Religions

Religion plays an important part in the lives of characters on Dawn of the Ages. Two professions and at least one career depend on the might of the gods to survive in the world. We describe the major deities of DoA below.

Anue

Anue is god of the seas and waters of the world. Among the Areldur, he is the most chaotic, and prefers to remain aloof in the affairs of his equals. He spends his days in the dark of the oceans, among the luminous fishes and corals, enjoying his solitude and the occasional company of his worshippers there.

Temples to the god are found primarily along the coastlines and under the surface of Ayreon's seas. Virtually all denizens of the deep worship Anue, with the exception of the Atlanteans, a race nearly wiped out by the deity in ages past. He is especially popular with fishermen and pearl divers and anyone who lives off the bounties of the oceans.

Anue's priests, below sea and above, are known for their control of water and water-related elements, like storms and healing. They emulate their god in many ways, being very reserved in their persons, unwilling much of the time to involve themselves in matters of the world. Once engaged, however, they are difficult to hold back, and oftentimes will not stop until their opposition is destroyed.

Arduna

Arduna is something of an enigma in the world of gods. A power in her own right, she is the goddess of insight and enlightment, and consequently of the harmony that comes of it. She is not, however, one of the Areldur, and her coming to the world is the subject of much speculation.

The majority of Arduna's worshippers are highmen and humans, who have established a city to the north in her honor, Ardun. From there her priests have travelled south and west, establishing small churches and shrines as far as Crescent and Antagil. To commune with Arduna, however, her followers travel to Ardun, to seek the famed Oracle there.

The priests and templars of Arduna wield powers of discovery, allowing them insight into matters otherwise enshrouded by darkness. Because of this, they oftentimes are targets of beings who would prefer their presence remain unknown -- necromancers, thieves, and members of the shadowy clan Tarealen. They also compete many times with the priests of Shorkam, who believe the goddess is merely an aspect of their god, come to being when Kulthis banished his brother. Followers of Arduna do not argue with this, instead nodding and smiling and, in their own way, helping to keep the peace.

Celawyn

Like her brother Vorgen, Celawyn came about after her father, Morruin, tore away those parts of himself which would inhibit his duties as god of death. She took on the more benevolent aspects of her father, and in all ways became her brother's opposite, peaceful, forgiving, actively seeking to soothe the pains of others. For this reason she is worshipped as goddess of healing, and of peace.

Temples and shrines to Celawyn can be found anywhere suffering abounds, i.e. everywhere. In Lokatar and the lands of Sscis, her movement is found underground, and in the depths of the seas the priests of Anue hold sway, but in most other places her places of worship are found in the open. Her largest followings are found in the northern reaches of the continent, in Crescent, in Ardun, and in Antagil.

Celawyn's priests are adept in the arts of healing. Like the goddess, they will never turn away a being who is suffering, even the foulest of the foul. As a result of this extreme faith, there are many who view the followers of Celawyn as weak and easy pickings: only until it is too late do they recall whose daughter Celawyn is.

Daghyld

Daghyld is known to the world as the Virgin Goddess of Honour and Valor. She is the first child of Digna, who came into the world pregnant, and soon thereafter felt the pangs of labor. Taking a knife to her belly she split herself open, and from her sprang a fully adult Daghyld, dressed head to toe in a silvery armor and bearing her namesake weapon, a spear.

Daghyld is worshipped in most places devoted to goodness and weal. Her following includes many highmen, humans, and elves, and others devoted to the way of Light. She is the inspiration for many a knight, and is regarded the patron goddess of one of Ayreon's most famous clans, Camethal.

Many of the goddess's followers are adept in the skills of war; even her priests ride and joust as knights can. Daghyld's followers are more likely to be templars than priests, however, and are found more often in large settlements than in wild areas. This is due to their wish to 'civilize' the world, to bring to it law and order, and is due also to their realization that such order many times cannot be brought along peacably. Nonetheless her followers are dedicated as well to honor and valour, and not infrequently have the forces of Light stopped just short of annihilating their opponents because Daghyld's knights would rather grant mercy than death.

Digna

Digna is fairest of the Areldur, in mind as well as in face. She is often referred to as the Keeper of the Balance, for she holds power over the other gods as High Judge, to render opinions, advice, and verdicts when called upon by her peers. Nothing is unknown to her, and no amount of knowledge will bias her judgment. Should she deem one of her kind unworthy of their position, she may, by means of her power, strip the offender of power and force the immortal to walk the world in mortal coil, until such time she deems fit to end the punishment.

If not the most popular of the gods, Digna certainly ranks among the ones most often appealed to. Her followers are concentrated in cities and other civilized areas, where law is needed to maintain order and life. The largest such following is in Crescent, headquarters and primary home to the clan she founded in ages past, the Judges. Only in the far reaches of the Underdark, where Oonouyugh holds sway, is her influence not felt.

Digna's priests often serve in a public capacity as judges and advisors. Their goddess has granted them many a power to uncover matters, and they will often walk among the populace disguised that they might better learn the true nature of the concerns brought before them. The priests of Digna are sometimes confused with those of Arduna, so close is their affinity in ways to one another.

