Arthyd the Lover is a member of the Eminent Court, and therefore one of the divine husbands of the Most Eminent in the imperial_religion. He is considered the counterpart of his wife's aspect of the Great Temptress.

Arthyd is a complex figure, all the more so because He is viewed in very different ways by various sections of society - ranging from idolization by the rowdier bands of male rovers, to thinly-disguised contempt from conservative upper-class females. Arthyd yields to the wishes of His divine wife, but is willing to disobey Her in Her absence; eager to provide Her with joy and pleasure, but His methods often surprising (and yielding mixed results); extremely vigorous and possessed of a considerable appetite (and not for food), but therefore, it is said, prone to dalliances with mortal females.

He is invoked often by males for sexual vigor and sparking the attraction of females. Although frequently derided by the more sober elements of society as interested primarily in sex, most males consider Him to have an interest in romantic love as well, consulting Him on innovative ways to please and endear themselves to a prospective (or current) partner. He is also sometimes prayed to by females, particularly low-status and/or unmarried ones, who seek affection of one form or another; after all, if they're lucky, they'll catch a sex partner or future husband, and if they're really lucky, might be visited by the god Himself.

Because of Arthyd's somewhat unsavory reputation, His worship tends toward either the heavily sanitized or the private and informal. His formal temples are relatively few, and those that exist present Him merely as a romantic and faintly mischievous character. More often, however, he is worshiped in private though the carrying of a small carved idol, or at small unofficial shrines, many of them associated with houses of prostitution.

Arthyd is represented as a red takma with large wings and flight muscles (both frequently anointed with makeup) and a lithe body. His totem is the kerethra or courting-basket, with which gifts are traditionally given to a potential female partner to demonstrate one's interest and affection.