Menewa Pantheon

The **Menewa Pantheon** are a series of gods that are worshipped by the people of the Dominion of Meshkar.

As the name suggests, the Menewa people once revered the gods as their main religion, and offered tribute to them. The practice of this religion would continue on until the fall of their civilization 1,200 years ago. Years later, and following the foundation of the Dominino of Meshkaria, the first foreign Pharaoh, Meshkatawis III, would decree the official religion would once more be the Menewa Pantheon due to a vision she saw from a spirit in the Nirine, blessing the crops during a rather dry season, that was about to cause a massive famine.

## Divinities

### Ansharadakh

Ansharadakh is the goddess of the Sun, and previously, the Queen of the Gods, and the primary deity of all the people of the Menewa Empire, Ansharadakh's domain of the Sun is among the most important and vital signs of the world. It is said that without her, that many things on this plane of existence, would die, and wither away. Ansharadakh was thought to be a primary source of life, in which many things, such as the existence of Nirine and the others would all be seen as her children. Around the Empire, there has been many temples to her that Pharaohs would have erected and built. It was said that she was also responsible for the many mana pools that would help keep the empire afloat. Much of the Sun's energy was thought to have been divine, directly sent by Ansharadakh herself, to provide life, and prosperity to the Menewa.

The collapse of the Empire, and re-adoption of the religion by the Avarati saw that Ansharadakh was perhaps, not the most trustworthy of her title as ruler of all the Gods, and for a while, even saw her as a twisted, malevolent entity by Meshkatawis III upon her ascension as Pharaoh, and said that she sought to trick people into worshipping her as the Sun to lure unfortunate mortals to their demise, and causes collapsing of empires. Her worship was banned, instead, a different God by the name of Tabu, who was seen as the true ruler of the Sun. However, the rise of Meshkatawis V years later, claimed she heard the voice of the Goddess, who wept, and spoke of how she had done no harm to the children of the Menewa, and was said to have pled the Pharaoh to re-instate her worship, and was even said to be accepting that she is not worthy to be proclaimed "Queen of the Gods" again. Being a secret Ansharadakh worshipper herself, Meshkatawis V agreed, and begun to clear the Goddess' name, by promoting that she was the one who worked closely with Nirine to restore the land, and that it was thanks to the illegal cultists of Ansharadakh, that harvests were saved, thieves were smite, and that it was thanks to her, that their people were able to succeed the great Menewa Empire. Worship of Ansharadakh was then made legal again, and she was paired together with Nirine as her wife, rather than Nedu, and the worship of Tabu was completely dropped, with much of his idols smashed.

Ansharadakh's portrayal is that of the Sun itself, and is said to have no form. However, she was later given a form of an extremely luxurious looking female, who does not look Elven, nor any being of this world, and is said to be made as alien-looking as possible. Many temples continue to, however, portray the formless appearance, out of respect

### Nirine

The Goddess of the Nirine River as well as fertility, life, and considered the mother goddess, Nirine takes form of a water spirit that, when she steps on the land, it becomes mud, and fertile. It was said that she was born a virgin birth, being the source of life that provided many people and animals nourishment and the right to exist for many centuries. Her major cult centers are mostly in the bigger cities such as Qasi-Mennwakh, but there are many others that laid in ruin following the collapse of the Menewa Empire.

Previously, Nirine was seen as below the Sun Goddess, Anshradakh, as the primary god due to Ansharadakh's important role as the Sun, and that without her, life would cease to exist in the world. However, Nirine is said to have take a more active role in the peoples lives, and is usually extremely popular among farmers and peasants, due to many praying to her before the planting season for hopes to have the soil is fertile enough for said season. She is also prayed to when a famine happens. With the ascension of Meshkatawis III, Nirine was made the primary deity, and the new Queen of the Gods and after the unbanning of Ansharadakh worship by Meshkatawis V, Nirine was paired her with Anshradakh, rather than Ansharadakh's traditional husband, Nedu.

Nirine was portrayed as a literal water spirit. Although, some cities tend to affiliate her with the hippopotamus, as they are seen as the guardians of the rivers.

### Nedu

Nedu is the God of the Sky, and previously was the husband of Anshradakh. His role is the one who keeps the world secure from threats from beyond the mortal realm, and separates the realm of mortals from the worlds beyond, as well as the afterlife. Nedu works very closely with the Underworld Goddess, Anu, to ensure that mortals enter the correct realm upon their death. He also creates clouds to help produce the needed rain and storms to help keep the waters full. He is also to have said to have created all creatures who are able to fly, and the creator of the now legendary flying ostrich and flying chicken, which at one point were said to have been able to fly, until he was wronged, and cursed them for eternity to no longer fly.

