Religion

There are various religions in the world, ranging from international organized religious movements to simple shamanism.  Many of the religions in the world were dependent on race, but as the intermingling of races and cultural identity became widespread some religions simply absorbed features of other religions or adherents discovered they preferred one religion over the other.  Here are some of the most popular religions in the known world.

## The Holy Church of Egaria

The official state religion of the **Egarian Empire**, the **Church of Egaria**, or **Egarianism**, is most likely the largest religion in the world.  **The Church** is currently lead by His Most Righteous Reverend Everett Prescott, Grand Patriarch of the Egarian Church.

The Church was once wrought with corruption and scandal, it was little more than a front to keep the masses of the Empire at bay and justify the existence of the Office of the Emperor.  They preached human, dwarfish, and eladrin superiority.  They condemned
intermixing of races and speaking out against the government.

This was changed with the selection of Everett Prescott to be patriarch by Emperor Swann himself.  Swann, an adherent Egarianist, saw the old guard of the Church pushing away the citizens of newly conquered territories.  He saw the selection of Everett Prescott as a tool of peaceful conquest.  With Prescott at the helm of the Church,inter-racial marriages have been allowed, women are no longer barred from entering the clergy, and most traces of racial superiority has been eliminated from Church Doctrine.  There are many higher ups and individual priests who have refused to implement the Patriarch's new changes.

### Beliefs

Egarianists believe that the world was created by the all powerful and benevolent gods named Gal and Vrew.  Gal and Vrew worked side-by-side benefiting the world, until one day Vrew grew greedy and desired all power for himself.  He attempted to kill Gal, but a lone human Saint Patrius sacrificed himself to save Gal by throwing his self in the path of Vrew's arrow. By slaying a non-celestial Vrew lost most of his powers, except for immortality and shape-shifting.  Gal seeing the destruction a celestial could cause promised to leave the world be until he returned to collect the worthy souls.

The official Doctrine reads (amendments made by His Most Righteous Reverend Everett Prescott are shown in parenthesis, deletions in brackets):

"True Egarianists are encouraged to live a life (of poverty and) service to fellow beings\*, (regardless of race or gender). We are all children of Gal. We will work to defeat Vrew and his agents of destruction, [the elves, halflings, and other undesired races].  By keeping our souls free from aggressions [and culture clean from savagery] we will all be embraced by Gal upon his return."

\*Formerly stated only humans, dwarves, and eladrin.

## Elfish Triumvirate

Also known as the **Elfish Pantheon**, (elfish word for triumvirate), or the **Old Gods**.  Consists of three goddesses, each embodying different aspect of life and each with their own cults.  The triumvirate consists of Baiaca, Waqua, and Teoca.  Although the three goddesses are known with the moniker "elfish" they are worshipped by elves and the eladrin.

### Baiaca

Baiaca is the goddess of nature, beauty, love, and animals. Baiaca tended to be extremely proper among wood elves and moon elves, and less popularly by the Eladrin. The wood elves called her the Tree Goddess and the moon elves called her the Moon Mother. Her attributes are most commonly the Tree of Life or the Crescent Moon.

The wood elves depict Baiaca as the most beautiful wood elf to ever exists, while the moon elves depict her as an elderly, mother like figure.  The few eladrin that regard her violently forbid her depiction.

### Waqua

Waqua is the goddess of the hunt, war, archery, and wisdom. She was popular goddess among the warlike aquatic elves and dark elves, and less popularly by the wood elves. She was also known as the Huntress or the Nightshade.  Her attributes are the bow and arrow or an owl.

She is depicted as an unknown  elf shrouded in camouflage accompanied by an owl.

### Teoca

Teoca is a difficult deity to understand.  She is the personification of chaos and, therefore, to some the goddess of death.  To some she is seen as a benevolent trickster. To others, she is a malevolent goddess to be feared.  Her attributes are either the fox or the skull.

By those who think her simply a trickster, she appears as an anthropomorphic fox.  To others she appears as a skeleton.

## Mathaneimh

Mathaneimh is a religion popular among the dwarves and bear-folk.  It is a mysterious religion and very little is known about it.