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{{Info religion
{{Info religion
|image = VelTap.png
|image = VelTap.png
|pronunciation = For-noss (like Nosferatu) (clear pause between the two).  
|pronunciation = Forn-oss (clear pause between the two).  
|origins = Presumed roughly 15,000 years ago.
|origins = Presumed roughly 15,000 years ago.
|deities = Two distinct Pantheons of 7 Gods each.
|deities = Two distinct Pantheons of 6 Gods each.
|subsects = Some regional variance and naming changes.
|}}
|}}
Fornoss is one of the earliest [[Religion]]s of the [[Ailor]] [[Race]], that survived thousands of years of conversion by other Religions as well as attempts to be eradicated by various nations, as one of the few surviving so called [[Pagan Faiths]]. Unlike the other (mostly) dead Pagan Faiths, Fornoss has a large following, particularly among [[Velheim]] and [[Gallovian]] Ailor, though a large number of [[Urlan]], [[Dwarves]], and some [[Eronidas Ashaven|Ashaven Eronidas]] also follow it, meaning it is not limited in scope to just Ailor. Fornoss is sometimes also called the Old Gods Religion, but this is not a historically correct term. The Gods are not old from a pure chronological perspective, and it is certainly not the oldest Religion in Aloria. This term was mostly popularized by the Ailor, who when reviewing only their own history, can see Fornoss as the oldest Religion, but when taking the totality of the world's history, Fornoss is a more accurate term, which roughly translates to "Ancient us", an homage to its survival through the ages.
Fornoss is one of the earliest [[Religion]]s of the [[Ailor]] [[Heritage]] that survived thousands of years of conversion by other religions and attempts to be eradicated by various nations, proving exceptionally resilient. The Fornoss faith has a large following, particularly among [[Velheim]] and [[Gallovian]] Ailor, though a large number of [[Urlan]], [[Dwarves]], and some [[Eronidas Ashaven|Ashaven Eronidas]] also follow it, meaning it is not limited in scope to just Ailor. Fornoss is sometimes called the Old Gods religion, but this is not historically correct. The Gods are not old from a purely chronological perspective and it is not the oldest religion in Aloria. This term was mostly popularized by the Ailor, who when reviewing only their history, can see Fornoss as the oldest Religion, but when taking the totality of the world's history, Fornoss is a more accurate term, which roughly translates to "ancient us," an homage to its survival through the ages.
==Origins==
==Origins==
The birthing of the Gods and the founding of the Religion are two distinct periods. The birthing of the Gods is a mysterious period perhaps thousands of years before the first followers professed their belief in the Gods, as it is said that the Gods wandered for many ages before finding the people that would recognize their worth. It is said that the Eili Gods were born at the foot of the tree Arne surrounded by Dragons, though it is unclear if these refer to the [[Draconism]] Dragon Gods, or just the folktale version of Dragons which may also have been Skywyrms (mythical flying reptilian creatures from Velheim belief which are not Dragons, nor [[Wyvern]]s). There is also some theological debate about whether Arne is actually the Draconist Goddess Daiana, because no Tree of Life has ever been found elsewhere, but most Fornoss believers hold onto the version that states Arne is not a Dragon. The Fornoss Religion is roughly 15,000 years old, though this has an error margin of about 3,000 years, because the proto-Velheim people who were the first Fornoss followers did not have a form of writing at the time. The Religion was founded on a series of islands and part of the mainland of Oldt Tera ([[Ceardia]]), where the locals embraced a form of polytheism while most other [[Ceardian]] tribes were monotheistic. The Eili offered the faithful escape from the endless bloodshed and misery and slavery under the [[Elves]] that terrorized the Oldt Tera shores, fleeing the mainland, and retreating to some island called Aldra, which cannot be found on any modern map. On Aldra however, the Fornoss believers still were not safe, so the Eili contacted the Vola, and created The Pact, which joined both Pantheons to the Fornoss believers as two distinct unions, and the Fornoss people were finally given safety in Volaheim's embrace through the Vaarda Gates. For thousands of years, the Fornoss followers spread across the world through the Vaarda Gates, until Svartskra.
Fornoss is an ancient Religion, older than Unionism but younger than the Elven Estelley Religion, to which it was largely born as an answer to the violence the Elves inflicted upon the ancient Ceardians during the Pearl Wars and beyond. Fleeing the constant attacks from the Elves, the first Fornoss faithful were whisked away by the Eili Gods to a series of islands shrouded from the Elves in the seas. As time passed, the Religion expanded and more Gods joined, eventually seeing the Vola join under the guidance of Kael where the faithful spread from their native land Aldra where the father-tree Arne supposedly once created to the Eili Gods, to Volaheim, a land within the Abyss that allowed the faithful to colonize far and wide, becoming the most widespread people and eventually founding Kingdoms and Empires. At its zenith, the Empire of the High Seas became a Fornoss ethnostate, which was destroyed during a period called the Svartskra, discussed further below.


==Core Beliefs==
===Soldi and Svaldi===
The Fornoss Gods are divided between two distinct Pantheons, the Eili who are generally considered mindful and virtuous but restrained, and the Vola who are generally considered opportunistic and selfish but powerful. The two Pantheons represent the two halves of any person's soul, filled with desire to do good by others, and desire to do good by one's self. It is important to stress here that there is no ontological morality that can be assigned to either Pantheon. While some Eili create the impression of being purely benign, they are in ways just as flawed as mortals and have desires and wants and needs that can cause them to commit great misdeeds, such as the time when Bard cut off Svol's arms because Svol refused to participate in Bard's punishment of the faithful for small misdeeds. Similarly, Hrymrøk foments chaos and anarchy wherever and whoever she touches, however even when cities crumble and burn, does the destruction give way to the liberation of the enslaved Fornoss followers that lived in the undercities. While generally speaking all Gods have good intentions for their followers, they are all equally capable of cruelty, misguidedness, deceitful or selfish actions to preserve their worship, which speaks to their vanity. However, because Soldi inherently represents helping others, and Svaldi represents using others, the faithful still draw lines in the sand and dictate morality on each other based on their personal beliefs, even if there is no theological reason to reinforce it. There are some people who worship only the Eili called Eilirik, and some people who only worship the Voli called Volirik, while a person who worships both is called a Hvarkirik. These three groups tend to conflict with one another for religious reasons, but usually unite when facing an external threat, like they did during the Skagger Wars against Regalians. Fornoss does not have a strict list of Virtues and Vices, rather, source the list of Soldi and Svaldi enriching activities from the Gods and Goddesses section.  
Honor is a massively important aspect of the Fornoss Religion that dictates the value of the individual, and their allowance to pass into the afterlife. The Faithful accrue two different types of Honor called Soldi (for the Eili Pantheon) or Svaldi (for the Vola Pantheon). Both can be accrued together, or differing values separately, as each God proposes a different way to gain or lose these honor currencies. There are no hard rules for these honor numbers, players are encouraged to play around with them to tell a good story. Below are the vices and virtues outlined.  


===Soldi & Svaldi===
'''Among the Eili:'''
Soldi and Svaldi are two very important terms that accompany the Fornoss believers throughout all their lives. In the simplest of terms, Soldi is honor derived from virtue, while Svaldi is honor derived from opportunism. Soldi and Svaldi can be seen as resources that souls accrue in life as they grow older, and the goal of any Fornoss believer generally is to acquire high Soldi or Svaldi and be permitted into the afterlives of the Eili and Vola. Some might even consider trying to acquire both, a difficult balancing act, but if successful, might result in the very Gods themselves playing games of skill and wit to secure the soul for their own afterlives. This can sometimes result in a so-called Hvitdraugr, who is [[Undead]] Draugr until such a time comes that the Gods have finished their conflict over the person's soul (if they stay alive for that long in an Undead unfriendly world). Finally, it is also possible to lose Soldi or Svaldi from actions that go against the tenets of the Gods. It is in fact possible to lose all Soldi or Svaldi all at once, but this is usually not a complete disaster. Either honor can be restored, and can in fact be restored by another person. It is not uncommon for a father to lose all Soldi, resulting in their son beginning a quest to restore Soldi in his name. When offering his achievements up to the Gods, he offers them in his father's name, resulting in the Gods restoring the Soldi of his father. It is even possible to do this for people who have already died and passed into Imellomgård (purgatory), or who have come back from Imellomgård as Draugr Undead. In such a case, the living must restore their Soldi or Svaldi, after which they are released and restored to the proper afterlife, and in rare cases, to life either as a living person or a Revenant [[Spirit]].  
* Bard proclaims that Soldi is gained by resisting injustice, and being a good leader, while Soldi is lost through corruption and abuse of power.
* Tadhg proclaims that Soldi is gained by respecting the dead, while Soldi is lost through blasphemy and desecration of the dead.  
* Norn proclaims that Soldi is gained by respecting the laws of prophecy and destiny, and lost by violently resisting fate.
* Fenra proclaims that Soldi is gained by healing those in need and suffering, and lost by ignoring the pain felt by others.
* Leif proclaims that Soldi is gained through loyalty in love and compassion, and lost through adultery and cruelty.
* Dáuw proclaims that Soldi is gained through dedication to craft and loyalty to the Gods, and lost through defeatism and dejection.
* Maedrvrid proclaims that Soldi is gained through bravery and willingness to learn, while it is lost through stubbornness and surrender.
* Halfvel proclaims that Soldi is gained through a good Hunt and protecting others, while it is lost from succumbing to Demons.
* Eirny proclaims that Soldi is gained through the acquisition of lost knowledge and its publication, and lost through information secrecy.
'''Among the Vola:'''
* Kael proclaims that Svaldi is gained through information usage to expand power, while Svaldi is lost by making bad bargains and trades.
* Sharnel proclaims that Svaldi is gained through learning from fallen Empires and withstanding Imperialism, lost by collaborating.
* Thirun proclaims that Svaldi is gained by becoming stronger in Magic, while Svaldi is lost through meekness and ignoring insult to self.
* Nyxil proclaims that Svaldi is gained by overcoming insurmountable obstacles and struggles, and lost through disrespecting those stronger.
* Aedán proclaims that Svaldi is gained through creative creation and partying, and lost through asceticism and iconoclasm.  
* Ubhan proclaims that Svaldi is gained by enacting revenge and succeeding in combat, and lost through dishonor in combat or cowardice.  
* Helvard proclaims that Svaldi is gained by protecting the Undead from those who want to kill them, and lost by taking pleasure in rejection.
* Blodrúna proclaims that Svaldi is gained by granting others a beautiful death and reciting poetry, and lost by spilling unworthy blood.
* Taran proclaims that Svaldi is gained by self-exploration and self-mastery in dignity, while Svaldi is lost by neglecting one's self.  


===Eiliheim & Volaheim===
Soldi and Svaldi can also be transferred to others, even after death. It is as such possible to save a condemned soul who is stuck in the Mirror-world, a hellish place where souls are condemned to wander forever on a salt-flat of nothingness, to retrieve them and send them to the proper afterlife. Soldi and Svaldi don't have exact measurements, and are mostly defined to give players freedom to interact with them in Roleplay.
Unlike all other Religions, Fornoss has two afterlives, the Eiliheim which is the paradise of the Eili Pantheon, and the Volaheim which is the paradise of the Vola Pantheon. There exists also a realm in between, but this is not really classified as a paradise and more like a purgatory called Imellomgård, which literally translates to the land in between. While Eiliheim and Volaheim are described as places filled with the luxuries of life and pleasures of mortal life made immortal, Imellomgård is a land devoid of color, song, happiness and purpose, where souls who are refused entry into the other afterlives are forced to wander for all eternity. To enter Eiliheim, a person must have high Soldi, and to enter Volaheim, a person must have high Svaldi. If a person has neither in adequate quantity, or offended both Pantheons by having negative Soldi or Svaldi, they are condemned to Imellomgård to wander the mirror-wastes for all eternity. Though, Undead sometimes come back from Imellomgård in the form of Deathveil Undead (called Svartdraugr in Fornoss), if their bodies were not properly interred in the Helbolwen burial sites.


===Divine Mechanics===
===The Afterlife===
All Religions provide 1 single Mechanic to their Believers that fits within the flair of their Religion. This Mechanic is lost if the individual stops believing in the Religion, or becomes a heretic, but can be regained. Afflicted can use this mechanic, but having the mechanic does not imply that they have blanket forgiveness from their Gods, just that there is more nuance to it than that.
The Fornoss faith is somewhat unique in that it has 3 distinct afterlives. Each pantheon has its separate afterlife with different rules and functions, and then there is to so-called land in between which is a cursed land for souls deemed unworthy. The land in between is an endless gray land without emotion and feeling. Souls wander there until their descendants or friends save their honor, or until their name is forgotten and they die one final time. The afterlife for the Eili is called Eiliheim, which is thought to be a perfect garden of forever spring and tranquility, where beautiful music and animals grace the skies and eternal peace is felt, believed to be a valley in the Anima. The afterlife for the Vola is called Volaheim, which is thought to be a heat-scorched mountain land of forever summer and humidity, where the earthly delights and pleasures are tingled with endless hedonistic satisfaction, believed to be a valley in the Abyss. A dying soul can never arrive in both, so most faithful tend to choose which one they would rather reach, and plan their Soldi/Svaldi gain appropriately.
* The Fornoss faithful can call back a person who has passed into the afterlife temporarily if they possess an image (painting, statue, carving) of the person, or know their full real name. In such a case, they must perform the calling of the forerunner ritual, and command the Spirit to hold a specific purpose in line with the Fornoss faith. This will manifest the person as a Primal Revenant, with a strong inclination to complete the Fate for which they were summoned, and if they do, they disappear again. The same Spirit can be summoned multiple times for different Fates. Remember, Spirits, even ones from Gods, are still very illegal in the eyes of the Law!


