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The Church of Orus is a monotheistic religion worshipping Orus, the creator of the world and the one true god. For more information, click here Orus is primarily worshipped in the Tarantine Empire and the Teutonic States. His faith has made little headway elsewhere as of yet.
Avsharism is a religion that, depending on who you ask, either grew up out of Takturaner Elementalism or was revived from ancient Elementalism. In any case, it is a strict religion that seeks to bring down Orus and presents itself as saving all sentient beings from the tyrrany of Orus and his worshipers. The worship of Avshar is currently centered in the city of Kadesh and the Takturan desert, but is spreading rapidly. For more information, click here
Takturaner and League Elementalism holds that there are four gods; one for each of the four elements. Each elemental god is the lord of a vast hierarchy of elemental beings, including the genies, the elementals and the elemental-kin, as well as various lesser elemental beings. In the Takturan desert, elementalism is still a stark and harsh religion. There, the elemental gods are said to be aloof from mankind and care little for his cares and troubles. Indeed, they are said to barely notice them. Believers do not so much worship the elemental gods as try to appease and bribe them. In fact, they often deal less with the gods as they do their servants, particularly the genies who are the dearest servants of the elemental gods. Priests are those who have discovered a talent for dealing with the gods and their servants. While they are often wisemen of their community as well, their primary function is getting what their community needs from the gods. Genasi (half-elementals) are often favored for the priesthood because they are seen as having a special connection with their element's god that will make their job easier. Takturaner Elementalism is primarily practiced by the nomads of the Takturan desert, though it also has some following in the cities of the Gilded League and the countryside of Khemet.
The Gods of Takturaner Elementalism
In the cities of the Gilded League, it has become a much more refined religion. The elemental gods are seen as being akin to powerful rulers, aloof but with some care for the well being of their subjects. They can be petitioned for favors and bargains can be made. Much like with mortal rulers, it is often best to go through an official who has the ear of the ruler. In this case, that would be the more powerful genies. The Elemental Clergy in the Gilded League are seen as mankind's link with the gods. They have the ear of the gods and their servants, which gives them both power and prestige. Rich men are willing to pay well for them to say the right things when speaking with the gods and their servants, which has led to vast wealth. Ranking clergymen are often as wealthy as princes and even the lowliest initiate lives comfortably. Temples are rich and lavish affairs built on a grand scale, furnished with the finest and most expensive pieces available and provided with every conceivable luxury. They are often sponsored by rich men and are intended to awe worshippers and win the favor of the god they are dedicated to. Some of the largest and most important temples have genies living in residence as personal representatives of their god. Such representatives have status akin to kings and are given every luxury. They have the finest clothing, the best food and a host of concubines chosen from the most beautiful women in the land. In return, they represent the interests of the worshippers and the community before their deity. The League variant of Elementalism is practiced almost exclusively in the Gilded League, though it also has a significant following in the areas of Khemet that have been occupied by the League for some time.
The Gods of Gilded League Elementalism
According to the holy books of the halflings, there is a goddess known as "Moriya" (MOR-I-YA) who created the halfling race and gave them a home on caenum. She commanded them to care for the land and all of the creatures of nature and to defend them from those who would despoil them. She granted them the right to take from the earth what they needed to survive and prosper so long as they themselves never became despoilers. At the same time, she taught them to cherish family and friendship. In return for their labors, Moriya promised to aid and protect the halfling people and to give each halfling a place in her vast celestial family in the afterlife. The halfling holy books contain a history of their people dating back to Moriya herself, including a massive genealogy of the halfling race up to the point where the books were written. Many halfling clans have records that pick up where the holy books leave off and allow them to trace their ancestry back to Moriya herself. The holy books also contain reams of advice from Moriya to her people which halfling clergy spends spend a great deal of time studying. Scholars are fond of comparing the Moriya with both Gaianism and the Gaelish mother goddess. Such comparisons are born out of the emphasis all three place on nature and the natural world. In reality, however, there are significant differences. Moriya is a distinct entity. She neither embodies nature nor is the world her body. Gaelish theology teaches that the earth itself is the body of the mother goddess and their religion surrounds her with other deities. Gaianism reveres nature itself as its deity and does not try to give it a distinct body or personify it as a god or goddess. The Church of Orus has tried to fit the Mother Goddess into their theology by calling her one of Orus' caretakers who did not rebel and her people as the mortals created by Orus to assist her. Many halflings resist this demotion of their goddess, which has caused great stress between halflings and others. In the Tarantine empire, this has caused considerable friction, including the scattering of the halfling population from their homeland in Mesembria, and remains a source of tension to this day. The willingness of some halflings to accept the Oranite view of their religion has has created a religious split. There now exists the "Orthodox" worship of Moriya, which operates as it always has, and the "Reformed" worship of Moriya, which incorporates those changes necessary to make their faith acceptable to worshippers of Orus and focuses more on the protection of the halfling people and less on the natural world. The two faiths are often at odds as the orthodox church believes the reformed church is nothing but a bunch of traitors and heretics who have betrayed their goddess, their culture and their people. They do not hesitate to take action against the reformed Moryians. The reformed Moryians believe they are simply doing what they must to get along in a difficult world and that Moryia understands. Some even believe that Moryia IS a caretaker of Orus and that this fact was simply lost in the mists of time. The clergy of Moriya has no formal hierarchy. There is an informal hierarchy based on age, family relationship and reputation. The first two are, of course, fixed by birth but a cleric who gains a reputation for their scholarship or for holy works beyond the norm can gain respect and authority beyond their years. Despite the fact that most of their population lives under non-halfling rule, most halflings still follow their own religion. Those who abandon it typically believe their race's ill fortune is due to Moriya not upholding her promise to aid and protect the halfling people. In areas where Orus is worshipped, most (but not all) halflings are reformed Moryians while those elsewhere are Orthodox.