Nedu's importance to the sky existing, made him paired with Anshradakh, until the banning of Anshradakh by Pharaoh Meshkatawis III. He would be paired together with Anu, where he would continue to serve his role as the Sky and Gatekeeping God, but his prominence of becoming more affiliated with the afterlife also made him rather popular by mortuaries and tombs, where his statue is seen lifting coffins as a form of pillar. Nedu would not be re-paired with Anshradakh again after the unbanning of her worship.

Nedu is unique among the Gods, as he usually is portrayed on murals rather than in statue form. However, later dynasties and in the Meshkarian Dominion portray him as a man who holds his hands up all the time, as he is "pushing" the realms above away from the mortal plane. He is also portrayed with his hand upfront, with a spear behind him, indicating his role as the gatekeeper of realms beyond the mortal realm.

### Mutawakh and Sarakwah

Mutawakh and Sarakwah are the sister Goddesses of the twin moons. While Ansharadakh shines the day brightly with her light and power, the two Mutawakh and Sarakwah gives the glow of a peaceful, and serene ascent to the sky, and basks a darkness upon the world. The feel of the cool air that they produce, provides a nice change from the usual heat that Ansharadakh gives, and helps provide the land with the needed crisp breeze, usually sometimes providing moisture. They are also seen as Guardian Goddesses of the Pharaoh during the night time, and are quite important in religious ceremonies. No city is usually complete without a palace having the twin flames, with one being white, and the other being red.

The twin moons are sometimes paired with Ansharadakh as concubines in the years of the Menewa Empire, usually accompanying the Sun Goddess wherever she went, and often departing whenever Ansharadakh crosses into the realm of mortals every twelve hours, and the fact they are blind during the day, explains why they come out at night only. After the rise of the Meshkarians, they were made separate from Ansharadakh, and are no longer sisters, but rather a married couple, who are daughters of Nedu. The ceremonious fires changed to be blue and red instead.

Mutawakh and Sarakwah are both portrayed as the twin moons in the sky being formless like Anshradakh. Like Anshradakh, however, they were given an elven form, and are usually seen holding hands in the sky. Some older temples however, keep the formless motif of them. The associated animal with the twins is the cat.

### Dennu

Dennu is the Protector of Pharaoh, and at times, of War and Valor. Dennu is a God that was once a Goddess. When he was female, she rode the battlefields that was against the enemies of Menewa with their dangerous poisonous tail, which was said to feel as if a billion arrows were penetrating ones back. Dennu would later become so addicted to war, that she'd go mad, and eventually started to destroy anything that gets in her path. It would take both Ansharadakh and Enkhrah to stop her. Dennu was created to be a man-slayer, as much of the soldiers were men, however, Enkhrah proposed to turn Dennu into a man, and tame her from destroying anything else. With a snare, Ansharadakh would create a special type of Fig Wine, together with a bit of blood from Enkhrah's beetle form that was said to give hallucinagetic effects, that she would give to Dennu as a "gift". Following her drinking it, Dennu transformed into a male, glancing at the water, looking in complete shock, as she-now he, noticed that he was slaying his own soldiers. The pool of blood, as well as the corpses that appeared made Dennu end their rampage, being full of regret. Since that point onward, Dennu became more of a guard, rather than a frontline soldier, and would later become the Guardian of the Pharaoh, but he would still be worshipped as the God of War and Valor.

Dennu's story has changed over the years many times, with some accounts saying that Dennu was always a male, and the whole madness arc being omitted, though, the old story was restored by Pharaoh Meshkatawis III.

Dennu is portrayed as a Scorpion. For their elvish form however, it usually varies from region to region. At first, it was confused to worship Dennu as either male or female. To this end, statues were made to have Dennu have a woman breast and the other to have a male chest, splitting the gender on one side, and the other. Animal statues to Dennu however, remain ambiguous, and usually vary. Many temples however, follow the half male half female portrayal of their statue, with the face being replaced with a scorpion head. Some old temples to Dennu are usually portrayed as male, and some others as female alone.

