Gods And Religions Of Eternal Lands

[Lyanna]

The different races of Eternal Lands revere many different gods, demigods, and minor deities. I shall attempt to write down the main characteristics of each Deity and system of religion here.

 

The Nine Greater Gods

 

Despite having many different racial beliefs, there are some gods and goddesses that are common across all cultures in these Lands. These are reputed to be the ancestral gods of the races, and while they have now come to be associated more with their particular divine attributes rather than racial affiliations, nevertheless it is rumoured that some of the greater gods still hold soft spots for their chosen races.

 

The Three Good Goddesses

 

Aluwen: goddess of Life and Truth, greatest of the three. She believes strongly in the goodness of all living things, constantly striving to heal the sick or wounded. Her chosen race, the Elves, have inherited her love of nature and the sanctity of life. She believes that there is an order, a purpose, to all living things and spends much of her time striving to discover that purpose and direct it for the ultimate good. As such, she is constantly at odds with her evil counterpart, Mortos, and fights constantly with him to determine the direction of the Lands–Good or Evil. Of all the three Goddesses, she is the one most active in the protection of and communication with her children. Her wars with Mortos are legendary and unending.

 

Elandria: The goddess of Home and Invention. The patron of lovers and families, she is well-loved for her kind, protective nature and is the most popular goddess to invoke during marriage ceremonies. She is also the patron goddess for the Humans and the Gnomes, both races that are well-known for their inventiveness in overcoming difficult problems. She is also known as the Protector in some cultures. However, she can be a bit loose at times with nature which causes the over-harvesting of materials for building, and upsets Centau, the mad God of the elements. She hates the destruction visited upon cities by nature, and constantly strives to invent new ways for the races to protect themselves form the forces in which Centau revels.

 

 

Zarin: The goddess of Freedom, Beauty, and the Arts. Zarin is constantly fascinated by the variety found in the souls of mortals and takes infinite care to nourish it. She is the patron of all artists and rewards all those whose ambitions lead to the development of the soul. Unfortunately, her methods may be a little too free at times which earn her some rather doubtful looks from her sisters. But Zarin cheerfully continues on her way, believing that it is only through complete freedom that beauty and spirit can arise. She hates anything that tries to enslave or dampen the souls of mortals and fights an ongoing invisible war with Selain about the social ills that plague the Lands.

 

The Three Neutral Gods

 

Glilin: The god of Craftsmanship and Skill. Originally a master craftsman of the Dwarves, he marshaled his race during the War of the Gods and was elevated to Divinity as a result. Although he fought on the side of Good in that battle, Glilin is not primarily predisposed to it, still maintaining Dwarvish practicality and neutrality. He is the patron of all craftsmen, from jewelers to blacksmiths, who pray to him to grant them skill in their work. A merry god who doesn’t take is Divinity too seriously, he delights in the invention of new things and often has many discussions with Elandria and Selain about the properties of different materials and elements. A strict disciplinarian who believes that hard work is the way to achieve any worthwhile goal in life, he tends to favor those that are willing to follow the system rather than the eccentric geniuses that Zarin prefers.

 

 

Glydoc: The god of Combat. He values honor and justice yet is beset by the battle-lust that rages within. His chosen race, the Orchans, reflect that nature. A paradoxical god, beset by conflicting natures, he tries to maintain neutrality in all things, not daring to swing too far in one direction or another. Aware that his great prowess and tactical skill would be decisive in the battle for Good or Evil in Eternal Lands yet uncertain of the outcome, Glydoc remains impartial–god of the honorable general as well as the traitor. He is the patron saint of all warriors who call out to him for strength in their sword-arms and resilience in their shields.

