Church of the Sky

The Church of the Sky is the smallest of the elven religions, and Church members are deeply misunderstood by others of their species. In the world before the end, adherents were shunned for their monotheism, their pacifism, and their devotion to equity and justice for all. And yet, since their arrival in Eden, Church members have been seen by other refugees as something to aspire to. In fact, many elements of Church culture have found their way into Edenian society at large.

Origins

The Church was founded in an isolated region of the elven homeworld. Surrounded by an ocean, a sea, and three mountain ranges, the Faegred who settled in this region were stunned by its beauty. In particular, they were taken by the verdant plain found near the region’s center—one of the largest bits of treeless land on their mostly arboreal planet. Seeing a wide open sky for the first time—a truly wide open sky—changed these folk for good and all. And thus, the worship of the sky father began.

Mythology

The Children of the Sky, as Church members call themselves, believe that all living things are the creation of a single deity—a sky father who sang the universe into existence. They say that the sky father’s breath is the force which moves us all, that we are all a part of the same wind, and that any evil in the world is simply the result of us fighting against ourselves. In the end, the Children believe, the sky father will breathe his last breath. When that happens, they say, we must be prepared to sing on in his name. We must be ready to keep safe and just the world he has given to us. For in the end, we will be all that is left of him and he will be all that is left of us.

Tenets of Faith

Members of the Church live in accordance with the six agreements of the Sky Father’s Pact:

1. We are all children of the same father, and a father shall have no favorites.
2. Quarrel with your brother if you must, but never strike him.
3. Belief is nothing without action.
4. Speak truly to all, including yourself.
5. Share your good fortune.
6. Listen to the wind for future revelations. A good father never stops learning, and he may have more to share in times to come.

Worship

In accordance with the first agreement of the Pact, the Church has no clergy. Worship is primarily conducted on one’s own, simply by looking to the sky, closing one’s eyes, and listening to the wind (or feeling it on one’s skin). For the first six days of a week, members are expected to ponder one of the Pact’s agreements per day. On the seventh day, members local to one another gather at the place with the most access to the open sky. There they engage in spirited discussion about what news the wind has brought that week, if any.

The Sky Father and Other Religions

The Covenant of the Godless believes that the Children’s sky father is the malevolent Daoggdarc, one of their own Elder Gods, and that the Children have been deceived. The halfling religions of Imire and Ni Hüre Lena teach that the sky father is their deity Aiki Wawo.