Fangaulan Pantheon

The **Fangaulan Pantheon** is the pantheon of the people of Fangaula, venerating ancestors, totem animals, and primordials as divine "aspects" of their God since his murder by the jinn. The leader of the pantehon is Aro, the half-jinn hero and founder of the First Fangaulan Empire, who liberated humanity from the jinn. Each worshipper carries a talisman representing a guardian deity of the Pantheon, called a gris gris. Adherents believe these talismans imbue divine protections and must be recharged at a holy site weekly.

## Holy Sites

There are eight total holy sites revered by the followers of the Fangaulan Pantheon where one can recharge their gris gris.

### Sirilk:

Sirik is the most sacred holy site of Aro. As the story goes, after Aro tired of ruling Fangaula he left his empire in the hands of his sons before helping the Storm-Queens overthrow Akasik’s jinn rulers. Following his final triumph, Aro climbed the mountain of Sirik, ascended into the air on his magic stool, and encountered the spirit of God on the moon. Impressed by his many achievements, God asked Aro to become his successor, to rule the spirits and ancestors that govern creation as the divine king, a task Aro continues to this day.

### Junansur:

The volcano Junansuar is home to a former Efreeti palace which has been transformed into a monastery dedicated to the divine blast kiln Mojobaa. Deep within the volcano, legends say Mojobaa forges weapons and tools in a divine workshop to combat God’s and creation’s enemies. Monks known for their exceptional blacksmithing skills tend the holy site, crafting powerful ironwood steel weapons imbued with elemental magic.

### Bogorr:

Dulugu’s birthplace, Bogorr is a revered holy site for the Ndurubu people. Known as "the hungering lion,” Dulugu was the human reincarnation of the totem animal Fojora. The site's sacredness stems from an immense eternal blaze that erupted on Dulugu's death, symbolizing his rebirth as Fojara’s newest iteration. Where human and animal realms intersect, Bogorr draws pilgrims both human and animal to kneel before the eternal flame in reverence, acknowledging Fojara as the protector of Fangaula's animals and patron of hunters.

### Bixanrit:

Long before the three great mothers Dojawọ Iru Iyyagba, Yabokọ Alabaale Iyyodo, and Oyunọ Aboyuu Iyyayuu lived along the Mother’s Sorrow, the Mantimatu worshiped a primordial cattle spirit that supped on the river’s life-giving waters in Bixanrit. These ancient forbears erected a bronze temple, its entrance adorned by a flawless ruby visible up and down the Sorrow’s length, to house the spirit. For much of its recent history, the bronze temple of Bixanrit had slowly sunk into the sands, neglected by Khet overlords after Krah and their gnoll hordes drove the cattle mothers from their homeland.

### Zitarr:

The goddess Makon, after claiming the drum heart of freedom as her new instrument, flowed through the savannah as a great river, her music stirring shackled hearts to pine for liberation. In accordance with this tradition, Makan’s faithful liberate and transport enslaved peoples to the Makan’s riverbank in Zitarr to partake in an event called Tabo Adau, or “shirking of chains.” Under the juvenile goddesses’ gaze, the slaves purify themselves in the river’s waters before moving downstream to a series of rapids formed from thousands of abandoned shackles. With a cry mirroring Makon’s own sorrow at the loss of her drum, they toss their symbols of enslavement into the waters, vowing to live free forevermore. Naturally, Zitarr also serves as a confluence for resistance movements across Western Sarhal.

### Rostgrax:

Deep within the Western Salahadesi Desert shines the Oasis of the Water Dream, a fresh water pool shielded by rock outcroppings. Hewn into the stone cliffs above the oasis stands the temple of Rostgrax, a collection of subterranean chambers and tunnels older than humanity. A centerpiece of Mukarron culture, the temple houses shrines devoted to deific figures grand and small: ancient primordials, forgotten deities, spirit animals, and, above all others, Biakata, the planetouched founder of the Second Fangaulan Empire. Due to its pluralistic significance, local powers treat the temple as a sanctuary and grant it a great deal of autonomy.

### Kunolo:

Once a quiet square managed by the halfling city-founder-turned-god Kunolo, the bazaar of Kekwiw, or “Small View”, stretches along the shallow ridge overlooking Kunolo Bay. Due to Kunolo’s geographical importance, Kekwiw attracts one of the most diverse crowds in all of Sarhal, particularly after the Age of Unraveling. Minor shrines devoted to Fangaulan figures mark the space into quadrants, and merchants compete vigorously via donations to secure space close to these sanctums for divine favor. The shrines also exude an arcane aura that curbs aggression and begets honesty, with the bazaar hosting important diplomatic summits from around the known world. “On pilgrim-days Kekwiw hosts a grand rite for the vakwene, Jiromji's eclectic gender minority. As the city celebrates at sunset during a full moon, Kunolo priests funnel a ritual into Kunolo’s shrines at the market’s center. By dawn's break worshipers’ flesh is made anew in their soul's true form."

### Shattered Spire:

The shattered spire at Lake Kuiziva is so obviously not of this world, and many tales mythologizing its true origins exist. For the people of Fangaula, it stood as the furthest point of their once mighty empire, and is said to be a bridge to the moon and a spirits final resting spot. For the people of Horashesh, it was where the warlord Kui announced his divinity. Legend says the spire started to sparkle with the light of the stars as he spoke, proving his status as the god's chosen.