Lyiosism ((Lie-oh-sism))

Lyiosism is the official religion of the Mavanish Empire, worshiped widely amongst the population of Elgis, even beyond the borders of the empire.   Lyiosism is focused primarily on the Heavenly gods:   Lyios (Lie-ohhs): The ruler of the other gods, wielder of the sun spears, and the god embodying the sun.   Ochi (Oh-chee): Bearer of the sky, the goddess of the sky, and the larger moon of the same name. It is though that Ochi holds up the sky so her husband, Lyios, can travel around the world.   Mikiroh (Me-key-row): Sustainer of the stars, the goddess of the small, pink moon of the same name. Mikiroh is thought to follow behind Lyios, her father, with a vase of water to sustain his endless journey. Mikiroh is the daughter of Ochi and Lyios.   Laro (Lah-row): The shining multitude, Laro is the name given to the stars, each a different god. They are thought to be the sons of Lyios and Ochi.   The creation myth of Lyiosism states that Lyios existed in a formless ocean of scattered chaos. From the scattered chaos, Lyios formed the world and all its inhabitants. He was praised by all his creations, but still lonely. Lyrios tore a chunk of his world from the rest and formed it into his wife, Ochi. With her, he bore Mikiroh, and the Laro. A problem soon came on them, however, as all of Lyios' creation was beginning to degrade back into the chaos they'd formed from. With his infinite wisdom, Lyios saw that he was the cause and he and his family ascended into the sky to protect their creations.   While the worship of the heavenly gods was the primary sect of Lyiosism, as the Mavanish Empire began to spread they began to assimilate the gods of other cultures. The end result is that, while the heavenly gods remain the most highly revered, there are many other sects that worship the assimilated gods in a new context.   The myth that sprang up to account for this is that when the heavenly gods ascended, Lyios found that his creations were becoming unruly without his oversight, so he sent some of the Laros down to the surface to govern over the world in his stead. Each of these Laros became the assimilated gods.   The corpses of believers are placed in special types of coffins that leave many small slits in the tops in order to allow Lyios' light to reach them.