Church of Six
The Church of Six is the main body of religion for the Humans in the Three. Though people will call on any and all of the gods, some few might devote themselves to just one – though this does not restrict them from calling on the others. Sometimes, especially the Macedonians will call upon the gods by the old names of Heroes, patrons in the ancient Carpathian Church of One: Persephone as the Maiden of love, Zeus as the Father of judgement, Artemis the female form of the Hunter. Four thousand years ago the worship of the seventh god, the Changer, was banned across the Three and its worshippers are still put to the torch today.
Father: The inventor of language and the written word, He is the bringer of Law
Smith: Inventor, the Smith embodies brotherhood and resourcefulness as well as war
Hunter: The god of trickery, thievery and fortune, He is the god of merchants
Maiden: Goddess of beauty, love, lust and innocence, She is also a teacher
Mother: She is the protector, the goddess of mercy and healing – but also vengeance
Crone: The bringer of old age and death, She is also the goddess of fate and foreseeing
The Other/The Stranger: The personification of evil, comparable to the devil in Christianity
The Seven-As-One
The old religion of Illyria, it still holds sway in many places across the Three, though it is often considered uncouth by those Six-worshipping outsiders who do not know much about the religion. It adds a seventh god into the pantheon known as ‘Mystery’. Without a strict definition of the Mystery and its changeability, it is easy to see why the Seven-As-One conflict with the Church of Six. This is called the ‘Stranger’ by the Church of Six, a representation of The Other. The church of the Seven-As-One dispute this claim and stipulate that they have their own evil – “The Unknown”, a series of spirits which are said to be pale with golden eyes.
Maesiangods
The Maesiangods are the gods of the Maesian tribes and are very close in resemblance to the old gods of the First Men. Like the Maesians themselves the Maesiangods are harsh, but since Maesia joined the Three they now also closely resemble the Six. In this way the Maesianholme, the Maesian church, and the Church of Six are counted as separate organs of the same body. Maesians worship all six gods together and priests of the religion travel to the Maesianholme, leaving their Tribe behind to later travel to other Tribes to teach them the ways of the gods; in this way they do not devote themselves to any one god but to all the gods on behalf of the Tribes. Unlike the Church of Six, the Maesianholme recognises that both Good and Evil must exist and play a balance in the world.
Udun One-Eye, the All Father: God of laws and the written word, it is said he knows the names of all things and fathered all spirits
Dror: God of strength and the sky and sea, He is also a god of crafting
Frekki: A wolf-man, He embodies nature and wild animals, god of survival and instinct
Tia: Goddess of battle, beauty and victory
Frey: Stern goddess of healing, mercy and fending for oneself
Satrins: Goddess of infirmity, trials and old age – it is from her that the Maesians get the saying ‘that which does not kill you, will only make you stronger’.
Lokki: The shape-shifting fire-giant of chaos and misrule, His worship is banned by the Maesianholme and He is now viewed in a similar way to the devil in Christianity
Iniki Gods
Iniki gods are the gods of the ice, the fire and stone. They are thought to be embodiments of the very foundations of the world, and unlike other gods can die – even from old age. The Iniki have massive ice statues of their gods buried in the sides of the White Mountains through tunnels called ‘Paths’, which only the Singing Men and Women of the tribes – a kind of story-telling, wise-man type of priesthood – can navigate safely and open. Singing Men and Women do not devote themselves to a god or goddess or even a tribe and are always considered neutral – in this way they often work closely with the Law Speakers to promote justice amongst tribe members. Unlike their Halfling followers, Iniki gods are said to be tall, pale beings with golden eyes.
Ignaluk: Who brings the guilty to trial and the wisdom of soft words, He is a master of magicks
Nanuq: Who is of the hunt and tactics, god of strength of spirit
Tekisok: Who is both warder and protector and god of wild places and animals
Arnak: Who brings the winter snows, cruel goddess of punishment and justice
Akna: Who heals the injured, and goddess of life
Pinga: Who cures the ill, She cares for the dying and brings the world new life
Torngusuk: Who brings death, He is the dark lord of the Long Night and all things evil
Those that follow the Iniki Gods must be Light.
