The Sovereign Host

Arguably the greatest of Eberron's major religions. The Sovereign Host pantheon claims the hearts and minds of an enormous proportion of Khorvaire's population, and even in the face of newer Faiths, it continues to grow. The Sovereign Host does not boast the greatest military force, nor does it champion some driving goal to attract those seeking purpose. The Sovereign Host simply grows as is has always grown: through its innate bonds to the world itself, and a nearly infinite capacity to adapt.

Doctrine

The Sovereign Host encompasses nine gods—or fifteen, depending on one’s point of view—who hold sway over every aspect of mortal life. Where the Silver Flame requires worshipers devoted to a specific principle, and the Blood of Vol demands loyalty to the blood within, the Sovereign Host simply is. Where mortal matters intersect the natural world, the gods are there. Where nature offers its hand to those who live off the land, either with a nurturing touch or a pounding fist, the gods are there. Worshipers need not seek out the gods of the Sovereign Host, for they are present in every aspect of life, and in every feature of Eberron.
The chief dogma espoused by the followers of the Host, or “Vassals” as they call themselves, has been named the Doctrine of Universal Sovereignty.

As is the world, so are the gods. As are the gods, so is the world.

Essentially, this means that nothing exists in this world outside the attention of the gods. While the gods are divine beings unto themselves, they are also a part of a larger reality. They are both independent and part of a greater whole, separate yet joined, in a way few mortal minds can fully comprehend. They do not simply oversee the aspects of reality over which they hold dominion; they are part of them, omnipresent.
A blacksmith praying for Onatar's blessing on an undertaking is not seeking the attention of the god of the forge. The god is already there, present in every act of manual creation, every spark of the flame, every ring of the hammer. Rather, the smith prays to show faith, honoring and acknowledging the god’s presence, hoping that Onatar will bestow his favor upon the smith’s work and aid him in turning out a weapon or tool of exceptional quality.
As with Onatar and the smith, so too with the other deities and their own spheres of influence. Dol Dorn is active in every battle; Arawai's voice is heard in the rustle of ever stalk of wheat. This is what the Vassals mean by the Doctrine of Universal Sovereignty: The gods do not merely watch reality; they are present in every part of it.
The Doctrine of Universal Sovereignty illustrates perfectly the nature of gods in the world of Eberron. They do not walk the world or speak directly with their faithful. Aid or knowledge is given by an angel or some other outsider who represents the power of the divine. (And even these outsiders are themselves guided by nothing more than faith; an angel speaking for Aureon has no more spoken with her than the priest herself has.)
The very power of faith causes cleric magic to manifest. Most clerics maintain that if the gods were not real, no amount of faith could change the world, but this is a matter of belief and theology, not verifiable fact. When asked by skeptics why the gods, if they truly exist, do not take a more direct hand in the affairs of Eberron, most Vassals reply that they do indeed. Every plant that grows, every ruler that rises to power, every sword raised in battle, every beast in the herd, every healer’s touch—these are all signs of the gods working their will on the world, through the tools of the world itself.
It is possible to misinterpret the belief that gods and world are one as leaning more toward druidic religion than clerical. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Worship of the Host has grown alongside civilization, and the two are inextricably linked. Even a cursory examination of the gods’ portfolios reveals a marked leaning toward elements of civilized life, rather than more primitive or savage aspects. Law, the hearth, artifice, honor: These are mortal constructs, not intrinsic elements of the natural world. Only Arawai and Balinor claim portfolios of a more natural bent, and even these—agriculture for one, beasts and the hunt for the other—are viewed through the lens of civilization. To Vassals, this indicates no disregard for nature but simply an acknowledgment that civilization is the intended state of the mortal races, and the inescapable way of the future. For most worshipers, civilization represents the extent of their world; it is hardly unreasonable that their gods should follow suit. Indeed, it is a measure of the Host’s civilizing bias that the banished bear a contrary aspect. Most of the Dark Six represent forces of nature or “primitive thought,” rather than concepts intrinsically tied to civilization.

