Volume 2 Number 1

Articles in This Issue Religious Traditions

as weak and dogmatic. Any worship from the barbarians is given to the chaotic deities.
Cadewyr LG Oghmos* LN Adagus LE Aelyra* NG Daenura* N Malanir NE Maethemyr CG Maevus* CN Madiric CE

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Religious Traditions
The Divine and the Devoted series depicts the Nine Gods of Mythosa based on how they are interpreted in the Western Marrshite tradition. Other races and cultures view the gods differently. Their pantheons (for want of a better term) are detailed below. Names marked with an asterisk (*) indicate the deity is female in that pantheon.

Runir
The Runic pantheon has traits of dualism, but it adheres to a hierarchy of sorts, taking the divine square and rotating it such that Balthor is on top and Melarr is at the bottom. The Runir generally see the world as a struggle between lawful good and chaotic evil. As such, Balthor is their highest and primary deity. After being freed from the Hearthstones, a popular belief among the Runir is that their imprisonment was the will of Balthor, to preserve them for a future conflict (or to avoid a prior one). This was undone by the Enemy, the chaotic evil Melarr.

Note: Western Marrshite refers to the Southern

Kingdoms west of the Sidra Peaks, the Emerald Coast, and Ambia. It includes all Marrshites outside of Syrhaat. The names and details of the gods are described in the Divine and the Devoted series and are not included here.

Humanoids
Orcs, ogres, and their kin are generally partial to Azakhar, Shaarizad, and Aadu, though the names they give these dark gods vary greatly from race to race and tribe to tribe. References to the neutral and good deities usually adopt a name from another pantheon. Shadrathu and demon lords are also popular targets of worship for these races.

Khazrani/Calythir
The inhabitants of Calythir and Khazrani have the same names for the Nine, but their views about the gods are quite different. The Calythirrans are generally more open and accepting of all the gods (except the evil ones and especially not Adagus), though their worship tends towards the neutral and chaotic. The Khazrani dismiss the lawful gods
Runir cleric of Balthor

The Runic pantheon consists of Balthor on top, supreme among the gods of good. A typical Runir would have an attitude of Helpful towards a follower or clergy of Balthor. The next tier holds those who are one step removed from the

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philosophies of Baltur his daughter Hasrid the Healer, who shys away from full lawfulness due to an overly compassionate personality, and his son Halgrim the Lawgiver, who lets his obsession with order blind him to the misdeeds sometimes conducted in the name of lawfulness. Most Runir are Friendly towards these two religions. The Runir are Indifferent to the third tier, which are those who are two steps removed from Balthor. These faiths are halfway between the ultimate good and complete evil. Runir who tend to fall here by faith or action are either considered not worth bothering with or lost sheep who need to reconnect with their Runic nature the community of law and good. Grimthor the Tyrant (commonly worshiped by the Duergar), Verhild Stonemother, and Skafurd the Fool occupy this tier in their pantheon. Note that Verhild is considered more-or-less to be an unattentive, uncaring deity. They recognize her as Balthors sister, an earth and nature goddess, but one who simply sets things into motion and thens steps back to let them develop on their own. The fourth tier of the pantheon has those who are three steps from Balthor or just one step from Melarr. Runir are Unfriendly at best to the adherents of these gods. They include Khaain the Shadow and Asera the Harlot. The lowest and final tier of the pantheon is reserved for the hated Melarr the Destroyer diametric opposite of Balthor. Melarr represents all that dwarves hate: he is evil and chaotic, and revels in destroying that which the Runir take delight in creating. His cult is also held responsible for the deaths of countless dwarves, slain when the Chaos Orbs shattered the Hearthstones.
Balthor LG Halgrim LN Grimthor LE Hasrid* NG Verhild* N Khaain NE Skafurd CG Asera* CN Melarr CE

