Character Creation: Religion

Rule Book

After the Eternal Darkness and the world settled many of the beings that liberated the world were lost. The Gods and their immortal followers were thrown into the Outer Planes where they reside and look at the world through an unbreakable invisible barrier. These beings are powerful, immortal and hold great sway over the mortal races of Escarra. The mortal races revere them. Since the Eternal Darkness there have been other mortals who have ascended to godhood and continue to do so to this day. Almost everyone in Lamaria worships at least one of the Gods as only fools and madmen deny their existence.

**The Church of Light**

The Church of Light consists of four Gods. The church works together to bring peace and prosperity to the land by sharing knowledge and providing laws that protect and serve the majority of people. The deities are as follows:

**Luna – The Lady**

Luna is a young elven Goddess who shares the powers of the moon with her twin brother Drack. The Lady brings light to those who are lost in the darkness and strives to bring peace to those lost to chaos. She is patient and kind but is also a fierce warrior when the situation is called for. The main church to Luna is at Illuminates, far to the west within the elven land where it is said she ascended. Many shrines have been erected in her name across Lamaria, where it is said the moon shines brightest.

**Brynill – The Champion**

Brynill is a human warrior famous for bringing the Great War to an end. His adventures and pilgrimage to save the world from the tyranny of the elves is still legendary today. After his ascension his companions and cohorts set up the first guilds of Lamaria which are still the focal point of remembrance today. He was the last God to ascend and is worshipped by warriors and knights throughout the land. His main temple is joined with the Guild of Swords in the capital of Trillion, but there is a shrine to him in every Sword‘s guildhall across the continent.

**Amora – The Lover**

Her love and compassion fills the hearts of many and reminds them that in dark times, unity and forgiveness will triumph and bring happiness. Amora is the focus of many celebrations of marriage in civilized kingdoms and the Goddess of fertility in the less civilized lands. Her followers are peace lovers and diplomats and though they do not always promote love they do strive to resolve conflict without violence.

**Misenta – The Muse**

Misenta is the Goddess of creation. She was said to be the greatest bard of the time. Though all of her works have been lost to history her songs and poems carry on in through her followers who claim to hear her and feel inspired by her power. Many of her followers are muses and bards who strive to entertain and inspire with their songs and stories. Her main places of worship are colleges and universities of the arts often located in Scroll guildhalls.

**The Natural Order**

All deities of The Natural Order are truly neutral and focus their powers around the balance of the natural world. Many of their followers are druids or mages that wish to see places of elemental power and ancient forests protected and preserved.

**Gaia – The Maiden, The Mother and The Crone**

Gaia is the natural world and all within it. She is the mother of all creatures including the mortal races. She gave life to all and when that life fades she will be there to reclaim what is hers. Gaia is a being of balance and all that lives must die and all that die shall be born again, thus is Gaia and her teachings. Her temples are the forests and oceans of the world and her followers are druids and those who call her lands home. Although Gaia often appears as 3 different aspects, she is only 1 being.

**Farria – Lady Luck or Misfortune**

Farria is the Goddess of luck and is a fickle Goddess at the best of times. They say that fortune favours the brave and this is true so long as she is in a good mood. She can turn the tide of war in a blink of an eye, make one man rich and another poor needless to say it’s a good idea to stay on her good side whoever you may be. Her followers are often avid gamblers or fortune tellers and she has small shrines such as wishing wells constructed in most towns or cities. She also has 3 bigger shrines at gambling halls across Lamaria.

**Chale – The Trickster**

The Trickster is a dastardly rogue who is capable of just about anything. He is chaotic by nature and thrives off the chaos that others provide as entertainment. He favours the clever and witty and those who plant the seeds of chaos. His followers are often rogues or even children that like to play with tricks and traps. It’s always difficult to know where you stand until you have already fallen.

**Valatar – The Magus**

Valatar was the first to wrestle the powers of magic. All Magic that resides in the mortal plane was gifted by him through rituals and practices now lost in history. Now worshipped as a God rather than a scholar, Valatar precedes over that balance of magic and the elements both protecting them and using them to meet the needs of the Natural Order. Those who follow the teachings of The Magus are said to be gifted with wondrous abilities over the elements.

**The Dark Coven**

The Dark Coven are a united force for liberation, confronted by the limitation of power placed on them by the Church of Light. The Dark Coven seeks to abolish those that restrict freedom in their teachings. The Gods of Darkness feed off sins and sinners and invoke the practices of the most primal instincts.

**Drack – Lord of Shadow**

Drack is the elven God of the moon that opposes his sister Luna. Where her light shines his shadow is cast, long and deep residing in the hearts of all mortals. His followers are those who are not afraid to tread where the light fades and shadows cloak the land. His shrines are hidden in secret and often housed within the Underhand Guilds. It is often noted that contracts of dark deeds are forged in his name.

**Torron – The Savage**

Torron fought to drive the ancients from this world. With his barbarism and immense strength he destroyed many of them before being torn from Escarra. He is the father of all beast kin and he has one temple residing deep within the forest of Ashen Fen which is an arena. Within this temple battles are fought where only the strong survive. His followers are often beast kin but he welcomes those who show acts of savagery and barbarism.

**Feldar – The Tormentor**

Feldar is neither man nor beast, but is in fact an otherworldly being that once served the Ancients in their acts of torture and imprisonment. Said to be able to command demons and other dark spirits Feldar is worshipped by those who are granted the power of imprisonment and torture. Feldar’s shines are often placed to protect and lock prisons to prevent prisoners from escaping. He watches over prisons and dungeons lost long ago and holds the key to the demonic plane.

**Morrigan – The Mistress**

Morrigan was once the lover of death, said to be so beautiful that none could withstand her seductions. From death she stole the secret of eternal undeath and now has a firm hold over the powers of the undead and the magic that binds them in unlife. Many call her a monster however those who are welcomed in her embrace worship death and the gifts that are given afterwards. Many churches to Morrigan are set up in the civilized cities holding funerals, working in cemeteries and conducting ceremonies to prevent the dead rising in accordance with the law. Her followers are those who fear death or have a profound sense of mortality and wish to live forever in an undead state.

**Opposition in Faith**

It is important to remember that light and dark do not mean good and evil. It is merely a perspective on the way that the wielders of faith operate. The Church of Light and The Coven of Darkness often have problems and sometimes go to war. War amongst the churches is rarely fatal, as they strive for political power in where to place their shrines and places of worship. It often happens that a shadow war is fought, defending lands and striking at artefacts belonging to the opposing faction. When disasters have arisen, a pact of peace is formed between the religions, however these pacts are not permanent and often fall into chaos.