Estelley

Estelley
Religion
Pronunciation	Es-te-ley
Origins	Presumed roughly 15,000 years ago.
Deities
	Three greater Gods, 5 Gods, 5 optional Gods.

Estelley, or "Estel's Law," is the original faith of most Elves. A moralizing, perfection-focused religion, it is observed by most descendants of the Allorn (Elven) Empire in the world in varying ways and with varying zeal. It was once the preeminent religion of times past and its followers today often aspire for it to reach the same power it once held. Despite its struggle to spread beyond the Elves, Estelley is no less a significant faith with power from its faithful. Estelley worshipers believe that they are opposed in their divine struggle both by those who teach alternative paths to paradise and those who seek to corrupt the world alike, but that mortal heroes carrying the torch will defeat the usurpers and restore Elvendom to the glory it once knew.

Origins

The early Elven peoples were no more than barbaric tribes on the fringes of the Dewamenet Empire, an Asha state poised to conquer the known world. Its hatred of Magic and the ascendancy of a trio of Goddesses led the Dewa and the Elves to clash, and with their divinities' power making victory possible, they declared their own Allorn Empire in its ashes. From there, the various deities were pulled into the Pantheon by the War Goddess Talea one by one. This is discussed further in Expanded Lore.

Core Beliefs

Central Message

The central message of the Estelley faith is that the whole world is a flawed creation of the Dragons that the Estelley Gods are ordaining to a perfect reality. The Empresses collaborated to lead a host of Gods and Goddesses to create a more perfect world, starting with the mortal agents of their will, their followers. Through the Perfections of the Gods, mortals learn to strive for a better world and thus change the world around them. When they die, their soul is weighed by Ammuloa in the Perfected Balance to measure their perfection. If they had sufficient perfection, they would pass into the Eternal ("Merjan" in Altalar, the Elven Language), the afterlife weaving the faithful into the fabric of reality making them able to change the world like Dragons in subtle ways. If rejected, their souls are passed back to the land of mortals through reincarnation.

Perfected Will

The Perfected will describes the Perfections of the Gods. These are virtues that mortals are expected to live by to increase their inner and outer perfection so they too can become perfect world-shapers. Each God has a different perfection. Through the Empresses, Cemaan measures perfection by the number of people subjugated, Talea by the number of people defeated in battle, and Sapphora by the number of people who love and adore the soul. Through the Ordained, Mana measures kindness and compassion, Aseia magical knowledge and ability, Artarel through law-abiding and just acting, Ammuloa measures dedication to achieve things before death, Avinla to dedication towards experience things in life, and Leyon measures perfection in the desire to solve the mysteries of the ages. The Vowed Gods, Melca measures perfection through companionship and the protection of others, Sinnavei through the prowess of valor and honesty, Vyrë through respect for that which is greater than the self, Soma through intellect, Gilan through lordship over wildlife, and Suellon over adaptation through change.

The Afterlife

A person can be more perfect in some qualities, and generally speaking, not all perfection standards need to be met to have one's soul passed into the afterlife, though reaching all of them is considered great piety. The Estelley afterlife is described as a physical realm experienced as a perfect land where the souls continue to hone their perfection in the afterlife as mortals and the Gods continue to build towards a world that resembles this afterlife called the Eternal. It is believed that the souls in the Eternal still help mortals, as well, by gently pressuring reality in the living world to reach such a more perfect state. It is believed that at a certain point, the perfected souls in the Eternal will be so numerous that they will out-pressure the flawed creation of the mortal world, and merge the rivers of the Eternal and Aloria to become one perfect reality. It is also believed by the faithful that Lathan is part of the Eternal functioning as an outer realm, and many believe the Eternal to be much like Lathan but better.

The Ruindawn

The Ruindawn is an important period in Estelley history that has left no records but many legends and tales. The Ruindawn describes a period during which the Empresses agree in a compact that the world is flawed, and that they will right what has been wronged by a flawed reality. To them, all living things are condemned to needless suffering by how the world works and they could ordain a better world, but by the flawed laws of the world, they cannot do so alone. Their vision lacked clarity for those not in agreement, so they began the Ruindawn where the Empresses would either subjugate by will or more commonly conquer by force other Gods of minor proto-Elven religions and religions from other peoples. Sometimes these legends also include tales of Gods who refused and were slain by Talea or had their power absorbed, or those Gods who early on decided to be an obstacle to the work of Estelley and made it their mission to sabotage their efforts, but were eventually defeated and removed from reality. The Ruindawn is, in essence, a rare concept for Aloria as Gods of various religions tend to be secluded from one another, it shows a period of active conquest, of one religion, subjugating at least a dozen others and forcing them all into a unified doctrine. The legends focus mostly on how Sapphora convinced some to join, how Talea defeated the majority by the sword, and how Cemaan subjugated a few by sheer pressure of influence.

Avinla's Death

Avinla's Death is, in the grand scheme of things, not a world-shattering event but important enough for all faithful to know. Gods do not truly die, but they can approach a death-like state, which happened to Avinla. The homeland of the Suvial Elves has been terrorized for centuries by massive Magical events called Void-Outs which killed hundreds of thousands. To stop the endless suffering and potential eradication of her worshipers, Avinla sacrificed herself, forming a network of rings of fire in the skies over the Suvial lands like a blanket of chainmail. This protected the Suvial lands but had other unintended side effects. Due to their heavy association with her, the Suvial Elves no longer had their Mother of Fire breathing life into their newborns, or passing their souls to Ammuloa for judgment to the Afterlife. As a result, no new Suvial could be born, and each Suvial newborn was a reincarnation of a long-dead one. No Suvial could die either, as Ammuloa could not receive their souls, starting a deathlessness for the Suvial that is living torment for them (read more on the Suvial Page).

