Religion
in White Willows
Religion
is important in White Willows. The dominate religion is the Church
of the All-Gods, a pick and choose polytheistic set containing
numerous gods of all kinds. Temples of the Church of the All-Gods
can be found in the city and the villages of the canton and small
shrines to specific gods dot the landscape.
The
All-Gods
Referred
to as the Million and One Gods, the All-Gods are the current gods of
the world. There is a vast number of gods this polytheistic faith
each with their own domain(s). The Church of the All-Gods is the
largest religion in the world. People who belong to this faith are
considered followers of the ‘All-Gods’. The religion surrounding
the All-Gods religion is ‘pick and choose’ as most people only
pay heed to a few gods - the ones that affect their everyday lives or
for a specific event. Most of the All-Gods are aloof, spending most
of their time in ‘the heavens.’ (In reality they live in the
moon). They are somewhat fickle and petty but are a mostly hands off
god, granting the occasional miracle and power, mostly via their
clerics or worshipers. They are often referred to as the Gods of
the world as compared to the New Gods who are gods in
the world. There is no ‘alignment base’ for the All-Gods, there
are quite a few ‘evil’ ones and a few vile ones. People often
choose a primary god of the all-gods to worship as their patron god.
Many gods have their own shrines or holy sites separate from All-Gods
churches.
The
New Gods
There
are a few gods that are considered ‘New Gods’. Their faiths are
young and while outside the church of the All-Gods, are not against
them. The three most well-known New Gods are the Untamed One, the
Light Bringer, and Sangiuis. As compared to the All-Gods, the New
Gods are extremely active preforming many miracles and they still
walk this world. (Like you can go and meet these gods ‘in-person,’
as compared to the All-Gods where you would have to go to the Moon).
The
Cults
Cult
is a bit of a catch all term for Gods that are not All-Gods or New
Gods and are dangerous to the celestial order. The Gods that do not
play nice with others, gods that have been ejected from the All-Gods,
other-dimensional creatures, demon-kings of Hell, and mad men with
mad followers are just some of the examples of cults. Cults rarely
work together and are often seeking to destroy or seed chaos in the
world.
Cosmology
On
Avatars and Godlings
Avatars
An
avatar of a god is a small fragment of itself, a literal fragment of
the greater god’s soul enshrined in flesh. Avatars are fully aware
that they are a god and are created by said god in its image. While
Avatars can be killed it’s a daunting task as most have powers well
outside that of mere mortals.
Godlings
Godlings
are ‘children of the gods’ either in a figurative or quite
literal sense. While each is their own distinct person they carry a
portion or have gained attributes from their parent god’s power.
There are two kinds of Godlings, natural and host. Natural Godings
are the result of a god mating with a mortal. Hosts are Godlings
created by a god putting part of its soul into an already living
host.
Heaven,
Hell, and the Home of the Gods
Heaven
Heaven
is a real place; a never ending palace of white marble columns, open
courtyards, and flowing fountains of wine (or beer or whatever you
want, its heaven after all). All of your needs are waited on and you
spend most of your days relaxing, speaking to the wise, and sometimes
looking down on the mortals below (that is rare however, think of it
as watching a black and white TV with a speaker missing when you have
a sweet high-def 4k big screen with surround sound in front of you).
You lounge about with the rest of the good dead in white togas, in
whatever form suits you best (most choose themselves at peak
fitness). You know your time here is limited but before you leave
to go up to the sun to be reborn you get a sweet going away party
with a custom cake and live band.
Heaven
is physically located just under the sun, at the top of the clouds,
where the sun is strongest. Visitors are rare - those with heavy
souls get burnt to a crisp by the sun and those with souls light
enough to withstand the sun do not want to cheat their way up here.
Besides that it is logistically tough to get to Heaven you would have
to fly there, traverse the Sky Islands, or find one of the few secret
stairways to get there.
Hell
Like
Heaven, Hell is also a real place. It exists at the bottom of the
celestial sphere under miles and miles of earth. Its where the souls
of the bad dead go. There is a black anti-sun down there, its cooks
off sin (that’s why everything is on fire and why everyone is
screaming). Hell is only temporary, just enough to cook you off
before going back into the sun. The worst part about hell is that
you don’t know how much time you have to spend there. Hell
wouldn’t be half bad (except for all the spiritual fire) if it
wasn't for all the damned. There are few resources in Hell and few
bits of shelter from the anti-sun. The fight for these resources and
their natural inclinations causes most of the damned to be in a
constant brutal games of conquest.
The
City Without Hunger or Suffering
The
City Without Hunger or Suffering is as marvelous as it is massive.
