Faith in Sydonia and the North
Sydonian faith centers around the worship of Woden, along with a handful of minor gods. In the north, Thor is chief among the gods but the northmen have a more personal relationship with the gods and choose one of them to be their patron god.
The principle deities of the Sydonian faith are (and their names in the north):
Wōden/Odin: King of the Sydonian gods and god of wisdom and wanderers.
Tiw/Tyr: Son of Woden and god of war and justice.
Thunor/Thor: Another son of Woden and god of thunder.
Bældæg/Baldr: Son of Woden, god of valor and champion of mankind.
Frig/Frigga: Wife of Woden and goddess of prophecy and motherhood.
Ing/Freyja: Sister of Ingwi and goddess of good harvests and peace.
Ingwi/Freyr: Brother of Ing and God of good weather and fertility.
Lopt/Loki: God of mischief and trickery.
Hama/Heimdall: Watchman of the gods, god of scouts and guardians.
Minor and/or forgotten gods include:
Sithel/Sól: Goddess of the sun and sister of Mone.
Mone/Máni: God of the moon and brother of Sithel.
The gods live in realms hanging off the branches of a massive tree called Eormensȳl (Yggdrassil in the north) or "the world tree". The people of Sydonia believe that the mortal world itself sits atop one of these branches.
The tribes of the north worship the same gods, but call them by different names. Each have their own creation myths (
Sydonia and
The North).
Sydonian faith is very centralized, with the church of woden being the official faith of the kingdom. The Allsherjargoði serves as the head of faith, and governs the church of woden in Dragonwatch. Hofgoði govern regions of Sydonia, usually from major cities like Arlenport, Southport, and Seawatch. The Goði serve as individual priests of the faith. The beliefs of the church of woden center around the idea that Woden sacrificed himself upon the world tree Eormensȳl (by hanging for 9 days by the neck) to learn arcane magic and deliver it to the Sydonians of Dragon's End (as the chosen people of Woden). All other gods are secondary to Woden, who rules eternally in the realm of Ōsgeard. The heaven of Valhalla is reserved for those who live without sin, while those who commit the worst sins (murder, theft, deceit, witchcraft, blasphemy...) are banished to Hell.
Faith in the north is individualistic and personal. Vikingr choose a patron god during a coming-of-age ceremony called Siðfesta. They believe that all the gods have a purpose and a place in the world, and revere all of them equally. But their patron god is the one with whose beliefs and virtues they most align. Thor is the most popular god in the north, having fought the giants back to Niflheim to pave the way for the coming of mankind. The Vikingr do not congregate in specific places of worship like the Sydonians (except outside the north, where they may build venerated woodlands or stone circles called Hörgr), instead preferring to worship the gods through their actions in the world. A fisherman might pray to Thor for a good catch, while a farmer may pray to Freyr for a good harvest. Human sacrifice was once part of the Vikingr faith, until the practice was outlawed following their alliance with Sydonia against the orc hordes of the badlands. The northmen believe Valhǫll is reserved for those who die in glorious battle, and that Hel is the realm of the dishonored dead.
Other Faiths in Sydonia
If Halflings had a faith before they encountered the humans of Sydonia, it has long since been forgotten. They have adopted the gods of Sydonia, specifically worshipping Ing above all others.
Rock gnomes' faith (those of which who have a faith) varies between Dwarven faith (for those still living among the dwarves) and Sydonian faith.
Half-orcs and dragonborn are some of the only races who absolutely know their origins. As such, they tend to stray from most religions. Half-orcs have adopted ancestor worship, while Dragonborn have fierce atheistic tendencies. Religious dragon born tend to worship gods who align with their own virtues, though many choose to worship the dragon goddesses Tiamat or Bahamut rather than Sydonian or Elven gods.
The church of the one mind is a recent creation, preaching that the world was thought into existance by a being known as the overmind. Their clerics practice psionics.
The cult of Tiamat is also a recent creation, worshipping the dragon queen Tiamat as the rightful goddess of Sydonia and the one who gave Old Sydonians the gift of magic.
Faith in the Marble Isle
The followers of Ekoros abandoned the gods of their Sydonian ancestors when they reached the Marble Isle, choosing instead to follow the gods of the native populace. The primary gods include:
Ourios: King of the gods and god of the skies and thunder.
Moneta: Queen of the gods and the goddess of marriage, women, childbirth and family.
Damaios: God of the seas, water, storms, hurricanes, earthquakes and horses.
Thesmia: Goddess of the harvest, fertility, agriculture, nature and the seasons.
Hellotia: Goddess of wisdom, handicraft, and warfare.
Phoebus: God of light, the Sun, prophecy, philosophy, archery, truth, inspiration, poetry, music, arts, manly beauty, medicine, healing, and plague.
Isora: Goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, virginity, the Moon, archery, childbirth, protection and plague.
Areios: God of war, violence, bloodshed and manly virtues.
Ourania: Goddess of love, pleasure, passion, procreation, fertility, beauty and desire.
Khalkeús: Master blacksmith and craftsman of the gods; god of the forge, craftsmanship, invention, fire and volcanoes.
Dolios: Messenger of the gods; god of travel, commerce, communication, borders, eloquence, diplomacy, thieves, and games. He was also the guide of dead souls.
Hegetes: god of the dead and the king of the underworld.
The Ancient people of the Marble Isle believed that in the beginning, the world was in a state of nothingness which they called Chaos. Suddenly, from light, came Gaia (Mother Earth) and from her came Uranus (the sky) along with other old gods (called primordials) . Gaia and Uranus had 12 children, the Titans. The most important of the 12 children were Kronos and Rhea.
Gaia also gave birth to to the cyclops and the hundred-handed-ones. Uranus, disgusted by the monsters, threw them in the dark realm of Tartarus. Gaia, angered by Uranus, sought revenge on him. Kronos answered his mother's call for vengeance and slew Uranus, severing his genitals and throwing them into the sea. From the foam of his genitals came the goddess of love and beauty—Ourania. Wherever his blood dripped onto the world came monsters and giants.
Kronos married his sister Rhea and gave birth to 6 children. Kronos, who was afraid of a prophecy delivered to him long ago (which stated that one day his children would slay him), swallowed each of them as they were born. Rhea, unwilling to see all of he progeny devoured, saved Ourios and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. Ourios was raised by a goat named Amaltheia, in a mountain cave located in the Marble Isle. When Ourios was old enough, he tricked Kronos into drinking a mixture of wine and mustard. Kronos vomited up the rest of his children, who, being immortal, had been growing up completely undigested in Kronos' stomach. Ourios and his siblings then warred against the Titans for eons. Ourios proved victorious with the help of the hundred handed ones and the cyclops. With Kronos vanquished, Ourios cut Kronos into pieces and threw them into Tartarus. The remaining titans were imprisoned in Tartarus.
Ourios was from then on the leader of the gods and took up his seat on mount Olympus, Damaios took over the oceans and Hegetes took over the Underworld. Ourios married his sister Moneta and crowned her Queen of Olympus.
The titan Prometheus, who did not fight against the gods and was sparred imprisonment, was tasked by Ourios to create man. Prometheus shaped man out of mud, and Hellotia breathed life into the clay figure. Prometheus made man stand upright as the gods did and gave him fire.
Faith of the Elves and the Great Wood
While the elves revere nature above all, they do follow a pantheon of gods who they attribute certain aspects of nature to
Amaethon: God of Husbandry, Agriculture, and Luck.
Arawn: God of the Underworld, Terror, Revenge, unnatural death and War. Also known as Alanor (worshipped by the orcs).
Arianrhod: Goddess of Air, Reincarnation, Full Moons, and Retribution
Blodeuwedd: Goddess of Wisdom, Moon Mysteries, and Initiations.
Cerridwen: Goddess of the Moon
Don: Goddess of the Heavens, Air, Sea, and the sun.
Gwynn Ap Nudd: God of natural death.
Myrrdin: God of Druids, Magic, and Sorcery.
The elves believe that the world was sung into existence by the gods, and that the discordant song of Arawn is to blame for all that is evil and corrupt in the world. They see the fey who have guided their development as manifestations of the gods on Arlyss. Due to the secrecy of the druids and their oral history, very little has been written about the creation myths of the Elves.
Forest gnomes follow the same religious practices as the elves.
Faith of the Dwarves
While dwarves appear in the Sydonian faith, the dwarves do not believe their origins to be linked with those of the humans. The principle gods of the Dwarven pantheon are a trio of gods representing the most important aspects of Dwarven society:
Grimni, god of war and battle
Úri, god of craft
Alviss, god of wisdom
Dwarves do all things in the name of one of these gods, and attribute their creation and the creation of the world to the combined efforts of the divine trio. They believe that they were formed from the stone of the mountains, their eyes formed from glittering gemstones and their hearts from the fires of underground volcanoes. Everything the dwarves do, they do with the passion and intensity befitting their origins. Whatever craft they take up rivals that of any other, and whatever enemies come before them must be destroyed utterly. In Grimni's name they do battle, wielding the weapons of Úri and the wisdom of Alviss.
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