The Pantheon of the Twelve-Gods
The pantheon of the Twelve-Gods is a modern religion created and spread by humans and therefore one of the most influential pantheons in Alendia. It is known and acknowledged throughout most parts of the New World, especially in Ephea, Lusitania, Durarin, and Neu-Tiakis. It is a simplification of the pantheon of Faerun and other old classical pantheons, containing twelve main gods, each representing an important part of the mortal life. The antagonist of the Twelve-Gods is The Nameless.
While the Twelve-Gods' main concept and their meanings do not differ, some minor details and practices might vary in a cultural or regional sense. The pantheon bases on creatures, which once lived (or still live) on Alendia and only ascended after their death or were raised to godly beings. Because of many different stories, myths, and tales the exact appearance of those creatures can not be determined (for details, look up Paragraph Disputes and Disagreements).
At the same time the Twelve-Gods represent the calendar, which is established in the whole known world of Alendia:
In times of the Four Quarter Pantheon, some churches, especially chapels close to the war front, were mainly visited by soldiers, generals, and war clerics, praying for Gwenths protection in an upcoming fight asking to keep the souls of the fallen comrades safe. With that, these churches were indirectly and later officially dedicated to Gwenth and serve nowadays as a sacred place for Clerics, soldiers, and sometimes even paladins. Despite Gwenth being the goddess of war, her churches are a peaceful place, just like all other churches and temples, but the worship and services differ a lot.
The last of the three churches is the church of Saytho, the goddess of peace, to balance out the church of Gwenth. It's the youngest of the three churches and is often seen as the church of life and peace. Especially expectant mothers or parents of a newborn ask for Saytho's blessings to raise their child in peace and freedom. Sometimes the church of Saytho is also called the church of Turis, because peace, fertility, family, and friendship overlapping each other a lot.
Yaldin's temples are generally inspired by the underwater temples of the tritons, worshipping multiple different gods of the sea. Yaldin's temples are often found near the coast or on islands and serve as a place for adventurers, travelers, fishermen, and seafarers to pray and serve the sea and air patron.
The temples of Melandru are inspired by the traditional elvish nature temples. The buildings are rather simple and plain and many of them can be found outside of big cities, in forests, or even out in the open field. The number of temple workers and clerics for each temple is very small but enough to maintain and preserve the sacred places.
There are also individuals in Alendia, which take it a step further and deny the godly power of the Twelve-Gods. The existence might be proven, yet they do not believe, that these creatures ascended to godly beings after their death. Most of the time they believe in other forces, like the forces of nature and elements, the forces of ancestors, the forces of chaos and order, or simply the power of the gods of the old pantheon.
- Talvin: God of winter and the hunt
- Saytho: Goddess of peace and fertility
- Phex: God of thieves and merchants
- Melandru: Goddess of nature and agriculture
- Fjorm: God of smiths
- Bea: Goddess of love
- Rondra: Godfather, God of justice and the sun
- Gwenth: Goddess of war and thunder
- Yaldin: God of air, water, and the sea
- Turis: Goddess of family and friendship
- Ker: Goddess of death and the sleep
- Gruxva: Goddess of science and art
History
It took multiple years, even decades and centuries until the Twelve-Gods' pantheon was completed. In 9717 b. BF, due to the outstanding achievements of Rondra, the successful ongoing war against the orcs, the conquest of Ephea, the growth of the human empire, and the great adventures and monster hunts, the Humans start to see Rondra not just as a creator and leader, but as a godly being and savior. Although Rondra does not accept the title of a god, the humans see him as such, treating him as a chosen of the gods. After he died 9054 b. BF, the humans switch the official religion from the old gods to a strict monotheism with Rondra as diety andThe Nameless as his antagonist.Four Quarter Pantheon
The Humans adapted to the new religion, but still, they didn't like to have just one diety being responsible for everything, demanding to return to the old classification. King Secular, son of Rondra did not want to throw over the newly established religion and made a compromise in 8990 b. BF, preserving the honor of his father by adding three more creatures to the pantheon: Gwenth, Ker, and Talvin. All three were close allies with Rondra and played a major role in the orc wars. Nonetheless, they all were assumed as male human creatures, just like Rondra himself, and were classified differently:Half Pantheon
When Pritor, son of Secular, took over the throne with old age already, he wanted to make sure to eternize himself in the glorious history of the humans and expanded the pantheon even further. It was a hard task to find fitting persons, considering Secular or multiple different generals and heroes to fulfill this task, but after years of consideration in 8815 b. BF, Pritor decided to add Yaldin, who was known as one of Rondra's oldest friends, as the god of water and air, andPhex as the god of finesse and fun. With that, six gods formed the pantheon.Further expansions and changes
