Faith of the Vecronasl

The Faith of the Vecronasl, often simply referred to as the Faith, is the dominant religion in the Five Kingdoms as well as the world entire.

## The Gods

### The Void

*The nothingness from which everything else is born. Vecronasl is nothing, but gives birth to everything.*

**Vecronasl [Veck-row-nah-zul]: The Void**

### The Ancients/The Ancient Ones

*The first children of the Void*

**Empirael [Ehm-pee-ree-uhl] Deity of Order and Creation**

**Revelieth [Rev-el-ith]: Deity of Chaos and Destruction**

### The Primordials

*The first beings created by “The Ancients”, Empirael and Reveleith.*

**Alessar [Al-ah-sar]: God of Time**

Note: It is said that time began to move when Alessar emerged and will continue to flow as long as Alessar's heart beats. Alessar has total control over the passage of time. They utilize their abilities to traverse through the past and future.

**Saviath [Save-e-ith]: God of Space**

Note: It is said that space becomes more stable with Saviath every breath. Their total control over the boundaries of space enable them to transport themselves to faraway places or even other dimensions.

**Sabaoth [Sab-ith]: God of Matter and Conflict**

Note: It is said that the foundations of existence solidified when Sabaoth manifested, and the world continues to take form as long as their essence endures. With absolute dominion over the realm of matter, Sabaoth wields the power to manipulate the very fabric of substance.

### The Realms of Existence

*The two planes of existence, one filled with life and the other with death.*

**Asyn [Ay-sin]: The realm of life**

**Reias [Ray-as]: The realm of death**

### The Inherents

The inherent deities are gods whose divinity arose spontaneously in or outside of the world, as the manifestation of natural forces inherent to the world or to its peoples. There are many, more minor, inherent deities who manifest themselves as local spirits or fey creatures, but there are three who are generally regarded as the most powerful of their kind.

### Skarann [Skar-ahn]: Elemental of Aero, God of the Sky, Wind

Alternative Name(s): Ziz of the Sky // Keeper of the Winds //

Note: It is said to have lived for hundreds of millions of years in the heavens of Asyn. It is said it would descend to the ground if Rakanh and Shutarr were to fight

**Maerin [May-rin]: Guardian of the Sky, God of Rebirth, Beauty, Youth, Healing**

Maerin is revered as the guardian of the skies and possesses a mythical power to resurrect the dead. According to legend, in ancient times, Maerin put a stop to a war that scorched the land.

* **Eläin [El-ayn]: Guardian of Life and Death, Goddess of the Hunt, Death, Afterlife**

### Forces of Nature:

**Cernunnos [Shir-ah-noss]: Elemental of Cerauno, God of Thunder, Storms, Lightning**

**Cinarus [Ci-nar-ihs]: Elemental of Pyro, God of Summer, South Wind,**

**Kuraea [Cur-ay]: Elemental of Cryo, Goddess of Winter, Storms, North Wind,**

**Fawndryss [Fawn-dryss]: Elemental of Flora, Goddess of Spring, Life, East Wind, Forests, Fertility, Nature, Healing and Medicine**

Alternative Names: The Great Deer Spirit // The Forest Spirit // The Spirit Head // The Forest God // Mother of Life // Natural Mother

Notes: It is said that she commands plants to immobilize her foes and then deals them a savage blow with her antlers. During the winter, she falls into a deep slumber in the form of a tree. Once she awakens marks the end of winter.

**Kyarin [Ki-ah-rin]: God of Autumn, West Wind, Fertility and Agriculture**

Alternative Names: King of Bountiful Harvests //

Notes: According to a folktale, Kyarin punished Skarann and Cerunnos for destroying the land with gales and thunderstorms, and a shrine was built in honor of him. It is said to help spread vegetation and harvest every year with the help of Fawndryss.

### **Rakanh [Rah-kahn]: Elemental of Terra, God of the Land, Earthquakes**

Alternative Name(s): Behemoth of the Continent //

Note: It is said to have raised lands and expanded continents. This god is reported to have appeared as a savior to those who had been devastated by catastrophic floods.

**Renach [Reh-nock] Guardian of the Land, Shaper of the Continents, God of the Mountains and the Great Expanse**

### **Kydross [Kie-dross]: Elemental of Hydro, God of the Sea, Purity, Storms, Floods**

Alternative Name(s): Leviathan of the Sea // The Sunken King // The Voice of the Abyss // The Sea God // Sea's Rage // King of the Dragons // That Which Lies in the Deep

Note: It is said to have expanded the sea by engulfing the earth with violent rains and towering tidal surges. Kydross has the ability to produce enormous rain clouds that cover the entire sky and cause torrential downpours. This deity is claimed to have helped those who were suffering from droughts.

