Ofadin in Detail
A lot of OOC knowledge resides here. Read at your own discretion.
Q: Were the beasts from the "tear" intelligent or entirely mindless, and how much would one beast differ in intelligence from the other? If any had intelligence what were they like? If many had intelligence did they use any kind of strategies, or had any generals or leaders besides the Queen?
A: It is implied in the Abominable Ages of the timeline that they had civilizations and thoughts, however they are driven by an otherworldly amount of hate, anger and bloodlust. The creatures vary wildly from one another, in form and mind, with one leviathan perhaps holding a complete sentience while another may be stuck with only primal instinct. It is also mentioned in the Twilight Wars that they had a strategy, with hordes of small creatures erupting from the ground to catch the Wyrmskinned vanguard off-guard (ironically). As for the leaders and generals beside the queen that would be a cabal of sorcerers who sometimes manifest into Ofadin to further the aims of the Second Downpour, often masking as simple civilians to push even the smallest actions of the common folk toward their unknowable interests.
Q: How exactly was the world created? Did the Father create all the races? Do the dwarves also follow the Father and Mother, and are there other races about? Are there any other interpretations of the religion?
A: According to the myth of creation, officially described in the first entry in the timeline, the most concrete theory is that the abominations had presided on Ofadin(the planet) before Father Time had even given his attention to the world, only having been focused on his cold march to continue the passage of time. It was after these abominations basically cannibalized their own civilization into oblivion that the lower races, which had thus far been slaves and thralls to the abominations, had been given the opportunity to rise and "evolve" in a sense. According to the myth of the Epochs, however, Father Time created the abominations as well, and it was by the reflection of his tears that he noticed and begun to love the meek races that we now know as the folk of the Ofadin. He blessed us all and it was this ambiguous blessing that let us rise as far as we have and allowed us to build the monolithic structures that dominated Ofadin's golden ages in the Era of Crowns. It is the individual's choice whether to follow this theory or the scientific one, and it is the drive to prove one right over the other that drives many lords to fund expeditions into the depths of the earth and across its surface. As for the dwarves, they had pagan pantheon only worshipped as they sought an explanation for the weird environments of the underground where they had first appeared. It is only that they had met the surface world and its inhabitants that a mass conversion took place, and the dwarven pantheon was basically erased and replaced with shrines to the various familial gods of the Father and Mother (f.e. Sister Fury, Brother Courage, Brother Happiness, Sister Sadness, etc,etc). There are a plethora of minor races wandering the world, i am simply yet to write about them. Interpretations of the religion are bountiful as the world is huge, and religious wars have been fought across history, be it a monumental conflict of ancient empires or a bridge squabble between two village priests.
Q: What reason is there for Epochs and the like to worship the gods? Is there an afterlife of sorts?
A: Priests and devout followers of all the gods and their pantheon are often blessed with dreams, sometimes simply pleasant but sometimes also prophetic. If you die in devotion to a god of the pantheon or performing an act that especially honours their namesake, your soul will be ferried off to the god's personal heaven, where your rest will be determined by your virtues. As with many things in Ofadin; it is mostly guided by your passion and its strength.
Q: Do all races have Epochs? Is religion affected by the difference of the races?
A: Yes, all races have their own worshippers of the Father as well as of the Mother; the worship of one over the other or the choice to worship one of the greater pantheon is mostly decided by the history of the region and its struggles; a region wrought with civil war that has, after centuries, elected to forgive in order to progress with unity might draw in more worshippers of the Mother, while one that has suffered generations of drought and elected logical decisions such as rationing and cruel laws in order to survive and come out stronger may attract worshipers of the Father. These are just a few examples and maybe not the best ones, but I feel they get the point across. Q: How important is religion to the folk of Ofadin?
A: Religion is entirely a choice, however it is one of the few hopeful candles in a world whose golden age was so cruelly and suddenly ripped from the hands of the innocent, and thus many choose to believe in a god simply to escape the warcries of their liege or the provocations of city politicians. Some choose to not believe - not as in say "they dont exist", as there is definite proof, more as in "they can't help me; never have and never will. My allegiance is my own."
Q: How do the people see death? Are there rituals?
Others see it with melancholy, an inevitable fate we all must meet one day. And yet others actively fear and flee from it, terrified of watching all their wealth and/or legacy slip from their fingers. Rituals are very varied across the realms, some religious with full blessings, a ceremony or a simple shrine atop the grave, while others are traditional according to the region. An example would be mounting a dying man on a horse and sending him with a cheap sword toward the wild as a form of warriors' death, perhaps a tribute to a hero whose name was long forgotten. Another would be laying their body in an expansive flower field, allowing them to finally blend into nature's beauty as a form of honoring their family's legacy as farmers.
