Religion & Powers
The Church of All
The Church of All focuses on worship of the Gods Who Are Many- primordial spirits that have fused into one being. The Gods do not have a name, and are praised for their swarm like influence over the world. The Chruch of All was founded by the Seer - a Myrrish man from Tir Caredyr who was wracked with visions of ten Gods of All, and composed his visions into a many chaptered Holy Book, divided into (so far) 6 books. The Book is called the Book of Voices, referring to the many Voices that spoke to Malachi in his dreams.
The book teaches that in the beginning of the world, there was the land and the sea. The land was a beautiful maiden and he sea loved her dearly. From the seafoam that lapped on their shores came their son, Marvaanagh. Marvaanagh lived on his mother, and gave names to all the things living on her surface, true names. But he was not happy, because he was the only thing on the surface of his mother that could speak, and though his mother spoke to him,he longed for a peer. Against the wishes of his mother he gathered up sand from her beaches and mixed it with his blood. He spoke to the form he had molded, and called her Geinnee. She became his wife and from their love sprung a host of a dozen children, who had children of their own. These were spirits, the first of the world not human kind.One of the spirits was Finbar who lived with his brother and his brother's wife. He was accomplished in magic and arms, and he desired his brother's wife because he believed he was more worthy of her. One day he whisked his brother's wife away, running off to a far away castle. His brother was furious and rallied his friends against his brother. They waged war for centuries, until the surface of the earth bled and the sea went salty with tears. The son of Earth and Sea watched in horror as his children and grandchildren killed each other- until they had killed all of them. The surface of the Earth was now wounded and empty save for Geinnee and Marvaanagh who picked through the bodies of their children. They agreed that they could never let this happen again-the loss was too great. They made a pact to deal away this bloodstained world, away from their mother the Earth and their father the Sea, so they did not have to bear the weight of their sin- their dead children. They sealed away their dead children and their battlefield in memories and dreams; this was to be the Duinnoban, land of spirits and dreams.They left their mother the earth behind and their father the sea, fleeing across the surface of his ocean to some desolate patch of beach. This was to become Donegal. Geinnee and Marvaanagh fashioned a blade from the sky and stars, and they drove it into each other's hearts. Where their blood mingled with the sand, new beings spung- the Gods of All. This race of spirits we're given no names, since Geinnee and Marvaanagh were dead, but they were plagued with memories of another land and the beings that had lived on it, the Duinnoban. Troubled by these memories and wishing to put an end to them, the gods of All crafted 12 beings of starlight and sand, with wings of sunlight to travel across the sea and find the Duinnoban, and do battle with whatever lived there. These were the first angels.When the 12 reached the Duinnoban, the saw a horrible sight. The battlefield was crawling with half formed beings that had been birthed from the blood of Geinnee and Marvaanagh 's children and from the sun that had shone on them. Only one of these beings was perfectly formed, and his shape was a reflection of the 12's own - and he somehow had a name. He was called Bel. The 12 were shocked, and asked for names from this being. He named them all, and when he did they were stricken with free will. Six of the 12 desired to return to their Gods of All, while the other six preferred to stay with the one who had given them names. But he was born of blood and battle and wicked through and through. He corrupted the six that he named, and they became the seven evils of the world: Abraxus, the Lord of Deceit, Enoch, the Lord of Violence, Vrakesh, The Lord of Filth, Malconia, The Lord of Lust, Turagath, the Lord of Avarice, and Orobas, Lord of Apathy. Bel was their king and leader, the King of Kings - who embodied Pride. The six who returned to the Gods Who Are Many explained their situation and told them their new names. The Gods Who Are Many were furious that Bel had corrupted their angels simply by giving them names. They crafted another six angels to reform the 12, and bestowed them with names of their own design. They commanded their angels to go to the Duinnoban and cast out their fallen brothers . They would not kill them, because kinslaying was a sin, but they threw then from the Duinnoban into the Darkness of the Night Sky- the Void. There they have remained ever since, trying to manipulate the world to their own ends.The Gods Who Are Many refused to kill their children, but they needed a group of people who could kill this great threat to the world. From the sands of the Duinnoban, stained with the blood of the children of Geinnee and Marvaanagh and the wet clay of Donegal, they made a race , susceptible to the influence of evil but not of their blood, who had a sacred duty to do battle with the evils of the world. And they called this race mankind.
