Temple of Helle

The Temple of Helle is the major religion of the Draconians, and therefore one of the largest religions in the world. It is centralized on the Tamd Peninsula, outside of the Village where its namesake comes from. The major Domains of the religion are Greed, Envy, Improvement, Draconians, and Chromatic Dragons.

The Gilded Hall

The Temple itself is made of pure gold, from the bottom to top. Helle herself has stated that she wishes for it to shine bright enough that every Draconian in the land can gaze upon it and envy their Goddess. That always they will have her in their thoughts, both in reverence and in jealousy.

The Treasure Horde

Many say that Dragons horde treasure, and while many do, this legend actually comes from Helle and her temple. They say everything Helle has ever craved or desired lies inside of her Temple, with a small path allowing for people to walk through the halls being surrounded by piles and piles of things.
There is gold, magical items, even people kept preserved for Helle's own greed and pleasure, not wanting them to die until she no longer wants them.
Helle is so envious of others that she does not even want people to see her treasure. She feels that those that see it will want to steal it, and while she does want to foster envy, she feels it is better to leave it up to people's imaginations. That way, they will never be able to truly get her treasure, only thinking about it. Few people are allowed into the Temple, only Priests and those she blesses personally. Still, even they have limited viewing of her treasure, which is part of why one of her Mightems is a Blindfold.

Origins of the Church

Helle herself built the Gilded Hall with gold that she stole from Hadur, the God of the Dwarves. She built it in slight mockery and slight jealousy of the growing city of Camor, the Golden Capital of the Elves. Some say that the Temple was the inspiration for Camor, with the Elven Goddess Selene stealing Helle's design, while others say it was reversed. When it comes to two jealous Goddesses, however... there can be no definitive answer. There is a high chance that both just liked the idea of golden structures.

Selene by Jarhed

Helle had no followers for some time. After all, for most of Totania's existence, the only living being was the Golden Dragon Lord, Kath the Eternal, created by Helle's twin brother Phrixus. However, Helle made the second, out of a desire to surpass her brother. She did not want to use metal, after all, she was the one who got all of the shiny things. So instead, she used the color spectrum to make her Dragons, beginning with Red. Making one of the most powerful beings in creation: Zome, Lord of the Red. The First Chromatic Dragon, a destructive Red Beast.
Zome was the first follower of Helle, and the other Chromatic Dragons followed suit. They spread around the world, though some stayed nearby to Helle in their own domains, such as the sea or the Uncharted Desert. All of them wished to stay close to their mother. Their creator. Their Goddess.

Creation of the Draconians

Helle watched as the first Humanoid race was made with Selene's Elves, followed by Nergal's Orcs, Tohil's Goblins, and Hadur's Dwarves. She had been kept out of the loop about The Giant Kingdom, not even aware that it had been destroyed because they knew she would have done something to it.
Seeing these four Humanoid races, Helle wanted to make something similar. But she found that Phrixus had united the Gods and convinced them all to make a law, that she could not make a new Humanoid race. Any race she made would be subject to immediate destruction by the combined force of every God. They would not live to see a second day.
However, Helle had a way around this. After all, this was a law made by Phrixus, her idiot of a brother. So she made an egg in the Valley of Creation, what is now Bortan. The Gods were going to destroy it when a Dragon hatched from it. Helle argued that there was no law against creating what she had already made, and they agreed. However, as time went on, it did not grow into a Dragon, but a humanoid with Draconic features. A Draconian. As did the many other eggs she began making, which began to grow into a civilization.
Phrixus was ready to strike them down, but Helle argued that she broke no law. If so, the Draconians would not have lived to see another day. However, she had only made what she made before, for she revealed that the very first Draconian was struck down by a God. She killed them herself. But the Gods had told her there was no law against making something she had already made. So the other Draconians had to be granted the right to live.

Helle by Jarhed

Phrixus and Helle: Twin Gods

Helle has an immortal enemy who opposes her Church, this being her very own twin brother Phrixus, the God of Justice, Nobility, Protection, and Metallic Dragons. An opposite to the Greedy, Envious, and Evil Helle in every way possible.
Phrixus dislikes Helle's methods, saying that they are evil and exploitative of her own people. He wishes to help her people see the light and that his sister only intends for their destruction. Yet he still loves his sister, as she is the only family that he has, so he refuses to ever directly engage in battle with her.
Instead, Phrixus tries to change the beliefs of other Draconians so that they believe in him and follow his religion, believing that they'll be better off under his supervision. He had his greatest and first follower, Kath the Eternal convert some of Draconian Territory, though ultimately only the Village of Bortan converted to Phrixus's faith.
Helle, however, preaches that Phrixus's religion is a sham that is trying to steal her work, though in truth she is always wanting everything that Phrixus has. After all, she is the Goddess of Greed and Envy.
Whether she has any love for her brother or not is unknown. Most Draconians say that if she did not, she would have never let him live as long as she has, while others say that Phrixus is exponentially stronger than Helle and that she could never take him on even if she tried. Ultimately, Helle challenges her brother with his known weakness: Challenges of the Mind.