===Svartskra===
===Svartskra===
The Svartskra identifies a pivotal point in Fornoss history that despite its massive importance to all Fornoss believers, is mostly shrouded in mystery either by the Eili forcing the faithful to forget, or the people willingly abandoning any reference to this period to avoid the stray faithful from looking too deep into the matter and opening old wounds. As part of the Fornoss origins, the so-called Vaarda Gates, exist all over the world visited by Fornoss followers, helping their early colonizing boom. It is said by the Eili that these Gates were built by Bev, and passed through Volaheim to fold time and space together, allowing instant transportation across vast distances. At some point, the relationship between the Fornoss believers and the Eili, as opposed to the Vola and their Spirits, turned sour. It is said by the Eili that Rand (who they call the Great Betrayer) tricked them and condemned the Fornoss followers to some kind of horrible fate, thus causing their rebellion against the Pact that was meant to save the early Velheim people from Elven enslavement. From this point it is unclear if the Fornoss believers were expelled or fled from the Volaheim Gates. Whatever the circumstances, the Gates were closed shut after everyone was out with Bev's Keys (Artifact Weapons), which were then scattered across the world. The Vola maintain that the Eili fomented a false rebellion and that the followers defaced the Vola in their own home, though whichever version is closer to the truth, is hard to say as both sides have motive to lie. The last side effect of Svartskra (the day the Gates shut), was that the two Eili who had brokered the deals with the Vola the Flesh God Gro and the Metal God Jord were banished by the Eili and stripped from the Pantheon. Similarly, the Vola banished the two Gods responsible for working out the deal with the Eili being the Revenge God Asbjørn and the Greed God Frynni, who were also stripped from the Pantheon. Since this day, the Eili and Vola have been immortal enemies. As a consequence of this animosity, both sides agreed to refrain from interfering with the faithful too much, so as to prevent all out holy war within the Religion. This explains why the Fornoss Gods have been exceptionally silent during major tragedies that struck for example the Velheim people in the past 300 years, however in recent years, this policy has shown signs of cracking, with some raising concerns that if the Gods get too involved, that they will start fighting each other.
Svartskra is a pivotal event in Fornoss folklore and Religious teaching that has nonetheless been shrouded in mystery due to Kael's control of the flow of information, and active wiping of memories and information dating back to it. Without certainty, Svartskra is assumed to have taken place several thousands of years prior to the modern day, but still somewhat recent in the total 13,000 years of existence of this Religion. Before Svartskra, the Eili and Vola were one unified pantheon, albeit both halves somewhat unofficially seperated by their leaders Bard and Kael. Svartskra took place in several stages, each of which defined the future of the Religion and the Gods moving foward.


==Gods and Goddesses==
The first stage was the Strife. In the Strife, Bard took issue with Kael and Sharnel's secret plans, accusing them and the others they had joined up with, in trying to control the faithful by underhanded means. The Vola Gods tried to seize more and more power by gaining the majority support from the faithful, something that would proportionally make the Eili weaker. This caused an immediate fracture, because Bard's will was supreme, and the Eili Gods immediately rejected the Vola. Tadgh's Gates that had been used to create the Empire of the High Seas were closed, and the Empire fractured nearly instantly. The Imperial Dynasty in Aldra was lost as the whole island vanished from the world.
The Fornoss Gods are divided over two Pantheons, Eili and Vola. The Gods are always presented as Eili on the Left, Vola on the Right (if their opportunistic theming didn't give it away), though as some Gods are ambiguous as they were once Eili and became Vola, the left-right distinction has to be mentioned. Titular naming for the Gods (for example, Herald the Dark Celestial) is not necessary, it just provides a more poetic way of referring to them without using their name directly. Because both Pantheons expelled two Gods each, and because the Pantheons didn't become established all at once and some Gods joined much later, it is still possible for this Pantheon to grow. While Fornoss faithful can choose Patron Gods that they feel strong connections to, unlike other Religions, a Fornoss Follower must always worship whole Pantheons, either only Eili or Vola Pantheons, or both.  
 
<table style="width: 100%;"><tr><td style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">
Immediately after the Strife, the Fire phase started, where the Eili and Vola made war with one another. There is effectively no information left from this period, as Kael has erased all knowledge of it, while Bard certainly benefits from presenting the Vola as the aggressors. The Eili claim that the Vola initiated war within the Religion and tried to conquer the lands where the Eili held power forcibly. The war supposedly raged for a long time, but where, when, and how are complete unknowns. The War ended with the Silence Accord.
<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Bev, Doorway of the Moon'''</center></span>
 
{|
The Silent Accord, being the final phase, has endured to the modern era. In this phase, the Eili and Vola made agreements to preserve peace between them to prevent the Religion from fracturing in two irreperably. The two Pantheons still had many associations and connections between them, from lovers and ex-lovers to siblings, so fully condemning each other was not an option for either side. Both pantheons had lost Gods to the war and betrayal, resulting in a weakening of both pantheons. In this peace settlement, the Eili and Vola agreed that the lands then under their control would remain theirs, and neither side would interfere to change the allegiances of mortals.  
[[File:noimglong.png|220px|caption|left]]
 
|
Naturally, this peace settlement has been broken time and time again. While Bard forces his Eili Gods to hold to the rules, he barely does himself. Halfvel spreads his influence far and wide through his children, while Nyxil has essentialy claimed all the high seas in between the lands, a clever subversion of the agreement. The Vola Gods continue to scheme, and the Eili Gods continue to battle, making the whole arrangement a carefully balanced truce rather than permanenht peace settlement. Full blown conflict is still possible, but seemingly an outcome that the faithful seem committed to prevent, even if they do not fully understand the circumstances in which it took place in the past.
* '''Name:''' Bev, the Lord of Water, the Dead Ferryman or the All-Seeing Mirror.
 
* '''Domain:''' Bev's domain is the mortuary cult, the death rites, and mortal aging.
==Eili gods and Goddesses==
* '''Symbols:''' Mirrors, The Mortuary Cloth, rich and deep colors of Blue and Black.
====Bard, The Justice Claw====
* '''Role:''' Bev measures the Soldi of the Dead, and guards the Gate to the Afterlife.  
[[File:Barbutbig.png|left|frameless|250px]]
* '''Traits:''' Cryptic, Silent, Reserved, Slow-Acting, Careful, Observant, Learned.
Bard is the Bear-king of the Eili Gods, the God of just rulership, fair authority, and good leadership. While Eirny writes the codes of laws and customs, it is Bard who enacts them, and also functions as the judge of all divine judgment and trials. Bard is the physical embodiment of the worshiper's desire to life without being abused by those who rule over them, or brigands who might catch them out in the wilderness. Bard's harsh but fair judgement is rendered on all regardless of social class, but hits those in a position of authority even harder than those dispossessed. While demanding that the other Eili hold themselves to the rules of the Svartskra, Bard is ironically the one to break them to be most, taking pity on the disaffected and abused, and bringing the bear's claws down on wrongdoers.
* '''Temple:''' Bev's largest Temple is the Dead-Door Mortuary in Irvainvik, Drixagh.
 
* '''Allies:''' Ammuloa followers, priests of other societies, especially Unionist.
Bard was the firstborn among the Eili and arguably the firstborn Fornoss God (though pre-dated by pre-Fornoss entities and Gods). He set up the structure of the faith, and convinced the first ancient Ceardians to his protection and guidance. Over time, his strength and singular dedication to just rulership made him a perfect fit as the leader of the Eili pantheon. A pivotal moment in Bard's history involved his struggle with the Eidolon Arken of Justice, whom he defeated. However, when consuming the Arken's power, his soul was refracted, causing his awareness to be shared with the Justice Arken's reincarnations, something to his benefit in hindsight.  
* '''Enemies:''' Anything Ordial Aligned, especially Svartdraugr (Deathveil) Undead but not Hvitdraugr (Godsrot) Undead.
 
* '''Soldi:''' Gained from tending/respecting to the dead, lost from disrespecting the dead.
====Tadhg, The Death's Mirror====
* '''Rituals:''' Bev rituals involve the tending of Helbolwen graves, refreshing flowers and offerings, and lighting candles by the Bev statue which can always be found in a Helbolwen. Bev is also worshiped through the singing chalice, large chalices filled with water and played somber and harrowing tunes with by gliding fingers over the rims.
[[File:Taddydeath.png|left|frameless|250px]]  
|}
Tadhg is primarily the God of life and death, the guardian of the afterlife, and the one to measure the value of a soul when it passes on from life. Tadhg however is a more complicated figure that also represents the changing of the seasons. During spring and summer he is depicted as a floating cloak with an unseen face and bony white hands holding a mirror, the reflection of the afterlife. When autumn and winter arrive, he becomes the horned Urlan guardian who closes the gates of the afterlife. Fornoss faithful embalm their dead during the winter months, and bury them during the warm months when the frost has retreated from the soil, under the guidance of Tadgh who has given the faithful their mortuary rites and many guidance chants and rituals concerning the dead.
</td><td style="vertical-align: top; width: 50%;">
 
<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Rand, Herald the Dark Celestial'''</center></span>
Tadhg judges both the Soldi and Svaldi of the faithful, though he acts as a neutral centrist in this regard, despite being an Eili. Even though sending all the souls to the Eili afterlife would undoubtedly empower his side of the pantheon, Tadhg's sense of right and wrong is so strong that the conflict between the Eili and Vola mostly goes past him. This matter is made even more apparent, in that during the winter seasons, it is Nyxil who keeps him comfort while the gates of the afterlife are shut, ensuring his spirits are well-kept during the dark and somber months, and his bed is never left wanting for warmth, until leaving in spring to be with the other Vola.  
{|
 
[[File:Randlikeaslut.png|220px|caption|left]]
====Norn, The Fate Weaver====
|
[[File:Eternumpri.png|left|frameless|250px]]
* '''Name:''' Rand, called Great Betrayer by Eilirik, or Power Arken by non-believers.
Norn is the Eili God of destinies and fates. Among the faithful, it is said that he weaves the future threads of all the faithful, and when their time comes to an end, cuts their chords with his Scissors of Shattered Eternity. Norn is prayed to for good fortunes, good health and a fruitful long life. While he weaves the future threads when the faithful are born, gentle plucks and taps on the threads alter the fates of the faithful for the better or worse, and even if it goes against Norn's very nature, his compassion and love for the faithful bids him to see the winds of fortune turn for the better when he can. Norn when compared to the other Gods is far less present among mortals, as he diligently manages the threads by the roots of Arne, focusing solely on his duties.  
* '''Domain:''' Rand is the lord of Volaheim itself, said to never leave his realm.  
 
* '''Symbols:''' Rand's symbol is the red Evil Eye, bear claw scars, and bears.
Norn was once a being of the Eternum, a sworn nemesis of Sharnel from the Silence, who interfered in the oracles predictions and destinies divined by Norn for mortals in Aloria. When she escaped the Silence to ply her trade in Aloria, Norn broke free from the Eternum and chased her to the ends of the world, though always one step behind. When Sharnel joined forces with Kael and later the Fornoss Gods, Norn presented himself to Bard and was accepted among the Eili Gods to weave the fates of the faithful, and to bring order to the chaos that was being created by the influence of the Vola. Now, Norn dutifully serves the faithful by predicting their futures.
* '''Role:''' Rand acts like a King of the Vola, and commander of the Volaheimr.
 
* '''Traits:''' Power-hungry, Domineering, Authoritarian, Strong-willed, Capable.
====Fenra, The Wyld Queen====
* '''Temple:''' Rand has no temple, Volaheim itself is one big temple to his glory.
[[File:Faequeen.png|left|frameless|250px]]
* '''Allies:''' Rand's only allies are the Void Arken, he has no need for others.
Fenra is the Eili Goddess of healing and nature. She is the patron goddess of all who surround themselves with the vitality of nature, agriculture, and horticulture and works in healing houses as a midwife, healer, or alchemist. Fenra teaches the faithful the healing arts of nature's bounty, to take respectfully and give back to the forests and grasslands where healing herbs grow, and to cultivate gardens where her emissaries, the butterflies, may dwell and flourish. Fenra is very active among the mortals, even more so than most other Eili Gods, traveling to small villages and towns to heal those stricken with deadly illnesses and grave wounds. Fenra creates unofficial Godborn called Fuath, babies born to couples who cannot conceive, who are born Shapeshifter Mages.  
* '''Enemies:''' Rand has no explicit enemies, except for the Exist Arken, notably Justice.
 
