The Religions of Heimlar

Druidism, Shamanism & Henkar: Treatise of Religious Evolution
A Brief Guide to Spirits and the Undead

The Faith of Urda

The faith of Urda holds that Urda, the Divine Mother, created this world as a place for her children (the various sentient races) to live and thrive in. She required little of her children, not even overt acknowledgement of her existence. Urda did, however, have expectations that her children would live according to a basic set of Virtues. Over time, her children strayed further and further from the Divine Mother's ideas until she was forced to do something she had never done before, take direct action that would affect our world. This action took the form of a great punishment, the creation of the Wrack. Setting the Wrack upon us marked the end of the Old World, the corrupted world, and the start of the Times of Penance. The Wrack was meant not only as a punishment, but also as a Test. Only by returning to the ideals of Urda, by once again demonstrating all of her Virtues, would we eventually move past this Penance, rid the world of the Wrack and restore this New World to the paradise if once was. To aid her children in these troubling times, Urda created five lesser divinities, her Five Sons. These beings would help provide more direct guidance to the children and thus help them on the path to salvation and forgiveness.

As indicated above, the faith of Urda focuses on following the Nine Virtues. These Virtues are: Compassion, Honesty, Honor, Humility, Justice, Purity, Sacrifice, Spirituality and Valor. Most of the teaching of the Urdite faith revolve around how to properly demonstrate these Virtues. The Urdite faith also cautions against remnants of the Old World as being possible paths back to the corruption that led the children to the Time of Penance. Among these remnants of the Old World is the unrestricted usage of Arcane magic. Urdites hold that delving too far into the arcane arts leads one away from the Divine Mother. For this reason, the Urdite church has charged itself with the hunting down of true Wizards. Hjeplers and Mages are exempted, for they simply use magic as a tool, and do not seek (or have the ability) to pursue forbidden knowledge.

WrackTouched creatures feature prominently in the teachings of Urda. The WrackTouched are meant to be a living example of the fate of those that truly fail to live up to Urda's vision and as a test of faith for those that still strive to demonstrate the Virtues.

Clergy & Organization: The Urdite faith is highly structured and organized. The clergy of the faith are called Uska (aka priests) and exist in a rigid hierarchy with set titles. Low level Uska possess the title 'Voice'. Mid level Uska have the title 'Hand'. Upper level Uska are called 'Saints', which are further broken down into Lesser Saint, Saints and Greater Saints. There is typically only one living Greater Saint at any given time, the Matriarch of Urda. Every Uska has a chosen patron, either the Great Mother (Urda) herself or one of the Five Sons. Uska of Urda hold higher standing than equivalently 'ranked' Uska of one of the Five Sons. The status of Uska of each of the Five Sons are equal.

Beneath the Uska in the Urdite church hierarchy are the Templars, divinely gifted warriors of Urda and her Sons. Templars typically have the Son Lågan or the Son Sköld as their Patron. Rarely a Templar will choose Urda as a patron. The other three Sons do not possess Templars in the ranks of their faithful. Templars have their own organizational hierarchy that follows a military like ranking structure. A Templar tends to have status one step below an Uska of the same Patron and power level.

The bottom tier of the Urdite hierarchy are the Pastors. Pastors are laymen clergy who have not (or not yet) received the Gift (divine powers). In general, all Pastors rank below even the lowest Templar, though they still have standing above the non-clergy Faithful.

Rumor has it that the maximum number of Uska of any given ranking/title is set. As mentioned above, there is only one Greater Saint, the Matriarch of Urda. There are seven Saints, one of each of the Sons and two with Urda as a Patron. The numbers of Lesser Saints, Hands and Voices is unclear. The Lesser Saints and Hands (of all Patrons) have their numbers spread across all lands where the Urdite faith is practiced. The Saints, Greater Saint and the Voices are all collectively located within the city of UrHolde itself where the Saints & Greater Saints rule and the Voices train.
Urdite Orgainzation

Worship Times/Observances: The Urdite faith dedicates one day each week to holy reflection, prayer and group worship. This day is appropriated called FlameDay and is a time for worshipers of Urda and her Sons to cleanse themselves of any sins or transgressions they may have committed during the previous week. This faith also has a number of religious holidays throughout the year, some specific to a particular Son and others appropriate to the entire faith. Dawn is considered the most holy time of faith and most religious services start at dawn. Dusk is considered a time of mourning and solemn, individual reflection.

