Religion

Although the exact causes are lost to the shrouds of history, it is known that at some point Luuth became jealous of her fellow First. She considered herself to be the greatest among them and as support of her position pointed to the superiority of her creation, those elves who would eventually become known as the Drow. Among all the races, they were the most beautiful, the most artistic, the most accomplished. Their great cities towered above all others, their literature and art were worshipped by all the other races, and their scholarship in the arcane and the mundane surpassed all peers.

While the others of the First acknowledged Luuth's accomplishments, few of them regarded her as superior. They had all come from the same creators and thus viewed themselves as being equal. And each could point to his or her own accomplishment to counter Luuth's arguments. In the end, though, Luuth would not be denied. Convincing fives others of the First to go along with her, she plotted to overthrow Fader and Moder and to throw down the others of her kind.

Thus aligned, the war between the First began, with only Onrachd remaining neutral. Each summoned their followers to fight for them and for two centuries war raged on earth and in the heavens. In the final battle, however, Dibir returned to the fold of those fighting for good. His action permitted the cause of good to triumph. For his betrayal, however, Luuth slew him.

Luuth and her followers having been captured, the others of the First prepared to deal with their rebellious brethren by terminating their lives. Fader and Moder, however, intervened. Staying the hands of the executions, the two creators expelled Luuth and her followers from the haven of the First.

While Luuth and her cohorts were protected from the wrath of the First, their followers were not similarly guarded. For more than a century, the remaining First pursued the forces of evil in the land, driving them into hiding. Many sought shelter in the deep catacombs of the underground, while others lost themselves in the unexplored stretches of the wilderness. Still others built hidden fortresses in the mountains, awaiting the day when their secret enclave should be attacked.

The Church

The Church is the primary religious organization for the eastern regions of the continent. It is largely comprised of human worshippers, although adherants of all races are not unknown. The Church maintains that there are only two deities, Fader and Moder, who are the creators of the universe. Among the earliest creations of these two gods are the First, thirteen powerful entities who then birthed the major known races. After the Banishment, five of the thirteen First were expelled and one was slain, thus reducing the number of worshipped First to seven, although two of these (Onrachd and Usga) are rarely worshipped by humans despite their official standing within the Church.

Brief History of the Church

The Church was founded by Ernand the Holy. Hagiographies tell that Ernand was a baker in the town of Shallow Mound in the southern lands. He was known to be an honest, upright individual, but not particularly religious. This changed the day when, during a visit to the mound outside of town that gave the village its name, Ernand was visited by Kuroz. Fearful, Ernand fell to his knees but was bade to stand by the celestial entity. Kuroz explained that faith in the Creators had all but vanished in the land and it was Ernand's mission to change this. For the remaining thirty-six years of his life Ernand would dedicate himself to fulfilling his mission.

Although the Church's calender begins in the year of Ernand's conversion, the official date of the Church's founding is CY 23 when construction was commenced on the Gleaming Basillica in the city of Casteal. Although Ernand would not live to see the great temple completed, he did draw up the plans and initiate the work.

Structure of the Church

The Church of the Creators is a highly hierarchical organization. At the top wielding ultimate power is the Caput Sanctus, sometimes simply called the Caput. Next are the cardinals, twenty-three individuals who serve in the College of Cardinals and assist the Caput. Most cardinals will also hold others titles and responsibilities and it is from this pool that the chief administrators of the Church are appointed by the Caput.

Next are the archbishops, religious leaders over a whole province. Although these offices are seen to be primarily theological in nature, archbishops are also responsible for the administration of their provinces. It is official policy, however, that archbishops (and bishops) will appoint others to handle administrative matters so that they may free themselves for more spiritual concerns. In practice, however, most archbishops take an active role in temporal affairs. Officially, archbishops are appointed by the Caput. In practice, however, secular rulers tend to play a role in the selection process, their degree of influence commencerate with their domain's power.

