Cosmology and Faith

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Amalthea differs from most fantasy settings in that its residents have little certainty when it comes to the metaphysical reality of their existence. As a result, the world’s many religions have conflicting beliefs about every philosophical topic: the creation of the multiverse, the true nature of gods, the fate of mortal souls in the afterlife, and much more. While magic and gods are proven facts, Amaltheans nevertheless seek answers to many of the same questions that we do in real life.   Because of this uncertainty, this section will not describe what is canonical truth, merely what is believed. Most of this section (such as the names of gods) will be written from the perspective of the Sybilite faith, the dominant organized religion in Valdoro, where the server is set. Alternative interpretations from other religions will be given as well, for players interested in roleplaying such devotees.    

Fundamental Concepts

No matter the religion, the following is generally accepted as truth.    

The Material Plane

The planet Amalthea is located in a solar system in a galaxy within the Material Plane, also known as the Universe. When observed from the Material Plane, celestial bodies follow roughly realistic laws of physics, although astronomy isn’t nearly as advanced on Amalthea as on modern day Earth, reaching a level roughly equivalent to the mid 1800s.   Amalthea is orbited by 3 moons. The Silver Moon shines a white and comforting light, and is commonly associated with good fortune when full. The Beast Moon is bright yellow and tidally locked, its light side resembling a growling predator’s face, and its phases affect lycanthropes. The Blood Moon is a much smaller and more distant moon, which is bright red with an unpredictable orbit that seems to defy gravity. It is rarely visible in the sky, but its sight is believed to herald misfortune. Amalthea’s solar system has 3 other rocky planets and 3 gas giants, but their precise natures are unknown.    

The Aether

It has long been known that an alternate dimension with esoteric properties overlaps the Material Plane. This plane, called the Aether, is the medium in which the other planes exist. Scholars often divide the Aether into two parts based on their different properties: the Near Aether, or Ethereal Plane, and the Deep Aether, or the Astral Plane. The transition from the Ethereal Plane to the Astral Plane is smooth, rather than abrupt.    

Spiritual Planes

When viewed from the Aether, Amalthea’s night sky is completely alien, showing a different set of stars and planets. These strange stars are in fact portals into the Spiritual Planes in orbit around the Ethereal representation of Amalthea. Each Spiritual Plane has many such portals, and collections of such portals form Zodiacs, whose movements have perceivable effects on the fates of Amalthea and its residents. Astrologians have long confirmed the existence of 14 such planes; 12 of them are in constant motion, and 2 are always static in relation to Amalthea. It is often debated if these Spiritual Planes are Amalthea’s alone, or if they are perceivable from anywhere else in the Universe. Either way, all magic native to Amalthea’s multiverse comes from the Spiritual Planes.    

Planar Travel

With the exception of the Ethereal Plane, traveling beyond the Material Plane is difficult and dangerous in Amalthea. Most people who journey to the planes use natural rifts on the Material Plane. These rifts are usually found in remote places surrounded by dangers, as the natural environment around them have been magically warped by planar energies. Difficult rituals also exist to artificially tear open a rift to another plane, but unless the ritual caster is familiar with their destination, mishaps are quite common. There also exist ancient artifacts that can teleport users to fixed locations in the Material Plane or beyond, which have yet to be reverse engineered. Lastly, just as mortals can conjure outsiders through summoning rituals, so can the reverse happen, and the devoutly religious can sometimes be called to the planes by outsider servants to their gods, or even gods themselves.    

Elder Gods

Each Spiritual Plane has a genius loci, an impossibly powerful divine being who doesn’t just rule, but rather fully embodies the plane itself. These beings are called the Elder Gods. They share the same names as the planes that are their domain, and are worshiped throughout all Amalthea as its creators, its guardians, or both. The Elder Gods can’t leave their respective Spiritual Planes, so they send outsiders and empower mortal clergy to do their bidding on the Material Plane. While these deities are given a binary gender in conventional portrayals, they do not in fact have a gender in any way comparable to mortals.   No matter the religion, the Elder Gods share one thing in common: they are humanoid in figure, yet completely faceless. Mortals who have witnessed them in visions or planar travels all describe their faces as hidden in some way. Some believe the true faces of the Elder Gods are so incomprehensible that mortals simply cannot perceive them. Others claim that the Elder Gods choose not to show their faces, so that mortals can’t assign them to one race or another and sow division among the faithful. Because of this, in most religions, but especially the Sybilite faith, depicting Elder Gods with faces is considered blasphemous. Deific iconography is typically facing away, or masked.   While the Elder Gods are believed to be benign, their Spiritual Planes contain deadly hazards to mortal travelers. It is simply the nature of these alien dimensions to be inhospitable to most forms of mortal life, and their dangers are used to caution hubristic mortals from attempting to challenge the gods.   The 12 moving planes and their gods are as follows:  

