Volurapin
Volurapin is the God of Northern Peace and Master of Whales. As a Directional Peace God, he serves under the God of Peace Yo-Ping in the Department of Abstract Matters of the Bureau of Heaven. As God of Whales he oversees the Cetacean Committeee in the Hierarchy of Type of the Bureau of Nature.
Volurapin is a god of peace through power, where conflict is averted because those who might aggress do not dare act… the martial artist whose reputed skill makes tavern thugs keep their distance, the empire whose foes fear drawing the attentions of its mighty armies, or who know the cost of overcoming its great walls is far too high.
The Whale God himself is a massive whale-like being, ivory-skinned, who has broad feet in place of its tail and hands in place of its fins. He wears armour of Jade and Orichalcum, cloaked in the finest heavenly silks.In the water, Volurapin swims as whales do, while on land he walks upright. In either, Volurapin’s movements seem slow, but he can demonstrate dexterity which takes many would-be-challengers by surprise: his body can absorb many blows, but the god moves nimbly to avoid strikes before smashing challengers with his armoured bulk. Volurapin does not believe in a quick end for those who challenge him… they surrendered their chance for peace when they chose to aggress, and now they must experience the extremes of suffering such a sin deserves. It is said that even the Gods of War would be hard-pressed to defeat Volurapin in single combat, before he had broken them.
Yet, the Whale God is very much a God of Peace, and does not seek confrontations. In fact, until recently he was a fixture amongst the galas and social gatherings of Heaven, not known for enacting plots and schemes but rarely target of them. When not in Yu-shan Volurapin swims the cold oceans of the North surrounded by large numbers of whales, who know neither whaler nor Siaka would dare hunt in his presence.
In the harsh North, where all things often seem a struggle, there are few who feel themselves so strong as to be unassailable, and few who waste breath calling for peace when they could instead mutter a prayer so their blows strike true. However, as Master of Whales Volurapin receives worship from across Creation, for his love for whales is known and none wish to draw his ire: when a whale dies washed ashore or is caught by whalers, it is to be accorded funerary rights as if it were a member of the locals’ own family, buried beneath a monument… for it is said that Volurapin shares his Peace with the whales in exchange for this service, and if it is ignored that peace will be withdrawn, setting the great but peaceful beasts upon the seas and shores with unbridled hunger for living flesh. In many Northern tribes, these shrines are traditionally reached along paths flanked by the rib bones of the whales buried there, and around whaling ports (where the Immaculate Order holds no sway, at least) one commonly finds shrines to Volurapin surrounded by extensive whale graveyards.
Recently, Volurapin has been greatly troubled by the death of his favoured godblooded son, the red whale known as Tide of Cinnabar. The identity of Tide’s killers is unknown, perhaps whalers who did not know upon whom their hunt had stumbled, perhaps enemies in Heaven daring to make a move against him. Volurapin has reacted by withdrawing from his duties, spending less time in Heaven and more amongst his whales in the chill depths of the Northern seas.
Some speak that the God of Northern Peace’s inattention to his duties allowed the Icewalker tribes to think they could challenge the vast might of the Scarlet Empire, allowed the peace of the North to shatter into the War with the Bull and other conflicts. But those who speak such things still do so softly.
