The Seven and their Cults
The Seven are the chief deities of Aressa: Creation, Destruction, Life, Seer, Secrecy, Seldag, and Bemalonc.
Mythology & Lore
The Seven are the gods of the entire world; individual beings with incredible power, who created the world and oversee its function. Some of them take different forms (called Aspects by the learned) among different peoples or in different legends, but they are all Aspects of the same seven deities.
In the beginning, Creation and Destruction struggled in the Void. Whatever Creation did, Destruction undid soon after. Worlds uncounted rose from nothingness, only to be shattered into dust in moments.
Eventually from this chaos arose a third god: Life. Its appearance shocked Creation and Destruction, leading them to stop their struggles. Together, the three gods created the world as it is now, their ranks grown by two more gods from outside the world and two more from within it. These Seven Deities formed the Divine Pact, an agreement among themselves not to destroy the world and the Life within it, but to resolve their disputes through it instead, and created the mortal races to do so.
However, the mortals were unintentionally created with free will. Blessed with the gift of thought, they refused to be the servants of the Seven, and in ages long past rejected them as tyrants. After many struggles, the Seven reconciled with the mortals, becoming their caretakers and teachers rather than masters, so long as their secrets were kept by the devoted cults.
Tenets of Faith
The only consistent law of the Seven is that they interact only with their clerics. Mortal worshipers leave small offerings with their local priests, who cast spells and perform rituals for the good of their community.
Creation's priests teach that craftsmen and inventors, and those who support them, fulfill divine roles. The designing of art, tools, and weapons is seen as Creation working through the mortal crafter, and these clerics use their magic to aid in forging, woodcutting, carpentry, masonry, and other such tasks.
Destruction is almost never worshiped openly, except by the orcs, but attracts the nihilistic, arrogant, or desperate to its cult. Clerics of Destruction use their magic to curse, wither, and destroy, for which they are outlawed and hunted down by the Kingdoms.
Life has the most widespread cult. Its priests include wandering healers and some sages, but most of them are local wise men: healers who perform the rituals to bring rain and bountiful harvests. Life's clerics are sworn to protect life in all its many forms, and some cults take an oath of pacifism.
Seer has a great following among the merchants of Aressa, who seek her blessing on their risky endeavors. Her cults attempt to divine the future, making them incredibly valuable; however, divination is difficult, and its results are often unclear and easily misinterpreted. For this reason, most of her cults are reluctant to give prophesy, only doing so in times of great need.
Secrecy is, like Destruction, never worshiped openly, but it has many more priests. The clerics of Secrecy can be found almost anywhere in Aressa, but only if you know where to look. Secrecy's cults value remaining disguised, acting in secret, and sometimes misleading others, using their magic to hide themselves and their actions. Those who seek them out have a difficult search ahead, but most cults consider this effort holy and require no offerings once they are found.
Seldag is worshiped by judges and investigators seeking the truth, as well as gravekeepers. Her cults aid the suffering, reveal the truth, and destroy the undead. They also perform rituals related to the passing of time, such as keeping winters mild and short.
Bemalonc is venerated by all those who deal with war. His cults resemble military companies in their strict hierarchy, and often serve as mercenaries. Clerics of Bemalonc use their magic solely for war, though whether to destroy the enemy, construct fortifications, create supplies, or heal the wounded varies with the cult.
Priesthood
All seven priesthoods operate as mystery cults, keeping their inner workings and rituals secret from the common people. Those who wish to become a cleric (called petitioners) must seek out a cult of their chosen god, spending years in study of its legends and portfolio or in service to the current priests. Once the petitioner is judged ready (the requirements for which vary between cults of the same god, not to mention between gods), they are set a personal task reflective of the god's values. If they are successful, the current priests ritually present the new cleric to their god, during the course of which presentation the new cleric is granted magic for the first time.
Sects
Each and every cult could be called a sect in its own right, but there are some cults of the Seven whose practices differ so extremely that they are considered separate beliefs from the rest.
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