Religion

Religion
As there are many races that populate the planet, it should come as no surprise that there is no uniform god throughout; rather, there is a family of gods that are worshipped, one or two respectfully for each race. Thus, there is one relgion, followed in different ways. Most races follow those that created them, and normally hybrid children are expected to make their own choice of worship when they grow older. This is not always the case, however. The gods are as follows:

Lajos: Leader of the god family. He created the sun, and is known for his dislike of the humaniod races. He did not create a race, who would be known as his "children."

The Dark Queen: One of the oldest gods, she was given responibilty to oversee hell, and to punish the wicked souls when they died. However, too many years of witnessing and creating bloodshed have taken their toll, and she is now insane, a goddess it is best to avoid. Creator of demons, along with her god husband, the Dark Prince.

Luna: Leader of the goddesses within heaven, she is a warrior that prefers actions over words. She assisted in the creation of the planet, and also created the moons and the Airdan race (This is the goddess Tommy worships).

Leth: A mysterious god, known for his sharklike qualities and his insistance that most of the planet should be covered with water. Co-creator of the planet, cold currents, and Aquadarians.

Leia: Leth's twin sister, and a voice of reason among the gods. She is a creator of the planet, warm currents, and Aquadarians.

Tiamat: A powerful goddess in her own right, she helped in the creation of the planet, but at one time nearly destroyed it as well. She is known as the mother of dragons, and is creator of the madrian race. Her status is currently unknown, and she has been more or less forgotten by the modern world.

Chiara: A goddess that is sly by nature, and is apt to change her mind at the slighest whim. Like Lajos, she has no race; however, she is to be respected for her creation of weather patterns.

Slax'mor: He is by far one of the gods that worry the least, and is always willing to assist his people-not that they need much help. He created the Sythorian race, and also ensured that all species could perceive the world through all of their senses.

Yuu: This is a god that would rather not be disturbed, thinking people are best left to live by their own terms. Creator of the Shika.

Grenda: She is, unlike her senior goddesses, one that perfers the simple things in life. It is no wonder that she created the mountain ranges, and the Trolls.

Appius: It is best not to cross this one--he has a vile temper, and less paitence than a five year old. He is the creator of swamps, and what is known simply as the Undead race.

Godric: A dull god, and one that is the butt of many jokes. He created the human race; some critics believe he was also the creator of greed.

Lucien: He is a quiet, thoughtful god, younger than the first wave. He is the creator of the grass plains, and the Cera race.

Ana Tanashi: A very happy, peace loving god, he's more likely to seduce his enemies with kindness than fight. He created the Kokili race, the desert--and, if rumor is correct, sexual pleasure. Lucien is his twin brother, and Azu his wife. (Dake is his follower).

Azucenca: A sensual creature that is almost a little too friendly with people. She is the creator of most insects and animals upon the planet, as well as the Aceri race. She is also married to Ana Tanashi, and a patron to lesbians, no matter what race.

Malachi: A relitively new god, he is friendly, if a bit perverted and enjoys a good time above all. He has been known to visit the planet more often then the all of the other gods combined, and when called upon will assist as much as possible--though more often then not the person will be molested and frustrated for their troubles. He is not a creator, per se, but a protector god, most often assoicated with a minor southern human race that claims to have dragon blood running through their veins.

On god creation and the godborn
It is agreed that all of the gods were created millions of years ago. However, theories as to how they were created vary from culture to culture. Some say that the gods created themselves; others state that they were created by a single diety--either by Lajos (as he is the leader of the god family) or by a more powerful diety. It is not often discussed in the modern world though, as there are other parts of relgious debate that are considered to be more important. There is a concess though that all of the gods, but for the one mentioned below, helped in the certain in the planet, its moon, and in the solar system in which the world is placed.

Texts on the subject of the gods agree that there was a firstwave of gods, followed by a second, during the creation period. While there have been gods known to go missing for a time, one thing is important to know: with only one expection, there has been no additions to the god family. Malachi would be that exception. His is a very unusal case; he was adopted into the god family, rather then being created like the others. He was born from one of the orginal gods, and after many ordeals and trials (some of which nearly had him killed) he was granted god status.

That is not to say that he is the only one born of gods, or one of the first. He was not even one of the last. According to some legends, gods did not stay often in heaven as they do now; long ago they were often indiscreet with their liaisons with those living on the planet plane. Thus resulting in children, as such altercations produce. They were known, no matter their race, as the Godborn. They are not, as one may think, a race of their own--instead, they are mainly just the bastard children of gods. For the most part, they are similar to their mortal parents, in both lifespan and appearence. They often have a minor talent for magic, an off-shoot of their god parents' abilites that develops from, depending, five years or older. Often, these abilities are based from an element. Although, there are certains cases with other odd abilities, such as heightened senses or poison in the spit or blood. It is more of a difficulty then a marvel; often it causes a great deal of grief for the child, especially as they grow older. Usually, the child will have many hardships, by the power of their blood, were not meant to live on the planet. This can cause insanity. These days they are few and far between, most of them having died out of natural causes. A person is more likely to be hit by lighting then to meet one of the Godborn. Contact with their god parent often occurs, but not always.

The After Life
Most of the races agree that there is an after life that occurs, however briefly. However, while there is the agreement that there is a Heaven and a Hell, and the dead are transported to the next life by soul gathers (or in the case of the fish tailed, by Leth or Leia) there is a debate among the races as to who is destined for the Dark Queen's realm. All agree that killers are sent there for torment and repenting, as well as rapists; after that it gets murky, varying from religion to religion. There is a system used by soul gathers and the gods that people are not aware of:

Red: They are simply the Damned. They will be send to Hell, to repent. The lighter cases are processed, and eventually are either sent to Heaven, or reborn, depending on their choice. Worse cases are forced to stay as they die repeatedly, and often, due to exposure to the realm, become a lesser grade of demon.

