What major religions does bulwark have in its world?
How do these religions interact with one another?
Greatly enough this is actually a topic I have been working on recently!
Firstly, there are three major human religions (and a variety of minor religions. as well as cults. i am delineating the two for the connotative distinction. a cult is not the same as a unique folk/regional tradition/spirituality).
The dominant religion in Bulwark currently does not have a name, and has a variety of iterations based directly on historical migration / trade routes, and thus varies greatly country by country, but OVERALL follows the same structure, philosophy, and creation mythos. Except in some specific circumstances, these sects / denominations / cultures are all still considered mutually part of the same religion in a literal textual and cultural sense.
They don't necessarily consider themselves or each other morally / spiritually superior / inferior. But that depends. Many minor religions/cults are unrecognized(or rejected) off-shoots of this (they are usually made up of few individuals/small communities).
As I have previously described, modern humans all derived from one small community that was basically frozen in time for a long long time. Later to be rescued by Herja and reintroduced into the world. The creation myth of this major religion derives directly from Herja's influence (consciously and unconsciously).
The original/basis (without all the newer stuff) is still worshipped by the peoples who inhabit a region called the Heart of the World (which is surrounding a mountain of the same name- the mountain the Stem Girls are climbing).
It states that humanity was grown in a divinely blessed patch of soil at the top of the mountain, completely on accident, a random occurrence. When discovered by the gods they were told it was not safe to stay here, as it was a place ruled by creatures that would easily prey upon them. A god (Herja) gathered up the collection of people and lead them safely down the mountain and into the surrounding valleys. They settled in two places, the Vigilant Hills, and the Celestial Rest.
The peoples of the Hills follow a monotheistic version of this, and they are believed to be the keepers of the mountain, keeping anyone from going up it, or things from coming out of it. This includes both guarding the pathway up into the mountain, as well as patrolling the valleys around it.
The peoples of the Rest split into two groups. The first is considered part of the peoples and beliefs of the Hills, just with a different task. Their duty is to be caretakers of the land (while the Hills guard). They were free to explore and make their own lives, but were told that to achieve / unearth great and divine wisdoms they must first learn how to live on the land they were grown on. They were warned that the price of divine knowledge is great and arduous journey (re: mutations).
The second group took that Explore part to heart and left the land. The singular god of the original peoples still stands as part of the pantheon, but more were added as humanity explored- both discovering remnants of previous human civilizations and evidence of the Forgotten Divines, as well as encountering Living Gods.
This pantheon is not necessarily considered to be in conflict with the aforementioned monotheism, just that the singular god is perceived as the one in charge / most relevant to them. These other gods revealed themselves to other people for their reasons. (The formal title for this god is being debated atm. And I might keep it to myself for a fun little reveal :). This god is directly representative of Herja, however its depiction does not necessarily capture her appearance, and is based on a collection of inspirations (maybe even having variations based on sect. Haven't decided yet.))
Gods-worship also isn't necessarily considered mandatory (though this could vary on local culture/family ideals). There is worship and ritual around it, but the creation of humanity being otherwise a natural, random occurrence, is intentional. Magic and the divine is random and powerful enough to create a person or god, and that humans (and elves) live in a world with gods who can walk the land but even they don't have complete control of it. It is more so a respect of the chance you've been given in life, and the people(or gods) who have assisted you on your journey.
Interestingly, the Vigilant Hills sit to the northeast most section of the west continent, and I decided a small group of elves ended up fleeing there in the Elf Apocalypse (lol) while the rest of the elves fled entirely to the southeast. The appearance of these elves in the northwest did not contradict any of the Hills' People's beliefs, in fact affirming them, that if they did not gain the proper amount of wisdom before making the destined journey up the mountain that it would spell disaster, as now another plot of divine land (where the elves had come from) had been soiled by hubris.
(Elves do not like travelling so other human cultures do not know about them. They are also welcomed into the culture of the Vigilant Hills and feel entirely dedicated to the cause of preventing these unnecessary deaths. [Though mythology develops among the farther langs of a type of angel / mythical creature that is based on the description of an elf, interpreting it to be a piece of oral tradition and not literally describing elves. Generally speaking, nobody is permitted to go there, so this information is not verified/contested elsewhere.])
Overall, the Celestial Rest is considered culturally and religiously the birthplace of humanity, the start of oral and written 'modern' memory. The peoples who still reside in this region have both permanent settlements and nomadic groups (whom roam throughout the year in a circle around the mountain). The Rest and the region/Hills are guarded lovingly and carefully by these peoples, and the Rest regularly facilitates worship and study for scholars and those on pilgrimages. (Though there are some strict rules about this.)
(Left, a wip of naming major areas/regions in the west continent, Right, a somewhat outdated but still useful map of human/elf migration)
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Kreng-garangi, the Second major religion is predominantly found, of course, in the Kreng-garang Court. In the Ryara Valley, Eel's Run Republic, and Allsail, it can be found, but to a mixed population with the previous religion (and others). Sometimes the faiths are mixed within each other, but are largely considered separate. (It also originally started as the above, but the focus for the god below became too great + the creation myth was changed.)
