Moonsong - Elven Religion
Elves have a different religious pantheon from humans. While they believe the other pantheon exists, they do not see them as "guiding" elfkind because they do not worship them back. There are 11 Gods and Goddesses that are the current elf Pantheon members. However, there are other minor gods and goddesses not covered.
In elvish belief, the world was torn apart into two groups of continents in what they mark as year 0 on the calendar. This was a titanic war between Gods, Demons, and unknowable beasts. The earth became unstable and each pantheon ordered their children to do something different to survive.1
To the Humans, their Gods blessed them with great perserverance, letting their towns hold strong with powerful foundations.2
To the Dwarves, their Gods blessed them with great stubbornness, letting them dig deep into the impenetrable mountains.
To the Orcs, their God blessed them with great endurance, letting them swim endlessly until they found dry land.
To the Centaurs, their Gods blessed them with great speed, letting them carry their homes right on their backs.
To the Hobgoblins, their Gods blessed them with great intellect, letting them know what lands would be untouched by war.
To the Giants, their Gods blessed them with great strength, letting them could weather the storm and fight alongside their masters.
To the Kobolds, their Masters carried them into the air, letting them look down upon the crisis that they would never know.3
To the goblins, their Gods disguised them, letting them hide amongst the other races and bask in the prosperity of the other Gods.
And to the Elves, their Gods gave them a mission, letting them sail upon great ships for a thousand years time.
For five hundred years, Elves and the races under their care were said to sail the high seas, caught in the endless storms and whirlpools that raged after The Collapse. Ships would go months battered by heavy winds only for a mere day to let the fleet out of the maelstrom. No end was in sight for these people until finally, the leader of this battered fleet; Iefyr began to sing a song out to Orearus the God of the moon. Every night he would call out pleas to the forgiving God of Knowledge to show them the path to dry land. For six long years, he would sing as they traversed out of the labarynth of storms until they appeared off the coast of the Old World. Iefyr would be hailed as a hero among his people and would become known as Iefyr the First, King of Moonsong. Over time, elves would begin to spread out across the continent, founding other nations and becoming their own cultures. Their legends would remain as such, but besides their tales of the great Maelstrom in the center of the ocean, their myths were mostly left in the background. Not forgotten, but far from relevant to society. Only Moonsong, considered the authority on the elven religion, cared what lie beyond the veil.
It would not be moonsong to discover the new world. Fear gripped the hearts of any elvish sailor to travel the seas. Instead, it would be a human explorer funded by gnomish merchants that would find these new lands. There was no sign of the great storm that had shook the fleet for hundreds of years. Instead, the seas were as choppy as any normal sea back home. Elves would begin to set up their own colonies in the New World, but roughly on pace with humans. Though they would make the discovery of dark elves, who, strangely enough said THEY were the ones who sailed for hundreds of years to find a new land. For both groups, their stories considered the other group lost forever to the void that was the sea. Both groups had a similar religion, sharing nearly all of the same patron Gods...save one.
It was only a matter of time before they found out. While Orearus had been the savior of the elves, he was not the leader of the Gods. That had been Halshef. For hundreds of years they had cried out to their God to carry them to safety but he did not respond. It had long been presumed they had been doing something to displease him, but the reason why had long been lost. Led by Drow guides, members of the Moonsong priesthood would learn the truth: Halshef had been dead all along. A divine ruin deep in the jungles of Venrir showed the priests visions of the past. Halshef battled some unknown entity, sword in hand. The two great beings clashed again and again, until finally each slew the other. He did not return, and all this time the prayers to him had been going to no one at all! It was at this point, the newest member of the elvish pantheon stepped into the field.
Eine was at the time a very minor goddess, only having a few towns and was practically starved of followers. Her worshippers were depicted often as greedy or cutthroat. It was only a matter of time before her people would abandon her, and she would starve to death. But Eine was ambitious. She saw the priests discover the ruins. So she decided to reach out to the current king of Moonsong, Iefyr the Eighth. She showed him the visions of Halshef being cut down and decided to make him an offer. She knew all of the priests of their religion would be called to Moonsong to make either Halshef's son Soat or Orearus the leader of the new pantheon. Instead, he should choose her. Iefyr had no children and was growing old. He was the last of his line and his great fear would be his people collapsing without his dynasty's guiding hand. Indeed, the period after his death would lead to a great crisis. One that could very well wipe out all descendants of Moonsong. In trade for becoming the head of the pantheon, she offered to give his people a champion who could lead them through it.
Seven months later, Iefyr would issue The Great Call, pronouncing Eine as the new head of their pantheon and that she had personally given him a divine vision for all people in her domain to travel to the new world in order to found a new Holy State of some sort. While not the only colony, Venrir was chosen due to its location and size, which would kick off a bonanza of colonists in the New World.
The head of the religion is tied into who holds the crown of the most powerful elf kingdom. Originally this was moonsong, and it has now become Venrir's to wield. While not holy initially, the current line of rulers of Venrir are suspected of being Eine's descendants that had been promised in Iefyr's bargain. Not all Gods are worshipped equally, but none are outlawed (even the evil ones). Each God or Goddess of the pantheon has their own organizational structure that ultimately is met by the current ruler of Venrir at the top. Therefore you might see a single city with 5 or 6 different bishops in it due to various realms overlapping between Gods. Generally, one has a central diety they worship though they may worship the others on the side for their specific traits.