King Magnus, brother of Pritor, was known as a revolutionary and changer. In 8801 b. BF, he added Turis, Rondra's wife as the first female creature to the pantheon as the goddess of family and godmother. With that he set a clear sign to all mortals, taking the first step of gender equality in Alendia (which still hasn't been reached up until this day). He also added Saytho as the goddess of peace, creating a strong counterpoint to the rather aggressive classification of the former pantheon, and also added Fjorm as the god of craftsmen, for the first time dedicating a god to a group of humans, achieving the expected appreciation. Therefore Magnus changed the classification of Phex, dedicating him to the merchants. In 8796 b. BF the gender of Ker and Gwenth was corrected, since female gods finally were allowed in the pantheon, and Ker's classification was changed from loyalty to sleep and death. Due to a lucky coincidence in 8770 b. BF the journals of Rondra were found. With that, the humans gained further insights into Rondra's former life, arranged multiple different festivals and holidays on fitting historical events, and strengthen the whole cult around Rondra and the pantheon. In his journals, Rondra mentioned besides the already added dieties, two additional people: Melandru and Gruxva, which therefore have been added to the pantheon as well. With that the pantheon contained eleven gods and the nameless, completing the count of twelve, which was seen as a whole, completed number.Completion
In 8508 b. BF, King Daneb completed the pantheon of the Twelve-Gods by adding Bea as the goddess of love and wine. Bea herself had no personal relation to Rondra like all the other gods but was that important and influential, that she finally was raised to a diety. With that, multiple problems were solved. There finally was a diety for love, representing another calm loving part of human life, just like Turis and Saytho. Further, after dedicating gods to people of many different branches like hunters, soldiers, craftsmen, scientists, artists, merchants, and even peasants and thieves, there finally was a patron for landlords, hosts, and bartenders. Last but not least the perfection of the pantheon was completed, seeing the number twelve as completion and assigning the number 13 to The Nameless as the root of evil and chaos.Habits and Rituals
Despite all Twelve-Gods contributing a similar part to the pantheon, the habits behind things like church services or festivals differ a lot. There are different classifications and groupings of the gods, which might vary even regional. The most common division is the following:- The three churches
- The temple gods
- The free gods
The three churches
Most of the churches in Alendia are dedicated to Rondra, united under the The Church of the Sun, serving not just as a place for priests to pray, but actually as a location for the people to come together and celebrate their mutual belief. Since Rondra is not just the god of justice, but the most general god in the pantheon of the Twelve-Gods, people leave all kinds of prayers in his church and also use them to pray to the other gods.In times of the Four Quarter Pantheon, some churches, especially chapels close to the war front, were mainly visited by soldiers, generals, and war clerics, praying for Gwenths protection in an upcoming fight asking to keep the souls of the fallen comrades safe. With that, these churches were indirectly and later officially dedicated to Gwenth and serve nowadays as a sacred place for Clerics, soldiers, and sometimes even paladins. Despite Gwenth being the goddess of war, her churches are a peaceful place, just like all other churches and temples, but the worship and services differ a lot.
The last of the three churches is the church of Saytho, the goddess of peace, to balance out the church of Gwenth. It's the youngest of the three churches and is often seen as the church of life and peace. Especially expectant mothers or parents of a newborn ask for Saytho's blessings to raise their child in peace and freedom. Sometimes the church of Saytho is also called the church of Turis, because peace, fertility, family, and friendship overlapping each other a lot.
The temple gods
The two temple gods are Melandru and Yaldin. The concept of temples rather than churches was imported from other races. Originally it wasn't planned to construct temple-like buildings for any other gods than Rondra, Gwenth, and Saytho but the influence and meaning of Melandru and Yaldin was so large, that the communities of worshippers started to build these temples in a similar style to the temples of the old water and nature gods. To avoid blasphemy or any other further trouble with the official churches, they called those buildings temples and defined their only purpose as a location to pray to the assigned god. Church services in these temples are very rare and uncommon, especially in Ephea and Lusitania.Yaldin's temples are generally inspired by the underwater temples of the tritons, worshipping multiple different gods of the sea. Yaldin's temples are often found near the coast or on islands and serve as a place for adventurers, travelers, fishermen, and seafarers to pray and serve the sea and air patron.
The temples of Melandru are inspired by the traditional elvish nature temples. The buildings are rather simple and plain and many of them can be found outside of big cities, in forests, or even out in the open field. The number of temple workers and clerics for each temple is very small but enough to maintain and preserve the sacred places.
