Religion and Spirituality in the Talhani Isles

A vast array of temples, churches, and holy sites can be found across the Talhani Isles. The older members of the Assembly brought with them their storied and ancient traditions, and the possibilities of a new, blank slate with which to share their views has attracted all sorts of minor and esoteric beliefs from Archaios to come and establish themselves in the Isles.

Common Religions

• Aonism. The "official" religion of the Haedian-sponsored colonies is the monotheistic institution of Aonism: the belief in an all-encompassing maternal Creator called Aon. Originally, it came about as disagreement over the fundamental nature of the divine trio of Triumvirism, but after The Extinction War, Aonism experienced something of a metamorphosis. Now, the faith is largely based around the teachings and ministry of Caelin, the mortal daughter of a human male and the Divine Mother Aon herself, who was said to have lived in the decades that followed the Collision and prophesied a new world of enlightenment of peace. As with many radical religious leaders, Caelin was eventually arrested by her enemies and sentenced to death, but starved herself before her jailers could execute her. Modern Aonists now follow a doctrine of repentance represented by cycles of fasting and feasting, believing that Caelin had transcended her mortal form with her hunger strike to reach out through the ages to share her enlightenment with all pious believers, and those who accept this will be welcomed into an eternal feast in the afterlife.
  
• Triumvirism. The church of Triumvirism is well beyond its golden age. Following the Extinction War and the rule of Orator Zandre Rama, the church's influence saw a major schism and a sharp decline. The 2nd Haedian Empire replaced it with Aonism as the official faith in the mid 1300s, but it remained as a minor religion into the modern age. Now, Fundamentalist Triumvirism is experiencing a resurgence specifically in the Talhani Isles thanks to their sponsored colony of Hengellen, whose temples and places of healing are a bastion for many attempting to eek out a living on the colonial frontier.
  
• Dualism. The philosophy of the equal and opposite deities of Fos and Dorcha is alive and well in the modern age, and has even supplanted Triumvirism as the second most followed faith in Archaios. In the Talhani Isles, Dualism is a relatively minor religion, with most of its practitioners residing in the colonies of the United Northern Realms located on the northern arm of Hatania. However, a few dualist temples can still be found scattered about the Isles.
  
• Palaxi Spiritualism. The dragonborn of the Palaxi don't venerate any particular deity in the classical sense. They have no pantheon of gods that personify a domain. Rather, their beliefs dictate that their immortal spirits add to something akin to a collective consciousness. In this regard, they do hold specific ancestors in high esteem as paragons of a particular domain. For example, a Palaxi cleric of the forge would invoke the name of Malda'l, a prolific armorer in her time who discovered the secrets of steel for the Palaxi.
  
• The Karrera Dyad. The kobold's most widely practiced faith has its roots in the distant past of their dragon-serving ancestors. They worship the two "elder dragons" Kirajud and Rahkunlok. The tenets of these two divine beasts bare some remarkable similarities to Fos and Dorcha of Dualism, with Kirajud representing chaos, destruction, corruption, and death, and Rahkunlok representing life, light, order, and law. Unlike Dualism, where practitioners venerate both deities equally and consider each a vital aspect of reality, the Karrera worship only Rahkunlok and view Kirajud as a vile being to be feared and warded off. Most Dyad ceremonies involve invoking the protection of Rahkunlok against Kirajud's trickery, deception, and wrath.
  
• The Elen'nar Obsequy. Once, the elves of the Elen'nar worshipped a vast and storied pantheon of many minor and major gods. However, something in their passed caused a great upheaval in their faith. Now, the Elen'nar believe their gods are dead and gone. But this does not mean they do not conduct religious ceremonies and rituals. Instead of celebrations and invoking power and influence from living gods, Elen'nar rituals are more akin to that of wakes, dirges, and funerals. The concepts of mourning, grief, acceptance, and self-fulfillment are core tenets of their spirituality. Clerics of the Elen'nar offer funeral rites to the dead gods of specific domains in order to invoke power from the domain itself. This act is both a means of honoring the dead god while also symbolizing the elves moving on and finding power within themselves.
  