The Church of All is headed by an All-Voice, the son of Malachi, who refused to take a name, saying that he was merely a conduit for the Gods will, and that he spoke the language of the Gods. Beneath the All-Voice in the hierarchy are the All-Speakers, who serve as missionaries, after learning the Book of Voices by heart. The lay brothers and sisters of the church- the All-Brothers/Sisters- are beneath them. All-Brothers/Sisters who are put in charge of a specific chapel dedicated to the Church of All are commonly referred to as All-Fathers/Mothers, and enjoy a higher station that the All-Brothers and Sisters, and are generally the eldest and most experienced members of their chapel.
All Swords
The All-Swords are the militant branch of the Church of All - and they have all undergone the Change, a mystery to even those within the church. The Change universally turned their eyes orange, and gave them skills necessary for hunting heretics and demons alike. There are currently five of them, one of each of the regions completely converted to the Church of All (Tir-Caredyr, Eboryr, Brigant, Eir-Vaygyr, and Lodain.) All of them are gifted at languages, and represent their nation with exceptional patriotism. They only answer to the All-Voice himself, and do not have to follow the usual rules and stipulations of the church. They are led by a Changed warrior named Salathiel, who reportedly is the only man in the world who has done battle with one of the Prime Evils. He deals with the day to day affairs of the All-Swords and provides guidance morally, spiritually, and often physically through their Change. All All-Swords were buried - if there were remains to bury - within the crypt in Tir Caredyr's grand temple - tombs that were specially carved and designed for each of them. Construction of the tomb began when they were appointed, and ended when they died. . No All-Sword had ever died of old age, not a single one. There were always boys and girls training to be All-Swords, boys and girls who would replace them when their time was finally up.
House of Hywern
There is a specialized section of the church for the holy prostitute. When a young man or woman joins the church, the All-Father or All-Mother of the church, who are the present religious figures, determine whether or not the child would be better serving the Gods Who Are Many by serving the servants of the Gods. The children are evaluated on their personality and appearance by the All-Father and All-Mother, and then, are sent to the capital, Tir Carderyn. From there, the children are trained, from ages 13-16 in the arts of love, and seduction by the All-Matron or All-Patron, depending on who is the current teacher. At the age of 16, upon the completion of their training, the children are given the special title, All-Disciple. They are forever known by their first name, if they ever had a family name to begin with. There are only ever twenty All-Disciples, who are led by the All-Matron, Hywern herself. Ten of them are male, ten of them are female, and are deliberately selected to keep this balance. These sacred prostitutes live within the House of Hywern, so named for the All-Voice's personal concubine, Hywern. It is situated next to St. Rhamiel's Temple, and is crossed easily by the rose garden that grows between it and the church. To have access, however, one requires a special key, that one only obtains when reaching the rank of All-Speaker, All-Sword, or All-Voice. All-Disciples are well-cared for by the Church of the Gods Who Are Many. A large portion of collected tithes goes to their well-being and happiness. The All-Disciples are perpetually dressed immaculately, and it is expected that their patrons provide them with expensive gifts or tokens of affection in order to keep their affections. Free-lance whores that travel the streets are generally, slain by All-Swords who believe them to be devotees of the Prime Evil Malconia, the Lord of Lust. Such deaths are seen to be a normal result of consorting with demons. Public executions of adulterers and prostitutes have become quite common.
Seekers of Ecclesiastes
These are the scribes and researchers of the Church of All. Many high lords and high ladies had Seekers at their sides, to act as advisors. They commonly work with All-Swords to combat threats to the Church of All. The All-Swords dealt with the demons and sinners alike, but Seekers provided the information needed to confront them. They were minds behind All-Sword muscle, and the two had sort of a sense of kinship between the two of them, the only ones in modern society who had been Changed. They are educated in a special college in Lodain, where they learn the secrets of the Book of Voices by the scribe Malachi - and then, they had their Change. Nobody knew what the Change was, but it made the Seeker's blood and eyes black. After a Seeker's blood turned black, they were set loose in the world, to research the locations that the prophet Malachi described, or to determine possible solutions to the extra planar troubles faced by Donegal.
The Enemy / The Namers
The Enemy is the Church of All's name for the loose coalition of worshippers who adhere to their beliefs- but instead of adhering to the belief that the Gods of All have the interests of making at heart, the believe that Bel, and the other so-called "prime evils" represent the primal powers of humanity. They believe that although these aspects of mankind are not pretty, they are something that all of mankind experiences, and this provides a universal experience that ultimately unifies mankind as a whole. They believe that it is important to act on feelings- positive or negative, in order to move past the emotions, or even use then to further a greater good. The Namers represent all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification.
