Pandroi (/ pandroi /)

Pandroi is a major organized religion centered in southern and western Galisea and practiced by the bulk of the human population in this region. Pandroi is an aggressively communitarian religion and the fostering of community is one of its chief tenets. It is a proselytizing faith, though its nature is an autocephalous, and highly decentralized faith, and the knack of its practitioners for syncretism and the incorporation of foreign deities ensures relatively peaceable spread, and a relatively cosmopolitan religious outlook.
The origins of the Pandroi faith are largely unknown to men, the wisest scholars of elder races have tracked the beginnings of the faith to the spread of a small pantheon in the Spartharii River Valley some 1400 years ago. This pantheon was quickly spread by a particularly militant priest and his descendants over the course of a century and a half, spreading throughout Aeilla in this time, and picking up additional deities which were syncretized into the faith. By the time the pantheon had spread to almost all of the Aeillan region, the twelve core deities of the faith had largely been placed into their more or less modern roles.
There are twelve primary gods of the Pandroi Faith:
Io (also known as Lat/Aliah): The Goddess of Victory, and the Chief Goddess of the Pantheon
Isaura (also known as Ishar/Alasha): The Goddess of the Moon, the Raven Queen, the Protector of Mortality
Poleo (also known as Kolani/Halasha): The Goddes of the Sun, Lightbringer
Sion (also known as Cyen/Kalon/Sio/Celea/Kala): The God/dess of Liberation, Breaker of Chains, Bringer of Freedom
Rauranos (also known as Raro/Ralanas): The God of the Forge, The Patron of Artists and Smiths
Clea (also known as Khlea/Lala): The Goddess of Knowledge, Lady of Philosophy, and Keeper of Secrets
Gaio (also known as Yerkea/Galala): The Goddess of the Earth, Bringer of the Harvest, Font of Fertility
Cielon (also known as Sielo/Kesh): The God of the Sky, Bringer of Rains
Maretal (also known as Marto/Malakh): The Lord of Storms, Earthshaker, Bringer of Inspiration
Kategothea (also known as Fisvina/Daei'ali): Goddess of Vengeance, The Divine Prosecutor, The Punisher of Hubris
Tymnaros (also known as Marado/Timal): God of War and Undeath, He Whose Eyes You Want to Avoid
Apatheon (also known as Impio/Muqadas): God of Deception, the Deceiver
In addition to these core twelve, there is a number of regionalized minor deities, deified ancestors, household deities, and other gods particular to sects and traditions of Pandroi rather than Pandroi as a whole.

Mythology & Lore

Pandroi has many myths and stories that are used as moral lessons, and to explain certain phenomena. The challenge for an ecclesiastical scholar comes in piecing them together. The divergence of the three main traditions of Pandroi, as well as the development of regionalized cults and sects, has fractured. A few major stories can largely be agreed upon, however.
The Godswar: In the ancient past, the people were ruled over by a host of villainous gods, and their servants, demons lacking any compassion, mercy, or empathy. The people were brutalized by these gods and their demons. From the collective suffering of the people arose a new race of gods, who sought to free the people from the old gods. The old gods and the new did battle, in the heavens whilst the demons and the people fought over the earth. This cataclysmic battle, almost a year of nonstop fighting, finally came to an end when the last of the old gods was smitten by the new, and the demons retreated into the deep never to be seen again.
The Flowering: After the Godswar had ended the land was utterly in ruin, and many had died. The terrible magic wrought during the Godswar had nearly torn the fabric of reality asunder, and indeed the tears were growing wider. To stop the destruction of reality, the new gods assembled, and with all of their might, reassembled reality, closing the tears, and allowing the land once more to flower, indeed many who had fallen were restored to life. This rebirth had come at a cost, however, as to prevent the continued destruction of reality, the gods had to limit the flow of magic to mortals, and prevent the destruction its widespread use could cause, and many great magical arts were lost, and few mages remained after this reordering of the cosmic order.
Itelikímáchi: It is said that the world's time is finite and that someday it will come to an end. The Horned King, the great destroyer will come into this reality with his demonic hosts and challenge the gods. It is said that, as the Godswar marked the beginning of the reign of the new gods, so this great battle will bring about its end, the people once more will have to fight the demonic host as ravages the land, and the Horned King lays low the gods themselves. It is said that this battle will end whence the Horned King smites the last of the gods, and his demons tear reality asunder, casting it into the chaotic elemental roil from whence it came. A spark of hope will remain as a great leader of the people will shepherd a precious few out of this reality to reform the next.