Gods and Goddesses

Estelley as a religion has one unified Pantheon, but not all Gods are treated equally. At the head of the Pantheon are the three Empresses, who were the original three and will always be the three chosen Empresses. Then come the Ordained, who are Gods that joined willingly or were conquered during the Ruindawn. Lastly, there are the Vowed who similarly joined willingly or were conquered but are not considered unquestioningly loyal to the Empresses. As a result, while worshiping the Empresses and the Ordained is mandatory for the religion, worshiping the Vowed is optional. One can worship a single Vowed God, a few, or none of them - this is up to personal preference. Note, because a lot of art on this page is still in development, old placeholders are put in place. Do not for the time being refer to these old images for aesthetic inspiration (the temporary images have black borders).

The Empresses

Cemaan, Empress of Power.
Talea, Empress of War.
Sapphora, Empress of Love.

Cemaan (pronounced say-maan) is the Empress Goddess of power and domination. She represents the will for increased fame, influence, and legacy. She embodies the perfection of fame, teaching her followers they should not disappear into the crowd to be forgotten by the world. Cemaan is historically seen as the patron Goddess of the Teledden Elves and the Allorn Empire. She is one of the Triarchy Empresses, and even though they should rule the Pantheon together, Cemaan cannot.
Talea (pronounced ta-leya) is the Empress Goddess of war. She represents the will of nationhood to expand, and the desire for societies to clash and establish their prominence. She embodies the perfection of conflict, teaching her followers to defend themselves and, better yet, subjugate others by force with weapons or magic. She is one of the Triarchy Empresses, and even though they should rule the Pantheon together, Talea rules alone.
Sapphora (pronounced sa-fo-ra) is the Empress Goddess of love and passion. She represents the will to be desired and adored, to be seen truly, and to be loved truly. She embodies the perfection of beauty and wants, teaching her followers to mentally and physically please others in appearance and presentation, thus spreading influence through the heart. She is one of the Triarchy Empresses, and even though they should rule the Pantheon together, Sapphora will not.

The Ordained

Mana, Goddess of Kind Nature
Aseia, God of Magic Knowing
Artarel, Goddess of Just Law
Ammuloa, God of the Death Kiss
Avinla, Goddess of Living Fire
Leyon, God of Farsight Keys

Mana (pronounced ma-naa) is the Goddess of nature and kindness. She represents the whole of the natural world in all its beauty and plant life. All the trees, flowers, and grassfields are given nurture by her will. But she is also the Goddess of kindness and compassion. Hers is the perfection of empathy that wishes for kindness received for each given. Seen as the mother of the Yanar people, Mana greatly suffered in the fall of the Allorn Empire and was reduced to a weakened state.
Aseia (pronounced a-say-a) is the God of knowledge and Magic. They are the all-knowing God who holds deep ancient secrets and arcane power. They are the perfection of the arcane, teaching that all must seek some knowledge, understanding, or use of Magic, and to be completely devoid of any insight into the matter is a great personal failing. They also preach for the perpetual training of the mind, to always learn new things, and to absorb new concepts and literature.
Artarel (pronounced ar-ta-rel) is the Goddess of justice and law. The laws and codes of the Allorn Empire were made by her will, and were first to be perverted by her enemies when the Empire declined. Artarel is the perfection of justice, a cruel but just sense of cosmic rightness, that all the stars will not shine brightly until all injustices are excised from the world. She preaches that all followers bear common responsibility for the fair treatment of all, and equality at the end.
Ammuloa (pronounced amuu-loa) is the God of the dead and the afterlife. He ordains the burial rites and teaches the priests the dogma of the faith. He represents the perfection finality, that all good things must come to an end, and that all bad things must also. He preaches a drive in the faithful to seek enlightenment, achievement, or service before their souls are lifted onto the Perfected Balance where he measures their worth for the afterlife, or reincarnation.
Avinla (pronounced avin-la) is the goddess of life and motherhood. She represents the future of the people and is the patron of all children and parents who foster new life. She is said to breathe the perfection of enduring into every newborn, to create joy, and happiness, and to please the self. To Avinla, life is a gift that must be experienced, and she endears a curiosity for that beyond the familiar, and a wanderlust to those trapped by the confined. Avinla is currently in a death-like slumber.
Leyon (pronounced lay-on) is the God of farsight, seers, secrets, and keys to unlock them. While he is only an Ordained God, many other Gods in the pantheon seek him for guidance because the Empresses are fickle, and his foresight means he commands greater wisdom than Aseia's library could. Leyon is the perfection of resolution - the resolution to problems and unknown things, and to open doors to create new opportunities and find lost things. His oracle dreams are a pathway to this.