Reporting to the archbishops are the bishops, who oversee Church affairs in smaller regions. Typically a single archbishopric will contain from three to seven bishoprics. Most bishops achieve their office in the same manner, through appointment by an archbishop with the approval of the Caput (and, as above, with secular rulers having some influence). Some bishoprics, however, have different rules for succession. Several are hereditary in nature, passing from parent to child without any possibility of interruption. Some are elected by the priests and abbots of the bishopric.

Immediately below the bishops are the priests and abbots/abbotesses. These oversee individual churches or monestaries. Unlike the higher ranking offices, these positions are not specifically life-long, although frequently a person may hold such an office until death. A church, if it is particularly large, may actually have several priests, although one will be senior to the others. A monestary will always have only one abbot.

Below priests and abbots are deacons, priors, and novitiates. Depending on the temple's size and proximity to the Exalted City, deacons may or may not be lay people. Similarly a church might have none, few, or a larger number of novitiates, young men and woman who are in training to become clergy. In monestaries, an abbot may have any number of priors to assist him.

Elven Beliefs

In many ways, elves share the beliefs of humans, but they disagree with some of the details. Like the humans, the elves believe the material world was constructed by two creators, Fader and Moder. Similarly, they believe that these two supreme beings gave rise to the entities commonly called the First. Elves,however, believe that following the creation of the First, the two creators lost interest in the world and took no further action in the mortal planes. Thus, they tend to see the First as gods, children of the two creators, and they respect them as such.

Thus the actions of Luuth and Dibir in what would be called the Banishment have particular significance to the elves. To most elves, their god, Dibir, is dead. Thus they hold that they have no god. They respect the divinity of the other First, but elves view themselves as being godless. This does not, however, mean they are without morals or obligations. Quite the opposite, the elves as a race feel responsible for the Banishment and the splintering of the First, since it was their two deities who were at the heart of the conflict. They see themselves as having to atone for the sins of their gods. Thus, elves view themselves as being responsible for the humans, honor-bound to protect and guide them. This does not, of course, mean that they are in any way slaves to the humans. Elves choose their own way to protect and guide and the opinion of the humans in this regard carries little weight with them. More accurately, elves tend to see humans as almost children that must be guarded and shepherded. And as with children, frequently the humans must be allowed to make their own mistakes, since they clearly are not yet intelligent enough to accept the elve's superior wisdom.

As a result of their lack of a god, the elves have no organized religion and rarely worship any deity. Those few who do choose to devote themselves to a deity select one from among the other First, the gods of the humans being the most common. Usga, the good Giant goddess, is also a common choice, but it is rare for an elf to ever worship a dwarven god. Such an elf would be viewed with at best pity and at worst disdain and pity by other elves.

Because of this situation, there are very few clerics among the elves. The few that take up this calling must select from among the other gods and a result they often travel far from the elven lands. Elven druids, however, are more common, even in the great city of Tallan on the Gray Isle. Among the various druidic traditions of the races, the elves are the most organized, with a central temple and administrative center in Tallan, but they still maintain a looser structure than most organized religions.

Human attitudes towards the elves

The Church has officially labeled the elven beliefs as heretical. Among the heresies denounced by the Church, however, this is the least persecuted. Elves are rarely harmed as a result of their beliefs and when they are, it is always the result of a zealot rather than official Church policy. Humans who subscribe to elven beliefs however are more frequently persecuted, with some having even been put to death. In 1203, the entire village of Hintervale in the Duchy of Atrom was put to death after a majority of the people began following an elven druidic who had taught about the elven belief system. The elven druid, however, was unharmed although he was banished to the Gray Isle. It is uncommon, however, for humans to adopt elven beliefs and as a result such persecutions are unheard of today.

Game Information

Fesgarra - Priesthood Data

Casair - Priesthood Data

Kuroz - Priesthood Data

Tuath - Priesthood Data

Usga - Priesthood Data

Morback - Priesthood Data