**Shutarr [Sh-uh-tar]: Guardian of the Sea, God of Seafaring, Wealth**

Note: Shutarr is revered as the guardian of the seas and possesses an incredible ability to soothe raging storms. It is said that Shutarr appears when storms start.

### Humanity's Gifts

**Remien [Rem-e-in]: God of Emotion, Ideals, Music and Dance**

Note: Known as "The Being of Emotion." It is said that it had taught humanity the beauty of sadness, anguish, and joy. This deity was feared in legend due to those who showed disrespect would have their emotions thrown into disarray.

* **Galieth [Go-lie-ath]: God of Honor and Victory**
* **Raedrael [Ray-dree-ul]: Protector of Ideals** Alternative Names: Dragon of Ideals // Note: It is said that if people lose their righteousness in their hearts, their kingdoms will be razed by Raedrael

**Zaien [Zie-in]: God of Willpower and Magic**

Note: Known as "The Being of Willpower." It is said that to have gifted humanity with the determination needed for overcoming any of life's challenges.

**Kavien [Kah-vi-in]: God of Knowledge, Truth**

Note: Known as "The Being of Knowledge." It is said that its emergence provided humanity the intelligence to improve their quality of life.

* **Karaxes [Kah-rax-ihs]: Bringer of Truth** Alternative Names: Dragon of Truth Note: It is said that if people ignore truth and let themselves become consumed by greed, Karaxes will arrive to burn their kingdoms down.

## Organization

### Training

According to a semi-canon source, the Faith has great centers of religious training, such as the Great Sept of Orinthal. Not all septals are well educated, however.

### Priests

The male and female godsworn of the Faith are called septals and septas, respectively. Upon taking their vows, they set aside their last names, even if they come from noble families. Septals often wear white robes, seven-stranded belts of different colors, and a crystal about their necks. They lead worship with incense, censers, and songs. Septas typically dress in white robes with woven seven-color belts. They sometimes wear hoods, but not always, and their hair can be seen. Septas may serve as governesses in noble households.

There is a smaller, more populous version of godsworn priests of the Faith called Serviles, also known as just Fathers—different to that of Septals, whom are called Holy Fathers—are the Fathers of the many septlets across Soothereos in the more sparsely populations regions, as well as there being only seven Septs, and therefore seven Septals. Serviles often wear brown robes, and similar decorative attire to septals. They rule over septries, basically smaller monasteries, similar to septs.

Serviles, other times, a "wandering servile", a septal who travels from village to village without a specific sept at which he serves, might visit these small villages. These serviles perform holy services, marriages, and forgive sins. While the serviles on is visiting the village, the people must provide him with food and a place to sleep.

### High Septal

The head of the Faith is the High Septal, the Father of the Faithful, the voice of the new gods on earth. The Most Devout, a council of the highest-ranking septals, each of whom run one of the seven septs of Soothereos, elect the High Septal, usually from among their own ranks, although there have been notable exceptions. The septal who is elected gives up his name, as the Faith believes that the High Septal no longer has any need of a man’s name, since he has become the avatar of the gods. Typically, the High Septal wears long white robes and a crown. Septals from the Most Devout wear robes of cloth-of-silver and crystal coronets.

### Silent sisters

The silent sisters are tasked with preparing the deceased for the grave. They dress in grey robes, their faces hooded and shawled so only their eyes remain visible, as it is "ill fortune to look on the face of death." The silent sisters do not speak to the living, and although some claim that the silent sisters have their tongues cut out, in truth the silent sisters have simply taken a vow of silence.

The silent sisters remove the bowels and organs, and drain the blood from the corpses in their care. They may also stuff the body with fragrant herbs and salts to preserve it and hide the smell of decomposition. When the deceased is transported back home, one or more silent sisters might accompany the body. Due to their task, the silent sisters are also called “death's handmaidens."

### Holy brothers and sisters

Humbler members of the Faith include "holy brothers" and "holy sisters". Many of the holy brothers wear tonsures, cutting the hair on their scalps as an act of humility and to show the Father that they have nothing to hide. Holy brothers often wear robes of brown, dun, or green. Holy sisters can wear robes of white, blue, or grey.

