Religion

## People's Religion

Prior to the tribal merging, each of the People's tribes followed a different set of gods, though it could be argued that all belonged to the same pantheon. After the union was formed, the dominant Manak tribe's faith spread itself across the lands, and after a few minor tweaks for the sake of keeping the peace, almost wiped out all the others.

### Manak

A very strict regime. Rather than the priests following the Chief’s rule, the Chief of Manak was elected by the priests. This resulted in a religious state, unlike all the other tribes. Previously restricted to the Manak tribe, it spread and dominated the other religions after Morendir united the tribes. It had three gods; Balance, Chaos and Chor, the High God. When the tribes merged, Chor became part of the Creator God Vrenid-Malchor. Chaos was no longer worshipped after the merging and became absent, balance god Ralor-Kanj is still actively worshipped. Manak’s priests declared all other tribal religions ‘false truths’ after the merging and proceeded to assimilate or destroy all other faiths.

The priests’ control over the Manak people stemmed from the fear they instilled; tales of evil spirits and cruel, murderous Demons are common in their religious texts. They would keep many of the people illiterate, only teaching those who wished to become part of the temple. The Manak faith is the source of many of the stories about the so-called Lightning Demons, and the origin of the Twelve Hells.

### Tewen

Worshippers of sun and sky. They built many large, beautiful temples to their Sun god Alch (who became a part of Vrenid-Malchor) and the Angel Stars. They believed the Sun God was born of Time, and watched over the whole world. When night fell, he went to sleep, so to keep the world below safe while he dozed he created angels, and placed them in the night sky to watch until morning. After the tribal merging, the Angel Stars were dismissed as children’s stories. Time, who the Tewen tribe had not named, simply worshipped as the mother of Alch, became the goddess Dranj-Aria. There are some accounts, kept in secret by the old priests and handed down the generations, that speak of ‘fallen Angels, that walk among the People, glowing like the Stars’. Scholars believe they refer to the Tanpèt Zèklè, beings of light now feared by many of the People, and called Lightning Demons by the Manak faith.

The Tewen faith was one that inspired calm and peace in its devotees; many priests and priestesses were also amateur scholars who spent clear nights studying the skies. They developed quite a detailed map of the stars, and the patterns that change throughout the year. Many of the star maps were lost, however, when the Manak priests took over and demolished the Sun Temple. They were also known for their musical sermons, where they would literally sing to their god. On holy days throughout the year, the whole tribe would gather in the Sun Temple for a day-long celebration. Food and wine would flow freely, and the festivities would last from sunrise until sunset. Although the celebrations were ostensibly religious, little actual worship was done after the initial gospel choir at sunup. After the merging, the practice of singing in temples was discontinued; however the temple of Aikra-Lora has recently revived the gospel choirs.

### Astator

A coastal tribe, they developed a faith centred on a goddess of the sea. Since the uniting, she is officially considered absent, but many residents of Astator still worship her in secret. Her name is/was Alrin-Fora; she is thought to be the mother of Aikra-Lora, the child goddess. Sailors and fishermen often leave devotions at Aikra-Lora’s shrines, as an offering to her mother. There was also a god of animals, Kynas-Piren, now considered absent. Kynas-Piren's small sect is where the practice of releasing onai birds at a wedding comes from, as the delicate golden birds were considered the god's favourite creature and would bring happiness to those who saw one.

The Astator were never a particularly devout tribe, from all accounts, but small shrines and a modest temple were built in their city. The shrines were mostly used by sailors and fishermen, who would leave small amounts of coin as offerings when they prayed for a good voyage. The temple itself was used not so much for sermons, but most often as a school for young children. They were not as devoted to the spreading of knowledge as the Bewein tribe, but appreciated the value they placed on teaching.

### Bewein

A tribe of highly educated scholars. They believed that all knowledge is divine, and the spreading of knowledge to be a holy act. They believed in a goddess who did not answer prayers per se, but rewarded those who sought their own solutions to problems. She became Talri-Pekra after the uniting of the tribes, and many of her priestesses and acolytes come from Bewein. The people of Bewein were strongly opposed to the faith in Manak, which even then promoted fear and ignorance over learning. They were, however, more open to the Tewen tribe’s beliefs (see notes on Yoscar below).

Unlike the rest of the tribes, the Bewein did not consider the gods to be supernatural immortals; instead they believed that they were another, more advanced race. Their scholars had many differing theories, some of which have survived on scrolls today. The one of these that makes the most sense suggests that the gods left their own world, many thousands of years ago, and stumbled across Drenius while it was in the early stages of life. The theory goes on to say that they chose to remain and watch over the fledgling world, perhaps to help it avoid whatever catastrophe had befallen their own.

### Akram

A nomadic tribe who lived out on the open plains. They worshipped a god of hunting, Renir, and a goddess of luck or good fortune. Renir was partly amalgamated with Manak’s Creator, and partly lost. Very little is known about the luck goddess, even her name is lost to history. It is possible that some scholars in the Akram villages know more, but they refuse to speak for fear of being persecuted by Manak’s priests. It is commonly thought that she is absent. The Akram were fairly open minded about accepting other gods during the merging, but many descended from the tribe still feel uneasy about the dominance of the Manak priests.

