Pantheon and Religion

There is a number of gods and deities that formed, shaped, and now watch over Eliqueth. The Grand Deities created the world, the deities of fire, water, earth and air came together to form the lands and seas, and combined with with gods of sun and light, and moon and dark, they created life, granted them magic and introduced them to mortality, and they have blossomed into civilizations and cultures beyond what their creators could have ever dreamed.

In some places, these deities have been grouped together and worshipped in the form of organized religion, and in other places, they are worshipped as individual beings.

The Deities

The Grand Deities

Gyric, god of water

Healif, god of the sun and light

Illumia, goddess of the moon and dark

Nirol, god of earth

Qeva, goddess of death

Rinka, goddess of air

Tridevh, goddess of the arcane

Xala, goddess of fire

The Minor Deities

Azreus, god of artisans

Chihel, goddess of wisdom

Felrasil, goddess of trickery and illusion

Firus, god of growth and progress

Istos, god of order and balance

Itia, goddess of love and fertility

Jeshyl, goddess of luck

Kriollis, god of wealth

Oarah, god of freedom

Quilene, goddess of peace and tranquility

Vallixtus, goddess of strength

Vehyr, goddess of revelry

Wyolt, god of dexterity

Yeldi, god of faith

Zitarin, goddess of victory

The Unfavoured

Aias, goddess of chaos and destruction

Gonoor, god of beasts

Khelnir, god of war

Tagaos, goddess of plague

Therione, god of vengeance

Udos, god of hunger

Xurias, god of the end

Deities in religions

The gods and deities have differing levels of influence and importance in different kingdoms and continents.

Norlaria

Aelivia

Worshipped in Liath and Elere, the Aelivia Writings tell the story of Healif, God of the Sun and life and Illumia, the Goddess of the Moon and death, ancient lovers kept apart by their duties. Healif only appears during the day when the sun is high and Illumia only appears at night when the moon is at its brightest. Each kingdom takes it upon themselves to keep their love alight and pass gifts from one deity to the other. Many important events, such as royal weddings and coronations are held at dawn and dusk in the hopes that both deities will observe and bless the celebrations. Aelivians consider death as the ultimate gift between the gods, being sent from the god of life to the goddess of death to be kept forever, unless they died by their own hands. When using the deities name in blessing or in curse, it’s bad luck to use the wrong name at the wrong time of day, e.g. using Healif’s name during the night.

Elaimet

Elaimet is presently only found in Yne due to Riadin’s takeover of Quint. Elaimet is the belief of the four animal gods, representing the different elements, fire, earth, water and air. Xala is the snake Goddess of fire, Nirol the bear God of the earth, Gyric, the turtle God of water, and Rinka, the eagle Goddess of the air. Together, they keep the peace between all lives on earth and maintain the balance to keep the world stable. There is a temple dedicated to each of the Gods, spread amongst the kingdom, each filled with druids who have chosen to dedicate their lives to worship one of these Gods, becoming vessels of the almighty beings will. They believe that when you die, your body should be sacrificed to one of the gods, either chosen by you in life or by family or friends if one wasn’t chosen. To be sacrificed to fire, your body is cremated and your ashes are cast off from the peak of the temple to Xala, to be sacrificed to the earth, your body is buried and given back to the ground to decompose and help plants grow, to be sacrificed to water, your body is sent down the river towards Thydle, strapped in a small canoe to eventually reach the ocean with a strategic small hole that when it reaches the oceans, the waves will slowly fill the canoe and sink it, and to be sacrificed to the air, your body is carried to the highest peak and left to decay and be carrion for birds.

Leolara

Leolara is found on Folitira and was founded by a Thydilian naturist who fled to the small island to escape the stress of politics, and found a special kinship with the sloths found on the island, seeing them as the ideal model of a calm lifestyle of living at your own comfortable pace. Word spread and others seeking a similar lifestyle made their way to the island from across the continent with the naturist, Oliver, as their guardian. These people prefer to live at their own pace, with no judgements and far less expectations, with their community slowly growing as the word spreads, these people are as free as they choose to be. As the Guardian is dying, they will choose the next guardian based on magic and community engagement. Leolaraians believe that when you die, you’re reborn as another version of yourself with very little recollection of your previous version, and that you’ll restart your life over and over again, every time you die, until you’ve become the best version of yourself. When this happens, your soul will dissolve into the universe into a permanent feeling of love and warmth.