The Vowed

Melca, Goddess of All Wealth
Sinnavei, Goddess of Dignity
Vyrë, Goddess of the Unknown Seas
Soma, Goddess of Logic in Time
Suellon, God of Forever Change

Melca (pronounced mel-ka) is the Sihndar goddess of preparation in wealth and social richness. Her perfection demands the investment in social and material contacts, to foster networks of alliances and friendships, and let coin and trade reach far and wide. Only through this social and fiscal plenty, Melca preaches the disaster that befell her people can be avoided by the faithful.
Sinnavei (pronounced see-na-vey) is the Solvaan goddess of honor and dignity. Her perfection is to face all with honor, grace, reverence, and respect. She demands that friends and allies are given the dignity of understanding in wrongdoing and loyalty when tested, and enemies be given the dignity and respect in bravery and refraining from contempt, to retain one's qualities even in hard times.
Vyrë (pronounced vee-ray) is the Fin'ullen Goddess of the vast oceans and the unknown. She commands respect and humility to the followers when faced with the vast unknowns of the world, and to not boldly look danger in the eye with expectation of assured victory. Her perfection is awe and respect for authority, seniority, and power, but showing bravery despite it all. She is sometimes also called the Empress of Seas, implying she might have the power to compete with the other Empresses.
Soma (pronounced so-ma) is the Abismaï Goddess of time and logic. Her perfection is more esoteric than the others, preaching that knowing the past and the present allows one to make an intellectual summary of the future. While the other Gods wield knowledge, Soma preaches that it is meaningless if someone lacks the mental faculties and insight to understand the world deeply beyond face value. Soma also has immense power over time, competing with Dragons.
Suellon (pronounced sue-ellon) is the Chantli God of progress through change. He is the only Estelley God who was once a mortal man, merged with the remnants of a long-dead Avarr God to ascend godhood. He represents the changing seasons, and his perfection is forever progress: the idea that some form of progress or change is always good and that the faithful should not shirk from it. He is a controversial God because he often acts against the other Gods.

Gilan, The Forest King

Gilan is the Forest King of the Auldwalds, mysterious and closed-off forests in which the Freefolk live under the protection of their Patron Gods. To the Estelley faith, Gilan is the God of the Hunt, and beast dominion, in that the faithful are lord and master over the lesser creatures of the world. Gilan teaches his followers to fear the unknown of the forest, and to respect the awesome and infinite power of nature, even if they seek to control parts of it. Gilan is a capricious God who is worshiped both as a means to protect against the monsters and beasts that reside in the forest, and also as a whip to punish the transgressors of his grove to learn humility and submission in the power realms of others.

Gilan holds a somewhat complex role, because inherent to Estelley beliefs is Allorn supremacy, and inherent to Allorn supremacy is the idea that his Auldwalds should become subject to the Allorn Empresses. Gilan in turn defends these forests from encroachment by the Elven princes, meaning that there can be situations in which the faithful are actively fighting their own God. Gilan will always hold particular favor for the Freefolk above all Estelley faithful and is more often than not fear-worshiped by other groups to avoid his wrath or punishment, by leaving offerings at the edge of the forests for the dwellers within.

Expanded Lore

Priesthood

An Estelley priest is called an Ordvaan. It is the responsibility of an Ordvaan to preach and know all the Gods, even the Vowed ones, and have a thorough understanding of dogma while serving as positive examples for the community. An individual Ordvaan usually dedicates themselves to a single patron God whose message they excel at sharing with others, but do not specialize so hard that they become mono-focused or heretical. Beyond this, the Ordvaan organize successively larger Lunar Councils. While city or regional councils can meet quite often, massive meetings that affect the entire religious body are once-in-a-lifetime experiences, even for Elves. Especially in the post-Allorn world where political differences make a collective meeting unlikely, it is unclear when the next Lunar Eclipse (worldwide) Council will occur. Because of this, Estelley priesthood has a reputation of being ponderous and slow to change, but very well understanding of its religion in its current state. Due to an Allorn emphasis on debate culture, Estelley priests are well-equipped with everything they need to justify themselves and protect their position. This is especially important in Regalia, where conservative elements like to dog-whistle that Talea's status as Allorn secular leader and Empress in the Estelley Pantheon makes Estelley elements untrustworthy. Knowing the rhetorical defenses (Estelley dogma has no pro-Allorn demand, improving Regalia can be interpreted as Estelley dogma, Regalia is closer to Artarel's Law than the corrupted Allorn Empire) has saved Estelley as a whole from landing in hot water many a time. It is also the responsibility of an Ordvaan to preach, proselytize, and convert. This is done through rhetorical skill and understanding one man's rejection can be another's zealot. Those cast aside by mainstream society as freaks are prime targets for Estelley conversion to be rehabilitated to function in line with Estelley principle.

Estel

The religion of Estelley itself is named after a formless entity called Estel, known by arcane scholars to have once been the origin point of Exist Magic. The trio of founding Goddesses, Talea, Cemaan, and Sapphora, are described to have somehow met Estel and learned something from her which enabled them to do all that they have done, including resist and defeat the Dewamenet in a war of mutual annihilation. Described as motherly or statuesque, despite the faith being declared in her name, Estel plays little to no actual theological role in Estelley worship. She is only relevant insofar as a reader needs to understand the journey of the founding Goddesses, or occasionally invoked in shouts of surprise like "by Estel!"

