Religions
Nordic Shamanism
Brief overview
A group of beliefs brought to Yarowyn by the first nords.
Beliefs Prayer/worship
Order of the Thunder Cross
Brief overview
The order of the thunder cross is a monotheist religion mostly prominent in Kalandria and Aelon. The primary belief being that there is only one true God who is above all men, including Kings and Emperors. They are incredibly against other religions, and are adamant that other religions were created by demons to stray from the one true God. They tolerate mages but do not condone magic in any form.
Beliefs Prayer/worship
All followers of the religion have a cross in their homes to which they pray in front of every morning and night. On Sundays mornings they congregate for 8 hours at the nearby church and each settlement will generally have a place of worship a chapel, church or cathedral. If the settlement is too small to have a chapel, they will be within a parish and would have to travel. The higher class sit closer to the altar and he lowers to the back. In the cities the rich usually have their own church that they attend. During these congregations they recite Hymns and the priest will read from the book of the cross. As all members of the settlement are generally present during this time is also used to make announcements such as an engagement to marry and any updates from the nobility or King.
Baptism is practised in the religion at the age of 13 as a rite of passage into adulthood. 13 is seen as an unlucky number and the mark of the demons and so cleaning the soul is important at this age. You also have to be baptised in order to be married by the church.
There is a prophecy in the book of the cross that a saviour will arise to cleanse the world of evil known as Elderan. He will be born of a dark night, with a heavy thunderstorm that will burn a large cross in the ground. Cleansing it with fire for Elderan’s arrival, he’ll be built up from the lightning itself and glimmer in golden armour. After this he will join with the priests of the order and kings to begin purifying the land so that only those pure of heart survive.
In Kalandria the church is especially powerful and is a crucial component in the king’s court and holds a high seat of council.
The Way
Brief Overview
The long way/path is a mix of the Nordic spirit worship religion and Meoalfr’s pantheon. It came together when the druidic order formed and the religion is still strongly tied with them today. As the druids were made up of the highly knowledgeable mages, wizards and witches they were very open with discussing the beliefs of their people and this lead to theological debate which formed the basis of the religion.
Beliefs Prayer/worship
Those that walk the path believe that all beings and life came from Gaia. Gaia is both a god and the mother spirit, when she created everything she became one with everything and so binds together.
Diemos is the god of the underworld and guides the dead through the afterlife. He also decides which level you end up on to which there are 5 in total. Each level is designed to cleanse the soul, those who have lived a impure life start at the bottom where the conditions are hardest. The goal being that you strive to reach the highest level. Once here, you wait until you can be re-incarnated. Each level is managed by a lord of the underworld, although Diemos is not an evil god some of the lords of the underworlds are seen as incredibly harsh and evil. Helvious on the bottom is seen as the most cruel and evil being in the known universe and a kin to the order of the crosses Devil.
The heads of the religion are known as the Archons, each archon signifies a different element. Fire, water, earth, air and there are 3 of each that sit on the high council making them 12 in total. Almost all of the archons are druids but on occasion a priest will be elevated to the council. The holy city and seat of the council is the Vale which is also where the school of magic is held.
Credit to Eclipse Assassin
Doceni
Brief Overview
Followers of the doceni are known as the doci. The doceni are a pantheon of gods and are split into different levels of importance and power. The elder gods, median and lowers.
It’s said that you are more likely to have help from one of the lowers as worship elevates them but sometimes wishes are not as good as they seem.