• Acamari, the Sea of Eventualities is a boundless ocean where the currents are made of not only water, but also time, and where mortals can perceive and even interact with their own past and future. Acamari is the god of oceans and their tides, of time, memory, and history, worshiped by scholars of history as well as those obsessed with their own place in it. Acamari's holy symbol is an hourglass filled with water.
 
• Alleras, the Endless Sky is a plane with no ground, only air and clouds, with the occasional solid island for its aerial natives to roost. Alleras is the goddess of wind, lived experiences, exploration, and adventure, of youth and their relentless energy, and among those with a heretical bent, the goddess of violent revolution. Alleras is usually represented by imagery of wings and feathers.
 
• Ilion, the Everlight Citadel is a city-plane of crystalline spires inhabited by angels and archons, bathed in a divine radiance that strikes all mortals blind. Ilion is the god of sunlight and justice, both mercy granted to the wretched that wish to better themselves, and ruthless retribution against the corrupt and irredeemable. Illion's holy symbol is a stylized sun, either rising from the horizon, or shining brightly in the sky.
 
• Imrath, the Eternal Conflagration is a burning plane where fire rains from the sky, volcanos dot the land, and lava flows like rivers. This plane burns all but its native creatures of elemental fire. Imrath is the goddess of fire, physical beauty, athleticism, and raw power, worshiped by the vain and the ambitious. Imrath's holy symbol is a fist or a humanoid figure wreathed in flame.
 
• Khalamil, the First Foundation is a plane of craggy mountains filled with mineral wealth, exploited by its diligent population of axiomites, inevitables, and earth elementals to build ever-expanding cities of glorious industry. Khalamil is the god of the earth’s bounty, industry, and commerce, and a patron of smiths, builders, and merchants. Khalamil is depicted in iconography as a fortress, or alternatively an anvil.
 
• Khiritan, the Swamps of Oblivion is an endless bog where ruins of forgotten civilizations are eaten away by nature. Khiritan is the god of ruin; not the act of destruction, but the grief and acceptance in face of it. Mortals pray to Khiritan for the strength to survive hardship and loss; for those whose will is too weak, Khiritan is said to grant the mercy of forgetfulness. Khiritan's holy symbol is a simple teardrop, and it is rarely ornate.
 
• Saphril, the Pearlescent Mirage is a beautiful plane of tropical beaches and pristine seas filled with impossibly vibrant reefs, but the plane’s beauty contains illusions that hide deadly dangers. Saphril is the goddess of mirages, passionate desire, and artistic expression. The Sybilite Church discourages any portrayals that emphasize her more lustful aspects. Saphril is associated with tropical flowers, and her holy symbol is a blue orchid.
 
• Surocael, the Tempest of Creation is a plane of raging lightning storms and unpredictable magic, sweeping over an ever-changing chaotic landscape swarming with shifting proteans. Surocael is the god of storms, but also of innovation in science and magic. He is particularly favored by eccentric geniuses who believe their ideas are ahead of their time. Surocael's holy symbol contains storm imagery, such as bolts of lightning and whirlwinds.
 
• Valkyon, the Ashen Battleground is a plane of eternal battle between demons and devils, each deploying devastating weapons of mass destruction on a scale unimaginable to most mortals. While the combatants of Valkyon’s battles are evil, Valkyon, the god of war, is not usually perceived as an evil god, except for all the “necessary evils” of war itself. Warriors both honorable and depraved pray to him for courage and survival. Valkyon's holy symbol is a pair of crossed blades.
 
• Vardath, the Verdant Idyll is a plane of primordial nature in perfect harmony, untouched by the ravages of industrial civilization. Agathions and azatas call this plane home, as do all manners of planar beasts that won’t hesitate to attack mortal travelers. Vardath is one of the most beloved of Elder Gods, as she holds the domain of agriculture, hunting, and fertility. Vardath has two prominent holy symbols: a wreath of wheat, or a pair of antlers.
 
