Orphelius, God of Rebellion

January 18, 2023

I was wandering around a small town. Each place you could visit resembled a storefront, which happenes to be dedicated to a god. So you have this entire town with shrines and temples dedicated to various kinds of deities.

Each god was represented by a marble-white statue resembling a person, with a streak of colour that symbolizes their identity.

One of the gods had a green streak. The other one had a lavender one. But the god I remember the most was the one with a red streak -- the friendly kind -- because I ended up exploring his temple.

The red-streaked god was named Orphelius, but people also called him Orphelia. He was known as the Rebel God, because he would protect others from the local tyrants. He also encourages people, especially his followers, to follow their own path. But he also says that it shouldn't mean you should push others around. There's even a saying: "If someone asks you what God you worship, always answer with Orphelius, for he will help you in times of trouble." The context of this quote is unclear.

As I explored his temple, I noticed that it resembled a workshop. It had countless marble figurines sitting on metal tables and shelves. They came in a wide variety of forms, including humanoids, animals, and even some dinosaurs of various kinds of pudginess.

The marble figurines were so small, you could easily fit them with both palms of your hands. This meant that they were lesser gods and "entities" adopted by Orphelius himself. They say that they rescued so many of them that he accidently created a pantheon himself. While some gods believe Orphelius is the pantheon's leader, the adopted entities and demigods see him more of a caretaker.

Orphelius' set of signature traits, besides his own shade of red, includes a violin that functions as a bow & arrow. His selfless behaviour has earned him a place among other major gods.

Possible Theories

What if every statue represented not a god/entity, but the VERY CONCEPT of that god/entity?

Orphelius name may be stemmed from "Orphan", which could imply that he never had biological parents. His name is similar to "Orphanage", which explains his adoptive tendencies.

His goal is to preserve the information of lesser gods, entities, and even concepts of species as much as possible. The marble figurines in his shrine would happen to be that information manifested in physical form.

Orphelius may actually be providing a service for people to backup their information in case they die.

The preservation of the species' information would explain the presence of dinosaur figurines.

Orphelius would fight to prevent entire cultures from being erased from not only existence, but also human history as well.

Orphelius' violin can also turn into a rapier & shield.

The quote about Orphelius might be advice given to others avoiding prosecution.

Besides red, a metallic blue would serve as a "sub-colour" for Orphelius due to his hardworking nature.

He plays a major role in the hit novel "Canadian Gods".

While he is not as powerful as the other gods, he makes up for his ability to turn the preservation of art and history into an art form.