Religion is a funny thing. The people who follow the various religions and cults throughout this land are all completely certain that their beliefs are correct and that anyone who does not share them is wrong. However, as the multitude of groups all seem to belief different things, and all believe that they are the only correct beliefs, it is difficult to make much of this. However, let us start by looking at the situation overall, while then discussing why most of these groups are inherently wrong.
The consensus belief about Gods is that there is a Pantheon. Most human cities say there are five, while the elves have four. The Gods in these two Pantheons are virtually the same, with the one fewer God being explained through having those duties divided up among the other Gods. For humans, it is Alton, the God of Birth, Lisk, the God of Death, Yafar, the God of the Seasons, Treana, the God of the Hearth, and Vria, the God of War. Note, some of these Gods are considered to be female in some religious views, while male in others, so for purposes of clarity and consistency, they will just be referred to as God for the purposes of this writing. If this offends you, then this essay is not intended for you regardless, and you will definitely find other things to be more offended by. As noted, the elves have one fewer God, as they do not have the God of the Seasons. The duties attributed to Yafar in the human pantheons are shared by the other Gods, according to the elves. They also have different names, but as the roles are the same, that part can be discussed later.
The dwarves, as opposed to humans and elves, have seven Gods. They share the five of humans, but also have two that have no correlation. They are Mycanthor, the God of Building, and Jyst, the God of Destruction. These Gods seem to take on duties that humans give to Alton and Lisk, but the dwarves who believe in these things claim that they are very different. However, they have refused to discuss these Gods with outsiders, claiming that they are Gods for the dwarves. This argument makes little sense, as if there are Gods, then surely they would work for the whole land, not just a people? However, as further information is lacking, we shall move on.
The Altenfer have an odd Pantheon, having anywhere between 11 and 19 Gods, depending on which tribe you ask. They also seem to have different names and do different duties, so they shall not be discussed further here. The different tribes will typically share information about their Gods happily, but again, they do not seem to have consistent beliefs. Some of the tribes have Gods that seem to match the Human Pantheons, then with other Gods for things such as fire and water, while other tribes seem to have Gods that are personal to the families of that tribe. The specific way these Gods function, or if they even would be considered Gods, has been debated multiple times, by people who care for these things far more than I do, so we shall leave these for now.
To further confuse the matter, what specific duty each God supposedly does is not clear to the casual observer, particularly in the larger pantheons, but even in the smaller, it can be difficult to determine this. For example, take Lisk, the God of Death and Vria, the God of war (as noted previously, names seem to change between the pantheons, so for convenience we are using the human names) seem to have fairly clear set roles. Lisk is generally responsible for claiming people’s souls as they die and taking them to heaven. Vria, on the other hand, is responsible for all aspects of War, giving soldiers courage, helping them fight better, and so on. However, he also takes the souls of all who die in battle, to live in his heaven. When pressed, believers will say that this heaven is separate from Lisk’s heaven yet is also part of the heaven in some way. Personally, it is during the contradictions stage of the conversations that I give up and stop listening, but I am reliably informed by those who are listened enough that Lisk and Vria will occasionally fight over who gets the soul. Why a being that is supposedly all powerful would need to fight over souls has yet to be explained, but contradictions and problematic beliefs such as this exist throughout the belief system.
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Some people have attempted to explain these issues as the idea that the Gods created men, and did so in their image. This means that the Gods would necessarily exhibit all of the problematic traits of men, emotions, fallibility, and so on. There are even some who believe that the Gods exist in a state of eternal struggle, with Alton and Lisk fighting each other for souls, while Treana and Vria fight for men’s minds. Yafar is considered to be the peace keeper using these beliefs, who prevents the Gods’ struggles from harming the mortal world. How such a struggle would happen in say the elven pantheon, which lacks a version of Yafar has not been described, mainly because the elves do not believe in this version.
This all leads back to the central issue with religious beliefs in this land. The different types of man have different beliefs about their Gods, yet they all also claim that the Gods are all powerful and look after the land equally. The religious also constantly fight each other in the name of their religion, despite the fact that virtually every God believes that peace is optimal (Vria, being the God of War, would seem to negate this, but he is typically considered to be against the need to go to war, but supports those who do so). It is also important to note that while many people claim to have heard the word of the Gods, even to the stage of claiming to have been given missions from the Gods, there has never been a verifiable case of a God appearing, or having performed an act that affected the world.
The general consensus among the educated is that belief in Gods is a way for those without power to gain comfort in their lives. By believing in a greater power, there lives gain meaning by being part of it. Such a view seems odd, given that we know a greater power exists, and that is Magic. The Natural Magic that inhabits and affects every aspect of this world, and which can be interacted with, is surely a better power to have faith in than an unseeable and untouchable God. Who needs a blessing from Alton to keep you healthy, when you can use magic to achieve this effect? Who needs to believe that Lisk will take your soul, when it is clear that our souls exist as part of the Magic of the world, and so upon dying revert to this state? I think that it is this separation of belief and understanding that truly marks the difference between those who use magic and those who do not. As the unmagical cannot use magic, they cannot accept its power and influence over the world. This is truly strange, as all indications show that these people could learn to use magic if they so wished.
In conclusion, the various pantheons that are believed in truly serve no purpose apart to account for forces that are beyond the control of normal people. This is not to say that they do not understand how these forces happen, but simply to help these people feel better about themselves for not having the power to control the world around them. Whether or not these beliefs aid the people who believe in these things, or that believing in these things holds them back, is not known and in all likelihood does not matter. I have never seen someone who claimed to believe in the Gods stop doing so after intelligent debate about these issues, while those who do not believe in Gods, even if they did so previously, never start to believe in the Gods. Therefore, it seems certain that the two groups shall never find an accord on this topic.
- Excerpt taken from Essay: Religous Beliefs of the land of Neah-Reath, Book: The Cultures of Neah-Reath , written by C. Jin-Phen, Amoloria Dynasty, Year, 727, Royal College of Amoloria.