• Vethuna, the Ebon Expanse is a plane of complete darkness, empty as the vacuum of outer space, where one is accompanied only by the deepest fears of their mind should they somehow find a way to breathe. Vethuna is the goddess of the night sky, dreams, nightmares, the subconscious, and the fear of the unknown. Mortals pray to her for the wisdom to understand and the courage to face their fears. She is also believed to shepherd the souls of the dead to somewhere beyond the stars, where none may find and corrupt them. Vethuna's holy symbol is an eye with a star-shaped pupil.
 
• Zugora, the Mirror of Truth is a frozen plane of perfect stillness periodically battered by deadly blizzards, polishing its icy landscape into reflective surfaces where one could glimpse the secrets of the multiverse. Zugora is the goddess of ice and winter, but also of logic and divination, worshiped by those of a scientific and philosophical mind. Zugora's holy symbol is a perfect, reflective circle.

The two static planes are believed to be “mirrors” of Amalthea, as locations on Amalthea are sometimes reflected on them, although twisted by planar energies. These two planes are as follows:  

• Selara, the Feywild: Formerly the Celestial Source, Selara is believed to have once been the progenitor of all life, the creator of all mortal creatures and the mother of the other Elder Gods. Some time in the past, believed to correspond to the extended Dark Age before the First Light, she was slain by Vanthus, and her body was cut into many pieces. However, as life by its very nature cannot die, the pieces of Selara’s body revived as Archfey. Selara’s domain, once a pure font of positive energy, became the overgrown realm known as the Feywild.
 
• Vanthus, the Shadowfell: Vanthus was once the compassionate god of peaceful death and reincarnation. The Sybilite faith claims he was Selara’s youngest and most beloved son, although other religions depict him as her husband and the father of other Elder Gods. Vanthus is said to have been corrupted by eldritch forces against his will, transforming him into the Great Old One of Undeath, a form despised by all. Tormented and rejected, Vanthus slew Selara in a fit of rage. His realm of Sidereum, once a dark and gentle place for departed souls to rest before returning to a new life, was corrupted into a plane of life-draining shadows, ravenous undead, and horrific fiends such as daemons and sakhils. Vanthus’s presence is acutely felt in the Third Darkness, when Grand Inquisitor Abrazan Koss called his avatar to the Material Plane, creating the Scourgelands.

  In general, the 12 gods of the moving planes are considered the only true Elder Gods. It is commonly debated whether or not the Archfey, fickle and mischievous as they are, should be considered Selara’s successors in the pantheon. Vanthus, meanwhile, is universally reviled for his undead and fiendish progeny. However, some undead believe he is still carrying out his original duty to the best of his abilities, and see him as a protector of those unfortunate things found vile by the rest of the world.    

Ascendant Gods

Mortals that have achieved great reputations can sometimes ascend to divinity upon death, becoming Saints empowered by the faith of other mortals. Sainthood does not keep a mortal's prior personality, as their original soul becomes but a drop in the vastness of a newly divine soul. Rather, Saints have personalities more in line with what the faithful believe them to be. A similar process may happen to outsiders, transforming them into divine beings such as Empyreal Lords or Archfiends, although this form of ascension is gradual. Collectively called Ascendant Gods, these lesser deities form intermediaries between mortals and the Elder Gods, answering prayers with what's perceived as more personal investment.   Ascendant Gods are much more numerous than Elder Gods, although they are also much less powerful, as they are not primordial embodiments of platonic ideals but rather spirits sustained by faith. The weakest Ascendant Gods are tribal guardians with power over only a small region on the Material Plane, who can be physically slain by sufficiently powerful mortals. Meanwhile, the strongest Ascendant Gods inhabit personal demiplanes, perceivable as stars in the Aether alongside the Zodiacs.   The Sybilite Church names mortals of strong faith and influence as Luminaries, designating them as potential candidates for Sainthood. This directs Sybilites to invest faith in chosen individuals, whose ascension furthers the interests of the Church. This doesn't always work in the Church's favor, as the most powerful Luminary of the Third Light, Abrazan Koss, betrayed the faith in a near-apocalyptic way.   Because of the staggering number of Ascendant Gods in Amalthea, no one has a full list of all of them. The following Ascendant Gods are widely worshipped in the Valdoro region:  

• St. Sybil, the Martyr is the central figure and prophet who founded the Sybilite Church. In life, Sybil was an emancipated slave turned crusader against the decadent and malevolent rulers of the late Valdoran Empire. She ascended to divinity when she died slaying Dragonlord Asteres. St. Sybil is the patron of all who devote themselves to the betterment of mortal lives and the eradication of supernatural evil. Her holy symbol is a sword slicing through fire, representing her martyrdom by dragonfire.
 