Jorrod

The stories surrounding the god of tricksters and thieves are too numerous to relate in any single work. Jorrod has figured centrally in many of the adventures involving the gods, and not always to the good. Jorrod has no priestly following as his brethren does, but word of him spreads around, probably by those who pray to him for luck or fortune.

Jorrod has no major temple to speak of, and the few shrines he has tend to be hidden or out of the way. Certain thieving guilds, however, may include a room or two devoted to this god, decorated with white masks, statues, and other icons and symbols of the god. He is also popular among gamblers, and not a few gambling halls have an idol devoted to the god near and above the card and dice tables.

Kulthis

The Doombringer. The Accursed One. The Mouth of Malevolence. The Devourer Who never sleeps. These are but few of the names and titles that refer to Kulthis, Ayreon's ultimate face of evil, father and progenitor of all that is foul and perverse in the realms. He cares for every evil creature, his own dark vision of the world and the law, and uses whatever means he can to further the triumph of his cause. His tools are guile, fear, supression and outright force as well as unquestioning followers that zealously promote his agenda.

Unless one lives in the City of Infernal Darkness or among the denizens of the Underdark, one seldomly openly reveals one is a follower of the Dark God. If a church or shrine of the god is ever revealed to the leadership of a city or township, it immediately sends forces to that location and wipes it out. The reach of Kulthis is widespread, hidden among secret enclaves and cults spread across the continent, but unless they are within the near-grasp of Lokatar, they do not remain in place for long.

This does not stop Kulthis's minions from attempting to spread the word of their lord, nor from attempts to conquer lands near the empire of Lokatar. His priests and templars are in constant war with Antagil to the west, and with Ardun to the east, and they are forever devising ways into other realms, Ophir, Crescent, Ishikawa, Korum, and the undersea kingdoms. It is said that among the minions of evil, Kulthis's are the strongest, for their faith empowers them with various abilities concerned with elemental darkness as well as granting them the ability to manipulate the souls of their victims.

Morruin

The eldest legends of man and elf suggest that it was Morruin who was the first of the Areldur to open his eyes and look upon the world. For a long time thereafter he wandered, contemplating his existence, his purpose, and what his relationship to the world was to be. He was to remain like this for ages to come, wandering and pondering, until by some chance he came upon a bird in misery -- many believe a raven -- striken to the bone and teeming with sores and rendings of the flesh from which it could not escape. He was then resolved to take on the mantle which has ever been his alone to bear.

Few people venerate the god, let alone worship him, so fearful are the many of what may come beyond the end of life. Nonetheless people the world over do pay homage to the god, if not to ask for a stay of death, then to be granted an afterlife filled with peace. Symbols and signs of Morruin, then, are found in and around places of death, and shrines to the god are likewise near final resting places.

Morruin's priests take the business of death very seriously, and oppose both those who would sully the grave and those who would use the dead for ill purposes. His monks likewise feel death is their duty, and when the time has come for a body, they are quick to deal it out, mercilessly and without passion. For this reason people quickly move away from a known follower of Morruin, for it is said that he speaks to them in dreaming, and the arrival of one of his minions portends the end of someone nearby.

Oneirion

Very little is known of Oneirion, god of magic, and what few things are known tend to be unreliable at best. Like Anue, god of the seas, Oneirion spends much of his time apart from his brethren, cool to their overtures and indifferent to their troubles. He is a consummate encyclopedist, driven to find new inventions and new means of manipulating Nature and Her attributes. Oneirion also is credited with bringing magic to the Nurtar, whom they have linked with spells and arcane lore ever since.

Oneirion's faith is spread as far as the reach of spellcasters, but there are very few known places of worship dedicated to the god. One such place is the temple at Ophir, where many of Ayreon's most powerful sorcerers practice their art. A few other shrines are known, in Crescent, in Ardun, and in Oceanus, and at least one city, Korum, actively prohibits the establishment of any monument to the god.

Priests of Oneirion are almost indistinguishable from practioners of more mundane magicks. Except for a few divine spells accessible by priests alone, they in many ways act and cast as battlemages do. For this reason, it is difficult to assess the extent of Oneirion's priesthood. They are not prone to proselytizing as Shorkam's or Sscis's followers might, and prefer the life of research over the tediousness of bringing new blood into the fold.

Oonouyugh

The god Oonouyugh is a relative unknown, for only recently has his name come to the surface world of Ayreon. A large band of adventurers, seeking treasures and magics farther and deeper than any surfacers had ever gone before: a merely handful of these came back with horrific tales of mind- bending telepathic squids, ferocious fungi-like beings, and cult-like followings of drow who pursued them all the way to the light of day. Unfortunately, none of these adventurers live today, as all of them, one by one, succumbed to diseases and curses never seen before in this world.