The free gods
The remaining gods have not been granted with temples or churches for the simple fact that most of them serve just as a patron and saint of certain groups of people. But some places are considered sacred homes of the gods; for example taverns and inns the home of Bea, the graveyards blessed by Ker, and workshops and smiths a place of Fjorm. If a merchant wishes to pray to Phex before a long dangerous journey, or a hunter asks for Talvin's guide on his bow, these people mostly use private chambers, potentially with a statue or image of the deity, or visit a church of Rondra for their prayers. Although there might not be an assigned building for the free gods, there are still communities and sometimes even priests or clerics of the free gods.The dark church
The dark church, also known under the name Ratchruch or 13th church is the church of The Nameless and a forbidden, illegal institution. The structures of this church seem chaotic, yet they are deep and undermine the united community of the Twelve-Gods. The church was founded and disguised as the first church of Ker, justifying debates and discussions about death and even chaos. The worshippers of the Nameless stay hidden and uncovered most of the time, believing that their patron will once enter Alendia again and change the whole world.Festivals and Celebrations
There are certain fixed holidays, some of them depending on either a great achievement in the world of Alendia or an important point in the life of one of the Twelve-Gods. The following list shows the official major holidays and/or festivals, celebrated in most parts of Alendia:| Name | Date | Description/Background |
|---|---|---|
| Day of the Great Victory | 27th of Melandru | On this date in 537 b. BF the human forces defeated the elderdragon Undead |
| Day of Wine | 6th of Bea | A festival to honor Bea, including excessive amounts of wine, music, and fun |
| Day of the Sun | 1st of Rondra | The day to celebrate Rondra's birth. This festival might last longer than just one day, depending on the location and culture |
| Day of Mercy | 15th of Rondra | A memorial day for all fallen victims in the great decimation in 6432 b. BF |
| Day of Liberation | 13th of Gwenth | A holiday celebrated almost everywhere in Alendia. It's the day of emperor Brimstone's Fall, resulting in the collapse of the Great Empire. Sometimes also named "Day of the Great Change" |
| Three Gods Festival | Last Sunday in Turis | A festival in late fall, honoring Saytho, Melandru, and Turis, thanking them for the successful harvests of the past year (see Thanksgiving) |
| Rondra's Ascension | 14th of Ker | The day of Rondra's death and ascension as the first of the Twelve-Gods. The most important holiday in the human empire |
| The dry days | 22nd of Gruxva till 21st of Talvin | In respect of Rondra's endurance of the dry desert in Tiakis for 30 days without food, water, and company, the humans endure a kind of a lent over 30 days. The most popular things to give up on are meat, alcohol, tobacco, or other kinds of luxury |
Disputes and Disagreements
While the existence of all twelve dieties and the Nameless is proven by former eyewitnesses, divine interventions, and countless stories and tales, there might show up some significant differences between the beliefs in different locations, due to multiple changes and potential misinformation about the gods. The most popular and official interpretation of the dieties is, that they all once were humans, some of them blessed to live much longer than other mortal creatures. The church of Rondra confirms this interpretation with the notes in Rondra's journals, but the race of the Twelve-Gods is quite a common point of contention. Some elves argue that Rondra was an elf, justifying their points with the fact that he lived for almost a millennium and his birth was multiple decades before the official birth of humans. There's also the assumption of Turis, Ker, and Melandru being elves for different reasons, mostly because of their inhumanly long lifespan. Meanwhile, the dwarves claim the goddess of war, Gwenth, and the god of the smiths, Fjorm to be dwarves. Both of these names appear in old sacred tales of the dwarven bloodline. There are many other attempts of different races to claim one of the dieties as one of them, for example, Yaldin is sometimes shown as a Triton because of his long residence in the Mitractulum, or Gruxva sometimes is seen as a Gnome, the so-said root of intelligence and science. Furthermore, the Nameless is sometimes illustrated as a tiefling, because of their supposed closeness to hell.There are also individuals in Alendia, which take it a step further and deny the godly power of the Twelve-Gods. The existence might be proven, yet they do not believe, that these creatures ascended to godly beings after their death. Most of the time they believe in other forces, like the forces of nature and elements, the forces of ancestors, the forces of chaos and order, or simply the power of the gods of the old pantheon.
The official and most common symbols of the Twelve-Gods and the symbol of the Nameless
by Lucimon
The alignment table of the Twelve-Gods and the Nameless
| Lawful | Neutral | Chaotic | |
| Good | Rondra | Gwenth, Talvin, Turis | Melandru |
| Neutral | Fjorm, Saytho | Bea, Ker, Gruxva, Yaldin | Phex |
| Evil | The Nameless | The Nameless |
