Oconism
The people of the Ocrim Steppe have long given reverence and worship to one of the five deities above all others. In their tongue they call them Ocon, the god of war and honor. They have long been considered the patron deity of the Ocrim, and therefore, the spread of Oconism is near universal amongst this people.
Oconism is both the worship of Ocon and the name given to the religious order founded under it, although calling it a religious order isn't exactly correct. Oconism functions as a loose conglomeration of various shamans from across the Ocrim warbands. Each shaman will go their entire lives trying to decipher the will of their god, and impart that wisdom and guidance upon their warband's chieftain. Due to this the exact nature of each warband's worship varies drastically from one another, having developed their own rituals and trials based on the words of their shaman over the generations.
There are, however, some aspects of Oconism practice that are shared by all of the warbands. Ocrim believe the land they have settled is the land gifted to them by Ocon, and is therefore not only holy to them but its various dangers are considered tests for them to prove themselves against. Another tenet of Oconism is that if one does not test their strength against another then they shall never be worthy of Ocon. This particular overarching belief is the primary driving force of the conflict that occurs between the various warbands. Due to this it is rare for the warbands to truly go to war against one another, often doing no more than skirmishes or small raids throughout the year.
Oconism is both the worship of Ocon and the name given to the religious order founded under it, although calling it a religious order isn't exactly correct. Oconism functions as a loose conglomeration of various shamans from across the Ocrim warbands. Each shaman will go their entire lives trying to decipher the will of their god, and impart that wisdom and guidance upon their warband's chieftain. Due to this the exact nature of each warband's worship varies drastically from one another, having developed their own rituals and trials based on the words of their shaman over the generations.
There are, however, some aspects of Oconism practice that are shared by all of the warbands. Ocrim believe the land they have settled is the land gifted to them by Ocon, and is therefore not only holy to them but its various dangers are considered tests for them to prove themselves against. Another tenet of Oconism is that if one does not test their strength against another then they shall never be worthy of Ocon. This particular overarching belief is the primary driving force of the conflict that occurs between the various warbands. Due to this it is rare for the warbands to truly go to war against one another, often doing no more than skirmishes or small raids throughout the year.
Divine Origins
Oconism was birthed out of the fall of the dominant Kingdom of Freshal. When this continent spanning power disappeared in the span of a night, the Ocrim were left to their own devices for the first time in generations. Being a highly independent people, they had always chaffed under the yoke of the Freshal but they were not immune to being exposed to their patheon of deities. Adopting the worship of the Freshal's war god due to its nature being similar to their native culture, it didn't take long for this nomadic people to give them a name from their own language, Ocon.
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