* '''Svaldi:''' Gained from establishing power and control, losing from banishment.
Fenra was originally a being of the Anima, A greater Fae Demon of the Spring Court's Valley of Bloodrot Renewal, who tricked the faithful into bad bargains to exchange their children for shapeshifters. Folklore goes that Fenra was outsmarted by a warrior called Fionlaith who tricked Fenra into loving her. Fionlaith grew older and eventually died, but on her deathbed she made Fenra promise to assuage the pain and suffering from ill health of the other faithful, which Fenra agreed to, passing into Aloria and trying for seven days and seven nights to convince Bard to accept her in the pantheon, where ever since she has acted as the healer and tender of nature's plants and flora.
* '''Rituals:''' The Feast of authority involving guests choosing their preferred leader among the gathered, with the winner gaining Svaldi. The Binding of Power is respected even by the Eilirik, a ritual in which two persons agree to a binding pact in blood, that if either fails or breaks, they lose all Soldi or Svaldi when vowed to their preferred Gods.  
 
|}
====Leif, The Eternal Sunrise====
</center>
[[File:Leifimoon.png|left|frameless|250px]]
</tr></table>
Leif is the Eili God of love and the change of the seasons. Leif brings about the eternal changing of the four cycles of the year, while also ensuring that the sun and the moon chase each other across the skies. The faithful believe that Leif drags the sun along a golden chain across the sky, chasing the moon away from its warmth. His twin-sister Nyxil represents the deceptive guile of the moon, while Leif represents the loving warmth of the sun, and thus also extends in his role as the God of love. Through the rituals of Fire on the altars of the sun, the faithful pray to him for true and boundless love, for good fortune in romance, and for a long life shared with loved ones, full of the happiness of children and the tranquility of old age in shared marital bonds.  
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<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Leif, Warmth of the Fire'''</center></span>
Rather than believing that Leif literally drags the sun and moon across the sky, which the faithful know too well is the design of Dragons, his role is more metaphorical concerning the melancholy of night and winter. He represents the inevitability of sunlight breaking through thunderous clouds, or good fortune at the end of a long string of misery. He obeys Bard's judgments to the letter, being one of the least seen Gods among mortals, though his presence is said to be felt in every warm fire after a cold blizzard, or the first love making between two young lovebirds. Due to Leif, chains are not seen as a binding agent among the Fornoss, but a symbol of duty.
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====Dáuw, The Grandfather Stone====
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* '''Name:''' Leif, the Lord of Fire, Warmth of the Rising Sun.
Dáuw is the Eili God of the crafts, wealth, and fortune. It is Dáuw who is worshiped for good fortune in trade and commerce, but also for wealth in one's occupation of job, business, or general venture outside of finance. The faithful believe that Dáuw gives them good luck in general, whether it is with coin or card games, and some even invoke his good fortune in combat. Dáuw's guidance gives the faithful the designs and know-how to handle ancient crafts and designs, working with noble metals long lost to time, and techniques that were thought extinct in an age before time for the faithful. He guides them to the wealth of the planet, and sometimes even creates the dumb luck needed to avoid certain calamity or death at the hands of outsiders, or danger from one's self.
* '''Domain:''' Leif is the God of Love and Affection, and of Passion and Care.
 
* '''Symbols:''' Leif is represented by Fire and the blazing Golden Sun.
Dáuw is considered the grandfather-god of the Eili and to an extent also the Vola. The faithful tell the story, that when Arne sprouted in a time before time, and the Dragons sang the song of the Gods, that Dáuw was already there waiting, at the roots of the tree. Bard was truly the first-born of the Gods from Arne's bark, but Dáuw was as old as the stone and mud itself, having shepherded the Dwarves who reminded him of the Mud Men. Because of Dáuw's potentially extreme age, he isn't always coherent, having moments where he becomes incoherent. This is often treated as an endearing factor, however, both by the Gods and mortals.
* '''Role:''' Leif is set to bring warmth and sunlight to the world and to hearts.
 
* '''Traits:''' Compassionate, Loving, Parental, Passionate, Driven, Energetic.
====Maevrid, The Reforged Shield====
* '''Temple:''' Leif's largest Temple is the Sun-Sky House in Kongehjem, Nordskag.  
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* '''Allies:''' Theomar Followers, Regulus Followers, and kindhearted Bloodcast Knights.
Maevrid is the Eili Goddess of War, however, her aspect extends far beyond just warfare itself. Due to her history as a Dewamenet God in the distant past, she represents the will to grow and improve, to overcome challenges, and to grow stronger from them and learn new things from them. Every War is treated as a forge in which mortals become better versions of themselves. Every conflict is a new story unfolding and to learn, a new way to prod and examine the world and what is known and unknown to form a better understanding of the condition of life itself. Life to Maevrid is like war, a constant struggle against external and internal forces that seek to break the faithful down that they must overcome. They pray to her for braveness, endurance, and self-understanding.  
* '''Enemies:''' Followers of any Moon-themed Gods, Armas/Amandaros followers.
 
* '''Soldi:''' Gained from loyalty to Lovers/Family and Kindness, lost from Treason.
Maevrid was once a Dewamenet Khama Goddess, though a unique circumstance, an infant Goddess. She saw the Dewamenet Empire destroyed when she was but a child goddess, too weak to act and too young to understand. After millennia of wandering, the now adult Maevrid gathered the Dewasha had fled north to Nordskag, and made contact with the Fornoss settlers, working with them to arm them against the Allorn attacks. Maevrid discovered here that she had learned from the Dewamenet-Allorn war, and had new tools and skills to teach the faithful of Fornoss, eventually becoming the War Goddess when the Eili Gods invited her.
* '''Rituals:''' Many of Leif's rituals involve offering things like fruits or hunted animal carcasses to the flame, believers saying that the flames offer them up to Leif until nothing but ash remains, absorbing the life and using it to pull the Sun through the sky each day. Other rituals involve the sharing of passion with other believers in his Temples.  
 
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====Halfvel, The Soul Warden====
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<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Thirun, Fates of the Dark Sun'''</center></span>
Halfvel is the Eili God of the hunt and the fauna of the world, but more importantly, the guardian of the faithful and protector against the corrupting and ruinous forces from the outside. Specifically, this makes Halfvel a protector God who keeps mortals safe from Demons, or so, that is his intent. The faithful pray to Halfvel to keep them safe from wild predators and animals that rule the wilderness. They however also invoke his name and his charms to ward off Demons and protect the minds of particularly their children to keep them safe from possession. It is believed that Halfvel is a skin-walker who walks among mortals as an animal most of the time, protecting them from unseen foes in the dark forests and silent snowy glades, endearing respect for animals.  
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Halfvel also is productive, in the love-making department with mortals. He frequently finds his way to bed with mortals, always siring Halfvel demigods that hold a special role in Fornoss society. Calling him the Wolf-Father, his children are always born as sentient and thinking Marken, capable of higher reason and thought even in the bestial state. Under his will and guidance, these demigods become guides or protectors of the faithful, extending Halfvel's reach beyond his divine body, and protecting faithful all over the world, whether that is from actual monsters or the Demons in their own souls. As younger brother to Bard, he is often seen as his extension.
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* '''Name:''' Thirun, called Pride Arken or Ott by non-Believers.
====Eirny, The Eternity Author====
* '''Domain:''' Thirun is the God of Magic and of Pride and Vanity.
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* '''Symbols:''' Thirun is represented by the Dark Sun surrounded by Light and Hounds.
Eirny is the Eili Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom, a true sage, and truth-sayer who uses intellectualism and determinism to understand what is to come. She is a Goddess with very high intellect, but low social imperative, preferring to write and record rather than answer the prayers of mortals. There are plenty of stories of the faithful praying for clarity and guidance from her, only to be hit over the head by a scroll falling from the sky with her instructions on it. She has authored the laws and rules of Fornoss and by extension of Velheim and Gallovian society. All mortal structures that follow Fornoss Religion have at some point adopted her declared customs and traditions as written down on paper. She is also thought to have granted the Fornoss Faithful their alphabet.  
* '''Role:''' Thirun is the source of all Fornoss God Magic but also the Magic Burden.
 
* '''Traits:''' Prideful, Vain, Sardonic, Sarcastic, Greedy, Scornful, Ego-driven.
Eirny's exact origins are somewhat dubious because she just does not talk to mortals at all, ever. Some speculate she is the Scripter Eidolon Arken, while others speculate she might be a greater Demon from the Dictat realm. The truth likely lies somewhere in the middle, but the other Eili Gods always speak very fondly of her. Despite her cold demeanor, she is often described as deeply empathetic and caring, going so far as to write the Black Tomes, which are scrolls that record ways and opportunities mortals can take to avoid low or bad Soldi/Svaldi from condemning them to the mirror-world without an afterlife.
* '''Temple:''' Thirun's largest Temple was destroyed by Regalia in the Elven War.
 
* '''Allies:''' Pride/Fury Arkenborn, Evolism followers, Vampire hunters.
==Vola Gods and Goddesses==
* '''Enemies:''' Vampires, Justice Arkenborn & Followers, Publicly Weak Persons.
====Kael, The Black Dominion====
* '''Svaldi:''' Gained through great achievements, lost by losing Duels.
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* '''Rituals:''' The Prideful Parade is one custom that involves demanding others show to a public roasting session where the aim is to praise the person who demanded they show, and roast the opponents who invited others. Another is the Prideful Feast, where each produces Food which instills pride in their cooking, and they compete over the best dish with others.
Kael is the leader of the Vola Gods and the most powerful among them. He is the god of power through knowledge, the flow of information, the transfer of wisdom and a true powerbroker through information. Kael holds sway over the minds of mortals and Gods alike despite having originally just been an Arken of Power, by controlling the flow of information even to the divine. He is prayed to by the faithful to reveal that which is hidden, to understand that which is unknown, and to expand their own power in the face of greater challenges and adversities. Through the example of his propaganda and word-craft, the faithful learn the power of the word and whisper, to understand which truths should be spoken and which should remain hidden, and the soft power of secrets.  
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Many millennia ago, before the Fornoss faith had even formed, Kael battled and defeated the Prince of Dominion, an enigmatic entity from the Silence realm, binding its power into his Arken body and becoming one with Silence and Abyss. The Sharnel presented herself to him as both bride and co-conspirator. Together they wove plots to destroy Empires with her whispers and his final strike. For every Empire they sacked, Kael's knowledge grew, and Sharnel's touch with grief expanded, until the final destruction of the Meraic Empire, and their involvement in the Allorn Empire, after which they settled among the Fornoss Gods to lead the Vola pantheon.
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====Sharnel, The Grieving Ember====
<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Njal, Keeper of the Light'''</center></span>
[[File:Charnel2.png|left|frameless|250px]]
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Sharnel is the brains behind the Vola Gods, second only to Kael, a Goddess of grief and loss, of sorrow and despair. Rather than being a Goddess who creates these feelings, she is the shelter form the storm of melancholy, her prayer songs offering peace and soothing to even the most grief-stricken of faithful. She embodies the penultimate loss of self, community, legacy, the beauty of rebirth after it all, the strength in enduring the unthinkable, and how the faithful work together to pick up the pieces and rebuild their lives after loss. Sharnel is prayed to by mothers who have lost their children, or children who have lost their homes. Wherever the faithful find life too much to bear or loss too great, Sharnel offers a shoulder and mourning cloth to cry on to come back stronger.  
[[File:noimglong.png|220px|caption|left]]
 
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Sharnel is an ancient being that came from the Silence realm to bring about the greatest collapse of things, broken Empires. What greater silence can be felt in the world than the collapse of Empire, as the wounds of imperialism heal, and the monuments of greatness fade from memory to be consumed by time. When Kael consumed the Prince of Dominion, Sharnel and Kael bound themselves to each other, Sharnel the schemer to lay the foundations, while Kael was the executor of her woven webs. Both have become the embodiment of the Fornoss faith's resilience in the face of outer imperialism and threat to the faith to resist conquest.
* '''Name:''' Njal, the Herald of Spring, Keeper of the Light.
 
* '''Domain:''' Njal's domain is that of light, and the sky, as well as all of the arts.
====Thirun, The Magic Eclipse====
* '''Symbols:''' Njal is represented by clouds and bright pastel colors and light prisms.  
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* '''Role:''' Njal is the diplomat and artist of the gods, providing entertainment in Eiliheim.  
Thirun is the Vola God of Magic and the Arcane, the source of all Magical power as claimed by the Fornoss faithful, and the one to teach them the gift of Magic Training. Besides his obvious Magical themes, Thirun is also a God of ambition and strife, one who constantly challenges the faithful to be better versions of themselves, and to be proud of themselves for what they have achieved or are yet to reach. Through Thirun's teaching, the faithful learn to respect Magic as a divine blessing but equally a terrible curse on the mind that challenges Mages to be better than the average faithful. They are keenly aware, that Thirun punishes those who abuse or disrespect their magical gift, sending the hounds of Vaarda after them to consume their bodies, and steal their souls back to Thirun.
* '''Traits:''' Artistic, Snarky, Whimsical, Creative, Sloth, Childish, Caring.
 
