Church of the Grand Trampler
Official Church of Freyja, the Grand Trampler
Mythology & Lore
Though it is a fresh and recent church, the Church of the Grand Trampler teaches a rich mythology that tells of the Great Divine War, a war between the Gods that was kicked off when Freyja, The Grand Trampler herself, furious with the misdeeds committed against her and her followers in The Jotunhunts...and in a horrific act that her followers believe was justified, attacked The Dwarven Pantheon and executed Thrym, The Powderlord in a brutal display of power. Furious at the death of a god, the Major Gods rallied and went to war against her and The Giant Pantheon for the first Divine War in eons.
As the war escalated, Freyja continued to grow and grow in power as her followers the Dai-Yukai expanded, conquered the entire Dwarven Gordrix Empire...and from there, Freyja's faith only began to rocket in influence, reach, and power. With the entire underground empire of the Dwarves now in Giant Hands, Freyja's followers had access to trade routes that led across The Shattered Corridor and into The Eastern Imperium...now to mention trade routes that led to the north into The Wild Lands and south into The Sultanate of Malthri...and with these routes, the faith of Freyja spread far and wide and underwent such a fantastic renaissance that as The Divine War raged in the Outer Planes, Freyja's might grew so superior to normal Minor Gods that she was simply unable to be destroyed by the Major Gods who warred against her. The Grand Trampler was so mighty that it was all that Ruthger and the other Major Gods could do was to hold her and her allies at bay, as each day her followers renewed her power and vigor with sacrifices and overwhelming faith.
And in time, as the war raged on Freyja's cause only strengthened as new Gods and Goddesses rose and appeared at her side...as Aurgelmir, The Powderqueen rose from the corpse of Thrym, The Powderlord and the burgeoning faith in her as the Giants now began to forge and smelt with the stolen Dwarven techniques captured from the former Gordrix Emprie, as Hela, The Soulthirster rose beside her as the ruler of the Giant underworld who now threatened every living and dead Dwarven soul in existence, threatening to steal them away into her clutches and torment them for an eternity unless they were protected after death. And once Brokkr, The Lord of Labor rose from a grievous near-fatal injury dealt to Isla Rhona, The Deepdiver by Aurgelmir, The Powderqueen, Freyja's power reached it's tremendous Zenith as The Eastern Imperium, happy with Freyja's faith and seeing promise in it, ratified it as an approved national religion just as her following exploded in the brutal Deserts of The Sultanate of Malthri.
Her power restored, Freyja was so mighty that she ascended to become a Major God...as a Goddess of not only Battle but also Survival, she was unstoppable. And once the former Divine Realm of the Giant Gods, Asgard, returned to life in response to her power and Freyja became the new divine font for the True Lightning which Thor, The Stormson was once so feared, her ascension was all but unavoidable.
Divine Origins
The Church of the Grand Trampler traces its roots all the way back to the original Giant Kingdom that once covered all of Frozen Spire Island eons ago...back then, Freyja was a much gentler Goddess, one of love, sex, beauty, gold, and war, she was the wife of Odin, The Lord of the Hanged, the then-lord of the The Giant Pantheon. However, during the brutality of The Jotunhunts, she witnessed her husband slain and gutted before her very eyes by Moradin, The Allfather, and her pantheon crumbled around her...even the Immortal Baldr, The Unbroken could not escape death...and thus, Freyja remained as the sole leader of a shattered pantheon.
Surviving and enduring as a darker and more brutal Goddess who now burned with furious vengeance for the fate of her divine family and followers, Freyja's faith then became the patron faith of the dozens of scattered Giant tribes all across Ea in the world's darkest and most secluded corners...her followers' isolation and unwillingness to interact with civilization kept her a small and weak Goddess...it was not until recently as her faithful invaded the Dwarven Underground Empire of Gordrix that her faith exploded into popularity and the public eye and shot across the world.