 

Unolas: The god of Magic and Knowledge. Having attained his godhood through the guidance of Mortos then being forced into war against Aluwen, Zarin, and Elandria, Unolas now strives to remain impartial and throws himself into the pursuit of knowledge and mastery of magic instead. Even as an Elf, he was acknowledged as the brightest among his race, but as a god, his knowlege soon exceeded all the other deities. He is the patron of teachers and mages. He often has lively philosophical debates with both Aluwen and Mortos, attempting to ascertain the true natures of Good and Evil, refusing to accept traditional definitions.

 

The Three Evil Gods

 

Centau: The mad god of Chaos and Elementals. Originally advocating the need for constant change and opposing the efforts of Elandria to find a permanent shelter for the races, he caused his race of Centaurs to live and die by his whim. The rebellion of his people against him shattered his confidence and Mortos drove him mad with insidious thoughts. Now he dwells in the depths of the oceans, constantly swaying before his fury, and unleashes his madness against all of the Lands. Beyond the control of any of the other gods, he creates havoc for all those who dare to work with or in the elements. The races survive on land only because his madness prevents him from being truly effective and Elandria’s inventions allow them to maintain their struggle against the forces of nature.

 

Selain: The god of Corruption and Vice. A student of Mortos, Selain achieved godhood by his own efforts, spurned the Assembly, and precipitated the War of the Gods. Although his initial efforts in the War involved only bribery and drug-control, throughout the long centuries, Selain has become a master in his field, surpassing even Mortos in his ability to twist the bodies and souls of mortals. He is the patron of all criminals and the initiator of Summoning and Conjuring. Upon developing a way to extract the life essences from the very substance of the Lands, he was able to create new and fiendish caricatures of living things to plague Aluwen’s children. Most of the monsters were invented and given life by Selain. However, he tends to be less bold that Mortos about evil, preferring to subvert rather than destroy.

 

Mortos: The god of Death and Deception. He strove to ruin the creation of life in the Eternal Lands from the beginning and constantly plots to destroy it. Aided and abetted by Selain and his minions, he nurtures terror and war among the unsuspecting races whenever possible and using whatever means necessary to achieve his end. Every day he calls out to the wickedness and evil he planted in the natures of the mortals, cajoling them to murder, to war, to corrupt and destroy. He also senses that there is a higher purpose to the Lands than merely the development of Aluwen’s children, so he constantly struggles with Aluwen to turn that purpose to the delights of Evil rather than Good.

 

 

The Shadow Deities

 

These are the Gods and/or immortals who, in different ways, have removed themselves from the day-to-day interests of the mortals in the lands, and are only remembered as myths and legends.

 

Dvar: The lost god of Balance and Craftsmanship. In his prime, Dvar was a match for both Aluwen and Mortos and was responsible for maintaining the balance between Good and Evil as they fought over the Lands. Originally the god of the Dwarves and Gnomes, he was led astray by Mortos into the depths of the earth, seeking out new materials and ways of invention. This has resulted in the loss of a moderating influence on the world, allowing both Good and Evil the possibility of achieving total dominance over the other. His godly duties of craftmanship were taken up by Elandria and Glilin, but nevertheless, no one knows what could have happened if Dvar had remained. His disappearance has led to the skepticism in the Dwarves regarding religion, as they have no God to tell them otherwise, and the Gnomes deserted their cousins, attracted by Elandria's inventive nature.

 

Tiral: First and most powerful of the Dragons, the first race on the planet, was given eternal life by Aluwen to watch over creation. Not as powerful as the Gods, she was grieved when her race was destroyed in the Dragon Wars. Redefining her role as protector, she now sits as guardian over the lost continent, hoping, waiting, and watching for the time when she will be able to reverse the course of history, to send a common man back in time, and prevent the wars from happening.

