Worldbuilding Blogfest – Religion & Magic: Part 2

Religion …

There is, basically, one religion in Thardrandia, but many, many gods. Fortunately, their hierarchy boils down to a few groups of deities: the Stars (or Ka in their language) and the serpent-like Gols. There are seven Stars, all female, and eight Gols, which are male, except for one.

As well as them, there are the higher powers: the All Mother and the Devil, Latesha. There are also two minor gods, Foran and Tiyad, and two more beings that are said to be the creators of the universe.

The world itself is said to have been made by the All Mother, who also created the powerful Star, Destin-ka, who in turn birthed the first deities of the land. An entrance into Toporean kei lesia is granted not by which deity is worshipped but by merit, whereas Defora is probably the easiest place to enter, dead or alive. The only exception to this rule are the Rogues. Due to the manner in which they are created, they are considered as the worst of the damned. For them, there is no chance at redemption.

So let’s start off with the Stars. These deities aren’t generally seen – although, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all as they’re clones of their mother/grandmother – and some are not worshipped in the common sense. Each Star has more or less the same amount of power as the other, with the only really noticeable exception being Destin-ka … while I’m on the subject: each Star’s name is usually suffixed by Ka, which means star. So say … Giyaka is the Ground Star, giya being Thadra for ground.

Destin-ka … Goddess of Destiny

Destin-ka, mostly known as Destin, is the embodiment of fate. She is mother of the stars and daughter to the All Mother. She bore a set of triplets and one set of twins who went on to shape the world their grandmother had crafted.
Destin’s influence over the land isn’t much noticed; she doesn’t usually interfere with mortal lives unless one of her daughters gets out of line.

Wateka … The Sea Goddess

Wateka is the Star attributed as being the creator of all the creatures that swim. It is rumoured she has a temple at the bottom of the Mezani Harbour where the scaled sea tree is rumoured to grow. Only the mezans know if this is true.
She was the first of Destin’s triplets, and the one to suggest joining creation powers to make the amphibians and the creatures that seem to fly underwater.

Giyaka … The Riddle Star

Like her water-bound sister, Giyaka is the creator of all the creatures that either walk or slither on land. Her temple is said to be deep in the heart of the untamed maxian forest where the bir-dra live.
Giyaka is another of Destin’s triplets, she is known for creating the first sign of life above the water, and later banding together with Wateka to make the creatures now known as amphibians.
Although gentle and loved by her people, she can be difficult to understand as she can only speak in either riddles or rhymes. Because of her bizarre way of talking, it is believed that the mesa-malol is her chosen species.

Flika … Star of Flight

Flika … Flika resides over Toporean kei lesia, the Thardrandian equivalent of heaven, and commands the region’s population of angels. In the old days, people believed the temple was also the home of the suns.
She is one of Destin’s triplets, known for creating the wonder of flight and banding with Wateka to make creatures those flying underwater creatures.

Magika … Goddess of Time and Magic

Unlike her older sisters, Magika isn’t the creator of any creatures, but rather their natural life spans. Her temple is said to be in the Jungle of Time, on Japek. Exactly where is unknown as the inhabitants fervently guard the island.
Being Destin’s fourth daughter, she holds the power over life span. Magika banded with all of her creature creating sisters, making the life spans reasonable, she also gave certain creatures magic, whether it was to change shape or control an element. She also helped her twin create moonlight.

Evalka … Goddess of the Shadows, Goddess of the Night, Overlady of Darkness

Evalka will always be remembered as the creator of the feared Coug-our. Her temple is said to be deep in Kamorn Ania, the Death Forest, as well as a castle on the Joh Moon. There are rumours that the forest is also the home of the Coug-our, although no one really knows since adventures were never seen returning from the forest … at least, not in one piece.
Evalka was twinborn with Magika and holds the power of darkness, revelling in people’s fear of the night and shadows. She is one of the deities capable of creating Shadow Speakers, via stealing a man’s soul. These Speakers would interact with her Dark Borns (creatures such as the vampire horses) and before the empire became her generals, attacking the smaller clans with herds of bloodthirsty beasts.