The Great Enemy

The Enemy, the Great Enemy, and the Eternal Foe are varying terms used to describe the Void Gods and Void Arken, historical enemies of the Estelley religion. That their nature has changed with time through the morphing of Void Worship into Evolism or Void Arken turning into Fornoss Gods and fracturing their personalities does not change this. In the ancient past before the Elves were born, Void Arken would serve as the heralds of the apocalypse in every cyclical Void Invasion of Demons that would end the world, and the Void Gods would sow evil among mortals to ensure that the next Invasion would be carried out. Even though it is commonly held belief that there can never be a Void Invasion again, the Estelley Gods and by proxy Estelley faithful have not forgiven Void-born entities for the evils of the past, especially because Evolism-worshiping Kathar Elves have been at war with Estelley worshiping populations for centuries. Among Void Arken, special prominence is given to the Pride Arken, the eternal nemesis of Artarel. It is believed that Pride in all his aspects (Arken, Evolism Catheron, Fornoss Thirun) is the so-called Tempter, who through the gifts of power and glory loves to save the enemies of the Elves from their righteous wrath, or seduces them to darkness at their weakest moment. A wise Elf, however, would understand a degree of nuance to this situation. For example, while it is true that, at face value, Pride often patronized the enemies of the Elves, he saved them from brutal extermination often. That the Fornoss worshiping humans relied on Pride in his aspect as Thirun to give them Magic to fight off Allorn raids that would see them killed in Death Magic rituals and burned as magical essence cannot be called blatantly evil, even if dogma would paint Pride in such a light.

Exist Arken and Apparitions

Estellian interactions with Exist Arken are complicated. At surface value, the Justice Arken successfully refracted into Estelley as the God Artarel, and entities like the Compassion Arken and Loyalty Arken have a long history of positive interaction with Estelley Worshipers. However, there is no holy status enshrined for these entities. They choose to be helpful because the historical association is seen as a lucky happenstance more than surety, and some caution is urged to make sure that the mortal worshiper is not being misled in the name of nonexistent goodwill. The relationship with Exist Apparitions, meanwhile, is more complicated still. It was once upon a time religious dogma that these spirits and their Sovereign masters obeyed Estel's Law, and could therefore be depended on to act reliably in alignment with the Estelley Gods' wishes. Nowadays, it is understood that there is nothing chaining them down at all. The average run of the mill Exist Apparition is no different in Estelley eyes as Void Demons, and are to be struck down in much the same measure. Despite this, there is an exception for those Spirits answerable to the Estelley Gods directly. When Artarel leaves behind Apparitions in places of great injustice or Leyon sows Apparitions of art and music, these are seen as holy Spirits that exist to teach the worshipers lessons about life and living, before being respectfully departed from and moved on.

Allorn History

Allorn History is not part of the Estelley religion, but because its Gods played such a large role, some explanation is needed. This is an abridged version. The Elves began as backward tribes on the fringes of the Dewamenet Empire, a superstate of Asha technocrats who abhorred the Magical and sought to eliminate it both within their borders and out. Elves existed in this state for a time, until the founding Goddesses Talea, Cemaan, and Sapphora came together and declared their vision for a better world, prompting the Dewamenet to initiate conflict and a war of apocalyptic proportions to begin. Through Magical methods not yet understood to this day, after centuries of warfare the Goddesses reduced the Dewamenet to rubble and built their dream out of its ashes, declaring the Allorn Empire and setting about the slow subjugation of the other Elven tribes and people who remained outside of their borders. Individual tales of divine integration are discussed in the Other section below. However, the slow decline and fall of the Allorn Empire bears review. Around a millennium into Allorn history, roughly 14000 BC, Talea is recorded to have suddenly fallen into sleep. From this point onward, mortal elements in the successive Empresses and powerful Mages controlled affairs with the tacit blessing of Cemaan. Sapphora is recorded to have parted in disgust and retired to her original patron city of Amontaar, from where ever since she has partied in indolence as the Love God and refused to turn her mind to tainted statecraft, forever upset about something that she could not avert.

Allorn Elves dabbled in Oblation Magic, powerful hexes from the Death Realm to reduce a soul to ash and burn it as magical fuel, and practiced repeatedly, cruel warfare on the defeated Asha whereby they could be cyclically kidnapped and sacrificed. Group by group, Elves began to split off, sometimes taking Gods with them. Either by making distance like the Lanlath who fled with Leyon into portals, or by assertion of politics like the Suvial with Avinla who banned Oblation Magic within their borders and barely obeyed orders from the capital Ivaëlle, actual Estelley presence beyond Cemaan dwindled to nigh on nothing over the millennia. This power vacuum left room for power-hungry, but also reality-questioning Allorn Elves to start considering alternative religions. These reformers coalesced into two main camps. One was the Void Worshipers (Cathëlaar in Altalar), who followed the Gods who would later make up Evolism, and the other was the Dragon Worshipers (Dregodar in Altalar), who followed the Dragons, original shapers of the world left unworshiped in Estelley dogma. With the Estellians around the Empress and Cemaan left as an increasingly less powerful center as more and more groups departed or shirked fealty, the Void Worshipers decided to use the situation to eliminate their rivals, having Dragon Worship outlawed and massacring the Dragon Worshipers, killing one of their Dragons, driving them to another continent called Ellador, and turning the native Dwarves against them to kill their second Dragon together and almost wipe them from the face of the world.