Cosmological Views

Pandroi cosmology is complicated. It is assumed that Getninia is the center of the universe, which lies at the center of the whole multiverse. In addition to the material world, are the abodes of the gods, and the planes of the afterlife. Each god has a piece of reality in which they and their hosts reside, and, wherein that god reigns absolutely. There are also three afterlives to which one can go, the first of these, Toméróon, is the home of the honored dead, great heroes who sacrificed much in life. here they train their bodies and souls for the end times, and it is said that when this world will end, they will defend the last of the people from destruction making one last sacrifice so that the last might escape. The second, Déftrzoí, is the resting place of the good folk, those who lived normally and went through unexceptional lives. Here they continue their lives as much as they did before, and when their plane comes unmoored from reality their souls will populate the new world after its birth. The last of these Tópomoú is the prison of the damned, where life is misery and the lost are eternally damned to labor ceaselessly in the ashen fields or run down, overcrowded demesnes of the archfiends eternally. Especially heinous people, those who directly draw the ire of Kategothea herself are taken to her own personal domain to be tortured for several lifetimes by her Erinyes before being dumped in Tópomoú.

Tenets of Faith

There are seven core tenets of the faith, which form the basis of the Pandroi moral code. They are:
Obedience: Those below owe a debt of loyalty to those in a higher station, and should respect their betters, and obey any reasonable command.
Duty: Just as those below owe fealty to those above must recognize their duty to those below, those in high stations should treat those below them with dignity, and do their best to protect them. Cruelty is to be strictly forbidden.
Community: We will only survive when we work together, we should support one another to the best of our ability to maintain social cohesion.
Family: Just as we are united in community, we owe a debt to the family that was raised, and one should try to obey and support their elders so that one can rely on obedience and support in one's old age.
Hospitality: We are all a united people, and we can only survive when we support one another. A host should do their best to ensure their guest the best treatment available, and likewise, a guest should show proper gratitude to their host.
Industry: We should strive to achieve in this mortal world and to build a better world for those who come after us, we should take pride in our accomplishments together, but that requires that we have something to take pride in.
The Peace of the Deities: Our gods may be the best, but we should strive to make war against the gods of others, indeed, we should seek to understand the foreign divine and learn how it may be related to our own. The gods work in mysterious ways after all, and perhaps what we might call Io, they may call the same deity a different name.

Ethics

To the Pandroi faith, the fostering of community, and maintenance of social cohesion is all. It is considered sacred to foster the strength of the community, and ethical person does their best to obey just authority, build others up and make the world a better place for those who come later. An unethical person conversely bucks just authority tears others down and generally leaves the world poorer when they leave, breaking down social cohesion and destroying society. 
Generally, ethical actions include: being a good guest or host, helping construct a barn for your neighbors, taking care of your parents, or creating artwork, or a machine that makes your community a better place to live. Particularly blessed actions include: sacrificing one's life for your friends and family, standing up against injustice regardless of personal consequences, successfully incorporating a foreign god into the faith, and bringing in fresh converts. 
Generally, unethical actions include: being a bad guest or host, being an idler, neglecting your familial connections, public drunkenness, or petty destructive acts. Worse are the mortal sins which include: murder, especially murdering your host or guest, desecrating a sacred place or holy relic, and making war among the faithful.

Worship

Lay practitioners of Pandroi generally do not affiliate all that heavily with most of the deities in the religion. As such, lay practitioners generally only participate in the worshipping of a god at their festival, or when they take part in events affiliated with that deity's portfolio. On a day-to-day basis, lay followers will make offerings and sacrifices to deities that are associated with the relevant parts of a person's life. A sailor might for instance offer the guts of a fish to the gods of the sea and sky for a safe voyage, a farmer might offer their blood to ensure a good harvest from the Gaio, or a blacksmith might cast a small amount of precious metals into their forge to appease Rauranos before starting a major project. During major religious festivals, the bulk of the populace takes part, putting a stop to their normal work, major sacrifices are made at this time in elaborate ceremonies. Festivals are dictated by the Lunar Pandroi calendar.

