Primer - On Religion
The Creation of the World and the Races
Little is known about those that made the world. Some may say that The Sea Ascended is one of those primal forces that brought everything into being. What is known, is that those forces created the world and everything in it, leaving the magic as a gift for their children, while tasking them to rise to sentience by grasping it and using this tool to rule over the land and sea.
The peoples did exactly this and so civilisation started, mere animals becoming freely thinking sentient beings. This however, incurred the wrath of something unknown - they just called it "The Darkness". So before any true advancements could be made, the world was cast into destruction, the darkness rampaged for generations, destroying all sentient life it could find. It took four heroes to take up enough magic power to become gods and give their people the tools and abilities they needed to fight back against the darkness. This came to be known under many different names, the age of movement, the time of nomads, the time of darkness.
Each and every world has many, many gods they may worship. In this case they are divided into two categories, the ancestral gods of the main four races and those minor gods that are ruling over different, more specific domains.
During the time of nomads, four exeptional individuals took up the mantel of godhood. Giving their people the power and tools they needed to fight and evade the darkness. Eventually they managed to drive back the darkness and reclaim the land. Each of these four are still worshipped to this day and serve as the head of the faith of their races. The interactions between them are complicated assigning labels like friends or enemies would not do them justice.
Much later another took up the mantle of godhood, under much different circumstances. A person that is much reviled by the original ancestral gods.
The minor gods are those that have ascended since the darkness was defeated. They reign over different aspects, some broadly reaching, wide and well known, others smaller and more obscure. Some open, some in secret, some with proper followings, others with cults.
Often the gods, any of them, will choose a mortal hero and infuse them with a little bit of divine energy, making them their champions. Those that accept these gifts dedicate their life to their deity and live in their name from then on out. If they are exceptional they might be rewarded after their death by being turned into one of the many kinds of angelic beings.
It is an age old question. How does a mortal become a god? They either just collect enormous amounts of magic and brute force an ascension to godhood, they can be raised by a god infusing them with a portion of their divine power, giving away a portion of infinity still leaves you with an infinite amount of godly power, so raising somebody is possible without impacting ones own powers.
Of course, you might also try to usurp the rightful place of a god. If you decide to take this route, be prepared for your soul to be torn apart and scattered among the Winds, prepare for torment and desparation, prepare to lose everything you have ever been or held.
Not many people would worship a god of murder, yet there is still one. How does that work, if their worshippers give them power? It is not the worship itself, that powers these gods, although it is a nice bonus, it is the acts commited in their domain. A god of the forge will exist as long as there are smiths and craftsmen working, a god of murder will exist as long as people commit murder. It does not matter if it is out of noble goals, dark desires or pure fun - a murder is a murder.
The peoples did exactly this and so civilisation started, mere animals becoming freely thinking sentient beings. This however, incurred the wrath of something unknown - they just called it "The Darkness". So before any true advancements could be made, the world was cast into destruction, the darkness rampaged for generations, destroying all sentient life it could find. It took four heroes to take up enough magic power to become gods and give their people the tools and abilities they needed to fight back against the darkness. This came to be known under many different names, the age of movement, the time of nomads, the time of darkness.
The Gods of the World
Each and every world has many, many gods they may worship. In this case they are divided into two categories, the ancestral gods of the main four races and those minor gods that are ruling over different, more specific domains.
The Ancestral Gods
During the time of nomads, four exeptional individuals took up the mantel of godhood. Giving their people the power and tools they needed to fight and evade the darkness. Eventually they managed to drive back the darkness and reclaim the land. Each of these four are still worshipped to this day and serve as the head of the faith of their races. The interactions between them are complicated assigning labels like friends or enemies would not do them justice.
Much later another took up the mantle of godhood, under much different circumstances. A person that is much reviled by the original ancestral gods.
The Minor Gods
The minor gods are those that have ascended since the darkness was defeated. They reign over different aspects, some broadly reaching, wide and well known, others smaller and more obscure. Some open, some in secret, some with proper followings, others with cults.
Heroes and Legends
Often the gods, any of them, will choose a mortal hero and infuse them with a little bit of divine energy, making them their champions. Those that accept these gifts dedicate their life to their deity and live in their name from then on out. If they are exceptional they might be rewarded after their death by being turned into one of the many kinds of angelic beings.
Ascension
It is an age old question. How does a mortal become a god? They either just collect enormous amounts of magic and brute force an ascension to godhood, they can be raised by a god infusing them with a portion of their divine power, giving away a portion of infinity still leaves you with an infinite amount of godly power, so raising somebody is possible without impacting ones own powers.
Of course, you might also try to usurp the rightful place of a god. If you decide to take this route, be prepared for your soul to be torn apart and scattered among the Winds, prepare for torment and desparation, prepare to lose everything you have ever been or held.
Worship
Not many people would worship a god of murder, yet there is still one. How does that work, if their worshippers give them power? It is not the worship itself, that powers these gods, although it is a nice bonus, it is the acts commited in their domain. A god of the forge will exist as long as there are smiths and craftsmen working, a god of murder will exist as long as people commit murder. It does not matter if it is out of noble goals, dark desires or pure fun - a murder is a murder.
The Gods
Primal Forces
Ancestral
The Death of Darkness
Ascending to Godhood
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