Cosmological Views
The Church of the Grand Trampler believes that they came into being thanks to the divine will of Odin, The Lord of the Hanged, who was the first of The Giant Pantheon to appear after the death of Atlas, The Ineffable...with his wisdom and power they believe he settled on the infant Ea and gave birth to all Giantkind, and the original Titans in the days of yore which all Giants are descended from. In time, his divine children came into being and the giants fragmented into dozens of different kinds thanks to the sparks of creation in their chests leftover from the Titans which let them adapt to their new homes.
Tenets of Faith
Never forget and never forgive. Always repay wrongs done to you, your ancestors, or your allies in blood.
Foster the flames of Vengeance. Seek out and assist the spurned and the slighted, and teach them how to get revenge on those who wronged them.
Break and Brutalize. Torture and savage your enemies at every opportunity, and never leave an enemy capable or willing of challenging you or your allies ever again.
Conquer and Crush. Seek conflict and carnage, and throw yourself into both. Never turn down a chance to test yourself in a worthy arena and proudly display your victories at every opportunity.
Survival at any Cost. Take any means to survival for yourself or others no matter the cost, and let this imperative be your only truth - all beings, if they be strong enough to claim it, shall have the right to try to claim this truth.
Ethics
The Church of the Grand Trampler is primarily driven by the simple creed of survival and victory. They must endure anything at any cost, and they regularly train themselves to endure any and all attacks and hardships...after all, they believe that none are useful when dead, so to stay alive longer is to be more useful and more loyal to their Goddess.
Similarly, the faithful are all unified in their burning desire to spread Freyja's name to all, and to impress the awesome power of the storm and of True Lightning on all they meet. The storm is paramount, as is lightning and thunder, and they often believe in using it as their preferred means of killing foes...however, many of the faithful also rigidly adhered to a belief and practice of keeping others safe during extreme storms and during True Lightning storms, a unique practice many believe is at odds with their beliefs. However, it is not...they rigidly adhere to this practice, for they believe that by protecting those within a storm and all that comes with them, they impress the awesome power of their faith upon their charges, and thus spread Freyja's name further. Therefore, the faithful can often be found serving as guards for caravans and travelers going through dangerous weather and terrible storms, and for towns and other locations during terrible weather-based catastrophes...for the more that survive, the more that will remember Freyja's name and feel awe and wonder at her name.
The faithful also heavily believe in saving and assisting those that have been stricken down, the Spurned, Slighted, and the Victimized...though not for any goodly motives. Nay, the faithful seek these creatures out to get them back on their feet and teach them the meaning of vengeance, often training them and giving them the tools to take a brutal and bloody revenge on those who wronged them.
Above all else, the faithful believe no act is more pious than the elimination of one's enemies...but primarily in a way that ensures they will never rise again to challenge them. The exact means of this are a hot topic of debate amongst the Faithful, but generally involve maiming, torture, or some other method to ensure they never wish to challenge them again...likewise, outright killing one's foes is seen as a sin, and something that is never acceptable unless in only the most extreme circumstances. Better to let their enemies live, they believe, in unending agony rather than kill them.
Finally, the faithful also are avid and deadly believers in repaying debts and grudges and slights a thousandfold...so much so that they keep detailed records going back centuries of all who have slighted them or their members, and will often strike back at the descendants and distant allies of a target centuries after their death, though exactly when a debt should be let go is a topic of some debate among the faithful.
Worship
The main way her followers pay homage to Freyja is survival. Often, prayers and rituals to her name involve self-flagellation or self beating or mutilation, or enduring some other dangerous attack or thing that proves their durability and ability to survive. Besides survival, for her followers that are large enough, a common act of prayer is trampling upon a smaller creature beneath one's foot, until they are on the very brink of death...for her smaller followers, the act of battle itself is a holy act to them, and they often duel amongst each other and hone their skills in battle while they sing hymns and prayers.
