Ursanism
Praise be the great bear, the one who protects and nurtures us, Praise be her ferocity, her strength, may she lead us to safety and victory.
Mother Bear
This religion is practiced uniquely by the Felmen, the beast races of Felmeria, they believe the one true Deity of the world is a great, all-powerful mother bear called Lita. This bear is the essence of strength and protection, they believe Lita feeds all the young, through their mothers. The Mother bear fiercely protects its cubs, and so does Lita protect her children, the races of Felmeria, to whom she gave birth. And thus people pray to Lita, the bear mother, for all their motherly needs, they pray for fertility, for a healthy pregnancy, and an easy birth, they pray for healthy children, they prey for protection. They prey for all the things they would need to raise children.Bear Strength
Besides being a motherly, nurturing figure, Lita is also a warrior, she represents strength and ferocity, and she inspires such in all Felmen warriors, she gives them the courage to stand, and the strength to achieve victory. It is for this reason that all people, but especially warriors, wear the amulet of Lita, always around their neck, it is a simple trinket, often hand made, from wood of metal, or even stone, depicting the mother bear, and all her might. Not only warriors, but any individual who is in need, might pray to the mother bear for courage, and strength, whether that be for the sake of winning a battle, or confronting someone, or whatever else.Temples
There are many shrines to the the goddess, where people may gaze upon her likeness, and be in awe. Each city has a temple dedicated to her warship, people come together here for the sake of prayer, and communal eating. Food is considered a gift from Lita, by the followers of the mother bear, and in such temples, they always serve plenty of food for the hungry, prepared by volunteers, in order to ensure none of Lita's children go hungry into the night.Religious Leaders
Leadership within the faith is very decentralized, temples are considered public property and are run and maintained by religious volunteers, who reside within the temple, for the sake of efficiency, there is an elder, the one who spent the most time at the temple, who delegates tasks. People are free to come and go from the temple as they please, as long as there is room. An elders leader may be replaced if they do a poor job, or abuses their power, this is done by vote from the temple volunteers. There is a religious leadership for each of the Felmen races, which reside in one of that race's cities, usually the biggest one. These leaders organize religious festivals and holidays, and they oversee the construction and grander maintenance of religious infrastructure, this is almost entirely run off donations, although the church also has a finger in several trade enterprises, which generates a part of their funding.The Blood of Mother Bear
The highest status amongst the followers of Lita is to attain the blood of Mother Bear, each of the five races has one such individual, one who is able to call on the power of Lita herself, through the blood flowing through their veins, as they get older, the power wanes, and eventually they pass it on to their chosen successor, whom they often spent many decades grooming to be their heir. They do so by the carrier of the power, draining their blood, and their successor drinks it, be bathed by it, so it may soak into their skin, and the blood of mother bear may give them the strength and wisdom that it gave to all those whoo came before. These individuals have the ability to call upon great powers, and even transform into a great bear, greatly enhancing their ferocity and combat prowess, but also granting them great healing powers. They act as the highest spiritual authorities within the nation of Felmeria, and they regularly meet, to discuss spiritual matters amongst each other. In instances where one of the blood dies before passing it on, the dead blood will be ingested, even long after it has started festering, however, the strength of Mother Bear will cure any affliction this would usually cause, allowing the recipient to live. In the rarest of circumstances where a body was deemed unrecoverable, one of the blood of another one of the Felmen races, offered to pass down their blood to two people at once, normally this is seen as a most egregious form of blasphemy, but exceptions have to be made in order to keep the balance of power.Mothers Blessing
A lesser strain of the blood allows certain families to transform into a more beastly and more powerful version of their race, this ability is known as mothers blessing, and it is passed from a mother to her children. These individuals are considered sacred by the clergy, and they are often made shieldmaidens, or squires to carriers of the blood of mother bear.Related Articles:
Felmen
Felmeria
Bo-Rak
Felmen
Felmeria
Bo-Rak
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