Luvka … The Healing Goddess (Bet you thought you knew what she’d be. Didn’t you? ^_^)

Despite the closeness to the human word ‘love’, Luvka is in fact a healing Star. Her temple resides inside that of the Serpent God Antil for her worship comes more from the Healer’s love of life and the passion to help it continue.
It is a common story that Luvka was born from the immortal bond of the healers love for life. She holds the power of renewed life and can heal all but death.

Onwards to the Serpent Gods, the Gols. Unlike the Stars who were intentionally created, the Gols came about more or less naturally. First there were the four elemental-based serpents that were crafted through the All Mother creating Thardrandia itself, then as the Stars created creatures to populate the world, the other serpents came into being. Each one considers themselves as a brother to one other and a cousin to two others.

Gol Lorric … God of Lust in all its forms, patron god of the Rogues  and Desert Nomads, brother of Dek, cousin of Meka and Antil.
Lorric is one nasty and greedy god. He is the most powerful and biggest of the Serpents.

Having once only moderate power, his rise to the top of the hierarchy was due to the absorption of his twin goddess’ power, the sudden shift of magic killing her and driving Lorric insane.

Gol Dek … Dragon God, patron god of the raptereons, brother of Lorric, cousin to Meka and Antil.

Like his brother, Dek appeared not long after the elemental serpents. He’s also one of the two second largest gods.
A gregarious beasts, he is also known for sharing similarities with the stronger brother in his short temper. Such can be his anger that the old tales say it was passed on to the volatile raptereons who will blindly attack anything when provoked.

Gol Meka … God of Miracles, patron god of the sssstamne, brother of Antil, cousin of Dek and Lorric.

Meka is another from the second group of Serpent Gods, appearing alongside his cousin, Dek. Like his little brother, Antil, this is one god that is noted for not throwing much of his weight around. Instead, he opts to aid his brethren in creating miraculous moments.

Gol Shilar … God of Air, patron god of the equinean air herd, brother of Foron, cousin of Wea and Ea.

Shilar is one of the four elemental gods. His very name means air. Being one of the two second smallest at only one hundred and fifty feet long, he is surprisingly powerful for his size.

He was also one of the two gods whom took pity on the young herd-hybrid, Foran, and transformed him into the minor god he is today.

Gol Ea … Goddess of Earth, patron goddess of the equinean earth herd, sister of Wea, cousin of Foron and Shilar.

Ea is another of the four elemental gods, and being two hundred feet long, she is of middle size. Her power is level with Shilar’s.

Though the term Golmeans god, Ea is female. She’s not considered a serpent either as she’s a quadruped. Even with these facts, none of the other gods refer to her as a Star, but since her brother is a Serpent God, most see her as one such being.

Gol Foron … God of Fire, patron god of the equinean fire herd, brother of Shilar, cousin of Wea and Ea.

As another elemental god, he slightly smaller than his brother and his level of power isn’t as strong. His small, and often clear, wings are a reminder his power also lies in things we have no hope in seeing.

Foron is the other God who took pity on the young herd-hybrid, Foran, and helped transform him into a minor god.

Gol Wea … God of Water, patron god of the equinean water herd, brother of Ea, cousin of Foron and Shilar.

The last of the four elemental gods, Wea’s power is somewhat small compared to his large domain of the western seas. Ever an emotional god, it is said his sadness brings rain and his fury can whip waves upon Lake Teron.

Gol Antil … God of Whimsy, patron god of the katess, brother of Meka, cousin of Dek and Lorric.

Antil is the youngest, weakest and smallest of the Serpent Gods.

Sharing his temple, as well as his chosen people, with the Star of Healing, Antil has not suffered from the lack of devotion that such an act would surely cause, though some believe this is due to his whimsical state freeing him from his reliance on worshipers.

Gol Laduka … Goddess of Love

Because of her unprecedented demise, Laduka is considered by most to be born dead. All that is known is that she was murdered by Lorric, whom she was twin god with when he subsequently absorbed her powers.

