Religion

The gods are very real. They occasionally come to the mortal realms and interact directly with people, and they also communicate and intervene in more divine ways pretty regularly. Priests and priestesses are obviously and demonstrably channeling divine power and are able to confer the blessings of their deities upon worshippers. It is far too risky to scoff openly at the gods.

There is a formal religious language, spoken by few, mainly priests and scholars. It is said to be the language of the gods, but it is not a living language among mortals. Part of its value is that it has remained relatively stable over time, and records from many many years in the past can still be read. The language is known as Temetar, and some refer to religion in general by this term. The formal names of the gods are in this language, but every culture and linguistic group has their own versions of these names.

There is a pantheon of 24 major gods. Each has a realm or area of control that they rule over. When you are interacting within the realm of one of the gods, it is common to offer a small prayer or sacrifice just to hedge your bets. The gods are dangerous and fickle beings and become offended if not treated with deference and respect. They will not hesitate to curse those they view with displeasure. Sacrifices are also made when one has had a bit of luck in a god’s realm, as it is only right to thank the gods for their favor.

People and places often have a patron, a god or goddess that is considered of great importance to the worshipper’s life, or who has some significance for the place in question. Cities and nations often have a patron as well, a god who has primacy among the 24 in the worship at that place. The temple of the patron in these cases is often larger and better funded than the others.

List of Gods

Creation of the World and the First Gods
The creation of the world was done by an original being, a Creator, currently unnamed. This being set the universe in motion and created the world. The Creator drew into being seven gods to begin to design and populate their creation. The creation of these gods and the creation of the world are basically simultaneous, since the seven original gods all bring forth the basic elements of the unverse.

The seven First Gods are Gorthotur, Urdarolk, Badocaia, Nitura, Aralion, Lithian, and Librisia. Three of the first gods represent the heavens (Gorthotur), earth (Urdarolk), and the waters (Badocaia). Light (Aralion) and life (Nitura) are also represented. Finally, wisdom (Librisia) and art (Lithian) come into being.

The Death of the Creator
After the Creator made the world, the gods bore children. Among these children was the goddess Tallisia, an angry goddess, mistress of blood, violence, and hate, and also Phortolio, god of ministers and advisors, and also lies.

Aralion, god of the sun, had begun to grow jealous of the Creator and their dominion over all creation. Aralion’s closest confidant was the god Phortolio, who saw his fellow god’s jealousy and thought to gain more power. The two gods devised a scheme to remove the Creator, and for Aralion to take his place on the throne of creation. Neither of these two were willing to do violence against the Creator themselves, and so they enlisted Tallisia, who was all too willing to shed blood.

Up until this time, violence among the gods was rare. Some conflicts had arisen among them, but most were resolved by going before the Creator. Aralion wished to be king, however, and was not content to sit at the right hand of the Creator. When Aralion and Phortolio went to Tallisia, she agreed to do violence against their maker, and one night, when Aralion was sleeping and light was gone from the world, she crept up on the Creator as they sat on their throne and thrust a dagger through their heart.

The Creator cried out, but in sorrow, not in pain or anguish. As the Creator fell to the ground, blood ran out and stained the throne and the ground around it. From this fresh pool of blood, three figures arose. These were the Thains, and they pronounced the doom of Creation: “By this act, death is come into the world. All that now live shall die, even the gods.”

A shadowy figure could now be seen standing behind the throne, Drakt, god of death and the afterlife.

From this act, Aralion became king of the gods, but by buying this throne with blood by the hand of Tallisia, birthed both fate and death.