Religion, Faith, and Death

"What's so damn special about the Gods anyways. I reckon I could be a God too if I really applied myself. Do a better job too."

- Unknown

Faith has proven itself one of the most powerful forces in the world. Praying to a god, swearing an oath, having complete faith in an idea or something, all have demonstrable effects on the world itself.

Faith

Faith in and of itself is a nebulous idea, although its effects are well known. Words and agreements have power, and worship is the most prevalent form of this, as aligning yourself with something greater creates a relationship between you.It is known that deities draw power from worship, and have vested interest in maintaining their worshipers by listening to them and helping them when they can. There is no metric as to how much power the worship of an individual gives a deity, and if deities have one, they are not keen on sharing. However, faith as an agreement or transaction is only one aspect of it. Many people put their faith into intangible ideas and other such things. There are clerics and other people that do manage to gain power from this belief while ignoring or even renouncing deities, but the specifics of it are not known. There is a debate as to whether or not the power comes from the act of believing and faith itself. Faith is something far more primal. Even with all the power and splendor people know about and see, faith is fundamentally their desire for peace, and more importantly, meaning among it all.

Religion

Religion is fundamental part of the everyday lives of countless people, with worship and tradition having far reaching consequences. Be it through feast days, prayer, or other such actions, faith in either a god or a concept is integral to the world. Clerics draw their power through connection with a deity, or more accurately, through their conviction in an ideal, usually the ideal a god represents. Because of this, the most prevalent form of worship in most societies is directed to the gods. The Deities themselves are grouped into various Pantheons. These Pantheons are usually made due to similarities/ agreements between the deities themselves, the way in which they achieved divinity, and particularly due to racial or cultural similarities. The range of a Pantheon's worship varies, form global, to regional and so on.Most deities that are aligned with a pantheon, tend to remain in that range, drawing power from their worshipers, and so their guidance is best used to help them and maintain that relationship.However, not all deities or gods are part of a pantheon, or necessarily even have worshipers. In order to gain power, most of them aim to gain worshipers and as such be considered as a part of widespread pantheons, or as many pantheons as they can be. Asmodeus, the god of Domination, has become incredibly powerful by becoming a part of several non-racial pantheons. Despite all of this, a god need not be a deity. Powerful beings lacking a divine spark are still worshiped, and are often still included in pantheons. Worshipers dedicated to non-divine Gods are known as cultists, and although the term has negative connotations, it is only a label. Cults may also be dedicated to non-divine heroes that have achieved immortality, and are often seen among racial pantheons. Many powerful Constellations are not Divine, but due to their sheer power are still worshiped, and the most benevolent among them still try to help their followers.

Death

The fate of one's soul is not entirely known after death, and many scholars and philosophers believe the uncertainty is a major driver of faith. People worship gods because they offer an explanation to death, and a promise of an afterlife. Even deities of murder, devils, and demons are able to gather followers and have people sell them their souls because they offer an afterlife of some sort that is known to be real. The Journey of a soul after death is terrifying to most, and although deities promise their faithful that they will pull their souls into their own realms once they pass on, the doubt always lingers. Only a few scholars have ever discovered the methods by which a soul can be 'saved' and the exact process of death, and the information is intensely guarded. What can be observed is that upon the death of a living creature and the release of its soul from its body, the souls of the decease then pass into the Ethereal Plane, going deeper into the plane through unknown methods. They are exceptionally difficult to keep track of as they move quickly and are mostly metaphysical, and their ultimate location is unknown. Because this process can be seen at least initially, by mortals, it is worrying to most that the influence of any gods or other such beings is never seen at this stage. When asked, gods do not give straightforward answers, and avoid the questions for reasons that are also unknown.

Terms to Know

God- Any powerful creature that receives consistent worship, prayer, and faith from other creatures
Divine- A creature with a divine spark, and is thusly identified with an Ideal and can gain power from faith and worship aimed at that Ideal. Deity- A god that has achieved divinity.

The Pochumil Ritual

The Pochumil Ritual was a solemn oath that every god swore to upon the end of the Dawn War. It's exact nature is unknown. All deities that underwent the ritual swore to give a portion of the worship they recieved to the members of the Zodiac, in order to ensure they always had the power necessary to defend the Prime material Plane should another excursion on the scale of the Dawn War happen again. The Ritual also combined the power wielded by the Zodiac into one shared pool among them, to ensure that no one member grew too powerful and decided to take control. All new deities are known to be asked to undertake the ritual as well.

Type

Metaphysical, Divine