Phrixus by Jarhed

The Gods agreed, with Phrixus backing off from conflict for some time. The Draconians then founded Bortan and followed Helle as their Goddess, as the Chromatic Dragons did.

Janus by Jarhed

Draconian Schism

However, there was still the Metallic Dragon Kath, who lived in what would one day be Zephys. He followed Phrixus, and knew that Helle intended no good with her Draconians. So he wished to convert them. He would tell the Draconians stories of Phrixus and his justice.
Many Draconians were convinced, while others still believed in the Great Mother Helle. Eventually, the believers were exiled to a place that would become the Village Evity. Helle offered them an incentive to come with her to Evity: Knowledge of Magic, something the Goddess Mayowa had given to Draconians on Helle's request. Draconians had one of the strongest connections to Magic, only rivaled at that time by Elves.
Eventually, more Villages would be founded that worshipped Helle. Here are all Villages that follow Helle (including villages that no longer exist), even if they also officially worship a secondary God or Goddess.

• Evity
• Tamd
• Dembar
• Yirthum (Partial)
• Ealla (Partial)
• Erdenn (Destroyed)
• Erra (Destroyed)
• Denn (Destroyed)
• Ilder
• Waire

Banishment

Helle committed a grand sin. There came a time when the Gods were banished from Totania, cornered off into their Temples and Heavenly Realms. Still, Helle meddled in her physical body, finding a way around it. Janus had also done the same thing, yet he was protected by Ishtar, who refused to allow him to be punished for this.
Helle, however, was under the watchful gaze of her protective twin. And Phrixus would not let her break the Gods just laws. So he asked Satanael to hold Helle in Hell for a few Hundred years. She was banished in the year -420, where she gained control over Manhottan and its commerce. After all, she was greedy.

Satanael by Jarhed

Satanael even promoted Helle to the rank of Devil President, saying that he admired her drive and power. Helle, however, did not stop at just that title. She was still hungry for more, still filled with Greed and still Envious of Satanael. So she decided that she would take that, too.
Helle launched a full-scale invasion of Satanael's layer of Hell with the intent of stealing everything he had. Satanael could not have that. He was the God of Trade, Business, and other such things. So this left Satanael with no choice. He had been given no specific time as to when Helle would be allowed back into Heaven. So in the year -15, he returned her to Totania.
There are many that attribute the calamities of the next few decades to Helle. The following years resulted in the creation of Humanity (which no God claimed responsibility for), the Dreamless Sleep, and the ascension of the Orc Amukk to Godhood. Helle has only openly claimed responsibility for helping Amukk kill the Nameless God. Everything else Helle says she wishes she did. Still, her followers will gladly say it was thanks to her re-ascension that Totania became the way it is today. Hell on Earth.

Teachings

The Temple of Helle has a Holy Text, known as "Gixic" or Claws in Draconic. Gixic is often sold as regional variants, with small design differences depending on where one buys it. Tamd covers are often Green, Evity Black, Yirthum Yellow, Ealla Blue, and Dembar White. In Zephys and other locations, the cover is a rainbow to show her Chromatic accomplishments. In this book, Helle explains everything her religion stands for. Its domains, beliefs, and morals.

Greed

The teachings of Helle say that Greed is a necessity for life. Greed is equal to want, and want is what one needs to gain. Therefore, one must want to breathe, one must want to live, one must want to thrive. This, by Helle's definition, is Greed. This is why it is natural to worship Helle, for it is natural to Greed.
However, Helle worship also is often about excess Greed. One must always want more, desire to reach higher heights and gain better things. Those with the most Greed are those that Helle blesses. Therefore, it is only those people whose Greed grants them such a great desire as to enter her Temple that are then allowed in. However, if their Greed turns them against Helle in any way, including attempting to steal her things, she will not hesitate to kill them with every Godly power she has.
It is why those that speak to Helle also get a quest. A simple quest that requires absolute loyalty to Helle. This quest is that Helle will ask for them to get five to ten items for her. She knows the exact specifications of what she's asking, whether it be a certain amount of gold, a person, a relic, or a magical item. Therefore, she also knows if someone is stealing from her, and will respond by immediately killing them if they do so. If not, she often rewards them with a Blessing of some sort.