 

 

Iringold: The "father" of the Draegoni. A resourceful dragon not particularly noteworthy during the course of the Dragon Wars, Iringold proved the key that turned back the invading horde of Mortos's evil in the final battle of the war. He sacrificed himself in Tiral Pass, slipping from the icy slopes of a ravine and causing a mage's magics to go wild in the middle of the invaders. Their ranks decimated and morale crushed, the monstrous army retreated to regroup, giving the humans, gnomes, dwarves, and elves the time they needed to meet the threat. Raised to an avatar of Aluwen, he is not a dragon and not a god, but a wandering spirit and intermediary. The Draegoni were created when his heartsister, the human mage Coral, took blood from his fallen body and mixed it with her own in a ritual of eternal friendship. The Gods, taking pity on them, transformed her into the first Draegoni, combining the best of both races.

 

If I could get a concept artist to draw some of these, that would be lovely! See here for an example

 

-Lyn-

Edited January 4, 2005 by Chariste

[Quinticus]

Lyanna,

First, thanks for the insiteful guide to gods. It's much appreciated here.

Second, i was thinking (relating to my other post w/in thread that was deleted)of adding a monotheistic (sp?) god. More intangible than the other gods. The great "Entropy". It'd be interesting to insert the game creator/developer person into the story as a diety. I think it's relatively humorous, myself.

 

- Just a suggestion, only because it'd fit into my story (also is there somewhere i can e-mail to you for some revision before i post it for final editing? got some questions i'd like to outline.) though.

Edited November 1, 2004 by Quinticus

[Lyanna]

I know. This is just the basic outline for the gods, Quinticus, but I've got some more ideas that I'm just too tired to write now. There will be a Father of the Gods - that's your one - as well as Glydoc's War Host (Orchan belief - similar to Norse mythology about Valhalla and the Elysian Fields). There will also be Elementals, Muses, and other minor deities.

 

-Lyn-

 

P.S. email lyanna_el@hotmail.com

Edited November 1, 2004 by Lyanna

[Quinticus]

Very helpful, thanks!

[Korgan]

No matter what the official God list looks like... here's the only God this dwarf believes in:

 

MORADIN

The God of Dwarves, Moradin, is Lawful Good. His titles include the Soul Forger, Dwarffather, the All-Father, and the Creator. Moradin forged the first dwarves out of metal and gems and breathed life into them. He governs the arts and sciences of the dwarves: smithing, metalworking, engineering, and war.

 

No wimpy human gods for me, thank you very much. By Moradin's hammer, their chatterin' is starting to wear on me nerve, so I need a swig of some strong, dwarven ale.

[crusadingknight]

Personally, I think we should leave skill-based patronage to some lesser Deities, and elevate the current gods to more greater status, and elemental powers.

 

BTW- What is our take on immortality? Can they be slain? Cast down? Only by gods? Or are the invulnerable? Do they freely make use of avatars, or constantly remain on the celestial plane? (Or do they inhabit elemental planes?)

Edited November 1, 2004 by crusadingknight

[Quinticus]

immorality? or immortality?

 

and forgive me, but i do not know what an avatar is. never heard of one. please explain.

[Lyanna]

Yes, the skills will be shifted to another basis, no longer the province of gods. I'm trying to refocus the gods on divine attributes and qualities, rather than skills.

 

Well, from EL's history, there have been mortals who have been elevated to Godhood (by the other gods). I'll also put up various demigods who have been elevated (and Glydoc's War Host, of course). With regards to immortality, discussing with Tumaros now whether Mortos' curse still applies today. In his Peril at Mynadar story, Gondric Mithrilfist became the avatar of Aluwen, so I guess we're going to go with the possibility of short-term avatars.

 

Losing immortality...hmm...most likely, no. It's a one-way street. BUT, I guess powers can be damped by other forces (like how Elandria is dampening down Centau's effects). Or likewise, perhaps powers can fade with time, depending on how many people worship that immortal. Any suggestions are welcome. Like I said, I'd prefer for all of us to have some input on this, rather than just myself.

 

-Lyn-

 

P.S. Korgan, wanna write the Dwarven system of religion out? Differing racial beliefs would be good, I think. Just don't make it too much like any other game... we DO want EL to be unique, after all.