* '''Temple:''' Njal's largest temple was destroyed when Ceardia became forsaken.
Thirun is a refracted identity of the Pride Arken, meaning he shares a consciousness with the Pride Arken, but is a different hand that acts upon the world. This makes Thirun often unpredictable and capricious, while most Gods are aware of one perspective, Thirun can see in several different realms and places at once, and thus also act with less obvious intentions. While the faithful pray to him for greater Magical insight and understanding, they must always be aware that Thirun may also be praying back, that they might forget themselves one day, slip up, and call forth the hounds of Vaarda so Thirun can take back his gift that was bestowed upon them by his own design.  
* '''Allies:''' Artists, Musicians, and Creatives of any kind, and Queer people.
 
* '''Enemies:''' Njal's only true enemies are those who abstain from a good stiff drink.
====Nyxil, The Shadow Wave====
* '''Soldi:''' Gained by creative expression and bringing joy, lost by destroying art.
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* '''Rituals:''' Njal is Bard's husband, and because of this, many of his rituals involve Bard in some way. Skysteel Forging is the act of letting an artist inspire a forger to produce a work of art and tough steel at the same time. Other rituals involve poetry duels, and Annointment of the Artist, where Artists use body paint on a strong Man dressed as Bard for Art.
Nyxil is the Vola Goddess of the treacherous seas, the unpredictable waves, and the sudden storms and hurricanes that ravage seafarers. She is also the Goddess of trickery and manipulation, the usage of secrets and lies to create schemes for the betterment of the Vola Gods. Spies and politicians revere her but also pray to her for good calm waters on the high seas and fair winds to speed along a boat's arrival. It is said that unruly seas and violent storms are a product of her temper, leaving sailors at the mercy of her vengeful winds and hungry heralds of the deep seas. Nyxil is strongly associated with sharks, her spirit sharks embodying the danger of her schemes. Like real sharks, they approach in broad daylight, appearing harmless, but closing shut the jaws when one least expects.  
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Nyxil was once called Nykvaldr, the God of weather. It is said among the faithful, however, that Nykvaldr one day gazed upon a school of Vortex sharks by the shore, and became enchanted by their ever-changing and fluctuating beauty and appearance. Nykvaldr died that day, or more specifically, Nyxil realized that Nykvaldr was never real but an expectation made by the other Eili Gods of her, that she complied with to fit in. After immersing herself into the vortex and drinking from the well of change, the Eili Gods deliberated, but before they could agree, Kael convinced her to join the Vola, though she continues to hold great love for the Eili, and her brother Leif.
<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Svol, The Punished Shadow'''</center></span>
 
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====Aedán, The Benign Neglect====
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Aedán is the Vola God of culture, party, and general life frivolity and entertainment. He is held as a patron to entertainers, dancers, musicians, artists, and partygoers alike, and is himself a soul-rendingly skilled artist who makes pieces of art that both predict possible futures, and explore the viewer's soul as they gaze upon it. Aedán however is deeply troubled, and perpetually a drunkard who engages in parties rather than duty. Once an Eili God, he was eventually turned to the Vola because the Eili rejected his indolence and self-satisfaction. The Vola in turn encouraged him to do only what pleased him and what he wanted, resulting in Aedán taking a more effective role as party-god, embodying the faithful's desire to live a happy life with joy.  
* '''Name:''' Svol, Bard's Bane, the Dark Lightning Lord.
 
* '''Domain:''' Svol's domain is thunderstorms, but more metaphorically of lies and deceit.
Aedán was once Bard's lover but eventually turned into a tool by Kael to torment his nemesis. The exact reason why Aedán wishes to dissociate from reality is not well understood among mortals, made more complicated by his refraction. It is said that he lives in such confusion that his soul splits numerous times, resulting not only in the God Nolven who also suffers from a complicated persona, as well as any number of unknown entities and Gods who roam the world without anyone knowing their identity. Some speculate that Aedán's future sight drove him to extreme grief and melancholy, a cautionary tale to those wishes to see ahead in time.
* '''Symbols:''' Shadows, Lightning, Missing or fully Tattoo'd arms, the colors black and yellow.
 
* '''Role:''' Svol was once a Eili, until punished by Bard, changed teams to plot for Rand.
====Ubhan, The Raging Fire====
* '''Traits:''' Analytical, Mindful, Deceitful, Witty, Suave, Charming, Good-Tempered.
[[File:Revengegod.png|left|frameless|250px]]
* '''Temple:''' Svol's Temple is the Copper Tower now within Life Isldar land in Ellador.
Ubhan is the Vola God of combat, of warriors, but above all of vengeance and chaos. Ubhan is the Arken of Fury, a warrior without equal who has never been defeated in battle, but always seeks his final match. Ubhan is prayed to by the faithful for skill and fortune in combat, and to be big and strong. He is also the embodiment of the chaos of violence, and the freedom that is brought through rebellion. His most important aspect however is vengeance, the faithful seek out his help in exacting their plots for revenge, right wrongs that Bard ignores, and not to create true legal justice as ordained by Eirny, but catharsis through wroth and blood. Ubhan is not one for mercy, for second thought, or careful deliberation, he always steams ahead to create his own might make right.  
* '''Allies:''' Trickster god followers and politicians, Inth & Nox followers.  
 
* '''Enemies:''' Justice Arken(born), Guards, Knights, Justicars, Knights.
Ubhan is the twin brother of Thirun, which means they do not only look like each other but also have a complex theme of Magic versus Martial. With Thirun representing the power of Magic, and Ubhan the purist-chauvinist ideal of power and strength to spite Magic, the two ideologies constantly clash even within the faith for supremacy. While Fornoss is generally a pro-Magic Religion, it is through Ubhan's preference to reject Magic and focus on physical strength and natural power, that so-called Fornoss Cleanbarks are made, the term used by the Fornoss faithful to define Purists who exist and derive validation from their Religion.
* '''Svaldi:''' Gained in subterfuge plots, or beaten Knights, lost by being deceived/losing.  
 
* '''Rituals:''' Svol's rituals are deceptively easily hidden as party games, especially those that involve lying. A common one is Svol's Gauntlet, where everyone produces 2 truths and a lie, and gains points each time a person in the gathering cannot guess which one is the lie, or guesses wrong. Another is punishing tyrannical/corrupt law enforcement with violence.  
====Helvard, The Troubled Walker====
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Helvard is the Vola God of the Undead, the rejected, the unwanted, and the unloved. For every baby that is left on the street by an unwanting mother, or every lover scorned by an adulterer and cheater, Helvard offers protection and shelter in his vast cloak. Despite the coldness of his Undead flesh and his icy stare, Helvard has love in his heart for all those who are scorned by society or circumstance. He is also the patron of the Undead in Fornoss, the only Religion that widely speaking treats sentient Undead as people and a protected class, to shelter them from wanton violence and misunderstanding, and help them to seek the freeing condition of their existence, to let go of the final strands of life that keep them bound to Aloria and move on to the Afterlife.  
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Helvard is the arbiter of valiant Undeath, the one to decide between evil Undead, who are usually bound to the Hollow and seek to consume souls and serve the Malefica, and the lost Undead of Aloria who have failed to pass on. Helvard teaches his followers to tell the difference and to understand the conditions outside of their control that force them to linger in a state of pain and unliving. While Tadgh guides the living mortals from the outside of the Helbolwen, Helvard guides the Undead and the priests from inside the Helbolwen to find their way back to the light. It is by his demand that the faithful aid the Undead in existing peacefully and eventually passing on.
<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Dáuw, Bringer of Order'''</center></span>
 
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====Blodrúna, The Crimson Lady====
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Blodrúna is the Goddess of poetry and blood, and quite a complex one with her themes at that. She inspires the skill of speech and wit of the tongue to the fornoss Faithful, pure charisma, and the means to convince whole crowds with the beauty of word-smithing alone. Hers are the skalds and bards who sing the songs of old, the historians and writers who record events in prose, and the scribes who record lineages of families and clans for posterity. In her teaching, the faithful find power in the blood, the reputation that survives generations in mere names of heritage, the blood-feuds that rage between families for perceived wrongs and slights, and the reason why most warriors seek a bloody but poetically beautiful death in the hopes that they will long be written about.  
* '''Name:''' Dáuw, The Under-King, the Dwarf-Lord, the Last Stalwart.
 
* '''Domain:''' Dáuw is God-King of the Dwarves, and the Lord of all Soil and Order.
Blodrúna is complicated because she is a Goddess who relishes in the carnage of the sword and the beauty of death. Fornoss is not inherently a violent Religion, but at first glance, Blodrúna seems to encourage murder and violence the likes not even Evolism can rival. This largely comes down to personal interpretation. Certainly, there are Vampire societies formed out of Fornoss worshipers who hold Blodrúna as their Vampire Goddess, despite her never having explicitly approved of that interpretation. Others instead prefer the version where they perceive blood as a powerful and ancient life-giver which hides great power for those with the skill to use it.
* '''Symbols:''' Dáuw is represented by the Dwarven Runes and shapes of Mountains.  
 
* '''Role:''' Dáuw's role is to bring order to mortal society through stable structure.
====Taran, The Godflesh Shaper====
* '''Traits:''' Resolute, Stalwart, Defiant, Stubborn, All-Knowing, Contemplative.
[[File:Bodyarjui.png|left|frameless|250px]]
* '''Temple:''' Dáuw's largest Temple is the Great Chamber in Rammuur, Ellador.
Taran is the Vola God of beauty and perfection of the body. He is a shapeshifter God with a great obsession and fascination for all things related to the body, organ functioning, muscle strength, young and old, broken and pristine. He is worshiped and prayed to for ever-lasting beauty, to push back the effects of time and entropy. He preaches the standards of beauty in the living form, body-sculpting, body-modding and personal manifestation. To Taran, the body is both a beautiful statue to be gawked at and desired, but also an ever-changing canvas upon which the faithful can express aspects of themselves in visual code. It is through Taran that the faithful learned the body-writing native to the Fornoss Religion, the habit to record one's life experiences in tattoo ink.  
* '''Allies:''' Historians, Legislators, Juvin followers, Justiciars, Knights.  
 
