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Message: <blockquote data-quote="airwalkrr" data-source="post: 5147757" data-attributes="member: 12460">Here are a few morsels about the various religions of Geora.Geora is full of very religious people. From the magnificent ancient temples to Kaiya, to the hidden forest fanes dedicated to Volnari, there is a wide religious diversity within the world. Most Georans ascribe to one of four major religions. In the Old Countries, the worship of an overgod, Kaiya, is predominant. This religion is notable for its simultaneous monotheistic and polytheistic beliefs. In some of the wild regions and barbarian tribes, the worship of Volnari, goddess of nature, is most common. Within the secretive Republic of Berandal, as well as a few other places, the dualistic religion of Convergence is recognized, pitting a god of light against a god of darkness. Among the monster races and some evil human and humanoid communities, demon worship, including that of the ancient Demon King, can be found.Kaiya is known within the Old Countries (those countries that derived from the ancient Empire of Kale-Jerome) as the All-Seeing, the Great Mother, and the Omnipotent. If you were to ask any Old Countryman about his religion, he would tell you he is a monotheist. However, in the same breath he might also tell you of the Great Conflict and his reverence for the Exalted Councilors, the Grand Stewards, the Communicators, and the Avatars, large pantheons of seemingly numerous deities. The truth is both are correct. Belief in Kaiya acknowledges at once that Kaiya is the only deity, and that there are many gods and goddesses who are merely aspects of Kaiya manifested in the divine realm. Thus, while Lucar (also known as the Judge) might seem to outsiders to be a separate deity within the pantheon of the Exalted Councilors, an Old Countryman recognizes that Lucar is merely an aspect of Kaiya's lawful nature. Old Countrymen see nothing contrary about claiming that Lucar and his brother Quesym (a deity of chaos, also known as the Tempest) are actually both aspects of Kaiya's complex true nature. To make things even more confusing, there is also a male aspect of Kaiya known as Orajahn, the Mighty Father. Both are worshiped together but at times seem distinct entities to an outsider.The worship of Volnari is both an interesting and unusual thing. Those who place their faith in her do not necessarily deny the divinity of other beings. Rather they acknowledge Volnari's sovereignty over the natural world in which they live and believe that other faiths simply have little to offer them. You will never find a temple to Volnari in a city, but you would be hard pressed to find a forest or wild plain without at least a small shrine dedicated to her somewhere. Priestesses of Volnari (men are relegated to being supplicants and holy warriors at best) usually serve nomadic tribes as wise women and spiritual guides and are said to be capable of speaking with trees and animals as one man converses with another.The history of the faith of Convergence (also known as Dualism) is, in many ways, the history of Berandal itself. The adherents of this religion believe in two deities to the exclusion of all others, and believe that at some point in the future, these two powers will engage in a final conflict that shall bring the world to an end. Those who side with the winner will be exalted while those who side with the loser shall endure eternal ruin. Those who worship the light follow Radiar, and he is the embodiment of all that is good, just, kind, and merciful. Those who worship the darkness place their faith in Ga'lon, and he is the embodiment of all that is evil, oppressive, vile, and cruel. Over the years each has waxed and waned within the Republic as the leanings of its people and rulers has changed. In Radiars waxing years, the people offer their prayers to him in hopes that he will protect them from Ga'lon's predations. In his waning years, the people have offered sacrifices and penance to Ga'lon in hope that he will be pacified and avoid causing strife and pestilence in their midst.Demon worship has existed since the age of the Demon King, and it still thrives in some parts of the world today. The most common cult is the Summoners of Dezmaeron. These wicked followers of the Demon King who used to rule the world seek to undo the magic weaved by Eindore and the Thirteen that binds their lord in Bathys and return him to the world, ushering in a new era of tyranny and chaos. Most sane people have little to do with this cult and consider its adherents to be utterly mad. There are also the mysterious followers of Yaargh-Anoth, who seek to undermine the various other religions of the world in a number of ways. Those with rebellious leanings, traitors, and turncoats are generally characterized (whether accurately or not) as followers of the Insurgent (an epithet for Yaargh-Anoth). Prophets of Yaargh-Anoth, generally known as Mendicants, live in poverty and give all that they have away to charitable causes. Such behavior is unusual for a demon-worshiper, but it is said that doing so gives them oracular abilities, and it is in no small way responsible for the growing popularity of this cult as an underground movement. There are those who claim that Yaargh-Anoth is not truly a demon, but rather he has simply been characterized as such by the religions that consider the cult to be stealing their worshipers.</blockquote>

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