Herragonism

Herragonism (also known as "The New Way") is a polytheistic major religion of the Hjemland Humans worshiped across the fledgling Elmare Human Kingdom. The origins of Herragonism root back to a collection of proto-religions worshipped by the Hjemland Tribes, which were later reformed in a more rigid structure by Herragon, the predominant prophet of Herragonism.

Followers of Herragonism practice various rituals and traditions such as sacrifice (both animal and other sentient intelligent life), totemism and worshipping nature. Since the Humans had only recently sailed to these new lands from their home continent, the faith has not adapted to these new cultures that inhabit the lands, such as the Elves and the Orcs.

God in the Flesh
It is believed that Herragon is a God amongst men, a divine being turned into flesh. Herragonists worship Herragon and consider him to be as high as Ethor. This is a great point of controversy between followers of the New Way and the Old Way. Followers of the Old Way believe such belief is considered to be sinful and those who believe will face great punishment in the afterlife. Herragonists believe that Herragon has been reincarnated several times throughout history and only he may lead the faith.

The Creation of All
It is believed that the universe was created in a cataclysmic event known as Crepitus. Scholars say that the Crepitus was an event in which a a celestial object called the Cosmic Egg had cracked open, giving birth to two polar opposite realms; Ardor and Nix. From the flaming pits of Ardor was born Imperatus, the first of the Fire Giants. The Sagas tell that Imperatus gave birth to more of his kind, the Helcans, after he ripped off his left arm in order to defeat Frothon, the first Dragon, forcing him to later replace it with one made of molten stone. After carving a throne from Frothon's remains, Imperatus proclaimed himself "King of all that existed", which marked the formation of the Kingdom of Helcans within Ardor. Legends describe Imperatus as ambitious and spoke of his intention to take Nix for himself due to his unquenchable lust for power.

Within the ice caverns of Nixhiem were two beings; Primus and Peperit, the Primordial Father and Mother. The two primordial beings birthed two powerful beings whom they named Ethor and Lethor, both brother and sister. Ethor grew to become a great God, making the spear his signature weapon. He took his sister, Lethor, as his bride. As the Helcans began expanding their domain into Nix, he prepared himself for battle, slaying many Helcans, leaving a bloody path in his wake. In the end, only Ethor and Imperatus stood, holding their weapons in their hands ready for battle.

The two celestial beings, bloodied and wounded, held their weapons high, charging into each other. But it was Ethor who stood tall. It was Ethor who plunged the spear right between Imperatus' eyes. It was Ethor who ripped out his heart with his bear hands. Legends say that Imperatus' scream of death shattered solid ice. Ethor and Lethor forged the rocks and the ground of the world with his heart, the waters with his blood and the streets with his hair and skin. Finally, they created humanity from Imperatus' brain. They created the first humans; a man and a woman. From there, humanity populated the world, hunting the creatures that inhabit the world and forming their own empires. But from a tumour upon Imperatus' back was born a different race of people; Dwarves. Ethor called these Dwarven men "tumourborn" and "children of Imperatus", thus birthing an ancient feud between Humans and Dwarves. But Man and Dwarves lived together in the same realm, sometimes in harmony, sometimes at war.

All the Gods await the end times when the great spirits of Ardor will break free and a great war shall begin.

Gunnir Gods
Followers of Herragonism worship multiple Gods, most of them birthed from the siblings Ethor and Lethor. While each God is worshipped to for different reasons, there are also beings who wish to bring terror and destruction to the world. The Gunnir Gods are the more warlike family of gods with a focus on physical combat rather than magic, this clashes in comparison to the Magi Gods who prefer magic-based combat.

Ethor
Ethor is the name given to the highest God. His name roughly translates to "Overgod" from an ancient primordial language used by Herragon's ancestors. He represents power and strength, wielding a spear and clad in full armour. It is believed that he, alongside his sister-wife Lethor, created the world from the remains of the fallen Imperatus. Ethor is also known as the Father of the Gods. He, with his sister-wife, birthed multiple children, each of them being granted the powers of the divine. He is also considered to be the Bringer of the Morning, essentially the Sun God. Ethor is always at the top of totems.

Lethor
Lethor is the Mother of the Gods. She gave birth to all lesser Gods with her brother-husband Ethor. Her name roughly translates to "Divine Mother" from an ancient primordial language used by Herragon's ancestors. She represents peace, fertility and motherly love. Generally, women pray to her in hopes of conceiving children. Lethor is always placed below Ethor upon a totem. She is also considered to be the goddess of sex, love and healing.She is also known as the Bringer of the Night, essentially the Moon Goddess.