Their ascendancy secured, these Void Worshipers would become Kathar and turn to systematically dismantling what was left of Estelley in the Allorn Empire, burning the holy groves and usurping the Nobility, placing the Empress effectively under house arrest. It is not unthinkable that they would have succeeded in transforming it entirely, had Cataclysm not struck, the Fifth Void Invasion. This apocalyptic Demonic invasion saw eighty percent of the Allorn population die and their ability to practice Oblation Magic disappeared, along with many of their most powerful spells. As well, it also restored some faith in Estelley, and by the diminishment of Allorn power allowed some of the split-off peoples to flourish on the world stage. Nonetheless, even nowadays Estelley as a religion must morally deal with the context of the many atrocities committed by its worshipers and in its name under the banner of the Allorn Empire, and every individual worshiper must choose if they want to apologize for these actions, not consider themselves responsible, or find a way to moralize them in the context of the time. With Talea's awakening several years ago and the re-declaration of the Allorn regime, there is fear that the worst will resume, especially with scant sightings of Oblation Magic here and there.

Va'sil & Mana Trees

The Va'sil were holy nature spirits, fragments of Estel who took the form of giant, walking trees. They were holy advisors for much of Allorn history, with even Talea herself receiving counsel from them, reportedly ponderous, wise, and gentle. The Lanlath had a special fondness for them but were unable to take them with them when they were expelled from the Allorn Empire. Throughout the Allorn Empire's collapse and the decline of Estelley worship observance, the Va'sil and their groves became neglected and abandoned. This would come to a head when the forerunners of the Kathar Elven race destroyed them in a single coordinated attack, the Night of the Fallen Star, which wiped every Va'sil tree from the world. Left behind in their wake are so-called Mana Trees, continuing the tradition of gathering in glades, but without the Va'sil that used to define them. Mana Trees, the ancient oaks at the center of Elven groves and places of worship, do still enjoy a holy status nonetheless. Much like the Va'sil before them, they remain a target for attacks from Kathar worshipers looking to please the Evolist Gods through historical re-enactment.

Leyon's Eclipse

Estelley worshipers believe that conflating an individual's Magic use with religious alignment is backward and tribal. The status of a person as a Void Mage does not matter, so long as they worship Estelley Gods. The status of a person as an Exist Mage might not matter if they chose to worship Evolist Gods. There is some pseudo-religious theory that describes the light side of the Moon as Exist Magic: organized, guiding, safe, and clear in purpose, and the dark side of the Moon as Void Magic: capricious, ungovernable, and deeply unpredictable. A sentiment is held that mastering Void Magic is harder, and by the implication of a power source shared with Void Gods and Arken, it is likelier to attract their malign attention or be tempted into corruption. If a Void Mage is found to be an enemy of Estelley religious dogma, it is custom for the priests to declare a so-called Eclipse Judgment, marking that Void Mage as an attack on sight for Estelley adherents who are part of the priests' flock. Despite Estelley's venerable status, Eclipse Judgments are not legal in Regalia and are considered a sort of vigilante assault to be practiced with the risk taken on the chin. From the Estellian point of view, a few days in prison are worth knowing that one has lived life rightly.

Other

The Expanded Lore section contains additional contextual information about the Estelley faith. This section is not necessary to read to get a good understanding of the lore, just the background information.

This is still being written.
Consider expanded lore for each God. More like the old large text format, go wild.
Consider more explanations of each God, whether they belonged to a proto-Elven tribe, another race altogether, etc.
Explain how patronage is cool but doesn't ultimately define a God more than their universal perfection standard.
Explain the locations of Temples and give them descriptions of the biggest ones and their statehood relevance.
Explain the state relevance of each God, which states have their patronage, and what it did to those states.

