Cultures and Religons

The arts and other manifestations of Britomartian intellectual achievement, including the local belief systems of the nations of Britomartis.

## **Religions**

### **Estokarism**

This religion is centered around a form of life, peace, and tranquility. With prosperity, comes the worship of deities and beings that roam the skies and lands, the most iconic divinity being the Ewoyday. Ewoyday are suppose to represent creation, but not every aspect of the world. They guided the weak from their sins, in order to attain unity with eachother. These beings were said to be soaring above the clouds, great dangling arms, and a face of yellow eyes and vines hanging down their bodies face like a whisker would an elder. These beings came from another world, a land of grand islands and oceans turned to streamlines. The realm of Esonomaus, meaning "Province on the Divines". This religion inhabits most of Otteroan nations, being the most common among them, with the idea of another religion being accepted upon within the community.

### **Origins**

The origins of Estokarism originate in the ancient times of Britomartis, when Sedaho was a nomadic tribe thriving in the Humid Forests. It began after a laboratory set up by the Precursors was discovered, the Ottero interpreting it as religious importance.

### **Ukuthlism**

The teachings of Ukuthlism are about lucidly dreaming and using it to achieve inner peace, and to get rid of all sins. The ritual of Ishiqual Eisha is when Ukuthlist monks insert you in a salt water bath, exclaiming the Chant of Qala to get the rid of any evil within you so you are pure and can complete the first part of the ritual. Then you are given a drink with a powerful non-lethal substance to put you to sleep. It takes several minutes for the drug to kick in where you have to remember and chant to yourself to lucidly dream.

Once you successfully lucidly dream you can go back in time to stop bad sins from happening and possibly go to the future and prevent sins. When a Ukuthlist dies they are buried in the shores where they believe the shore is a connection between the light and dark of the universe, where they become a spirit called a Jkoya and join the universe as one.

### **Origins**

Ukuthlism was first started by a poor man named Indoyy that was told by the universe to spread peace and end violence on Britomartis He was told this by the universe in his dreams and it gave him the power to lucidly dream at will. Only during sleep though
After he was told by the universe to spread the message of peace, it later instructed him to write a book
This book would later be known by all Ukuthlists as the Incwadi
Allegedly containing the secrets of the universe and the future of the Rhewin/Ottero species

He was later told to hike up a mountain in the first mountain range and put it in a cave when the universe said that future Ukuthlists would be told where the Incwadi was hidden when the Rhewin/Ottero species were in crisis.

After he hid the Incwadi, he was instructed to write another book called the Zewamapal which contained the teachings of Ukuthlism.
He was then told to go into a town and show the people the Zewamapal and teach them and spread the universe's message. He was threatened multiple times and some people thought he was crazy. But after moving on from town to town he finally convinced the folks to be Ukuthlist and spread their message from then on
Decades later Indoyy died of age in a village outside of D'quar the modern capital of Fillikke.
However, if Ukuthlist are not buried on a shoreline they will become Insidious, greedy, and angered spirit called Akuphei. The wander looking for anyone so they can posses them and use their soul to join the rest of the universe. If someone is possessed by an Akuphei then they have to quickly be taken to a small house called a Parr where they would be chained to the center of the room and be surrounded by bowls of Water, Salt, Soil, any kind of plant, Rock, and the metallic elements of Quemsto and Stallite.
Then they must be sprinkled with sand and water while chanting the Relinquo to force the spirit to leave.
If the possessed subject gets free then the Akuphei will force the person to kill themselves so they can take the host's soul, making them very dangerous apparitions. If a person is possessed in a community, everyone within it must go to Parr's within their property and must create a circle of wet sand around them so they will be safe.

Akuphei don't have a true form but they either appear as a dark blob or as a deceased loved one of the person they are trying to possess so they can weaken them making it easier for them to take control of them. If a person has a strong will then it will be near impossible for them to be hijacked by them.

Akuphei cannot be destroyed but they can be weakened to the point of being very selective of their prey.

### **Vulgtm**

This is not as much a religion as it is a way of life, with absolute worship of various deities being had across the land, although they do not represent necessarily individual concepts of the world, but rather go outside of such a representation into the great beyond. The most chiefest of the gods are known as the Outer Gods, who exist beyond dimensions and thought outside the world and universe, and constantly play music to keep the ultimate God, Azathoth, from awakening and thus destroying existence. You see, all of existence and all gods that exist are merely a fragment of Azathoths dream, even gods that exist within the religion itself and are said to contain all that is, isn't, and all the permutations of existence and beyond, said existence being of beyond infinite dimensionality. There are many lesser Outer gods that are thought of as well, such as the great messenger of chaos, Nyarlethotep, who is said to think of most of the other gods as mere play things. There is an entire other pantheon as well in addition to the Outer gods, and not all of those can even be named at once. The best way to sum up this religion is that it is fanatic and total in the society it inhabits, and as crude and bloody as it can sometimes be, it is no doubt an effective system that is so vast that the very idea of another religion is alien.

### **Haranism**

Haranism is a politheist religion that believes in the existance of six main gods, each representing one of the six elements of Ahar Daqim tradition, and thousand of other minor deities and spirits (ussually the patron gods of villages and cities).

The main gods are:

Zahari: The god of light, asociated with the sun, stars, thunder and fire, he is the patron god of priests and scholars and is ussually depicted as an ornamentated candle

Ishafar: Godess of water, associated with rain, rivers, oceans and sea, is the patron god of fishermen and sailors, and is represented as a shark with two heads

Az Tarak: God of rock, also associated with clay and coal, he is the patron god of constructors, architects, engineers, stonecutters and potters and is ussually represented as a mountain with an areola.

Psari: God or goddess (the holy texts are not clear on this) of metal, they are associated as well with precious stones and is the patron deity of blacksmiths, miners, jewelers and soldiers, and is depicted as a hammer with jewels.

Yakul: Goddess of wood, also associated with fertility, is the patron godess of farmers, woodcutters, carpenters and herbalists, and is represented as a tree with red leaves. She's the wife of Az Tarak.

Eshar: Godess of flesh, considered the creator of Rhewins and Otteros, she is the patron deity of hunters, sheppards, butchers and medics and is ussually represented as a big elder Rhewin, ussually accompanied by anmals or Rhewins.