Brothers can serve at septries, monastic communities of the Faith similar to monasteries. The brothers live in penitence, quiet contemplation, and prayer at these septries, and they often take vows of silence. The leader of the community, the Elder Brother, is assisted by proctors.

Begging brothers travel from place to place, but are not to be confused with wandering septals, as the latter are one rank higher in the Faith's hierarchy. The begging brothers are often dressed in threadbare or roughspun robes of undyed wool belted with hempen rope, and some go about barefoot. Some wear a bowl on a leather thong around their necks. Wandering the realm as a begging brother might be done as a penance.

### Faith Militant

The Faith Militant is the military arm of the Faith of the Vecronasl, under the command of the High Septal. It is composed of two military orders, the Warrior's Sons, an order of knights who gave up their lands and gold, swearing their sword to the High Septal, and the Poor Fellows, made up from common men, hedge knights, and the like, who guarded and escorted travelers. The two orders were also known as the "Swords" and the "Stars" for their respective symbols. The Faith Militant is therefore also known as the *Swords and Stars* or *Stars and Swords*. Though through countless wars against the crown, the Faith Militant has lost practically all of its power, and is instead a shadow of what it once used to be.

## Rights and privileges

The Faith traditionally held several rights. Apart from the right to maintain its own military orders (i.e. the Faith Militant and its subdivisions, the Warrior's Sons and the Poor Fellows), the Faith also had the right to hold its own ecclesiastical courts to try servants of the Faith accused of wrongdoing, who were exempt from being tried in the lordly courts of local monarchs. In addition, the Faith's substantial wealth and properties were exempt from taxation.

## Practices

The Faith of the Vecronasl is the dominant religion of the Five Kingdoms. The Faith preaches against prostitution, gambling, and bastardy. It holds slavery to be an abomination, and considers polygamy and incest—except for Sootherians(and by extension the other ruling houses of the realm), under the Doctrine of Exceptionalism—and prostitution as monstrous and vile sins. Followers of the Faith consider no man as accursed as the kinslayer, although the degree of kin and circumstance of killing one's kin (e.g., in war) hold significant influence. Attempted practices to extend one’s life or escape the afterlife is also considered sin to the Faith.

In association with the seven aspects of their afterlife, the number seven is considered holy. Septals speak of the seven aspects of grace during prayer, and the gods are said to have made seven wonders; In the night sky, seven "wanderers", held sacred by the Faith. Seven oils are used during a child naming ceremony, as part of the knighting ceremony, and when anointing a king. Opposed to this, the number five is considered heathen, as it is in direct correlation to five of the seven aspects of the afterlife, those being the Five Archdaemons of the Circles of Reias.

### Worship

Religious worship is done in seven-walled buildings called septs. Each sept has statues and altars for the gods. The altars are sometimes inlaid richly with mother-of-pearl, onyx, and lapis azuli. Windows are from leaded glass, depicting scenes and pictures, and a great crystal catches light, spreading it in a rainbow of colors. The Seven Septs can be found across the Five Kingdoms; Los Cerith, Stonesguard, Throes Peak, Loduhr, Gorhim, Avalor, and Stormfront. Some lords might agree to have a septry built upon their lands. If such cases, the septry are the property of the lord in question.

The seven colors of the rainbow are important to the Faith. The Warrior's Sons wore rainbow cloaks, and the peace banner of the Faith is a rainbow-striped flag with seven long tails, on a staff topped by a seven-pointed star. Crystals in septs create rainbows of light.

The Faith has a number of holy books, though only one official book. The most important one is the *Book of the Vecronasl*, which contains seven smaller books in it called the, "Texts of the Vecronasl" which are the difference accounts of the gods to the ancient Lynch tribes that wrote of them. *The Black Book of the Vecronasl* tells, among others, about the history of the Faith. Septals who cannot read or write memorize prayers, rituals, and ceremonies, and are able to recite long passages from *The Black Book of the Vecronasl*.

Hymns for a particular god can be sung during prayer, as well as many lullabies for children.

### Trials

Trials can be presided over by a septal. During a regular trial, the septal will begin with a prayer. During the trial the septal will swear a man to honesty before he is to give testimony. At the start of a trial by combat, the septal will raise a crystal sphere above his head, He might ask the gods to look down and bear witness upon the trial, and help them find truth in the soul of the accused, granting the accused life and freedom if innocent and death if guilty, or beseech the \* to aid in judgement, and the \* to lend strength to the person whose cause is just.

