The Helmanir Faith

The faith of the Seven realms

Before there was the world-tree, all that was was a great burrow made out of ston and earth. Noting grew in this burrow, in it was only the giant Mimer.
Alone in the dark the giant slept and dreamed about a world beyond his dark, cold and wet burrow. Whit his hands he shaped a seed.
Into this seed, did he whisper all of his dreams.
He whispered of man, animal, bird, fish and mighty beast.
He whispered of green fields, deep seas, tall mountains and a endless sky.
He whispered of love, hate, sorrow and gladness.
When he had filled the seed whit all of his power, will and desires, he planted it in the earth.
For one hundred years he watered the seed whit his tears, blood and sweat. And the seed toke root and started to grow into a mighty tree.
In the heart of the tree grow the realm of Helmhiem. There the first of mortal man was born out of the clay of the sea.
In the trees west crown grow the realm of Vallaheim. There Bölverk was born out of the eternal fire and Bertha was born out of the well of life.
At the trees north root the great seas of Jornheims spred. There Njord was born out of the deep of the seas.
At the trees east root the nameless dug out the realm of Nidlanheim. There in the dark of the underworld Angrboda was born out of the bones of death.
In the trees south crown grow the realm of Grimheim. There among fire breathing gray mountains Grimdal was born out of the lava.
While all of this happened Mimer sat by the trees northwest root and sang his praise to his creation. The burrow, he had reformed whit his song to Muulgaheim.
Those was the world created and when it was done Mimer did smile and lay down to sleep and dream once more.

/The saga about the creation of the world according to the Helmanir faith

The Helmanir faith is one of the oldest of human religions. It could well predate human ancestor worship or have it's roots in a common faith now forgotten. The reason many believe this to the the case is because of human ancestor worship and the Helmanir share many ideas about the nature of the cosmos. Such as the holiness of Viras Trees, a faith common in all faiths where the Helmanir or ancestor worship once held sway.
Both faiths also do not hold one set of morality above another. That is left to the individual gods or great ancestors to claim. This claims are not seen as absolute truths, in fact there are no absolute truths in either faith. Those the most common philosophical stance of this faith is the words spoken by countless shamans when asked what the gods want their people to do:

All paths lead nowhere, and everywhere! So it is not the path but how you walk it!

Which means that the gods and the cosmos do not care what we mortals do, as long as we do it well. As long as we follow the paths we chose and fight for what we give meaning the gods will be pleased.

Mythology & Lore

When speaking of the mythology of the Helmanir the one thing most note is that there are not one, or two but three clans of gods. Many gods also shift their allegiance from myth to myth. They are in a word, just as complex as mortals. The gods of the Helmanars all serve their own personal motivations and are often not what we mortals would call moral.
One thing is however clear. The three clans often come into conflict whit one another. As is evident in most of the myths of the faith. There are many myths that handle the origins of all mortal races, as well as natural phenomena and the nature of magic. But among this there are five greater sagas. This sagas, involve nearly all of the gods and center around conflicts between the clans of the gods.

The Five Sagas

(Coming soon)

Bölverks and Berthas Jarls Journeys

(Coming soon)

The Murder of Mimer

(Coming soon)

The Hunting of Utgarda

(Coming soon)

The Great Moot of the Gods

(Coming soon)

The Clans of the gods

Bölingar

This are the gods and goddess's loyal to Bölverk. They are most often seen as the gods of law and honor* . They ruled Vallaheim and are at constant war whit their great rivals the Utgaalar.

Utgaalar

This are the gods and goddess's that follow Utgarda. They are most often seen as the gods of chaos and betrayal**. They dwell in Nidlanheim and are at constant war whit their great rivals the Bölingar.

Vanheims

Lastly there are the Vanheims. They are the gods of nature and the wild. Many of them embody aspects of nature. In most cases they do not pick sides in the other clans conflicts. They mostly just stay to their roles and only when provoked act against other gods or mortals.
* The Orkhamans see them as tyrants and dark overlords.
** The Orkhamas see them as the gods of freedom and strength.

Divine Origins

The origin of this faith is lost to time. According to itself, the first mortals to worship the gods where elves and dwarfs. And they did so in the earliest days of the age of gods. A time period set before recorded human history. The claim that elves and dwarfs once worshiped the gods of the Helmanir is odd. As the dwarfs doubt that their kind ever worshiped anything but their own ancestors and the Earth.
And the elves dismiss this claims as human delusions. Yet there are some similarity between the first faith of man and the Elven Pantheon.

