The main religion of
Barazar,
Azdaism revolves around the concept of three primary deities:
Azdar, Dâei, and Khâleh, each of which correspond to the central pillars of the religion (Sun, Moon, and Stars). Azdar represents family, honor, commitment, life, and creation. Dâei, meanwhile, is the Prince god of death, sorrow, famine, guilt, loyalty and the hunt. Lastly, Khâleh is the goddess of war, conquest, wealth, envy, and freedom.
Azdar, The Great Father
Azdar is the father of Dâei and Khâleh, and is represented as the sun. It was Azdar who molded the world into being, and walked its vast empty surface first, but that is all it was. He would go on to plant the first seeds of the world which grew grasses and trees until everything was covered, but still he felt a sense of loneness. Yearning for interaction, Azdar would experiment on creating beasts and creatures who could engage with him, but his first creations were too violent for his world, and so he sent them away into the dark nothingness of space. Azdar would eventually create all the animals of the world, and he would enjoy watching them grow and interact but the animals did not talk, nor create, and so Azdar desired something more akin to himself. Thus he created the
Giants from the sands in the oceans to fill this void in his heart, but their speech was shallow and the light in their minds was dim, so he cast them out and tried again. Next he crafted the
Dwarves out of mountain stones as company, and unlike the Giants they began crafting objects, and making things, bringing new life to the world. The Dwarves however were stubborn and did not heed his council and thus did not love him, and instead kept to themselves in their caverns and halls away from Azdar's prying gaze. Next, Azdar created the
Elves from the bark of the many forests and their minds were bright and he gifted them long-life so he could talk with them for many years. They made songs, poems, written language, and enjoyed the world Azdar had created. But even the Elves proved faulty, and after many ages they began to think themselves as equals to Azdar until like the Dwarves before them, they too began keeping to themselves in their enclaves and refused to love him. It was only when he created
Men from the soil of the world that he succeed in his goal, with his third creation coming to adore and love him as their creator. Azdar came down to the world, and experienced life as a mortal man; toiling alongside his creations, falling in love with a women named Afshi whom ironically blinded the god of the sun with her beauty and soon after were wed with plans to raise a family. It was during this time that the world began to rumble and crack, alerting Azdar that he must return to the cosmos and assume his position as a god to restore balance, leaving Afshi alone. However, his marriage to Afshi resulted in the birth of twins, Dâei and Khâleh, who joined their father in the cosmos upon ascending to adulthood. Dâei became the Moon, while his sister Khâleh became the first star in the sky, with all those following being her children.
Dâei, Bane of Mortals
Dâei was born to Afshi and lived a normal life until the age of 16 when he and his sister were visited in their sleep by Azdar and were informed of their divine heritage. Afshi admitted everything the next day, and the next night Azdar revealed himself again and told the twins to travel the world until they found the point which connected to the heavens. On their travels, Dâei and Khâleh walked through many kingdoms and strange lands in pursuit of this connecting point. Dâei became distraught at the evil he saw in men's hearts through each kingdom they passed through. He saw engorged men ruling over others with no mercy, and lands over hunted to the point that there was no game left. After two years of searching for the point in the world, Dâei and Khâleh found themselves on top of a mountain that extended into the clouds. Reaching the summit, the twins looked down and could not see the world anymore, only the layer of clouds looking as pitch black as the night sky above them. Khâleh wept with anger as she believed their father had misled them and was tormenting them. Dâei however believed in his father and walked over to the edge and fell back towards the world, disappearing through the darkness of the clouds. Khâleh yelled out for her brother, but when she looked up, she saw him in the sky as a bright luminescent object peering back down at her, a beacon of hope illuminating the world from evil at night. For his faith and loyalty, Dâei was made a god by Azdar, and tasked as warden of his father's newest creation, the Derwezeleri (Gates of Death) where he would trap all mortal souls who did not gain the right to live among Azdar in his eternal garden. Dâei, while unhappy with his charge, obeyed his father and took on the form of the moon, ever watchful over the world. Upon his mother's death, Dâei made her the Queen of Derwezeleri, ruling alongside him to help keep the forsaken souls locked away. Dâei is depicted in the modern day as being a thin and sickly-looking man who during the day wanders the world with parchment and ink, judging every man on where their soul will go once they pass.
Khâleh, Savior of Man
Unlike her brother, Khâleh did not feel sorrow for the mortal races whom they encountered on their journey to the summit of the world. Instead she felt only anger at her fathers creations. Before Khâleh, the mortal races did not wage war as it is known in the modern age. Instead they hurt and attacked one another through manipulation and legal means. The masters kept their slaves without chains, for the slaves did not know any better and this cycle was everlasting. It was Khâleh who drew first blood, and killed one of these masters in cold anger and freeing those under his bondage. She would lead more to take up arms against their oppressors, and thus she became the first warlord of the world. After she had led men to freedom, she left them to establish their own cities, and returned with Dâei on their journey. When she and Dâei had made it to the peak of the world, and he jumped first Khâleh was hesitant, but jumped in after seeing her brother in the sky. Unlike Dâei who was rewarded immediately for his faith and loyalty to Azdar, Khâleh was instead greeted by Azdar in his eternal garden and he doubted her love for him since she did not jump first. Due to her violent nature, Azdar only granted her what was left of the cosmos, and thus Khâleh became the first star in the night sky. However her star was cast far away from the mortal world where she could influence it no more. But it was out in the darkness of the cosmos that Khâleh found her fathers discarded creations from a time long forgotten. She mated with some of these creations, and her spawn became the lesser stars in the sky, filling up the cosmos so much that they could be seen in the thousands from the world.