Envy

Envy is, like Greed, a double-edged sword. Helle teaches that one must envy to improve, that if one is not comparing themselves to all around them, they are failing to notice that there is always someone above them that they can strive to surpass and become better than. She says even the Gods are fair game, as seen with her goading of Amukk to kill the Nameless God.
She especially encourages Envy towards herself, saying that she is the model of perfection and that all should Envy her. Still, she points out that she is always improving, always gaining, and always becoming a better Helle. That is equal to how much her treasure horde grows. With each piece of treasure, she says, she becomes better and more worthy of Envy. Still, no one can see her treasure, as all worship is done outside of the Temple, merely looking at it but never entering.
Yet there is no being as Envious as her in any realm in existence. For Helle lives a decadent lifestyle filled with the greatest treasures.

Improvement

Helle teaches that one can always improve, that growth is always within reach and that one must never believe they are complete. To Helle, there is no complete, there is always something beyond the horizon, a you that you can still attain if you work towards it.
This is considered the best domain of Helle, at least to those that do not follow her, for it has no inherently negative pieces to it, at least on face value. As one gets further into the idea, especially as it relates to Helle herself, there are ways it can gain negative connotations, but many follow Helle for the positives of Improvement.

Vornush Wrakris by Jarhed

The Conceptual Helle

The Conceptual Helle is an idea in Gixic that says that one does not need to worship Helle. It tells that Helle only cares for her followers as a concept unless they make themselves something special to her, something worth being in her collection. So if they wish to worship her, it is best instead for them to worship the concept of Helle, and instead to envy the real being that rules above them in Heaven.

Priesthood

Priests of Helle are those with desire equal to those of Helle herself. The greediest, most envious Draconians to ever live. However, they also require one thing. Utter devotion to Helle. They must not only have immense Greed and Envy, but be willing to use this solely for the purpose of Helle. They are taught that Helle's treasures are theirs as well, as long as they continue to work for her.
The Head Priest is always someone who Helle considers her truest equal. Someone who she sees as being able to carry her religion, even in the event of her banishment again. Someone who can fill the role of a Conceptual Helle if necessary. Someone who can do Helle's bidding without her orders. This current Head Priest is Vornush Wrakris, a man so Greedy that he has stolen even any thought anyone has of who he was before he became Head Priest.

World Court Ties

The World Court is the legislative body of Totania, making and enforcing the laws. They ask for cooperation of all religions in their International Prosperity League, and the Temple of Helle often agrees.
Vornush Wrakris made the Temple of Helle indespensible to the World Court, acting as their enforcer and their eyes to see the world when their people barely know much about it. Many lower ranking World Court officials will look on in envy and say that the Temple of Helle, and Wrakris specifically, hold the second highest position in the World Court, behind the Judges themselves. Some even say that Wrakris controls the Judges themselves. This is a stretch. He doesn't need control, after all, to fulfill his Greed. That's just icing on the top of an already delicious cake.

Judge Omicron by Jarhed

The World Court wants Justice, which is normally the role of Phrixus. However, Helle has insisted that Phrixus's Justice is biased, that it does not favor the commonfolk and only his Draconians. She says that she, being Greedy and wanting everything, as well as Envious and seeing everything else as better, is the true egalitarian. That she views everyone as equally worth taking and equally better, and therefore she knows how to keep balance with them.
The World Court likes this idea, as Phrixus's Justice was often against the idea of conquering the world or even controlling it in any way. Phrixus would often say that the World Court should stick simply to making and enforcing laws, and leave the rule to the people. Helle, instead, says tht the World Court should take it for themselves. If they make the laws, they are basically in control anyway.
Helle has another goal with her affiliation with the World Court, specifically in how she portrays Justice. She helped ascend Amukk to Godhood, and has used him as a proxy. Amukk worship is, in many ways, just Helle worship with a nicer front. She even calls him God of Justice, even though that domain is actually Phrixus's. She hopes not only to transfer that domain over from Phrixus to Amukk, but to remove all of her brother's domains.
Helle wishes to use the World Court to overthrow Phrixus and destroy his very worship, because she has always been envious of his worship from the Bortanians, the original Draconians. She wants not only to have the Valley of Creation back, but to have all of her people. With all of her people, and with no brother in the way, she can begin to take her Greediest goal yet:

Totania Itself.