Artarel

The Justice Arken was invited to join the Pantheon by Talea upon the end of the Dewamenet War. She refused but wrote the original Allorn Law Code. Artarel's Law is a concise and restitution-focused legal document that enshrines rights and protections for citizens, the right to trial, methods of jury and fair trial, suggested penal codes, and alterations depending on the disposition or situation of a kingdom. It is the basis of all modern law codes, including to some extent Regalian law, but is different in a fundamental way. The enshrined class protections of Regalian Law do not exist in Artarel's Law, and indeed, equality under the law is an alien concept in Regalia where biases still rule strongly. Unfortunately for Estelley worshipers, the law codes in their nations have departed even farther, with racism, classism, corruption, and other flaws dragging down the legal principles of especially the Allorn Empire but to some extent even more enlightened states like the Lanlath to the point where they cannot be said to practice Artarel's Law anymore either. It is the goal of all zealous Estelley worshipers to see Artarel's Law practiced to the best extent wherever possible.
Artarel finally properly ascended to the Pantheon in 312 AC following a mass-death incident in several Allorn principalities where she was mass appealed to for help by the dying Elves who cried out to her. While she is an Ordained God, she is also a little bit of a loose cannon, because it is heavily implied that if the evils of Oblation Magic and other Allorn indulgences were to begin to appear again, she might do something about it. In ascending, her consciousness fractured between her Arken and Divine form. While it is clear that the Divine form embodies the calm sense of frigid and cosmic justice with just a little retribution that she has always been held in light of religion, many of the more cruel, wroth aspects of Justice were left behind in the Arken body, which still exists as an independent actor executing things on their own will.
Artarel owns a document called the List of All Sinners, that supposedly describes the faults of all mortals that she, her Arken form, or her Fornoss refraction Bard have laid eyes on. Scribed by Aseia who constantly has a host of lesser Spirits keeping up with the demand of the workload, she uses this List of All Sinners to determine priorities in execution and hunting and sometimes reads from it to direct her mortal worshipers to harry a foe strong enough to be dangerous but weak enough to be below her attention. Those who have done great wrongs tend to avoid any situation where she could lay eyes on them, because Artarel's focus is enough to read a man's soul in an instant, and no guile can hide the truth from her.
Artarel is a famous warrior with a storied history of battles against her nemesis the Pride Arken. Although these battles have slowed down to a crawl since Cataclysm and become nonexistent since her ascension to godhood, the poetry of their incarnations battling across the ages is legendary, and frequently the subject of stageplay. Her claymore sword is called Nightfall (Maan-Menvaan in Altalar), and Artifact copies of it have been left behind in places before for her favored or worshipers to carry onto the field in execution of her will. It is said that anyone who carries Maan-Menvaan will feel an echo of her perception of Sin, but that just the echo is enough to drive lesser men mad, and that knowledge of how far the world has left to go can make a wielder insane with grief before they have held the blade for a day. She has lesser heirloom weapons as well, like the twin shortswords Traitorbane (Aravond in Altalar) and Traitorpain (Aravai in Altalar), as well as spears, bows, shields, and more, but these circulate in mortal hands regularly.
The largest Temple to Artarel is a place called the Reliquary of Meÿ-Anvaal, an abandoned, ravine-struck graveyard on Maartasil (an island in northeastern Daen) near where the Allorn armies used to ship captives to be sacrificed through the strait to the mainland. The place was sundered during Cataclysm, the palace of the Governor who used to live there falling into the ground, its residents consumed by plant growth, Demons, and wildfire. Shortly after Cataclysm, the next incarnation of the Justice Arken was born there, and after her ascent to Godhood seems to have retained a fondness for it. Her zealot followers, four-masked penitents called the Inulvaan, take their leave to gather in the cold stone houses at Meÿ-Anvaal and think cruel thoughts about the sinful world in towers of iron, poetically juxtaposed against the portals to paradise in Lathan being just a day away.

Aseia

Aseia was a god conquered and brought into Estelley not by swords, nor by sweet words, but cold hard politics, at the hands of Cemaan. During the Ruindawn as the young Allorn Empire began its expansion, Aseia was the deity of a proto-Elven tribe known as the Avalli. What records exist suggest they were a deeply spiritual group, who removed themselves to the tops of southern peaks found in Altaleï. They had a deep hunger for knowledge, and were supremely gifted in Magic, which caused them to send out Emissaries to the wider world. One of these Emissaries ran afoul of the Allorn Empire, but when Talea moved to engage in warfare, Cemaan stopped her, and took the lead. Over the coming decades, Allorn settlement encroached on the monastic cities of the Avalli. First came the trade deals, then the visits and tourism, next the gradual drawing away of the Avalli youth into Elven culture. Within less than 100 years, Cemaan appeared to Aseia, and told them the reality she had helped weave: the Avalli were now part of the Allorn Empire, and Aseia must join or be destroyed. Aseia, supposedly, agreed after an extremely long pause, and went immediately back to transcribing knowledge for their Heritage but also, now the Allorn Empire.
Aseia under the Allorn Empire proved to be an essential entity, even if they quickly lost the Heritage who formed them. Sometime after 15,000 BC, the Avalli culture abruptly disappeared from the Allorn population. It is not clear if this was a forced disappearance at the hands of the Allorn state as the result of some uncovered conspiracy or if the group literally phased out of existence all at once. If it was the latter option, many believe that some magical experiment or deal with an entity on the Avalli’s behalf is responsible. Aseia meanwhile, whose worship had already transferred to the Magic-hungry Teledden, was barely affected by this disaster, and it became just one of many chapters soon written in the long, long history of the Allorn Empire. Aseia’s dominance over the domain of knowledge and teaching Magic even resulted in most Elven languages referring to their name when constructing words for various academic structures. However, Aseia themselves also became less easily reached behind the accumulated knowledge of centuries, working tirelessly to produce more, and seemingly not aware (despite the information at their fingertips) of the disaster to soon arrive. The Cataclysm is said to have finally woken Aseia from their mania of record-keeping, as millennia of information became destroyed, damaged, or outright lost. They are now intensely devoted to the recovery of lost information, as well as educating the world on Magic and more all over again.
Aseia is renowned for their ability to read and assess an individual’s level of knowledge through the use of the Scroll of Determination. Not a reference to the character trait, this Scroll is mimetic, and changes with each new individual Aseia encounters. It accesses their memories and life experiences in a flash, before producing a detailed history of their life, alongside relevant skills acquired in that time and quantifies their level of power in Magic, if they have any. The Scroll is used as a tool of judgment much as Artarel’s List of All Sinners is, but instead of that document which judges morality, Aseia’s Scroll coldly calculates an individual’s level of intellectualism and dedication to the act of learning as well as their existing level of knowledge. Those deemed worthy may gain knowledge or advice from Aseia but even post-Cataclysm, the deity is sometimes ponderous to engage with, delving deep into technical language or irrelevant side-tangents.
Aseia has existed for a very long time, and has compiled connections to a huge array of different subjects. While Aseia themselves appears compelling to interact with, it is not actually their own being that most visitors to their counsel seek, but the many things they have observed and recorded. The vast majority of historical interactions with Aseia occurred with Aseia as an intermediary to another step in a long-running mission. Aseia’s best known Artifacts however, are their Tomes. Aseian Tomes are unique texts which capture every element of a single given subject, and update them in real time with information being discovered out in the wider world. Many of these Tomes were lost in the Cataclysm, not to mention many also being somewhat irrelevant to the average knowledge-seeker. Despite this, some exist on certain forms of Magic, or on subjects key to understanding Aloria’s history, and these are highly prized.
Aseia’s greatest modern Temple is the Repository of Esl-Sanlaan, named for an ancient scholar worshiper of Aseia who was one of the first Archmages in Allorn history. Located in eastern Altaleï, the Repository is a vast enchanted library located within a small mountain outside of the city of Nasallornei, now within the returned Allorn Empire. Huge shelves of modern books exist near the lush entryway to the Repository, with various seating, reading and text-studying areas scattered across the sixteen levels of the structure for use by any visitor. The deeper one goes, books give way to scrolls, and then tablets and other more esoteric ways of registering information, and then finally, on the lowest level, is the Forbidden Floor. Here, knowledge about Ordial topics, the darkest Demons, and more is kept out of easy access in a space rich with enchantments and protections to ensure no tunneling breaks in, nor outside magical conjuration can function. The great library is overseen by the Esl-Maveral, scholar-Mages of immense power and knowledge shrouded by masks replicating Aseia’s own stony visage, and dark yellow robes decorated by scraps of paper that list their favorite tomes.