The city itself is built on the inside of the Moon. It wraps around
itself, if looking up one can see the districts on the other side of
the city on the ‘celling.’ It is a city of vast towers and
pagodas, minarets, domes, and spires. It is a city of conflicting
architectural styles and materials, gold and ivory pagodias next to
red brick towers with bright painted onion domes next to stone
ziggurats painted red with sacrificial blood next to black obelisks
devoid of windows save for a single one next to vast trees grown in
the shape of buildings next to pyramids made of stone that contain
both the colors and the heats of the desert. Gravity words oddly
here. While on the ground it works right yet the higher you go the
less its effects can be felt. This limitation has opened up
increasingly impossible architectural designs.
There
is no natural light here, it is all artificial. Bright colored paper
lanterns float free bobbling in the lower gravity of the upper levels
held aloft by their long burning candles. Marvels of arcane and
technological knowhow have made bright colored tubes that adorn many
building glowing with a soft neon buzz. Alchemic concoctions fuel
thick glass bulbs on the street illuminations those few inhabitants
unfortunate enough not to have their own halos, nimbus, aura, or
other magical or divine lights.
Major
All-Gods of White Willows
Solus
God
of Sunlight, Virtue, and Righteousness
Symbol:
Golden Sun on a White Field
Solus
is a god of justice and good moral upstanding. He is a literal moral
crusader. His laws (of which there are many) are the base of many
legal and moral codes. His dedicated followers are often highly
moral and highly active. Crusades are often called in his name to
‘punish evil’. He is an avowed enemy of both the undead and
cults. While extremely active (most people offer at least
lip-service to him) he has been on a decline in worship lately as the
New God, the Lightbringer has begun to poach some of his members,
particular in the Azorian Kingdom.
Crom
God
of Strength and Battle
Symbol:
An arm clutching a sword surrounded by laurels
Crom
is a god of strength and combat. Combat to Crom is a very loose term
and can apply to anything from arm wrestling to fist fights to out
and out war. His faith is popular with the rough and tumble crowd,
thugs, mercenaries, and adventures especially. His followers prize
strength both of arms and physical above all else. Bruises are
considered the ‘Marks of Crom’. Those that win fights are
expected to pay tribute to Crom, often in the form or great feasts
and parties. Crom is also seen as a god of sportsmanship, as
cheating is viewed as a sign of weakness and as is gloating. Those
who are dedicated to Crom are liable to get into a fight with you,
but will just as soon buy you a drink afterwards.
Val
Vertis
God
of Nature and its bounties
Symbol:
A tree bearing golden apples
He
represents nature in its ‘good’ form – life brining rains, warm
summers, spring blooms. His faith requires a reverence for nature –
a leave it better than you found it. You do not clear cut the
forest, but take what you need and plant two trees for every one you
remove. Val Vertis is seen as the patron of spring and the spring
equinox is seen as his high holy day. He is very popular with
hunters, woodsmen, and druids.
Mortua
Goddess
of Death and Fate
Symbol:
A robed skeleton holding a candle in one hand and dice in the other
Mortuna
despite being a death god is one of the most popular of the All-Gods.
She is seen as fickle but fair, only killing when it has been
decreed by her dice. Her dice, while they can kill, can also heal or
save. Near-death experiences, close calls, and luck are all seen as
a roll of her dice. Worshiping her is said to grant a boon on her
dice. He followers often pay tribute with sweets, tobacco products,
and candles. Any sort of large lucky winnings are expected to give
10% to the nearest All-Gods temple with a Mortuna shrine. She is
extremely popular with the poor and those on the fringes of society.
Often her clerics will run raffles or lotteries to raise funds to
help the community.
Major
New-Gods of White Willows
The
Light Bringer
The
‘One True’ God
Symbol:
A lit lantern projecting light from both sides
The
Light Bringer is very similar to Solus, both being associated with
crusading and light but the Church of the Light Bringer believes that
the Light Bringer is the only divine and that the other ‘gods’
are lesser beings – saints, angles, or spirits. Teachers of the
Light Bring focus on how bad events are caused by ‘shadows’ dark
reflections of humanity. By purging these shadows from the world one
makes the world a safer place. Much of these teachings are vague and
unfortunately what constitutes a ‘shadow’ varies from Light
Bringer sect to sect. While most agree that cults and dark magic are
shadows some also throw other things in there as well leading to
violence.
The
Untamed One
The
God of Nature, Unbroken
Symbol:
A Bioluminescent Deer or Elk or its glowing antlers
As
technology has progressed nature has often suffered. Loggers have
pushed farther and farther into woods once wild. Large smokestacks
spew smog that smothers the sun. Hills and mountains are ravaged for
their ores and other prizes within. The Untamed One stands in
defiance of this. While Val Vertis might be the god of ‘good’
nature, the Untamed One is the god of wild nature. It is the god of
predators and of violent storms, of forest fires and of rugged
survivalist. There is no organized churches for the Untamed One only
many ‘chosen ones’ that he has designated defenders of the wild,
often not willingly.