El'dron
El'dron is the Storm God. He is the firstborn son of Ethor and Lethor who was birthed after Ethor had defeated Imperatus. He is depicted wielding a hammer named El-khar, which translates to "thunderstrike" from the ancient language used by Herragon's ancestors. El'dron is prayed to generally by sailors to tame the storm. However, he is also prayed to for the wind so it may guide them to their destination. But in his fury, he may call upon the storm to sink the sailors to their doom. Farmers pray to El'dron for rain.

Yldum
Yldum is the War God. He is the only son of El'dron, born to a mortal woman. After he was born, his father had taken him to live with the Gods within the Aether, the realm in which they reside. Yldum was raised to become the War God, skilled with swords and hammers. Warriors pray to Yldum for strength in battle but also to be taken to the Aether, a district within Nix where fallen warriors reside, by the Vylunas, winged women who choose who dies in battle. Yldum commands the Vylunas.

Varalica
Varalica is the Trickster Goddess. She is a daughter of Ethor, born to a female Helcan. None pray to her though there have been reports of cultists attempting to summon her. Varalica is blamed for various tragic events across history such as the death of an ancient unnamed king, who was supposedly seduced by her and then pushed off a cliff by her. It is believed that Varalica and El'dron will battle in the end times. Varalica is also the Fire Goddess. She is half-Helcan, therefore being born within the flames of Ardor.

Azrus
Azrus is the Poet God. He is the son of El'dron and Varalica, a scandalous affair within the divine realms. Azrus was born with a talent for words and linguistics. It is told that whenever his father is in a state of anger, Azrus would read him soothing poetry to get him to stop. People pray to Azrus in search of peace and tranquility within the world. It is believed that when a follower dies a natural death, the Poet God reaches out to their soul and takes them to the Fields of Pacem if they had lived virtuous lives or to Ardor if they had sinned.

Myrkr
The firstborn son of Varalica, Myrkr was the result of a pairing between Varalica and a frost giant. He rules over Myrkrheim, an afterlife in which the deceased who have not died a glorious death in battle are sent to. The ancient tales proclaim him as the God of Death, as well as the caretaker of the weak.

Magi Gods
A secondary family of Gods in the Herragonism Pantheon, the Magi Gods are focused on the use of ranged-magical weaponry and while typically being depicted as the more merciful of gods(barring from some exceptions).

Ivor
A member of the Magi family of the New Way Gods, Ivor is the God of Archery, Hunting, and Snowshoes. However, despite being a God himself, he and other Magi Gods feud with the Gunnir Gods. He varies in Herragonist drawings ranging from a frail archer to a brawny furred covered hunter. During Jól he rides the skies with his ghostly hunting party, striking down demons and men alike.

Gefai
God of Plenty and Giving as well as the Patron God of Seers, he is a prominent member of the Magi Pantheon. Fabled to have been born from the remains of a deer slain by Ivor, he is one of the few gods whose ancestry cannot be traced to another god. He is typically depicted as a towering, stern looking man, wearing a common Herragonist helm with two deer horns jutting out of the sides. It is not unheard of for farmers to pray to Gefair alongside the Gunnir God El'dron.

Sjór
The oldest Magi God, Sjór lays claim to the seas as the God of Rivers, Seas, and Oceans. Sjór is a popular god among Herragonists as many view the calm seas that allowed Humans to cross the Greater Seas as his work. Typically depicted as an elder man dressed in seaweed clothing, Sjór is known as the "wise God" and is generally favoured by Scholars alongside Sailors.

Other Celestial Beings
Alongside the Gods are other more minor beings that wield great power, while typically not worshiped they are both revered and feared in the Sagas.

Custos
Custos is the Guardian of Ardor. He watches over the souls which have been damned to the flames to live out their lives in agony and terror. While he also watches over the damned souls, he ensures that the Helcans are obedient to him and Ethor so that they do not attempt to revolt. Custos was forged by El'dron with his mighty hammer, forming a spirit made of fire and ashes.

The Vylunas
The Vylunas are winged women who choose who dies in battle. They are under the command of Yldum, the War God. Yldum forged the Vylunas from metal and blood. Warriors tend to pray to the Vylunas to take them to the Aether so that they may reside with the Gods after the fury of battle.