Edited November 1, 2004 by Lyanna

[Geelef]

What might be a good idea about the immortality thingy is if there're avatars of the gods wandering around our little nice Lands, they wouldn't be immortal, but if you slay an avatar, the spirit of the God just returns to the plane they belong (not choosing celestial or elemental )

 

This'd be nice for quests, since you could get some highlevel players or a guild to slay Centau's avatar to get a huge blessing from Elandria. Maybe not standard quest, but more eventlike things, but still, it'd be nice to work on, and it'd make the stories behind the gods also more accesible forthsoe not too good at english, or those who just want to play the game, without going through all the forumstuff.

 

Just my two cents.

[crusadingknight]

Worship-oriented, I my opinion has no place in a society with greater gods...(I prefer something more akin to Eddings's Elder Gods).

[Regar1]

great job lyanna, just one teensy lil thought...there isnt a combat skill anymore, since Glydoc is now the patron god of Crafting, u get expeirience in crafting from his disciple's God quests i think we need to rethink his role and affiliation to fit that

[Lyanna]

It's okay. I've already convinced Cicero to change the god quests to other organisations. The gods don't have to be associated with any skills now. So I can bring Glydoc back to the role of combat.

 

CK, I don't get your post...wanna rephrase that?

 

-Lyn-

[Regar1]

oh, ok then nvm

[crusadingknight]

I said it sux to have to have worshippers to stand a good chance of getting them.

 

David Eddings had something similiar in his series (the belgariad, the elenium, etc.) but the Elder Gods only measured power in worshippers, while the Younger Gods (of which there were almost a thousand actively worshipped ) required them to survive...just sort of a FYI, the above paragraph.

 

BTW- Thinking on the dwarves, maybe go with a Norse-type religion? (Alignments tend to be extreme, "demi-god" refers to parentage not power, and they have no avatars since the gods tend to have a defined form, and not be elemnetal energies)...I figure we owe this to the Norse for giving us the dwarves as we have them today in EL, and in modern fantasy.

Edited November 2, 2004 by crusadingknight

[Quinticus]

so long as it's kinda like mr. eddings stuff. Don't want to get into trouble for plagerism (sp? no time to edit). Also it would be nice to have a game SOLEY ours, that is based of the ideas of the players/creators/developers.

[crusadingknight]

so long as it's kinda like mr. eddings stuff. Don't want to get into trouble for plagerism (sp? no time to edit). Also it would be nice to have a game SOLEY ours, that is based of the ideas of the players/creators/developers.

I'm referring to his approach, not copying all of his gods and heros...

[Korgan]

I figure we owe this to the Norse for giving us the dwarves as we have them today in EL, and in modern fantasy.

Ach, ye be sayin' we dwarves are from Norway, eh? 'ave ye ever 'eard us talk? We're from Scotland, ye wee bloody begger! Meh, I needs meself a swig of some strong, dwarven ale.

 

In any case, I can try to come up with a dwarven pantheon. Don't hold your breath though, it might take a while as I have a lot on my mind and a lot to do right now.

[Quinticus]

I'm still kinda unclear as to what his approach is. i know you explained it before. How would one measure power in worshipers? I'm just kinda confused, if you could elaborate. I have some god things to put into my story and i just want to make sure i have it all down before i proceed.

 

*p.s. lyanna i responded back to your pm with some other inqueries. didn't know if you had the chance to look at it yet. sorry to be a bother.

 

*p.s.s. I like the idea of norse gods for dwarves! Odin's the best!

Edited November 3, 2004 by Quinticus

[Lyanna]

I think I'm going to get rid of the alignments for the Nine Greater Gods... it was useful at first, but they're holding me back from fully developing the concept. I want gods with more rounded personalities...

 

Oh, Geelef, I like your avatar idea. Was planning something of the sort myself. Maybe later though, since right now there's a lot of other things going on.

 

I still don't understand what your post is about CK... but are you saying that you don't want a system where the power of the Gods is measured by the number of worshippers they have? That Gods should exist independently, whether or not anyone worships them? Or are you saying the opposite - that the strength of a God should depend on how many people are worshipping it?