The Dream Gods
The gods of the Entumen of Getae are unlike all the other gods of the world. They are old beyond time and unknowable – for this reason, the Entu say, they have not revealed their names to their worshippers, who must then create names for the gods. The Entu do not try to describe their gods in too much detail and do not attempt to say they understand them – for their gods are powerful and without the reasons of man. The Entu believe that their gods live in a ‘dream-time’ which is accessible to skilled shamans, who form what ‘priesthood’ the Entu have.
He That Waits in Silence: The mute god of the dead, he reads all fates from a book.
She That Watches all Things Grow: Primal maker goddess, an overseer and goddess of nature, growth and death
Those That Sing: Intermediaries with the gods, they are also beneficent spirits
Those That Whisper Lies: The opposition to Those That Sing, they balance the world, positive and negative, good and evil
She Who Weeps Tears: Goddess of healing, mercy and truth and justice, she is sealed away from the world because of opening a jar that released all evil into the world
He That Dreams: All reality is dreamt by He That Dreams, who is god of the weather, travel and law. Shamans debate as to what will happen when He wakes up
Other Gods: There are many other lesser deities, like Those That Sing, such as He That Always Steps On Grass, a god of merchants, fortune and safe passage
Those that follow the Dream Gods must be Light.
The Old Religion
There is a major conflict in Dacia. The Rishidhun, the desert tribes follow the Old Religion and thus worship the original gods of the sands. They are beginning to have to cede grazing grounds to the Khandish – those that have turned from the Old Religion to the Cult of S’Kor, god of fire and shadow. The Old Religion is one based around the immortality of the soul and the preservation of the body – for this, the Khandish consider them to have an unhealthy fascination, for the Old Religion is steeped in the rituals of death. Indeed, many of the pyramids across the east of Dacia are in fact temples, not tombs as originally thought by modern scholars, driven empty by the Khandish priesthood.
Asa: Centaur-like goddess of life, living, nature and nurture, fertility and the land
Uda: Centaur-like god of war, passion, fury, laws, power, destruction and the seas
The Thousand Spirits: A host of near-deities that serve Asa and Uda, many of the appear Human but with the heads of animals. They each have specific things they govern, such as T’Ah, who governs magicks or Sek’T the lion-headed spirit of war.
Those that follow the Old Religion must be Light.
Cult of S’Kor
Only a few hundred years ago the Cult of S’Kor rose again. Each time in the past the cult came to dominate Dacia, and each time the cult was heralded by a Prophet. So far, no Prophet has yet emerged for the new cult, though they say it is only a matter of time. It has hidden for a long time, for it was the Second Prophet that could not save the Dacian people and the First Prophet that drove them to despair. Nevertheless, the Cult of S’Kor has risen again and is proving to be a stable religion, with strict guidelines and a fervent faith.
S’Kor, Who Rules on High, the Shining One, God of Light and Shadow: S’Kor is the god of fire, light and shadow and His priests are typically trained pyromancers. He is viewed by the Khandish as the only true god. He is said to be the sun, and each night his worshippers build pyres to pray for his return at the dawn.
He That Fled, the Coward, the Turncoat, the Beast: The evil god of the Khandish, the Coward is all that the Cult of S’Kor despises. He is the Black Beast, a malevolent evil that is said to be lord of all that is evil and rules over a dark, cold dungeon underworld of despair.
Sithi God Concepts
Not in any way gods themselves, the god concepts are more like paragons of excellence to which all Sithi can aspire. There are two main aspects to the God Concepts. These are seen are both opposing and conjoined, and are both opposites of one another that also share qualities. They thus represent Light and Dark, Day and Night, Positive and Negative, Male and Female.
The Male Form (white) is called Mharul and represents passions, light, understanding, law, ferocity, martial prowess
The Female Form (black) is called Yanla and represents passivity, ignorance, denial, acceptance and sorrow
The official representation of the Concepts is a Yin-Yang.
Those that follow the Sithi God Concepts must be Light.
