Summer Worship

Summer Worship is a sect which split out of the branch of Neih of the Veritian Church. It is one of many sects to split from the branch of Neih, as the pantheon of Neih is so present living on the Cosmic Tree. Summer Worship is the most prominent one, being the dominant religion of three prominent cities, Armchester, Thirdric and Evermore. Summer Worship is often attributed to the dawn of the Sundering era where the southern regions seceded from the Church of Veritas. Summer Worship is a settled religion, being one of the world religions of the Veritian Leaf.

Divine Origins

Summer Worship originated out of the branch of Neih of the Church of Veritas. Halflings of the church saw Summer (the sun of Neih) orbiting around them giving them day and night, and thought it odd the feelings his light gave them. Somewhat influence from echoes of Lesser Realm sun worship, they built altars and temples to Summer. At first, it was condoned by the Branch of Neih, seeing it as simply as a denomination of their church. It became suspicious to the Church of Veritas after instances of visions of Summer became more frequent than ones of Neih itself. They hoped to limit Summer Worship, which the Summer Worshipping halflings saw as an affront to their faith. Soon there were calls for secession so that they could worship how they please, forming the three cities of Armchester, Thirdric and Evermore.

Cosmological Views

They piggyback off the cosmology of the Church of Veritas, believing in the reincarnation cycle through the seven planes. But they do not heed to much about it, seeing the pursuit of Veritas to be knowledge too highbrow for the lowly halflings. They try to stick to Neih cosmology of seasons, the life cycle of the cosmic tree with its four 10,000 year seasons, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. They personify these seasons, uplifting Summer as the greatest, calling him the Dawning King. They hate the expressions of Winter and resist the machinations of Fall.

Tenets of Faith

Summer worship is the pursuit of the good and pleasant life. It is classically hedonistic (opposed to vanity and vice, yet still mainly about self-fulfillment and personal pleasure). Many halfling cultures on the Veritian Leaf have built a religion around Summer, loving the freedom and pursuit of happiness Summer desires. It opposes that which destroy happiness, so it rejects evil and also restraint almost paradoxically.

Priesthood

Summer Worship has orders of clerics and paladins gifted with power by Summer. The paladins are the guardians of Summer Worship, gifted to defend the joys of Summer. The clerics are the more pastoral branch. Summer Worship also has priests not gifted with radiant power, but they tend serve the political and prophetic elements of Summer Worship. Being gifted with power by Summer is not seen as that necessary to Summer Worship, as partying and gardening do not need much power.

Type

Religious, Sect

Subsidiary Organizations

• The Evermore Resistance
• Third Militia

Deities

• Summer, The Dawning King

Divines

• Summer, The Dawning King

Controlled Territories

• Evermore

Neighboring Nations

• The Dormant Cult

Notable Members

• Elias Meadowgrove
• Pops