Faith throughout the Broken Worlds

Faith in the broken worlds come in two general forms. Firstly there is faith in the elements; these are groups of people who respect the power of the world around them, be it the unpredictable and violent nature of the storms, the calming and ordering influence of the mist, or the life giving properties of the fragments.

The other type of faith is the more organised faith, the belief in higher authorities, with theology and scripture. Below are a few of these faiths which have developed across a number of fragments. Of course your clan’s religion can be pretty much anything you feel like; most clans will have some kind of creation myth, story of how the world is as it is, or dream of paradise. Who knows? Yours might even be true.

As the mists swirl and patterns emerge, the mist calls out to man. The worshippers of the mist listen to this sound (often doped up to the eyeballs) looking for the fate of the world in the depths of the mists. The calm seas of the mist below them is the calm sea of death, contained in that expanse is the souls of countless ancestors who have gone before them and died on the broken worlds. They believe that if a live man descends into the mists he will be driven mad by the shear mass of history contained within.

Many admire the power of the storms their shear untameable energy and the power within. However Storm worshippers believe the storms can be read, and put a lot of stock by the colour of the day. They believe this is the gods communicating with them as to the correct tasks for that day. An indigo day is for affairs at home, green for fieldwork, bronze for construction. White days are a bad omen, and generally too hot to do anything.

The nature of belief of the common farmer is that he wants his crops to grow big and strong, that the seasons will come at the right times. They often believe in a cycle of life, that we are born, we then work the land, making it fertile and bountiful, which in turn makes their life easier, and when we die we return to the fragments to give back the life it gave us. But it is not just this. In this broken world the elements seem to be stacked against the individual, nothing is constant, and change is never far away. The most the common man wants is that his family will be safe tomorrow, that they won't be hungry. This type of worship is for the common man who doesn't want or need to understand higher matters. Just that tomorrow will be much the same as today, that they will just survive. Farmers pray for rain, mothers for their son's safe return from his adventure, children for their parent’s good health. The worship and respect of nature is always important.

Many people want to believe in life after death, that our love ones are still connected in some way to our world still. That somehow our ancestors still have a way of guiding us, and it is important to keep them close. These people venerate their dead, building them monuments to house the remains of their forbearers, who they believe watch over them, and guide their steps. This form of veneration can take many different forms, from direct worship to strong respect. The afterlife and the process of getting there is never far from the mind of an ancestor worshipper.

There are many organised faiths across the broken worlds, who believe they have the true word of God(s). Below are two examples, to get you started.

The Hetonian are a polytheistic religion, each of their gods represents an emotion. Long ago Curio, goddess of curiosity, gave humans her power, the power to appreciate the world around them. They started to think about things, how the trees bore fruit at certain times of fragment cycles, how other animals seem to move about. Delighted with her discovery, she showed the other Gods, some of her close friends. They also gave their power to Humans. Logan, God of logic, gave Humans the ability to reason and to plan for the future; Riannah, Goddess of relations, allowed them to develop bonds with each other, affection or hatred; Kor, god of understanding, gave them the ability to communicate.

However, not all the Gods were as happy. Odir, God of Order, Rhenear, God of respect and most importantly Lahmir, Goddess of Life didn't approve; these humans didn't fit in with their idea of the world. They took all they could from the world giving nothing back, they had no respect. They didn't follow rules; they had free will and were unpredictable. They had no order. They held no value to life, fluttering it away with their petty schemes and selfish desires; they could not see their position in life in general.

This sparked a war among the Gods, between those who would let them keep their newfound intelligence to see what they would do, what they would achieve, left to their own devices, and those who would return them to what they were. The battle lines were drawn and a massive battle ensued. The power brought to bear in this conflict is unimaginable, but the outcome was clear; the world below them was destroyed, the complete world that had existed before shattered into innumerable pieces. All that is known of the outcome was that Odir, Rhenear and Lahmir were captured. With their generals taken, the forces that backed them surrendered.

Then came the task of dealing with great three. If they were allowed to remain then they would surely just cause more trouble. The first to be removed was Odir, but with his execution the fabric of the world ruptured. The balance he had held for eternity was broke. The universe split down the middle. On one side the calm order of the mists. The other the raw unpredictability of the storms. Next to be dealt with was Lahmir, though as they were reluctant to destroy the source of life the Gods debated imprisonment. With the thought of an eternity imprisoned Lahmir took her own life, cursing all living creature with mortality, the ability to die.

With his two friends removed Rhenear gave in, too much damage had been done to the world with their feud. The others agreed; the complete loss of respect from the world would be irreplaceable. Without respect this fledgling species would drive itself to extinction, so Rhenear rejoined the Gods, and gave his gift to man, so they would respect the gods for the wonders they had been given.

In time gone by there was the Creator. He created a world of endless beauty, creatures great and small lived in harmony and at the heart of this was man his stewards. He gave them the gift of intellect, the ability to reason, and consciousness, the ability to identify one’s self. With these gifts man flourished in the perfect world, content with his lot, every prayer answered by their almighty. But then something happened that the Creator did not expect, for with every whim catered for man developed lust. Man began to take more than he needed, always lusting after more, and his hunger for more things freely given was unquenchable. Then some new corruption ensued; Hatred. Murdez, a man like any other, with all he could wish for, wanted to be special. He wanted so much more than anyone else that this lust developed into hate. His hate for those had more kept growing, and he started to take from others, until one day he took the life of another.

The first Murder. It shocked the creator to his very core. He never expected his creation to be so destructive. It broke his heart. So much he never recovered. He wept for his creation, for what he had such high hopes. That which had broken his dreams. He contemplated wiping the slate clean, starting again. But he couldn't do it. He didn't have the destructive capability of his creation. Unable to destroy his creation, yet unable to continue watching over, with such hatred it had developed. The creator, for lack of a better word, died. And with this creation fell to pieces.

The Apocalonans seek to return humanity to its original state, in penance of the disrespect shown to the creator who gave them all they wanted. They preach humility, conservation and non-materialism.