Religions of Ultheles

There are several types of belief-systems throughout Ultheles, but among those varying belief-systems all but four tend to be viewed as taboo within the civilized tribes. These systems contain the Agostrians, the Shadeites, the Egranic faith and the Aiedonian faith in the All-Father. Among the taboo systems the most famous is the Totem-worship of the uncivilized tribes, which is far less organized style of worship than that of the civilized tribes. There are also discussions about the Voidcallers, which is a religion of which little is known and it is mostly used as an insult and is viewed as an evil cult.

## The All-Father

The Aiedonian-style faith in the All-Father has its origins with the Aiedonian people, where the faith grew out of the Olthan and Shadowrider tribes. The first tangible prophet for the All-Father is his supposed son, the first Emperor Braedon the Conqueror, who is the progenitor of the Imperial bloodlines.

The religion places a strong importance on acts of courage and cunning, as Braedon was known as such. In accordance to religious teaching, the best way to gain glory and win the favor of Braedon is through warfare, and many of the followers of the faith view their lives as either warriors or supporters of the war effort. This makes the Aiedonian military extremely effective in rallying even after great military defeats, as their culture is built around war. Another important tenet is loyalty and the sanctity of oaths. The faith clearly teaches that the All-Father has shown the Aiedonian people his favor by giving them his only son, which means that it is the duty of each Aiedonian to follow the commands of their Emperor, who represent the All-Father on earth. Likewise, a vow is viewed as an extremely important aspect that is always to be sealed in blood. Breaking an oath would draw the All-Father's ire and exclude the follower from joining Braedon in the afterlife.

### Braedon the Conqueror

As the first major prophet and son of the All-Father, Braedon holds a very import spot in the religion, and many sermons are based on the words, life and deeds of Braedon. Every temple dedicated to the All-Father, no matter how small or pauper, will have a sarcophagus dedicated to Braedon, as he never died. A core tenet is that in Aiedons greatest hours of need, Braedon will return to lead the country from despair and save the Aiedonian people. In order for Braedon to persist beyond the veil, sacrifices are required and every person is obliged to offer a sacrifice to Braedon so that he may continue living and return stronger than ever.

Until such a time, Braedon reigns as king in the afterlife, gathering the strongest warriors and noblest of women to his side in preparation of the great war that is to come. The All-Father, meanwhile, looks to the future, and commands Braedon in the afterlife as he did on Ultheles.

### The Deified Emperors

As with the progenitor Braedon, a number of his successors has been deified post-mortem, and their words and deeds are similarly taught by priests. The deified Emperors are praised on the Imperial Altar, which is typically smaller than Braedon's sarcophagus and stands beneath it. Typically the reigning Emperor is also praised at this altar. In theory, all Emperors are to be viewed as divine, but in practice only a handful are truly revered as such.

### The All-Father outside Aiedon

Although the religion has its strongest foundation in the Aiedonian Empire, followers of the All-Father exist outside the Empire's borders as well, if in small numbers. For example, the followers in northern Haulthenn tend to invalidate the Emperors from Aerick the Keeper and onward, as their lineage is drawn from Edhelmire Ashenburne. Typically however, only Braedon will be revered as the son of the All-Father and his first prophet, while they relate more to the All-Father directly. In other areas, even the deification of Braedon is disregarded, instead relying on a handful of stories from different prophets and the direct words of the All-Father. They do, however, display similar religious values as those espoused by the Aiedonians.

## The Shadeites

The followers of the Nameless or the Dinir, a belief based on the teachings of the Elves, are generally called Shadeites and draw their name from the dead Shadow Emperor. A core aspect of their belief is that as the Shadow Emperor died, he passed his will on to to mortal men so that they would be empowered with the Word and develop the world in his place. While the Shadeite belief has been inherited from the Elves, very few Shadeites follow the elven custom of utilizing a epithet in place of a personal name. The human Shadeites instead believe that the Shadow Emperor, through the Crystal Queen, have written their own Word on their souls and that mankind cannot give one another a True Word. In essence, they believe that their personal names are already an epithet of sorts, and therefore it can safely be used.

### The Greater Gods

The Shadeites believe that there are hundreds, if not thousand, Nameless gods and although most believers only worship 10-20 gods at any point, these will vary between regions and sometimes between families. All Shadeites agree that there are gods among the Nameless that are greater than others. Most important of these is the Shadow Emperor, who gave his life in battle with the Lord of Lies and as a final sacrifice scattered his own will and power to scribe the Word upon the hearts of all mortals, which gave them free will to impact the world. The heir of the Shadow Emperor is worshiped as the Crystal Queen, whose light is the moon itself and who distributes the Will of her father to the mortals. By her side she has the Sun God in the Golden King, who protects warriors who go to battle. He was, according to legend, the General of the Shadow Emperor and he will lead mankind to battle to finally defeat the Lord of Lies at the end of time.

## The Agostrian Faith

The Agostrians follow their gods, the Namers, and take their name from Agos the Ruler, who died in the Heavenly war.

## The Egranic Faith

The Egrans have always had a peculiar way of relating to religion. During the Wars of Dominion, the Egrans followed the same belief-system as the Arkiis, which is the Agostrian faith, but during the Wars of Liberation, by them dubbed the First Egranic Uprising, the Egrans threw the faith the dragons had indoctrinated them with to the side. In an attempt to reclaim their identity, a new form a faith developed, where the spirits of nature and their ancestors took on a much more important role.

## The Totems

This faith is highly tabooed in the civilized tribes, mainly because many of the Totem-worshiping clans worship different totem gods of the Dikenvar race, or even worse the Dragon Gods. In many countries and provinces, the worship of these dark deities is outlawed and punishable by an excruciating death by the wheel as the clergy attempt to cleanse these souls.