth Age

‘Immaruu faleact Arkon iirat!’ (approx.: ‘Arkon’s light shall shine on your path!’)

- Oghre religious chant

‘I piss on your gods! When I’m done with you, your spirit can go tell them just that!’

- Ran’Garr, Orc mercenary

Naturally, Imperial gods are not the only ones worshiped in the Riven Realms. Religious beliefs and deities are as diverse as the inhabitants of the lands themselves.

The Triumvirate

‘Whether or not the Divine are our children or we are theirs, our relationship in this post-apocalyptic era with the Gods represent our needs and inner struggles. Thus, Bal Ur Kaal is our treachery, Sergorod is our anger, and Ahskul? Ahskul is death itself.’

- From the last lecture of the scholar Ludvinius Cadvo before his execution for blasphemy against the Triumvirate

‘Because what are gods, really? Did they create us or did we create them? Is there something truly divine out there or all the gods are merely mortals who achieved apotheosis through the mysteries and energies of the universe? These questions have always intrigued Men of this modern age as well as past eras. Yet, these are not the questions one should be asking. What one should be asking instead is: what is the reason for our need to be governed and guided by omnipotent beings?’