• St. Laurelion, the Sage is the second most important saint in the Sybilite faith. In life, he was an elven philosopher who invented what would later be known as arcane magic, and he led Naru Daevan survivors to Paracia. As Sybil's mentor, Laurelion was also credited as the co-founder of the Sybilite religion. His purview includes arcane magic, scientific knowledge, and the teaching as well as ethical applications thereof. His holy symbol is an open book.
 
• St. Tullius, the Artificer is the patron of the Ember Trading Company, deified for the discovery of Amalthea's mana cycles and for sowing the seed for the arcane industrial revolution that would come centuries after his death. St. Tullius is the patron of inventors and enterpreneurs alike, and holds domain over artifice, urban civilization, and honest trade. St. Tullius's holy symbol is a brass gear.
 
• The Trinity of Sts. Lutharys, Rita, and Nuddal are respectively the patrons of Esmirana, Cossina, and Varancia, three Valdoran cities known as the Triumvirate. The Trinity are each martyred by a reviled threat to Valdoran civilization: Lutharys by Zaharran invaders, Rita by urban criminals, and Nuddal by bandits. A prominent sect of Sybilism in the Triumvirate holds that the martyrdom of the Trinity in 4832 A.L. marked the last true ascension of Saints in the Sybilite faith. In iconography, they're each represented by the cause of their death: Lutharys by a spear, Rita by a hammer, and Nuddal by a hound.
 
• Calam Meisce is a folkloric deity who claims to be of mortal origin, but no records of his mortal life exists. Stories of his heroic ascension abound, each as ridiculous and bawdy as the last, and all of them involve copious amounts of derring-do, alcohol, and lovemaking. Calam Meisce is a prominent figure in Valdoran bardic songs, and has domain over adventurers, tall tales, and the joys of heroism. His holy symbol is as irreverant as his domain, depicting a mug full of ale.
 
• The Jack of Knives is a mysterious deity that may or may not exist. It is believed that they were once the greatest thief and assassin who pulled off an impossible job: to heist divinity, and slay a god. Upon ascension, they supposedly erased their existence from mortal memory. Theologians largely discredit this story. The Jack of Knives has no official iconography; their unholy symbol is instead hidden in the symbols of other faiths through the use of negative space.

   

Great Old Ones

Hailing from the Far Realms beyond Amalthea’s native multiverse, the Great Old Ones are beings of cosmic power that rival the Elder Gods, yet are not bound to any planes, allowing them to enact their will directly on the Material Plane. There are countless Great Old Ones, but Vanthus, a former Elder God, is the most widely known and presently felt. Other examples of well-known Great Old Ones are:  

• Ashoi-Nokta, the Fateweaver is the progenitor of phase spiders. She grants visions of dark knowledge that cannot be known through logic or empiricism, and is the patron of the drow of the Duskwood.
 
• Yal-Sabaoth, the Everchanging is the Great Old One of eldritch transmutation. His worship is the state religion by Durgrimmar, the underground kingdom of the duergar.
 
• Gn'thornythh, the Waters of Life is the kraken goddess venerated by the humans of the Sorenmark.
 
• Maathag, the Flames of Madness is the Great Old One of all-consuming wildfire and frenzied destruction, worshipped primarily by misanthropic goblins.
 
• Ael-Shodai, the Cosmic Symmetry is the Great Old One of equilibrium between all oppositional concepts, and the creator of aeons.

   

Religions of Amalthea

Below is a summary of Amalthea’s religions, and their respective interpretations of metaphysical reality.  

