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 as well as the Tukham kingdom, the Teachings of the Light Bearer, also called The Faith of Light, is 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.

The church plays a big part in handling the sending off the souls of the deceased. By performing ceremonies and burial rituals it prevents the dead to come back into unlife, and sends the soul to become one with the pure light. Likewise the church has ceremonies and rituals to protect from darkness and evil spirits, likewise to banish the undead.

The Faith of the Light is the most prevalent of religions practiced in the world. It is not certain exactly how old the faith is but there are passages in the scriptures which make references to places and people from the era of dawn. However the formalized organization into its current form began in the era of building after a pillar of light rose from the peak of Mount Vincere and stood for three days. Coming down from the mountain afterwards were a group of people which became the first founders, taking on the task of spreading the teachings of the Light Bearer and lay the foundation of the church.

During the War of the Sages the church took a hard stance against the sages, seeing that they had fallen into darkness and corruption. The church offered aid and protection to those that suffered by the hands of the sages, and also formed orders to combat the dark forces of the sages, specializing in hunting and taking down anything magical. In the age of strife these orders continued their work, hunting any monster that were left as well as tracking down and prosecuting anyone practicing the mystical arts as to make sure that the sages could never return to power. It became a tenet to not pursuit or practice the mystical as it inevitably tempted the practitioner to fall to the corruption of darkness and use their power for ill. These orders continued their work up to the era of enlightenment where they were retired, with some exceptions. While the tenet against mystical practitioners still remains in place, the church had lost much of the power and influence it once held. While it may have been overzealous, the hunting and prosecutions have been a help in healing the scars left by the War of the Sages, even to the point where most people believe the war to only be an exaggerated legend.

According to the church's scriptures, long ago the world was filled with light and peace. All people lived without want or fear until the dark ones came and in their jealousy of all good they cast the world into darkness and corruption. But in the darkness there came the light bearer carrying a lantern on the end of a staff, warding off the dark ones, and showed the path through the darkness to lead the faithful back to the light and save them from corruption. But the world was ruined and the corruption of darkness had stained all that was good and put suffering into the world. The light bearer bestowed two things upon those that followed him. The first was wisdom; laws that they were to follow so as to protect themselves from corruption. The second was a light which shine could remove all suffering from their kin and ward of the darkness. After this the light bearer left them to go forth on their own, while he turned back into the darkness to do battle with the dark ones until the day when the pure light returns to the world. Thus the basic tenets for the faith is to live pure, to not give into temptations, to be just and fair, to deny darkness, and castigate those that would welcome corruption upon themselves.

The laws and words of the light bearer would see some changed over time and different interpretations grew out of them, finally becoming three dominating interpretations of doctrine; the introspective, the extrospective, and the orthodox. While each interpretation shares the same scripture, founding story, and tenets, the practice of each is very different from each other and has even been grounds for religious fighting.

The introspective focuses on peace through forgiveness, to seek harmony and balance in one's life by actions of kindness. "To be good is to do good" is a common phrase used by devotees. But to be able to forgive one must be forgiven first, in practice meaning that only someone that has done no wrong, or been absolved of wrongdoing, is allowed to pass judgment on his fellows. To act wrongly, such as knowingly hurting someone in some way, taints that person's soul with darkness which must be cleansed or risking it to fester and take over fully. To remove this darkness one must partake in a ceremony of light lead by an anointed priest. To shield and prevent ones soul to be tainted, being mindful of one's actions is important and only act with good intention. Further to participate in sermons also helps to shield. It is also common for those of faith to go on mission to spread the teachings of the Light as well as to cleanse the souls of those in need. In the modern day this doctrine is practiced mainly in the Commonwealth, parts of the Hauberian empire, and Northern empire and has been spread throughout the world with the imperial colonies.

The extrospective focuses on repentance to become worthy of salvation. Being much more outward acting than the other interpretations, the extrospective view is that only by action can the corruption of one's soul be abolished. Almost as opposed to the introspective, cleansing requires the wrongdoer to do more than just attend service or be cleansed by a clergyman. Instead it is believed that actively performing action of piety that will cleanse the corruption. It could be things as simple as like performing a certain amount of prayers, or more involving like partaking in and helping with church charity work, some more devout could even go as far as to perform flagellation. The important factor is that it is ordained and sanctioned by a clergyman before being performed. When the action has been preformed the clergyman performs a blessing and the cleansing is complete. The extrospective service and mass is also much more ritualistic and intense than the other doctrines, with more passion and emotion present in every part. This doctrine is mainly practiced in the majority of the Hauberian empire, the principalities, and Medtria, along with any current or former colonies of these.

The orthodox variant focus is on self control and knowledge. To act with tempered thought and strive to keep a balance within is the core of one's life and only way to find peace. These things are to be reflected in ones everyday actions, where hasty and emotional actions are seen as proof of imbalance, while a calm demeanor and careful consideration are seen as proof of a good inner balance. In the orthodox view the road to salvation goes through one's own heart and mind, and that is also where the corruption of darkness will take hold if it is allowed to. Those that cannot control themselves or find a proper balance is either put in solitude for deep reflection, or forced into labor as it is believed to cleanse the mind. This doctrine is mainly practiced among the Dworig of the Spine mountians and the Kaza mountains. 

The Followers of the Flame

The Followers of the Flame is the dominant religion in the Tukham Kingdom. It follows the word of faith as told by the first flame carrier, who spoke the word of fire against the dark forces of corruption and using a blessed blade cut it down and purged it with flame. The religion first appeared in the Era of Conflict among nomadic Uruk tribes but came into real prominence during the war of the sages and the revolt against the old Medtrian empire.

In practice the religion believes that the world is a corrupt place that will one day be cleansed by a great fire that will burn away anyone that is unworthy. Only those that are devout to and have submitted to the flame will remain when the world has become nothing but cinders, and they will be the ones to rebuild a new world free from darkness and corruption. The faith is very strict with its religious laws and dictates much of what is permissible for the devout. As such any breaking of a law or more egregious action against the faith is harshly punished. Beatings are permissible for light to moderate transgressions while for more major acts of transgression, dismemberment or even death can be ordered. "The law of the flame is supreme and shall not be denied" is a guiding principle.