The Sovereign Host

The Sovereign Host is the dominant faith of Khorvaire, and most folk, devout or not, still swear by the Sovereigns or toss out a quick prayer when things turn sharp. It is also a wonderfully loose religion. Temples are only loosely aligned, creeds vary by culture, and no central authority patrols belief with a clipboard. In one village, the best smith might also be the priest because everyone agrees Onatar listens to that one. In another, the midwife “speaks” for Arawai and Boldrei because the community has watched her usher in life and hold families together.

A Vassal sees the Sovereigns in everything, and hears them in the places others call instinct. The faith’s most common ideas are simple and practical.

The Sovereigns shape the world and offer guidance and strength, if you learn how to listen. Each Sovereign should be honored in their place and time, because life is contextual. You do not pray to Olladra for a good harvest unless you are also willing to admit you are gambling with the weather.

Two formal doctrines show up again and again across Host traditions. The Doctrine of Universal Sovereignty says the gods do not merely influence reality, they are reality as mortals can understand it. Arawai is not only “in charge of crops,” she is the living truth of the crops in the field. The Doctrine of the Divine Host says the Host is one name and one voice, and the gods are the letters and sounds of that greater whole. This is why most Vassals honor the pantheon, even when one Sovereign feels closer than the rest. Vassals also tend to value community over the lone hero. There is an old saying that a city’s great light is made of thousands of small flames, and everyone’s task is to make their own burn brighter.