Q: When did the religion of the main pantheon spread most?
A: The most rapid growth experienced by the pantheon's believers was around 67EC, when the beauty and miracle of the dwarven holds was used by preachers to further exemplify how kind, true and loving the gods were, especially in the dwarven holds who had only grasped the miracle that was their survival in the cursed underground of Ofadin.
Q: Are the religions pacifist?
A: The religions are not pacifist (mostly), and many monasteries actually host a small troop of warrior monks.
Q: Are there subraces/internal differences between the races?
A: Humans have varying ethnicities and physical adaptations to their environment, as with the real world. Pelagekin include all sorts of animals, each having their own strengths and weaknesses. Wyrmskinned mostly differ by age, with the younger ones being far more slim and humanoid than their elders, who grow more and more dragon(wyrm)-like with age (curving and elongating spine, thickening scales, spikes, longer tail, longer limbs, bulk, etc.)
Q: Do the dwarves have any preference when it comes to trading?
A: The dwarves have no preferences, but the current most common trading partner is Mormiloa, who can upkeep a steady trade route due to its ancient wealth.
Q: Who rules the dwarves? Are they all one people or seperate?
A: The dwarves encountered in the Striking of the Earth is used to refer to the vast amounts of encounters. Up to then the dwarves had not seen others of their kin but their own clan with which they had spawned from the underground rivers (origins are mystery and few can speculate how a race like theirs with relatively normal features would simply be born so deep underground). After 67EC the dwarves quickly developed and divided into holds, with varying forms of government from commercial councils to kings and clan chiefs, even a few warlords.
Q: What is the dwarven diet made of?
A: Pre 67EC - Monster meat, underground mushrooms, fish from underground rivers and a LOT of clams, moss and alcohol. Post 67EC - Beef, pork, underground and forest mushrooms, underground rivers turned into fish farms, a LOT of clams and all the alcohol their wealth could buy. While this is eerily similar to their early diet it is worth noting that they now have **spices** and **vegetables** instead of bland mystery meat on a big mushroom bed.
Q:Crossbreeding between races?
A: I must answer as it has weirdly enough been asked twice already. The answer is no, only by alchemical experiment. This does not stop love from blooming, though, especially in the human realms as the differences between the races are all but invisible to them.
Q: Wouldn't the necromancers be experimenting to resurrect a soul permanently? Do they wish to do this, and can they?
A: Do they have a wish to do so? Of course. You wouldn't let a loved one go if you could prevent it, would you? However, attempts to restore a life to its full extent, with a healthy mental state and physical being have resulted in catastrophe, and many have elected to stick to simpler forms of revival, content to have the intrepid souls do the casters bidding before being returned to the afterlife. Nevertheless, research is ongoing and experiments plenty.
Q: Are there countries? Is there a sorcerer's union, major college, etc. to control them?
A: Yes, there are countries, always have been, and they all want sorcerers in their employ. While there is no centralized union or institution to govern the employment of these sorcerers, there are numerous cabals across the world which offer their services in exchange for coin or land (or sacrifice). These cabals are mostly employed to restore the status quo when a particularly maddened sorcerer decides to attempt conquest or terrorism, or to stop an especially fearsome abomination haunting the land, almost like a pseudo-paramilitary-police-monsterhunter force.
Q: Is sorcery viewed as divine or scientific? What does the church think?
Definitely more scientific. The religions mostly view it as just another scary but useful aspect of their wonderous world, and some even make use of sorcerers.
Q: Are there any pacifist religious centres? Is there a religious capital?
A: There are few pacifist monasteries, and those are mostly located in the larger cities. The religious centre of the world would be Myrvelier, the capital of Mormiloa, as it hosts a menagerie of temples young and old. As for the amount of temples and monasteries - every village has at least a shrine, and every city a nearby monastery or church.
Q: What can we know about the Faeelv?
A: You can't.
Q: Do Wyrmskinned have breasts?
A: Despite earlier lore stating otherwise, yes.
Q: What are the continents called?
A: The southernmost continent, home to the eternal empire of Mormiloa, is called Eclisevliier. The island to the east of it is known as Barciloka. In the centre are the twin islands of Grosse and Filtz, together considered the continent of Flitzgrosse. To its east is the large, human dominated continent of Ravreka, and to its west is the Pelagekin Federation's home continent of Glühwürm.
