The Halgean Belief

=== The basics of the religion ===
The Hälgean Belief is the official religion of the Confederacy of Hälge
The Hälegan belief is based upon a higher being, a "Higher one" that created all that is known and unknown, although the higher one is not the sole creator of the world, he is the creator of creators. The higher one is said to have created a wife for himself (named Hälgea) where he and his wife created seven children, three of which are embodied as a form of the negative aspects of what is known, and four of which have a representation of light or being
These seven children are known as: "The sisters of the sea", "The Brother of the Sky", "The brother of force, the creator of all things solid","The Bringer of Life", "The Brother of War", "The Brother of Red" or "The Blood God" and finally "The sister of Chaos" formally known as "Entropy"
All of these children are needed to create a balance across the entire world, if one falls, all fall. This is why the Hälgeans believe that all children of the Higher one must be respected and worshipped, that includes the most infamous of all of the children: Entropy, hence the reason why the worship of Entropy is allowed in Hälge to the extent that these people do not break any other laws in Hälge, even if it is in the name of a deity.
The Hälgean belief also has a section in the holy book (which has currently been lost to bandits or fallen into the nether) where the dedication to the "Holy North" (Hälgeans call Hälge the "The Holy north" when they feel patriotic) is necessary to become a true believer and a true person
=== Angels ===
The Hälgean gods have angels that act as a servant to them, ange are not divine since they are all mortal in some way but have been gifted great powers by a god. Angels are all given some sort of unique complexion that resembles a solidified version of their character bound to their mortal body, sometimes the angels might be gifted a body that do not resemble the body they had in any way. Angels carry out different tasks in the name of their god, they also gain the ability to hide themselves from the eyes of another mortal being in the same way that the gods do it, most Angels prefer to stay hidden that way.
The Higher one only has one angel, The holy Moose prohpet that he blessed with his own name [Hälge]. What Hälge [The Holy moose] did in order to gain the highest divine honour is that he spotted the bringer of life, in her mortal form, bathing off the coast of the Holy isle, the main island that the city of Florentina lies upon. Hälge was never meant to see this happening as her [The bringer of life's] beauty is not for mortal eyes to stare upon, but the holy moose had eaten an apple so rotten that his "divine barrier" (The thing preventing him from seeing gods) broke down. Hälge kneeled before her complexion and accepted the higher one as his supreme lord. This made Hälge the first follower and de-facto prophet of the Hälgean belief earning him the spot as the direct servant of Hälge [The higher one].
The higher one will most likely never accept another angel as his servant, the highest divine honour a mortal being can be given is the power to directly serve Hälgea, the mother and divine woman that nurtures and tends to both the divine and the physical world.
=== The divine barrier ===
In the paragraph about the holy moose, some sort of "divine barrier" is referenced. The divine barrier is the barrier all mortal beings have on their souls that prevent them from seeing gods and angels. The divine barrier can only be broken down temporarily through excessive praying, sacrificing and dedication to the Hälgean faith. the holy moose was an exception in this case since he had eaten some sort of rare fruit that permanently broke down his divine barrier. Another way to break down your divine barrier for a more permanent time is to dedicate your life to serving the Higher one, Hälgea and their divine children through rigorous worship, fighting battles in their name or becoming a monk that dedicates their entire life to writing scriptures of the Hägean belief. Through enough dedication, someones divine barrier can be broken permanently and they can be taken up as an angel.
=== Hälgean baptisms and Rituals ===
==== Hälgean baptism rituals ====
Hälgean baptism rituals are kept confidential and they vary in nature. The fact is that there are multiple different ways someone can get baptised into the belief, but all of them involve having the soul and body reborn through some methods and tests.
==== Hälgean sacrificial rituals ====
Hälgean rituals lay a lot of weight into the work that goes into sacrificing the object. Sacrificial rituals often come with prayers to the gods in question of the sacrifice, the more work that goes into the objects being sacrificed at the rituals, the more pleased the deity in question becomes. Often times, the objects will be sacrificed through throwing them down a pit or into lava or a fire; The Hälgeans believe that this is a way to get the items past the divine barrier. The Hälgeans believe that a pleased deity returns with fruitful results, a reward for worship is of course not guarantueed as the worship is mostly one-sided with Hälge
==== The First (recorded) Hälgean baptism ====
On the 28th of August 2022, player Autist1kGeneral, a prophet of the Hälgean belief decided to host a ritual of prayer, worship, sacrifice and baptism for the citizens of his own town of Kungsholm. Players DaTiefling and calibulamus attended the ritual in which they each would sacrifice some of their most valuable items to The Sister of Life by casting them into a fire. The ritual was in hopes of fertility and high yields for the farmers that work the soils of the Hälgean nation
Autist1kGeneral exclaimed to the others: ~As you each sacrifice your most valuable items, you might question the meaning of this sacrifice."Why would a god need a sword to be handed to them, can't a child of the higher one conjure the greatest sword to ever exist using a simple command without our objects going to such waste? Why do we need to sweat and toil for the fruits of our own labours to be cast into a fire?" Well, I tell you! Our gods do not value objects in the same way as we do, they value devotion and the work that goes into those objects; An object without work put into obtaining it is as useful as sand to the gods, therefore, sacrificing extravagant objects demonstrates your care for them, when you care fore the gods you will often find that they listen to your prayers. This is why, my fellow friends, this is why genuine devotion is rewarded by our gods, this is why those are devoted find themselves drowning in gold! Never question your devotion our belief and you will find that the gods will reward you in the grandest way possible!~
As the last items were being cast into the fire, Autist1kGeneral walked into the pond in front of the fire and asked DaTiefling to enter the pond. There began a ritual of baptism that remains a secret to this day. DaTieflings body and soul was reborn after that day and was granted a new purpose in her life. DaTiefling was therefore the first recorded person to be baptised under the Hälgean belief, player calibulamus followed right after and was greeted by her peer on the other side. Once they had returned back home, they found that their newly planter crops had miraculously grown into fine fruits of the soil. No one went on an empty stomach on Kungsholm from that day on.
Category:Religions
Category:Traveler's Era