Much like the real world, the world of The Map has various beliefs, spiritualities, and religions. While there are clearly higher “divine” powers that act upon the world in aid or attack of mortals, people argue over what these powers are and how they function. The various belief sets of the world of The Map will be explored herein.
Mondism is the religion practiced by the majority of the kingdoms in the Western reaches of the continent. It holds that there are various gods, but there is a main pantheon of altruistic gods who ought to be worshiped. This Mondish pantheon is at odds with The Titans, who are seen as evil and vile creatures that act to sow discord. There are slight regional variants of the Mondish beliefs, but they all contain the same gods who exercise, more or less, the same powers as in other regions.
Worship of the gods happens in various ways. Many households contain shrines to one or more of the gods, and many cities contain various temples to individual or multiple gods. There are many days of celebration throughout the year devoted to different gods, and people put on festivals for them. When festivals are not happening, people may leave offerings or join prayer services at temples or shrines throughout the year.
Priests and priestesses in this religion generally serve the same purpose, and there may be regional restrictions on the gender of clergy. Each clergy member is usually devoted to a specific god or set of gods, and on average temples have about five clergy members. Smaller chapels might have one, whereas larger parishes might have ten or more.
There are monastic and lay orders of brothers and sisters devoted to different causes and gods. Each order has its own rules, devotions, oaths, and consecrations.
The Mondish religion is led by a body of important priests called The Council of Exarchs. Each exarch is the leader of the Mondish Church in his specified region. The Council of Exarchs meets periodically to discuss matters pertaining to the entire Church. The hierarchy of the consecrated clergy is split thus:
Seen as distant and rather cold to the mind of mortals, the Elder Gods are remembered more as a spirit of action and virtue than actual beings requiring worship. Mind you, the Elder Gods are worshiped, just usually in much more minor ways than the Gods of the World. There are three elder gods:
*The final three gods, Taleina, Irsi, and Atalzerus, are sometimes known as “the dead gods” and are a special set of gods in the minds of their worshipers. It is believed that when a god dies, they do not “move on” as mortals do. They are simply in a state of distant regeneration, and cannot act upon the world as readily as the other gods. Still, their roles are very important to their followers, and it is believed that they will return in their full glory soon.
Other legendary beings that are sometimes minorly worshiped or invoked during worship of the gods:
These creatures are seen as evil, or ordered toward chaos and discord. The Mondish church believes them to propagate vice and destruction. As well, these beings are generally believed to despise mortals and the gods. It is the duty of the Mondish men and women to defeat these evils in their everyday lives by invoking the gods and living virtuous lives.
Each titan is ascribed a specific vice, untamed emotion, or value that negates the goodness of the gods. There are four “main” titans who are the most important enemies to conquer. Commonly known titans are:
*Mazroj, Kinjrel, Vyquja, and Datjryl are the four “main” titans and vices that are seen as more important to overcome than the others. In the case of Kinjrel, while death itself is not meant to be overcome, it is generally said by scholars that it is what death represents that should be overcome. That is, death is representative of decay, loss, harm, and sadness (psychological pain), and so Mondians should order themselves to comfort and console those in pain in order to combat death.
Known as The Deceiver, Negalifal is an evil dragon, and counterpart to Wrylindifal. He is said to be trapped beneath the sea for his crimes during legendary times, and represents destruction, hubris, pride, and selfishness. It is said that visions or dreams of him are bad omens. He is said to hate the mortal races, seeing them as “lesser.”
There are a number of smaller, isolated, regional, and cult-religions all based more or less off the same belief system as the Mondish religion. Some of note are:
Occasional sects that celebrate the titans as being the true and rightful rulers of the world arise across many kingdoms. Generally they are seen as evil or, at the very least, disordered.
This is a cult that focuses on worship of the Dead Gods, seeing some special connection between the gods and death. There does not seem to be much central organization, and many branches seem to exist. Some are rather harmless and ordinary, where others seem to pose some threat to peace, even going so far as to preach human sacrifice.
Especially among very isolated, ancient communities with elven influence, emphasis on worship of the Elder Gods exists. In some locations, even the newer gods are rejected entirely. It is similar to the supposed religion of the Elves, seeing the Elder Gods as the true guardians, creators, and guides of the world.
