Archive:Havenian Pantheon
 | This article contains information about the previous version of Alathra. It has been permanently archived and given a protected status to prevent any further edits. |
Premise
The cult of the Havenian Pantheon is a polytheistic religion that has only been recently put in written form, being passed on from generation to generation in oral tradition by the Havenian Priests, the "Holders of the Myths".
Followers of the Havenian Pantheon believe in the existence of all the gods that make up it's Pantheon, but may chose to only worship some of them, usually aligning themselves with the divinity closer to their occupation/lifestyle (a soldier may be a strong worshipper of Militia or Sago, while a farmer might say his prayers to Tago or Sema, yet they will all take part in the common festivities).
Believers in the Pantheon are required to take part in various rituals, undergone with the hope of gaining some of the divinitie's favour or wisdom.
Places of cult are many and varied. Temples to a specific or more divinities may be built, or followers may gather near statues representing their god, praying or demanding their help. Temples are usually tended to by Priests, who hold most of the yet to be written myths.
Divinities
The divinities that make up the Pantheon are divided in "hierarchies", that are divided as follows (in order of importance):
Gods of the Cycle
The most ancient, and thus powerful, of the gods. These ancestral divinities are the staples on which the world stands. While no official "hierarchy" is in place, Sun is considered to be the first and strongest, while Man is considered to be the youngest. These higher beings rarely bother interacting with mortals, but may deem the purest of them worthy of trial, the prize being becoming one of their direct subjects. The Gods of the Cycle each have direct control and power over their Courts (which take the name of the respective gods), where they call for meeting their Gods of the Courts to direct and guide them.
The literature surrounding the Gods of the Cycle is referred to as the "Ancient Texts". These tend to be structured as songs, whose metric and notes are lost to time. An example of these songs is the "Song of Birth", detailing the birth of the World and the first Ascension.
Cycle Gods
- God of the Sun
- God of the Wind
- God of the Water
- God of the Life
- God of Man
Gods of the Cradle of the Canyons, or Gods of the Courts
Once mortals, these divinities have achieved Godhood by going through trials or dilemmas that put their purity and self sacrifice to the test, with the betterment of Mortal life as an objective. The price for godhood is usually self sacrifice in the name of public good. Between all the divinities, they are the ones more likely to interact with mortals, either to help, guide or admonish those who they deem worth interacting with. They also tend to interact with each other, often discussing in the courts they are a part of, or by chance meetings in the mortal world. Some of them are or have been in relationships, and some of them have generated offspring, known as "Demigods".
The literature describing the Gods of the Courts is divided in three big groups: The Cycle of the Canyons, divided in volumes, describing the ascensions of the first gods, The Meetings, in which meetings between Divinities and Humans alike are described, and the New texts, a collection of songs, stories and other literature describing various myths and situations pertaining the gods and their doings.
Court Gods
- Tago, god of Day and Night (The walking god, in the court of the Sun)
- Akuo, god of Rivers and Wellness (The straining god, in the court of the Water)
- Militia, goddess of War and Honor (The bleeding god, in the court of Man)
- Juro, god of Law and Forgiveness (The kneeling god, in the court of Man)Sema, goddess of Fertility and Farming (The split goddess, in the court of Life)
- Nefes, goddess of Clouds and Seasons (The juggling goddess, in the court of Wind)
- Sago, god of Hunting and Archery (The running god, in the court of Man)Apoteko, god of Science and Medicine (The reading god, in the court of Life and in the court of Man)
Demigods
Sons and daughters of ascended gods. Because of their "divine" origins, they rarely have spent any time with Mortals, and thus rarely interact with them. Most of their interactions with common folk come from curiosity or playfulness. They are hardly worshipped, their cults usually consisting of very small communities with a strong cultural tie to the god.
Most of the literature regarding Demigods is comprised of Songs, for example, a well known song is the "Song of Ormo", a song describing the birth and life of the Demigod of Storms.
Demigods
- Klipso, Daughter of Tago and Sema (Demigoddess of eclipses)
- Ormo, son of Nefes and Sago (Demigod of storms)
Wise Lords, commonly referred to as "Devils*"
While Devil may have a negative connotation in common language, Havenian Devils are not inherently evil. They are called Wise lords because of their, as the name suggests, wisdom, which was earned by learning from their mistakes. They are usually men and women who have gone to great lenghths to go against the ideals of purity, good and generally have caused great suffering to themselves and those around themselves. They reign over primordial needs of Mortals, such as Hunger and Sleep. While they may often be called upon to control said needs, they are rarely worshipped, but some small sanctuaries or statues of them can be found in older cities.
The birth, doings and teachings of the Devils are collected in the books of the Cycle of Wisdom.
Devils
- Sango, Lord of Violence
- Sigi, Lord of Lust
Myths and Historic Texts
Many historic texts exist in the Havenian Pantheon in the Haven Archives. Copies will be available for distribution for all who wish to follow.