• The Invokers. One of the most prominent mythologies of the natives of the Talhani Isles, the concept of the "Invokers" refers to an esoteric society of god-like creatures who once resided within the Isles in ages past. Followers of this faith believe that the Invokers ascended to a higher state of being and left behind the tools needed to follow in their paths. The followers of the Invokers seek out these clues in the hopes of either finding their own way to where the gods now reside or bringing them back into the material world.
  
• The Will of the Sea. One of the more esoteric of the "common" faiths of the Talhani Isles, there are those who dwell beneath the surface like Triton and Sea Elves who venerate the ocean itself as something of a living being unto itself. They do not consider it a "god" in the classical sense, nor as something that can be communicated with or reasoned with. Rather, those who follow the Will of the Sea seek enlightenment and direction from its currents, from its waves, and from the lesser creatures that inhabit it. Some believe that the Sea can be coaxed in certain directions or pleased or placated. Others believe it to be an unstoppable force that must be learned in order to safely navigate. Many consider it to be something akin to a Great Filter that delivers those that need it and drowns those that deserve it. Either way, those that venerate the Sea believe that one way or another, it will one day lead them to a greater tomorrow in this world or the next.


• Ba'shad Spiritualism. In a similar vein to the beliefs of the Palaxi, the orcs of the Ba'shad tribes pay deference to a multitude of spirits. Where they differ is that rather than the spirits of their ancestors, the orcs believe the natural world is inundated with spirits. These beings do not have proper names or identities, but are rather percieved as the intrinsic life-force and consciousness present in all things. Those few that still practice their shamanistic rituals channel specific domains of these spirits. These domains can be tactile like "forests," "open water," "fire," and "wildlife," or more abstract like "famine," "birth," "war," and "aging."
  

Minor Sects, Movements, and Cults

• Witnesses of Aevilok. A relatively new sect derived from the old Heralds of Aevilok. Their mantra is that after the Extinction War, Aevilok was either just narrowly averted or it occurred but the world was given a second chance: either way, the people of the world must become more penitent in order to stave off a permanent apocalypse. For now at least, it seems they lack the organization and influence throughout society their predecessors had, and make a point to distance themselves from the Heralds who "lost their way." Despite this, their affiliation with a group that caused such devastation in the past has caused most to dismiss them out of hand.
  
• the Church of Burning Night. Formed in the early 1200s by a self-proclaimed god of fire, the Church of Burning Night has persevered throughout the years as a small but persistent denomination that follows the tenets of fire: a primal element that sustains life as easily as it takes it. Like fire, it is their mission to spread as far and wide as possible and have seized the opportunity of a new frontier to spread the gospel word of Eladan, or Logira depending on who you ask.
  
• the Sisters of the Wandering Temple. There are many folktales that sprung up around the decades that followed the Collision and Reconstruction about a pair of benevolent wanderers who travelled throughout the land aiding those in need. Some say they brought with them a literal temple where those that needed it could receive rest, healing, and sustenance, though most people believe the temple was a symbolic element of the charity of these wanderers. Regardless, their legacy evolved into an entire philosophy and movement wherein followers go out into the world and offer any aid they can with no expectations of payment. Their crest invokes feelings of safety and comfort for all who recognize it, and despite their insistence on charity, they are often inundated with donations and tithes. Also, despite the name, members of any gender are welcome to take the creed.
  
• the Deep Dwellers. Beneath the surface of the waves of the Talhani Sea are diverse groups of aquatic civilizations: merfolk, triton, sea elves, and more. And all of them share an eerie similarity in their religious practices: all of their disparate faiths and practices make reference to "gods of the depths," entities that dwell beyond the continental shelves and in the deepest parts of the ocean. What's more, these entities are revered with the same awe and fear as a natural disaster like a hurricane or tsunami; not something to be worshipped and adulated, but something to prepare and watch out for. There is some overlap with the Deep Dwellers and the Invokers, with some suggesting that the two share some sort of link or may even be one and the same.