Xyvysus
Xyvysus is a mystical beast. Legends say that Varalica had birthed this Dragon after making love to Custos, the Guardian of Ardor. It is believed that Xyvysus is in a permanent state of slumber within Ardor unless Custos is slain. It is believed that in the end times, the Dragon will awaken from his slumber and lay waste to the realm of mortal beings, thus instigating the War of the End.

Gava and Kava
Gava and Kava are twin sisters, both daughters of Varalica. The story goes that they walk among the humans within the realm of mortal beings, bringing kings and emperors alike to their knees in secrecy. They are blamed for the downfall of several lordships and kingdoms.

Galdebjorn
The He-Bear spawn of Varalica, Galdebjorn is a massive bear tied down by chains forged by Dwarves. A being of pure evil, he awaits the day the end times begin so that he may exact his revenge on the very Gods that imprisoned him.

Sacrifice
It is believed that sacrifice is a great tradition that Herragon's ancestors practiced. Followers of Herragon sacrifice animals to the Gods for blessings, however, other followers or non-believers may also be sacrificed to the Gods. While very few people see this as taboo, human sacrifice is widely practiced among followers.

Ethor Dagen
On Ethor Dagen, the Day of Ethor, villages are called upon to make sacrifices of both human and animal. Generally, one pig, one cow, one chicken and one human being is sacrificed to the Gods by having their throats sliced open upon this sacred Day. Ethor Dagen is widely significant because it is believed that he was born upon this particular day of the year.

Jól
A month-long celebration marked by the arrival of the first snow of Winter, Jól is believed to be a time where spirits trapped in Ardor and Myrkrheim are able to breach the fabric separating the mortal worlds for a period to wreak havoc on those who still breathe. On Jól, Herragonists typically wear masks fashioned from fur and bone to trick demons into believing they are also beasts to guarantee their safety. This celebration is typically marked by mass sacrifices of prisoners and livestock in an attempt to appease the bloodlust of the spirits. Jól also marks the traditional time to pray and make sacrifices to Ivor, so that he may spare them if they were to end up in his path.

Yggrdral
At the center of the Herragonist cosmic plane lies the world tree Yggradral, an enormous ash tree that links the Nine Realms of the universe together. While not believed to be able to perceived by mortal eyes, it is viewed as the easiest form of transportation from one realm to another, with Ethor riding his 8 legged she-wolf Ondulv fabled to scour the entirety of Yggradral in search of the Well of Wyrd.

Well of Wyrd
The Well of Wyrd, also known as the Well of Destiny, is a mythological well that resides under the roots of Yggrdral. Rather than being on an actual plane of existence, the Well of Wyrd is instead dispersed throughout the Nine Realms, invisible to the naked eye. In addition to this, it is written in Herragonist Sagas that the Well of Wyrd nourishes Yggrdral with the knowledge of what has happened and what may happen, guiding it's growth throughout the ages.

Old Way Seers, while viewed as heathens by Herragonists, are believed to be more in touch with the Well of Wyrd than their Herragonist counterparts, granting them the ability to view cryptic visions of the past.

Totems
Followers may construct totems of the Gods. For all totems that are created, Ethor is always at the top and Lethor is always below him. People may then choose in which order the other Gods go upon the totem depending upon who they pray to the most or other personal reasons.

Herragonist views on Dwarves
The story goes that the Dwarves were born from a tumour upon Imperatus's back after he had been defeated by Ethor in a great war at the beginning of time. Ethor, the Overgod, saw these beings as abominations, calling them "children of Imperatus" and "tumourborn". However, Ethor forced the Dwarves and Humans to live within the same realm upon the same continent the humans dubbed "Hjemland". The ancient Herragonist sagas state that the two races were constantly in a state of aggression, but at certain points, there were moments of peace.

After the death of Herragon, the faith had become greatly divided, allowing a Dwarven force known as the Al'Aqzam Khazanate, an empire spanning across all of Hjemland controlled by the Al'Aqzam dynasty, to subjugate and hold control over the continent. Because of this, resentment grew within the Herragonists and the minority who followed the Old Way. After more than a century of oppression, humanity began to rise up against the Dwarves in a widespread event known as the Erovringen, in which the humans, though divided, banded together to push the Dwarven thread out of Hjemland.

As a result, humans traditionally grew up with the idea that Dwarves are tyrants and warmongers. Herragonists in particular, while not despise them, hold resentment towards them due to the oppression they had caused to their people. Though, there are certain sects within Herragonism that wish to make peace with Dwarves.