* '''Enemies:''' Anarchists, Evolism followers, Jacobins, Drakkar, Populists, the Military
Taran is a refraction of the Abyss Body Arken, who found the corpse of the banished Eili Goddess Gro, and attempted to consume her flesh to ascend to greater Godhood. While Gro's virtuous flesh rejected the corruption of this greater Abyss Demon, her consciousness was re-awakened and merged with a refracted aspect of the Body Arken. The two now live separate lives but have a shared consciousness, with the Body Arken being considerably more cruel and irreverent, while Gro's respect for bodily autonomy and free will temper this versions' callousness. Confusion between the two, sometimes leads to lethal misfortunes for the faithful.
* '''Soldi:''' Gained by showing Solidarity, lost by letting society slip to anarchy.
* '''Rituals:''' Dáuw have changed over the years, changing from justice and order-reinforcing rituals, to rituals more centered around Dwarven culture, as a byproduct of the catastrophic population decline of the Dwarves. Any festival or event that celebrates, highlights, or discusses and educates on Dwarven Culture is a form of worship to Dáuw.
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<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Hrymrök, The Charnel Chaos'''</center></span>
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[[File:New Canvashgdhdfkjgb.png|220px|caption|left]]
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* '''Name:''' Hrymrök, Sirannal Týmal (in Elven), or the Anarchy Arken to non-believers.
* '''Domain:''' Hrymrök is the chained guilt of the Elves towards the Fornoss believers.
* '''Symbols:''' Broken chains, cracked shields, and broken statues mended with gold.
* '''Role:''' Hrymrök was imprisoned by Rand to repent for Elven slavery by freeing them.
* '''Traits:''' Wroth, Vile, Ill-Mannered, Haughty, Snobby, Loathsome, Indignant.
* '''Temple:''' Hrymrök's Temple is the Haunting Mask Cliff in Maartasil.
* '''Allies:''' Slave-Abolitionists, Allorn-Haters, Estelley Faithful (except Cemaan).
* '''Enemies:''' Cemaan followers, Unionism followers, Archon, Draconism followers.
* '''Svaldi:''' Gained by freeing Thralls & Mind-slaves, lost by being enthralled.
* '''Rituals:''' Hrymrök is a bit of an oddity even for a Vola, because she doesn't really want to be a Goddess. Still, worship to her is more a form of satisfaction appeasement, as if the faithful are responsible for keeping her happy while she does her work freeing Fornoss slaves and oppressed from Elven control by food/wealth offerings to her Magenta Flames.
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<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Halfvel, Father of Godly Blood'''</center></span>
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[[File:Halfvel1.png|220px|caption|left]]
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* '''Name:''' Halfvel, the Wolf-Father, The God-Mark Bearer, The Ice-Wolf.
* '''Domain:''' Halfvel is the lord of Demigods, the tamer of Marken & other Beasts.
* '''Symbols:''' Halfvel is represented by the Cloth of Dominion & Wolves.
* '''Role:''' Halfvel's role is to purposefully produce offspring among Mortals.
* '''Traits:''' Guiding, Remorseful, Helping, Altruistic, Melancholic, Loyal.
* '''Temple:''' Halfvel's largest Temple is the Wolf Rest in the Cains.
* '''Allies:''' (self-controlling) Marken, other Godborn, and Asha & Urlan.
* '''Enemies:''' Those who hunt Transformed Persons, The Afflicted, Undead.
* '''Soldi:''' Gained by protecting the environment, lost by killing Transformed Persons.
* '''Rituals:''' Halfvel's rituals often involve the seeking out of Halfvel's Godborn children, and aiding them in their quest for Demigod status among Fornoss followers, or correcting their path if they have been led astray. Other forms of Worship involve helping those who Transform deal with their curse, or protecting them from persecution.
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<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Eikki, Drinker of the Blood Taint'''</center></span>
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* '''Name:''' Eikki, the Arne-Drunk, The Revel-God among other Party epithets.  
* '''Domain:''' Eikki is the God of Feasting and Festivities and Joy, even as Vola.
* '''Symbols:''' Eikki's Symbol is the Beer Keg and the masks of joy and pleasure.
* '''Role:''' Eikki guards (and drinks) Arne's Blood brew that has immense power.
* '''Traits:''' Joyous, Gregarious, Wild, Festive, Good-Natured, Drunkard.
* '''Temple:''' Eikki's largest Temple was thrashed by him after a legendary binge.
* '''Allies:''' Eikki is everyone's friend and tries to give everyone a chance.
* '''Enemies:''' Eikki has no enemies, as any enemy becomes a friend with one drink.
* '''Svaldi:''' Gained with wild parties and getting stuff people drunk, never lost.
* '''Rituals:''' As Eikki was once Eili but condemned to become Vola when he transgressed by drinking Vola's Blood, his rituals and worship is relatively benign when compared to the other Vola, despite the implication that he is changing into something else. Worship of him invariably just involves getting black-out drunk, and having great parties.  
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<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Bard, Iron Lord of Protection'''</center></span>
{|
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* '''Name:''' Bard, the Steel-Father, Axe of Judgement, the Law-Bringer.
* '''Domain:''' Bard is the God of Justice and Steel, of all Crafts and Law.
* '''Symbols:''' Bard is represented by the Lynx, and the steel anvil.  
* '''Role:''' Bard is Retribution, manifesting to honor-less mortals for judgement.
* '''Traits:''' Judgemental, Merciless, Headstrong, Iron-willed, Unsympathetic.
* '''Temple:''' Bard's largest Temple is the Lynx-Claw Great Hall in Ruttswyn.  
* '''Allies:''' Justice Arken(born), Knights & Guards, Bodyguards & Hor followers.
* '''Enemies:''' Evolism followers, those that deface Art, Death Cultists.
* '''Soldi:''' Gained by being Just/Brave, lost by letting injustice prevail.
* '''Rituals:''' Bard being Njal's husband often has his rituals tied to him (see Njal's section). Specific worship of Bard often emulates his legendary rage being soothed by Njal's soft touch, mimicked for example by taming wild animals and breaking in wild horses. Other forms of worship involve solitary wood carving or general crafting like forging or carpentry.  
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<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Blodrúna, The Crimson Carnage'''</center></span>
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* '''Name:''' Blodrúna, The Blade-Queen, Red Terror to non-Believers.
* '''Domain:''' Blodrúna is the Goddess of War, Carnage, Murder, and Victory.
* '''Symbols:''' Blodrúna's symbols are the Bloodied Blade, and the Blood Crown.
* '''Role:''' Blodrúna is a savage killer-God who teaches Carnage on the battlefield.
* '''Traits:''' Cruel, Murderous, Psychotic, Violent, Contemplative, Poetic.
* '''Temple:''' Blodrúna's largest Temple is the Sanguinus Pit in Hvitskag.
* '''Allies:''' Only Vampires. No one else appreciates Blood as they do.
* '''Enemies:''' There is no such thing as an Enemy to Blodrúna, only Prey.
* '''Svaldi:''' Gained by ending a worthy life, lost by ending a weak one.  
* '''Rituals:''' Blodrúna is perhaps the most unambiguously dangerous and psychotic Goddess of any Religion, but it is important to note she never turns on her own faithful. Blodrúna's worship involves prayer before, during, and after battle, all in the hopes to be given a bit of her skill with sharp things in the heat of battle, and pray for her not to turn on the faithful.  
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<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Elkonur, The Winter Hunter'''</center></span>
{|
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* '''Name:''' Elkonur, the White Shepherd, the White Guardian, Snowfall.
* '''Domain:''' Elkonur is both Herald of Winter and Demon-Hunter.
* '''Symbols:''' Antler Horns, White Fur, and any shape of Snow-flake.
* '''Role:''' Elkonur's sole role is to slay Vola servant Spirits out of Volaheim.  
* '''Traits:''' Pensive, Wise, Alert, Nomadic, Careful, Precise, Predictable.
* '''Temple:''' Elkonur's largest Temple is Storheim Hall in Jorrhildr (Urlan Land).
* '''Allies:''' Urlan, Suvial Elves, Aelrrigan Knights, Zealots.
* '''Enemies:''' Spirits, Theurgists, Kathar, Argentum Knights, Arkenborn.  
* '''Soldi:''' Gained by banishing (temp killing) Spirits, lost by nothing.
* '''Rituals:''' Elkonur is the youngest of the Eili, and specifically joined after Svartskra explaining why he hunts errant Spirits from Volaheim while the others are inactive. Worship and rituals of Elkonur involve protecting Fornoss religious figures as well as hunting and ending Spirits, even if they are only banished temporarily.  
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<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Odal, Fear of the Dark'''</center></span>
{|
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* '''Name:''' Odal, Svol's Shadow Twin, Odalv Father, Spirit Father.
* '''Domain:''' Odal's domain is that of Spirits and vengeance for Blasphemy.
* '''Symbols:''' The Long Claw Hand, Odal's Burning Heart, Blue Lightning.
* '''Role:''' Odal hunts those who defile Rand's Temples and Shrines for him.
* '''Traits:''' Calculated, Emotionless, Skilled, Imposing, Relgious, Loyal.
* '''Temple:''' Odal's largest Temple is the Blue Hall in Middeskag.  
* '''Allies:''' Spirits, Zealots, Theurgists with Spirit consent.
* '''Enemies:''' Suvial, Aelrrigan Knights, Those who use Spirits without consent.
* '''Svaldi:''' Gained by punishing Blasphemers, lost by showing cowardice/weakness.
* '''Rituals:''' Odal was once Eili like his twin, but willingly turned to the Vola because he felt the Eili were weak, and traded power for loyalty to Rand. Odal is very active with mortals like Elkonur is, specifically recruiting his Odalv warriors by infesting them with Spirits to fight for him and defeat those who violate Rand's name and Temples.
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<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Nidr, Dread of the Inner War'''</center></span>
{|
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* '''Name:''' Nidr, the Weaver of Cursed Fates, the sleeping Horror.
* '''Domain:''' Nidr weaves the Fates of those with low Svaldi and Soldi.
* '''Symbols:''' Spiders, Spider webs, battle-rage, berserkers, Skagger Warriors.
* '''Role:''' Nidr empowers the vengeful defense of Fornoss against outsiders.
* '''Traits:''' Independent, Ungovernable, Fate-driven, Dedicated, Foresight.
* '''Temple:''' The Silk-woven halls in Kvitæya, Regalia Archipelago in Drixagh.
* '''Allies:''' Tanthor and Dari faithful, Khannar Faithful, Daiana Faithful.
* '''Enemies:''' Caius Faithful, Regal-Cultured/Colonial Regalian Nobility.
* '''Soldi:''' Gained by defending Fornoss/Velheim people from cultural colonialism.
* '''Rituals:''' As Nidr is the God of the "Cursed Fate", he weaves the Fates in prophecies for those who have low Svaldi/Soldi in a last ditch attempt to save their soul. Fulfilling this prophecy is part of the rituals towards him. He however also represents the will of Fornoss faithful to be masters of their own identity and future, and so the very act of resisting colonialism and cultural assimilation is a form of worship towards him.
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<span style="font-size:150%;><center>'''Stalhjart, Fury of the Outer War'''</center></span>
{|
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* '''Name:''' Stalhjart, Avatar of War, Dominion of Battle, the Unvanquished Bulwark.
* '''Domain:''' Stalhjart's domain is that of warriors and honorable battle and duels.
* '''Symbols:''' The flame emblazoned sword and axe, and the ochre war paint.  
* '''Role:''' Stalhjart defends the Fornoss faithful in pivotal moments for survival.
* '''Traits:''' Furious, Ill-Tempered, Energetic, Violent, Melancholic, Crude.
* '''Temple:''' The Eternal Flame Temple in Helsikki, Regalian Archipelago in Drixagh.
* '''Allies:''' Caius faithful, Gladiators and Warriors, Allest and Brand faithful.
* '''Enemies:''' Pacifists, Ithanians, Those who kill or maim during duels of skill.
* '''Svaldi:''' Gained through feats of skilled combat and having a winning-spree.
* '''Rituals:''' Stalhjart rituals are as one would expect, expressed through honorable, fair, and disciplined duels, or tournaments. It is crucially important that Stalhjart does not condone killing, and is often in opposition to Blodrúna who very much relishes in it. For Stalhjart, killing is not the ultimate goal, but expressions of martial skill, strong body, and iron will to persevere in a fight, and to always seek greater heights to aspire to in martial power.  
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==Priestly Activities==
==Priestly Activities==
Fornoss does not have a formal priesthood associated with it, because it is a very disorganized religion. What this means, is that each valley, each fjord, each town, and each city, may have slightly altered folklore. Each priest may tell the legends and folktales of the Gods slightly differently, and some places far removed from society may even use different names altogether. The lore presented on the God listing should generally remain consistent, but players are encouraged to embellish details and fill the gaps with their own unique spin, and generally speaking even if it contradicts the views of other Characters, that is just regional variance. While there is no strict hierarchy under a Fornoss version of the Pope, Fornoss does have official religious figures with occupations within wider Fornoss believer societies.
===Helbolwen===
===General Priesthood===
Talk about the burial sites and traditions.
There is no formal priesthood in Fornoss worship, any person can at any point in time proclaim themselves a priest, and some people do so even just for their own sake. Unlike Unionism, Fornoss priests are not concerned with expanding the flock of believers, they just want to live right by the Gods and help other faithful on that journey also. It is very common for priests to also double as other religious occupations like Helvigja or as Knights or even Nobles. Priesthood in Fornoss does not impede on anything, because there are no requirements. However, it is common practice for anyone who does want to become a priest, to at least seek out a mentor to learn the basics of what Priests usually do, or say, in certain situations. it's entirely possible to be a self-taught bog-priest, but in more urbanized settings, mentorship is common. Mentors hold a great importance in the lives of priests, who tend to pick carefully.
 
===Helbolwen & Hel===
===Helyr===
A Helbolwen is not a person but a place, but it bears explaining because the term comes up frequently. A Helbolwen, roughly translated to Hellish Burrow, can best be understood to be a crypt where the Fornoss dead are interred in coffins in the walls, or sometimes when coffins cannot be made simply in holes in the wall as is, the frost keeping them from decaying and slowly mummifying instead. Helbolwen are always built underground or in hills, so that it can expanded by digging further down. Helbolwen always have an entryway which acts both as shrine to Bev, and the actual embalming chamber. The word "Hel", will also come up frequently. While traditionally it has been a derogatory term for Volaheim & Imellomgård, it slowly became a term used to generally describe a place one does not want to be in the afterlife or the afterlife as a whole. Hel is usually used in a negative connotation, and has even permeated in common language due to Velheim-Common interactions in language. Nowadays, the term just refers to everything to do with death.
Talk about the Mortuary priests who do the emblaming and burial.
===Helvigja===
 
Helvigja, roughly translating to death-consecrator, is one of the peripheral priestly occupations that specifically is a member of Bev's Mortuary Commune. Helvigja primarily perform the mortuary rites, in embalming, interring or otherwise burying the dead. The embalming process is always accompanied with the Song of the Dead, which is sung throughout the process and the interring process by at least one Helvigja or their protectors. Helvigja work does not end with interring however, in general they keep Helbolwen clean of vermin, other unwanted inhabitants, and in rare cases, are tasked to end the un-life of an Undead who has come back from either improper embalming, or by escaping Imellomgård. Helvigja also linger around Helbolwen to provide mourning help to those bereaved with death of a loved one, either by using Fornoss rituals to summon the visage of the dead, or by singing to the grave together.
===Helvorn===
===Helharjar===
Talk about the people who protect the Helbolwen and the priests.
Helharjar, roughly translated to Death Warrior, often come paired with the Helvigja and linger around Helbolwen particularly when they are at risk of being attacked or destroyed. Fornoss is the only Religion permitted to bury their dead whole, and their Helbolwen are often filled with gifts for the dead, meaning they are ripe for plundering by grave looters. Helharjar protect not only the Helbolwen itself from looting or desecration, but also the Helvigja themselves, so the embalmers are not the first and last line of defense of such a holy place. Helharjar also assist the Helvigja with carrying coffins if need be, and frequently stand guard if a Helbolwen is in an active warzone to prevent collateral damage. Helharjar are very often partners of Helvigja, or end up becoming partners of them, due to their proximity of work and coordination.  
 