### Enkhrah

Enkhrah is the other protector of Pharaoh, and the goddess of medicine, plots, intrigue, luck and beetles which includes scarabs. Although she plays a very sinister part of assassinations, Enkhrah is potrayed as a very non-chalant, and patient goddess who seems to be popular with doctors. The toxins of Enkhrah's blood, which is also beetle blood, is said to have cure the most powerful venoms and toxins when mixed correctly, while also delivering the death of many of Pharaoh's enemy without him/her laying a single finger on them. The Goddess also played a part of stopping Dennu's madness when they were out killing their own soldiers by using her a part of her blood with fig wine to not kill, but to give hallucinations to prevent Dennu from further causing damage. The luck role came from whenever the Pharaoh is present in a battlefront, battles always seem to have a better chance of turning into the favor of the Menewa Empire's favor. A personal scarab owned by the Pharaoh, always seemed to have been a good luck charm.

Enkhrah is one of the few gods of the pantheon to have little change. Scarabs and beetles were deemed as sacred animals, and it can be seen as a punishable offense if one purposefully kills a scarab (not accidental though), and usually most people would try to own a scarab farm. Enkhrah remains popular among doctors, assassins and spymasters, but also by archers and others who are bound by luck. Her only change was her role in medicine, as Rhajat already fulfills that role, with some cults combining both Enkhra and Rhajat together as Enkhra-jat, a beetle woman goddess with a cat tail.

### Anu

Anu is the Queen of the Underworld, and the wife of Nedu, the God of the Sky. While her husband rules the sky, Anu rules the underworld. However, the two work in a harmonious pattern, in which she deems if souls are worthy to head to the afterlife of their choosing, or are to live in the underworld to atone for their lies and mistakes. She usually ferries down bodies to the gateway to her realm. If souls are deemed to have been worthy and weighed from pureness from their heart, answering her questions as truthfully as possible, they are deemed worthy to pass through the other gate, which is a portal to Anu's realm in the sky to be guided to their afterlife. If the heart is not of pure, Anu consumes it, and sends the soul to her realm in the Underworld, in which, depending on how wicked they are, are sent to either a pitiful part of the underworld, or the most damning part of it, which is said to be pitch black and eternally depressing and suffering.

Anu was at one point just a mere associate of Nedu before she was paired with him, when Nedu was divorced from Ansharadakh upon banning of her worship. Anu would remain her partner even after unbanning of the Goddess' worship, and would remain the patron of mortuaries and in court houses for those who are being sentenced to death.

### Rhajat

Rhajat is the Goddess of Health and Sanctity, Plague Warding, Domesticated Cats and the Desert. Rhajat is said to be the creator Goddess of all Ancient Elves, and is among the most popular gods second only to Ansharadakh herself. Due to her being portrayed as a mother goddess of Elves, she is quite popular by foreign Elves as well, even the ones who have no links to the Menewa-Khenu. Her role is mostly mixed with Nirine's role as the Mother Goddess and Enkhra's role as the goddess of medicine, except she also caters after the desert. Her affiliation with cats comes from a myth, where once, a city was infested by serpents and rats. Rhajat would be in the city at the time. One time, a giant rat would come into view, and would begin to target civilians, spreading pestilence. Suddenly, several wild cats would appear, and assist Rhajat, by using their sharp claws to penetrate the skin of the beast, and help pull it down, before Rhajat slammed her hammer into it's head, crushing it's head. The wild cats would begin a sweep away the serpents and rats, consuming them. Rhajat, being extremely grateful to the cats, would introduce them to her creations, integrating domesticated cats to society.

Rhajat was actually apart of the Avarati Pantheon known as Heshar, and was the Goddess of Health, Sanctity and was known as the "Plague Slayer", as she was blessed for ridding Knarka of plague. She would remain on the pantheon as Heshar until Meshkatawis III would officially adopt the Menewan name of Rhajat. To date, the Cult of Rhajat remains the only cult of the Menewa Pantheon to be in different foreign religions abroad. She is portrayed as a black-haired woman with a large hammer, crushing a rat's head.

## Calendar

The Pantheon includes a solar calendar. There is three seasons in total in the calendar: Flooding, Planting and Harvest. Each year is known as a "Cycle", in which, once the process of the river has completed itself, it is considered an entire year, readying itself for farming once more. For instance, as of this year, 12,000 cycles would of occurred. The calendar has over 365 days, meaning that the cycle starts on the first day, and the months divided by 9 with each god being represented (including Sarakwah) by name. For example, the birth year of the Pharaoh is 11,965 Cycles of the Nirune, Planting, Enkhrah-1 or 7/1/11965CTN.

In game, since Minecraft does not portray flooding in any sort of capacity, the dates are mostly no different from the Gregorian Calendar.