BYREGOT

Byregot (pron. Bee-ehr-go) is one of The Twelve, and the patron deity of those who craft and build. He is primarily known by the epithet The Builder. (1)

(1) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 17

EARLY HISTORY

Legend tells that the Whorl slumbered after Nymeia brought down a comet onto the face of the world. The universe was peaceful, harmonious, and the Gods content with the order of things.

But then, the Whorl awoke once more, one last time, to beget Byregot and Halone. Fearing that these young gods' ambition and wild nature could reintroduce chaos and destruction in the delicate balance She had achieved, Nymeia placed Him and Halone under the care and tutelage of Rhalgr, in hopes that the Destroyer would teach them restraint. Thus is Rhalgr called Byregot's father, and Halone His sister.

Like Halone, Byregot chafed under what He felt were the limitations of Rhalgr's teachings, and sought wisdom from Thaliak, the Scholar. Thaliak, pleased at Byregot's eagerness for knowledge, gave Him all He desired; that knowledge would swiftly become the techniques of art and industry.

Thus were Nymeia's fears allayed, for He Who She feared might become a destroyer had instead become a builder, imparting ever greater order to Creation. (2)

(2) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 18

An artist's depiction of the Heaven of Lightning

DEPICTION AND WORSHIP

In religious art, Byregot is often depicted as a smith, driven by zeal for his craft and wielding a great two-handed hammer. His symbol is that of a hand, which possibly gives the Disciples of the Hand their name. (1) Some depictions give Him a crown of nails or spikes, ready for His Hand and hammer.

There is no organized worship for Byregot, but artisans often feel that their craft is a form of active worship. They will often invoke His name and pray over their work.

The Spire, a constellation representing the Heaven of Lightning. Depicted on the Astrology card is Rhalgr.

The seventh moon of the Eorzean calendar and lightning are associated with Byregot, and Byregot's Strike in Southern Thanalan is named for Him.

(3) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 19

A stone bearing the symbol of Byregot can be found at Camp Tranquil in the South Shroud; before the Calamity, it was set at Camp Crimson Bark in the West Shroud.

It is widely held that Byregot and Rhalgr together created the Heaven of Lightning in the afterlife. Byregot shaped a great clockwork spire upon a comet, perhaps that from which Rhalgr was born, and which Rhalgr powers with lightning of His making. (Some say that Rhalgr strikes the Spire in wrath, but others believe it is cooperation.) Here is the final paradise of engineers and architects not only of concrete things, but of societies and of revolutions, architects of justice. The Hell of Lightning lies underneath it, where lightning-fired fragments of the comet rain down upon such sinners as vandals, slumlords, and warmongers--men and women whose acts destroyed the good things others strove to create. (3)