Demi'kes
Demi’kes (Them-ei-kes), the Centurion Immortal, is the god of judgement, comeuppance and death. He is the most widely prayed to and has, far and away, the most champions of any god. He has an army that is, though perhaps a quarter of the size of the largest army on Draconem, equipped with divine abilities, armour and weapons. While he does individually take on his champions personally, he does not seek them out on his own - instead, his champions of high standing or tenure invite those they meet in their duties to Demi’kes’ domain, who judges them himself.
Demi’kes is, for all intents and purposes, the most powerful of the Gods, only because the Mother, the only one technically able to outdo him, is too beside herself with grief for that fact to matter in any meaningful way. Among men, he is the most widely worshipped - a paragon of safety, maintaining order and the values his worshippers hold dear. In addition, if any great force were to besiege humanity, his Order would rise up and vanquish it, traceless and without fuss.
With his brother Tida’el at his side as his trusted advisor, vigilant and knowledgeable as he is, Demi’kes spends most of his days weighing souls against his judgements. His divine sight observes all they did in the light of the sun, under his watchful eye. He will send word of his report to his brother, Dal’rouk, who is the god to receive the soul and formally assign them to their fate.
The Filigree Carapace: The Depictions of Demi'kes
Demi’kes is never without his armour, which has evolved to be depicted in the style of Selstrite centurions - gold and black ancient Roman armour, a black void guarding his face so that his foe may never know where he sets his gaze upon. This is especially so, as in a skirmish against Triton after she laid his father low, one of his eyes was lost. It is said now that that eye became the sun, which looks down on mortals during the day, noting their sins. At night, his champions patrol, vigilant while their patron sleeps. To reflect his relationship to the sun, he is often depicted exuding golden light from every part of him, from the plates of his armour or the crevices between them - light that atomises anything not apparent in total and absolute righteousness.
He is depicted at 11’4”, always clad in his armour and always teeming with righteous divine arcana. His face lays, apparently, behind the void of his mask, which is absolutely impenetrable. His one remaining eye, however, can become visible if it reflects light around him - this does not apply to any other part of him guarded by his void. Those who would denounce the gods, though, review ancient canon and claim that beneath his armour, a beast lays amongst the doffed regalia - his golden light expelled from an exposed ribcage, with soft red edges like the sun while a fire rages in the distance. An animal skull, a deer if its shape and horns hanging with calcified viscera are anything to denote, replace that of a human’s, with that awful red-gold light and rotting fur making up mass around an exposed skeletal form. One not of Dracōnem might recognise the description to be similar to a wendigo.
The King's Death
Demi'kes witnessed Triton kill The World-Walker; this much is religious canon and is thus well known - however, it is believed he rushed in right as the killing blow landed. In reality, Demi’kes watched from a distance before the fight even began.
He did not interrupt, even knowing that his intervention would have halted his father’s death altogether. However, when the World-Walker was lay bleeding and dying, Demi’kes interrupted to catch Triton by surprise while she was distracted. He lost his eye for it, unprepared for his sister’s preparedness to destroy him. After this, she fled to live amongst the mortals and become the first Bearer of Rhongomyniad.
In Life
In life, Demi’kes was a cruel king of a city state - his people starved and his soldiers killed. He was eventually killed by his nephew, who took his crown.
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