Aoskar
(The Eternity Guide, The Lord of Portals, The Master of Infinite Expanse)
Greater God of The Outlands
Portfolio: Belief Shaping, Enlightenment, Sigil, Planar Travel, Portals, The Rule of Three
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Domain Name: Sigil
Worshipers: Planar Travellers, Magic Users, Sigilites
Domains: Chaos, Knowledge, Protection, Travel, Trickery
Symbol: A doughnut like circle.
Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff
Aoskar is a divinity that stands as an infamous example of those forces that attempt to challenge the Lady of Pain. Very few remember anything about the god other than he was once very powerful and then was utterly crushed by the Mistress of Sigil. Nevertheless, he is still remembered by a scattered few faithful whom hope someday to reverse even the most final of judgments.
Aoskar, when he appears, tends to be a titanic bearded patriarch figure with a body bathed in a cloak of starlight. Indeed, these cloaks of starlight are imitated by the Priests and Priestesses of Aoskar as part of their clerical vestments. Aoskar also wields a tremendous mystical staff that is topped by a Circle that many believe is to represent Sigil. High Priests of Aoskar are the only parties allowed to hold staffs of this type. The holy number of Aoskar's sect is three and they attempt to see it in all things.
History and Relationships: Aoskar is an ancient deity from a Prime Material Plane that has long since been destroyed. However, Aoskar's faith continued not on the world of his birth but in the Planes where many of the faithful migrated. As bizarre as it may sound, the god took up residence in Sigil and ministered to his faithful directly despite the presence of the Lady of Pain. Quite a few Cagers call this story barmy but there is ample evidence in the Guvners records that suggests it to be the case. Those with too little sense are prone to making up stories to explain it like the two deities were lovers or the Lady of Pain was somehow weaker then than she is now.
Aoskar's faith became enormously popular amongst many of Sigil's populous, becoming an unofficial patron deity of the Cage. In the days before the Factions came to prominence, the faithful of Aoskar handled much of the day to day business of maintaining the city's bureaucracy as well as its many portals. The faith had adherents on many Prime worlds and cities across the Planes but its heart was decidedly Sigil. It was during this time that the faithful of Aoskar became somewhat arrogant and began to disdain the Lady of Pain in favor of their own god. Not even the occasional flaying did anything to dissuade them from the belief that Aoskar was the true god of Sigil.
Ultimately, it was the conversion of the Dabus known as Fel that compelled the Lady of Pain to act. Instantly, every priest of Aoskar's faith was flayed but for Fel and Aoskar's proxy of Aola (whom was Mazed). Finally, the Grand Temple of Aoskar in the heart of Sigil was destroyed with every single member of the laity inside. The widespread deaths of thousands across the planes plus the carnage in Sigil was enough to convince the majority of Aoskar's followers to immediately abandon their faith. It was only later that the few remaining followers discovered that not only had the Lady of Pain struck out against the religion but that Aoskar himself had been placed in the Dead Book. A terrifying whirling series of blades covered his body in the Astral Plane and has continued for thousands of years thereafter.
The faith of Aoskar limped on for many years thereafter but all who worshiped the God of Portals in Sigil were beings that found themselves cast into the Mazes. Soon, Aoskar became something of a scare legend to those who would tempt the ladies wrath. Only the fact that Aoskar's secondary temple in the Alley of Dangerous Angles lead to Aola's Maze (and curiously out of it) kept a steady stream of faithful coming back into Sigil. Almost immediately, most of these figures ended up getting Mazed themselves.
Recently, the cult of Aoskar has returned to existence outside of Sigil thanks to Aola's escape from the Mazes. The cult is small and made up of mostly Clueless or those whom are not Cagers by birth. The cult tends to invoke an extreme reaction from residents of Sigil that ranges from derision to psychotic fear. Nevertheless, it has been steadily growing despite the fact that their god has been dead for several millennium.
In life, Aoskar had no enemies and only the Lady of Pain now stands as a formidable foe against his return.
Dogma: Belief shapes the whole of the Multiverse and everything can be found in groups of three for this is the nature of all things. Aoskar teaches that his faithful should become aware of the nature of the universe by exploring the cosmos and mastering their own power to believe a thing into existence. Portals are to be treated as holy things and objects that allow planar travel are to be considered relics of the faith.