BEING A THEORY OF DUAL DIVINE NATURES
Amongst the Twelve Gods of Men, there are some clear pairs that stand out. Could it be that they are duals of each other, like two sides of a coin? If so, why do they fit into these dualities, and what is their nature? Some theologians point out that every God has a light and a dark side with aspects of good and evil, but what if there are pairs who match together and form light and dark contrasts of each other. Could this pattern of pairings reveal anything about the nature of divinity?
Hurrian & Nier
Hurrian: defensive war, protection, air (later)
Nier: offsensive war, destruction, fire (later)
Beltine & Neroth
Beltine: spirit, healing, reincarnation
Neroth: body, disease, undeath
Illiir & Cadic
Illiir: light, truth, rulership
Cadic: darkness, secrets, manipulation; (Cadic is nicknamed "the Dark Hand of Illiir")
Althares & Sarish
Althares: knowledge, understanding, applied knowledge, creation, arts & crafts, construction
Sarish: secrecy, forbidden knowledge (including magic & other worlds)
Saluwe & Yarris
Saluwe: life on land, visible nature, earth (later)
Yarris: life at sea, unknown depths, water (later)
Larissa & Larissa (old & new)
old Larissa: virgin, divination, fate, future, calm
new Larissa: harlot, pleasure, luck, present, deranged
Larissa is her own dual. Perhaps it's because she changed, or maybe the truth is that the goddess who was absorbed by the Other was the "old Larissa", whereas the "new Larissa" had always been around.
Notes:
Anshar is the newest of the 12 and a replacement for one who was lost, and she does not fit into these pairs of duals.
Some rare people might also insist that the Fire Dragon & Kassegore and Anshar & Yig are two other pairs of duals, but I'm not falling for that.
Note that as a player I don't necessarily believe all theories I posit but would like to present them for consideration and discussion.