Religion in Evara

by Iquano

Polytheistic Religions

Religions that focus on multiple gods of the recognized pantheon

Adhara

The most common polytheistic religion in Evara focuses on a trinity of gods: Adar the Creator, Thara the Preserver, and Lagaharsha the Destroyer, who together personify the balance between Love, Perfection, Destruction, and Chaos. The main goal of a follower of Adhara is to obtain balance, following the teachings of the gods that keep in motion and preserve cosmic balance. Followers of Adhara seek to obtain Inner (personal) and Outer (universal) Balance (eternal bliss) through gaining Divine Inspiration. The Adhara Faith preaches peace and balance in the world, and fighting off chaos through contemplation and deeds that will ward it off.

The Way of Water

The Llyrians practice a religion not seen elsewhere in Evara: The Way of Water, a faith dedicated to The Mother, Leverett; The Great Healer, Rydia; and The Dreamwalker, Nalani. Water is sacred to practitioners and clergy alike, and Priestesses of Water are charged with the sacred responsibility to manage the communities’ water supply and its purity. They believe that world harmony can be achieved through the shared blessing of water. They celebrate their Goddesses at the Lunar Festival, held once every Blue moon.

The Wild Hunt

Way Shrine of the Great Ship

The main religion of agrarian communities focuses on their patron gods: The Greenwalker, Kiel; The White Stag, Ogden; and The Willow, Leanne. Communities focus on the woodlands, forests, and wide-open fields which are the hunting grounds of Kiel and the kingdoms of Ogden. Followers observe the way of Kiel and join him in the hunt, worship him, and ask for his blessing as they roam the dangerous woods in search of survival. To join the wild hunt is seen as an honor. Their religion is a wild one where survival of the fittest, and the hunter and the hunted are in focus. But in this harsh world, there is a light, Leanne is revered as the bringer of spring, the goddess that makes new prey possible.

The Big Mother

Cultures where family is highly valued, animal husbandry is practiced, or agriculture is a key industry worship the The Mother, Leverett and her daughter The Willow, Leanne. Wayshrines, sacred groves, and holy trees are dedicated to the Mother Goddess and her Daughter. Honoring the goddess by way of fertility festivals is a way to ensure a good harvest and strong, healthy offspring.

Monotheistic Religions

People can worship one god or be part of more than one monotheistic faith. People can also worship gods that do not have specific religions around them (i.e., Sadoc, Ogden, Leanne).

Adaration

The First God, Adar encourages everyone to contribute to society by creating whatever they can. Temples dedicated to the First God are filled with artwork, and many songs, sculptures, paintings, poems, and plays have been created to please him. His followers strive to create positive change (or else risk his ire), and by being generous with others to create a more tightly-knit community. The core tenets of the First God’s faith are laid out in the Vade Mecum, his holy text. First, creation is the most important service you can perform for yourself, for your society, and for your god. Second, that life is full of possibilities. These two cornerstones of his faith go hand in hand: the best way to ensure that your life is full of positive changes is by creating positive change in the world. The Vade Mecum is an unusual text in that it contains the core beliefs and proscriptions of the First God’s faith, but half the pages in every copy are blank. Everyone who follows him adds something of themselves to their personal copy of the Vade Mecum as a reminder of change and adaptation.

The Changing Sky

The Arya; Soreph, Etesia, Naseem, & Wayra, are the animating breath of life. The First God gives form to life, the Mother ensures the continuance of life, but the Arya make life possible. The Changing Sky teaches that you get only one life, so you should live it to your fancy. Seek harmony through change, and remember life is a cycle: Everything has its season, all things in their time. Followers of The Changing Sky are taught that life is like the wind and sky. It comes, goes, and changes at will, but can always be counted on to return again. Their faithful believe that Arya are not just beings, but also substance: “Arya” is the spiritual essence from which a soul is made. The unfaithful are blown off-course, sometimes literally. Children of the unfaithful may be blown astray, never to be seen again. Shamans act as religious leaders among communities that worship the Arya. There is no strict definition of shaman and there is no strict role they have in society: they may be called upon to heal, to mediate between humanoids and nature, to aid in a natural disaster or crisis, to perform a wedding, etc.

Church of the Long Death

The Grey Maiden, Erela teaches that death is a natural part of life, and that death is not to be feared. Endure all trials with dignity and treat others with that same dignity. Undead must be destroyed so that the unquiet souls can join the circle of life. Erela’s religion is unusual in that it has clergy but few followers. The Silent Sisters and Brothers, the ministers of the long death, provide services related to death that most others don’t offer. They provide hospice care (for people who are dying and won’t recover), perform autopsies, embalming, cremation, transportation of the bodies of the dead, and preparation of the dead bodies for funeral rites. The Grey Maiden’s clergy basically invented the fields of anatomy and of forensic science.

Cult of the Dreamwalker

A religion that embraces the deep, dark nights that are imbued with the powers of The Dreamwalker, Nalani. Through nocturnal rituals, worshipers of the Starseer can be blessed with prophetic dreams. Those who the goddess chooses are given a sign, the permanent blessing of prophecy, and can request her guidance whenever they choose.