The Namers pride themselves on the individuality of their membership. Central is the idea that an individual must enforce their own meaning on life and rise above the perceived conformity of the masses, and the Gatherings encourage strong-self esteem- believing that pride is what allows man to do great things. Thus, the prime evils are a balancing force to The Namers, and without the so-called sins, there would be no progress. The Namers suggest that they should instead internalize their gods and, therefore, worship themselves; hence the maxim, "I am my own god". Unlike the strict structure of the Church of All, The Namers are not well organized. They tend to form small, tightly knit cults (they call them Gatherings) headed by a priest or a priestess referred to as The Named One. The leader of these Gatherings is always a Mage- magic is respected as the truest form of freedom and is seen as Bel's gift to mankind, since e was the one who brought True Names back into the world. Blood magic is praised highly because unlike the other two forms of magic, that involve being a conduit for the power of a spirit, the Namers believe that the spirit is powered from the blood of the caster, making the caster the source of magic. Education is encouraged as well, but they believe that a member must take it into their own hands. The Gatherings have some aspect of meritocracy- but the Named One is the leader above all else.
The Duinnoban
The Duinnoban is the land of spirits and dreams. Duinndomhan oss the place between places, the thing that kept the world of Men safe from demons and isolated from angels as well, the buffer zone between all worlds. And mortal Men went there when they slept, and could see only the flicker and fading of dreams that would shape the world to come - but when they awoke, even those flickers were lost. Supposedly, the Enemy made deals with the demons to peer through the veil, to channel the powers and see the true nature of things. It was dangerous, though, and it was easy for the Duinndomhan to send creatures and spirits to possess the dreamers, if the dreamers made themselves available.
Many people worship the spirits of the Duinnoban, believing that each aspect of the natural world mirrored in the Duinnoban has powerful magic that they extend to the waking world. In this belief system, they believe that all things have a soul, and a spirit - and that these spirits can be reasoned with. Every mountain, river, spring, marsh, tree and rocky outcrop is inspirited. Some spirits take on guardian roles, where others take on more wrathful ones. However, it can generally be agreed that no matter the role that they take, all spirits are exceptionally dangerous and should be taken with a grain of salt. Those that worship spirits believe that upon death, they are returned to the dirt of Donegal, and may return in another shape, depending on how they lived their human lives. The Duinnoban, as the physical region where people go during sleep, manifests as a seemingly endless battlefield, although the battle had long ended. Sometimes, aspects of the waking world - such as a familiar tree or ruin - can be seen through the orange haze and the smoke, but they often fade away. To those that are Changed, the Duinnoban only appears as this battlefield, but those who are normal, Unchanged, often see the battlefield transformed into something else. Spirit-worshippers often try to interpret these images, believing that the Spirits within the Duinnoban are attempting to alert them to something that will happen in the waking world.
Druidism
An ancient religion primarily practiced in Gaul, Southern Igris, and Dornach. Although it shares many characteristics with the basic spirit-worship found throughout Donegal, there is one key difference; druids believe that all other spirits are inferior to the King and Queen of the Duinnoban; Ciarán of the Horns and his wife, Mara the Mother. Ciarán is always shown with either horns or antlers upon his head in the great rock carvings that litter Gaul, Igris and Dornarch, and he is associated with nature, wilderness, sexuality, hunting and the life cycle. He is in command of one of the two forces that govern all other spirits, and indeed, the entire world; time. He is a dual spirit with his wife, Mara, a fertility goddess who presides over planting and harvesting. She is also commonly associated with bodies of water, as opposed to her husbands forests. She is in charge of fate, according to the Druids, and determines "how the waters will hit the rocks."
The prevalence of caves and underground rivers within regions where Druidism was prominent led the Gaul's to believe that they were paths that had been carved by Ciarán to serve as a way for his wife to reach him from the sea, and that all rivers, lakes, and inland bodies of water came from the caves that he had constructed for her. Gauls call this network of caves "The Dark Road" or "The Old Road", and use it a way of ensuring that their dead reach their Gods - they scatter the ashes of their dead in the underground waterway, where it will hopefully drift off to reach its maker.