Q: Were the beasts from the "tear" intelligent or entirely mindless, and how much would one beast differ in intelligence from the other? If any had intelligence what were they like? If many had intelligence did they use any kind of strategies, or had any generals or leaders besides the Queen?
A: It is implied in the Abominable Ages of the timeline that they had civilizations and thoughts, however they are driven by an otherworldly amount of hate, anger and bloodlust. The creatures vary wildly from one another, in form and mind, with one leviathan perhaps holding a complete sentience while another may be stuck with only primal instinct. It is also mentioned in the Twilight Wars that they had a strategy, with hordes of small creatures erupting from the ground to catch the Wyrmskinned vanguard off-guard (ironically). As for the leaders and generals beside the queen that would be a cabal of sorcerers who sometimes manifest into Ofadin to further the aims of the Second Downpour, often masking as simple civilians to push even the smallest actions of the common folk toward their unknowable interests.
Q: How exactly was the world created? Did the Father create all the races? Do the dwarves also follow the Father and Mother, and are there other races about? Are there any other interpretations of the religion?
A: According to the myth of creation, officially described in the first entry in the timeline, the most concrete theory is that the abominations had presided on Ofadin(the planet) before Father Time had even given his attention to the world, only having been focused on his cold march to continue the passage of time. It was after these abominations basically cannibalized their own civilization into oblivion that the lower races, which had thus far been slaves and thralls to the abominations, had been given the opportunity to rise and "evolve" in a sense. According to the myth of the Epochs, however, Father Time created the abominations as well, and it was by the reflection of his tears that he noticed and begun to love the meek races that we now know as the folk of the Ofadin. He blessed us all and it was this ambiguous blessing that let us rise as far as we have and allowed us to build the monolithic structures that dominated Ofadin's golden ages in the Era of Crowns. It is the individual's choice whether to follow this theory or the scientific one, and it is the drive to prove one right over the other that drives many lords to fund expeditions into the depths of the earth and across its surface. As for the dwarves, they had pagan pantheon only worshipped as they sought an explanation for the weird environments of the underground where they had first appeared. It is only that they had met the surface world and its inhabitants that a mass conversion took place, and the dwarven pantheon was basically erased and replaced with shrines to the various familial gods of the Father and Mother (f.e. Sister Fury, Brother Courage, Brother Happiness, Sister Sadness, etc,etc). There are a plethora of minor races wandering the world, i am simply yet to write about them. Interpretations of the religion are bountiful as the world is huge, and religious wars have been fought across history, be it a monumental conflict of ancient empires or a bridge squabble between two village priests.
Q: What reason is there for Epochs and the like to worship the gods? Is there an afterlife of sorts?
A: Priests and devout followers of all the gods and their pantheon are often blessed with dreams, sometimes simply pleasant but sometimes also prophetic. If you die in devotion to a god of the pantheon or performing an act that especially honours their namesake, your soul will be ferried off to the god's personal heaven, where your rest will be determined by your virtues. As with many things in Ofadin; it is mostly guided by your passion and its strength.
Q: Do all races have Epochs? Is religion affected by the difference of the races?
A: Yes, all races have their own worshippers of the Father as well as of the Mother; the worship of one over the other or the choice to worship one of the greater pantheon is mostly decided by the history of the region and its struggles; a region wrought with civil war that has, after centuries, elected to forgive in order to progress with unity might draw in more worshippers of the Mother, while one that has suffered generations of drought and elected logical decisions such as rationing and cruel laws in order to survive and come out stronger may attract worshipers of the Father. These are just a few examples and maybe not the best ones, but I feel they get the point across. Q: How important is religion to the folk of Ofadin?
A: Religion is entirely a choice, however it is one of the few hopeful candles in a world whose golden age was so cruelly and suddenly ripped from the hands of the innocent, and thus many choose to believe in a god simply to escape the warcries of their liege or the provocations of city politicians. Some choose to not believe - not as in say "they dont exist", as there is definite proof, more as in "they can't help me; never have and never will. My allegiance is my own."
Q: How do the people see death? Are there rituals?
Others see it with melancholy, an inevitable fate we all must meet one day. And yet others actively fear and flee from it, terrified of watching all their wealth and/or legacy slip from their fingers. Rituals are very varied across the realms, some religious with full blessings, a ceremony or a simple shrine atop the grave, while others are traditional according to the region. An example would be mounting a dying man on a horse and sending him with a cheap sword toward the wild as a form of warriors' death, perhaps a tribute to a hero whose name was long forgotten. Another would be laying their body in an expansive flower field, allowing them to finally blend into nature's beauty as a form of honoring their family's legacy as farmers.