Mana

Mana was brought into the fold of Estelley during the Fire Era. Prior to this time, Mana was the monotheistic goddess of the Yanar, a Heritage in Aloria who still exist today, well known for their plantlike features. They possessed this appearance millennia ago as well, and worshiped Mana in a distant region of Westwynd, though still south of the Dewamenet Empire. In the centuries of time after the coming war against the ancient Asha, the Allorn Empire’s conquest of other regions came to include those of the Yanar, but fortune smiled on them. The natural beauty crafted by Mana, then a more rustic nature goddess, drew the attention of Sapphora, who spent several months among the Yanar and in conversation with Mana herself. It is said that, as a sign of their new friendship, Mana crafted a marvelous pink flower now called the Passionflower which Sapphora greatly took to. In the end, Mana joined Estelley willingly under Sapphora's protection, and the Yanar entered the Allorn Empire as a Heritage free of the terrible slaughter that befell others.
However, Mana’s time within the Allorn Empire was very difficult. The repeated Pearl Wars, inflicted mainly on the Asha but also other groups across Aloria, caused a great deal of suffering she could not combat. Her followers remained few as the centuries wore on, and the Allorn Empire only grew more decadent, cruel and self-indulgent. Natural vistas suffered as well, Allorn cities expanding into the wilds that surrounded them, while later wars and savage conflicts between Archmages damaged landscapes. Mana could count on little help from the other Estelley deities with the power to stop such chaos, as Talea lay dormant, and Sapphora had retreated into isolation, leading to Mana’s dejection. However, the Va’sil Trees were her greatest companions, and sects of followers scattered across the Empire never truly died, be they Yanar, Elves and others now sadly lost. But, the Night of the Weeping Stars, with the Fifth Void Invasion and Cataclysm so soon after, significantly injured Mana. She lost an enormous degree of power with the death of dozens of the Va’sil (she had not created them but they were massive epicenters of nature), while the global disaster brought ruin to the natural world. She is nowadays greatly weakened compared to the claims of legend, and the Yanar with their allies in Estelley or other faiths cultivate Mana Trees, hoping to gradually restore her from her current state.
Mana is notable for the poetry composed in honor of her, and her governing of the natural world which often tells many anecdotal stories of her actions. As a result, evoking Mana with regard to nature is common for the Estelley faithful. There are also tales of Mana’s “dances” with the Nature Arken, the two very much aligned, and vaguely implied to once have been romantically involved (though that may simply be the result of artistic liberty). However, a lot of focus in stories told nowadays is on Mana’s current status. Mana’s physical form is thought to be a representation of her godly power, much of it in the winter of its seasons. Her legs are like the bark of birch trees, and the sole visual of blooming, living nature on her form are three grand blue flowers which blossom on her right shoulder. Any appearance by her is rare, and Mana Trees that are the site of such visitations are ecstatically honored by those Yanar who remain loyal to her, while the event is also eagerly transcribed word for word. The only known Artifacts of Mana were the Valei, powerful objects capable of revitalizing dozens of square miles of barren terrain with prosperous plantlife. However, these were all used centuries ago to try and heal the lands of Altaleï due to destruction caused by Archmages, with Mana seemingly unable to make more in the modern day.
Mana is a goddess who has unfortunately suffered greatly in the realm of temples and shrines. The Night of the Weeping Stars destroyed many of her remaining sites, and many more groups have actively hunted and destroyed her places of worship, sensing her weakness since the Cataclysm. Of what remains scattered across Aloria, the Emerald Bouquet Temple found in what is now Ithania is noted as exceptionally beautiful. A manicured garden of flowers and other plants from around the world held in magic-infused greenhouses to sustain the biomes each best thrives in, the Temple is also a public park well traveled by the locals. The actual worship site is located at the center of the sprawling scene, with a great, old Mana Tree well tended to by the local faithful. The entire site is overseen and guarded by the Leimaan, a mixed order of healers and militants mostly composed of Yanar. They can be clearly distinguished by visitors and outsiders thanks to the gleaming silver-decorated armbands they wear on their right side in emulation of Mana’s blooming flowers on that side of her body.

