Gods, deities, and religion

Gods and deities have a profound presence in the world and the worship of them is a key part of societies and cultures, with stories and anecdotes of divine interventions and manifestation being very common. The most common factors among different religions and practices of faith are the worship or reverence of a deity in an attempt to either garner favor and blessing or to ward off the anger of the deity. It's common for people to erect small shrines or altars, either in their homes or at important places where a deity or spirit have strong connections.

What defines a god or deity is down to interpretation and context to whatever group of worshipers there is. There are however common denominators such as the being having a supreme power or being an embodiment of certain aspects, skills, or phenomenon. Another factor is whatever is the prevailing though among theological scholars or spiritual leaders, this being especially true among the larger formalized religions around the world, but none the less an important factor in smaller groups as well in rural communities within the empires where local lore and beliefs are practices and revered alongside more dominant religions.

The origins of a deity are usually somewhat obscure, often only retold through religious scripture or local legends. There are reoccurring themes however such as ex nihilio, a coming out of nothing, or an ascendance by divine blessing or supreme deed. These scriptures, or legends, are key for the worship and remembrance of a god or deity, which in a sense also acts as the foundation of influence for the same, and only as long as there are worshipers can it act upon the physical world. The amount of worshipers is of smaller importance as a deity of a local shrine might only have a handful of followers, in contrast to the larger religions with countless worshipers, can still act via its aspect, sphere of influence, and in relation to its place of worship.

The Faith of the Light

Among the great empires of Evperia the Teachings of the Light Bearer, also called The Faith of Light, it the dominating religion. The faith centers on a messianic figure that carries a lantern on the end of a staff which drives away darkness, leading believers towards the Promised Land while shielding them from corruption.

The interpretations and aspects given to the Light Bearer are multiple but related, such as; Bringer of Light/Life, Guardian of living Souls, Sheppard of dead souls, Guide of the dead, Harbinger of Light/Fire. Shield against Evil/Darkness.

As The Faith of the Light is the most prevalent of religions practiced in the world, there are inevitably many different interpretations on how to correctly practice the faith. There are however three dominating interpretations of the faith, these being the introspective, the extrospective, and the orthodox. While each interpretation shares the same basic frame, the practices of each is very different from each other, which has lead to conflicts. The most common variant in the world is the introspective due to it being practiced in the human empires and have been spread throughout the world with the imperial colonies. The second most common is the extrospective which has a large following among the Uruk, especially in the Tukham desert. The orthodox variant is mainly practiced among the Dworig, especially in the Spine mountians and the Kaza mountains. But whichever variant of the faith is followed or practiced, they share a somewhat similar core and story of founding and creation.

According to the scriptures, long ago the world was filled with light and peace. All people lived without want or fear until all was cast into darkness and corruption, as the dark ones came, jealous of all that was good. But in the darkness there came the light bearer to lead the faithful out of the dark and save them from corruption. With his lantern on the end of a staff, the light bearer showed the path through the darkness, warding off the dark ones, and led the faithful back to the world of light. But the world was ruined and the corruption of darkness had faded all that was good and put suffering into the world. The light bearer bestowed wisdom to those that had followed him, laws that they were to follow so as to protect themselves and remove suffering from the world, before leaving them to go back into the darkness to ward off the dark and continue leading others back to the light.

Besides the founding story, what differentiate the variants of the faith are parts of the laws and words of the light bringer that over time have changed several times and different interpretations have even been grounds for religious fighting.