Religions and Deities

The various races and cultures of Akharal worship a variety of deities and practice different philosophies. Depending on who you ask, you will receive different answers regarding whether or not there is a pantheon or connection between these religions, for example, the Dwarves do not feel any reason to worship or recognize any Gods aside from their own, Hastur. However, the Mushroomfolk wholeheartedly believe in the Yurian God, Vahluuhhn, despite being committed entirely to Maecillia. The following is a list of religions and deities recognized by the people of Auron, as well as any available info about them.

### Hasturianism

Hasturianism is the religion practiced by Dwarves, and a significant part of their history. The Dwarven God, Hastur is believed to rest within the core of the planet Aurin, beyond the unbreakable Seal of Grandstone. He is recognized as the original Dwarf, and he is seen as the creator of the ancient Dwarfs sometime in the Advent Cycle, which were then called the Ogal. He is said to have sent them out from within the depths of Aurin, after which they tunneled up slowly over time. Throughout history, Hastur has walked among the Dwarves time and time again, still occasionally doing so into the modern cycles. He usually would appear as a Yellow-Robed figure, with the head of a Taurus. His horns made of the same Grandstone that keeps him within Aurin's core. Rarely he would be seen in the reflections of especially well-crafted objects to Dwarves. He taught the ancient Dwarves to smith, taught them the importance of clans, and most importantly, the value of Tradition. Although Hastur is the chief deity of Hasturianism, at his own request, his followers also worship their own ancestors, and sometimes the ancestors of others within their Clan.

The Dwarves belief that after passing, they will join their ancestors alongside Hastur, beyond the Grandstone Seal. Here, they will work together, smithing with Grandstone and maintaining the seal. They will all have Taurus horns made of Grandstone, which they remove and craft with. When they do this, the horns will quickly start to regrow, allowing the cycle to continue.

***Avatars:*** Taurus, Yellow-Robed Man with the head of a Taurus

***Symbols:*** Taurus, Horns, Anvil

### Church of the Grand Shell

Vahluuhhn (*Grand Shell* in Aldani) is the god worshiped by the Yurian. They depict him as a massive chimera of various sea creatures. 2 mollusks, a fish, manta ray, squid, lobster, crab, and shrimp. The Yurian believe that at the beginning of time, Vahluuhhn released the water of Aurin from the mouth of his fish head. They also believe that he created them from one of his eyes, which he removed using his 3 pincers. He then spit up from within his central face, a deep, violet-blue skinned woman with the tail of a Mer. Her name was Maecillia. He ripped from her a single eye, replacing the one he previously used to create the Yurian. She would sacrifice her other eye by her own intuition to create the Maecilli, embedding her knowledge into it. Vahluuhhn did not approve of this, and would go on to bind her arms above her head, her binding having an extension of 4 tattered wings and 2 arms. In one of these arms, she would wield a halberd. A sect of the Yurian would question Vahluuhhn's actions. In a fit of rage, Vahluuhhn cursed these Yurian, deeming them the Urutan (*Dryskin* in Aldani), removing all moisture from their bodies -this moisture would be added to the western reaches of Alindae, creating the Sandsea- and sending them out into the desert, far from the domains of the Yurian. The Yurian have lived in fear of Vahluuhhn since then, though it has been a long time since they've directly heard from him. The last thing he told them was to live as a powerful people, maintaining their control of the coast. They believe that when they die, their spirits will be consumed by Vahluuhhn himself, though they are unsure of what that entails. This process is referred to in the Aldani language as "Trahhnluuhtvinhhcu'uhh"

***Avatars:*** Faces in Waves, Crustaceans (rarely)

***Symbols:*** A singular eye, seashell

### Religion of The Gharif

Chomog Khaan in Ghar, or Marrow King in common, is the name of the Deity the Gharif view with the highest reverence. This deity is a large bird, with the body of a snake, terrible claws, red feathers, and the face of a human with a beak. Chomog Khaan has always had control over the realm of Yasnysav (The Basin of Bones). This is the Stratum which the Gharif believe their spirit is sent to when they die. That is, if they remove their mask upon death. The story goes that when Aurin was new, and there was no life, Chomog Khaan created the Gharif, so once they died, he would be able to populate his Stratum. To achieve this, Chomog Khaan let out a terrifying screech through the skies of Aurin, and in an instant his body burst into flames. As his Feathers, Skin of his face, scales of his body, the organs within him, and the blood in his veins were obliterated, these aspects of him were spread through the land in the form of various animals. The only aspect of Chomog Khaan which remained was his skeleton. When appearing within the material realm, the deity is still seen in this form, but his original full body form is how he is seen within Yasnysav. Chomog Khaan told the Gharif to value the sacred air of death, not to be wasteful in their killing of animals, and to look forward to being able to join Him in Yasnysav. The core of Gharif mask design is the goal of recreating the look of Chomog Khaan, the horns representing His wings, the front of the mask representing his beak, and the layers of dye representing layers of scales, seen on the snake-like body of the deity. The use of bones for decoration is also in tribute to Chomog Khaan's sacrifice.

## Outer Mythos

Far beyond the outermost Stratum of existence, at the edge of time and reality, is an endless ocean. It has no depth to sink in, no surface to float on. It is completely empty. The void without void. In this sea of nothingness, one being exists. A whale, incomprehensibly large. Their name is Cygnus. Cygnus, the Outer Deity, consists of two separate consciousnesses. The first of which does not have any thought of it's own. It exists with two purposes. First, to keep swimming through the ocean, and secondly, to produce an eternal song. The song is so beautiful, it would be frightening to any mortal, or even to any of the various Deities. These songs are the only thing keeping the other Consciousness asleep. If it were to wake, all things would cease to be, as the figment of reality, all Stratums of existence, and time itself exist solely within the dreams of Cygnus.