Sanguis
The
God of Blood, Bakers, and Sacrifice
Symbol:
A golden chalice set with three rubies
Blood
is power, quite literally for Sanguis. He is quite open with his
miracles but demands blood sacrifice for them. Most miracles are
well outside the price range (so to say) of most people so most of
his miracles are minor or generic (healing minor sicknesses,
bountiful harvests, etc). His religion is very popular among the
poor as most of the All-Gods demand a sacrifice of material things
for assistance - things that they often cannot spare. His temples
are small, centered on a small marble dais with groves that lead to a
central blessed golden chalice. His temples often run bakeries and
give out sugar cookies rich with warm spices to those that have
sacrificed blood to Sanguis (they also run the occasional bake sale).
While not considered an All-God he is also no enemy to them either.
Many come to him after the All-Gods have refused to help them. There
has been a recent shift for many to come to Sanguis first before
going to the All-Gods, something that has invoked the ire of the
church. There are rumors that his temples preform human sacrifice.
Major
Cults of White Willows
The
Yellow King
Other-Dimensional
Entirety
Symbol:
A robed man wearing a golden crown holding scepter with an
otherworldly symbol.
Also
known as ’Die Koning Geld, ‘little is known about this god or its
cult. What is known is that it is attempting to bring its realm –
Carcossa – into this one, either as an addition to this world or as
a replacement. His cult is extremely secretive and prefers to spread
via memetic viruses in books, plays, and other works of art.
Orcus
God
of Domination and Death
Symbol:
A white ram head on a black field
Orcus
has on multiple occasions tried to destroy all or some other gods.
He believes in the supremacy of death and that all things dead fall
under his sphere of influence (including other dead gods, the power
of which he incorporates into his own). His member seeks to spread
death far and wide, spreading war, plague and famine. His ultimate
goal is to kill every living thing and to control them. Many of his
cultists are either undead or necromancers.
Nergal
God
of Undeath, Revenge, and Forbidden Knowledge
Symbol:
A white skull with a crown of platinum.
Nergal
was an Old God and one of the All-Gods. Nergal was a god of death
and knowledge (and according to many the husband of Mortuna). Either
Orcus or Set (or both) killed him, yet he did not die. Now undead he
seeks to return back to life and to slay both Orcus and Set. He is
willing to upset the whole of the natural order to do so. Many of
his cultists are undead or seeking vengeance against those that have
wronged him. His cults are very small in membership, generally each
cell having less than ten members.
THEOMO
God
of Magic, Insanity, and Frogs
Symbol:
A green webbed hand
THEOMO
was
once a Void Elf wizard obsessed with making a name for himself. In
doing so he walked down a path that brought him to the many strange
and foreign corners of the universe. In one such corner he met the
Sladdi, strange frog-centaur like creatures that live the nebulae of
the Void Sea and who can shape the raw elements with their minds.
While studying with these inherently chaotic creatures his mind broke
but in doing so developed the spell that would become his namesake –
THEOMO’S MARVIOLOUS MISSILE. Almost identical to an extremely
common spell known by many casters THEOMO’S MARVIOLOUS MISSILE has
a key difference; it would overwrite other spells in the mind of its
caster and eventually turn them into strange frog like creatures
known as Boggies. This affect was responsible for the First Spell
Plague and in do so caused THEOMO and the celestial sphere that he
tested the spell in to be isolated until the arcane infection came to
pass. THEOMO has risen a few times and his most recent rise brought
upon the second spell plague – more commonly known as the Boggie
Pox. To the few remaining Boggies, along with a few mad wizards and
some others who think that becoming a Boggie is a stage of spiritual
enlightenment, THEOMO is their god and savior.
Odorath
God
of Slavers, Chauvinists, and Hell
Symbol:
An unbroken length of chain
Before
his godhood, Odorath was one of the Invincible Overlords of
Antiquity. A violent and ruthless warlord he subjugated all those he
conquered under a reign of decadence and cruelty, built on the backs
of slaves. Odorath was brought down by one of his slave-concubines
(she strangled him with one of chains he kept her tied to). Cast
down into Hell for his life of evil Odorath would not be contained by
petty demons. He raised an army of the damned and has conquered his
own portion of Hell. Now he seeks to burst free from the Pit, take
back what is ‘rightfully’ his. An ancient prophesies foretells
of a heroine – the Liberatrix – who is destined to slay Odorath
and annihilate his soul. Little is known about the Liberatrix,
except for her gender. To prevent this Odorath commands his
followers to subjugate women whenever possible. Unsurprisingly there
are few female followers of Odorath.
Set
God
of Snakes, Subterfuge, and Magic
Symbol:
A golden ouroboros with gemstones scales
Far
before the time of man, reptiles ruled the world. Set was the chief
gods of the ancient Snake-Folk. The Snake-Folk were an advanced
people highly knowledge in the arcane arts. They made great cities
all over the world the ruins of which form the basis of many ruins
and dungeons. In the early times, before written history, man fought
a great war against the Snake-Folk and drove them underground. (It
is said that man was losing this war until Nergal stole the secret of
magic from the Snake-Folk.) Set and his cult seek to destroy the
world of man and return the Snake-Folk to power.
