Paganism

Paganism is an umbrella term encompassing all faiths that reject Larianism and Lucianism. Some of them acknowledge Lar and Lucius, but focus on another aspect of existence as the subject of their worship. All of these are relatively young. There is a number of pagan beliefs:

## The Recke Pantheon

The Recke follow the principals of war. This is the dominant Kriegsfolk religion. It came shortly after the death of Lucius and spread among the Kriegsfolk people. For many it's a fairly hostile religion, but surprisingly progressive in its views on individuals as long as its tenets are adhered to.

### Creation Story

The Kriegsfolk worship Lar by proxy. To them, Lar is simply the strongest god in the Recke pantheon. Lar created everything after a brutal war with the betrayer gods. The conflict is what resulted in the creation of all existence. As the only god left, Lar fragmented himself into the five senses (Sicht, Geruch, Hören, Geschmack, and Berühren) and the six warcrafts (Bogen, Klinge, Lanze, Axt, Knüppel, and Magie). They all rule in tandem over their respective realms, and choose their priests and champions. To them, for example, Lucius was nothing more than a champion of Magie, a powerful mage who sought to rule the world. They worship him to an extent, but not as a divine figure. The Recke's most important holiday is the Himmelskrieg, when they remember the greatest war in history.

### Ending Story

The world will end in a great war between the Recke gods who will choose their champions and force them into battle.

### Afterlife

Those who've lived a warrior's life, and died a warrior's death will be given a place to feast and fight in Soldagrab among the Old and New gods. Those who die pitifully will be forced to the spirit plane where they will fight other spirits until the end of time. Eventually, only one spirit will remain and they will be allowed entry into Soldagrab. The rest will be consumed by the eternal darkness.

### Practices

* The Wachstum (coming of age - 15 for girls, 18 for boys)
* Sacrifices are commonplace as offerings to the gods
* Funerals are brutal, as they are feeding rituals where the corpses are given to the wildlife as a meal
* Marriages are between a woman and multiple men

### Clergy Structure

The five senses have their own priests who advocate for the values of their deity. The priests Sicht value beauty and ambition, Geruch is related to death and freedom, Hören to honesty and dance, Geschmack to loyalty and wine, and Berühren strength and pleasure. Even though the gods are female, the priests are almost exclusively male.

### Views on Social Relations

* **Gender:** Women are superior, men are necessary
* **Marriage:** Polygamous
* **Divorce:** Allowed, for women
* **Children born out of wedlock:** Fully accepted
* **Same-sex relationships:** Shunned, if male
* **Adultery:** Neutral, for women
* **Deviancy:** Shunned
* **Magic:** Respected

## The Eclipse

There are those among the Kriegsfolk who follow the Church of the two Goddesses, Sonna and Monna. They are the two dominant forces that shape reality. Sonna is the Goddess of the Sun, of life, fertility, and harvest, while Monna is the Goddess of the Moon, of death, winter, darkness, pain, passion, secrecy. Their convergence into the Eclipse is called Lar. Lar manifests themselves only then, as the union of the two sister deities.

### Creation Story

The Eclipsites believe that in the beginning, there was the Eclipse. However, Lar sundered themselves into the two Goddesses, Sonna and Monna, who then birthed Anima.

### Ending Story

The world will end when Sonna and Monna finally decide to merge into Lar once more, crushing Anima in between.

### Afterlife

There is no death for the Eclipsites. When the body fails, the soul merely takes over another vessel, forgetting its previous life and starting anew.

### Practices

* Sacrifices are commonplace as offerings to the gods
* There are no funerals
* Marriages are between anyone

### Clergy Structure

The Followers of the Eclipse have no formal clergy. There are those who devote themselves to either Sonna or Monna, but they hold no special position in society.

### Views on Social Relations

* **Gender:** Women are superior, men are necessary
* **Marriage:** Polygamous
* **Divorce:** Allowed
* **Children born out of wedlock:** Fully accepted
* **Same-sex relationships:** Accepted
* **Adultery:** Accepted
* **Deviancy:** Accepted
* **Magic:** Accepted

## The Children of the Lost

There is a group of Kreigsfolk who worship the Pesmeni as their rightful overlords, reveling in their service and the power they might bestow upon them. This is far from an organized religion, but it is a common belief in many coastal settlements where the Kriegsfolk are present in higher numbers. Their belief is that Anima is rightfully Pesmeni and that they ought to rule it, as the Kreigsfolk's creators. There is no clergy structure, and their idea of the afterlife has to do with being reincarnated as a Pesmeni when they die if they were good, or another race if they were bad.

## The Kree

The Kree are a group of Kriegsfolk who follow the word of Kree, a set of principles which one must never break. It focuses on loyalty to the tribe, utter devotion to strength, and the lust for war. Most civilizations regard them as savages, but equally respect them for their martial prowess. The Kree live in small nomadic tribes and move from place to place, never remaining at one spot for too long.