The Hundred Gods are the supernatural beings of the Outside, the timeless "agencies" that rule the universe. They figure as objects of worship and ritual, since they are responsible for the eternal damnation or salvation of souls in the afterlife.
Tropes applying to the Gods as a whole:
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: At least part of Bakker's reason for writing this series was to create a setting where the harsh morality of the Old Testament and the Vedas, which is almost Blue-and-Orange Morality to us moderns, is divine law and the objective truth.
- Cosmic Horror Story
- Cosmic Plaything: They exist outside of linear time, and view everything that has ever existed as this.
- Divine Ranks: The Outside is divided into greater and lesser "agencies", and the Hundred Gods are by no means all equal to each other, ranging from the powerful goddess Yatwer to minor godlings like the Ciphrang demons.
- The Fanim, of course, are strict monotheists who worship the "Solitary God" and view all other godlike entities as evil demons.
- God Is Evil
- I Have Many Names: All of them.
- The Omnipotent: Within the "Outside", their own immaterial plane of existence. Their influence in the material world, while still extremely palpable, is more limited by comparison.
- Our Gods Are Different
- Time Abyss
The major Gods are as follows:
Ajokli
The god of deception and betrayal, Ajokli is also known as the Prince of Hate and the Four-Horned Brother.
- Above Good and Evil: Unlike the other Gods, who represent an objective morality (if a harsh and alien one), Ajokli is explicitly amoral.
- Animal Motifs: Associated with beetles in the first scene we hear about him.
- Deal with the Devil: His following, such as it is, mostly consists of social outcasts and damaged people who sold their souls to him. "Only the most desperate souls turned to the Prince of Hate."
- Satanic Archetype: Basically this setting's equivalent of Satan.
- It seems that Ajokli is viewed as an evil Satanic figure rather than a God by the official religion, both the Cults and the Thousand Temples. Instead of a formal cult, Ajokli has a scattered network of devotees across the Three Seas.
Akkeägni
The god of disease, Akkeägni is also known as the God of a Thousand Hands.
- Walking Wasteland: Disease, decay, pestilence - all of this is Akkeägni's domain.
Anagkë
The goddess of fortune, Anagkë is also called the Whore of Fate.
- Red Baron: Anagkë embodies fortune and random chance, and is often called just "Fortune".
Gilgaöl
The god of war and conflict, Gilgaöl is the brother of Yatwer. Also known as the Father of Death and One-Eyed War.
- Animal Motifs: The priests of Gilgaöl associate him with lions, and war heroes are anointed with lion's blood.
- Big Red Devil
- Blood Knight: Represents violent conflict in all its forms.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: "Hold the line. Stay in formation. Die for the line, and you shall be Saved, for Gilgaöl is as generous as He is ruthless. Abandon it at damnation's peril.".
- War God
- War Is Glorious: Gilgaöl embodies the fury and brutality of war, but also rewards heroism and courage.
Onkis
The goddess of hope and aspiration, Onkis is also known as the Singer in the Dark.
Yatwer
The goddess of birth and fertility, Yatwer is the oldest and most powerful of the Gods. She is the elder sister of Gilgaöl, and also known as the Mother of Birth.
- Non-Linear Character: Yatwer narrates a few chapters, and her POV is written in this way. The Gods exists outside of linear time and perceive reality as a block universe where all events - past, present, and future - are happening at once.
- Top God: The greatest of the Hundred Gods; even the war-god Gilgaöl is wary of her.
- Given that belief in Eärwa might affect reality, this makes sense...Yatwer is the goddess of the poor and the lower classes, making her far and away the most popular of all the Gods.
