Dumyla
There is a single faith that dominates Baliklav: Dumyla. Though the faith was born in Aberia, it took right and proper root in Baliklav, as the philosophy was reshaped by the nomadic lives of the Túlok. Still, it pervades much of Abian culture in general, even if the Túlok fail to uphold the traditions due to their impermanent homes. It is a faith built on few tenets, but one that pervades every aspect of its culture and the daily lives of its citizens. However, unlike the faith of the Maktahai - Lách Doire - there are not gods for every aspect. Rather, the gods of Dumyla represent certain vital facets.
Moira is one such deity, being the goddess of war, fate, and death. She is very closely associated with sorcery, though it doesn’t technically fall under her domain. She is, however, one of the primary gods revered by her people. She’s symbolized by a wolf, sometimes believed to actually travel as one.
Though the daughter of Thædn, she is actually more highly honored than he is, as the majority of the Dumyla believe him to be asleep, only waking for the final war of Rhyfel. As such, she is generally considered to be the Queen of the First Gods.
Skath is Moira’s wife, and the goddess of winter and frost. She is the one who gave birth to Tiren while Moira gave birth to Lothen. It is said that Skath was born from the blood of the frost giant, Ymir, being shed during the Age of the Gods.
She has a summer form, Skogi, that is male. It is because of this dual nature as male and female, summer and winter, sun and moon that makes her a deity that is the representation of duality. She also represents life and new birth, contrasting with her wife’s role as goddess of death.
Daga is the mother of Moira, and the actual goddess of magic. She is also the goddess of fertility and nature, reflecting the Dumyla belief that sorcery is simply a process of nature, rather than some foreign concept of outside forces.
Daga is, like her husband, sleeping in wait for Rhyfel.
Thædn, the Allfather, is husband of Daga and father of Moira and Ludh. He is the god of wisdom, death, and magic, having passed much to his daughter. While she is death as an inevitability, acting more as reaper than anything else, Thædn symbolizes the rest that comes from death, and the peace of the afterlife.
Ludh is Moira's brother. As the other war deity, he embodies the ferocity and heat of battle, whereas his sister represents cunning and tactics. Ludh is also the god of the sun, reflecting his nature as a deity who brings blessing. It is he that created his nephew, Tiren’s, Dirjod by pulling fire from the heart of the sun, ore from the depths of the earth, striking it with lightning from a tempestuous storm, and quenching it in the raging sea.
Tiren is the elder of Moira and Skath’s children. As the god of rain, lightning, and thunder, he is hailed as a great warrior, drawing much from Moira, but also carrying Skath’s weather association. Also like Moira, he is associated very closely with a domain that isn’t his: war. His mother and uncle are the war gods, but his reputation as a fighter has no less drawn the association.
His greatest weapon - the half-axe-half-hammer, Dirjod - was forged by his uncle. According to legend, it is with that weapon that he drove the stake through the snout of Gandril, thus holding the world back together.
Lothen is the younger of Moira and Skath’s children, and god of trickery and illusion. Like his mother, he’s very closely associated with sorcery, but is not actually a god of magic.
Firden is the god of fire and destruction, and one of the two Rhyfel Beasts. Firden is said to have been Moira's son, born of the union between her and a mortal. This caused him to be born as the first Lycan, a gigantic wolf and a common man. His grandfather foresaw Firden bringing about the end of the world by losing himself to the Shade, and commanded that he be chained in the center of Wyrth, where he would be crushed by Gandril. This is where he has remained.
According to the Dumyla beliefs of the end times, Gandril will escape his role as the World Serpent, setting Firden free to slay the gods, along with an army of the undead.
Gandril is unique among the deities of Dumyla, as he is an Elder Dragon. He’s a god of destruction, alongside Firden, and is also the one holding the world together, according to their mythology.
Moira is one such deity, being the goddess of war, fate, and death. She is very closely associated with sorcery, though it doesn’t technically fall under her domain. She is, however, one of the primary gods revered by her people. She’s symbolized by a wolf, sometimes believed to actually travel as one.
Though the daughter of Thædn, she is actually more highly honored than he is, as the majority of the Dumyla believe him to be asleep, only waking for the final war of Rhyfel. As such, she is generally considered to be the Queen of the First Gods.
Skath is Moira’s wife, and the goddess of winter and frost. She is the one who gave birth to Tiren while Moira gave birth to Lothen. It is said that Skath was born from the blood of the frost giant, Ymir, being shed during the Age of the Gods.
She has a summer form, Skogi, that is male. It is because of this dual nature as male and female, summer and winter, sun and moon that makes her a deity that is the representation of duality. She also represents life and new birth, contrasting with her wife’s role as goddess of death.
Daga is the mother of Moira, and the actual goddess of magic. She is also the goddess of fertility and nature, reflecting the Dumyla belief that sorcery is simply a process of nature, rather than some foreign concept of outside forces.
Daga is, like her husband, sleeping in wait for Rhyfel.
Thædn, the Allfather, is husband of Daga and father of Moira and Ludh. He is the god of wisdom, death, and magic, having passed much to his daughter. While she is death as an inevitability, acting more as reaper than anything else, Thædn symbolizes the rest that comes from death, and the peace of the afterlife.