Naturally, there are monastic, religious, and lay orders devoted to individual gods, but there are also some cults that reject all but one or a few of the gods, claiming the others to be false deities.
The Teljero religion is not as set in stone or structured as Mondism, but is a set of folk traditions based on spirit worship and animism. It is practiced by many of the tribesmen and citystates of the central regions of the continent, particularly those in the plains south of the Inland Seas, between Falorum and The Southeastern Kingdoms. Varying regions have vast differences in specific beliefs and gods, but here will be listed some overarching features that are shared by almost all who follow these traditions.
Every village or encampment has at least one shaman. Shamans supposedly commune directly with the spirits and the gods in order to heal their tribesmen, predict the future, or ask for boons.
The Skymother (or a close equivalent, including “The Sunbringer,” “The Sky Father,” “The Rainmother,” “Keeper of The Skies” and many other epithets) is a central feature of all known variants of the Teljero religion. She is the creator of all life and watches over the world from afar. She is associated with the skies, and some believe that she is the sun itself (or the moon), bathed in so much glory that mortals can only see a shining ball of light. In many traditions she has two brothers, The Earthbrother and The Underchief, who are associated with fate and death respectively. They are never placed at as high an importance as The Skymother, though, who is worshiped as being more important than any god or spirit.
While there are various gods for all the different tribal and local traditions, there are a few that are found in the large majority of the Teljero traditions, with few or no exceptions.
Sankus is said to have been a legendary chieftain who conquered the world and was thus blessed by The Skymother with immortal life. He spent many years improving his skill and his wisdom. The Skymother sent her servants to question his wisdom, and was so impressed that she ascended him to godhood. He is usually a god of war, wisdom, protection, and might. He is also often said to be ruler of the dominion of storms. He has a temper to match his might, and when he becomes angered, thunder claps in the skies and lightning strikes the earth.
The goddess Kara is said to have been chosen to be the wife of Sankus. When he was not a god but still immortal, Sankus had many wives throughout his life, but none could truly satisfy him, as they were mortal. He became saddened by their deaths. Finally when he was a god, he was able to visit the spirits of his mortal wives in the afterlife, and so he asked them where he could find a perfect woman. Although the legend varies, it usually ends with the spirit wives guiding him and Kara together. Like Sankus, Kara was originally a mortal. She was the beautiful young daughter of a chieftain and had an unusually strong connection with the spirits. As she grew, she used this connection to bolster her image among the people by healing and protecting the tribe. Although spirits almost never all agree on the same things, Kara inspired them, and they voted for her to become their leader. Now as the Spirit Queen, Kara was able to live as a beautiful young woman forever and was effectively a goddess. Sankus came upon her and made her his wife, solidifying the allegiance of the spirits, who greatly feared and respected Sankus. Kara is often a goddess of mothers, women, households, daily tasks of running a tribe, spirits, rest, beauty, sexuality, fertility, and healing.
Nenaka is seen as the enemy of mortals. He is a spirit who gained power when the world was young and men barely understood the spirits. Spirits respected him for his beauty, wisdom, and/or power. He is older than both Sankus and Kara and very proud. When the Skymother created life, Nenaka chided her and rose an army of dark spirits to battle her. He was cast away by her brilliance, and his armies dispersed, but even to this day he guides invisible forces against mortals from afar.
The Spirits are not gods, but rather mysterious and magical creatures that live in a magical world laid overtop the mortal realm. They have their own kingdoms, hierarchies, politics, and social structures, but sometimes they can reach through to the mortal realm. Shamans are known to be attuned to the spirit realm more than other mortals, and often deal with spirits, asking for aid or battling them in order to benefit mortals. Many tribes have a set of spirits they deal with or know of, and create totems to them or invoke special privileges from them. Often spirits are associated with a specific object, location, or concept, such as a particular tree (e.g. the elm outside the eastern town wall), a river, or a sickness that has overtaken someone. Spirits understand the power of names, and to speak a spirit's true name is to have dominion over it. Because of this belief, many shamans are called things that are not their given name, such as Wolf-heart, Wind Chaser, or Briarthorn. It is said in some traditions that Kara knows every spirit by name, and that is why she is their queen.