Ancient Ones

The Ancient Ones is a set of beliefs that was common throughout Tamaris before Orromy. It was a polytheistic religion with a primary pantheon of twelve gods and several more local and minor deities. The belief in the Ancient Ones lent the world its name with Honia being the goddess of the world, Drelana was her sister and moon goddess, and Tamaris was Honia's husband and the name for the world the people inhabit. Many believe that the first people believed in the Ancient Ones when they came to Tamaris, but such details have been lost to the sands of time. Some people still believe in the Ancient Ones, and many people in rural areas still give thanks to the gods and believe in folk myths surrounding them. Ritual sacrifice is an important part of worship. Similar to saints, the gods all have different attributes and personalities, and followers of each god try to live like their preferred deity. Some deities are aggressive and warlike with the Druzh Clan in particular having been known for worshipping Naksos, the patron god for conquest. Temples were once common throughout Tamaris with priests and priestesses being in direct communication with the deities. Festivals honored the gods, and worship and reverence affected many aspects of daily life. Erea, the goddess of the home, was particularly important to most people. Most homes kept a token of crossed twigs hanging over the main doorway to receive her protection, and bits of incense were added to the hearth daily as a form of sacrifice. The gods were seen as able to impact the lives of ordinary people, and various cults sprang up around people claiming to be a god incarnate. Most deities were depicted with some symbol whether it be an animal, plant, or object. Those symbols featured heavily in worship from becoming literal sacrifices to being woven as designs into clothing or people carrying around small trinkets depicting the deity's symbol. It was a way to unify worship even when the exact names of the deities tended to vary across the country. The gods promoted personal fame and fortune, and many of the myths surrounding them depict competitions and heroic acts. The community was an important part of their beliefs, and the people were largely tribal in nature. Certain festivals encouraged fraternity with outsiders, and the deity of travel was always associated with good hospitality. However, most people lived in a tight knit group of people who spoke the same dialect and lived in the same area. Even the petty kingdoms tended to be insular, and skirmishes with other groups was common.