Moriyanism
Like many pantheons, the return of Orus devastated the Khemite pantheon. Many of its deities were destroyed or imprisoned, including the most prominent and powerful of their number. Ancient and important gods were destroyed that day. Gods such as Napatra, Unemti, Ushetep, Asharitis, Khorasis, Shabti, Nisis and Khementi were lost in a day, leaving a vast hole in Khemite theology that the priest of Orus rushed to fill. Only a few survived by hiding until Orus had set off on his hunt for "traitor" gods. Now, they act only quietly and secretly in hopes of preserving their existence and regaining some of their former power and prestige. None of the gods of the Khemite pantheon are worshipped openly any longer save, perhaps, in the most remote of Khemite villages. Their survival depends on it. Their worship is instead confined to secret cults which operate in Khemet and scattered locations elsewhere in the lands surrounding Khemet, especially Analubia. Nesubis was originally the eagle-headed god of knowledge. He possessed a set of books which contained all of the knowledge in the universe. According to legend, he found a passage about the coming of Orus and his destruction of the pantheons just prior to the event itself. Knowing defeat was sure, he set about preparing a safe refuge in which to hide and encouraged his fellow gods and goddesses to do the same. Only Nofru and Seretep listened while the rest laughed and boasted of how they would defeat this upstart northern barbarian if he ever dared show his face. When the day finally came, Nesubis prepared to flee to his sanctuary, which he had only just completed. Even with his advance knowledge, he did not suspect how fast Orus would defeat the other gods and had to flee before he was fully prepared to avoid being captured himself. In his haste, he lost one of his books of knowledge. After a long and perilous journey through dark and vile places, he finally reached safety. Only then did he stop to take stock of what he had lost. To his knowledge, the lost book was the one which told how Orus could be defeated. Nesubis ordered his worshippers to find any trace of that book or the knowledge of how to defeat Orus and restore the old gods. As the centuries wore on, his priesthood dwindled to small sects of priests operating in secret. They are devoted to one purpose, finding the Nesubis' 13th book of knowledge and the secret to defeating Orus. They are a ruthless cult and are willing to do anything, no matter how unspeakable, that might give them the next clue in their quest. Because Nesubis' flight led him through the darkest and most vile regions of the outer planes, they often deal in demonology and other dark practices hoping to extract knowledge from denizens of those regions. Seretep was the goddess of fertility, inebriety and music. She had learned to trust Nesubis long before he brought his warning of the coming of Orus. She prepared a luxury palace in a secret place and fled at the first sign of Orus' coming. Like so many other gods, her worship dwindled. Needing the power of worshippers to sustain her powers, she established her own cult. Unlike that of Nesubis, hers sought no esoteric knowledge. She is content to wait for Nesubis to restore the gods to their rightful place and simply survive in the meantime. No, her cult simply gives people what they want. The cult of Seretep is an order of priests and priestesses who operate in cities and other large population centers where their work can go unnoticed. They find secret locations and build grand pleasure palaces. There are always those who wish to have a good time in ways which society at large does not approve, particularly among the young and adventurous. It is among this element that they spread the secret of their pleasure palaces. They hold wild parties which are disguised ceremonies of worship for Seretep. These parties are noted for loud music, sexual activity of almost every description and vast quantities of both alcohol and other pleasurable substances. They fund their activities by catering to the desires of rich men and women who desire illegal pleasures and will pay well for them. They maintain a large network of smugglers to ensure they can provide such pleasures in quantity. In this way Seretep is able to keep her powers and priesthood active despite her secrecy. Sometimes, the cult of Seretep will cooperate with that of Nesubis. Such cooperation takes the form of using one of the cults parties as a cover for a kidnapping or for slipping a drug to someone the cult of Nesubis has an interest in. The cult of Seretep also uses their network of smugglers for the benefit of the cult of Nesubis. Akhemut did not fare so well as his fellows. He was the son of the god of war, though his father never favored him. His father valued only strength, not intelligence, which Akhemut had in plenty. When Nesubis warned him of the coming disaster, he heeded his advice and prepared a sanctuary. After his father was imprisoned by Orus, he went to his father's followers and led those who would follow him in a guerrilla war against Orus and his followers. At first, they had considerable success, but as the years went on his followers numbers dwindled until they were little more than a handful of desert bandits. Akhemut decided it was time for desperate measures. He sought to free his father by a daring raid on the prisons where the gods were kept. Cunning as he may have been, he was not able to outsmart Orus. He was detected and captured and remains in prison with his father to this day. His few followers simply drifted away and nothing remains of his faith but a few odd temples and campsites here and there in the desert.
The Remnants of the Khemite Pantheon
Last Updated:
Sunday, 03-Aug-2003 20:49:48 CDT
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