Religion

The Silent Gods

Summary

Though religions have held little importance to most of the Adventurers, that doesn’t take away their very existence. The People of the Land have churches and altars all throughout the land that have been erected in honor of gods whose names have been lost since a time before the Alvs.

The people often sing songs for which they do not know the meaning, but which have passed on and possibly changed over the many generations. This idea of religion holds strong, though it rarely is the center of a society. If asked, the People of the Land express that it was partially thanks to their prayers to the gods, that the Adventurers finally came. That it was in part thanks to their prayers, that they were protected from total annihilation.

The Goddesses

The three main goddesses that are prayed to are not exclusive religions. The People of the Land in Yamato are generally considered poly-theistic, though they lack words to express the relationship of these goddesses to each other. As such, it’s not uncommon for people to pray to one, two, or all three.

The Beautiful One

The Beautiful Goddess is attributed to farming, fertility, and of course, beauty. Her statues tend to display the same thing; a long-haired woman in robes, bound in chains, staring straight out - without a struggle. The people speak of her being bound to forever be beautiful. Others speak of these chains as being bound by a motherly love. Those that pray to her claim that sometimes, in their dreams, they hear the rattle of those chains, before finally finding their soul mate. Farmers claim that long prayers aid in great bounty amongst their stock and agricultural attempts. As such, she’s often found near farming communities and within important social places of the cities.

The Blind One

The Blind Goddess is attributed with luck, and bravery. Her statues tend to display the same thing; a heroic knight of a woman - armored - kneeling on one leg, blindfolded, offering a stone blade to those who stand before her. People who pray to her claim that sometimes they see her eyes open up. Others have stated that they’ve dreamt of being handed that blade, and being imbued with bravery the next morning. Yet, those of the noble life would mention that the Blind One is so unreliable, one is a fool to pray to her. The Blind One is commonly found in places the Adventurers live, in Hunter Guilds, as well as those who are down on their luck. She’s often considered a patron of the Were Fang and Cait Sith.

The Burning One

The Burning One is attributed with war, destruction, and wealth. Her statues tend to display the same thing; a woman in heavy armor, stepping forward from stone ‘flame’, pointing her arm forward. Her bottom half is always partially obscured by the stone ‘flames'. People who pray to her claim that they’ve dreamt of a vision of success in battle. Merchants speak of good tidings in their efforts. The Burning One is most commonly found within noble castles and near barracks and places of trade-importance. She is exceptionally prominent in the Holy Empire Westelande.

The Monstrous Ones

The monstrous gods are those prayed to by the Monsters who have gained enough intelligence to do so. Some are merely used to find obedience and carry no meaning. Yet, adventurers and heroes alike have reported on a few common ones.

The Beast

Though a recent finding. The Beast, or 'The Hound' is represented by a massive canine rearing on its hind legs. Often it’s so monstrous, it’s hard to recognize for what it is. Sometimes it features horns, other times wings. Yet, The Beast is found amongst the monsters who perform massive campaigns of battle.

The Enigma

The Enigma has long been a strange icon found amongst monsters. People have in fact, collected these extremely rare stone statues, crystals, or monstrous skulls. Icons of ‘The Enigma’ have been found held by monsters who behaved in sometimes odd ways. They generally indeed look like puzzle pieces made out of bone or stone; sometimes attached to floating crystals with a green internal light and a ring around it.

Nobody knows their significance, and many would be sooner to destroy them than to deal with these things. But some collectors pay a high price for these artifacts.

All are certain that there is some kind of ‘god’ or religious connotation to these icons, due to the ways monsters have performed ritual acts around them. Chaos and misfortune always follow in the Enigma’s footsteps.