Sundamar
The Divine protector
Sundamar is the god that fights the exraplanar horrors, often portrayed as the strongest of gods. According to common mythology, they are the first god of Afira, created by Ayrsorth to protect the planet. Their worship is accepted and common across Afira, and their plces of worship, Ethmel circles, are prominent in many towns. However, the worship of Sundamar has been declining rapidly, as monsters that they supposedly banished reappear across Afira.
Divine Domains
Sundamar is a god of protection against the unnatral and safety. One might invoke Sundamars name when trying to ward off a monster. However, prayers to Sundamar are uncommon, and it is belived that it is best to save invokation of their name when it is absolutly nessisary, to avoid distracting them while they fight the titans of the void.
As the Thing rounded the corner, I turned around to meet the stare of it's central eye, and murmured "Sundamar, save me". As the thing crept foward, I felt a pounce was immenent, but did not have the strenght to flee. Suddenly, a change came over the creature, and as the sun peaked over the horizon, it turned and fled.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
The symbol of Sundamar is a symbolized sun and moon interposed on a shield. This signifies their protection of Afira, from where the sun rises to where the moon sets. Like their name, Sundamar's symbol is to be used sparingly; most people do not own one, not even priest can own more then one of it, holy buildings are spairing it it's use, and Ethmel circles, the main place of worship never display it. This precedent is being reversed by the order of Ilasar, and as it gains power displying one is no longer a taboo.
Myths of Sundamar
The creation of Afira
Mylzruroth, a thing of shells, mantibles, and claws, with one great eye set upon its head, and a smaller one positioned above, dwelled in the void unchallenged for an untold length of time. The arrival of Ayrsorth , the first god, changed that. The duel between them was long, but even as Mylzruroth clamped Ayrsorth with mandibles of stone, Ayrsorth charred Mylzruroth with holy fire. After a battle of twelve days, Ayrsorth was victorious.
Mylzruroth left behind his heir, Afira, in the form of an egg. For all their power, Ayrsorth could not destroy it. They assigned their son, Sundamar, to guard the egg. Then they carved all manner of creature from Mylzruroths corpse. From the legs they created the swift Lazic, The sturdy Makosh came from the carapace, the strong Tearum from the muscle, and so forth until they created all animal life. Lastly, they created Humanoids from the brain of Mylzruroth. Then to provide light for their creations, they set the great eye in the void near the Egg-world, which came to be called Afira after the unborn horror inside, to circle it for eternity. Following this, they placed the second smaller eye as its counterpart.
the myh of the borer
Myth of the borer
Important in their religion is the tale of the Borer. As the legend goes, once from the void decended a powerful horror. Using powerful heat magic to melt through rock, as well as its mighty claws, it began to work through the shell of the egg. This created a crack across the whole of Afira, and the magical backlash caused havoc for surronding areas, leaving a lifeless wasteland everywhere within 10 miles of the growing chasm. However, this did not escape the notice of Sundamar, who stormed down and distroyed the Borer. As powerful as it ws, it did not stand a chance against a god. Then, working powerful divine magic, Sundamar killed or sealed away monsters with similer power, leaving Humanity to florish unthreatened.Worship
Sundamar is worshiped at Ethmel circles, circles of standing stones. Each circle Consists of 6 stones in a circle, with the east pair and west pair connected with a mantlepiece, forming a doorway. The circles are designed so that, at sunrise, the first sliver of the rising sun is framed in one, and the setting moon is framed in the other. A larger rock is erected in the center, pointing skywards. This signifies the size of their domain; Sundamar protects from the moon to the upper reaches of the heavens to the sun.As I approached Aresdon, one feature stood out to me; above the rooves of the city, atop a great pedistal, stood an Ethmel circle. Its huge gold-coated stones gleamed in the sunlight, and it's central pillar reached higher then the city's towers.Worship happens in circles, worshipers sitting back to the center-stone and radiating outwards. This signifies the sun, which is part of Sundamar's holy symbol. Participants will recite a prayer, asking Sundamar for safety.
Children
The rise of Sundamar's worship
At the time of the Borer, communities near the battle saw Sundamar, and were worshipful. They preserved their religion by word of mouth for centuries, until the year of falling stars, and spread the religion as they spread.In the year of the falling stars, an abundance of meteor showers and a complete solar eclipse heralded the apperance of a host of creatures from the void. Over the corse of that year, a multitude of small town disappeared, and sightings of monstrosities were plentiful. In fear, humanity turned to Sundamar, who was already popular.
Sure enough, sightings of the horrors began to dissapear, and worship of Sundamar became the uncontested dominant religion, and stayed until to present day.
The fall of Sundamar's worship
In recent times, some of the horrors that Sundamar supposedly defeated have reappeared, calling into question power and benevolence of Sundamar. The main branch of Sundamars worship is rapidly loosing popularity, and sects like the order of Ilasan are gaining popularity. However worship most commonly being replaced by worship of the voice.The Order of Ilasan
Sundamar needs strength; even they cannot hold back the tide of monstrosities that stream from the void. It is our job to help them; we must suport Sundamar, and give what we have, instead of ignoring the signs of our own approaching distruction. They need help, and we are the only one who can give it to them. No cost is greater then what we would loose if we did not pay!The order of Ilasan belives that the strength of gods is mesured in worshipers they have aquired, and sacrifices made. Livestock sacrifices are common, and they make a huge recruiting effort, but find limited success because of their reputation as an extreme cult-like sect. However, as the situation has gotten worse, they have been gaining in popularity, as people seek for an active role in preventing the emergance of the titans. Additionally, as the order has gained power, governments have lost it in in struggles against the titans. This allows them to resort to greater measures unhindered; namely, ritualistic human sacrifice.
-Ofren Thagro, Head of the order