Religion

Aethtea has many different religions across its many lands, from the Faceless or the Vaah of the Eastern States, to the Gods That Walk Among Us in the Lands Without Borders. I could go into great detail about each of these, and perhaps someday I will, but for now there are just too many and too little time, so for now I will focus on arguably the largest religions.

Athanatos and The Great Religion
Throughout the majority of the Ages, one religion dominated the Wester Lands, known by its followers as The Great Religion, or the Following of Athanatos. It is the belief in 'The One, The Five and The Many', a collection of tiered Gods that each take up their role in the world.

Athanatos is the Great One, from which Aethtea took its name, the most powerful of the Gods and on the highest tier. The Great One is genderless, but many see Athanatos as a father to all women and a mother to all men.

Then come The Five:

Yntos - 'The One who spoke to the light and the dark'
Daltos - 'The One who tempered the chaos'
Trinitos - 'The One who filled the ocean with his tears'
Vartos - 'The One who crafted the mountains with her bare hands'
Penntos - 'The One who birthed life into the world'

They are not entirely separate entities, but form a complex system beyond our understanding. Many priests describe the relationship between the Great One and The Five as viewing it like 'a palm and its fingers, it takes all parts working together to form a hand.'

And then come The Many, the lesser Gods:

Jeerus - God of arts and music
Malaphi - God of luck and games
Lythina - Goddess of healing and hospitality
Vulkor - God of war and violence
Fester - God of disease and plague
Chias - Goddess of farming and the harvest
Alzeer - God of trade and travel
Kandar - Goddess of craft and architecture
Barthamel - God of wisdom and learning
Lupesh - Goddess of the wilderness and the hunt
Aerine - Goddess of storms and the weather
Querrilian - Goddess of merriment and pleasure
Suspiro - God of lies, deceit and crime
Reilaph - God of wealth and commerce
Doruh - Goddess of justice and truth

Every follower of the religion favours one God over another, praying to that one in their times of need. For example, a merchant will likely follow Alzeer whereas a scribe will likely follow Barthamel and so on and so forth.


The Vaah
The Vaah is the dominant religion of the Eastern States and in some areas around The Circle Ocean and into The Rogue Territories. This religion, rather than focusing on Gods, is about an unseen collective mass of ancestors that either aid or hinder the living.

Prayer comes in the form of song or dance, as music plays a large part of this religion. Nothing is written down, but passed from one generation to the next through songs or poems.

When those following The Vaah die, their bodies are not to be buried, but to be burnt and their ashes scattered to the stars so the can become one of them. If the bodies are left to rot, it is believed their being will be forced to remain alone in the darkness for eternity, always searching for The Vaah, but never finding them. These spirits are known as Wanderers, and sometimes stumble out into the living world, bitter and angry. One should hope never to encounter a Wanderer.