### Entamar

A very bitter tribe, owing to their history. They originally had several gods, including a god of wealth and a goddess of love. After the plague, and the ensuing attacks from the other tribes they had once treated with kindness and generosity, they discarded their more benevolent gods and instead focused on the three ‘brother gods’; Death, War and Suffering. They also had a goddess known only as ‘The Mistress’, who was first thought of as the goddess of children. Once the child goddess of Astator became more widely known, the Mistress was called a false goddess and her followers shunned as heretics.

Fakro-Umdar, the god of death, and Somri-Galin, god of suffering, were incorporated into the Manak faith as it spread; they fitted in rather well with the priests’ ideas. War became an absent god after a few years, as he was no longer needed once the tribes merged. What became of ‘The Mistress’ is unknown – the people of Entamar are still rather reclusive and unwilling to discuss her. Very few outside of Entamar are even aware of her existence.

### Pokole

Their old tribal lands were very close to the southern ice sheet, so their religion developed around a goddess of ice and snow. Called Wikla-Tira, they believed she had the power to control how far the ice sheet advanced each winter, making the season more or less harsh. They also had a goddess of nature, Morda-Irla. Both goddesses are now absent, but some ruined shrines still exist in the village where the tribe settled. As there were several explorers and adventurers in the tribe, a small sect which followed a god of sojourners developed. This god was known as Jorn-Daken, and he is now considered absent. The Explorer’s Oath, taken by all those who wished to become adventurers, invoked Jorn-Daken’s protection.

The Pokole would engage in elaborate rituals to please their two primary goddesses, many of them involving ceremonial dances and crowns carved from ice. Several of their religious texts give details of visitations by the goddesses, many of which seem to be rather explicitly intimate in nature. The goddesses, Wikla-Tira in particular, seem to have favoured visiting young men, although it is unknown how many of these accounts are genuine and how many are simply wishful thinking on the part of the young men. Carvings on the ruined shrines depict both goddesses as highly attractive and scantily clad women, leading to criticisms from priests of other gods that the Pokole religion was simply a mass sexual fantasy.

### Wirba

A small tribe with a small area of land near the Twin Lakes. Their faith revolved around a ‘Queen of Gods’, Venri. Their three minor gods were Banak-Rothk, god of water, Conli-Aran, god of trees, and Hikli-Yari, goddess of light. These three are now considered absent, the Manak priests seeing no use for them in their religion. Venri became a part of the Creator. The Wirba tribe only reluctantly took on the rapidly spreading Manak faith, but rumour has it they still teach their own religion in the schools.

The Wirba had a slightly different way of worshipping their gods; rather than build temples and shrines, they would leave offerings on rocks, by trees or throw them into the lakes. The priests and priestesses gave their sermons outside, 'in the glory of nature', and they considered that prayer could be heard from anywhere within sight of something natural. Many of the people of Wirba would keep living plants in their homes because of this belief. Only one shrine of the old religion has ever been found on Wirba lands, to the Queen of Gods, Venri.

The Wirba’s succession ritual had some religious overtones; that is, the ritual where the old High Lady would pass on her title to her eldest daughter. A priestess of Queen Venri would first bless the staff and cloak of office, then hand them to a priest of Banak-Rothk for sanctification in the waters of the Twin Lakes. Once the cloak and staff had been blessed and sanctified, both Lady and daughter would kneel, facing each other, at the base of the ancient Tree of Power. Priests of all four gods would intone the same prayer over them – *‘May our gods bless our Ladies, old and new. May our old Lady know quiet in her home, and our new Lady know peace in her rule.’* The cloak and staff would be given back to the retiring Lady, to hand over to her daughter as she was proclaimed High Lady of the Wirba.

### Yoscar & Tabuah

Both relatively new settlements. Tabuah is a recently built village for the overspill in Astator’s population, and its residents have all grown up with the dominant Manak faith. It was named after the last Vice-Chief of Astator’s youngest daughter, who died tragically in a storm at sea.

Yoscar was a small village built in the Yoscurn Woods by scholars from both Bewein and Tewen. The Tewen scholars easily accepted Bewein’s knowledge goddess, and word of her spread back to the rest of the tribe. A handful of shrines were built to her on Tewen’s lands. The Bewein tribe also accepted the Tewen Sun God and angels. A vast temple was erected in a forest clearing, by both tribes, praising the Sun God, his angels and Knowledge. A separate, smaller temple was begun to the Sun God’s mother, Time, but it was destroyed by the fearsome dragons that came to ravage the People’s lands. After the tribes united and drove the dragons away, the Time temple was never completed. The Sun and Knowledge temple was allowed to fall into disrepair, and the village mostly abandoned. Occasionally, scholars will stay in the old village for a while to study the mischevious yoscurn that live in the surrounding woods.

