The Church of the Pantheon

The Church of the Pantheon is the world-spanning religion of the world of Torandielle. There are seven deities worshiped in this church: Tesser, the Primordial God of Space, Tempus, the Primordial Goddess of Time, and their children, Deus, the God of the Earth, Ex, the God of the Sea, Mach, the God of the Sky, and the twin goddesses, Ina, the Goddess of Life, and Eva, the Goddess of Death. While almost everyone believes in and reveres all seven gods, outside of certain events, it's rare for people to actively worship and pray to more than one at a time. People pray to a specific god for a specific thing. For example, if someone were taking a sea voyage, they would pray to Ex, the God of the Sea, for a safe trip. A farmer would pray to Ina for a good crop. So, the Church of the Pantheon is an umbrella term for the church as a whole, with seven sub-churches under it, one dedicated to each of the seven gods.  The Church of the Pantheon, and each of its sub-churches, are not beholden to any local government, and as such, the decisions of the higher members of the clergy cannot be overruled by and ruler outside the church.  The only person who has the authority to overrule the decisions, edicts, or ceremonies made by any member of the church is the leader of the Church of the Pantheon, the Grand Bishop.

Mythology & Lore

Before the world began, there were two Primordial Gods.  Tesser, the God of Space, and his wife, Tempus, the Goddess of Time.  Together, they set out to create a world.  They drew matter together and formed a hard sphere and called it earth.  Tempus then gave birth to a son, who they named Deus, who altered the surface of the sphere and made it less uniform.  Tempus and Tesser gave him dominion over the Earth.  The Two Primordial Gods gathered new matter and wrapped it all around the sphere of earth.  Tempus gave birth to another son, and he was given the name Ex, who moved the water, so there were many stretches of bare earth, with vast plains of water and many small bodies of water meandering across the land.  Tempus and Tesser gave him dominion over the Sea.  The Two Primordial Gods collected the last of the matter, and found that it was far less than the ones before, and so spread it out thinly over the surface of the earth and water.  Tempus gave birth to one more son, who was named Mach, and he stirred the gasses, creating great winds and storms.  Tempus and Tesser gave him dominion over the Air.  The Two Primordial Gods looked at their new world, and saw that it was still barren.  So they mixed water from the sea with dust from the earth, and breathed air from the sky into it to create life, in the forms of plants, animals, and people.  Tempus gave birth one final time, this time to two daughters, who they named Ina and Eva.  Ina touched the new life forms on the new planet, and they began to multiply and diversify, creating new variations among the different kinds of life.  Tempus and Tesser gave her dominion over Life.  Eva smiled at the new planet and loved it, until one small animal fell down and hurt itself very badly.  She took the tiny life and held it tenderly, and, to ease its suffering, she drew its spirit from its broken body and kept and cared for it.  Tempus and Tesser gave her dominion over Death, to care for the spirits of all once they stop living.  Their work complete, Tesser and Tempus left this new world to their children, going off to build another.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Deities

• Deus, the god of Earth
• Eva, mother goddess of Death
• Ex, god of the Sea
• Ina, mother goddess of Life
• Mach, god of the Sky
• Tempus, the Primordial Goddess of Time
• Tesser, the Primordial God of Space