Riathamus

"Fear not. Anything you have done wrong can be put right, blotted out, forgiven"

- Riathamus to Thomas

"I am King, but not of this world"

- Riathamus reveals Himself

Riathamus, also called God, is the Bigger Good protagonist in the horror-fantasy novel Shadowmancer. He is the God of the Jewish religion and presumably also the God of the Muslim religion, and Riathamus has protected humanity from Pyratheon's evil for millions of years.

Origins
Riathamus' origins are never revealed; other than Him existing at the very dawn of Time and making Heaven and Earth for Him and His angels. He established an order, and lived in peace with His angelic children, named Seruvim. However, one of His angels, a Seruvim named Pyratheon, began to grow jealous of Riathamus' creations. When Riathamus made Adam, the first human, and his wife Eve, Pyratheon got jealous, and when Riathamus asked the angels to worship Adam, Pyratheon began an outright war. He converted and seduced many angels, and they fell with him. The war against the good and evil angels continued for centuries.

However, at the Battle of the Skull, which was a turning point in the war (and hinted to be the same time as the Crucifixion of Jesus in the novel) Riathamus finally captured Pyratheon. Because Riathamus was a benevolent deity, He would not kill Pyratheon. He instead threw the angel into Hell, which Riathamus made for Pyratheon. So Pyratheon was still alive but imprisoned in Hell. All the other fallen angels were thrown out of Heaven, and only the loyal angels remained. The fallen angels were banished into Hell and some were stuck on Earth. They possessed humans and corrupted them into following false gods which Pyratheon invented, to corrupt humanity into abandoning Riathamus further.

It didn't help Riathamus that one of His former minions, Obadiah Demurral, became greedy and turned to Satanism instead, lusting after dark magic and using it to his own ends. Riathamus seemed to be losing power, yet this was not so.

Meanwhile on Earth, the fallen Seruvim (named Glashan) prepared to free Pyratheon.

Biography
In the novel, Riathamus first appears in a dream where Thomas, the protagonist, is in a dark temple-like structure, and he can hear invisible chanting. Seeking further, he sees a whole army of winged humanoids bathed in light and chanting. However, being devout, Thomas is not afraid of the Seruvim. He soon meets Riathamus Himself, who is described as "neither white nor black, but with the appearance of being tarnished by the Sun." Riathamus has long black hair which comes below His shoulders. He is watching the angels and introduces them and Himself to Thomas. He just says simply "I am a King. Have you not heard of Me?" showing His lack of conceit. Thomas soon fears Riathamus, saying he has done mischief and can't be good, but Riathamus forgives him, because they're just petty crimes. Riathamus then warns Thomas the real enemy is much more evil than anyone.

Riathamus summons an angel to give his sword to Thomas, and he takes it, after Riathamus preparing him for what lies ahead. Thomas is soon bathed in his worst fear: Eternal darkness, Demurral victorious, and Thomas engulfed in a swarm of rats. He wakes from the nightmare, but doesn't lose his faith in Riathamus, despite Riathamus saying it is hardest to believe in Him when He is not present.

When Kate, Thomas and Raphah are chained in Demurral's tower for a dark magic sacrifice, Thomas prays to Riathamus in his anger, and sure enough, Riathamus hears. Raphah had also been praying to Riathamus, and in their combined prayers Riathamus shows His power by shattering the land with an earthquake. Demurral's henchman Beadle comes over to free them due to the earthquake, and Kate tempts Beadle with redemption, but Beadle says he has to stay with Demurral to report.

As Kate, Thomas and Raphah are fleeing from Demurral's land, Kate sees a strange man walking through the woods at them. Raphah says he looks like a shepherd, but one can never tell in such haunted woods. Thomas firmly believes the man to be a wood spirit, but he has doubts when the man tells them secrets about them nobody else had known. Thomas remembers how this man looks - exactly the same as the man in his dream. He then realizes the man is, in fact, Riathamus. After giving them fish and bread for lunch, and crystals to fight demons, Raphah also realizes the man is Riathamus after Riathamus talks about Raphah's ancestor Solomon.

Then, Riathamus reveals His true form when He is robed in golden robes and glows with power. Then He vanishes after promising help in the next town. However, the trio realize they cannot get there in the allotted time, and they shelter with Lord Finesterre, an error which almost costs them their lives upon realizing Finesterre is a dark witch who summons Pyratheon himself to hunt for them.

However, Riathamus saves the trio from a pair of Glashan sent by Pyratheon. Riathamus shows them the way out by mentally guiding them.

Riathamus also sends His promised helper, Raphael the Archangel, to protect Kate, Thomas and Raphah at the next town. Raphael fights back more Glashan and takes them to a safe house guarded by a devout follower of Riathamus. Until a con man in league with the Glashan tempts Thomas to the infirmary, where his "mother" is dying. However, she is actually a Glashan, and the dying become Glashan, who all attack. Raphael himself fights the demons off alone, and a final showdown at the church starts.

Raphah accidentally summons Pyratheon again and he kills Raphah in rage after demanding he surrender. Pyratheon then seems to have won, when he uses the Keruvim statue, to warp reality, and making ten days pass. However, even though the world is plunged into darkness, Pyratheon has not won. Raphael appears, to a shocked Pyratheon, and resurrects Raphah with the help of Riathamus, who has not been defeated. Pyratheon proclaims over and over that Riathamus is dead, but Raphael shows them the truth, he shows them a sunrise faint on the horizon, revealing the Devil really just played with Time. But Pyratheon teleports out with Demurral before Raphael can kill him.