Q: When did the religion of the main pantheon spread most?
A: The most rapid growth experienced by the pantheon's believers was around 67EC, when the beauty and miracle of the dwarven holds was used by preachers to further exemplify how kind, true and loving the gods were, especially in the dwarven holds who had only grasped the miracle that was their survival in the cursed underground of Ofadin.
Q: Are the religions pacifist?
A: The religions are not pacifist (mostly), and many monasteries actually host a small troop of warrior monks.
Q: Are there subraces/internal differences between the races?
A: Humans have varying ethnicities and physical adaptations to their environment, as with the real world. Pelagekin include all sorts of animals, each having their own strengths and weaknesses. Wyrmskinned mostly differ by age, with the younger ones being far more slim and humanoid than their elders, who grow more and more dragon(wyrm)-like with age (curving and elongating spine, thickening scales, spikes, longer tail, longer limbs, bulk, etc.)
Q: Do the dwarves have any preference when it comes to trading?
A: The dwarves have no preferences, but the current most common trading partner is Mormiloa, who can upkeep a steady trade route due to its ancient wealth.
Q: Who rules the dwarves? Are they all one people or seperate?
A: The dwarves encountered in the Striking of the Earth is used to refer to the vast amounts of encounters. Up to then the dwarves had not seen others of their kin but their own clan with which they had spawned from the underground rivers (origins are mystery and few can speculate how a race like theirs with relatively normal features would simply be born so deep underground). After 67EC the dwarves quickly developed and divided into holds, with varying forms of government from commercial councils to kings and clan chiefs, even a few warlords.
Q: What is the dwarven diet made of?
A: Pre 67EC - Monster meat, underground mushrooms, fish from underground rivers and a LOT of clams, moss and alcohol. Post 67EC - Beef, pork, underground and forest mushrooms, underground rivers turned into fish farms, a LOT of clams and all the alcohol their wealth could buy. While this is eerily similar to their early diet it is worth noting that they now have **spices** and **vegetables** instead of bland mystery meat on a big mushroom bed.
Q:Crossbreeding between races?
A: I must answer as it has weirdly enough been asked twice already. The answer is no, only by alchemical experiment. This does not stop love from blooming, though, especially in the human realms as the differences between the races are all but invisible to them.
Q: Wouldn't the necromancers be experimenting to resurrect a soul permanently? Do they wish to do this, and can they?
A: Do they have a wish to do so? Of course. You wouldn't let a loved one go if you could prevent it, would you? However, attempts to restore a life to its full extent, with a healthy mental state and physical being have resulted in catastrophe, and many have elected to stick to simpler forms of revival, content to have the intrepid souls do the casters bidding before being returned to the afterlife. Nevertheless, research is ongoing and experiments plenty.
Q: Are there countries? Is there a sorcerer's union, major college, etc. to control them?
A: Yes, there are countries, always have been, and they all want sorcerers in their employ. While there is no centralized union or institution to govern the employment of these sorcerers, there are numerous cabals across the world which offer their services in exchange for coin or land (or sacrifice). These cabals are mostly employed to restore the status quo when a particularly maddened sorcerer decides to attempt conquest or terrorism, or to stop an especially fearsome abomination haunting the land, almost like a pseudo-paramilitary-police-monsterhunter force.
Q: Is sorcery viewed as divine or scientific? What does the church think?
Definitely more scientific. The religions mostly view it as just another scary but useful aspect of their wonderous world, and some even make use of sorcerers.
Q: Are there any pacifist religious centres? Is there a religious capital?
A: There are few pacifist monasteries, and those are mostly located in the larger cities. The religious centre of the world would be Myrvelier, the capital of Mormiloa, as it hosts a menagerie of temples young and old. As for the amount of temples and monasteries - every village has at least a shrine, and every city a nearby monastery or church.
Q: What can we know about the Faeelv?
A: You can't.
Q: Do Wyrmskinned have breasts?
A: Despite earlier lore stating otherwise, yes.
Q: What are the continents called?
A: The southernmost continent, home to the eternal empire of Mormiloa, is called Eclisevliier. The island to the east of it is known as Barciloka. In the centre are the twin islands of Grosse and Filtz, together considered the continent of Flitzgrosse. To its east is the large, human dominated continent of Ravreka, and to its west is the Pelagekin Federation's home continent of Glühwürm.
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