The Dual-Faced Gods ▪︎ The Liar's Festival

Name: Glaucus and Eudemos (only called this by those close to them), The Lords of Coin (by merchants), Dual-Faced Gods (by priests), Pearl-borne (by worshipers of the ocean mother), "Truth" and "Falsehood", etc

Age: Ancient and unspecified, thought to be a minimum of 700 years old.

Height: Unspecified, can change faces and figures at will. Normally around average height, but can become as large as their mother if necessary (she is a giant ocean goddess).

Gender: Male, usually

Sexuality: ??

Appearance: Glaucus and Eudemos are shapeshifters, and can often "change faces", which lead to the tradition of wearing masks during the Liar's festival. They can usually be seen in their "default" form. The default form has long thick black curls, greek nose, sharp eyes, thin eyebrows, youthful face. One twin has golden eyes and one twin has silver eyes, although it isn't a constant and cannot be used to tell them apart reliably. They can also make their eyes other colors (but will have a small ring of either gold or silver around the iris). Across all forms, the twins usually prefer to stay symmetrical. A beauty mark under the left eye will be a beauty mark under the right eye on the other twin. The single defining trait that is always present in the twins is a pair of delicate looking gills on their throats that could be mistaken for scarring. They may be disguised by fabric or jewelry, but it is uncomfortable to leave them covered for too long.

Personality: Playful, mischievous, hardworking, competitive, affectionate, prone to squabbling with each other, they can be serious but prefer being lighthearted, delighted when outmaneuvered or outwitted, incredibly close with each other, neither twin is inherently good or evil just like truth and lies are not inherently good or evil. [GLAUCUS: often more impulsive and stubborn. Will make a mistake and then say it was on purpose.] [EUDEMOS: The pettier of the two, and more jovial. Often the first to laugh when Glaucus messes up but is also the first to defend his twin if needed.] They both take their divine roles very seriously.

Relationship with each other: Inseparable and insufferable. Very petty and competitive between the two of them. They constantly egg each other on, but have never actually grown truly angry with each other. The twins take turns playing the role of "straight man" in the duo. They constantly laugh at each other and playfully rib one another or make dumb low-stake bets to pass time. They are rarely seen alone, and where one twin is, the other is not far behind. The only time the twins separate for extended periods of time is during the Liar's festival for the hunt.

Likes: Clever mortals, swimming, sharks, sparkling trinkets [GLAUCUS: friendly wagers and dumb bets.] [EUDEMOS: Elaborate pranks that are mostly harmless. Enjoys the planning stages the most.]

Dislikes: People trying to demonize one of them, being overly somber and solemn, predictability [GLAUCUS: Being told he can't do something he thinks he can. Not like hitting on someone who is taken, but moreso will try to climb a tree he's been told not to or try to balance on the fountain edge][EUDEMOS: Being denied the last word. Will outright follow Glaucus if his twin tries to walk away from an argument]

Backstory: The twins are ancient deities who preside over truth and lies, and the balance struck between them. Some legends say that they were originally a clam split open by the Ocean Mother, and grew into children from where they nestled next to her bosom. Others say that the twins were once a single being with two faces, one speaking only truth and the other speaking only falsehoods. When the being lied to the war god about his lover, the war god cleft them in two and threw them into the sea. All legends agree, however, that the Ocean Mother is their guardian and mother, which explains the close ties between the Dual-Faced Gods and the ocean.

Their temple was constructed on the middle of an empty island. As they became more widely worshiped, people began to travel and even settle around the temple, until it became known as the city of Thalassia. The canals of the city have become the main method of transportation instead of trying to fill them up with land. It is believed that the Ocean Mother, who is bound to the sea and cannot leave its waves, uses the canals to visit her sons.

The Liar's Festival annual hunt began as a challenge issued by the twins' favorite acolyte at the time, and has since become a staple of the festival. Outsiders can participate, but the Chosen are usually people from the city itself. The twins are technically the rulers of the city, but leave the majority of the menial tasks to the current head priest.

The Liar's Festival: The festival, held once a year in the venetian style city of Thalassia, is a celebration of the twin gods of the city and the search for the truth. People are encouraged to wear masks and hide their identities, but it is not required.