Places of Worship: The cathedral is the focal point of the faith of Urda. Cathedrals can be as small as a single room dedicated to Urda and her Sons, as is the case in some of the smaller settlements, or can be a massive, elaborate structure like the Mother Cathedral in the city UrHolde. All Cathedrals are dedicated to the faith as a whole and contain shrines the Divine Mother and all Five Sons. In additional to the Mother Cathedral, there are major Cathedrals in Kommerhal, the city of Antal, and Torweg (newly constructed).

Religious Rites & Materials: The Urdite faith is rich in ritualized prayer and all Urdite religious rites are predominantly composed of length prayers, some uttered by the Uska or Pastor alone, some individually by the faithful and some cooperatively with the clergy and congregation.

The faith of Urda has two primary religious materials: the Blood of Urda and the Tears of Urda. The Blood of Urda is a deep red viscous flammable liquid that is used in many religious ceremonies (where it is often ignited). The use of the Blood of Ursa symbolizes the process of purification (i.e. burning away sin).

The Tears of Urda is a silvery clear liquid with the consistency of water. Usage of the Tears is much more practical than usage of the Blood. The Tears have the ability to neutralize substances bearing the taint of the Wrack. If a creature is unfortunate enough to be exposed to the Wrack, cleaning and flushing the exposure site with diluted Tears of Urda (1 part Tears to 100 parts water) will increase the victims chance of resisting Infection. Diluted Tears of Urda can also be used to cleanse surfaces and items that have been exposed to infectious fluids. Once Tears have been added to water, they remain effective for approximately 3 days. Storing the diluted Tears in a consecrated vessel can significantly extend this duration. Imbibing a vial of pure, undiluted Tears can grant a person Infected with the Wrack a chance of killing off the disease before they become Afflicted.

Writings/Symbology: The UrSkrif is the central religious text of the Urdite faith. Though translated versions are common, the original UrSkrif and many other key religious tests are written in UrSana, the Holy Language. Only Uska and Templars are taught UrSana, which is the language used for the most holy of prayers. The symbol of the Urdite faith is a white disk with five silver rays emanating from it. Each of rays represent one of the Sons. For each of the Sons, the same symbol is used except the ray representing the specific Son in edged in gold. Additionally a symbol is present on the white disk. These symbols are listed below along with the description of each of the Sons.

Henkar, the Faith of the Great Spirits

The Henkari faith is the old, traditional faith of the nations of Helgdohm and Skógur. It is based around the animistic world-view that animals, plants, rivers, mountains, and other entities in nature all contain an inner spiritual essence (or spirit). Henkar encompasses the belief that there is little separation between the spiritual and physical (or material) world, and souls and spirits exist, not only in sentient creatures, but also in many animals, plants, rocks, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment, including thunder and wind. For sentient creatures, this spiritual essence is called a Soul, for non-sentient creatures, this spiritual essence is called a Spirit.

Henkar groups spirits into 3 classifications: Minor, Major and Great. Minor Spirits, also known as Base Spirits, represent the spiritual essence of singular entities, such as a specific tree, animal, stream, etc. Minor Spirits, relatively speaking, are weak though their strength can vary greatly. The Minor Spirit of a specific mountain would be much more powerful than the Minor Spirit of a specific Tufted Rat.

Major Spirits are also called Composite Spirits. They represent the amalgam of all Minor Spirits either of a certain type or sharing a common trait. One example of this would be the Major Spirit of Razorats. Another example would be the Major Spirit of a specific river system, which would be the amalgam of all Minor Spirits for the river and all of streams/rivers that feed into it and branch out of it, as well as all of the lakes, ponds etc. that are part of the river system. As the name implies, Major Spirits are substantially more powerful than Minor Spirits.

Great Spirits, or Enku, are the most powerful, and least numerous, of all Spirits. They are the amalgam of all Major Spirits of a specific type. For example, there is a Great Spirit of Rivers which encompass the Major Spirits of all rivers and river systems in all of Heimlar. Great Spirits are extremely powerful, so much so that they have achieved deity-like status. Their power is so great, in fact, that their area of influence has expanded beyond that of their component lesser Spirits to include more conceptual areas. For example, the Great Spirit of Rivers also has encompasses the related concepts of travel and community.

The followers of Henkar tend to focus their worship on Great Spirits. Though Henkar followers worship all Great Spirits, many individuals tend to focus on a single Great Spirit as their patron. Individuals and family may also have a Minor or Major Spirit designated as their Totem Spirit. In the Henkari world-view, the human being is often regarded as on a roughly equal footing with other animals, plants, and natural forces. Therefore, it is morally imperative to treat these agents with respect. In this world-view, humans are considered a part of nature, rather than superior to, or separate from it.