Skalnir
The Skalnir pantheon is similar to the Runic, but it has no tiers like the latter. Patterns of worship tend to be similar to those of the Western Marrshites, with the exception of Malarr. The Sea of the Frozen Dead spawns numerous destructive storms, so appeasement of Malarr is common in the North Realms.
Baltur LG Halgrim LN Azakhar LE Astrid* NG Verhild* N Khaand NE Skafurd CG Asera* CN Malarr CE

Sylvari/Drakari
The structure of Sylvari religion is somewhat similar to that of the Runir in that it is akin to a rotated square. For the Sylvari, however, the square is tilted towards chaos rather than law. Lyranis is the chief god of the elves, though many of them also follow Allyreth, Sindyrin, and Kalthira. There is no rigid hierarchy like the dwarves have, however. Outside of the principal four gods, the Sylvari respect Valenthe for his goodness if not his lawful nature, they are indifferent to Iseldarilas, and they are hostile to the Dark Triad: Azadrimir, Malera, and Daedir. Given their veneration of Lyranis, Azadrimir is treated as the ultimate enemy of the Sylvari, though the other two dark gods arent considered to be much better.

Sylvari druid

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In general, the Drakari reject the gods, but a small number are partial to the shadowy goddess Malera. Legend has it that she was one of the dark powers that engineered the fall of the Drakari and the ensuing civil war with their surface brethren. Why she doesnt have a greater following among the dark elves is unknown.
Valenthe LG Iseldarilas LN Azadrimir LE Allyreth* NG Sindyrin* N Malera* NE Lyranis CG Kalthira* CN Daedir CE

They do recognize a neutral earth deity, but druidism is not common there. Those few who do adhere to that faith simply refer to the earth goddess as the Mother. Finally, there is Kalima, the genderless manifestation of amoral chaos. It is believed to have been a minor power, equal to Sira (both of which were weaker than Yadra and Marus), but who has been growing in power over the years. As Syrhaat slides further into decay, Kalima-worship continues to grow. In some regions of Syrhaat, particularly the city of Ulem, worship of Kalima has surpassed that of Yadra.

Syrhaat
Syrhaati religion is essentially dualistic. There are two primary gods, each with three aspects. The first is Yadra, goddess of goodness and light. She encompasses all three of the good deities: Varya the Judge, Ayana the Healer, and Ushura the Huntress. Like Yadra, the three are all female. The enemy of Yadra is Marus, god of evil and darkness. His aspects are Atazikan the Tyrant, Dravanas the Shadow, and Kalat the Destroyer. Marus and his aspects are all male.

Ulthia
Only one god is revered in the Ulthian Imperium, that being Azakhar (which is the name he is known by there). References to any of the other gods use their Khazrani or Western Marrshite name.

Valnysia
The Valnysians give no veneration to the gods. They acknowledge their existence but believe that people were meant to look after themselves, and worship of deities is a sign of weakness. References made to the gods use their Khazrani name. The exception is the Kargyr, who draw strength from their unholy pacts with the dark powers.

Varghani
Varghani religion differs little from that of the Western Marrshites save for different names. Some more remote areas use older names for some of the gods, leftover remnants from the twilight years of the Khemsan Empire.
Qadhim LG Khalhir LN Azakhar LE Azara* (Nesheri) NG Khameena* N Shaarizad (Sethamikis) NE Atahzia CG Jhadara* (Shemrenebi) CN Imlis CE

Yadra, Goddess of Light

The Syrhaati dont acknowledge a LN deity; they believe that there once was a genderless god of law named Sira, but it has either abdicated its role or no longer exists. They believe this explains the continual degradation and lawlessness that the world has been succumbing to over the years.

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Visstakh
The Visstakh believe the gods are great dragons and the pantheons of other cultures are simply their attempt to impose their cultural norms on the dragons. The lizardfolk mainly worship Izathan, also called the Great Scaled Mother. She is depicted as a huge dragon occupying the interior of the world. The rest of the gods are acknowledged, but none has any notable following among the Visstakh.
Akathis LG Pterakamis LN Azakaaris LE Izakaa* NG Izathan* N Tzunthanax NE Tethicus CG Hazizatan* CN Zaalhiss CE

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