Religion on Kishar takes many forms. Some people choose to pray to a one or more deities, while others instead hold to some variation of animism, ancestor worship, or other system of belief.
Deities
Deities are powerful divine entities that can shape and alter the universe in significant ways, usually indirectly through granting divine spells and boons to their worshipers. Gods, goddesses, and the practices of their faiths are important aspects of cultures across Kishar.
Broadly speaking, there are two categories of gods in Kishar: greater deities and lesser deities. Greater deities have great cosmic influence, when they choose to wield it, with no peers aside from each other. There are a very limited number of greater deities, though their different names and depictions across cultures can obscure this fact at times. Lesser deities, on the other hand, are far less powerful but are also far more diverse. Unlike the static greater deities, lesser deities are ever-shifting, as old ones die or fade away and new ones appear. Lesser deities include hero-gods, enlightened deities, and locally worshiped spirits. Unlike greater deities, lesser deities can theoretically be killed or otherwise removed as divine entities, though this is a difficult undertaking as they are nearly universally powerful creatures or figures.
Greater deities are remote figures, effectively unreachable by any means except through worship and by acting in accordance with their edicts. They are cosmic forces embodied, not people to be conversed with. On the other hand, lesser deities can be very approachable. Some continue to walk the mortal world, simply people, creatures, or objects who have somehow obtained a divine spark.
Worship
The act of worship is important to many but not all gods. Some, like hero-gods and many enlightened gods, are only divine as long as mortals believe them to be. Others, like all greater deities, exist regardless of whether or not anyone pays them homage.
Most people do not worship one deity exclusively. Rather, it is typical to pray to a number of gods, depending on one’s location, profession, and status in the world. Despite this, it is common to have a deity with which one feels an especially close connection. Frequently this deity is one whose clergy has a particularly influential presence in the community.
Organized churches hold great sway in some parts of the world, but not all. In Kishar, the term "church" refers not to a building or congregation but instead to the structure of clergy that links and organizes temples or shrines to a particular deity. Some faiths are more centralized in this manner than others. For example, temples to Harinna almost entirely fall under a church, while those to Laverna almost never do - in general, faiths that tend to be more chaotic-aligned eschew churches, while lawful-aligned religions prefer them.
Pantheons
Though the Chaskan pantheon has achieved the most widespread reach and influence, and the Chaskan names of the gods are commonly used to refer to them generally, it is by no means the "default" set of gods. The many aspects of a deity across pantheons are equally true and accurate, not corruptions or misinterpretations but simply more focused readings of a given god. Of course, certain people within Kishar do not always see it this way, and there is sometimes strife between sects of the same deity over their differing interpretations.
Not all pantheons include all of the greater deities. In some cultures, the values embodied by particular gods may simply not be of particular importance. In these cases, none deny the existence of such deities, but simply do not consider them worth worship. If an individual from one of these cultures wishes to venerate a god not within their pantheon, they usually adopt a depiction of the god from a neighboring culture.
Saints and shards
Through their actions and accomplishments, some non-divine figures have managed to attain a particular closeness to their deity. In doing so, some become worshiped in their own right as pinnacles of their faith. Multiple terms are used for these figures around the world, but "saint" is a typical appellation.
Worshiping these saints grants divine favor just as if one prayed and gave offerings to a greater divinity. These saints are not, however, gods themselves. Rather, they become so tightly intertwined with their god that by worshiping the saint one can simultaneously worship the deity. Saints are usually prayed to by those particularly attracted to a certain aspect of a god personified by the saint.
Nearly all saints only occupy this role after their death, but this is not necessarily always the case. Among mortals it is exceedingly rare to become a saint while still in the company of the living, but it is more common with powerful extraplanar creatures. Demon lords, archdevils, and other extraplanar lesser divinities can be thought of as effectively saints, worshiped as an aspect of a greater divinity yet simultaneously important for their own strength and influence. Extraplanar creatures that fit into this category are usually referred to as "shards" of a greater deity instead of as saints, however. For example, a powerful demon might achieve the status of a demon lord and gain the ability to grant divine spells to its cultists. It is not a divine entity in its own right, however, but is instead a shard of Lotan or some other evil deity.
There is no universal process for sainthood. In regions of the world with hierarchical church structures, some faiths maintain official saints, given their status by the head of the clergy. Most, however, are essentially folk saints, popular enough with the people that they are considered as such regardless of whether or not they have been sanctioned by any church.
Mythos
Every pantheon and every culture has their own stories of the divines. Though most can come to a consensus on some basic details, these tales can diverge greatly at times. Creation myths especially are prone to contradiction, as the faithful of a god often have mythoses that give an outsized influence to their particular deity. None are necessarily incorrect. Theological debates about the nature, history, and motivations of the greater divines remain very lively, with much disagreement both between followers of different deities and between sects of the same god. The degree to which these mythoses are believed literally varies, but it is not uncommon to interpret them more as providing a foundation for understanding a god, and much less as completely truthful recollections.
Alignments
Deific follower alignments are suggestions, not requirements. The greater deities bestow favor upon those that follow their edicts, without inherent restrictions by alignment. Of course, a cleric with chaotic motivations and beliefs may find it difficult to hold to the tenets of a strongly lawful deity, for example, but if they can manage to do so then they will be granted divine spells all the same.
Other forms of worship
In some parts of Kishar, religious life does not heavily involve the commonly-worshiped deities. Animism, ancestor worship, or the reverence of natural phenomena are widespread, either in addition to or instead of the worship of deities. Druids in particular usually hold animistic beliefs, occasionally called the Green Faith or the Old Faith in this context, though they do sometimes worship greater deities as well. These forms of religion still grant spells and boons to divine casters - as long as one's worship is based upon sincerely held beliefs, more abstract entities can very much grant benefits to their followers, according to the tenets of the follower and object of worship. These forms of religion vary too much from region to region, and from person to person, to succinctly summarize.
Worship of powerful extraplanar entities is less widespread but not unknown. Cults of this nature are usually reclusive, though, despite widespread views, are not necessarily evil. Particularly ancient and influential fey are often given offerings, for example, as are demons and elementals.
Greater deities
Lesser deities
Enlightened deities
Hero-gods
See also: Hero-gods
Saints and shards
| Name | Alignment | Areas of Concern | Patron
}} Ishtaran living saintsSee also: Ishtaran pantheon
Other deities |
|---|