Post by gamedave on Oct 22, 2012 19:25:41 GMT -5
THE OLD WAYS
The oldest religion in Andoroth is the worship of the four primal gods of the elements, Aq, Au, Ig, and Te. Collectively, this religion is known as the Old Ways.
Most priests of the Old Ways are druids, and most druids are priests of the Old Ways. However, the primal gods do attract a few clerics and oracles, and a few druids do worship the Empyrean Gods.
NOTE: Andoroth druids who choose a domain for their nature bond may choose Sun as well as those listed in the Core Rulebook.
The Old Ways emphasize respect for the natural world, and the natural cycles, of the tides, of day and night, the turning of the seasons, and of life and death. Worship usually occurs in spots of natural beauty and wonder, such as a forest glen, the top of a commanding hill, the base of a mighty waterfall, or a wave-wracked promontory. Those who follow the Old Ways celebrate minor holidays at the new and full moons, and major holidays on the equinoxes and solstices.
Worship sometimes takes the form of simple veneration, but almost always includes some form of sacrifice, appropriate to the occasion. At the spring equinox, which is also the planting festival, some of the seeds of the new year’s crop will typically be offered to the gods, while at the autumnal equinox and harvest festival, a portion of the harvest will be sacrificed. In some communities, especially among the orc tribes, the sacrifice may be in the form of blood. This may range from a mostly symbolic bloodletting of the priest himself to outright human sacrifice.
The four primal gods of the Old Ways are considered minor, subordinate gods by followers of the Empyrean Gods, but followers of the Old Ways know them as the four fundaments of the world itself. Aq, Au, Ig, and Te do not merely rule over the four elements, they are those elements personified. Unlike the Empyrean Gods, the primal gods of the Old Ways are often depicted in abstract, genderless form. When they do take on a gender, each may be depicted as male, female, or a combination of both. However, Aq and Te are more often depicted as female and Au and Ig as male.
Aq, water, is the god of the sea, of rivers, lakes and streams, of birth and life, of animals and all that drink or swim. Aq is as constant as the tides but as changeable as the waves. The raging river, which chaotically overflows its banks and overturns the order of the land, but does so the same time every year, which brings the destruction of flooding, but out of that the birth of new life, embodies the contradiction that is Aq. Aq grants her clerics the domains of Water, Animal, Destruction, Healing, and Madness, and her oracles the mysteries of Life, Nature, and Waves.
Au, air, is the god of the sky, of clouds and wind and rain, of thought and dreams. Au is the breath of life. You can extinguish fire, dam water, and excavate earth, but you cannot contain air. When you wake, you think; when you sleep, you dream. Au is always with you, and if you are with Au, you can be anywhere. We are born from Aq, and return in death to Te, but we live in Au, and Au lives in us. Au grants his clerics the domains of Air, Knowledge, Liberation, Travel, and Weather, and his oracles the mysteries of Lore, Nature, and Wind.
Ig, fire, is the god of the sun, of the fire above and the fire within, of passions, of love and hate. Ig burns brightly. He gives us the strength of body to overcome physical obstacles, and the strength of soul to overcome spiritual challenges. He grants his clerics the domains of Fire, Charm, Protection, Strength, and Sun, and his oracles the mysteries of Flame, Heavens, and Nature.
Te, earth, is the god of soil and stone, of that which is in, on, or under the ground, of plants that grow from the earth and the bodies of the dead that return to it. Te is the god of the dead, but is not a grim and violent god; she is the warm embrace of respite and repose, the dark resting place of the soul before it returns to the world above through Aq. Te grants her clerics the domains of Earth, Darkness, Death, Plant, and Repose, and her oracles the mysteries of Bones, Nature, and Stone.
The oldest religion in Andoroth is the worship of the four primal gods of the elements, Aq, Au, Ig, and Te. Collectively, this religion is known as the Old Ways.
Most priests of the Old Ways are druids, and most druids are priests of the Old Ways. However, the primal gods do attract a few clerics and oracles, and a few druids do worship the Empyrean Gods.
NOTE: Andoroth druids who choose a domain for their nature bond may choose Sun as well as those listed in the Core Rulebook.
The Old Ways emphasize respect for the natural world, and the natural cycles, of the tides, of day and night, the turning of the seasons, and of life and death. Worship usually occurs in spots of natural beauty and wonder, such as a forest glen, the top of a commanding hill, the base of a mighty waterfall, or a wave-wracked promontory. Those who follow the Old Ways celebrate minor holidays at the new and full moons, and major holidays on the equinoxes and solstices.
Worship sometimes takes the form of simple veneration, but almost always includes some form of sacrifice, appropriate to the occasion. At the spring equinox, which is also the planting festival, some of the seeds of the new year’s crop will typically be offered to the gods, while at the autumnal equinox and harvest festival, a portion of the harvest will be sacrificed. In some communities, especially among the orc tribes, the sacrifice may be in the form of blood. This may range from a mostly symbolic bloodletting of the priest himself to outright human sacrifice.
The four primal gods of the Old Ways are considered minor, subordinate gods by followers of the Empyrean Gods, but followers of the Old Ways know them as the four fundaments of the world itself. Aq, Au, Ig, and Te do not merely rule over the four elements, they are those elements personified. Unlike the Empyrean Gods, the primal gods of the Old Ways are often depicted in abstract, genderless form. When they do take on a gender, each may be depicted as male, female, or a combination of both. However, Aq and Te are more often depicted as female and Au and Ig as male.
Aq, water, is the god of the sea, of rivers, lakes and streams, of birth and life, of animals and all that drink or swim. Aq is as constant as the tides but as changeable as the waves. The raging river, which chaotically overflows its banks and overturns the order of the land, but does so the same time every year, which brings the destruction of flooding, but out of that the birth of new life, embodies the contradiction that is Aq. Aq grants her clerics the domains of Water, Animal, Destruction, Healing, and Madness, and her oracles the mysteries of Life, Nature, and Waves.
Au, air, is the god of the sky, of clouds and wind and rain, of thought and dreams. Au is the breath of life. You can extinguish fire, dam water, and excavate earth, but you cannot contain air. When you wake, you think; when you sleep, you dream. Au is always with you, and if you are with Au, you can be anywhere. We are born from Aq, and return in death to Te, but we live in Au, and Au lives in us. Au grants his clerics the domains of Air, Knowledge, Liberation, Travel, and Weather, and his oracles the mysteries of Lore, Nature, and Wind.
Ig, fire, is the god of the sun, of the fire above and the fire within, of passions, of love and hate. Ig burns brightly. He gives us the strength of body to overcome physical obstacles, and the strength of soul to overcome spiritual challenges. He grants his clerics the domains of Fire, Charm, Protection, Strength, and Sun, and his oracles the mysteries of Flame, Heavens, and Nature.
Te, earth, is the god of soil and stone, of that which is in, on, or under the ground, of plants that grow from the earth and the bodies of the dead that return to it. Te is the god of the dead, but is not a grim and violent god; she is the warm embrace of respite and repose, the dark resting place of the soul before it returns to the world above through Aq. Te grants her clerics the domains of Earth, Darkness, Death, Plant, and Repose, and her oracles the mysteries of Bones, Nature, and Stone.