Religion & Cosmology

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THE GODS

Beings of unimaginable power and ageless knowledge, the Gods of Xenos have only once been threatened-
And they destroyed the Ancients for daring to try supplant them.
Five are offered prayers and sacrifice.
Members of the Guild itself aided in the ascension of the sixth, once a Celestial known as The Exile, now the Spirit Seeker.
The sixth Fallen One is never spoken of except in curses or by the insane.
Different cultures view the Gods in a different light, and may prefer one over another.

Clerics and Paladins must identify which God they follow and must adhere to the Tenets of their Faith.
Other characters may choose to offer service to some, all, or none of the Gods.

SUN KING - Fire, summer, and the sun. Kings and Nobles.
His followers are proud, honest, and brave.

Be truthful and just in all things.
Be courteous to your equals and respectable to your followers.
Stand firm against creatures of darkness.


EARTH MOTHER - Land, harvest, and nature. Farmers, hunters and druids.
Her followers are nurturing, protective, and often skilled healers.

Help the weak and needy to become strong.
Respect all life, even that which you take.
Aim to leave the world better than when you enter it.


WAVE LORD - Seas and rain. Sailors and fishermen, but also those who honour strength and power.
His followers are pragmatic, prepared, and do not suffer fools.

Respect strength, but turn it to your service.
Be firm and decisive in your actions.
Master weakness in yourself and others.


WIND SPEAKER - Air and skies. Dreamers and artists, patron of song and story.
His followers are creative, imaginative, and free.

Let inspiration be your guide.
Do not let yourself be bound to a single place, person, or ideal.
The purpose of life is to create something which will outlast it.


WISE ONE - Night and secrets. God of mages and inventors alike, and honours those who seek new knowledge.
Her followers are learners, curious, and intelligent.

Knowledge belongs in the minds of those who are worthy.
Seek out that which is hidden, and bring it into the light.
Knowledge must be earned, never given without cause.


SPIRIT SEEKER - Spirits, souls, and the underworld. Newly appointed to his position, his hand is yet to be seen.

Treat all spirits with respect in all things that you do.
Trade fairly in all dealings with the spirit world.
Look after your soul as your most precious possession.  


NAMELESS DARK - None know if it be God or Goddess, but all fear it.
A being of chaos and destruction, twisting all those with which it touches. To seek the Nameless Dark is to be made into something else.

It has no known Tenets.

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THE UPPER WORLD

Rising away from the First World, from beyond a great wall, a vast tree covered mountain always surrounded by clouds.
The landscape here is dotted with small settlements of those deemed worthy of the Gods' mercy.

The Elemental Plane
Home of the Elementals
A roiling mass of mixed elements that shifts and moves eternally.

The Dream
Realm of the Sleeper
Only accessible by those who dream, barred even to the Gods while they wake.

Nexus
Stronghold of the Norn
A timeless place that travels the realms, home to the people of the Wise One.

Vor'Daes
The Place of Honour
A great palace of the Gods, where they meet, debate and decide the fate of the future.

Each of the Gods also maintains a Skerry for their Chosen few, known as “The Heavens”

Sun King
The Golden Palace
Live here in perpetual daylight, yet never tire.

Earth Mother
The Great Tree
Dwell within the tree and be nourished by it.

Wave Lord
Stormgard
Cliff-top castle fortress, beside an ocean in the air.

Wind Speaker
The Great Fayre
Permanent trade and  performance venue.

Wise One
Tower
Look out from the tower to see all places at once.

Spirit Seeker
?

THE SPIRIT WORLD
The Spirit World overlaps the First World in almost every respect, and they are intrinsically linked.
Home to Spirits, reflections of forces and creatures on the other side. Only Shaman can easily interact with this place.

The Hunting Grounds
Beastmen souls travel here once their lives end, to join the great hunt. Guarded by ancestors and the greatest heroes of the Beastmen Tribes.

The Wheel
The city of building and creation turns forever, as technology advances it becomes more complex and  clockwork. Once a place of Dwarven dreams, Humans now also are found here.

The Dragon Graveyard
Resting place of noble dragons who passed of old age. Watched over by a spirit of one of the first dragons.
A vast repository of magical items and time-lost treasures.

Mael'Shim “The Far Shores”
Sacred to the Elves, a lost paradise to which they hope to someday return. Here, they retain their grace and their immortality, as they believe they did before the Ancients.

Faerie “Eternal Kingdom”
Part spirit, part mortal, here live the Fae, masters of deception and misdirection. They fled to the Spirit World after the fall of their Lords & Ladies to the Ancients.

THE FIRST WORLD
Also known as the Physical World, or the Mortal Realms, these are names for the world in which the known races live. It has the most known about it and thus has the most attention given to it. It has only one known Skerry, or Shard.

Luna, the Moon
Believed to be the refuge of a race of noble spirits who fled the Cataclysm. It is accepted that it is a realm, separate from yet connected to the First World. The Beastmen believe Luna to be the First Spirit, near godlike in power.
It is said the Ancients were able to travel there, but such knowledge is long lost.

THE UNDERWORLD
Many fear the Underworld, as it is where you are judged after death. This fear has made it dark, cold, and menacing. Some dedicate their afterlives to achieving forgiveness and redemption, others continue as they did in life. For each individual the Underworld makes itself anew, but it is always a cold grey place. Each generation adds a new level of depth, reflecting their world. As a result some seek the spirits of the dead, to learn lost secrets. All of the known races can be found here, though Beastmen usually travel to the Hunting Grounds, so those found here are the worst examples of their race- the dead are often biased against Beastmen as a result.

Vor'Shel
The Place of Punishment
A fiery place of eternal torment, where those who have displeased the Gods are sent to receive punishment everlasting. It is rumoured that there are Ancients buried deep within the smoky depths, tormented for all time.

Crucible Lake
Of Endings and Beginnings
Only the dead can find this place, and it's location changes depending on the seeker. Entering it is said to destroy a being utterly, and allow them to be reborn in the First World.

The Ship of Stone
Refuge of the Dark Ones
Whispers hushed in fear tell of a piece of Vor'Shel, stolen by the Nameless Dark, and fashioned into a great vessel. Made of stone, fire and darkness, this ship sails the Underworld, filled with the Dark's own creatures, harvesting lost souls...