The Family

The Family is the collective name for both the religion and the pantheon of gods that a large number of people in Faria worship or at least passively accept the existence of. Lyres often take worship of The Family very seriously to the extent of it being essential in their culture to be devout to them, spending much of their lives giving thanks to the gods for creating them and their planet. The lyres don't have a collective name for their beliefs or any defined schisms, simply encompassing it all under worship of The Family.
== The Story of The Gods ==
=== Creation of Faria ===
The sun gods Duulasa and Yuushii lived a lonely existence in their dominion. They could see many suns with their own planets and moons all thriving and shining as brightly as they did very far away from them. Seeing these distant gods receiving love and adoration from their creations, they longed for a planet of their own with its own life able to admire their lustrous beauty. Wanting to fulfill this wish, they poured their power into creating the planet which they would name Faria.
The act of using their power to create the planet exhausted the sun gods of a lot of their power, their light now too weak to create life for the planet. As they did not want to be apart from each other, only a dim remnant of their holy light could reach one side of their planet. Much to their horror, they saw that the surface teemed with terrors born of the pure darkness that existed where their now dim light had no hope of reaching. It's said that the despairing tears of both gods for their poor planet and dwindled light flooded the world with the waters that would become Faria's oceans.
Desperate to save their creation and make it beautiful, they recognized they would not have the power to do so themselves. Joining hands in union to combine the last of their power and their devoted love for one another, Duulasa and Yuushii created a child who's bright and boundless energy would surely save their beloved Faria.
The effort gave birth to a new, vibrant sun. The weakened sun gods named their daughter Akoelia. Akoelia was so beautiful and bright that even at that moment her light shone brightly enough to vanquish the dark terrors plaguing Faria, allowing life to truly blossom and flourish upon Faria's surface.
With their planet now thriving, the sun gods could rest. Of course the tired gods knew that they had used so much of their power that they were no longer suns, but moons. They were content with this as their pride and joys Faria and Akoelia now were shining so brightly that they could be envied by the many sun gods far away. The moon gods devoted themselves to protecting the world from the terrors of the dark, tirelessly using the little energy they have left to illuminate the world where Akoelia cannot reach herself.
=== Creation of The Children ===
Overtime, Akoelia grew lonely and sad. While she had the life of Faria to worship her, they could not gaze upon her beauty as they could with her parents, her divine light so bright that it could blind them. Akoelia simply wanted other beings like her to keep her company. Akoelia started small, recognizing that the life of Faria sometimes burned with her radiant light shining down on them, she created a demigod out of the steam that exuded from the oceans as a result of her power.
Akoelia's creation and son was named Riyujiin. Akoelia wanted her son to protect Faria from being harmed by her beauty. Her son defied her wishes, he saw no reason his existence should be defined by his mother just because she was too powerful for the world to comprehend her. Riyujiin instead wanted to be seen as a fully fledged god like his mother. Riyujiin flew off across the globe, using his own power to make the life of Faria respect him through fear by battering them with terrible winds and storms. Horrified by this, Akoelia banished him from the heavens and forbade him from being seen as even so much as a demigod.
Embittered from being rejected by his mother, Riyujiin would bring his wind and storms to the world out of perpetual anger, using his power to block his mother's beauty from the world with cloud-cover, purely out of spite for her and the world that rejects him largely. Riyujiin would not fail to find worshippers but the relationship between Riyujiin and his small few worshippers was often tempestuous. Riyujiin was known to be quick to anger if remotely slighted or not sufficiently praised for his powerful feats of natural fury, to the extent of destroying entire settlements for not praising him enough.
Left alone once more but resolving to create protectors from her renegade son, Akoelia decided to again use her powers to create more children. This time she succeeded, her four beautiful children nestled in cradles within each of the four corners of the world where they would hold dominion of their own. Akoelia recognized the love her children had for her too, as while they could not protect from her power fully like their estranged brother, they could provide shelter and sanctuary to those most devout to her and their grandparents of the night. Akoelia named her beloved children after her parents: Her sons Duulthaan and Yuuthaan and her daughters Asaarn and Shiirarn.
The Moon Gods expressed pride in their child and grandchildren, as they all now were playing important roles in retaining the delicate balance of life on Faria. They knew however that it would often fall on their own worshippers to assist them in caring for the planet they had created for them, while their family would protect them from the dark terrors always lurking, waiting to reclaim the world for themselves once more.
== The Three Gods of The Moons and Sun ==
The primary Gods in the pantheon believed to physically embody the sun and twin moons of Faria. The Three Gods are believed to bathe the planet in their light to protect the world from the evil terrors lurking in the complete darkness that would rule Faria without the Gods presence. They may also go by The Three Celestial Gods, The Three Suns and The Lifegivers.
=== Duulasa ===
Father of Faria and God of the Pink Moon, Duulasa is the Patriarch of Faria and the devoted partner of Yuushii.
=== Yuushii ===
Mother of Faria and Goddess of the Blue Moon, Yuushii is the Matriarch of Faria and the devoted partner of Duulasa.
=== Akoelia ===
Daughter of Faria and Goddess of The Sun, the much beloved daughter of Duulasa and Yuushii, and the mother of the Four Demigods and Riyujinn.