Cosmological Views

The Helmanars believe that the cosmos is made up out of seven realms. All of which are real places one could physically go to once. Because when Bölverk tried to make himself master over all magic he killed the creator god Mimer and boiled his blood. Form that blood a strange mist rose and covered all the paths in between the realms.Those only the dead and the gods can pass from one realm to another.

Helmhiem

The mortal world and home of man kind, in short our world. Interestingly all other mortals that live in our world did not come from this world. It is said to be placed at the very heart of the world-tree and all other worlds are today hidden behind the Mist of the world-tree.

Vallaheim

Home of the Bölingar clan. Seen by most believers as the realm of the gods. It is also the home-world of the elves according to Helmanir myths. It is located in the west crown of the world-tree.

Jornheim

All the oceans of the cosmos is a part of Jornhaim. It is home to the sea-god Njord and his sea-folk. It is located at the world-trees northern root.

Nidlanheim

The dark underworld, where the cursed dead come after death. It is home to the Utgaalar clan. Birth place of Angrboda and the dragon race. It is located at the world-trees eastern root.

Grimheim

A world of mountains, snow and fire. It is the birthplace of Grimdal, the dwarfs, giants and all metal-works. It is located in the world-trees southern crown.

Muulgaheim

The great green valley, this is where the blessed dead come after death. It is the root of all creation and is ruled by the skull of Mimer. It is located at the northwestren root of the world-tree.

The Mist

The realm of dreams that was created after Bölverk murdered Mimer. It is believed that when Bölverk boiled Mimers blood to make it in to a soup that would grant the greedy god power over all magic a mist formed over the cauldron. In this mist the spirit of Mimer escaped and those the Mist that border all the realms where created.

Ethics

Unlike most other faiths the Helmanir faith has no ethical beliefs. The faith is instead focused on the result of actions and the power of those whom act. The Helmanars look at things whit out any moral lenses, and only see how things effect the world. The concept of evil is somewhat unknown to this believers. Which might be why some followers of this faith condemn the god Utgarda and others praise it.

Worship

Helmanars are dependent on their clan shamans when it comes to worship. It is the role of the clan shaman, or shamans, to seek the voice of the god or gods the members of the clan wish to commune whit. It is also the shamans place to preform any and all sacrifice's to the gods. What is given up in sacrifice, as well as how it is done, depend on which god the shaman is meant to honor.
But the most common type of sacrifice is livestock or pets. Cows, pigs, sheep, horses, dogs, cats and falcons are among the most common of animal given to the gods. In times of great need it happens that even mortals are given to the gods. To be sacrificed is seen as a great honor by the faithful Helmanars. All this gifts to the gods are meant to bring luck and prosperity to a clan or nation. If a person wants something of the gods he, or she, most give up something of their own body.

Rituals

When it comes to rituals there are not that many. There is the coming of age ritual, married and the burning and mourning of the dead. All of which are simpel and to the point. There is a fourth ritual that helmlanders preform. But this ritual seams to be more bound to that culture then the faith as their are one records of the Imperatoria ever preforming this rit, even tho they shared this faith.

Coming of age

The coming of age rit is simply giving the 13 year old child the task of hunting down and killing a beast of the wild alone. After which the clan shaman, or a parent, paints the child's face whit the dead animals blood. Marking them to be a adult. This rit was abandoned in most of the Old Empire that worshiped the Helmanir faith until it converted to Baltazarism.

Married

In this ritual a man and women* go before the clan shaman and promise to be faithful to one another before the gods of there choice. Once the two have sworn to love and aid one another the shaman binds the couples hands together whit a strip of leather inscribed whit holy runes. For the married to take full effect to couple most go to bed whit one another completely naked, and the leather strip that bind their hands most be the last ting they remove.

The burning of the dead

The dead of the clan are taken home whenever this can be done. Then their body will be put on a pyre whit a number of items placed around their heads. What this items are depend on which god they saw as their patron in life. As this items will lead them to their god. Once all are in place the pyre is lit by the closest kin of the dead. The family of the dead is then meant to stand watch over the pyre until it burns out after which they are meant to put the ashes of said pyre on their faces. The ashes are meant to remain on the mourners faces for at least five days.
* Or two people of the same gender. As the Halmanir faith does not condemn homosexuality.

All paths lead nowhere, and everywhere! So it is not the path but how you walk it!

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Demonym

Helmanars

Subsidiary Organizations

• The Bölingar
• The Utgaalar
• The Vanheims

Related Ethnicities

• Helmlanders
• Imperatoria
• Lionatrians
• Orkhamans
• Pale Helms