===Andlistari===
===Myndar===
Andlistari, roughly translated to Spirit Artist, are far more nomadic than the other priestly occupations, and travel the wider world with pencil and paper. Andlistari are scribes by nature who record history and events, but most importantly of all, do they record the names and achievements of the dead. In Fornoss faith, it is believed that a person can die twice, once in the physical sense, and a second time when their name is last spoken out loud by someone. As people die, memories of the dead pass on, and eventually there will be no one left to recite the names of the dead, this is where the Andlistari comes in, recording all names, and reciting the names of the dead to the moon before sleep. The Andlistari also serves a secondary function, in that they can make assessments of Soldi or Svaldi of the dead, and help indicate the bereaved if they should quest to restore honor.
Talk about historian scholars who travel the world to record tales of the dead and the Gods.
===Sagnaflétta===
Sagnaflétta, rougly translated to Weaver of Stories, are much like Andlistari travelers though it should be said there will be more than enough work for one in Regalia never to travel. Sagnaflétta are scribes just like Andlistari, but focus more on the realm of the Gods than Mortals. Sagnaflétta travel to record oral legends and folklore from the disparate Fornoss faithful across the world, and compile them in a grand book of legends and short rhyming stories. Then, they travel to where the Fornoss faithful live in large numbers, and host gatherings where they read from the book to discuss the lives of the Gods, the inner conflict and interactions they have with one another, and some of the legendary feats the Gods perform. It is highly encouraged to make up legendary actions and interactions of the Gods by players, where that fits within their themes and design.  


==Peripheral Concepts==
==Expanded Lore==
Peripheral Concepts are important thoughts from Fornoss theology, that didn't necessarily fit anywhere else on this page, but also aren't strictly necessary to know. They cover a wider range of topics which Fornoss believers have a solidified opinion of, or things that Fornoss faithful might get questioned on in Roleplay and may be useful to have answers for.
This section has been stripped for now, as time is required to re-divide the information over the relevant sections. For now, we cannot dedicate manhours to updating all this information, but believe that the relevant bits were transferred to the Gods and Goddess descriptions.
===The Arken Matter===
One as of yet undiscussed matter, is the status of [[Arken]] among the Gods. The wider world has a scientific understanding of the Arken as some kind of advanced Spirit from a different Dimension, but to the Fornoss, they are Gods, even to those who do not worship them directly because they are Eilirik. The Fornoss faithful are not so stubborn so as to reject the scientific notion that some of their Gods were Arken long before they were their Gods, but are very resolute in rejecting any rhetoric that would then claim off that fact that they are false Gods. The Vola who are also Arken are very real and divine to those who worship the Vola, they interact and bless the faithful, and empower God Magic beyond the scope of what Void Arken normally could. To the Fornoss faithful, the Vola Arken are real Gods in every sense of the word, and some of them are even more God-like than many of the other weaker Gods of other Religions, specifically because they are so hyper-active and are able to affect the world in more far-reaching and meaningful ways than other Gods ever have.  
===Vaarda Gates & Keys===
Vaarda Gates are an ongoing concern or delight depending on one's interpretation, to the Fornoss Faithful. What exactly happens when one opens is unclear, and it is even unclear if Rand will allow the portals to open from the other side in Volaheim. There exist Gates on all the major continents where Velheim settlers came to be, from [[Regalia]] to [[Oldtera]], to all the landmasses of [[Southwynd]], [[Northbelt]], and even [[Ellador]]. All these lands were once connected, but now shut off, with their Keys dispersed into the winds. The Keys are [[Artifacts]] of Fornoss power, usually weapons, each Key made for a specific Vaarda Gate. There is currently one known Artifact (belonging to the Nordskag Gate) in circulation in Regalia, called [[Ándlar]], though more could arrive in the future as collector items or loot. It is generally accepted, even among the Volirik, that opening the Vaarda Gates without the necessary protections, preparations, or considerations, is generally an awful idea. Even the Volirik have to acknowledge, that nobody knows what is behind those Gates, and that entering the afterlife as a living person, is generally a bad thing unless given protection by the Vola or Eili Gods.


===The Magic Burden===
[[Magic]] is a very sensitive subject in Fornoss faith, because they have a long history with all the benefits and damages of it. Fornoss followers generally do not buy into the scholarly theories of the dimensions (Void/Exist/Ordial/Primal). While they don't refute those alignments as being real, to them, Exist and Ordial do not matter because they do not interact with their Gods in any way. In fact, more often than not, are Exist and Ordial aligned things enemies of the Gods, because they transgress or desecrate their domains. It is not so that every Exist and Ordial thing must always be attacked on sight however, Fornoss followers are more than capable of adopting apathy. Magic among Fornoss followers is understood between Seidr (non-Magical/Dragon Magic Divination), Galdr (God-Magic), Rúnar (God Magic Runic Power) and Nid (Void Magic). There is a technical fifth category called Trolldom, which is a term usually only used by fringe Fornoss followers like Hjordi or Ellador Velheim, which is the same as Nid (Void Magic), but is always evil and used to harm while Nid is not necessarily evil. Seidr, Galdr, and Rúnar are pretty simple to understand and generally unproblematic, Nid however causes some controversy. Fornoss followers acknowledge Void Magic (Nid) as potentially being a gift of Thirun, but that it can both be a blessing and a curse. They acknowledge the effects of Nid on the world as harmful, but that this power can also lend to great strength and achievements. Purism (hating all forms of Magic) does exist in the Fornoss faith, but aims at the idea that Nid is always too risky, and should be controlled/restrained/prevented from being used by caretakers of those cursed with Magic. There are parallels in Unionism, in that the Fornoss Faith identifies Void Magic as a heavy burden, of great power if used to gain Soldi/Svaldi, and of a great terror to the people if used to be careless and flippant and weak-minded. As with any perception of the Pantheons, this is entirely up to the personal beliefs of the faithful, some will condemn Nid as unambiguously evil, some will be frightful of it, while some will welcome it. Exist Magic does exist among Fornoss faithful, but when this occurs, the faithful just believe it was some sort of taint or touching from outside the faith. If someone has Ordial powers, they should generally be put out of their misery however. There are very few situations in which Ordial power is acceptable.
==Trivia==
* Rand depictions are actually not based on what people know he looks like, but what people think he looks like. Rand is claimed to have never left Volaheim, and there are no memories of direct interaction with him. The only thing that is known to be fully accurate however, are his size, his hairiness, and the transition scars on his chest.
* Thirun and Stalhjart are twin-brothers, identical twins in fact, but both of them style themselves very differently. They are sometimes mistaken for each other, but wide knowledge of their different appearance themes are spreading to correct this.
* Blodrúna is the only God of either pantheon who was once a standalone Goddess of her own religion. Unfortunately, she killed her entire following, and only realized her error afterwards. She vows to do better as Goddess of the Fornoss faithful, hopefully.
{{Religion}}
{{Religion}}
{{Accreditation
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|Artists = MonMarty
|Writers = MonMarty
|Writers = MonMarty, SevenBirds
|Processors = FireFan96
|Processors = FireFan96
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[[category:Religion]]
[[category:Religion]]

Latest revision as of 09:42, 22 January 2025

Fornoss
Religion
PronunciationForn-oss (clear pause between the two).
OriginsPresumed roughly 15,000 years ago.
Deities
Two distinct Pantheons of 6 Gods each.

Fornoss is one of the earliest Religions of the Ailor Heritage that survived thousands of years of conversion by other religions and attempts to be eradicated by various nations, proving exceptionally resilient. The Fornoss faith has a large following, particularly among Velheim and Gallovian Ailor, though a large number of Urlan, Dwarves, and some Ashaven Eronidas also follow it, meaning it is not limited in scope to just Ailor. Fornoss is sometimes called the Old Gods religion, but this is not historically correct. The Gods are not old from a purely chronological perspective and it is not the oldest religion in Aloria. This term was mostly popularized by the Ailor, who when reviewing only their history, can see Fornoss as the oldest Religion, but when taking the totality of the world's history, Fornoss is a more accurate term, which roughly translates to "ancient us," an homage to its survival through the ages.

Origins

Fornoss is an ancient Religion, older than Unionism but younger than the Elven Estelley Religion, to which it was largely born as an answer to the violence the Elves inflicted upon the ancient Ceardians during the Pearl Wars and beyond. Fleeing the constant attacks from the Elves, the first Fornoss faithful were whisked away by the Eili Gods to a series of islands shrouded from the Elves in the seas. As time passed, the Religion expanded and more Gods joined, eventually seeing the Vola join under the guidance of Kael where the faithful spread from their native land Aldra where the father-tree Arne supposedly once created to the Eili Gods, to Volaheim, a land within the Abyss that allowed the faithful to colonize far and wide, becoming the most widespread people and eventually founding Kingdoms and Empires. At its zenith, the Empire of the High Seas became a Fornoss ethnostate, which was destroyed during a period called the Svartskra, discussed further below.

Soldi and Svaldi

Honor is a massively important aspect of the Fornoss Religion that dictates the value of the individual, and their allowance to pass into the afterlife. The Faithful accrue two different types of Honor called Soldi (for the Eili Pantheon) or Svaldi (for the Vola Pantheon). Both can be accrued together, or differing values separately, as each God proposes a different way to gain or lose these honor currencies. There are no hard rules for these honor numbers, players are encouraged to play around with them to tell a good story. Below are the vices and virtues outlined.

Among the Eili:

  • Bard proclaims that Soldi is gained by resisting injustice, and being a good leader, while Soldi is lost through corruption and abuse of power.
  • Tadhg proclaims that Soldi is gained by respecting the dead, while Soldi is lost through blasphemy and desecration of the dead.
  • Norn proclaims that Soldi is gained by respecting the laws of prophecy and destiny, and lost by violently resisting fate.
  • Fenra proclaims that Soldi is gained by healing those in need and suffering, and lost by ignoring the pain felt by others.
  • Leif proclaims that Soldi is gained through loyalty in love and compassion, and lost through adultery and cruelty.
  • Dáuw proclaims that Soldi is gained through dedication to craft and loyalty to the Gods, and lost through defeatism and dejection.
  • Maedrvrid proclaims that Soldi is gained through bravery and willingness to learn, while it is lost through stubbornness and surrender.
  • Halfvel proclaims that Soldi is gained through a good Hunt and protecting others, while it is lost from succumbing to Demons.
  • Eirny proclaims that Soldi is gained through the acquisition of lost knowledge and its publication, and lost through information secrecy.

Among the Vola:

  • Kael proclaims that Svaldi is gained through information usage to expand power, while Svaldi is lost by making bad bargains and trades.
  • Sharnel proclaims that Svaldi is gained through learning from fallen Empires and withstanding Imperialism, lost by collaborating.
  • Thirun proclaims that Svaldi is gained by becoming stronger in Magic, while Svaldi is lost through meekness and ignoring insult to self.
  • Nyxil proclaims that Svaldi is gained by overcoming insurmountable obstacles and struggles, and lost through disrespecting those stronger.
  • Aedán proclaims that Svaldi is gained through creative creation and partying, and lost through asceticism and iconoclasm.
  • Ubhan proclaims that Svaldi is gained by enacting revenge and succeeding in combat, and lost through dishonor in combat or cowardice.
  • Helvard proclaims that Svaldi is gained by protecting the Undead from those who want to kill them, and lost by taking pleasure in rejection.
  • Blodrúna proclaims that Svaldi is gained by granting others a beautiful death and reciting poetry, and lost by spilling unworthy blood.
  • Taran proclaims that Svaldi is gained by self-exploration and self-mastery in dignity, while Svaldi is lost by neglecting one's self.

Soldi and Svaldi can also be transferred to others, even after death. It is as such possible to save a condemned soul who is stuck in the Mirror-world, a hellish place where souls are condemned to wander forever on a salt-flat of nothingness, to retrieve them and send them to the proper afterlife. Soldi and Svaldi don't have exact measurements, and are mostly defined to give players freedom to interact with them in Roleplay.

