General Religion Overview

The Chonosi

The Chronosi, while mighty beings that seem to be eternal, are not gods. They do not grant spells, and are not worshipped in a traditional sense. The people of Andara do offer rituals, rites, and prayers to the Chronosi, but these are more about appeasement than any sense of spiritual devotion. A sailor might make an offering to the Lightning Lord before a voyage, in hopes of good weather, or a miner might give thanks to the Stone King for a particularly good vein of ore found. But none expect aid or protection from them, and the common understanding is that the Chronosi view the mortal races of Andara as a farmer might view insects – potentially harmful, potentially helpful, but far beneath him regardless.

Nature Worship

Druidism has long been the standard religious option in Andara. The druids worship nature itself as a concept, but do not view it as a deity per say. Nature is not seen as having an identity or personality, merely being a force – albeit one that ultimately champions life and balance. The Church of Omnos is fast surplanting druidism as the religion of the common people, but at this time it is still more common to encounter a Druid in a village or as a spiritual advisor to a local lord rather than an Omnian Priest.

The Ancestor Worship of the Orcs

The orcs of Andara practice a form of ancestor worship. The believe that their ancestors watch over them, and empower them in their time of need. There is substance to these beliefs as they do have a form of clerical magic, and the more specific their lineage the more powerful this magic proves to be. No other race seems to have this particular form of religion.

The Church of Omnos

“Valnar the sorcerer was being hunted through the Kadic Wastes by a band of particularly vicious Reavers.  Out of spells and grievously wounded he slipped into a ravine.  Recognizing that his wounds were mortal and his hiding place obvious he lay down at the bottom and resigned himself to his fate. While waiting for death from Reavers or blood loss his eye chanced upon a book half buried in sand. As he opened the ancient yet still sturdy tome the strange writing swam before his eyes and became legible. Finding it to be a religious text, he fervently read out the prayer he found within and was healed.  Overcome with sudden emotion, he pledged his life to the strange God of the book. The sky darkened and a strong wind picked up, tearing through the Wastes, and building into a sudden storm. Just as quickly as it began it disappeared, and so too had the Reavers.” – from The Lives of the New Saints, by Lucratian

The book Valnar found was titled Basic Prayer and Ritual of the Priesthood, Volume 3. Volumes 1, 4, and 5 have since been found. The combined texts are referred to as the Libram, and are the center of the Faith of Omnos. The Libram is obviously a relic of an ancient and forgotten Church, and while it tells us much it is far from comprehensive in its theology and liturgy. References are made to other books and materials which have not been found and indeed maybe lost to the fog of time. The Church refers to the original lost Church as the Mystery.

It has been over two hundred years since Valnar was miraculously saved in the Kadic Wastes. He came out of that experience a changed man who devoted the rest of his life to spreading the faith of Omnos. The new religion quickly spread, and now roughly a third of the population of the continent is Omnian. Four other individuals heard the teachings of Valnar and became powerful evangelists in their own right. These five proclaimers (including Valnar) were known as the New Saints, new because the Libram names and suggests the existence of Saints from the time of Mystery. Their writings have established most of what is held as theological truth today, but acknowledge the derivative and secondary nature of their works. The collected canonical writings of the New Saints are referred to as the Key of Omnos; further writings once canonized are collected as the Lesser Key of Omnos.

The Church of Omnos is divided into five regions based on geography (originally) and political entities (more recently). Each region is led by an Archbishop who presides over a council of Bishops who in turn serve above Priests and Clerics. The various monk orders are led by an Abbott who reports to an Archimandrite who is for all intents a Bishop and serves on the Bishops Council as an equal. The ultimate (temporal) authority of the Church is the Archbishops Summit, which convenes annually.

The Faith of Omnos is broad, being focused around six central tenants: 1) that there is one God, Omnos, and 2) he created the world, 3) that the world is corrupted and flawed contrary to Omnos’ plan, 4) that Omnos has no body but is represented by light (and thus light is sacred), 5) that music is a reflection of the voice and action of Omnos, and 6) that Omnos wishes and seeks to bestow joy and love. These tenants leave much room for interpretation and variety most commonly exhibited by the leadership of the various Bishops and Archimandrites.  For example, some see pacifism as the best way to honor and worship Omnos; others feel protection and justice to be more important; still others view outreach to the poor and downtrodden to be the highest calling.

There are also Martial Orders dedicated to the Worship of Omnos, some of which contain Clerics in their ranks. These organizations are independent of Church Hierarchy, but willingly submit to the Archbishops Summit. Indeed many of them are in fact seen as Monastic in nature and are in turn led by an ordained Abbott.

The Church accepts all races, but seems to have hit a particular chord within humanity. Most Omnians are human, and where there has been political or religious persecution of the Church of Omnos it has been human culture that instigated it. From a evangelizing stand point the Church has by and large adopted an attitude of patience. There has never been an attempt to covert by the sword; instead the Church quietly sends a priest into an area or community. That priest builds a church and becomes active as a healer and source of charity, and waits for the community to come around to belief when they are ready.

Demon Worship

There are demons in Andara. They are not common, more folklore and whispered tales than verified and encountered fact, but they are out there. No one knows from where they came or how they came to be, but they are worshiped by the vilest of beings and summoned by the foulest conjurers. (Meta info: powerful demons can and do grant cleric spells to their worshipers. Records of demons go all the way back to the Kinslayer War, but angels were unknown until Valnar started the Church of Omnos).