A special form of trial by combat, which is seldom used, is the trial of seven. The custom originates from the Andals, who believed that the gods would be honored to see seven champions fight on each side, and therefore be more likely to see that justice was done. The accused is to find six others to stand with him in battle. If he is unable to do so, he is considered to be guilty.

### Marriage customs

A marriage ceremony takes place in a sept. The ceremony is presided over by a septal and involves prayers, vows, singing, and lighting of candles. Thus far, all the wedding gowns that have been described during ceremonies performed following the customs of the Faith have been a shade of white, such as ivory samite and ivory silk. The bride also wears a cloak in the colors of her house, called the “maiden's cloak”. The bride's father, or the person standing in his place (usually kin or whoever else is closest to living kin), will escort the bride to the marriage altar where the septon and groom await her.

Seven vows are made, seven blessings are invocated, and seven promises are exchanged, after which a wedding song is sung. Next, a challenge is made to speak against the marriage, and if the challenge goes unanswered, the wedding cloaks are exchanged. The bride's father, or the person standing in his place, removes the cloak from the bride's shoulders, so that her husband can place a cloak of his own house colors about her shoulders. This signifies the bride passing from her father's protection into her husband's protection. The bride and groom speak the words “With this kiss I pledge my love”, potentially followed with an additional “… and take you for my lord and husband” and “ …and take you for my lady and wife” by the bride and groom respectively, after which the septal will declare them to be man and wife, stating they are “one flesh, one heart, one soul, now and forever”.

The wedding ceremony is followed by a feast. A wedding pie will be presented during the feast, which is filled with living birds (e.g., doves, songbirds, bluejays, skylarks, pigeons, doves, mockingbirds, nightingales, sparrows, parrots). The bride and groom cut open the pie, allowing the birds to fly away. After the feast follows the bedding. The bride is escorted to her bedroom, usually by the men from the feast, who will undress her along the way while making rude jokes. The women at the feast will do the groom the same honors. Usually, once the bride and groom are in the bedchamber they are left alone, though wedding guests might stand on the other side of the door, shouting suggestions. Nonetheless, in some cases, witnesses might be present for the bedding, though it is unknown how far this witness duty goes.

A marriage that has not been consummated can be set aside by the High Septal or a Council of Faith. Neither bride nor groom needs to be present for an annulment. However, it must be requested by at least one of the wedded pair. Divorce in Soothereos is not common. Nonetheless, a king is able to put his queen aside—even if she has given birth to his children—and marry another.

## Death

#### Afterlife

According to *The Black Book of the Vecronasl*, lives are like candle flames, easily snuffed out by errant winds. The septals teach of seven different afterlives, their arrival to which determined by the goodness of their heart weighed at the Great Scales. The realm of Maverium is a sweet surcease, and sing of voyaging to a far sweet land where men and women may laugh and love and feast until the end of days. at least, that is one of them.

If ones heart is judged of corruption and bad deeds, they are sent to Naverith where they roam endlessly in empty fields, never to see another again. If they maintain hope, they can be rejudged and sent to Maverium, or continue their endless journey through Naverith.

If they detest the gods, they are noticed by the Five Archdaemons of the Circles of Reias:

* Desiramor: Embodies the insatiable desires associated with lust and gluttony.
* Avarinth: Represents the unquenchable greed and materialistic desires.
* Dormagora: Symbolizes a state of deep lethargy, both physical and spiritual.
* Irethorn: Epitomizes the fiery wrath and intense anger that consumes one's being.
* Envyssal: Portrays the envious longing and covetous nature of desiring what others possess.

There, these daemons mutilate and torture the souls who pass here, corrupting their soul to such a twisted and vile nature that they become a being of absolute hatred: an imp.

#### Funeral customs

The bodies of the deceased are given over to the silent sisters for ritual cleansing. They remove the bowels and organs, and drain the blood from the corpses in their care. They may also stuff the body with fragrant herbs and salts to preserve it and hide the smell of decomposition. The body of the deceased, especially if it concerns a nobility of high importance, might be placed on a bier. During funerals for such dignitaries, which can last several days, prayers are held on three occasions. While the morning services are open only to nobility, the afternoon prayers are open to the smallfolk and the evening prayers are available for all. People of lesser importance or status might be placed upon a bier elsewhere. A family member, friend, or even a concerned stranger stands last vigil.

When a man is laid in his grave, a septal usually says some prayers for him. The prayer begins with, "Vecronasl Above, judge [person] justly". A crystal might be placed upon the grave.

When the deceased dies far from home, his body will usually be escorted back to his or her family. At least one, and often more, silent sisters will accompany the body.