Valyrian Faith

The Ancient faith of the Valyrians is an old and nearly forgotten by the world. Followers of the faith truly keep their faith a secrete from many in the world as it is mystical as it is ancient. The faith had been reduced to the telling of few Storytellers and wondering sages. The Gods of the Valyria Faith are numerous and convoluted in their stories and backgrounds, with their roles, responsibilities and personalities varying considerably between storyteller.However, if one can get their hands on an Ancient Tomb of the Valyrian Gods, this vague idea is shattered.

## Fourteen Gods of the Old Faith

* **Arrax** - Ruler of Gods, law, order, justice, governance and strength.
* **Daemagon** - God of all creatures that walk, run, swim or fly. Creator of the first dragon.
* **Vhagar** - God of death and the Underworld.
* **Caraxes** - God of the sea, twin of Meraxes.
* **Gaelithox** - God of fire, stars, moon, sun and the dawn..
* **Meleys** - Goddess of love and fertility.
* **Meraxes** - Goddess of the sky, twin of Caraxes.
* **Shrykos** - Goddess of beginnings, endings, transitions and doorways.
* **Syrax** - Goddess of wine, fruitfulness, parties, festivals, madness, chaos, drunkenness, vegetation, and ecstasy.
* **Tessarion** - Goddess of music, arts, knowledge, healing, plague, prophecy, poetry, beauty, and archery.
* **Tyraxes** - Goddess of reason, wisdom, intelligence, skill, peace, warfare and battle strategy.
* **Vermax** - God of boundaries, travel, communication, trade, language, and writing.
* **Vermithor** - God of smiths, crafts and artisans.
* **Balerion** - God of war.

## HIstory

The Valyrian Faith holds secrete and hidden beginnings, showing their origins since before the first taming of Dragons by the mountain folk of Valyria. Many historians attempted to find any documents from these times, however, the only documents with any value of evidence are those held by House Targaryan. However, these artifacts were protected so well by their household, that when the final Dragon King died, they were lost to the sands of time. The only peace of history to find its beginning is a ancient tome belonging to a priest of the Victorious Valyrians that took the Island of Dragonstone in 214 BC. The book used an ancient technique of using ink from a squid mixed with blood of a human to chisel in thin granite stones. This was a common technique used in ancient writing in Ghiscari 12,000 Years BC. This shows that the Faith was grounds even before the creation and taming of Dragons of the Old Valyria.

This Tome donated to the Citadel of Old Town by the same priest over 600 Years ago. This was done in an attempt to sway the Maesters into becoming fellow followers of his Faith. However, they did not see it that way and locked it away as a magical tomb of dangerous knowledge. The book remains there for study, but there is rumored to be recent creations of Tomb of Ancient Valyrian Gods that are being passed around the many Kingdoms.

The Faith now somewhat seen as a secrete society of dead faith follwers. It is a very accepting religion, and allowing those not aligned with their faith does not bother them. This makes them easy to blend in with others as they conduct their secrete rituals of their faith.

## Ritual and Prayer

### Fourteen Prayers

The Fourteen Prayers are a confession to the gods of the sins committed and speaking to the perspective god for forgiveness. In order to conduct this Prayer, it is common to hold a beaded string with 14 round beads with the Triangles on the differently organized beads. The person is to know which bead represents what god and asks for forgiveness and guidance to not commit the sin again. This small gesture is meant to be self guiding and does not require going to a place of worship. Though in the presents of idols of the gods is common within the privacy of ones home.

### Fourteenth Day of Mass

Seen as tribute to the many gods and the continued blessing of their homes and lives. On the Fourteenth Day of the 12th Moon, it is often an old tradition to celebrate the continued life of family and loved ones. In showing this continued faith to their gods, they would pull a festival and give gift to the gods. Due to the secrecy of the faith now however, it is often easy to point out a follower of the Valyrian Faith as they give gifts to their loved ones and families in continued respect of the Tradition.

### Dragonbinding

Lost to the sands of time and the ancient lost arts, Dragonbinding is a lost art of Tamers and Trainers of the old Valyrian Freehold. However, their traditions were not. In the full light of a blood moon, a horn is blown in the distance at the highest peak. Then a great fire is light in the valley below, as food and treasures are brought to bribe the Daemagon the god of Creation. When everyone is drunk and feast as much as they could, in the peak of the Blood Moon, Twelve Hooded Shadow Sages would enter the festivities. With them would be a sacrifice that would be killed on an altar of Dragon-Glass. This it suppose to represent the long forgotten ritural in binding a monstrous creature to a bloodline. It is done now, to appease the Creator God and show devotion to the gods, even sacrifice themselves.

## Symbols and Meaning

There are three main symbols within the Valyrian Religion that are easy to track a Follower. Though it is not common knowledge, it does show ones devotion to wear or show these things in the open, but still hide it.

The first would be the Sixteen Tailed Shield. This is a symbol of the faith itself. A circle with sixteen wiggling tails with a twelve faced peak in its center, all placed on a shield. The sixteen tails have fourteen small ones and two long ones. The fourteen represent the Gods, while the two bigger ones peak at the top and bottom. The top one represent the Standing Sage, the speaker for the Religion, and the bottom one stand for the Sage Below, the protector of the Faith. The twelve faced peak at the center represents the Twelve Shadow Sages who taught the Valyrains their magic. The shield represent the need to protect the faith against those that wish to destroy it.

The second symbol would be a twelve faced pyramid. This is strait forward just a representation of the Twelve Shadow Sages and their connection to Magic. They are often mysterious and more often better to be left alone. They are often beautified in the attempt of forcing one to touching or stealing it, for it often activates a trap to kill intruders.

The last would be any statue made from glass. This is a metaphorical thought game used by many of the elites of the Religion in attempts to debate Philosophy. It is meant to represent that life is meant to be Transparent with the Gods, but form is seen with the eyes of mortality. How this line of representation is decoded and given meaning is the base of these debates.