Ludh is Moira's brother. As the other war deity, he embodies the ferocity and heat of battle, whereas his sister represents cunning and tactics. Ludh is also the god of the sun, reflecting his nature as a deity who brings blessing. It is he that created his nephew, Tiren’s, Dirjod by pulling fire from the heart of the sun, ore from the depths of the earth, striking it with lightning from a tempestuous storm, and quenching it in the raging sea.
Tiren is the elder of Moira and Skath’s children. As the god of rain, lightning, and thunder, he is hailed as a great warrior, drawing much from Moira, but also carrying Skath’s weather association. Also like Moira, he is associated very closely with a domain that isn’t his: war. His mother and uncle are the war gods, but his reputation as a fighter has no less drawn the association.
His greatest weapon - the half-axe-half-hammer, Dirjod - was forged by his uncle. According to legend, it is with that weapon that he drove the stake through the snout of Gandril, thus holding the world back together.
Lothen is the younger of Moira and Skath’s children, and god of trickery and illusion. Like his mother, he’s very closely associated with sorcery, but is not actually a god of magic.
Firden is the god of fire and destruction, and one of the two Rhyfel Beasts. Firden is said to have been Moira's son, born of the union between her and a mortal. This caused him to be born as the first Lycan, a gigantic wolf and a common man. His grandfather foresaw Firden bringing about the end of the world by losing himself to the Shade, and commanded that he be chained in the center of Wyrth, where he would be crushed by Gandril. This is where he has remained.
According to the Dumyla beliefs of the end times, Gandril will escape his role as the World Serpent, setting Firden free to slay the gods, along with an army of the undead.
Gandril is unique among the deities of Dumyla, as he is an Elder Dragon. He’s a god of destruction, alongside Firden, and is also the one holding the world together, according to their mythology.
Mythology & Lore
One such myth is that of the Great Fracture and the White Ring.
As the story goes, it's Gandril's fault that the Great Fracture happened.
Gandril split the world in two by slamming the ground with his tail. In her endless cleverness, Moira devised a way to repair this damage by challenging him to hold the world together again, claiming that would be a greater feat of strength. Not one to be mocked, Gandril obliged, wrapping himself around the world. Unbeknownst to him, Tiren was in the center of the world, pushing the pieces apart. Gandril found he couldn’t do it. Goading him, Moira showed him that she could do it. Enraged, he tried again, biting onto his own tail so he could hold it shut. As Tiren was no longer in the center of the world, the ground was made whole again. Unfortunately, Tiren was ready with Dirjod and a stake, driving it through the great beast’s nose, pinning Gandril's tail inside his mouth and his head to the earth. This is - according to myth - the origin of the White Ring, as it is Gandril frozen after millennia of holding his tail.
Another of their myths regards the birth of Skogi.
According to legend, Skath was originally just Skath; there was no other form she took. She was - and still is - said to be a beautiful woman, as pristine as the virgin snow. He beauty caught the eye of Moira and Ludh both, and the two began to pursue her. She was flattered and said there was no way she could choose. The siblings begged her to make a choice, and she gave them a challenge: whoever brought her the best gift would win her love. Moira took a blanket of fresh snow, and the light of the moon to craft her a gown. she
Ethics
The first of its teachings is that there are no good or bad people, only good and bad deeds. This is rather comforting to most of them, believing that even the most wicked Soul is capable of becoming better than when they began. As a part of this belief, they have a very high standard of honor, teaching that only those that live an honorable are allowed to enter the afterlife. Should someone die in dishonor, they are not given a funeral, and thus their spirit is not allowed to leave the mortal realm. Instead, they are dubbed “craven”, and thrown into a pit. Many believe that it is this practice that causes the high rate of undead in Baliklav.
Actions that affect your honor are too many to list, but one of great import is how one treats battle. While not a belief unique to them, Valhalla is the only one of the three Paradises that the Dumyla believe in. As such, their beliefs on war are very integral to their faith. They believe that to retreat is to dishonor yourself, and that it is actually good to die in battle.
Another matter of honor is marriage. They believe that to get a divorce is to dishonor, not only yourself, but to bring dishonor to your spouse. However, the caveat to this is the reason for said divorce. The Dumyla absolutely have righteous reasons for divorce, such as adultery and abuse. Should someone be found guilty of one of these offenses, they will be castrated and made craven, marking them to wander in life and death.
As an extension of this, they don’t do remarriage. If your spouse dies, you do not remarry in the Dumyla culture. This is due to their belief that – at the moment of the marriage being sealed – the two souls are united as one entity. This means that the dead remain in the mortal realm until their spouse has died, and the two can go together into the afterlife.
Due to all of these factors, the Dumyla pantheon is slightly repetitive, having gods that represent the same domain, but different facets of the same concept. An example of this would be the fact that they have three deities that represent death, but one is for the act of reaping dead souls, acting as a grim omen of coming tragedy, while the other two stand for righteous and honorable death.
Worship
There is no specific holy scripture, and they don't have clerical orders like many other faiths in Wyrth. Rather, their worship is largely displayed by ritual practices and feasts. Regularly executed practices like the Induru, or annual events like Aosak are examples of this. Others include Úrnua, Gilak’har, and Rhyfelnid. Though its occurrence is quite rare, the Feast of the Dead Moon can also be counted among their rituals.
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments