Tag: faith
Unified Pantheon of Lightbringers
Posted on August 26, 2021 in Steel-Realms
The Unified Pantheon of Lightbringers gathers the “Lightbringers” of the Steel Realms into a single unit that share the same purpose: destroy the Dark Trinity and their minions forever. It follows the normal hallmarks of a Unified Pantheon working in Harmony. The afterlife promised to ALL followers of light is the Home of the Safe Hearth. All followers look to The Dawn Star of Etrius as a sacred point in the sky (it is easily found at night, and still visible during the transition to dawn during the day).
Although the Amarata is not official outside of Umbak, many of its principles and teachings find their way into the shared litany of The Church of Light through The Houthas.
Primarch of Light
Each deity of the faith has their own clergy and sects, but there is the Office of the Primarch of Light. It is located in Umbak. The office coordinates activity between the clergies as a whole. There can be no declaration of war, peace, or effort of any kind that affects the entire faith without it coming from this office. The Primarch is always male – there has never been a female. The Primarch is said to be an Divine Agent of the combined will of the Lightbringers.
- When the Lightbringers extend their influence into lands they do not have agreements with, it must be coordinated through the Primarch’s office. The only exception is the White Sisters of Aerna – they are welcome everywhere and are often used as a foot in the door. They are not controlled, because it would make folk suspicious and reluctant if they were part of the political arm of the faith.
Lightbringer Shared Sacred Observances
These are reflected in the faith’s General Liturgy.
- Sacred Events: [Sacrosanct festivals and milestone celebrations] >
- Sacred Places: [Sacrosanct locations and Pilgrimage sites] >
- Sacred Dates/Days: [Sacrosanct times of the year, recurring days of celebration or rest] >
- Sacred Times: [Sacrosanct period of a day, week, month, season, or year in a cycle] >
- Sacred Life: [Sacrosanct plants, animals, monsters, and entities] >
- Sacred Forms: [Sacrosanct colors, shapes, material (minerals, fabric, etc. )] >
- Sacred Works: [Sacrosanct documents, books, jobs/activities] >
- Sacred Items: [Sacrosanct utensils, tools, machines, clothes, armaments] >
- Sacred Armor/Defenses:
- Sacred Weapon/Offenses:
Common Tenets
Common Trivial Lightbringer Tenets
All reaffirm the Oath of the Day Watch.
Common Minor Lightbringer Tenets
Common Major Lightbringer Tenets
[related-subpages pageid=”13070″ title=”Elements of Lightbringer Unified Pantheon”]Cults, Orders, and Sects of the Ascended Celestials
Posted on August 2, 2021 in Steel-Realms
Steel Realm Celestines
These creatures are from another realm entirely, and came to Helca long ago as part of their ascension into Higher Order beings.
Common Properties
The modern age is heavily defined by the clash of faiths in the “Affray of Darkness and Light” in which they play a significant part.
Common Powers
- Wings of Ra: The aura of a Celestine was a golden aura that took the shape of wings and glowed with the power of the sun. It heated the area around them, but also bathed the area in radiation – affecting friend and foe alike (though not them). This aura was recharged through direct exposure to a yellow or red sun. The foundations of the Cloak of Stars is based on this.
Common Rites of the Faith
The Godspeak Accord
Posted on June 29, 2021 in Steel-Realms
In early days, at the end of the battle of the Valley of Sighs, the gods of dark, light, grey, and green met at the top of Mt. Doom. There they agreed not to manifest physically/directly – Proxy would be the way of battles – this was modelled on the way of the Celestine Powers on Helca. No more direct confrontation, no more direct interference. Little else is known of this, other than it has governed their interactions since. The accord allows for the deities to speak directly to their followers or against their enemies, but nothing else. It is a Sworn World Oath and is known as The Godspeak Accord. The Unholy Trio are forbidden from any activity upon the moon of Connace – the claimed domain of Ezrilus – as part of the The Godspeak Accord.
The modern age is heavily defined by the clash of faiths in the “Affray of Darkness and Light” in which it plays a significant part.
The power of a divine Principle can be invoked by Connexion, to make a pronouncement of Weal or Woe, a Blessing or Onus, vision/dream revelation, an Observance of the sojourn or even a pronunciation of Agenthood in extreme circumstances.
