{"id":1266,"date":"2017-03-25T08:49:57","date_gmt":"2017-03-25T15:49:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/invulnerablog.imperfekt-industrees.com\/?p=1266"},"modified":"2017-03-25T15:49:33","modified_gmt":"2017-03-25T22:49:33","slug":"religions-of-eparra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/invulnerablog.imperfekt-industrees.com\/?p=1266","title":{"rendered":"Religions of Eparra"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>About Religions<\/b><\/h2>\n

The (Relative) Importance of Religion<\/b><\/h3>\n

Religion is important to many people of Eparra … but not equally important.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Way of Nature makes few demands on its adherents, other than that they accept that they are part of a grand telluric cycle, the cycle of the seasons. The people of the Five Free Cities celebrate their religion through offerings and festivals, and many people choose a patron goddess or god, but religious reasons are rarely the main motive for their decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image credit Diego Cunha:\u00a0https:\/\/goo.gl\/nOVyM1<\/a><\/p>\n

The Church of the Sun and Moon is insistent and demanding on its followers’ time and attention. In Malthireon, the nobility find it fruitful to feign absolute allegiance to the gods, and the priesthood cooperate, realizing that the nobles fund their grand endeavors like their largest temples. A few Pontifices have even, in the past, swayed the political course of the kingdom, but they did so at great cost to themselves. Followers are expected to tithe, attend weekly services, celebrate festivals, and follow at least the letter of the scriptures.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Eternal Spirit Journey is somewhere between, depending on the sect, as varied as the sects are, one from another. Some sects infuse themselves into their followers’ very lives, while others embrace the individuality of the many, encouraging the people to live their lives and in these lives, find their way to enlightenment.<\/span><\/p>\n

About Alignments (When Applicable)<\/b><\/h3>\n

The religion of the Way of Nature tends to be Neutral. Both the Church of Sun and Moon, and the Eternal Spirit Journey, are Lawful in Nature. Individual practitioners (and gods) may vary from their pantheon’s alignment, but priests must adhere to the religion’s belief system if they wish to ever perform miracles in the name of their gods and beliefs.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/b><\/b>The Way of Nature<\/b><\/h2>\n

The Way of Nature started out when human slaves, escaping from their Viskani overlords, were taken in by nature-loving Elves and adapted many Elvish beliefs to their own traditions. The Way of Nature seeks harmony of the soul with the seasons and the elements. There are no true “gods” per se, but by becoming one with the natural cycle, a great hero can become immortal, and gain godlike power. The hero-gods are said to aid mortal followers of the Way of Nature, directly and indirectly, but only those that prove themselves worthy. Heroes will always ask a follower to solve their own problems before seeking supernatural assistance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image credit GaudiBendia:\u00a0https:\/\/goo.gl\/ardLeP<\/a><\/p>\n

The Way of Nature is the unofficially official religion of the Five Free Cities. Druids of the Way can be found in every city, even though the Way has no rigid hierarchy. The only widely accepted holy book is the Scroll of the Seasons, which contains theological poetry and a smattering of epics about the hero-gods.<\/p>\n

Devotees of the Hero-Gods<\/b><\/p>\n

The heroes of the Way of Nature are not “gods” per se, but rather ascended sages and glorious adventurers who epitomize cosmic forces. They can help, and they may be appealed to, but they need not, and they may be offended and bring ill luck as well. Most people have a few favorites among the hero-gods, even the priests. Although a priest may prefer and specialize in the words of a specific hero-god, they may perform rites to propitiate and draw attention from any, and there is only one Way of Nature.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, though, the Hero-Gods are not as important as Nature itself. One becomes a Hero-God by exemplifying the powers of Nature by their actions: the power and heart of Summer, the expansiveness and flightiness of the Wind, and so on. The Way of Nature never denies that there may be a hidden tradition of mystical techniques that each Hero-God is initiated into also, once they prove themselves as an exceptional and exemplary individual.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Elements<\/b><\/p>\n

The Way of Nature recognizes four elements: wind, stars, sea, and tree, roughly corresponding to air, fire, water, and earth. There are eight major hero-gods, a male and female, one for each element. That’s not to say there aren’t more hero-gods recognized by the religion, there are lots of them, but these eight are the ones most widely recognized. Eight is a nice round number, and has a certain cosmological resonance, so that’s the number the druids settled on over time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Devotees of A Hero-God<\/b><\/h3>\n

When many devotees of a particular hero-god gather in one place, the local worshipers develop their own practices and traditions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Far Walkers<\/b><\/h4>\n

These \u201crangers\u201d focus on Kardamin Walks-by-Night and Valkmir Iron-Eyed, travelling the wooded places and there dispensing justice and mercy as they see necessary. They consider themselves a necessary adjunct to the Compact, but they have no official standing, and some like the Voice of the High Mothers and the Lord-Elect of Jenseen see them as self-important vigilantes and potential rebels.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Sea-Blooded<\/b><\/h4>\n

These priests of Bhairsin and other seaside villages follow Nyvender Sea-Born, a strange figure that\u2019s sometimes accorded status as a minor hero-god. The Sea-Born walked out of the sea one day and into a village south of Thenalem, a green-skinned man who spoke no local tongue at first. Assumed to have been washed in by the Gloom-Tides, Gracchus (so he was named) eventually learned to speak, and gave teachings about respecting the ocean, shepherding its bounty, and making sacrifices to appease the tide-spirits. Eventually he walked back into the sea with no warning, but it\u2019s said that he, or one like him, will return again to lead ships to a new and shining land beyond the waves.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Sisterhood of the Seventh Sight<\/b><\/h4>\n

Technically the Sisterhood of the Seventh Sight practices the same religion as the Way of Nature, but they learn arcane as well as divine magics, and they focus almost exclusively on the goddesses of the pantheon (Ajandri, Ambella, Deondra, and Seolsha). They believe in balance in the same way as the other priests of the Way of Nature do, but they believe that after an era of domination by males, it is time for the pendulum to swing the other way and for the female principle of the universe to take precedence.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Silkenrobes<\/b><\/h4>\n

Temple prostitutes\u00a0who follow Seolsha Silkenstep, and who see sex as a sacrament and as life\u2019s greatest pleasure. The members of this order may be male or female, but are often female. The Silkenrobes have a complicated, and not always cooperative, relationship, with the Sisterhood, but more than a few priestesses in Thenalem are members in good standing of both groups. The Silkenrobes\u2019 greatest temples are in Bhairsin and Jenseen.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Sacrifices of the Seasons<\/b><\/h3>\n

The greatest and most important ritual in the Way of Nature is the Sacrifice of the Seasons. In each season, worshipers must sacrifice something meaningful to them to the elements. <\/span><\/p>\n