Faith of Stilow

Mythology & Lore

The entire history of Demiurges and Old Elves leads back to the formation of this religion. The Old Elves never considered the Demiurges to be the Gods, but Humans claim that the Demiurges were their ancestors, who were betrayed by the Old Elves. And all life form is the creation of Demiurges. This belief is seeded in the understanding of Demiurges' powers, and the claims that the Demiurges have made in records about being the first species in the world.

A painting of Serrasil, the Demiurge High Council head. Made by a Human.
The modern Elves don't believe Demiurges to be equivalent to the Gods, though they do feel sorry for their extinction at the hands of their ancestors. Since the early 2000s, during the Nomadic era, Humans started settling and sharing written knowledge amongst and outside their communities. This helped in spreading the word about the Demiurges and their sad demise. And so eventually communities began worshipping the Demiurges, specifically Stilow, the holiest of the Demiurges.
After word started spreading about Demiurges, Humans began mistreating Elves which led to the first War of the Races, where Orcs joined the Humans, and the Goblins joined the Elves. Eventually, the Goblins betrayed the Elves, and the Elves lost the war. But soon, through a diplomatic campaign, the Elves helped the Humans understand that the ones to extinguish the Demiurges were Old Elves, ancestors of the Modern Elves.

The First Battle of All Races

Divine Origins

Stilow the Pregnant.

It is said that when the Demiurges used to walk alongside the Elves, and before the Demiurges were slaughtered by the Elves, there was a secret union between the Demiurges and Elves. The Elven Prince Alred and the Demiurge Maiden Stilow were married below the Mountain of Alzar and copulated there. A month later Stilow was with child, but the Higher Council of Demiurges got news about the union. The Higher Council killed Stilow and the child in her womb for committing the highest form of sin according to the Council tenets. This enraged the Elven Emperor Scalanis, who then declared an eternal War on the Demiurges. A decade-long war eventually led to the slaughter of the Demiurges. The few that survived fled Aurora and got lost in the Sea.
After the war was over the Elven Prince Alred, went back to the Alzar mountain to bid farewell to Stilow and to bury her body amidst the Ice of Alzar. And 9 months after Stilow was buried in the Ice, the Alzar Mountain melted, flooding the city of Sylathfe. It is believed that Stilow's unborn child transformed into radiant energy, strong enough to melt a mountain. To this day, where the Alzar Mountain stood, lays a large body of warm water, from the melted mountain. The Besineas Lake. Named after the unborn child of Stilow.
Millenia later, when the knowledge of this radiance was comprehended by the Humans of the North, few claimed to have felt a radiance within them after they worshipped an idol of Stilow. When the Nortish Empire was formed, it established the Faith of Stilow as its Empire-wide religion.
Since the beginning of the Tranquility Era, the Nortish Empire was forced to adopt the Qomedhism religion, which has left only a few people still worshipping Stilow.

Prince Alred of the Elves.

Cosmological Views

Humans inherit the Demiurge beliefs about the creation of the world. According to the Demiurges, the world was created by Athos, the Creator. Athos created this world as a farm for his animals, but then he forgot about his animals when he left for the Forlorn Journey towards Eternity. The animals that he left in this world later evolved to become the Demiurges, Elves, Orcs, Goblins, Humans and other sentient beings.

May the Radiance be born anew from within us.

The Besineas Lake

Besineas is a freshwater lake west of Sylathfe, the capital of the Elven Kingdom of the same name. It is widely believed that where the lake lay now, there used to be a Snow Mountain. The Alzar Mountain. And one day suddenly the mountain melted and gave birth to the lake. Over the years, the water has cooled down, but it is still lukewarm to the touch even though the river that feeds into the lake brings Ice-cold water. Scholars have been trying to figure out a reason for its warmness, but no reason comes to fruition except for it being the home to Besineas, the Unborn child to Stilow. Besineas is also considered the God of Radiance.

A painting of the Besineas Lake.

The Son of Sun

Thousands of Humans within the Nortish Empire believe in the Spirit of the Sun and Arwel, the Son of the Sun. This heresy draws a lot from the Faith of Stilow, but instead of Stilow being the Radiant carrier, they believe that the Unborn child of Stilow, which they named Arwel, is the proper Radiant carrier.
This heresy believes that Arwel is the true son of the Sun, provider of life and water to the world.

Depiction of Arwel, the Son of the Sun.

Founding Date

Year 2452, Conflict Era

Alternative Names

Stilowism, Stilowistic Beliefs, The Faith of the Radiance

Demonym

Stilowists

Deities

• Besineas

Location

Drayband

Related Species

• Humans