The Whispering Way {of Animism}

"Where I'm from, there is a cycle of energies flowing into and out of the world... through a half-real place we call the Twilight. Stories, memories, ghosts, zeitgeists, and so on, they live in this place, in a pool of forever entombed in liquid remembrance. Everything we see has a presence there, everything we feel and desire. The dead are no different".

--Elra Rysefelder upon the Peak of Evandyr between 870-891 AB

The Whispering Way is the name to an animistic following shared loosely by all those peoples living along the Sea of Shivan, from Paelagania and the Blackwich archepeligo to Delgranos and the Reefs of the Mae-atha. It is not referred to as this name by any save the Whisperking of Far Paelex, who took the tradition and codified it in order to manipulate and use its practices for mortal rituals. Through history, the Whispering Way is a sort of pagan tradition of the natural world before prophets and influential leaders demand a following of absolute obedience in the way of organized religion.
Like any spiritual following based in diaspora, the followers of this path are more different than alike. Individual Icons rise of popular opinion, old beloved fable, ancient memory, or great loss. This takes power from the Spirits of Twilight, where each and every object, building, collective, organization, or the like forms an immaterial aura and entity that remembers with its own sapience. For example, in Elysia, they expand on this tradition to create the Ju'ro-kuiro faith, where these spirits are named City-Gods and the spirit formed of every city is revered for its wisdom as a form of occult democracy. Meanwhile in old Dunaikaisa, a gauntlet of spirits was maintained in order to submit potential kings to a test of all possible spiritual foes they might encounter before they ascend any throne.
The Whispering Way could then be explained as a "worship of the zeitgeist". In mortal societies, religions form out of the desires and wants and goals of the mortal individuals. In times of strife, cooperation with the community and godly mandates against theft and murder are central. In times of peace and opportunity, creation and production might be key to a mortal society in order to ensure the greatest number of people prosper. A religion forms out of this as a natural consequence. The Whispering Way takes these natural desires and recognizes the spirit forming through the peoples' wills and memories, and reveres it directly. This can be worship, offering, fear, or even an antagonistic relationship, in some cases, in an attempt to quash unwanted opinions before they rise, such as what the Arcanist Thalus Blackmire attempted in order to secretly eliminate the desire for rebellion in a populace.
Another uniting feature of a majority, though not all, of the faiths that can be classified as part of the Whispering Ways, is that instead of the common (((western))) religious note of a god as a massive, omni-present, and all-powerful entity, where prayer sees the supplicant positioning themselves as a small figure in a glorious chapel asking for assistance or wisdom, an alternative ethos permeates these ways. This is more common in Elysia 恵 幸 and Cospia and the Blackwich. Here, one might seek out the divine, journeying across mountaintops or fortresses to find traces of the hidden divinity. Here, one might shout from towers to the gods below (more commonly) or above, in order to be heard.