Sybilism

The Sybilite Church was founded nearly two thousand years ago during the Second Darkness by an alliance of humans and elves, led respectively by the crusader Sybil, and the mage Laurelion. It is the dominant religion on the continent of Paracia, especially in Valdoro, Velthiria, and to some extent, Talandra. It is a dogmatic, polytheistic faith that preaches three core tenets: that the Elder Gods are benevolent, loving, and provide mortals with the magic of creation; that any magic beyond their purview is evil and heretical; and that the will of the deceased creator goddess Selara is inherited by the faith's ascended founders, St. Sybil the Martyr, and St. Laurelion the Sage. Of the two, Sybil is considered the greater on mainland Paracia, while Laurelion is held in higher regard in elven Velthiria.   The central myths of the Sybilite faith include the Creation of Amalthea and the Sidereal War.    

The Elder Faith

Practiced by beastfolk, “barbaric” humanoids, and rural Talandrans, the Elder Faith considers the Elder Gods and the Archfey to be equals in a single pantheon. Devotees view the Elder Gods as distant and disinterested creators, and find it more pragmatic to pay tribute to gods capable of direct interference in mortal affairs through the ritual invocation of fey and other lesser spirits. They further consider all gods to be equally divine, regardless of power or purview, and when traveling to foreign lands, they offer prayers to the gods of locals as a sign of respect. The Elder Faith was once the dominant religion in most of Paracia, until the then-mortal Sybil claimed that giving devotion to the fey is an insult to Selara’s legacy, comparing it to venerating fungus that sprouted from her decaying corpse, and further accused the Elder Faith of spreading the influence of evil gods. Sybil’s crusade against the Elder Faith resulted in her martyrdom and ascension, laying the foundations for the Sybilite Church.    

The Sublime Mechanism

The people of Perora like to present their religion as objective fact derived from mathematical conjecture. They call their faith the Sublime Mechanism, as they believe the universe functions on laws as precise as clockwork, and any perceived chaos is merely an illusion that masks hidden order. Mechanists believe that the Elder Gods are equations that each control some aspect of reality, and together, they form a complex mathematical matrix that perfectly describes the multiverse and beyond. Anything that doesn't fit into this mathematical model, such as the Great Old Ones, or the existence of mortal evil, is believed to be imperfections carried over from a previous reality. It is the duty of mortalkind to perfect the world by leading virtuous and rational lives.    

Cerlanian Folk Religion

The Shattered Isles of Cerlania do not have any organized religion, so Cerlanians worship localized deities on each island. These can be local portrayals of Elder Gods and Archfey, ascended ancestors, or area-bound spirits called kami. Cerlanians call Selara the Heavenly Mother, and Vanthus the Abyssal Father, believing them to be divine dragons of the sky and the sea wedded to each other, giving birth to the Material Plane and the Spiritual Planes. They also believe when the Heavenly Mother died in battle with the Abyssal Father, her body fell to the continent that was once Cerlania, shattering it into thousands of islands. Cerlanians point to the many kaiju sleeping on Cerlania’s islands as proof: called Fey Titans by Sybilites, these are believed to be revived pieces of Selara’s body found in the Material Plane.    

Kuma Myths

The Kuma are the oldest and most pure-blooded human ethnic group, and they first recorded the Elder Gods in the number and forms enshrined in doctrine by the Sybilite faith. Kuma believe the multiverse was created in song; Selara sang the first verse, then each of the Elder Gods contributed, until the resulting symphony became reality. Vanthus, and by extension the Great Old Ones, are dissonant chords in their worldview. The shifting nature of musical chords means that with time, harmony can become dissonant, and dissonance can reharmonize, and thus the Kuma refuse to attribute absolute good or evil to any cosmic entity.    

Ancient Elven Religion

The elves of the fallen Undying Lands were a hubristic race, who believed that the gods only came to Amalthea when they called out into the void between stars for powers that could answer their prayers. The priest caste of the Undying Empire possessed far greater magic than modern elves, with which they ruled with absolute authority. They worshiped the Elder Gods alongside the Great Old Ones, seeing them as opposite yet equal pantheons that together bring a balance of good and evil, order and chaos. The eventual destruction of this empire by eldritch disaster seems to prove that idea wrong. Laurelion the Sage, then a mortal, led the survivors to Paracia. Here he excised the Great Old Ones from the elven pantheon, and syncretised the Elder Gods with native human deities, forming the core gods of the Sybilite faith.