The Islander Talgazan pantheon (pronounced tall-GAH-zen) is one of the major regional pantheons on Kishar, worshiped primarily by the Fjarri, the descendants of Rothurlandic seafarers who were driven by fearsome storms into the Wounds, waters previously unknown to them thousands of miles away from their homeland. The pantheon is based upon a fusion of their older traditional beliefs with those of adherents of the Beating Heart.
Overview
At its core, the Islander Talgazan beliefs are quite similar to those of the Talgazan pantheon. They both believe their gods to be largely dispassionate deities who rarely take notice of the mortal realm, prayed to in hopes their gods may pull themselves away from their own struggles long enough to grant boons to their faithful. Where the pantheons differ, and differ greatly, is in their cosmology and stories of creation.
The ancestors of those who worship the Islander Talgazan pantheon once believed in the same stories as are common throughout Rothurland and Talgazan - that is, that one of the gods, Ubilai, tired of the endless feasts and fights of the divine world and sneaked away in order to create his own realm, to be populated by his loyal servants whose support he would use to take his rightful place over all the other gods. When the other gods took notice at last, they flew into a rage and attacked Ubilai - all except his brother Skohsla stood against him. Ubilai was defeated, his attempt at creating a world of evil and order halted as the gods took Ubilai's remains and used them to shape the world to their own aims instead. His flesh became the land, his blood the seas, and his bones the mountains.
When the forebears of the Fjarri found themselves in the Wounds and met the many other peoples already living there, they came into contact with the Beating Heart, a major religion in that part of the world that holds that the planet itself is a broadly benevolent living god. Already in crisis, this spiritually shook the Fjarri. After all, how could the same god they held to be dead and evil simultaneously be continuously creating new life and land? Gradually new beliefs took hold. Ubilai was not malevolent nor completely defeated, their new shamans declared. Rather, these were lies told by the other gods to entrench their own power after slaying Ubilai out of jealousy for his new creation. Caging his heart deep within Kishar, they spread falsehood of the god and his loyal brother, deceiving mortals into the worship of them instead. The rest of the pantheon, now understood to be evil, fell out of favor with the Fjarri, as their reoriented their faith around Ubilai and Skohsla instead.
To those that follow the Islander Talgazan pantheon, worship of ancestors and ghosts is seen as equally important as the veneration of the gods, if not more so. Ancestor spirits have far more impact on the world and can be communed with regularly, and are therefore more reliable spiritual guides than deities. Still, the gods are worshiped regardless, as they can still provide valuable guidance at times.
Adherents of the Islander Talgazan pantheon broadly eschew holy texts or organized clergy, preferring instead either local priests or more personal worship.
Deities
| Name | Alignment | Areas of Concern | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skohsla | CG | Protection, vengeance, destruction, anger, travel | Skohsla (pronounced SKOH-slah) |
| Ubilai | NG | Creation, fire, volcanoes, ambition, stone | Ubilai (pronounced OOH-bih-lie) |
Area of worship
The Islander Talgazan pantheon is almost entirely worshiped by the Fjarri. Some other peoples they have come into contact with within the Wounds, especially near the Fjarri settlements in the Salt Spring Archipelago, have adopted the pantheon as well, but this is relatively uncommon.