The Afterlife

The Fornoss faith is somewhat unique in that it has 3 distinct afterlives. Each pantheon has its separate afterlife with different rules and functions, and then there is to so-called land in between which is a cursed land for souls deemed unworthy. The land in between is an endless gray land without emotion and feeling. Souls wander there until their descendants or friends save their honor, or until their name is forgotten and they die one final time. The afterlife for the Eili is called Eiliheim, which is thought to be a perfect garden of forever spring and tranquility, where beautiful music and animals grace the skies and eternal peace is felt, believed to be a valley in the Anima. The afterlife for the Vola is called Volaheim, which is thought to be a heat-scorched mountain land of forever summer and humidity, where the earthly delights and pleasures are tingled with endless hedonistic satisfaction, believed to be a valley in the Abyss. A dying soul can never arrive in both, so most faithful tend to choose which one they would rather reach, and plan their Soldi/Svaldi gain appropriately.

Svartskra

Svartskra is a pivotal event in Fornoss folklore and Religious teaching that has nonetheless been shrouded in mystery due to Kael's control of the flow of information, and active wiping of memories and information dating back to it. Without certainty, Svartskra is assumed to have taken place several thousands of years prior to the modern day, but still somewhat recent in the total 13,000 years of existence of this Religion. Before Svartskra, the Eili and Vola were one unified pantheon, albeit both halves somewhat unofficially seperated by their leaders Bard and Kael. Svartskra took place in several stages, each of which defined the future of the Religion and the Gods moving foward.

The first stage was the Strife. In the Strife, Bard took issue with Kael and Sharnel's secret plans, accusing them and the others they had joined up with, in trying to control the faithful by underhanded means. The Vola Gods tried to seize more and more power by gaining the majority support from the faithful, something that would proportionally make the Eili weaker. This caused an immediate fracture, because Bard's will was supreme, and the Eili Gods immediately rejected the Vola. Tadgh's Gates that had been used to create the Empire of the High Seas were closed, and the Empire fractured nearly instantly. The Imperial Dynasty in Aldra was lost as the whole island vanished from the world.

Immediately after the Strife, the Fire phase started, where the Eili and Vola made war with one another. There is effectively no information left from this period, as Kael has erased all knowledge of it, while Bard certainly benefits from presenting the Vola as the aggressors. The Eili claim that the Vola initiated war within the Religion and tried to conquer the lands where the Eili held power forcibly. The war supposedly raged for a long time, but where, when, and how are complete unknowns. The War ended with the Silence Accord.

The Silent Accord, being the final phase, has endured to the modern era. In this phase, the Eili and Vola made agreements to preserve peace between them to prevent the Religion from fracturing in two irreperably. The two Pantheons still had many associations and connections between them, from lovers and ex-lovers to siblings, so fully condemning each other was not an option for either side. Both pantheons had lost Gods to the war and betrayal, resulting in a weakening of both pantheons. In this peace settlement, the Eili and Vola agreed that the lands then under their control would remain theirs, and neither side would interfere to change the allegiances of mortals.

Naturally, this peace settlement has been broken time and time again. While Bard forces his Eili Gods to hold to the rules, he barely does himself. Halfvel spreads his influence far and wide through his children, while Nyxil has essentialy claimed all the high seas in between the lands, a clever subversion of the agreement. The Vola Gods continue to scheme, and the Eili Gods continue to battle, making the whole arrangement a carefully balanced truce rather than permanenht peace settlement. Full blown conflict is still possible, but seemingly an outcome that the faithful seem committed to prevent, even if they do not fully understand the circumstances in which it took place in the past.

Eili gods and Goddesses

Bard, The Justice Claw

Bard is the Bear-king of the Eili Gods, the God of just rulership, fair authority, and good leadership. While Eirny writes the codes of laws and customs, it is Bard who enacts them, and also functions as the judge of all divine judgment and trials. Bard is the physical embodiment of the worshiper's desire to life without being abused by those who rule over them, or brigands who might catch them out in the wilderness. Bard's harsh but fair judgement is rendered on all regardless of social class, but hits those in a position of authority even harder than those dispossessed. While demanding that the other Eili hold themselves to the rules of the Svartskra, Bard is ironically the one to break them to be most, taking pity on the disaffected and abused, and bringing the bear's claws down on wrongdoers.

Bard was the firstborn among the Eili and arguably the firstborn Fornoss God (though pre-dated by pre-Fornoss entities and Gods). He set up the structure of the faith, and convinced the first ancient Ceardians to his protection and guidance. Over time, his strength and singular dedication to just rulership made him a perfect fit as the leader of the Eili pantheon. A pivotal moment in Bard's history involved his struggle with the Eidolon Arken of Justice, whom he defeated. However, when consuming the Arken's power, his soul was refracted, causing his awareness to be shared with the Justice Arken's reincarnations, something to his benefit in hindsight.

Tadhg, The Death's Mirror

Tadhg is primarily the God of life and death, the guardian of the afterlife, and the one to measure the value of a soul when it passes on from life. Tadhg however is a more complicated figure that also represents the changing of the seasons. During spring and summer he is depicted as a floating cloak with an unseen face and bony white hands holding a mirror, the reflection of the afterlife. When autumn and winter arrive, he becomes the horned Urlan guardian who closes the gates of the afterlife. Fornoss faithful embalm their dead during the winter months, and bury them during the warm months when the frost has retreated from the soil, under the guidance of Tadgh who has given the faithful their mortuary rites and many guidance chants and rituals concerning the dead.

Tadhg judges both the Soldi and Svaldi of the faithful, though he acts as a neutral centrist in this regard, despite being an Eili. Even though sending all the souls to the Eili afterlife would undoubtedly empower his side of the pantheon, Tadhg's sense of right and wrong is so strong that the conflict between the Eili and Vola mostly goes past him. This matter is made even more apparent, in that during the winter seasons, it is Nyxil who keeps him comfort while the gates of the afterlife are shut, ensuring his spirits are well-kept during the dark and somber months, and his bed is never left wanting for warmth, until leaving in spring to be with the other Vola.

Norn, The Fate Weaver

Norn is the Eili God of destinies and fates. Among the faithful, it is said that he weaves the future threads of all the faithful, and when their time comes to an end, cuts their chords with his Scissors of Shattered Eternity. Norn is prayed to for good fortunes, good health and a fruitful long life. While he weaves the future threads when the faithful are born, gentle plucks and taps on the threads alter the fates of the faithful for the better or worse, and even if it goes against Norn's very nature, his compassion and love for the faithful bids him to see the winds of fortune turn for the better when he can. Norn when compared to the other Gods is far less present among mortals, as he diligently manages the threads by the roots of Arne, focusing solely on his duties.

Norn was once a being of the Eternum, a sworn nemesis of Sharnel from the Silence, who interfered in the oracles predictions and destinies divined by Norn for mortals in Aloria. When she escaped the Silence to ply her trade in Aloria, Norn broke free from the Eternum and chased her to the ends of the world, though always one step behind. When Sharnel joined forces with Kael and later the Fornoss Gods, Norn presented himself to Bard and was accepted among the Eili Gods to weave the fates of the faithful, and to bring order to the chaos that was being created by the influence of the Vola. Now, Norn dutifully serves the faithful by predicting their futures.

Fenra, The Wyld Queen

Fenra is the Eili Goddess of healing and nature. She is the patron goddess of all who surround themselves with the vitality of nature, agriculture, and horticulture and works in healing houses as a midwife, healer, or alchemist. Fenra teaches the faithful the healing arts of nature's bounty, to take respectfully and give back to the forests and grasslands where healing herbs grow, and to cultivate gardens where her emissaries, the butterflies, may dwell and flourish. Fenra is very active among the mortals, even more so than most other Eili Gods, traveling to small villages and towns to heal those stricken with deadly illnesses and grave wounds. Fenra creates unofficial Godborn called Fuath, babies born to couples who cannot conceive, who are born Shapeshifter Mages.

Fenra was originally a being of the Anima, A greater Fae Demon of the Spring Court's Valley of Bloodrot Renewal, who tricked the faithful into bad bargains to exchange their children for shapeshifters. Folklore goes that Fenra was outsmarted by a warrior called Fionlaith who tricked Fenra into loving her. Fionlaith grew older and eventually died, but on her deathbed she made Fenra promise to assuage the pain and suffering from ill health of the other faithful, which Fenra agreed to, passing into Aloria and trying for seven days and seven nights to convince Bard to accept her in the pantheon, where ever since she has acted as the healer and tender of nature's plants and flora.

Leif, The Eternal Sunrise

Leif is the Eili God of love and the change of the seasons. Leif brings about the eternal changing of the four cycles of the year, while also ensuring that the sun and the moon chase each other across the skies. The faithful believe that Leif drags the sun along a golden chain across the sky, chasing the moon away from its warmth. His twin-sister Nyxil represents the deceptive guile of the moon, while Leif represents the loving warmth of the sun, and thus also extends in his role as the God of love. Through the rituals of Fire on the altars of the sun, the faithful pray to him for true and boundless love, for good fortune in romance, and for a long life shared with loved ones, full of the happiness of children and the tranquility of old age in shared marital bonds.

Rather than believing that Leif literally drags the sun and moon across the sky, which the faithful know too well is the design of Dragons, his role is more metaphorical concerning the melancholy of night and winter. He represents the inevitability of sunlight breaking through thunderous clouds, or good fortune at the end of a long string of misery. He obeys Bard's judgments to the letter, being one of the least seen Gods among mortals, though his presence is said to be felt in every warm fire after a cold blizzard, or the first love making between two young lovebirds. Due to Leif, chains are not seen as a binding agent among the Fornoss, but a symbol of duty.

Dáuw, The Grandfather Stone

Dáuw is the Eili God of the crafts, wealth, and fortune. It is Dáuw who is worshiped for good fortune in trade and commerce, but also for wealth in one's occupation of job, business, or general venture outside of finance. The faithful believe that Dáuw gives them good luck in general, whether it is with coin or card games, and some even invoke his good fortune in combat. Dáuw's guidance gives the faithful the designs and know-how to handle ancient crafts and designs, working with noble metals long lost to time, and techniques that were thought extinct in an age before time for the faithful. He guides them to the wealth of the planet, and sometimes even creates the dumb luck needed to avoid certain calamity or death at the hands of outsiders, or danger from one's self.

Dáuw is considered the grandfather-god of the Eili and to an extent also the Vola. The faithful tell the story, that when Arne sprouted in a time before time, and the Dragons sang the song of the Gods, that Dáuw was already there waiting, at the roots of the tree. Bard was truly the first-born of the Gods from Arne's bark, but Dáuw was as old as the stone and mud itself, having shepherded the Dwarves who reminded him of the Mud Men. Because of Dáuw's potentially extreme age, he isn't always coherent, having moments where he becomes incoherent. This is often treated as an endearing factor, however, both by the Gods and mortals.

Maevrid, The Reforged Shield

Maevrid is the Eili Goddess of War, however, her aspect extends far beyond just warfare itself. Due to her history as a Dewamenet God in the distant past, she represents the will to grow and improve, to overcome challenges, and to grow stronger from them and learn new things from them. Every War is treated as a forge in which mortals become better versions of themselves. Every conflict is a new story unfolding and to learn, a new way to prod and examine the world and what is known and unknown to form a better understanding of the condition of life itself. Life to Maevrid is like war, a constant struggle against external and internal forces that seek to break the faithful down that they must overcome. They pray to her for braveness, endurance, and self-understanding.

Maevrid was once a Dewamenet Khama Goddess, though a unique circumstance, an infant Goddess. She saw the Dewamenet Empire destroyed when she was but a child goddess, too weak to act and too young to understand. After millennia of wandering, the now adult Maevrid gathered the Dewasha had fled north to Nordskag, and made contact with the Fornoss settlers, working with them to arm them against the Allorn attacks. Maevrid discovered here that she had learned from the Dewamenet-Allorn war, and had new tools and skills to teach the faithful of Fornoss, eventually becoming the War Goddess when the Eili Gods invited her.

Halfvel, The Soul Warden

Halfvel is the Eili God of the hunt and the fauna of the world, but more importantly, the guardian of the faithful and protector against the corrupting and ruinous forces from the outside. Specifically, this makes Halfvel a protector God who keeps mortals safe from Demons, or so, that is his intent. The faithful pray to Halfvel to keep them safe from wild predators and animals that rule the wilderness. They however also invoke his name and his charms to ward off Demons and protect the minds of particularly their children to keep them safe from possession. It is believed that Halfvel is a skin-walker who walks among mortals as an animal most of the time, protecting them from unseen foes in the dark forests and silent snowy glades, endearing respect for animals.

Halfvel also is productive, in the love-making department with mortals. He frequently finds his way to bed with mortals, always siring Halfvel demigods that hold a special role in Fornoss society. Calling him the Wolf-Father, his children are always born as sentient and thinking Marken, capable of higher reason and thought even in the bestial state. Under his will and guidance, these demigods become guides or protectors of the faithful, extending Halfvel's reach beyond his divine body, and protecting faithful all over the world, whether that is from actual monsters or the Demons in their own souls. As younger brother to Bard, he is often seen as his extension.

