Nasoism
Nasoism is the most prominent religion practiced by the Solar Elves, focused on the worship of the Sun God Nasoi. The religion has its origins during the period in which the Elven Empire of Salazuir had entered terminal decline. Since the authority of the empire was so weak, the clerical caste could not effectively root out heretical teachings, so they began to spread. One of these was the view that the gods Nasoi and Veraxis were actually just one god, and that Veraxis was an invention to weaken the authroity of Nasoi. With Nasoi being considered both a sun god and a war god, it began to spread amongst many members of the army.
Due to the solar elves being descended entirely from those who were in the army, worship of Nasoi became even more prominent in their new desert environment, and doubly so as they encountered the fearsome forest trolls. It is at this point that Nasoi was formally designated as the head of the pantheon, and superior to the other elven gods. While worship of these other gods still continued, they faded into the background as Nasoi became the sole focus of the aptly named Nasoism. As Nasoi took on more prominence, he became representative of the traits that supposedly represented a good ruler, and thus took over the duties of some of the other gods.
Nasoism diverged further following contact between the Solar Elves and the Hōsuyan religion, as Hōsuyan gods were integrated into the pantheon as lesser gods who served under the greater gods. This ignited a reivival of the other gods of the religion, leading to a more balanced religion overall. However, not all of the Nasoist priests supported this move, calling the shift back towards polytheism heretical an encouraging further worship of Nasoi in response. They decried the integration of human gods as a slap in the face to Nasoi, especially the inclusion of KeꜤaget, the god of rulers, RaqꜤunar, the god of diurnality, and and Semnur, the goddess of war and peace. They claimed that these duties were the responsibility of Nasoi, and that these gods were clearly false, thus making the rest of the human pantheon false. Supporters of these gods claimed that while Nasoi held authority over these lesser gods, he could not realistically manage everything at once, and that therefore these gods managed things in the interum. As the debate evolved, it eventually took on an aspect of power dynamics. The powerful clerical and ruling castes favored the absolute authority of Nasoi, while commoners preferred to worship these other gods as intermediries between them and Nasoi, figuring that Nasoi could not possibly attend to all of their prayers. Although eventually the monarchial states managed to reassert the Nasoism clergy's authority, it came with two huge price tags. The first was that the Nasoist religion had split over such zealotry, with the more moderate coastal city states retaining the human gods while the authoritarian monarchies reinforced Nasoi as a supreme god, further reducing the other elven gods to lesser status. The second was that the clergy became wholly dependent upon the monarchies, as rulers became seen to channel of Nasoi in this realm. With the monarchy centralizing power, an incredibly imbalanced form of feudalism developed in the Sun Elven lands, setting them back centuries as kings warred over prestige and honor, honing military technology but neglecting the people.
Nasoist Gods:
Due to the solar elves being descended entirely from those who were in the army, worship of Nasoi became even more prominent in their new desert environment, and doubly so as they encountered the fearsome forest trolls. It is at this point that Nasoi was formally designated as the head of the pantheon, and superior to the other elven gods. While worship of these other gods still continued, they faded into the background as Nasoi became the sole focus of the aptly named Nasoism. As Nasoi took on more prominence, he became representative of the traits that supposedly represented a good ruler, and thus took over the duties of some of the other gods.
Nasoism diverged further following contact between the Solar Elves and the Hōsuyan religion, as Hōsuyan gods were integrated into the pantheon as lesser gods who served under the greater gods. This ignited a reivival of the other gods of the religion, leading to a more balanced religion overall. However, not all of the Nasoist priests supported this move, calling the shift back towards polytheism heretical an encouraging further worship of Nasoi in response. They decried the integration of human gods as a slap in the face to Nasoi, especially the inclusion of KeꜤaget, the god of rulers, RaqꜤunar, the god of diurnality, and and Semnur, the goddess of war and peace. They claimed that these duties were the responsibility of Nasoi, and that these gods were clearly false, thus making the rest of the human pantheon false. Supporters of these gods claimed that while Nasoi held authority over these lesser gods, he could not realistically manage everything at once, and that therefore these gods managed things in the interum. As the debate evolved, it eventually took on an aspect of power dynamics. The powerful clerical and ruling castes favored the absolute authority of Nasoi, while commoners preferred to worship these other gods as intermediries between them and Nasoi, figuring that Nasoi could not possibly attend to all of their prayers. Although eventually the monarchial states managed to reassert the Nasoism clergy's authority, it came with two huge price tags. The first was that the Nasoist religion had split over such zealotry, with the more moderate coastal city states retaining the human gods while the authoritarian monarchies reinforced Nasoi as a supreme god, further reducing the other elven gods to lesser status. The second was that the clergy became wholly dependent upon the monarchies, as rulers became seen to channel of Nasoi in this realm. With the monarchy centralizing power, an incredibly imbalanced form of feudalism developed in the Sun Elven lands, setting them back centuries as kings warred over prestige and honor, honing military technology but neglecting the people.
Nasoist Gods:
- Nasoi: god of the sun, war, honor, fire, the seasons, and weather, The Radiant One, The Supreme God, and The Ruler of All
- Magi: magic god, and Nasoi's second in command
- Neima: the two-faced god of labor, merchants, change, and luck
- Ena: earth god
- Nephos: god of life
- Niia: god of death
- Fey: Nasoi's daughter and the moon goddess
- Esiador: god of the sea
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