Old Etianism (Extinct)

The origin of the three current branches of Etianism: Western Etianism, Styxian Ethianism and Vagrian Etianism. The Old Etianist Pantheon had hundreds of gods. Only the most important ones however have survived into the younger branches of the faith. These gods are:
Assur, the king, god of wisdom and the ruling class. Niith, the queen, goddess of the harvest, fertility and the peasant class.
Terros, god of war and the warrior class, (son of Assur and Niith) Eshtar, goddess artisans and artists. (daughter og Assur and Niith) Tychi, god of merchants, (son of Assur and Niith) Chara, godess of singers and actors and musicians, (daughter of Assur and Niith) Edafos, godess of the wilderness and the animals of the woods and mountains, Caelos, god of the sky and the future, Krasi, god of wine and celebration, Agapy, god of love and sex, Cithol, god of death, and Dahaka, god of sorcerers and mischief.


The myth of creation is heavily connected to the foundation of the religious capital, Amnisos, making the city a holy city for all offshoots of the old Etianist faith. The religion went extinct after the reforms of the Purple Prince, who made Styxian Etianism the state religion in Ethonia. Soon after the Etianists to the north and the west, in lands beyond the borders of Ethonia, to the started to deviate from the old Etiansim, due to being cut of from any form of central religious authority.

Mythology & Lore

From the texts of the priest and historian Gesandros, living in ancient Ethonia around 2400 BDW
Hail, sons of Assur, daughters of Niith! Hail you harvesters of her fields, fishermen of Seahs waters. Hail you hunters of Edafos forests, and of servants of the house of Eshtar. Hail you sages of the skies of Caelos, who reads his skies for omens, and to the brave warriors of Terros.. Hail, you actors and singers of Chara, and you merchants who bring offerings to Tychi. Hail to the drinking worshippers of Krasi, and the lovers of Agapy. Hail to the dark priests of Cithol and the sorcerers of Dahaka.
Hail, and hear well! Hear of your ancestors, those a thousand generations gone. Hear their story and remember well who you are and from where you hail.
At the beginning of time you were sired, as the gods settled on the world. There they looked upon the splendor of the creation of Caelos, Edafos and Seahs - those first born of Assur and Niith - and found it beautiful. In the wilderness they roamed, eating the sacred godfruits of the land that Edafos had grown for them. As they walked, they spat the seeds of the fruits onto the ground. Assur spat onto the gold that lay bare on the rock, Niith spat onto the fertile fields, Terros spat into a nest of warlike ants - and on the other gods went spitting onto the parts of the earth they themselves had created. They ate and ravished the land until there were no fruits left worthy of the gods. Out of a thousand gods, only Cithol did not eat, as they had no taste for living things.
The gods then watched as the seeds grew.
Soon, the first Ethonians sprouted from the seeds spat by the noblest of gods. These were the first people, and they brought the gods much delight.
From the seeds spat by the cousins and rivals of the noblest of gods stepped the other civilized people, such as the Alachem and Kandriu.
From the seeds spat by the god Dahaka spang all the spirits and demons of the earth. Fearing the other gods would slay them, Dahaka hid them in the caves and lakes and swamps of the earth.
From the seeds spat by the lesser gods grew the barbarians and savages who live like animals in the west and the northern parts of the world. Terros, appalled by their filthy habits, sought to strike them down with his axe. But as he reached for his weapon, the gods who made the barbarians fled with their new worshippers, scattering them across the world to save them. Terros intended to pursue them, but his mother, goddess Niith, calmed him. She spoke of the inherent divinity of the race of men, and how they, their creators, must always be willing to accept them should they show repentance over their barbaric ways and return to them. This is why we, Ethonians, must civilize the barbarians.
And so it came to be that the land of Ethonia was populated, and the humans walked alongside the gods. The gods shielded them from all ills and in return the people were faithful to them and gave them offerings, and for many generations life was good.
But this age was shattered when the human king Apatalos, overcome with greed, attempted to usurp the heavenly throne. He wished to become a god himself, slay Assur and take his place as king of Gods.. To do this he used dark magic to bind powerful demons, spawn of Dahaka, to himself, and used their immense power. But before he could attack Assur, the demons broke loose from their bonds. In anger, they slew Apatalos, the one who had enslaved them, and enraged they ravaged the land of Ethonia, creating the plagues, the earthquakes and the floods.
The betrayal of humanity angered the gods greatly. They left the land of Ethonia, and returned to their heavenly palaces and fields, and our ancestors wept and begged them to stay. The gods did not listen. Instead, they promised salvation for those who followed the rules of the gods. They would ascend to the heavenly lands of the gods after their death, ferried across the land of mist by Cithol, god of death. The unrighteous and wicked however would be led astray, doomed to walk the lands of mist through all eternity.
And so it came to be that the Ethonian doomed themselves to an existence of struggle and hardships in a world filled by the evils unleashed by the vengeful demons.
It was in this age that Amnisya, daughter of Assur and a human woman, assumed the role of queen of the Ethonians. They wandered the lands for many years,, suffering at the hands of demons and their plagues. To save her people, the demigoddess Amnisya begged her father:
Assur on high, Father of kings and queens, Father of chiefs and eunuchs, Father of all the wise scholars of the land, And eternal King of the heavenly palace; Hear my oath. Save your people from the ills of the land; And I shall build you a temple never rivaled; Tell me where to lay the foundation of this temple; And there I shall settle the tribe of Ethonia; For ever to serve and worship you; And beg your forgiveness.
Assur heard her plea. On the Illur plateau, where the great rivers of Ethonia became one, Amnisya saw light from the heavens shine upon a lioness. The lioness did not flee in her presence, neither did she roar and bite. Instead she laid down at Amnisya’s feet. She knew this to be the sign she had been looking for. There, on the shores of the Ila, the Ema and the Eton rivers, she founded the city of Amnisos, and erected the great temple called the House of Crimson.