A common belief exists amongst the faithful that prayers done in the early morning or preferably during a storm are inherently more holy, and if possible they try to sync up their worship to these times.
Priesthood
The Church of the Grand Trampler is an incredibly lawful and organized group, with a clear hierarchy based as much off one's own merits as it is their size and personal strength. No matter their rank, the faithful of Freyja all undergo a ritual known as "The Journey of Bolts" to gain entry into the ranks of the faithful, where they are sent out into a divine thunderstorm created by Freyja with nothing but a thin garment to cover their sensitive parts...they must thereafter survive an entire twenty four hours in this brutal thunderstorm being struck by bolts of True Lightning, pitted by rain and blasted by wind while beasts and monsters roam down from the storm and hunt them...if they survive and emerge at the end of the day, they are granted entry into the ranks of the faithful.
Assuming they survive The Journey of Bolts, the faithful are ranked mainly based off their own life-experiences and how many traumatic or dangerous events they have survived as well their own merit in battle...but uniquely, they are also heavily ranked based on their size and height. The taller one is, the closer the faithful believe they are to Freyja and to Odin, the creator of all Giantkind from whom they all believe they are spawned from.
Females tend to have higher ranks within the church, but this is by no means a hard rule. The exception to this is the head of her church, who holds the title of "þrumazîd", or "Thunder Queen".
The ranks of the church are as follows, ordered from highest ranking to lowest:
- þrumazîd- This leader is always a female, and holds the title for life. They are required to tend Freyja's grand temple in the city of Ariagarðr but also regularly travel to attend various ceremonies and to sort out disputes between clergy members. The position is highly respected in both Freyja's Church and all of Giant Society, and in addition to their authority over religious matters they also hold a seat on the ruling council of the same city the church is located in.
- Boltlord - The seconds-in-command of the church, and adjutants to the þrumazîd. They are commonly given dominion over Freyja's biggest churches in massive population centers and work to carry out the will of Freyja in ways the þrumazîd cannot or will not. These are the greatest warriors the church has to offer, each of whom have endured trials that would shatter and cripple lesser people. They are so valuable they exist above ranking structure in times of war, and serve as heroes directly serving the will of the þrumazîd.
- Dróttinn - The high-ranking priests of the church who often rule Freyja's churches in large to moderately sized population centers, and who assist the Boltlords in running the massive Cathedrals. When required, they serve as generals for the church's military.
- Skeppare - The priests of the church who rule Freyja's churches in smaller cities and some villages, and who are called upon to oversee the Journey of Bolts undertaken by new recruits. They also serve as the captains of the church's military, and command the lower ranks in battle.
- Formaðr - Second lowest ranking members of the church, better known as the rank and file of the faithful. This the most numerous rank and is where recruits are promoted to once they prove themselves. They commonly serve the higher ranking members in their day to day tasks and are the main battle force of the church.
- Hird - The lowest ranking members of the church, this is the rank reserved for recruits who have yet to prove themselves.
- Stiga - A unique that exists outside of the normal church ranking, given to those faithful who wander the lands on adventures or who travel to accomplish some task. If neccesary, they are treated as equal to the Formaðr.
Granted Divine Powers
The granted powers given by Freyja to her followers mostly entail ones related to survival or better defeating one's foes...however, she does occasionally grant the ability to wield True Lightning to her most avid and worthy followers.
Political Influence & Intrigue
Freyja's faithful do not commonly get involved in politics, seeing it as a battleground that is by far not worthy of their attention. This is slightly different for her faithful in The Eastern Imperium, who are instead brutal, cutthroat politicians who scheme and plot in such ways that when their plans come to fruition, their foes are destroyed and humiliated so completely that they can never again politically challenge them.
Absolute Victory, Absolute Survival, Absolute Vengeance.
Founding Date
2042 AF
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Alternative Names
The Stormchildren, The Brutal Butcherers, The Slighted
Demonym
Freyjan
Divines
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