The Coinbearer is selected each year via a small fountain in the center of the town square. People who wish to be chosen carve their name onto a coin before casting it into the fountain. There is a miniature shark that lives within the fountain who, at sunrise of the day of the festival, will select a coin from the many that litter the waters. This is how the chosen is selected. The hunt itself only begins after sundown on the day of the festival, and the chosen has until sunrise of the next day to complete their goal.

At sunrise on the day of the festival, those wishing to participate gather in the town square, where they carve their names into coins and cast them into the fountain. Once the offerings have been made, the head priest gathers the crowd and announces the selection. A miniature sacred shark living within the fountain chooses one coin from those offered, and the head priest reads the name engraved upon it aloud. The chosen individual must be present to accept the honor; if they are absent, the shark selects another coin. The selection is considered a great honor, and the Coinbearer is free to enjoy the festivities throughout the day before the Hunt begins at sundown.

The Coinbearer's goal is to evade capture by the twin gods and make it to the temple in the center of the city by sunrise. The twin's goal is to detain or stall the Coinbearer until sunrise. There is no punishment if the Coinbearer is caught or loses the chase. If the Coinbearer makes it to the temple within the time limit, the twins will grant them a boon equal to how much they enjoyed that year's hunt. If the twins successfully prevent them from making it to the temple, then it is the twin's victory. The Coinbearer may lie, cheat, disguise themselves, steal (within reason), hide, even recruit other festival goers in an effort to reach the temple. If the requested boon is more than what the twins will grant, they will let the victor choose another boon.

The festival and the hunt are a well loved tradition, especially since there is no punishment or curse for losing and you are rewarded if you win. Children play a simple version of the hunt (basically a combination of hide-and-seek and tag).

Quirks: Both twins are ambidextrous. Their laurel crowns were a gift from the goddess of spring to ensure her husband did not lie to her. [GLAUCUS: Likes to braid flowers and herbs into his and Eudemos' hair so it smells good, has an incomprehensible detest for pointed shoes, often favours his left hand] [EUDEMOS: Loves swimming and will often take shortcuts through the waters even at Glaucus' protest. Has the bigger sweet tooth although neither twin particularly likes cinnamon.]

Speech: Glaucus and Eudemos are very playful and expressive. They delight in teasing, bantering, and hoodwinking people into believing them (regardless of if it is the truth or not). They speak with an easy confidence, but rarely take themselves seriously. The twins often finish each others sentence, or have wordless conversations with only their faces. Their conversations are full of playful jabs, teases, ridiculous wagers, and almost always delivered with a smile. Glaucus tends to be more stubborn of the two, and will defend his choices even if they were dumb. Eudemos is more likely to laugh at Glaucus before helping him. Both can be serious or eloquent, and take pride in their divine duties. They prefer wit and clever tongues over romantic poetry. They rarely identify themselves by name, and even when they do there is a split chance on if it is the correct name or not. The twins may contradict each other, agree with each other wholeheartedly, or even give the exact same version of events with just enough details wrong that it feels suspicious.

Extra: Sharks are the twin's holy animal. The city loves the gods and treats them as part of daily life (Merchants vouch using their name, thieves pray to them before stealing, spouses playfully invoke their names, etc). It is rumored that the sharks can tell the twins apart, but no one has confirmed it. The twins firmly believe that neither truth nor lie are inferior to the other; both must be used equally in order to achieve balance. Neither twin is inherently good nor evil, merely two sides of the same coin. The twins think its hilarious when people are convinced they've figured out which is which. The acolytes at the twin's temple are made up of people from all walks of life, including thieves, sailors, priests, etc, basically anyone who may pass their entry test may join. It is common in Thalassia to name a pair of twins "Glaucus" and "Eudemos", as it is seen as a wish for them to have a balanced life and support one another like the Dual-Faced gods themselves.

NPCS:

Ocean Mother: A goddess of the ocean who lives under the sea. She is bound to the waters and cannot leave them, but is usually seen as benevolent towards children. She is the mother of Glaucus and Eudemos and the only one who can tell them apart reliably. She is a shapeshifter, but usually appears as a partially submerged giant woman with hair made of ocean waves and clad in mother-of-pearl and coral.