Erenic Pantheon
Dominant religion of Menerem, brought to the continent with its first settlers. The pantheon is named for its preeminent deity, Eren the Lifegiver.
Origin Myth
Erenic legend holds that the world was created by the Elemet, unfeeling beings of immense power that condensed streams of dust together to form the sun and the planets, including Menerem's planet, Ankora. The Elemet then moved on to other worlds and suns and left Ankora behind under the care of Eren, whom they created from a portion of their own forms.
Eren had been blessed with the ability to use her own lifeforce to spawn new entities. First, she divided herself into nine parts, each with a large portion of her power but with their own identities. These became the first gods which together founded the Erenic Pantheon.
Next she imbued the world she was bound to serve with a large but diffuse portion of her lifeforce. Spread out as thoroughly as it was, it took many millenia for this investiture to spawn life as it is now known. The Erenic pantheon watched as flora and fauna gained life, advanced, collapsed and repeated, but this time was a blip to immortal beings.
Eventually, intelligent life manifested, exciting the gods. They watched and found they had a desire to influence the new mortal beings, each in their own way. They also emulated their new worshipers, finding they could have their own children and adding to their numbers.
Prosperity on Menerem
The earliest settlers on Menerem were mostly followers of the Erenic Pantheon, with a sect of worshippers of the Court of War being the only exception. As these settlers thrived and spread across the continent they brought their religion with them.
A collection of priests and their followers settled on the eastern coast to form the holy land of Ullran where the gods held ultimate authority. This nation holds the high temples and ranking clergy for each god of the pantheon. Most spectacular is the Grand Cathedral of Derines, a martyred follower of Eren. This massive, elaborate building is the most famous temple and is dedicated to the worship of the pantheon as a whole rather than to any one deity.
Schism
The Erenic Pantheon is on the verge of having a formal breaking of worship between two factions since the fall of Torr and the ascendancy of Isen and Angreal. The central church hierarchy in Ullran reject worship of the new gods, declaring their deicide to be sacrilege. The high temple for Isen is located in the Graveless Halls and Angreal's is in Penrook, making them the only two to have the centers of their worship outside of Ullran.
While church leaders in Ullran vehemently oppose the new gods, they have found much more support outside of the theocracy. Both national leaders and common people appreciate the decreased threat from undead since Torr's fall and their role in averting the threat of the demon army is well-known. Church leaders in other nations are in a precarious position, torn between supporting their elders in Ullran and their flock. Increasingly the needs of their people is taking precedence and there are early calls to formally break away from Ullran's authority.
- Eren, goddess of life
- Kertann, god of nature
- Yerra, goddess of warriors
- Hyun, goddess of travelers
- Amarra, goddess of magic
- Farilon, god of crafting
- Jaskel, god of thieves
- Iomeen, goddess of law
- Rentam, god of wisdom
- Omesh, god of the sun
- Kam, deity of night and the moon
- Lerris, god of the arts
- Xema, goddess of the wilds
- Angreal, goddess of death
- Isen, god of undeath
- Torr, deceased god of death
Comments