It is perhaps not surprising that the so-called Doctrine of Universal Sovereignty is not truly all that universal. Oh, the Vassals indisputably believe that their gods are a part of every aspect of the world, and that nothing happens without their involvement. It’s simply that the Vassals employ a rather flexible definition of what both “world ” and “involvement” actually mean.
The beloved gods of the Host cannot be held responsible for horrors such as the daelkyr and the quori, for they are of other worlds, not born of Eberron.
Were this the extent of the Vassals’ exceptions to the Doctrine, it might be reasonable enough. Many of them, however, extend this logic to all manner of things. Some maintain that any action taken by a follower of another deity is outside the purview of the Host, for these other gods do not acknowledge their place in the proper scheme of things. Some go farther still, claiming that those who refuse to acknowledge the Host have placed themselves “outside their place in the proper scheme of things,” and thus outside the protection—and influence—of the gods. A very select few even hold that when the Sovereign Host expelled the Dark Six from their ranks, they removed those gods from the world itself. Thus, anything that falls under the dominion of the Dark Six is outside the influence of the Sovereign Host. As convenient an explanation for why the gods allow misfortune to befall their worshipers as ever has been heard.
It would be remiss of me to imply that all Vassals are this loose in their definitions. Many of them accept that not all of life will go their way, no matter how devout they are or how benevolent their gods might be. Enough of them take advantage of these liturgical loopholes, however, that one must question how heartfelt their faith can truly be.

Symbolism and Symbols

Nearly everyone recognizes the symbol of the Sovereign Host. Although the Octogram is well known, its true meaning has long been the subject of scholarly debate. Why should a pantheon consisting of nine deities possess an eight-pointed representation?
A relatively recent theory states that the symbol represents the first eight deities—those who existed before the birth of Kol Korran, the only second generation god outside the Dark Six. This, proponents maintain, is the source of Kol Korran's acquisitive nature; he seeks the recognition that he feels is rightfully his but has been denied him.
A much more obscure hypothesis, espoused by only the most eccentric theologians, is that the Octogram represents the eight “levels” of souls that make up the inhabitants of reality: angels, beasts, demons, departed souls, dragons (the original Three, not those currently in existence), fey, gods, and mortals. Completely alien races, such as the quori, do not appear on this list because they are not part of our reality.
The most widely accepted thought holds that the Octogram in fact represents the original pantheon—not only the current Sovereign Host, but the Dark Six as well. The fact that the symbol comes in two colors, with eight points, refers to sixteen actual entities. This theory is supported by ancient texts that refer to the original pantheon as “Nine and Six and One.”
To what does the “One” refer? Again, many theories abound. Some maintain that it is Eberron itself. A few theorists believe this indicates the presence of some long-lost deity. Such a claim is patently ridiculous. The Dark Six were actively banished, yet they are hardly forgotten or impotent; to claim that a deity could have been “lost” from the Host is without merit.
The theory held in highest regard states that the “One” is the Sovereign Host as a whole. This is supported by the Doctrine of the Divine Host, as well as a few translations of the pantheon as “Nine and Six in One.” This suggests that the pantheon can take actions without any debate or discussion among its members. It just does what needs to be done, as a single being. This would explain how the Dark Six could be “banished ” from the pantheon; they simply ceased to be included in the actions of the Host itself.

