Emotion Gods 1

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These are three of the six Emotion Gods of Russiac. The Emotion Gods, like the other Psychological Gods such as Tempora and Count Renbaku, reside in the 4^th Dimension, a strange assortment of separate, un-connected voids that pertain to specific traits of the human mind (two such examples are the Poe-Tastic Circus and the World of Dreams). Every Emotion God resembles an instrument, all but two being percussive in nature. The sounds these instruments cast relate to and/or cause the associated emotion. Though the smallest list of Core Emotions identified by psychologists includes only Happiness, Sorrow, Anger, and Fear, several psychologists also include Disgust as a Core Emotion (it is otherwise a combination of Anger and Fear out of the list of 4). I also think Aptosis, or the lack of emotion, should have a god too, so that gives us six Emotion Gods altogether. These three are Bellen (Fear), Diablo (Anger), and Serena (Aptosis).

These pictures were made to have sort of an "Okami Bestiary" feel to them, but the mood kind of vanished by the time I got to Serena.

~

Elgar Bellen
Elgar Bellen (stagename Elgar Bellen Poe) is the God of Anxiety and ringleader of the Poe-Tastic Circus. Born from the blood of a ringleader, Elgar Bellen finds glee in manipulating people's fears by invoking hallucinations and delusions, and occasionally somatoformic disorders such as hypochondria and hysteria (also known as psychosis, or the numbness of a limb for no apparent reason). He is the most feared being in existence, and there is a phobia directly involving him: Bellophobia. It is believed that phobias of clowns, spiders, the undead, and darkness also stem from him. Though he and his Bellfries and Bellucinations oversee the Poe-Tastic Circus within the 4^th Dimension, Bellen himself doubles as the bell of the Bell Tower of Westvard near Erar's Lake. It is said that he had some relation to the Fall of Westvard, and some believe a ceramic was once constructed to defeat him. Despite his jolly personality and love of comedy, it is impossible to avoid immense feelings of terror whilst in Bellen's presence. His chambers within the tower are marked by several gorey and/or eerie paintings and torture devices (his favorite being the Iron Maiden). As God of Anxiety, it is also notable that he is the god of obsessions, and was the inventor of OCD.

Because fears--particularly phobias and trauma--often rely on past experiences and memories, Elgar Bellen has close correspondance with Tempora, the Goddess of Memory.

Artist depictions of Elgar Bellen often depict blood dripping or flowing from the bell bottom.

The combined powers of Bellen and Pipetta cause the emotion of Hopelessness.

Diablo Gongzales
Diablo Gongzales is the God of Anger. Born from the flames of war, Diablo resides in the Scolding Cavern in the 4^th Dimension. The sound of Diablo's gong puts the sympathetic nervous system on hyperdrive of those who hear it, firing up stress levels and reducing usage of the frontal lobe, causing the listener to become enraged and irrational. It is custom to crash a gong before sending troops to battle; this is in honor of such an effect. Diablo's sub-ordinates are possessed by rage; when left to themselves they scowl and tantrum in fury of some unknown thing. Their bizarre red masks have often been mistaken for horns, and sightings of them were the origins of representations of the Christian devils.

Like most of the Emotion Gods, Erar and a choice other few are the only mortals who have laid eyes on Diablo; Erar's depiction of Diablo left out the decorations on his beams, only mentioning that they reminded him of a fiery monster. Because such a description can be taken many ways, no two artist renditions of Diablo look the same. Most, however, have some sort of image of Veno, the God of Venom Vegetables and the vicious father of the Minor Goddess of Fire.

The combined powers of Diablo, Antonia, and Bellen cause the emotion of Hate. The combined powers of Diablo and Pipetta cause the emotion of Jealousy.

Serena Chimine
Serena Chimine is the Goddess of Aptosis, or the lack of emotion. Born from the indecisive nature of the wind, Serena lives in the floating Parsympa Shrine in the Skies of Distance in the 4^th Dimension. The gentle sounds of her chimes in the wind causes the parasympathetic nervous system to launch into hyperdrive to those who hear it, resulting in high levels of relaxation and reducing usage of the corpus colossom, which links the two hemispheres of the brain. The end result leaves a person unsure and incapable of describing how they feel; you may be experiencing temporary aptosis when you aren't mad, sad, or frightened, but aren't exactly delighted either. It is said that the reason why wind chimes are so calming is because they are graced with Serena's blessing. Mist is said to enhance the experience, inspired by the mist that spews from Serena's top; this is why people may sit under waterfalls when meditating.

The seldom-depicted servants of Serena were inspiration for the ticking bamboo present in several Japanese gardens.

Depictions of Serena show a garden surrounding Parsympa Shrine; because of the way mist affects clarity, the shrine and Serena are often shown without mist.

The combined powers of Serena and Bellen are said to cause General Anxiety Disorder.

~

Bell Tower of Westvard (c) 2005 Me
Bellen, Bellfry, Bellucination, Poe-Tastic Circus (c) 2008 Me
Diablo, Serena, and everything else (c) 2009 Me