Eirny, The Eternity Author

Eirny is the Eili Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom, a true sage, and truth-sayer who uses intellectualism and determinism to understand what is to come. She is a Goddess with very high intellect, but low social imperative, preferring to write and record rather than answer the prayers of mortals. There are plenty of stories of the faithful praying for clarity and guidance from her, only to be hit over the head by a scroll falling from the sky with her instructions on it. She has authored the laws and rules of Fornoss and by extension of Velheim and Gallovian society. All mortal structures that follow Fornoss Religion have at some point adopted her declared customs and traditions as written down on paper. She is also thought to have granted the Fornoss Faithful their alphabet.

Eirny's exact origins are somewhat dubious because she just does not talk to mortals at all, ever. Some speculate she is the Scripter Eidolon Arken, while others speculate she might be a greater Demon from the Dictat realm. The truth likely lies somewhere in the middle, but the other Eili Gods always speak very fondly of her. Despite her cold demeanor, she is often described as deeply empathetic and caring, going so far as to write the Black Tomes, which are scrolls that record ways and opportunities mortals can take to avoid low or bad Soldi/Svaldi from condemning them to the mirror-world without an afterlife.

Vola Gods and Goddesses

Kael, The Black Dominion

Kael is the leader of the Vola Gods and the most powerful among them. He is the god of power through knowledge, the flow of information, the transfer of wisdom and a true powerbroker through information. Kael holds sway over the minds of mortals and Gods alike despite having originally just been an Arken of Power, by controlling the flow of information even to the divine. He is prayed to by the faithful to reveal that which is hidden, to understand that which is unknown, and to expand their own power in the face of greater challenges and adversities. Through the example of his propaganda and word-craft, the faithful learn the power of the word and whisper, to understand which truths should be spoken and which should remain hidden, and the soft power of secrets.

Many millennia ago, before the Fornoss faith had even formed, Kael battled and defeated the Prince of Dominion, an enigmatic entity from the Silence realm, binding its power into his Arken body and becoming one with Silence and Abyss. The Sharnel presented herself to him as both bride and co-conspirator. Together they wove plots to destroy Empires with her whispers and his final strike. For every Empire they sacked, Kael's knowledge grew, and Sharnel's touch with grief expanded, until the final destruction of the Meraic Empire, and their involvement in the Allorn Empire, after which they settled among the Fornoss Gods to lead the Vola pantheon.

Sharnel, The Grieving Ember

Sharnel is the brains behind the Vola Gods, second only to Kael, a Goddess of grief and loss, of sorrow and despair. Rather than being a Goddess who creates these feelings, she is the shelter form the storm of melancholy, her prayer songs offering peace and soothing to even the most grief-stricken of faithful. She embodies the penultimate loss of self, community, legacy, the beauty of rebirth after it all, the strength in enduring the unthinkable, and how the faithful work together to pick up the pieces and rebuild their lives after loss. Sharnel is prayed to by mothers who have lost their children, or children who have lost their homes. Wherever the faithful find life too much to bear or loss too great, Sharnel offers a shoulder and mourning cloth to cry on to come back stronger.

Sharnel is an ancient being that came from the Silence realm to bring about the greatest collapse of things, broken Empires. What greater silence can be felt in the world than the collapse of Empire, as the wounds of imperialism heal, and the monuments of greatness fade from memory to be consumed by time. When Kael consumed the Prince of Dominion, Sharnel and Kael bound themselves to each other, Sharnel the schemer to lay the foundations, while Kael was the executor of her woven webs. Both have become the embodiment of the Fornoss faith's resilience in the face of outer imperialism and threat to the faith to resist conquest.

Thirun, The Magic Eclipse

Thirun is the Vola God of Magic and the Arcane, the source of all Magical power as claimed by the Fornoss faithful, and the one to teach them the gift of Magic Training. Besides his obvious Magical themes, Thirun is also a God of ambition and strife, one who constantly challenges the faithful to be better versions of themselves, and to be proud of themselves for what they have achieved or are yet to reach. Through Thirun's teaching, the faithful learn to respect Magic as a divine blessing but equally a terrible curse on the mind that challenges Mages to be better than the average faithful. They are keenly aware, that Thirun punishes those who abuse or disrespect their magical gift, sending the hounds of Vaarda after them to consume their bodies, and steal their souls back to Thirun.

Thirun is a refracted identity of the Pride Arken, meaning he shares a consciousness with the Pride Arken, but is a different hand that acts upon the world. This makes Thirun often unpredictable and capricious, while most Gods are aware of one perspective, Thirun can see in several different realms and places at once, and thus also act with less obvious intentions. While the faithful pray to him for greater Magical insight and understanding, they must always be aware that Thirun may also be praying back, that they might forget themselves one day, slip up, and call forth the hounds of Vaarda so Thirun can take back his gift that was bestowed upon them by his own design.

Nyxil, The Shadow Wave

Nyxil is the Vola Goddess of the treacherous seas, the unpredictable waves, and the sudden storms and hurricanes that ravage seafarers. She is also the Goddess of trickery and manipulation, the usage of secrets and lies to create schemes for the betterment of the Vola Gods. Spies and politicians revere her but also pray to her for good calm waters on the high seas and fair winds to speed along a boat's arrival. It is said that unruly seas and violent storms are a product of her temper, leaving sailors at the mercy of her vengeful winds and hungry heralds of the deep seas. Nyxil is strongly associated with sharks, her spirit sharks embodying the danger of her schemes. Like real sharks, they approach in broad daylight, appearing harmless, but closing shut the jaws when one least expects.

Nyxil was once called Nykvaldr, the God of weather. It is said among the faithful, however, that Nykvaldr one day gazed upon a school of Vortex sharks by the shore, and became enchanted by their ever-changing and fluctuating beauty and appearance. Nykvaldr died that day, or more specifically, Nyxil realized that Nykvaldr was never real but an expectation made by the other Eili Gods of her, that she complied with to fit in. After immersing herself into the vortex and drinking from the well of change, the Eili Gods deliberated, but before they could agree, Kael convinced her to join the Vola, though she continues to hold great love for the Eili, and her brother Leif.

Aedán, The Benign Neglect

Aedán is the Vola God of culture, party, and general life frivolity and entertainment. He is held as a patron to entertainers, dancers, musicians, artists, and partygoers alike, and is himself a soul-rendingly skilled artist who makes pieces of art that both predict possible futures, and explore the viewer's soul as they gaze upon it. Aedán however is deeply troubled, and perpetually a drunkard who engages in parties rather than duty. Once an Eili God, he was eventually turned to the Vola because the Eili rejected his indolence and self-satisfaction. The Vola in turn encouraged him to do only what pleased him and what he wanted, resulting in Aedán taking a more effective role as party-god, embodying the faithful's desire to live a happy life with joy.

Aedán was once Bard's lover but eventually turned into a tool by Kael to torment his nemesis. The exact reason why Aedán wishes to dissociate from reality is not well understood among mortals, made more complicated by his refraction. It is said that he lives in such confusion that his soul splits numerous times, resulting not only in the God Nolven who also suffers from a complicated persona, as well as any number of unknown entities and Gods who roam the world without anyone knowing their identity. Some speculate that Aedán's future sight drove him to extreme grief and melancholy, a cautionary tale to those wishes to see ahead in time.

Ubhan, The Raging Fire

Ubhan is the Vola God of combat, of warriors, but above all of vengeance and chaos. Ubhan is the Arken of Fury, a warrior without equal who has never been defeated in battle, but always seeks his final match. Ubhan is prayed to by the faithful for skill and fortune in combat, and to be big and strong. He is also the embodiment of the chaos of violence, and the freedom that is brought through rebellion. His most important aspect however is vengeance, the faithful seek out his help in exacting their plots for revenge, right wrongs that Bard ignores, and not to create true legal justice as ordained by Eirny, but catharsis through wroth and blood. Ubhan is not one for mercy, for second thought, or careful deliberation, he always steams ahead to create his own might make right.

Ubhan is the twin brother of Thirun, which means they do not only look like each other but also have a complex theme of Magic versus Martial. With Thirun representing the power of Magic, and Ubhan the purist-chauvinist ideal of power and strength to spite Magic, the two ideologies constantly clash even within the faith for supremacy. While Fornoss is generally a pro-Magic Religion, it is through Ubhan's preference to reject Magic and focus on physical strength and natural power, that so-called Fornoss Cleanbarks are made, the term used by the Fornoss faithful to define Purists who exist and derive validation from their Religion.

Helvard, The Troubled Walker

Helvard is the Vola God of the Undead, the rejected, the unwanted, and the unloved. For every baby that is left on the street by an unwanting mother, or every lover scorned by an adulterer and cheater, Helvard offers protection and shelter in his vast cloak. Despite the coldness of his Undead flesh and his icy stare, Helvard has love in his heart for all those who are scorned by society or circumstance. He is also the patron of the Undead in Fornoss, the only Religion that widely speaking treats sentient Undead as people and a protected class, to shelter them from wanton violence and misunderstanding, and help them to seek the freeing condition of their existence, to let go of the final strands of life that keep them bound to Aloria and move on to the Afterlife.

Helvard is the arbiter of valiant Undeath, the one to decide between evil Undead, who are usually bound to the Hollow and seek to consume souls and serve the Malefica, and the lost Undead of Aloria who have failed to pass on. Helvard teaches his followers to tell the difference and to understand the conditions outside of their control that force them to linger in a state of pain and unliving. While Tadgh guides the living mortals from the outside of the Helbolwen, Helvard guides the Undead and the priests from inside the Helbolwen to find their way back to the light. It is by his demand that the faithful aid the Undead in existing peacefully and eventually passing on.

Blodrúna, The Crimson Lady

Blodrúna is the Goddess of poetry and blood, and quite a complex one with her themes at that. She inspires the skill of speech and wit of the tongue to the fornoss Faithful, pure charisma, and the means to convince whole crowds with the beauty of word-smithing alone. Hers are the skalds and bards who sing the songs of old, the historians and writers who record events in prose, and the scribes who record lineages of families and clans for posterity. In her teaching, the faithful find power in the blood, the reputation that survives generations in mere names of heritage, the blood-feuds that rage between families for perceived wrongs and slights, and the reason why most warriors seek a bloody but poetically beautiful death in the hopes that they will long be written about.

Blodrúna is complicated because she is a Goddess who relishes in the carnage of the sword and the beauty of death. Fornoss is not inherently a violent Religion, but at first glance, Blodrúna seems to encourage murder and violence the likes not even Evolism can rival. This largely comes down to personal interpretation. Certainly, there are Vampire societies formed out of Fornoss worshipers who hold Blodrúna as their Vampire Goddess, despite her never having explicitly approved of that interpretation. Others instead prefer the version where they perceive blood as a powerful and ancient life-giver which hides great power for those with the skill to use it.

Taran, The Godflesh Shaper

Taran is the Vola God of beauty and perfection of the body. He is a shapeshifter God with a great obsession and fascination for all things related to the body, organ functioning, muscle strength, young and old, broken and pristine. He is worshiped and prayed to for ever-lasting beauty, to push back the effects of time and entropy. He preaches the standards of beauty in the living form, body-sculpting, body-modding and personal manifestation. To Taran, the body is both a beautiful statue to be gawked at and desired, but also an ever-changing canvas upon which the faithful can express aspects of themselves in visual code. It is through Taran that the faithful learned the body-writing native to the Fornoss Religion, the habit to record one's life experiences in tattoo ink.

Taran is a refraction of the Abyss Body Arken, who found the corpse of the banished Eili Goddess Gro, and attempted to consume her flesh to ascend to greater Godhood. While Gro's virtuous flesh rejected the corruption of this greater Abyss Demon, her consciousness was re-awakened and merged with a refracted aspect of the Body Arken. The two now live separate lives but have a shared consciousness, with the Body Arken being considerably more cruel and irreverent, while Gro's respect for bodily autonomy and free will temper this versions' callousness. Confusion between the two, sometimes leads to lethal misfortunes for the faithful.

Priestly Activities

Helbolwen

Talk about the burial sites and traditions.

Helyr

Talk about the Mortuary priests who do the emblaming and burial.

Helvorn

Talk about the people who protect the Helbolwen and the priests.

Myndar

Talk about historian scholars who travel the world to record tales of the dead and the Gods.

Expanded Lore

This section has been stripped for now, as time is required to re-divide the information over the relevant sections. For now, we cannot dedicate manhours to updating all this information, but believe that the relevant bits were transferred to the Gods and Goddess descriptions.

• Unionism • Draconism • Estelley • Fornoss • Evolism • Aldurism • Khama • Nilthism • Minor Faiths •
• Main Page •
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Last EditorMonMarty on 01/22/2025.
Did You Know? Ailor are the most populous Race in all of Aloria, and can be found on almost every continent.
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