Yellow: The undecided. They have done evil in their life, but have good lives otherwise, and may wish to repent. Most likely they will have to perform services in Heaven before making the choice to be reborn or stay.

Blue: For those that have been good, and/or innocent. Often reserved for the faithful, the meek, and those that have not harmed others throughout their life. They get the first choice of whether they want to stay in heaven or be reincarnated.

There are those who do not always follow this norm. These people become ghosts. Ghosts are the dead that either refuse to leave the planet, or are forced to stay as a form of punishment (sometimes for souls placed in the yellow class). The former is the case of Adalia Rahal; due to the events in Hidukul's life she is too worried to leave his side. It is not a practice encouraged by the gods, but rarely do the ghosts care.

Religious Texts
There is more than one set of text for each god of worship--and the debate of which is the best has continued for as long species have learned of each other, and found each other different. The oldest text is considered to be the God Chronicles. The author of the God Chronicles has been lost to time, but is suspected to be of Madiern origin. There are only a few scrolls left in existence. They speak of the family of the gods, the creation of the gods and the world, demons, and countless other topics. Historians believe that the more modern texts--meaning those that were written in the last few thousand years--are based on the stories within this first book. However, the rules each is based on are not the same. The books considered the most unique, but the most published are the ones belonging to Humans. Unfortunately this is not a good thing as the Humans tend to promote inequailty in many ways. Their texts are heavy on bigotry, and prompt racial supremacy and a sexist view towards females.

Role of the Clergy
The clergy are the holders of the relgious texts: priests and church officials. They are often in charge of charities, hospitals for the poor, orphanages, and soup kitchens. There are many differences betweeen all of the priests and priestesses across the globe--such as:

Aceri: They tend to worship the balance of nature, influenced by their god Azucenca. Each year the young priestesses that are to take their vows are taken to anicent caves where they are said to meet with the goddess, and deemed worthy to join her service.

Cera: Similar to the Aceri in their insistence for balence, the priests are also careful in regulating the rules of certain animals that are to be hunted in the area.

Kokili: Kokili are rather informal in their worship. They are encouraged to be thankful for all that they have, no matter how little they actually posess. Often if they want some favor from their god, they will offer something shiny.

Airdans: Priests are known to make vows of chastity, and to give themselves wholly to Luna. That being said, however, within Luna's fellowship there is a promotion for the universal person--that of the thinker that also takes care of their body (though the term has been emphasized as universal man since Hidukul's rule).

Trolls: The preists are also farmers of a sort, as Grenda gave unto the Earth the blessing of soil. Priests and priestesses often go without shoes, and are often champions of the Earth and her enviornment.

Sythorians: Sythorians are incredibly lax in their religion. If you are going to live, why waste time talking about things no one wants to think about?

Human: Many long and boring sermons where no one actually learns anything and everyone except religious zealots usually sleep through.

Shika: Often stressing the need for inner balance, these priests and their followers pray to their god via sex.

Undead: Little is known about how the undead are even organized, as often they are known to be solitary creatures. Still, it is rumored that they often make blood sacrifices to their god, both with living creatures and dead.

Role of Shaman
Currently the only known living shaman is Samsol Thaitos, last of the Madierns. Even over five thousand years ago shaman, protectors and god tools were rare. Shaman differ from priests in that they carry out the will of the gods directly, though they can take on priestly roles if need be. However, there are drawbacks to this power, which will be covered by this section.

Shaman give up their lives in order to serve the gods and the people. In these duties, commonly they assist others with day to day living, mostly in the medical field by tending of injuries, midwiving, and training others in self defence or educating. However, they are also immortal demon hunters. Because of an ancient treaty gods themselves cannot destroy demons. Therefore, shaman and their spirit partners are the tools that deal with problems of the demonic variety.Very few are trained in this profession, and even fewer are born with the abilities. Shaman can be recognized by the tattoos covering most of their bodies--an oath to serve the gods written upon their very skin.

There are, of course, tiers to this system--as there are within most societies. They are as follows:

Elemental Witch: It is a gender nuetral term. The lowest tier, in which the person may stop aging. They have power over an element but may master more than one if they are incredibly skilled. They do not have a connection to the gods like the shaman do, but are expected to use their powers for the betterment of society, rather then themselves.

Shaman: Higher than the elemental witches and more common, shaman are the protectors and healers. They have power over the elements, and powers bestowed by the gods as well. They are able to control their spirit partner (the spirit partner is a piece of its shaman's soul, born in Heaven), guide the dead, open the portal to hell and the Otherworld, detect the loud thoughts of those around them, heal the sick, bind and banish demons, and are granted the prevention of death by aging or sickness. Like the witches shaman are expected to serve the gods and society before thinking of themselves. Though this does not mean they're chaste, other things must be considered--such as pride and greed--in taking the vows. It can be a lonely life, but also a rewarding one.

Warriors: In essence, this is the highest honor and rank a shaman may acquire. If the shaman is found suitable then a god may take the shaman and make them their representative on the planet. Not only are they marked as part of the god, but are given a 'blessing'--a lesser aspect of the god's power (for example, if they are a warrior of Lajos, then they would be able to call upon the light of the sun, which may be used to elimate demons). Also, there is a thought/emotion connection between the the god and the warrior. They can sense each other's moods and speak with each other. Samsol was considered as a candidate for warriorship, but the idea was set aside due to his fall from grace.