RHALGR

Rhalgr (pron. Rawl-gar) is one of the Twelve, and the patron god of the Kingdom of Ala Mhigo. He is referred to as the Destroyer, the Breaker of Worlds, and the god of Destruction. (1)

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

EARLY HISTORY

Rhalgr, unlike most of the Twelve, was not born of the Whorl or of a divine coupling; instead, He was crafted by the hand of Nymeia. As the gods walked through Eorzea in times primeval, They accidentally created and unmade much of the land; Llymlaen's seas consumed coastlines, Oschon's mountains uprooted plains, and Thaliak's rivers went every which way they could find purchase.

Nymeia, fearing that the world would revert to chaos, plucked a comet from the sky, gave life to it, and cast it onto the ever-shifting land. This was Rhalgr, and His powerful influence as a Destroyer put a stop to new and disruptive landmasses and movements of water. Thus was harmony created in the world, and life could spread to its fullest.

After a long era of this peace, two more deities came forth from the Whorl: Byregot and Halone. Nymeia, whom Rhalgr called "master", gave the two into Rhalgr's care, hoping that He would teach them the same lesson She had taught the others through Him. But both young deities found Rhalgr's tutelage unsatisfying; Byregot would seek the knowledge of orderly creation at the feet of Thaliak, and Halone would go Her own way, learning Her own arts of destruction. (2)

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

An artist's depiction of the Heaven of Lightning

DEPICTION AND WORSHIP

The great statue carved at Rhalgr's Reach, the work of centuries of devotion. Note that here, He resembles a Highlander Hyur, the majority race of Ala Mhigo.

Rhalgr, in religious art, is often depicted as a tall, bearded mage carrying a bronzen staff--or, as His symbol suggests, a meteor or comet. (1)

While many revere all of the Twelve, few there are who worship Rhalgr as their primary deity, outside of Ala Mhigans. They, however, make devotion to Him not merely a part of their culture, but of their very identity. Indeed, the founding legend of the nation of Ala Mhigo holds that, during the Calamity of Water, the people came near to drowning. But a comet burned brightly in the sky, which they took for a sign and followed; in so doing, they found higher ground and a new home in Gyr Abania. (3)(4)

Indeed, it was only the crippling of the Fist of Rhalgr by the last king, Theodoric, that led to the demise of the nation and its conquest by the Garlean Empire. Thereafter, in Gyr Abania, worship of Rhalgr was suppressed under Garlean occupation. (5) Most of the sacred texts of the Fist of Rhalgr were destroyed, but some escaped whole--including Destructivity, a core text that gives great insight to the founding of Rhalgr's Reach. (6)

Rhalgr is associated with the eighth moon of the calendar, and also gives His name to Rhalgr's Bile, a terrible and potent poison that was once used to assassinate an Ala Mhigan king, and whose secret is known only to the Corpse Brigade. (8)

(3) Quest: Where There Is Smoke
(4) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 174
(5) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 175
(6) Quest: A Divine Dilemma
(7) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 19
(8) Quest: The Rematch

The Spire, a constellation that represents the Heaven of Lightning. Note that, on the Astrology card, Rhalgr is depicted.

The priesthood--monks called the Fist of Rhalgr--stood long as a powerful institution in the government of the Kingdom. Standing on the passage between Aldenard and Ilsabard, they were long at the forefront of invasion, time and again; they learned to lean on the arm of the Destroyer, making martial prowess an important factor not only of their defense, but of their life as a whole. (5)

Another depiction of Rhalgr, this time in form like unto an Elezen

A stone bearing the symbol of Rhalgr can be found at Little Ala Mhigo, in Southern Thanalan.

Rhalgr is said to lend his lightning to the Heaven of Lightning, powering the clockwork city crafted by His foster son Byregot, where rest the engineers, architects, revolutionaries, and conquerors of evil; and the remnants of that lightning rain down upon the sinners in the Hell of Lightning, who were vandals, slumlords, and warmongers. (7)