Violating the The Godspeak Accord
To violate the Godspeak Accord will break and stretch and bend the aether envelope that surrounds the planet of Helca itself. Divine principles will lose connection temporarily to their own sources of power – and banishment or death of a sorts becomes a genuine concern. They will be unable to provide their powers and knowledge to their followers. The breaking of oaths has serious effects including those of the gods. Their followers become vulnerable, their places of power become vulnerable, their items of power become vulnerable and this jeopardizes the mission of their followers and institutions. The breaking of such bonds carries with it a certainty that all those who have made the same bond know of the entity who breaks it. They are poised to take advantage of such an event. Elancil has some strange, limited capability of Violating the Godspeak Oath without repercussions. There are provisions that govern Divine Manifestation & ‘Death’ on Helca.
A prayer of warding must be uttered here since the god has directly spoken, it can be fought against by devout. Speaking can cause onus and curse. And triggers for augury. It can be countered using a prayer with Connexion. Pronunciation of weal or woe or vision/dream revelation.
Chronicle/Facts of the Event(s)
Knowledge is broken down by ease of discovery/availability & Meticulous Record Keeping may improve usability; Any attempt to know more than what's Pervasive will require a reference, source, knowledge, check, or access to someone who can get or provide either of these. Specific Lores may increase the chance of knowing specific elements.
Trivial Outcome / Very Easy Difficulty & Pervasive Knowledge
Information Sources: Mundane Reference | Associated Phenomenology Only | Specific Lore
For those native to or long-dwelling in the region, ALL Common Knowledge may be Pervasive.
Simple Outcome / Easy Difficulty & Common Knowledge
For those native to or long-dwelling in the region, ALL Common Knowledge may be Pervasive.
Minor Outcome / Average Difficulty & Uncommon Knowledge
Mt. Doom was given its name at the time the accord was enacted.
Whenever the gods clashed directly, some terrible natural event happened elsewhere in the world. There would be nothing left of the world for the victor but a ruin. And so, the came together to form a pact, an accord between them.
Scarce Knowledge / Hard Difficulty
Some scholars believe Elancil‘s penchant for violating the The Godspeak Accord made her vulnerable to The Odyssey of Elancil’s Wound.
The Celestials were not present when it was made, and have never agreed to abide by the agreement.
Maðr, The One (“Him”; Ducateon faith of the Steel Realms)
Posted on June 22, 2021 in Steel-Realms
>General Motto: “There is The Way, and all else is secondary.“
Quick Reference: Maðr is a Divine Principal associated with discipline, order, hierarchy, stability and stone; They are an entity that reflects the powers of Conviction through Essence.
General Motto: ""
The modern age is heavily defined by the clash of faiths in the "Affray of Darkness and Light" - part of the The Calamitous History of The Steel Realms - in which the god plays a significant part; To this end, they HAVE NOT affirmed participation in The Godspeak Accord.
Because of the divine nature of the Lich Lord’s Cold Bargain, any undead in their service can be detected with Sense Grace.
The Ducateon are technically monotheists. Although they acknowledge that there are many aspects to this divine entity, they refer to it as “Him”, “Maðr”, or “The One”. Maðr, pronounced “Mann” by most (also ‘ma-thur’, ‘mod-r’), though being grammatically masculine, it usually refers to the entity irrespective of gender. They openly individually venerate other deities as aspects of Maðr. There is even rumors of a sect of Gloom Bringer among the Ducateon, that follow the ways of “The Encroaching Darkness” and are killers of the priests of Maðr.
Promise of the Afterlife
There is a universal Afterlife for all of the folk who follow Him. It conforms to the standard Afterlife processes and manifestation.
Aspects Known/Common Associations
Major Aspects: ; These are common knowledge; Other aspects/symbols/emblems may vary by specific sect/cult or institution.
Minor Aspects:
Symbolized Role(s) and Value(s):
Emblem:
Sacred Observances: (These are reflected in the faith’s General Liturgy.)