Riolt

Those in Solenth and Vandoc West are under the rule of Riolt, a very strict religion which rules entire kingdoms. There are strict beliefs and regulations that the kingdom has to live under with risk of exile, public punishment or even execution if someone dares to speak against the Rioltian Scripture. They only believe in one God, Liaral who is the creator of all and while on Norlaria, wrote the Scripture and it is believed that he gave it to Felix who became the first minister of Riolt. He then rose to power in Solenth and enforced this Scripture onto his kingdom, believing he had the divine right to rule. His bloodline is still in power and has since spread to other kingdoms by younger brothers that did not get to rule. According to the Scripture, women are fit for nothing other than bearing children and keeping the house in order while the men study, work and pray, an idea that tends to be frowned upon by most other surrounding kingdoms. Rioltians believe that after death, Liaral will judge you as to how well you followed his Scripture and decide whether you did well enough to reach Silintiya, a place where you’re rewarded for your accomplishments or if you failed and go to Skrylatia, where you get punished for your sins for eternity. Liaral is actually Felrasil, playing around with whole kingdoms to see how much they can be manipulated.

Taika

­­­Taika is only found in Thydle, the mystic kingdom. ­­­Taika is based around the source of magic and the belief that the Goddess, Tridevh, provides and refills the pool of which all magic is sourced from. They are a very peaceful kingdom, due to this and don’t believe in using their magic for evil. If someone is found using magic inappropriately, they are captured and taken to the highest mountain in the kingdom to await Tridevh’s punishment or execution, depending on the degree of violation. The history of this religion is only known to those in Thydle and is kept secret from the prying eyes of any other kingdoms as it is found on ancient cave walls, written in an ancient language that only the soothsayers can understand, as they pass the knowledge down the generations. Taikanites believe that once you die, your soul is reborn into the world as another living thing. It could be any kind of human or humanoid, or animal or even a plant, but every soul finds its way back into the world.

Vielish

Found in Riadin (and any other countries they’ve enforced it upon), Vielish consists of six Gods which, once they reach 16, a person may choose what god they want to follow. Chihel, the Goddess of Wisdom is chosen by those who want to be scholars, teachers and philosophers in hopes of better understanding. Wyolt, the God of Dexterity is chosen by those who wish for more skill in their chosen fields of work, including mining, building, cooking and motherhood, and any other professions. The God of Faith, Yeldi, is chosen by those wishing to follow the path of priests and preachers of Vielish, to pray for better clarity of the mind and faith, and to aid those coming of age in choosing the God of their choice. Vallixtis, the Goddess of Strength is chosen by those wishing to be soldiers, warriors and knights in hopes of more strength when defending and fighting for their kingdom. Kriollis, God of Wealth is chosen by merchants, investors, noblemen and royalty to protect their wealth or in hopes gaining wealth and becoming rich. Jeshyl is the Goddess of Luck and as such, tends to be chosen by those unsure of their path in life or those who don’t have one, such as street rats and the homeless. The idea of Vielish is to allow a person to choose their guide in life rather than having one forced upon you. Veilins believe that all souls, when their bodies perish, need to find their way to Acrila, regardless of the life they lead, where your soul can rest in peace, but in order to reach the eternal resting place, someone who saw you die must call out your name somewhere in Riadin. If no one calls out your name, it is believed that your soul with never rest and eventually manifest into a hateful spirit that seeks vengeance.

Skeptic

Skeptic is the name for the kingdoms whose faith does not lie with the gods or no particular religion. There’s a number of kingdoms that are classified as non-believers and follow no religion but because of this, they accept refugees from other kingdoms who are fleeing due to oppression or disbelief. Despite these kingdoms not choosing a singular religion, they do allow the people to follow a religion of their own choosing but there are laws that prevent any one religion attempting to take over the kingdom. Occasionally, Skeptics are called heathens from less savoury folk.

Achviara

Achviara is a cult from an unknown kingdom of origin. They believe in finding the secret of eternal life through both human and animal sacrifices and it is believed they regularly perform these ritual sacrifices at the same time in every kingdom, deep in the dark cellars of their homes, away from the prying eyes of their suspicious neighbours. Achviara is found in every kingdom’s history at some stage, some appearances more recent than others when strange shapes and symbols drawn in blood are found in a forest or basement somewhere. They are both everywhere and nowhere at once.