Cosmological Views

The Schism

Everyone familiar with the scriptures of the Sovereign Host knows that they once formed a single pantheon with the Dark Six. The Host eventually banished the Six for their evil ways and constant schemes against the other gods. This sundering of the Host is called the Schism, the Divine Fall, or the Celestial Exile. Some theorists hold that the rape of Arawai by the Devourer triggered the Schism, but other legends suggest that this event took place long after the split.
Scholars among Vassals and various religious institutions debate what the Schism actually means. After all, the Dark Six are no less gods now than they were before their banishment. They still hold sway over many aspects of the world, and some Vassals still pray to them under certain circumstances. Clearly, the Sovereign Host lacked the means (or the desire) to strip the Six of their divinity.
The Schism, then, is more along the lines of a familial division, one branch disowning and disavowing the other. It represents the efforts of the Host to distance themselves, and their worshipers, from their darker counterparts. While scripture describes this as punishment, some scholars believe that the Host wished to remove the Dark Six's access to the population of Vassals, minimizing their ability to do further harm.
Scripture and scholars differ on what caused the conflict between the two factions of the original Host. Even the most ancient texts, whose doctrine reportedly predates the Schism, refer to the pantheon as Nine and Six and One. So even before the official split, the two groups were at least partly independent of each other. For centuries, Vassals assumed that this division was one of good against evil, which supports the currently accepted view.
Recent religious theory, however, suggests an alternative division, as well as another interpretation of the Schism itself. Of all the nine gods of the Sovereign Host, only two — Arawai and Balinor— hold dominion over natural aspects of the world. The others hold sway, partly or in whole, over elements of civilization and culture. Similarly, of the Dark Six, only two hold dominion over concepts native to civilization: The Mockery represents treachery and dishonor, while the Traveler is the lord of deception. The other four oversee aspects of the natural world or magic, completely independent of civilized practice. Some scholars and priests believe that the “Nine and Six” do not refer to the current division of the Host and the Dark Six, but rather nine gods of civilization and six gods of the wild.
Similarly, these theorists maintain, the Schism was not the result of good defeating evil, but rather the struggle between the civilized and the savage for the future of mortals. In this conflict, they maintain, Arawai and Balinor sided with the gods of civilization for the sake of mortals, while the Mockery and the Traveler sided with the gods of the wild due to their enmity with many of the civilized deities. On a symbolic level, then, the Sovereign Host will dominate the world, and hold greater power than do the @[Dark Six](organization:3dfcf498-e0e5-4c5b-8daa-a98cc7696037, for so long as civilization thrives. Should the mortal races ever fall back into barbarism, however—as some feared would happen during the Last War—the @[Dark Six](organization:3dfcf498-e0e5-4c5b-8daa-a98cc7696037 might well rise to ascendancy.

Tenets of Faith

The bedrock notion of the gods as both separate from the world, and yet a part of it, leads to the second of the Host’s primary doctrines.
Called the Doctrine of the Divine Host, it states: The Sovereign Host is one name, and speaks with one voice. The gods are the letters of that name, and the sounds of that voice.
Only a minority of Vassals focus on a single member of the Sovereign Host. The majority worship the pantheon in its entirety, calling upon whatever deity is most appropriate to their current circumstances. A Vassal might offer up paeans, or even burnt valuables, to Kol Korran when undertaking a mercantile endeavor. That same Vassal might, the very next day, participate in a consecration ceremony to Boldrei, to bless the new home on whose purchase he had asked Kol Korran's aid. The faithful see no contradiction in this; they revere the Sovereign Host entire, placing none above the others. Ignoring any one of the gods would be foolish, akin to acknowledging the existence of trees and clouds but not mountains.
Although primary, the Doctrine of the Divine Host is not absolute. That most Vassals worship the entire pantheon does not mean that they revere all the gods equally. Many of the faithful choose a patron or two to whom they feel a special bond. The aforementioned blacksmith reveres Dol Arrah and Kol Korran, but he likely has a special place in his heart for Onatar. This has little bearing on his everyday religious practices, except that he saves the choicest sacrifices, and utters the longest and most heartfelt prayers, to his patron.
Similarly, while the priests of the Sovereign Host revere all the deities, many devote themselves to a specific deity. Such priests can perform services to any in the pantheon but specialize in the rites and duties of their particular patrons. This is especially common in large communities. A metropolis might have a temple dedicated to Boldrei, serving as a shelter for the homeless or a focal point for community activities, and another devoted to Dol Dorn, where Vassals receive combat training. These differences are reflected in the skills and domains of individual priests. A cleric serving in the former temple would be skilled in healing and knowledgeable about local matters, while one in the latter would be versed in martial skills.

Type

Religious, Pantheon

Deities

Arawai, Aureon, Balinor, Boldrei, Dol Arrah, Dol Dorn, Kol Korran, Olladra, Onatar