Sages and their hirelings have ventured into the deep to confirm the stories brought to them, and have shown at least that a dark god, a god of disease and decay, is the object of worship among a number of the Underdark denizens. This god they have designated as Oonouyugh, and it would appear that It has been active in the world for a very long time. Only now is Its presence becoming known, much to the dismay of Ayreonians, who for aeons have suffered at the hands of Kulthis and Sscis. Oonouyugh's minions, on the other hand, are few and far between, and can easily be spotted by the symbols they wear, or the diseases that constantly afflict them.

Shorkam

Long ago, before the ages of his long disappearance, Shorkam was the embodiment of Light in the world, whose skin radiated with the luminosity of a thousand suns and whose face defined the very nature of Beauty. Those times were before the Long Night, and the Great Cataclysm, and his millenia- long exile has worn deep on the god. For while his triumphant return to the world was cause for jubilation and cheer by many, some think (and perhaps wish) it were better that the Phoenix had not returned, for his vengeance, and that of his followers, is so frought with rage that in their blindness they sometimes turn on friends and allies.

Shorkam remains a popular god with those who seek vengeance upon the minions of Kulthis and Sscis. Shrines and other places of worship dedicated to Shorkam are found all over the continent, though it is in Antagil and the nearby countryside where his following is greatest. It is here, also, that he and his followers make their greatest stand against the god's cursed mortal enemy, Kulthis.

Shorkam's priesthood is very active in spreading the word of their god, and are not above discrediting other gods, even those of Light, to increase their numbers. They are a mighty force to contend with, as individuals and as groups, and call upon the power of the sun to burn away the sins of their opponents. Shorkam's minions are enthusiastic in their pursuit of evil and will use their powers to stop and destroy the wicked wherever it might hide. This intense eagerness to battle Kulthis and his spawn borders on fanaticism, and not too few times have they crossed paths with other forces of the Light, to cause pain and misery among those who would be their allies.

Sscis

The God Who Lurks in the Shadows, Sscis is evil most feared in the realms. For unlike his father, Kulthis, who makes a show of force in his spread of Darkness, Sscis stays in the shadows, skulking, waiting, finding the most opportune moment to strike and gain victory over his foes. His goal is, like that of his father, world domination, though in a manner that would reflect all that Sscis finds appealing, a ruthless order kept in place by intrigue and assassination.

Temples to Sscis are virtually unknown to most of the world, as befits the god's image. There is a lonely exception, however, deep in the jungles of southwest Aurion, where the city of Djakarta is ruled by Sscis's priests with an iron fist. From here it is believed they launch their secretive missions to other parts of the continent, slowly taking up positions of power and trust within the ranks of government, biding their time until the call is sent forth to strike.

The priesthood of Sscis is rank-and-file, rumored to be headed by an All- Father of Pain and his Inner Circle: however, as no Sscisian priest is ever open about his or her association with the religion, the truth of this tale is difficult to establish. There is no known effort by the priesthood to expand the faith through proletyzation. On the other hand, as Judges and others who investigate such matters can attest, the priests do keep their eyes out for useful recruits, and if satisfied with a potential student, do their best -- or worst -- to bring the body into the fold.

Vorgen

Vorgen is god of winter and war. It is said that when his father, Morruin, embraced his fate as god of the dead, he discovered he could not do so fully unless he tore away from his being the passions that might inhibit, and even overrule, the impartiality required of him. This sundering he accomplished, which resulted in the birth of two new gods, Celwayn, goddess of healing, and Vorgen.

Vorgen is popular with warriors of all nations and races. His desire, like theirs, is merely for the glory of battle and the boasting that comes with victory. His temples are likely to be found near warrior guilds, and often will be within or connected to the guilds themselves. His most numerous following is in the far south, centered around the city of Korum, where the nords and other barbarous races regard him as Father Winter.

Priests of Vorgen are so rare as to be virtually unknown. They act much as any warrior, battling, drinking, and relishing the tales of war, and thus are difficult to recognize. More common are his priest-like monks, who are more often wont to battle than to convert. The vast majority of the god's followers, however, are warriors, and they act, too, as his best mouthpiece.

Wyome

Wyome opened her eyes to a world bereft of organism -- full of potential, but empty of growth. Driven by an unfathomed desire to create and explore, the goddess travelled the span of the world breathing new life into what once was lifeless. Today, insects, arachnids, invertebrates, plants, fungi, reptiles, mammals and all manner of life call her 'Mother', and no manner of natural thing beneath the sun would dare harm Wyome or allow her to come to harm.

Wyome represents all things wild and untamed, and her holy places reflect the same. Forests, plains, mountains, deserts, seacoasts, many are Wyome's sanctuaries among the uncivilized parts of the world. If a city or township does maintain a shrine to her, they are careful to place it within a square of wilderness, a park or grove, lest they incur the wrath of the goddess.

Wyome holds no close association with any of the gods, save perhaps for Anue, ruler of seas and storms. Her most devout followers are like her in this respect, oftentimes shying away from 'civilized' areas to live in the forests and wilds which she calls home. Her priests are imbued with great powers to defend and spread her home, and if in cities will oftentimes be in the employment of parks, gardens, and zoos. (Although the keepers might wake one day to find the cages empty and their hired hands gone with the rest of the animals....)