== The Children of Akoelia ==
The secondary gods Akoelia created with her boundless energy. Despite often being referred to as such, depictions often show them as fully grown adults as they're usually thought to have been created as adults from the beginning. The Children may also be referred to as The Four, The Guardians or The Protectors.
=== Duulthan ===
Father of the Forests and Mountains and the deity of Malina. Duulthan is often represented as a tree with three faces on it. The Millennium Tree, the oldest and largest tree in Faria, is believed to be Duulthan himself so the lyres of Draasil Village live at the base of the tree, guarding it fiercely. Duulthaan is a very gentle and quiet god, believed to commune with others through the realm of dreams. This is thought to be due to Duulthaan being particularly fond of his grandparents and finding more comfort in confiding in their dominion than his mother's.
=== Asaarn ===
Mother of the Deserts and Skies and the deity of Sphraga. Asaarn is often represented as a sun bird, a species of giant predatory bird found in Sphraga. Sun Bird Rock, a giant high rising rock with a formation on the top that resembles a sun bird, is believed to be Asaarn herself. The warrior village of Daodoro protect the rock with their lives if necessary. Asaarn is a loud-spoken and confident god, unafraid to say what she thinks. Her bold nature is likely why she holds such tight rule over the skies of Faria in spite of her estranged brother living in the skies as well, though she will readily battle with him when they cross paths. These battles are considered so spectacular that the deserts see rain for weeks afterward.
=== Yuuthaan ===
Father of the Hills and Meadows and the deity of Andor. Unique to the other locations, a ghost city called Zollocote surrounds the giant carnivorous plant believed to be Yuuthaan himself in physical form. Zollocote was built around this plant by devout worshippers and people looking to live amongst a literal breathing god. Yuuthaan's roots overgrew the city and many were forced to abandon their homes, now only a small few still live there in devotion to their deity. Yuuthaan is a reserved but intelligent god, keenly aware of all that happens around him no matter how cut off his dominion is from the rest of the world. It's believed he is the wisest of all the gods so many risk their lives on pilgrimage to Andor to meet him in person. Rumors of live sacrifices to Yuuthaan persist locally and are feverishly denied by his devotees.
=== Shiirarn ===
Mother of the Tundra and Seas and the deity of Reistein. Representing this deity is a rock formation on the off-coast Tosk Island that resembles a Tosk seal, the endemic animal often used to represent Shiirarn. On Tosk Island a tiny tribe of northern lyres reside near and protect the formation fiercely, this tribe is largely uncontacted and only speaks Lyran. Shiirarn is a kind god, in spite of her icy dominion, she retains a warm and comforting presence that protects her worshippers from the harshness of their homelands, ready to embrace those in need of her warmth. It's believed that praying to her will keep the communal bonfires burning all night long, even in the most terrible of blizzards whipped up by Riyujiin.
=== Riyujiin ===
May sometimes be called Father of the Winds and Storms but he is unaligned to any continent and not considered a god by many lyres. Riyujiin is the first child created by Akoelia but not considered a true member of The Family due to coveting power and adoration from life on Faria through making worshippers fear him rather than love him. In the underbelly of lyre culture, Riyujiin represents the unsavory lifestyles of more rugged individuals. Within thieves guilds, pirate crews, covens practicing witchcraft, seedy back-alley taverns or other similarly unscrupulous places Riyujiin has become a common depiction to represent the darker side of life and giving oneself to vice. Common interpretations include an ogre-like figure sitting atop a tornado, an abstract figure of pure lightning or a golden idol embodying both likenesses made to appease him.
Riyujinn is seen as a trickster god or even a demon, delighting in nothing more than wreaking havoc and chaos with his powerful winds and storms. The more pious of lyres forbid worship or depictions of Riyujiin and will destroy depictions of him, though this is best done on clear, sunny days with Akoelia's blessing. Destroying Riyujiin's likeness when it is cloudy in any form is believed to anger him and plague settlements with storms for weeks to come.
== Religious Disputes ==
The exact hierarchy of The Three Gods is often disputed even among lyres. Most accept The Three Gods as the primary Gods of the pantheon, but some believe that the Moon Gods are the primary rulers as they initially created Faria itself while Akoelia gave light to Faria and is unable to even coexist alongside Duulasa and Yuushii, as the balance of day and night would be thrown off if she did. Because of this technicality, some lyres believe this may technically classify Akoelia as a secondary god as well. This split has started to have some effect on lyres outlook of their religion, as while they wouldn't dare cease worship of Akoelia, they may choose to depict her separately from her parents, an act seen as sinful to other lyres.
Even more hotly contested is the place of Riyujiin as a god within The Family. Many lyres would unquestionably accept that Riyujiin in spite of his similar influence over their lives is simply not a god because it goes against Akoelia's will. Others believe that allowing Riyujiin to be accepted as a god may quell his anger over his rejection and afford them more peace in their lives, but this often is met with arguments that his existence as a shunned deity is a suitable punishment for defying Akoelia's wishes in the first place, an act that is seen as deserving of eternal punishment.
Most controversial of all is the outright worship of Riyujiin. Worshipping him is often associated with ne'er-do-wells who pray to him to ensure their schemes go accordingly. Depictions of him are forbidden but usually not worthy of full punishment by banishing unless it's clearly been done out of reverence rather than simple storytelling, though sometimes even these innocuous depictions are destroyed by more heavily devout lyres.
Category:World Information