Divine Origins

The religion fist spread from the City of Amnisos somewhere around 4000 BDW, and historians attribute it's success to its inclusivity and promise of a rich and euphoric afterlife.

Tenets of Faith

The central beliefs in the religion were: 1. Heavily centered around the concept of the caste system that lay the foundation of the feudal class society of present day. 2. A cult of redemption, earning the right to be seated in the halls of ones patron deity after death 3. A balanced life and a balanced society, where the faithful should live in moderation (the definition of moderation varied based on their class, of course), bravery without blood lust, loyalty without the enabling of tyrants, rule that was harsh but fair, freedom without anarchy. 4. The need to proselytize among barbarians to bring more souls into the fold of the gods. 5. The belief that humans had inherent divinity and inherent evil within them due to being made half divine, half material, and that each human had to chose his or her way in life. The existence of an evil opposite of the divine did not exist as such, although the trickster god Dahaka and the demons he created sometimes played an antagonistic role in the mythology.

Ethics

Balance, Loyalty, Harmony, Moderation.

Worship

Festivals and sacrifices of produce and animals was the most common forms of worship. The calendar was full of days dedicated to one god or another, and rarely did festivities cease completely. The scale of the celebrations ranged from small, intimate gatherings of small groups who worshiped a lesser god, to grand festivals that engaged entire cities.

Priesthood

Each city state in Ethonia was ruled by a Deacon, and the head of the faith itself was the Archdeacon, seated in the house of Crimson in Amnisos. This archdeacon would represent no god in particular, and would instead be granted a holy connection to all the gods of the faith. The archdeacon would distance him or herself from as many aspects of the material world as possible in order to come closer to the divine and enter a harmonious state where all aspects of the gods would create inner balance and harmony. They were often ascetic, prayer and meditation for days on end. Most male archdeacons were eunuchs, and some even blinded themselves to not let themselves be distracted by the physical world.

Granted Divine Powers

Preists and Deacons would sometime be granted the power to preform blessings that corresponded with their patron god. The Assur priests may bless a ruler with the peace of mind to make difficult decisions, priestesses of Niith could made a barren woman fertile, Terros could temporarily grant inhuman strength to a warrior. These blessings where never reliable, and a sometimes the gods chose to ignore the requests for blessings, especially of the priest had displeased them in any way.

Political Influence & Intrigue

The secular ruler, the king or queen, were heavily dependent upon the archdeacon for religious legitimacy and legal support. The priesthood acted as judges in trials and disputes, and the archdeacon had the final say in the interpretation of the laws. The laws were in turn largely based on the religious texts. The influence of the archdeacon was arguably as great as that of the regent, making the early Amnisian society walk the line between monarchy and theocracy.

Type

Religious, Archidiaconate

Alternative Names

The Ancient Ethonian Faith

Demonym

Old Etianist