Pandroi Calendar

Show Spoiler

Priesthood

The clergy of Pandroi is relatively decentralized with each major nation having its own ecclesiastical hierarchy, often with realm high priests that serve as ecclesiarchs for the religion in a particular nation, who is often the highest-ranked priest of the local realm's favored or patron deity. Many Pandroi sects recognize the clergy of other nations to a certain extent. Usually, a member of the clergy serves as a preacher for a particular deity. Generally speaking, there are 5 types of clergy:
The Devoted: The most common priests, these members of the clergy are especially devoted followers of the faith, who are granted the right to preach to communities of the faithful. They serve as leaders in some religious ceremonies and participate in some others as part of a higher-ranked priest's entourage. These members of the clergy generally lack much in the way of formal training and are not usually given supernatural abilities by their chosen deity. They are known as Afosiomenoi in the Aeillan tradition, Devotos in the Gallaco-Meridan, and Almurkas in the Hadar.
Priest/Vestal: Those who have received extensive education in matters of the divine, and who have sworn their lives to their temple, and its patron god become known as Priests or Vestals, a largely sex-based distinction, though some deities only have priests or vestals because of, or ignoring sex. These members of the clergy are rarer than the Devoted, but serve a key role in their temples, leading important ceremonies, and performing minor miracles for the flock. These are generally the lowest-ranked members of the clergy that have received the gift of magic from their deities. They are known as Iereoi or Vestaloi in the Aeillan tradition, Sacerdotes/dades in the Gallaco-Meridan tradition, and Kahin or Fistal in the Hadar.
High Priest/Vestal: After some length of time serving their god, a Priest or Vestal must undergo a trial, which is often determined by the deity. If they complete this tribulation successfully, they will obtain the rank of High Priest or High Vestal. These exceptional persons have religious authority over a region and are seen largely in the largest festivals and ceremonies. High Priests and Vestals can perform significant miracles for the flock with raising the dead being seen as a fairly common trial for access to this status. They are known as the Archiereas or Archvestal in the Aeillan tradition, the Gransacerdote/dad in the Gallaco-Meridan, Alkahin, or Alfistal in the Hadar.
Ecclesiarch: Most often the head of a realm's patronal temple, the Ecclesiarch serves as a realm high priest, and the highest religious authority in the realm. These sorts are generally capable of the feats of their close peers in the High Priesthood, and maybe a little more. There used to be a position of High Ecclesiarch, though as the faith syncretized and diverged, the centralized authority of Pandroi broke down, and to claim this title is viewed as gauche or an outright act of hostility by other ranking members of the faith.
Chaplain: Not so much a position in the traditional religious hierarchy as it is a recognition of priest-like lay members of the faith who have received some religious training, but have magical abilities nonetheless, applying them on quests and other missions for the church, or on the battlefields. These members of the faith, often nobles or holy warriors do not climb the temple's hierarchy but are no less sought after for their often prodigious skills by lay followers and priests alike for their services. Though generally favored by militant or active gods, this group can be found devoting themselves to any of the Pandroi deities. They are known as Efimérios in the Aeillan tradition, Capellán in the Gallaco-Meridan, and Qasi in the Hadar.
Generally as one climbs the ranks of the temple hierarchy they are entrusted with more and more important badges of office, from simple books carried by the devoted, to vestal robes of the priesthood, various diadems in the higher ranks of the priesthood, and finally, Ecclesiarchal scepters for the Ecclesiarches of the realm. Chaplains are often not given formal badges of office, but often receive favor from the church in other ways, including given fanciful suits of armor to bear in certain, rare circumstances.

Granted Divine Powers

The Pandroi faith has produced deities with the power to grant their clergy magical abilities. A particularly well-studied member of the Pandroi faith can usually be expected to be a magically invested cleric, such persons amount to about a twentieth, or perhaps slightly more of the priesthood at any given time, with a rare few being invested with magical power without the proper study necessarily. The power that any given priest has varies wildly though most are only capable of performing minor miracles of the orisonal level, and the 1st to 3rd order of magic. It is rare to see a priest who is capable of casting major spells, and only the most exceptional individuals who can cast beyond the 7th order. This, however, comes down to a relative lack of experience among the traditional priesthood more than a lack of power, as veteran Chaplains are often capable of a wider range of powers, including the highest level magics.
In addition to the priesthood, the Pandroi gods grant their favor to exceptional martial orders devoted to them. Though primarily favored by martially minded deities, knightly orders, wilderness protectors, and even certain monastic orders exist that have been imbued with magical power by Pandroi's deities. However, there is no Druid order professing the Pandroi faith, so many believe that natural magic is beyond the Pandroi deities, or perhaps that they might support druidic traditions indirectly.
In addition to traditional magic, Pandroi deities dedicated to knowledge and prophecy have blessed certain mortals with precognitive abilities, known as Oracles, even if they are incapable of casting traditional spells. Though it is unknown why, only women have ever been granted this ability, and no man has ever become an Oracle. Such oracles have the ability to predict the future, and in some cases even alter fate with their abilities. Oracles have been, exceptionally rarely, known to quest on the behalf of their deities. It is traditional for Oracles to wear blindfolds when using their powers, and generally, their powers do not work when they are able to see normally.