It believes that Pwelljar (a Living God now long dead), regurgitated humanity. Pwelljar is believed to have asked the sun to have a daughter safe from harm but always with her (that she had previous daughters who died). And the sun told her to eat every glimpse of light she saw for the next week. The light formed a giant pearl in her stomach, and at the end of the week she coughed up the pearl into the sky and it became the moon. The sun is also considered to be the mother of the moon and is sometimes depicted as married to Pwelljar. It is also believed that Pwelljar asked the sun for another daughter, to keep her firstborn company and to play with- but Pwelljar died the day before the new daughter would be born. She arrived on the shores of the Court, torn to pieces by a great hoard of fiends. She warned the people to beware of the things that hide in the depths. (They then tended to be very reserved and insular when it came to other cultures and countries.)
When she finally passed the entirety of her body was harvested. The pearl in her stomach, as well as tools / clothes / weapons formed from her body are sacred items. Ancestor reverance/worship is also prominent, as many families got the privilege to eat of her flesh, so their descendants pray to inherit Pwelljar's blessings. (Certain mutations are considered indicative of divine aptitude.)
Currently, a Living God named Krasv-kil resides in the region, and is loosely believed to be a reincarnation of her. There is a significant population of freshwater elves in the eastern side of the continent that migrated there (relatively recently), and she helped the humans acknowledge (and personally determined) that elves mean them no harm (despite being sea creatures). Because of this, freshwater philosophy was merged into the religion, making the culture overall more open to cross-cultural interaction and less cautious. (Though retaining their reservations regarding seafaring, they largely hire others for such things.)
These two can also appear as gods on the pantheon(s) respected by the 1st religion.
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Yavliv, the Living God (it is unknown if they are living or dead) would be considered the main god of the third major religion (though may at times be regarded as a cult, or conflated with them). Worship of them is a more direct off-shoot of the first religion.
Yavliv is a giant octopus, their reach has them appearing in other myths as the unnamed(or misnamed) enemy of other gods. They are said to be made entirely of shadow and are trapped in the watery core of the world, always peering through and reaching out of a small crack in the bottom of the sea.
They represent ingenuity, self-empowerment, and hubris. There are two major splits of this faith- the one that hates other gods and hates magic. It believes that magic does nothing but bad. That is an evil poison that eats away your soul and body- changing it into something other. That you can build yourself up on your own merit. That Yavliv is dead/dying as a result of the poisons and lies offered by other gods. Both sects derive from Deadwater, though this first one is the dominant religion in Deadwater, and only in the last generation or so has begun to receive any traction in foreign lands (mostly in Eel's Run Republic and Allsail).
The other does not- it believes there are wisdoms to be found in nontraditional means. There is a wariness of any thing claiming to have great power over others. That there are secrets the gods are keeping and intentionally obfuscating. Don't wait for things to come to you, seize destiny for yourself, go out and find it. They don't revere the [herja-standin], but respect yavliv for enlightening them.
Necromancy is highly associated with them (due to a singular follower of note (and their cult) committing acts of mass necromancy). As well as the prospect of hidden/forbidden/rare arts (somewhat true).
This sect is technically more widespread than the first- its faithful like to explore the world and do things that no one else wants to do and go where no one else wants to go. [There is a job/service called Wraiths who do this kind of thing, which is not necessarily religiously based/obligated, but the term was taken from followers of Yavliv who tend to voluntarily be Wraiths]. They tend to be in smaller groups, but are found almost anywhere in human lands.
atm neither of these have official names either, but the second sect I shorthand to 'wraiths' (whether or not they actively go danger diving).
I've actually been debating how all of this works for elves, how do you make a religion for creatures that can live for such a ridiculously long time? Like there is some spirituality I can get into but I might make a post for it later.
Oh also there is a living god (peacock) named Vrivv-rav who exists as a spiritual leader for saltwater elves (and could be considered a member of a noble house).
I'll take more questions on this but i think im going to wrap this post up rn since ive had it open for so long LOL
You go outside (In Bulwark) during a torrential rain that only happens every idk ten years and are suddenly aware that there's been a community of elves living underneath you
LMAO.
i think i have mentioned that there are human/elf villages in some parts of the south-east of the west continent, and elf homes are pre-established as being largely bellow ground, so i wouldnt doubt theres some arrangement of building homes that contain an elf below and a human above ! though its probably common in those cases for humans to live below ground too :O! (though structured differently, to accommodate temperature/dryness preferences between the two species)
zuthera's twin brother firas (draft, he might look different later)
firas is one of the first freshwater elves- a founder of the original cultural movement (which is, by the time zuthera surfaces, firmly established). personality wise is like your carefree fun uncle. nowadays he isnt necessarily considered a like, political leader or organizer. he wanders around and teaches people and tells stories.
