Fornien of the Seven Eyes
Ever stoic and composed, Fornien is Luthaenoism's goddess of knowledge and wisdom. She is worshipped all over Maletsok, but maintains a special relationship with the Humans of the Dobrid river valley. In their capital city of Farenport nestled in the banks of their namesake river stands her temple: the Ember House. It is a grand brick library, a cathedral of knowledge and learning.
Fornien herself is represented as a stoic human woman in a full black gown trimmed in silver. Her eyes are like bright hot coals in her dark visage. Around her circles seven eyes, ablaze in brilliant holy fire. These eyes represent Fornien's Seven Tenets: Curiosity, Diligence, Patience, Prudence, Detachment, Order, and Truth.
Role in the Sacred History of Maletsok
Fornien's role in the history is, to this author, the most important and profound. When the folk had been formed and given life, Fornien brought to them the greatest gift of all: the Word. Fornien's influence brought to the folk of Maletsok consciousness and the ability not only to know, but the desire to know more. All Maletsokish ventures, great works of art and advancements in technology, can be traced back to the ability to speak and the desire to learn that was given to them by their Goddess.
Cults
Aemerlings
The Aemerlings are one of the two dominant religions of the Human Nations, and Fornien's chief cult. Unlike the Halflings who cherish the joys of life, or the Dwarves who strive for wealth and power, the Humans are a people oriented toward knowledge and commerce. The Aemerling religion follows the Goddess of Knowledge, Fornien of the Seven Eyes, and her Seven Tenets: Curiosity, Diligence, Patience, Prudence, Detachment, Order, and Truth.
Adherents find gaining knowledge to be the holiest of callings. Most Aemerling temples are libraries as well as worship spaces. Worship consists of prayer, veneration of ancient knowledge texts, and the indulgence of reading. Priests and clerics are very proud scholars who tend to focus on one particular area of knowledge and study. Aemerling tradition teaches that Divine magic especially is the path toward understanding some form of universal truth, and the goal of every Aemerling is to dive deep into ancient, sacred, and magic texts in the hopes of discovering the Truth that will guide all peoples to a kind of temporal divine euphoria, and grant automatic entrance into Kolaluth.
For average and common adherents, however, being an Aemerling is merely a matter of achieving educational milestones. Each milestone gains favour with Fornien, who will advocate for the adherent at the Toroluth personally for the faithful. Outside of this, most adherents also follow other religions, using the easy milestone structure as an “easy-in” to Kolaluth.
The Stormfolgers
The Stormfolgers are a highly organized cult of fanatics based in and around the city of Claghall who worship both Fornien and Bokoren the Sonorous, the Divine Couple. They are a cult that bears a strong stereotype, and lives up to it in every way. They are expert sailors and navigators with the strongest meteorological understanding in the Empire. Their ships are among the sturdiest and well-equipped for tumultuous seas that can be found. They are adventurers through and through, but not for glory or gold; Stormfolgers have only one goal; to revel in and understand the beauty of the storms of the sea.
Originating from the philosophical and arcane works of James Franklin, Stormfolgers believe that storms and gales are not punishments sent by Bokoren that need to be prevented with platitudes or sacrifices to him. Instead, they are wonderful and awe-inspiring displays of the divine realms here in Nedia, and ought to be studied and worshipped. Some radical Stormfolgers even maintain that storms can be gateways into the Haavaiatus Sea. Understandably, these radicals tend not to return to last very long.
These mariners of Bokoren and students of Fornien wait idly by shore, studying and discussing the shape and interactions of wind patterns and how they go on to form storms, glorifying the Mother Goddess Fornien . When a storm is imminent, predicted either by their own skill or the Tim's Bay tides (see localized phenomena Maletsok Islands), they race to their ships to ride towering waves and boisterous winds, hoping either to discover something new and glorify Fornien in learning, or die trying to glorify Bokoren in relinquishing oneself to his power. Stormfolger knowledge has been instrumental in the development of the Imperial Navy and merchant routes.
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