In elvish belief, the world was torn apart into two groups of continents in what they mark as year 0 on the calendar. This was a titanic war between Gods, Demons, and unknowable beasts. The earth became unstable and each pantheon ordered their children to do something different to survive.1
To the Humans, their Gods blessed them with great perserverance, letting their towns hold strong with powerful foundations.2
To the Dwarves, their Gods blessed them with great stubbornness, letting them dig deep into the impenetrable mountains.
To the Orcs, their God blessed them with great endurance, letting them swim endlessly until they found dry land.
To the Centaurs, their Gods blessed them with great speed, letting them carry their homes right on their backs.
To the Hobgoblins, their Gods blessed them with great intellect, letting them know what lands would be untouched by war.
To the Giants, their Gods blessed them with great strength, letting them could weather the storm and fight alongside their masters.
To the Kobolds, their Masters carried them into the air, letting them look down upon the crisis that they would never know.3
To the goblins, their Gods disguised them, letting them hide amongst the other races and bask in the prosperity of the other Gods.
And to the Elves, their Gods gave them a mission, letting them sail upon great ships for a thousand years time.
The Great Voyage
For five hundred years, Elves and the races under their care were said to sail the high seas, caught in the endless storms and whirlpools that raged after The Collapse. Ships would go months battered by heavy winds only for a mere day to let the fleet out of the maelstrom. No end was in sight for these people until finally, the leader of this battered fleet; Iefyr began to sing a song out to Orearus the God of the moon. Every night he would call out pleas to the forgiving God of Knowledge to show them the path to dry land. For six long years, he would sing as they traversed out of the labarynth of storms until they appeared off the coast of the Old World. Iefyr would be hailed as a hero among his people and would become known as Iefyr the First, King of Moonsong. Over time, elves would begin to spread out across the continent, founding other nations and becoming their own cultures. Their legends would remain as such, but besides their tales of the great Maelstrom in the center of the ocean, their myths were mostly left in the background. Not forgotten, but far from relevant to society. Only Moonsong, considered the authority on the elven religion, cared what lie beyond the veil.
Discovery!
It would not be moonsong to discover the new world. Fear gripped the hearts of any elvish sailor to travel the seas. Instead, it would be a human explorer funded by gnomish merchants that would find these new lands. There was no sign of the great storm that had shook the fleet for hundreds of years. Instead, the seas were as choppy as any normal sea back home. Elves would begin to set up their own colonies in the New World, but roughly on pace with humans. Though they would make the discovery of dark elves, who, strangely enough said THEY were the ones who sailed for hundreds of years to find a new land. For both groups, their stories considered the other group lost forever to the void that was the sea. Both groups had a similar religion, sharing nearly all of the same patron Gods...save one.
The Great Call
It was only a matter of time before they found out. While Orearus had been the savior of the elves, he was not the leader of the Gods. That had been Halshef. For hundreds of years they had cried out to their God to carry them to safety but he did not respond. It had long been presumed they had been doing something to displease him, but the reason why had long been lost. Led by Drow guides, members of the Moonsong priesthood would learn the truth: Halshef had been dead all along. A divine ruin deep in the jungles of Venrir showed the priests visions of the past. Halshef battled some unknown entity, sword in hand. The two great beings clashed again and again, until finally each slew the other. He did not return, and all this time the prayers to him had been going to no one at all! It was at this point, the newest member of the elvish pantheon stepped into the field.
Eine was at the time a very minor goddess, only having a few towns and was practically starved of followers. Her worshippers were depicted often as greedy or cutthroat. It was only a matter of time before her people would abandon her, and she would starve to death. But Eine was ambitious. She saw the priests discover the ruins. So she decided to reach out to the current king of Moonsong, Iefyr the Eighth. She showed him the visions of Halshef being cut down and decided to make him an offer. She knew all of the priests of their religion would be called to Moonsong to make either Halshef's son Soat or Orearus the leader of the new pantheon. Instead, he should choose her. Iefyr had no children and was growing old. He was the last of his line and his great fear would be his people collapsing without his dynasty's guiding hand. Indeed, the period after his death would lead to a great crisis. One that could very well wipe out all descendants of Moonsong. In trade for becoming the head of the pantheon, she offered to give his people a champion who could lead them through it.
Seven months later, Iefyr would issue The Great Call, pronouncing Eine as the new head of their pantheon and that she had personally given him a divine vision for all people in her domain to travel to the new world in order to found a new Holy State of some sort. While not the only colony, Venrir was chosen due to its location and size, which would kick off a bonanza of colonists in the New World.
Organization
The head of the religion is tied into who holds the crown of the most powerful elf kingdom. Originally this was moonsong, and it has now become Venrir's to wield. While not holy initially, the current line of rulers of Venrir are suspected of being Eine's descendants that had been promised in Iefyr's bargain. Not all Gods are worshipped equally, but none are outlawed (even the evil ones). Each God or Goddess of the pantheon has their own organizational structure that ultimately is met by the current ruler of Venrir at the top. Therefore you might see a single city with 5 or 6 different bishops in it due to various realms overlapping between Gods. Generally, one has a central diety they worship though they may worship the others on the side for their specific traits.
Comments