Gods of Heimr
All gods on Heimr are actually two gods (or one god with two sides, no mortal knows exactly how it works). One evil god and one good god. These are often called "sides". If a god is in balance than both sides are equally strong. If a god is evil or good oriented than the evil or good side of that god is stronger than the other side. But the other side still exists and still wields godly powers of course! The two sides of one god actively combat each other and most of the time their followers combat each other as well, unless the god as a whole is weak at the moment and can't afford the luxury of in-fighting. In such a case a temporary peace is often negotiated between the religions branches of the good and the evil side.
Although good worship of a god is often more prevalent throughout a culture; evil worship of a god might be just (or even more) as favoured by the populace in some cases, although usually more covert.
Some cultures even openly(!) worship the evil side of a good far in favour of the good side of a god. Most ogres tribes for instance, far more frequently worship the evil side of Wana than the good side of Wana, without taking care to conceal this fact from their fellow ogres.
||=Race|=Creator|=Portfolio|=Gender
= Ratish | First Orc | n/a | Spirit, Balance, Battle, Morality, Freedom. | Male |
= Gataur | First Telurrian | n/a | Earth, Strength, Community, Craftsmanship. | Male |
= Talor | First Human | n/a | Air, Knowledge, Logic, Trade. | Male |
= Danu | First Fae | n/a | Fire, Magic, Expression, Fertility. | Female |
= Januri | First Merfolk | n/a | Water, Love, Seafearing, Beauty. | Female |
=Primary Gods |
||=Race|=Creator|=Portfolio|=Gender
= Wana | First Ogre | Ratish | Slaughter, Disease, Hunting. | Female |
= Ganinisum | First Gnome | Gataur | Gezelligheid/Hospitality, Humour, Civilization. | Male |
= Ranimsul | First Halfling | Talor | Caution, Diplomacy, Resolve. | Male |
= Uastra | First Elf | Danu | Tradition, Harvest, Preservation. | Female |
= Vanessa | First Nymph | Januri | Pleasure, Seduction, Travel. | Female |
=Secondary Gods |
||=Race|=Creator|=Portfolio|=Gender
= Tal'Kinita | First Troll | Wana | Decay, Rest, Ancestry. | Female |
= Zalsz | First Lizardman | Ganinisum | Time, Destruction, Engineering. | Male |
= Tahordyn | First Feyfolk | Ranimsul | Protection, Charity, Temperance. | Female |
= Nantillion | First Shanata | Uastra | Health, Challenge, Independence. | Male |
= Sin | First Slemmering | Vanessa | Dreaming, Revolt, Intoxication. | Indeterminate. |
=Tertiary Gods |
Other religious topics
- Divine Beings can only perform
- Good (angels) or Evil (demons) acts. The performance of these acts by mortals eventually puts their soul into one or more of the
- Divine realms in their afterlives.
Forms of religion
General forms
- standard worship based on race. This can be either good or evil worship.
- higher worship based on creator.
- situational worship based on the situation at hand.
- cult worship some people worship a specific part of a god, or worship a god differently than the general organized religions demand. This is called cult worship and although most cults worship the evil side of gods, not all do. Most cults operate in secret, but not all. Since sometimes there is no general organized religion (as is the case with most tribal races) around a god, every branch of worship of that god can be called a cult. However: most of the time, these regional, tribal or inter clan variations are not named cults for practical reasons, and to avoid insulting the local worshippers.
- summoning is not really worship at all but pacts and agreements between mortals and angels or demons are usually formed trough summoning rituals. Sometimes the angel or demon is forced into an agreement trough summoning. A dangerous activity.
Special Utgardian forms
- wild shamanism The "original" religion of the orcs . (Although it is popular among Ogres as well).
- post-revolution shamanism A popular compromise between general worship of Ratish and the original religion of the orcs. (Or Wana, in the case of Ogres).
- wild ancestral worship The "original" religion of the trolls .
- post-revolution ancestral worship A popular compromise between general worship of Tal'Kinita and the original religion of the trolls.
Allot of mixed variations of post-revolution and wild versions of these two religions exist. This sparks many debates and sometimes conflicts between the worshippers, priests, shamans and wise men of the many different branches.