## Dwarves' Religion

In general, the dwarves are quite lax with regards to religion. Few are devout, and their reverends tend to focus more on charity and community work than preaching sermons. There are some commonly held beliefs and practices, though these are more a matter of tradition than religion.

#### Creation Story

The dwarves' creation myth ties in with their winter festival, known as Yöl. The tale says that thousands of years ago, the gods created the world and its creatures, but without purpose or reason. The Lady of Light came to the mortal plane and blessed the dwarves with the intelligence to build and create, so that they could live instead of merely existing. The other gods saw what the Lady had done, and came to offer their own gifts and teachings. They stayed in the mortal realm for a full season before returning to the heavens. The following year, they came back to see what the dwarves had done with their gifts, and were pleased with how the race had developed. The gods promised to return every year, during the Yöl season, to bless and protect the race.

Some believe that the Colourless were the inspiration for the Lady of Light, though the stories in old books claim that they are in fact the children of the gods, sent to the mortal lands to watch over the world.

#### The Diyrae and the Dark Forest

A far less pleasant myth than the creation tale, this dwarven belief has some grounding in reality. It centres on the Forest of the West, and the spirits that inhabit it. The tale begins with the Diyrae as mischevous spirits, protectors of the Forest who dislike intruders, but cause no harm, only confusing and befuddling any who enter the Forest. Their origins depend on what version of the story is told; in some they are spirits of the earth or the trees, in others they are creatures from another realm that come to preserve the forests of the physical world, and one version has them as the ghosts of an extinct race.

In each of the stories, there is mention of something happening around three hundred years ago that caused a change in the Forest and the Diyrae. This coincides with the supposed banishing of an ancient god, and some upheavals within the Church of the Mistress in the People's lands. Again, the tale varies with each telling, but all agree on the time period. The change caused the Forest to become darker and more hostile, and the Diyrae started to behave more aggressively towards intruders. In some versions of the tale, they even become violent, eviscerating those unfortunate enough to be caught in the Forest and leaving gruesome displays to warn others away.

Though little is certain, some of the People's explorers attempted to travel into the Forest. None were heard of again, save the infamous C, who returned a shell of his former self. This, combined with the dwarves' legends, has kept the Forest untouched for generations.

#### The Devil's Moon

In early dwarven mythology, the two moons of Drenius were believed to be the homes of the gods. The major gods lived on the large moon, now called Teklir, and the minor gods dwelt on the smaller moon, Eskali. Each star in the sky was thought of as a devil spirit, burning with eternal jealousy as they were forced to live in darkness while the gods enjoyed the light of the moons. The Devil's Moon, when Eskali is absent from the sky and Teklir shines a deep red, is caused by the envious devils storming the gods' home, staining the moon red with blood.

According to the myths, the Devil's Moon was an omen of terrible events, as the devils wrested control from the gods and spread evil to all mortals. Indeed, dwarven history shows that each Devil's Moon has preceded a period of war or plague. Though few now believe the celestial event is the cause of such things, the superstition lingers, and the sight of a blood red moon is still a source of unease for many dwarves.

## Oakshire Religion

Throughout their history, the denizens of Oakshire have followed several religions, some minor and personal, others nationwide and all-powerful. In pre-Exodus times, it was common for people to hold some level of reverence for the dragons, particularly magic users. As the Sons of the Stars rose in prominence, magic was increasingly shunned and rejected in accordance with their tenets, and dragon worship petered out before the Mage Exodus. With the Maral invasions came the dominant Maralian religion, which stuck with most people until the Nakatan empire arrived 200 years later with new ideas of religious freedom. Around this time the Church of the One was founded, though it wouldn't gain much traction for several decades. The end of the Nakatan Empire triggered a brief era of non-religion among many, with the only consistent belief being a distrust of all things magical. During the First Elven War, the Sons of the Stars began to rise in popularity once more, waning slightly when a tentative alliance was struck and again reviving after a disastrous incident with elven-led research teams dying *en masse* while studying weather patterns in the Snowy Wastes. They remained the dominant human religion in Trizes throughout the Second Elven War, leading the varied people into what is now called the Age of Ignorance.

In 1047PX, the Church of the One experienced a massive surge in popularity, displacing the Sons of the Stars in the north permanently and beginning the Year of Enlightenment. Records destroyed and hidden by the Sons were tracked down, restored and made available to anyone interested in researching them. It was at this point that the Exodus-based calendar was adopted by the human population of Trizes. With old knowledge returned to them, and newly released from the control of the Sons, many living in the south and east returned to the worship of former gods. The Church of the One took no issue with this splintering into different faiths, and over the next few centuries the loose ties between different areas almost disappeared, as there was little to keep everyone behind a common banner. With the founding of modern Oakshire in 1332PX, the One spread throughout each conquered area, as an option rather than a requirement. After the new elven alliance was worked out, science and technology steadily assumed a greater role in the society, and religion gradually became less of a major part of most people's lives.