Hemoism

Hemoism is a faith dedicated to The Last God, Lagahashra. He teaches that you are unhappy because you struggle to be something you’re not. You think you want money, love, possessions, and even civilization. These things stop you from seeing the truth of what you are, and what you are is chaos. As long as you fight it, you will continue to be unhappy. The Last God sends destruction, disease, and war to help you see this truth. The boundaries that prevent you from awakening to your true nature must be destroyed, and if you truly wish to help others, you will destroy the boundaries holding them back, too. Adherents often pierce, tattoo, and mutilate their bodies as a way of introducing chaos into their physical forms. The Last God has no temples, no holy texts. His clergy perpetuates his will and desires, and secret whispers tell of these things in civilized places where worshipping the Last God is forbidden.

Purity

Worship of The Great Healer, Rydia, is common among sailors and physicians. They believe in cleanliness and bathe daily as part of their worship of their goddess. The Great Healer teaches that, in your everyday life, you must strive to be like the water. Water is patient: it can do anything if given enough time. Water is fluid: it can weave around obstacles and find ways that others cannot. Water can fit in wherever it flows. When water is calm, it gives life and nourishes those around it. However, water can be violent when pushed. Purist clergy - called “Captains” - establish houses of worship wherever there is a connection to water (aboard ships, on docks, in bathhouses, etc.). Rydia loves two things: rum and cats. Keeping these on ships is said to ward off bad luck at sea.

Ship of the Grand Macaque

Bahram Figurine

Of the Evaran religions, the Ship of the Grand Macaque (abbreviated as “The Ship”) is the most worldly and material. They believe in a transactional universe: give tithes to Lord Luck, Bahram, because someday you may need his help, whether it’s getting a job, receiving charity, or being the benefactor of a Ship-sponsored project. The Ship teaches also that fortune smiles on those who plan. Plan for success, and you just might find yourself getting lucky. Because of their materialistic beliefs, devotees of The Ship put material things into the world. One of the grandest achievements of The Ship was the worldwide adoption of a common currency. The tiny boats that serve as Ship's shrines can be found on waterways throughout the world. Bahramas (Bahram’s Mass), a 3-day autumn holiday, has its origin with The Ship.

Temple of Mother Leverett

The Mother, Leverett, is the Patron Goddess of Love, Marriage, Fertility, and Childbirth. Followers of the faith pray to Leverett for love in life, children, and safe childbirth. The Mother Goddess Leverett is the protector of children, she is a compassionate and peaceful deity whose guidance is evoked in all stages of life. The clergy of Leverett preach love and peace. They sponsor many hospitals, shelters, and orphanages. She prohibits eating meat and forbids farming livestock for the purpose of slaughter (but animal products, like milk, wool, etc. may still be farmed IF done humanely), although not all of her followers closely adhere to this prohibition.

The Resplendent Order

Thara encourages her followers to strive for beauty, perfection, and order in everything they do, and if your best isn’t perfect, keep trying. Have standards for the way you live and seek to meet or exceed those standards. People in society see beauty as a way of worshiping Thara. Beautiful things are revered and sometimes seen as sacred. The blessed of Thara have their disfigurations mended and prowess in the art of physical love. Thara’s temples are designed with perfect symmetry using clean, geometric shapes.

Way of Wisdom

The Storyteller, Veleda decrees that there are two great pursuits in life: acquiring knowledge and passing knowledge to others. These processes are two sides of the same coin. Teaching leads to knowledge, and knowledge leads to teaching. The Sacred Teacher values knowledge but also favors those who can use it. Ignorance, stupidity, and mental inflexibility are not tolerated by this goddess and she tasks her adherents with correcting such traits where they are found. Dementia and forgetfulness are signs of her displeasure.

Other Forms of Religion

Ancestor Worship

Alhadi, Scholar of Adar

Ancestor worship is the belief that your ancestors are both dead and present. Because they are still present, you must honor your ancestors. Their actions are your actions and your actions are their actions. Positive function = Respect for your elders and your history. Negative function = Pollution, has your ancestor murdered anyone... they have polluted you, and you will have to fix this pollution.

Dead God Worship

Some people worship dead gods, honoring what was rather than what is, lest the past be forgotten and its mistakes are repeated.

Demi-God Worship

Because sometimes the children of gods get uppity and want their very OWN followers! Due to the laws put in place by Adar at the end of the Age of Conflict, there have been no demi-gods born in thousands of years….supposedly.

“False Idol” worship

Angels, demons, devils, dragons, elder evils, and fathomless creatures live in the world and can capture the hearts and minds of adherents. This is often the path to covenant magic or accidentally joining an evil cult.
There are also mortals who have convinced others of their divinity, even though they’re not actually divine. The most prominent example of this is Rexism, the state religion of Rhosia. Adherents of this faith believe that the Rhosian monarch is a living god. The monarch is sovereign by divine right and deserves the nation’s worship. Rexists believe that when they die, a portion of their spirit remains with the god-king and therefore strengthens the nation as a whole.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Related Historical Events

• 5000
  Rising Faithful