The Henkari faith accepts that spirits inhabit nearly everything and these spirits generally get along but on occasion have disagreements. A river in flood is not only an annual demonstration of the power of the river spirit but a relatively harmless lesson to the lesser spirits of rock and wood and bank. Where disagreements between spirits arise there is great upheaval: violent thunderstorms and tempests from the sea, earthquake, volcanic eruption, even drought. A collection of spirits, a major spirit or a greater spirit might feud with another and the faithful must weather the feud until it passes.

As with most faiths, parents teach their young and pass their traditions down through the ages from each generation to the next. There are numerous stories of the exploits of noteworthy spirits, manifest as heroes. These tales run the gambit of virtues and vices. As spirits inhabit everything in the world such tales of necessity describe the interaction of the mighty with the weak and serve not only as entertainment and expressions of faith but also as tales of morality.

The clerics of the Henkari faiths are not exclusive in their worship but acknowledge the power and presence of all the spirits of the world. Henkari clergy do however have a special affinity and love for one of the great spirits and can with time, contemplation and application of faith channel some small measure of the power from the spirit world. While a cleric can perform minor miracles, much of his power derives from his ability to commune with the spirits. A cleric persuades a spirit to perform some action that is within its power to the benefit of the cleric. Clerics can also ask the spirits questions and so derive benefit. Spirits have free will and do not have to be friendly or cooperative with a priest but are more inclined to be helpful if a component of the Great Spirit the priest has affinity with.

The religion of the Henkari faiths have passively existed since time immemorial and do not proselytize; the existence of spirits in all things and their interaction on daily living is self evident. Such beliefs have become known as the Old Guard. The turmoil of the aftermath of the Wrack and the aggressive (and increasingly successful) proselytizing of the Urda have led to a slow change in attitude of the faithful. Clerics of the New Guard are increasingly of the belief that the Henkari faiths must actively proselytize to counter the Urdite faith. These younger clerics are the vanguard of this movement. In addition to more active ministry, these young clergy are working to build communities resistant to the message of Urda. The New Guard clergy from all the Great Spirits work together more readily than the Old Guard clerics and the religion is becoming more of a pantheon as a result.

Clergy & Organization: The clergy of Henkar are called clerics and commonly called by the honorific 'Talar' (Talara for women). Every cleric chooses a specific Great Spirit as their patron and derives their divine power from that particular Great Spirit. Every cleric bears a facial tattoo of the Henkur symbol of their chosen Great Spirit. There is no formal organization to the Henkari clergy. Younger and lesser powered clergy of a specific Great Spirit tend to defer to the older and more powerful clergy of that same Great Spirit. The clergy of one Great Spirit may be respected by the clergy of another Great Spirit, but they hold no authority (formal or informal) over them.

The Henkari faith also possess militant branch known as Sacred Warriors. Sacred Warriors are the divinely blessed martial champions of the Animistic faith of the Great Spirits. Though less common then their cleric counterparts, Sacred Warriors can still be commonly found anywhere worship of the Great Spirits is prevalent. Sacred Warriors are great defenders of civilization from the horrors of the WrackLands. As with clerics, there is no formal organizational hierarchy to the ranks of Sacred Warriors. Sacred Warriors carry the formal honorific 'Hel‘andkrig’, or 'Krig' for short. Unlike clerics, Sacred Warriors do not have a single patron, they revere all Great Spirits equally.

Life of the Sacred Warrior

Worship Times/Observances: Every Great Spirit has its own set preferred time of religious observation. These typically take place weekly, biweekly or monthly depending upon the Great Spirit. Each Great Spirit also has its own preferred time of the day that services and religious rites are typically held.

Places of Worship: The homes of most Henkar worshipers typically contain a shrine dedicated to both the patron Great Spirit of the family as to the souls of the family ancestors and any Totem Spirit the family might have. Many Henkari clerics conduct open services outdoors, before a public shrine. Some clerics maintain Spirit Halls where services can be conducted indoors.

Religious Rites & Materials: Henkar is defined as an action-centered faith, focused on ritual practices to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between the physical and spiritual world. The nature of these rituals vary greatly from Great Spirit to Great Spirit but typically incorporate periods of meditation, executing solo kata and quiet utterance of prayers. Likewise, the type of material typically blessed as holy material varies from Great Spirit to Great Spirit though they are always materials found in nature. The Henkari faith also encourages the use of religious tattoos among the clergy and faithful. These tattoos employ the Henkur 'language' (see below).

Writings/Symbology: The Henkari faith has no central or principal holy texts. A variety of holy writings exist, to one degree or another, for each of the Great Spirits. These texts are all recorded in Telleve. Additionally, Henkar makes use of a set of symbology known as Henkur. Every Major and Great spirit has a written, symbolic representation in Henkur. It is these symbols that are used as part of worship.