Melca

Melca was once part of the religion of the Drovv, who were a Heritage with long necks and multiple arms who largely lived in what is now called Northbelt. The faith was made up of herself, then called Marxxarana, and her husband, Morxxeron, in a duology that devoted the Drovv to militarism in order to fend off the evils of both the material world, and the other, unseeable realms, implying some knowledge of Void Invasions in history. In the wake of the Allorn Empire’s annihilation of the Dewamenet, Melca and her husband became extremely cautious of the Elves, and their people were, for many centuries, bristling with readiness for the possibility of an attack. However, it is likely that the Elves were not interested in another centuries-long war due to the Drovv's high rate of martial prowess and high developpment, and instead moved for more diplomatic relations with the Drovv as a result. Over the following millennia, Drovv culture seeped into the Allorn Empire, eventually helping form the Cult of Drovv, which much like the namesake heritage, avoided magical abilities to instead train one's physical strengths and grow to master physical, melee-focused weapons. Worship of Melca and her husband also infiltrated Elven society by the same vector.
Melca was joined to the Estelley pantheon relatively recently, second to Artarel, and due to a similarly tragic series of events. When the Fifth Void Invasion began just over 300 years ago, Melca’s husband marched with the Drovv to defeat the invading Demons, while she remained behind to ready the second wave of fighters, the nation’s defenses, and also look to evacuating the most unfit for war in Drovv society. However, Morxxeron suddenly died as the Drovv were overwhelmed in a matter of weeks or months instead of years, and the Drovv civilization virtually collapsed overnight. Melca struggled on long enough for waves of Elven soldiers from the Allorn Empire to appear and shore up the defenses along with local Elven colonists, and when the Void Invasion was eventually driven back and the survivors had become Sihndar, they embraced her and brought her into the Estelley Pantheon with the blessing of the Empresses as their adopted patron.
Melca’s great focus on alliances and weaving together beneficial agreements to create cooperation and security for her chosen Heritage, as well as the wider world, sees her most important concept being the Web of Alliance, as a very direct spiderweb metaphor. Drawn from the belief that all things are connected in ways often invisible to most mortals, the Web is a catalog of the great triumphs of the Sihndar Heritage both in battle, and in diplomacy, showing how each links to the other, and how they all affect even the smaller part of the Web’s great structure. Sihndar who are thus courteous, accepting of outsiders (except the Kathar, Suvial and others Melca and Sihndar leadership jointly deem anathema to Sihndar goals), and devoted to fair exchanges of goods or services, are thus woven into the Web as a valued part of it. However, those Sihndar who cheat, steal, and break oaths or trusts may find their role in the Web torn out, thus creating a hole, and weakening the overall structure. Sihndar tragedies, such as the loss of a Hold, also create such holes and there is some concern that the Web cannot survive if another Hold is lost.
Melca’s past is an enigma as with the loss of the Drovv, and her focus on the present and future, it can be difficult to learn details about her mythology and being before joining Estelley. Some details do remain thanks to the work of Sihndar scholars that have excavated the ruins of the Drovv and, very uniquely, thanks to the sole enclave of Drovv beyond Aloria, the 250-odd population being found in The Last City of the Living. There exist songs of her relationship to her now lost husband, which have become tragedies by knowing their ending, while there are also stories about Melca’s early aid to the Cult of Drovv, as they first became the Sihndar in the wastes of Drowda. Artifacts and objects related to Melca are limited, as most of them were lost in the Fifth Void Invasion that destroyed her original Heritage, but the marvelous Skyrobes, black robes speckled with stars which grants traits of great agility and grace, are said to have been personal gifts from her to the finest warriors of what are now the Sihndar.
The grandest Temple to Melca is found in the Milai Hold, a place that closely follows her beliefs about alliance, partnership and trade. Milai is located in the forested north of Drowda, and is particularly crowded, though also has the distinction of being partially built into a ruin of the Drovv, which makes up most of the Milai Temple. Intricate, ancient stonework with complex patterns fades seamlessly into a wooden structure that successfully mimics many design features seen on the stones. The Milai Temple is overseen by a sect of Skywardens known as the Skytravelers, all accomplished warriors but also diplomats or traders who gain their positions after widely traveling, and being able to provide proof of helping efforts of trade and diplomacy for the Sihndar Holds.

Trivia

Estelley worship is frequently denoted with moon symbolism, which is the heraldic icon of most Elven kingdoms, even the ones who have abandoned Estelley dogmatism.
There was much art and verse that denoted some kind of closeness between the Empress Goddesses, but Sapphora has had almost all of it destroyed, with only a few ruins left.
Estelley has extensive poetic scripture recorded on obelisks, runes, and tomes handed down, but there is no single definitive, collective canon for recitals.

Accreditation

Writers	OkaDoka, HydraLana
Artists	MonMarty
Processors	FireFan96, MantaRey

Last Editor	MonMarty on 12/22/2024.

» Read more