Tiyad … Goddess of Truth, patron goddess of the wolenas

While once a mortal wolena, Tiyad was never ordinary. From a young age she developed a gift which made her capable of foreseeing important events and discerning lies. To this day, she lives among her people and much is known about this goddess, except when she was born. She became a goddess at the All Mother’s behest and has been one for a long time.

Even though she can reveal truth about anything and anyone, she will also keep tight-lipped when she wishes. If she were a more powerful goddess, she might have to battle for a position amongst the other deities, but since her main power lies in truth and is far weaker in the other realms, she is an unthreatening being to other deity.

Her current high priestess is Watena, a woman whom has lived before the beginning of the Zan Empire, making her well over two thousand years old. Despite this, she has been no more ravaged by the years than her goddess as she has been granted a gift of semi-immortality. Some suggest she herself is in fact a goddess, others believe she is Tiyad’s daughter.

Gol Foran … God of Lighting, patron god of the priests and priestesses of the Light Temple

Not to be confused with the Serpent Foron, Foran was once a fire and air herd equinean hybrid (we’ll touch on that in culture). Shunned by his own kind, it is said that he was near death when he pleaded to the two gods of his parents, Foron and Shilar. They took pity on him and granted him godhood. He now has a small temple on the border of the fire and air territory, an area he jealously guards.

The change into a god was quite severe, altering not only his elemental powers but also his physical self. He now appears as a type of winged sssstamne, which is the similar appearance of both Serpent Gods.

Worshippers of Foran are rather dangerous as they can call lighting as well as fire and wind. However they are rarely seen outside of their god’s territory. The territory itself is quite small, being only the thin strip of land running between the lands of the air and fire Herds.

At last we reach the most powerful group of deities. Next to the abundance of the Stars and the Serpent Gods, there are very few with a power higher than that of the strongest Serpent God. Even then, only two actually meddle in Thardrandia’s affairs.

The All Mother

Created by an even stronger god for use as his wife, plans were altered when she proved to have a more sisterly nature towards him. Unconcerned, he allowed her a portion of his realm: the universe. At first, there was nothing but two stars and dust; the fabric of the world woven from the very rock that orbited the suns.

True to the laws of the cosmos – which states a god is unable create something stronger than they – she is the most powerful deity the planet houses. But she is also the most vulnerable. Tied to the earth, she suffers greatly when the balance is upset.

Latesha

When one talks about the devil, one is in err when they put ‘he’ and ‘she’ into the sentences for Latesha can become either.

According to very ancient text, Latesha was once a mighty raptereon warrior-woman. She took it upon herself to destroy the old Devil. But sadly, this act unbalanced the planet, sickened the All Mother and the essence of the old Devil was fused with the woman’s, making their spirits, minds and bodies one.

Latesha’s power rivals that of Destin-ka. As such, she answers to very few people, most of them being those that have very little, or nothing, to do with Thardrandia. Not surprisingly, Latesha is also on very friendly terms with Lorric and Evalka, learning from the latter the power of creating Shadow Speakers.

Triftin

Galaxy Maker, patron god of many people on many planets

There is, upon Cynati, an ancient statue of a black, hooded sssstamne. He is known as Gol Triftin, the God of Trillions. Legend says he created the universe at the time of his birth and, at a later date, the All Mother.

It is also said that he cast his brother, known in the tales only as Chaos, into the white nothingness of the Void that surrounds space, taking Chaos’ power in an attempt to prevent his immediate return. Just before this act, his brother was able to curse him, making it impossible for Triftin to create life – or even repair any tears in the cosmic fabric – while he holds his brother’s destructive power.

Devil, patron god of the Void Demons

Twin brother to Triftin, he is the same size and appearance as his sibling, except for the fact his scales are blood red.

Cast into the white nothingness by his brother at an early stage of cosmic life, no one really knows much about the god, only that he wishes to destroy all his brother has built by bringing it back into the Void. It is said that the start of this destruction shall be marked by a rip in the cosmic boundaries and the absence of godly presence.