The Temple of the Self

The Temple of the Self is more of a ethical and philosophical system than an actual faith. The Temple of the Self emphasizes self discipline, order and personal improvement rather than the worship of any deity. This focus on self enlightenment and improvement is broken down into three disciplines, which are traditionally mastered in a set order. These disciplines are (in progressive order): Mind, Body and Spirit.

The exemplars of this belief system are monk like individuals known as Monastic Disciples (or just Disciples for short). Though not clergy in the truest sense, Disciples are viewed as spiritual leaders in the northern cities. With the expansion of trade, especially between Torweg and Kommerhal, the practices of this 'religion' has started to spread. Today, monasteries dedicated to the Temple of the Self can be found throughout much of Heimlar. Most Disciples are human though members of the other races can certainly be found, especially though of a more lawful leaning.

Dörta, the Faith of the Elemental Tanri

The southlander people of Mabet have long revered the Elements, both as useful tools as well as objects of worship. Nowhere is this more evident that in their faith, the Dörta. Much as the Henkari faith illustrates the presence of spirits in the natural world of Heimlar, the Dörta faith recognizes the presence of elemental spirits. The Dörta faith espouses that an Elemental Tanri (Spirit Lord) rules over each of the four main elements. It is worship of these Tanri that forms the basis of the Dörta faith.

The monk-like Dörta holy men, known as Sekil (Benders), serve as this faith's clergy. They tend to lead through example rather than speech. Though Sekil advise and provide guidance, they do not hold public service like the clergy of other faiths.

Though all Mabetans revere all four elements, each person tends to worship one of the Tanri over the others. The four Tanri are:

Hava: the Air Tanri

The Element of Air, and thus Hava itself, represents Knowledge, Diplomacy, Flexibility, Creativity, Communication and Wisdom.

Toprak: the Earth Tanri

The Element of Earth, and thus Toprak itself, represents Dedication, Discipline, Order, Craftsmanship, Physical Labor and Reliability.

Yangar: the Fire Tanri

The Element of Fire, and thus Yangat itself, represents Passion, Purification, Violence, Death and Destruction.

Su: the Water Tanri

The Element of Water, and thus Su itself, represents Life, Compassion and Healing.

Druidism, the Druidical Faith

Druidism is a form of spirituality or religion that generally promotes harmony and worship of nature, and respect for all beings, including the environment. Followers of the druidical faith worship the purity of the elements and the order of the wilds, a primal magic that represents the spirit of the world as whole, a spirit much less personified than those of the Great Spirits. It is widely believed that Druidism had been the dominant faith of the elves and the faith almost perished along with the massive decline of the elven race as the Wrack swept through the Old World. Today the druidical faith exists in various pockets across Heimlar. Each of these pockets, called groves or circles (depending upon size), exists independently as it strives to resist the corruption of the Wrack or, in a few cases, expand and reclaim what the Wrack has taken. Druidical groves are home to single or pairs (master/acolyte) of druids while the larger druidical circles are home to groups of druids (numbering up to five or six in some cases). Most groves and circles can be found in the sprawling VoskerWud but any area of untamed nature can be home to one of these holy places. The majority of druids are elves. However, these elves have taken to recruiting humans and even skaa to expand their scant numbers.

Raafgar the Reaver, Faith of the RavenLanders

The RavenLanders of the far north live in a society that is quite foreign to the rest of the people of Heimlar. Even their faith is unique to their culture. Much like the followers of the Henkari faith, RavenLanders believe in the existence of a rich Spirit world. Rather than focusing their belief system on worship of these spirits, however, RavenLands worship a deity known as Raafgar the Reaver. Raafgar, so their faith says, is responsible for the gathering of all spirits when their physical forms die (or are destroyed) and shepherding them to the afterlife. Raafgar also judges these spirits, determining which one are worthy to pass into a glorious afterlife at his side. Those not worthy are either destroyed (if very unworthy) or reincarnated and given another chance at achieving worthiness. Raafgar is served by clergy known as Dogari. Little is known of this faith of the RavenLanders, including what actions contribute to being judged 'worthy'. What is known is that the culture of the RavenLanders is completely intertwined with their faith to a level that rivals UrHolde and the Urdite faith.

Additional/Minor Faiths

Ennustae - Known as Felcaela-Tach to the elves, Ennustae is the goddess of time, probabilities and forecasting. This faith, once thriving (especially in the south), nearly died off during The Fall. Based out of a temple deep in the jungles of Mabet, it has just started a period of revival.