Political Influence & Intrigue

Many Pandroi Ecclesiarchs have the ear of their ruler, especially on religious matters. As their favor is necessary to maintain the support of the Pandroi deities. Most Ecclesiarchs, therefore, use this to subtly encourage favoritism for their deity. More open displays are generally considered a violation of the Peace of the Gods and viewed essentially as at least gauche, and if against another of the primary deities as a mortal sin. Support for Pandroi more generally, and encouraging the conversion process, and incorporation of foreign gods is common practice, and indeed encouraged.
In addition to the Autocephalous Ecclesiarchs, the holiest city of Pandroi, the city of Thibaia and its surroundings have been outright seized by the religious authorities of the temples in the city. In this city, Pandroi is an enforced state religion, and the various temples compete for influence, and indeed the title of Ecclesiarch of the realm. These competitions can be fierce, though above all the peace of the gods must be maintained at any cost, and it is indeed this agreement that has, generally speaking, prevented open hostility or bloodshed in the streets.

Sects

The Pandroi faith is highly decentralized, and there are possibly thousands of minor divergent temples, cults, sects, and breakaway faiths. Indeed, each realm has its own Ecclesiarch that holds nearly absolute religious sway of the Pandroi temples in the realm, though even they do not have complete control, with certain obligations they must meet to maintain their power. As such it is virtually impossible to count the number of sects. However, three distinct traditions can be said to encompass the bulk of religious authorities in Pandroi.
The Aeillan Tradition: Practiced primarily in the Aeillan Region, southern Nabiu, and parts of the Terruk Steppe, the Aeillan tradition is generally considered the elder tradition. The Aeillan tradition is perhaps the most "orthodox" of the Pandaroi traditions, sticking to ancient Aeillan notions of honor, religious ceremony, and the nature of the gods most closely aligned with their earliest interpretations. In addition to the twelve primary gods, the Pandroi tradition maintains the godhood of Rey and Odos, gods of the bird folk Aarkocra and Kenku respectively, Maia, a minor goddess of the hearth, Isea, an antagonistic deity cast as the mother of all Elves, Martius a protective patron of the Dwarves, Hadriana a deified Aeillan Empress ascended to godhood for her mighty deeds, and the Theia Lugri a trio of gods dedicated to profit that is worshipped as one. The Aeillan tradition is the most likely one to allow for the incorporation of ancestral worship into the faith and minor household gods.
The Gallaco-Meridan Tradition: Practiced primarily in Gallaca, Merida, northern Elleryca, and some "civilized" Eriganese and Jorgan communities. The Gallaco-Meridan tradition is the strictest about its interpretations of the gods, and maintaining religious orthodoxy, and is perhaps the most hostile to foreign and incompatible faiths. Gallaco-Meridan Pandroi priests are the most likely to proselytize to nonbelievers. The Gallaco-Meridan tradition maintains worship of the fewest minor deities with only Lysta the Kind, a partially syncretized Halfling deity, and the Nuñes a trio of goddesses of fate having been incorporated into the Gallaco-Meridan tradition.
The Hadar Tradition: Practiced primarily in Qua'adar, parts of Inhdara, Surjan, the Hadar tradition is the least orthodox of the three main traditions, with some significant regional differences in how gods are worshipped, and to a lesser extent even their characterization. This oddness has even resulted in the spread of a number of lesser gods added to the prayer roll; Hazan, father of the dwarves, and a patron to forgers and merchants alike, Malikalsahai, god of the scaly folk and seeker of strength and wit, Almuhtaraq, the Burning One, a mysterious, ancient deity syncretized from a long-forgotten faith, whose faith is practiced in a mystery cult, Alkhashb a god of the trees, whose center of worship is in the wetter regions of Surjan, Izas, a less hostile Elf mother deity, Yizam a god of the great sands, Isha goddess of rivers, food bringer, and Alhishasa a syncretized deceiver deity, and lord of serpents. Household deities are common in the Hadar tradition, though not quite to the same extent as the Aeillan.

Founding Date

EF 150

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Permeated Organizations

• The Aeillan Empire
• The Cantons of Salemesia
• The Exarchate of Apepsos
• The Exarchate of Falemesia
• The Exarchate of Halion
• The Exarchate of Iskandris
• The Exarchate of Korentis
• The Exarchate of Polanis
• The Exarchate of Spathos
• The Kingdom of Gallaca
• The Kingdom of Troinae
• The Principality of Merida
• The Republic of Artenos
• The Republic of Nikea
• The Thibaian Divinity League

Related Ethnicities

• Aeillan People
• Gallegan