Geranism

> "*The gods are cruel, vindictive and hateful. They are without mercy or respite, and if they spare you it is only to make you a slave. The horrors they could bring upon you are beyond the comprehension of your minds. Worry not, though, little mortals - for I am far worse.*"
> ― Lord Geran, according to Geranite scriptures
>
>

**Geranism**, also known as the **Cult of the Dead God** or (erroneously) the **Cult of Death**, is an ancient religion with unclear origins which was once a dominant faith across much of southern Inecuria. Though it has since been overtaken by other religions, it remains a clear majority in Keloruela, and significant minorities of Geranites exist in Roulonne, Epsilucia and Avamorica. Because the largest Geranite population exists within Keloruela, Geranite concepts shall largely be described using Ruawi terms in this article.

Geranites are monolatrous; they believe in the existence of many deities, but only choose to worship Lord Geran. Geranites believe that Geran is the only deity with any real compassion for mortalkind, believing that all other gods are selfish, arrogant and greedy, seeing mortals as expendable tools for their own ends. There were once other virtuous deities besides Geran, but they were all slain in the Annihilation. Ever since then, Lord Geran - the God of Death - has been the only god acting in the interests of mortals.

Though Geranites believe Lord Geran can (and does) work miracles in the world of the living, his primary dedication is to his own domain of the Underworld, protecting and caring for mortal souls in the city of the dead. He stands vigil alongside his Deathguard, a retinue of undead mortals who willingly sacrificed their right to eternal rest to fight for their god. The city of the dead is known by various names, which all appear to be adaptations of an unknown precursor name due to their similarity; it is known as *Mautana* in Ruawi, *Mourtelle* in Roulonnais, *Maatala* in Häpsiluukili, *Morrthanríce* in Walmórícing, and *Meithana* in the Elvic languages. The resemblance of Ruawi *Mautana* to Mortani *Mortana* is entirely coincidental; the two have completely different etymologies and meanings.

## Lord Geran

Geran is the Lord of the Underworld, the Judge of Souls and the God of Death. Geranite tradition generally holds that Geran himself is dead, though not in the same sense as mortals; he exists in a state of immortal living undeath that is outside the bounds of the mortal comprehension of life or death.

Though Geran is the master of death, he is believed to have genuine compassion for mortals, and is the only surviving god to have any empathy for mortalkind. Though he is responsible for taking mortals from this world to the Underworld, he is also responsible for protecting and caring for mortal souls in the afterlife. As an immortal deity with all the time in the world to wait, Geran is greatly pleased when mortals live long, happy and prosperous lives and die peacefully of old age - for that means they will bear children and support families, increasing the number of mortals Geran eventually receives in his domain.

### Appearance

Although Geranism has appeared in numerous cultures, depictions of Geran himself are mostly consistent across times and places. He is depicted as a skeleton wearing armour, a black hooded cloak (sometimes depicted as fur-lined), and a simple golden crown beset with three black gemstones. He is usually shown carrying a spear, with a sword at his side and sometimes with a bow slung on his back. His exact manner of dress tends to vary with the culture that is depicting him. The symbolic colour of Geran is black, which features frequently in Geranite iconography.

Geran's Deathguard, his warriors that serve him in the underworld, have a similar appearance; they are skeletons heavily clad in armour, wearing black fabrics and plain steel, armed with the same variety of weapons that a mortal army would have. The Deathguard tend to be depicted with antiquated weaponry, a reflection of the fact that the Deathguard themselves are mostly extremely old. Modern-day depictions of the Deathguard tend to display a variety of weapons, but almost never show them with any firearms more modern than bolt-action rifles such as the Volador G3415.