 

About the different religions for different races thing - do you guys think it's a good idea? On one hand, it's more in-depth and realistic, because you don't normally expect dwarves to believe in the same things that elves do... but on the other hand, it becomes more complicated and many players might be put off. Having just one god per race, or a shared pantheon (like the system above) may be easier to swallow. Which do you think is better?

 

-Lyn-

[Quinticus]

i'm thinking SAME gods and races call them DIFFERENT names.

 

A little harder to follow for those who are new. However, i think it holds more to the different races idea. Each race could just have a different name for the same gods.

 

That'll cut down on the number of gods to be put in, but add to the names. I think it would give each race a little more depth. Maybe each god could have a different name that he/she is called by the other gods even.

 

Just a couple of ideas.

 

*i'll see what i can do about your PM.

Edited November 3, 2004 by Quinticus

[crusadingknight]

Erm, sorry...I keep disorganizing my thoughts with new ones whenever I actually get them organized, lol.

 

I mean we can measure their power by worshippers, but allow their power to exist indepentently. (Ie. worship indicates status, but does not dictate it).

[Quinticus]

I'm partial to more followers more power. With power comes status. I think this would help make it more believable that others will want to follow a religion with an intangible god with promises for gifts in the afterlife.

 

But that's just me! What do you think?

[Geelef]

I think I'm going to get rid of the alignments for the Nine Greater Gods... it was useful at first, but they're holding me back from fully developing the concept. I want gods with more rounded personalities...

 

Oh, Geelef, I like your avatar idea. Was planning something of the sort myself. Maybe later though, since right now there's a lot of other things going on.

 

I still don't understand what your post is about CK... but are you saying that you don't want a system where the power of the Gods is measured by the number of worshippers they have? That Gods should exist independently, whether or not anyone worships them? Or are you saying the opposite - that the strength of a God should depend on how many people are worshipping it?

 

About the different religions for different races thing - do you guys think it's a good idea? On one hand, it's more in-depth and realistic, because you don't normally expect dwarves to believe in the same things that elves do... but on the other hand, it becomes more complicated and many players might be put off. Having just one god per race, or a shared pantheon (like the system above) may be easier to swallow. Which do you think is better?

 

-Lyn-

I'm with Quinticus on this one, just like the Romans took the Greek gods and renamed them. The god stayed the same, only its name and some small things changed when the Romans took them over.

 

Same could go for the races, just think up a god, then add very small changes for the different races and rename 'm.

The changes should mainly be in small stories, not in the bigger stories gods play a role in, or in what the god stands for (Aluwen for example should always stand for life and truth.)

 

This would mean that every race acknowledges every single god ingame, and every hero or halfgod, but that different races favour different gods. Freedom to choose your own gods wont be affected this way, though choosing a race does influence the names you get to see, and the stories you'll hear a little bit - which encourages more characters to play quests with, just to find out those tiny differences.

 

 

About the more worshippers more power thing:

Mainly agreed, again just like Quinticus, though I guess one or two gods which are barely worshipped should get alot of power, but don't interfere with life on the Lands much. A God(ess) of war for example could only show up when there are huge battles fought, but isn't worshipped in all-day life, cause war is not your all-day routine.

[Quinticus]

Geelef struck a cord with the influence issue. What if the number of worshipers, instead of determining power, determined the amount of influence the god has in this realm. The more they are worshiped the more influence they have. Thus you have gods vying for worshipers. This would be a heavy factor for things like the War of the Gods and things such as that.

Edited November 5, 2004 by Quinticus

[crusadingknight]

Erk.....wouldn't that mean that, eventually, there would be only mighty god, and a whole whack or lesser gods with demi-god influence, if any? (Since power=influence, and then influence=power, then any increase in worshippers would go on for a while, as the power increased, and more could be converted...)