- Sacred Events: [Sacrosanct festivals and milestone celebrations] >
- Sacred Places: [Sacrosanct locations and Pilgrimage sites] >
- Sacred Dates/Days: [Sacrosanct times of the year, recurring days of celebration or rest] >
- Sacred Times: [Sacrosanct period of a day, week, month, season, or year in a cycle] >
- Sacred Life: [Sacrosanct plants, animals, monsters, and entities] >
- Sacred Forms: [Sacrosanct colors, shapes, material (minerals, fabric, etc. )] >
- Sacred Works: [Sacrosanct documents, books, jobs/activities] >
- Sacred Items: [Sacrosanct utensils, tools, machines, clothes, armaments] >
- Sacred Armor/Defenses:
- Sacred Weapon/Offenses:
Pilgrimages and Sacred Places/Places:
Followers of the Faith
Favored Followers:
For for information on Roleplaying a character of faith, see the Divine Follower guidelines.
Expectations & Obligations: Good Standing in relation to their faith’s tenets reflected in Liturgical Observations tenets. Nominally, the Tenets of the General Liturgy are followed by the Laity of Congregations and those of higher Grace and the few Institutional Ranks alike.
Belief Made Manifest – Beyond the General Litany
- Shared Litany Tenets:
- Abiding Litany Tenets:
- Combat Exclusion:
Manifestation and Favor
Connexion Range = Varies (enhanced through the Rite of Offering) > Conviction Limits = None; Elan Building is allowed (if used).Minions and Servants
Armaments of the Faithful
Typical Elemental Divine Weapons; More powerful Magic/Mystic items are typically Singularly Bound if not Institutionally Bound.
- Average:
- Major:
- Extraordinary:
Rites of the Faith
Cults, Sects and Orders
The Pillars of Strength
Said to be located in a Rhenclave with a Resonance Chamber of immense power, the Ducateon Collective are believed to sponsor this cult in order to watch over the most powerful items in the collective’s possession. It is mentioned a few times in the ancient histories of heroes, but its exact location has remained a secret forever.
Osten-Paullus (vanished sect of the Fallen East)
Posted on May 22, 2021 in Steel-Realms
The Way of Osten-Paullus is NOT a formal Institution for Faith in the Steel Realms. It is commonly referred to as a Cult or Sect in modern times, a relic isolated to the Faith of the Riverdans. However, it was once the dominate synthesis of the gods and forces of nature that was prevalent in the eastern lands before they fell and were consumed by darkness. At one time, the Osten-Paullus faith secured safety and stability for many Dryads of the Wyld; After the Fall of the East (CY 2899), at least one found a home in each of the Riverdans of Dunstrand, where some eastern families found refuge.
The modern age is heavily defined by the clash of faiths in the “Affray of Darkness and Light” in which the gods play a significant part.
Because of the divine nature of the Lich Lord’s Cold Bargain, any undead in their service can be detected with Sense Grace.
Elements of it are still practiced by diehard traditionalists in the Cultural Experience of the Riverdans. Nominally, the Tenets of the General Liturgy were followed by the Laity of Congregations and those of higher Grace and Institutional Ranks alike.
It seems as if the faith never officially endorsed The Godspeak Accord, though was homogeneous enough to have been considered a Unified Pantheon in its fight against the darkness of the Unholy Trio. Though the measures of Grace were looked to as an informal hierarchy, it as never fully developed into a recognizable institution beyond individual locales. The last three holy places after the retreat from the fallen East were the Three Indars (Indarsh, Indaria, Indarni) – three sister-cities of old Riverdans and they were abandoned after the Nanford River changed course. All of the divine entities had their place in the order of things, but the primary faith components were as follows:
- A deep seated belief in the fundamentals of the great primeval duality expressed by many esoteric traditions of Helca.
- A tradition of service and honor between followers, not one of obligation and tithe to an authority or institution.
Principal Aspect(s) Known For
Followers of the Faith
For for information on Roleplaying a character of faith, see the Divine Follower guidelines.
Avatar Manifestation
Paullus: (The Father) Manifests as the world tree; cult of Ikribu/Darupet.
Osten: (The Mother) Manifests as the roots of the cosmic tree; tree cult of Aerna/Gaia.
Rasturi: (Offspring) Manifests as the rooting out of disease and blight. Tied to Rastur and Whelm.
Hotaru: (Offspring; Termital/hermaphrodite) Manifests as new shutes; [All Else]
Delleth: – No Material; pure knowledge
Kauketneh: A formless hunger, all-consuming against which stood all other manifestations.
Symbol
3 sided Pyramid = symbol
There are some obscure texts that link the Bestial Urges of Rastillion’s Diabolique (Malificent Minorus) to the cult.