The Shaper Beneath
The Voice Beneath the Shelf. The Worldsinger. The Living Sea. Stormbringer. Icentide. The Lifefrost. All these and more refer to the patron god of the Milvasi. But most commonly, the god is known as The Shaper Beneath.
Divine Domains
As the creation god of the Milvasi, The Shaper is held by those of the faith to hold dominion over all the world and its inhabitants. As the Milvasi worldview tends to be limited by their surrounds, this dominion is often expressed through the seas, the storms, and the ice. The Milvasi thus interpret the world through these elements, viewing each as a metaphor for real world designs and happenings.
The Shaper itself is held to be formless and shapeless, in reflection and opposition of the world it formed and shaped. Milvasi artworks and collective consciousness, however, have given The Shaper a multitude of interpretive forms, ranging from persons of varying attractiveness to sea creatures to various forms of ice. The faithful will say that each is in itself a reflection of The Shaper, just as The Shaper is a reflection of creation itself.
Artifacts
The Ice Mirror of The Temple of the Ice Mirror is believed to be a direct view into the designs of The Shaper. Thus, its visions are held to be truth – in some fashion or another – and its portents to be inevitable. To date, the Mirror has yet to lead its faithful astray, though how this effect occurs, and how much can be attributed to The Shaper, is still a matter of debate outside Milvas.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
The Sacred Pattern remains the only definitive symbol that represents The Shaper unambiguously. The source and symbology of the Sacred Pattern has remained a mystery for as long as the faith itself has existed. The Priesthood, when interrogated on this matter, are untroubled by the lack of explanation as to why they pray to the symbol. They have never felt the need for an explanation before, they say, and they won't start now.
Tenets of Faith
The faithful of The Shaper Beneath hold that the titular Shaper is the creator and protector of the world the Milvasi inhabit. Immovable, eternal, and ineffable, The Shaper is held by the Milvasi to be the force that drives the past, the present, and the future.
The Milvasi do not consider The Shaper to be a person, in that The Shaper might have wants or needs. Rather, The Shaper is held to be a force of nature, bringing about the changes necessary for prosperity yet holding aloft the constant pillars of life. The ice, the currents, the storms, all move in accordance with The Shaper’s will. The mountains, the depths, and the earth beneath the snow swept plains all stay in the form The Shaper intended. In this, The Shaper is held to be the world itself; everchanging, yet ever constant.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
And yet, the Milvasi believe that The Shaper can show mercy. Happenstance, fortune, and coincidence are likewise considered The Shaper’s will. Thus, those deserving of The Shaper’s protection will find it, irrespective of faith or deeds. In this, the Milvasi do not discriminate, for in their eyes all that is must be The Shaper’s design, therefore all who seek The Shaper’s favour will be granted it if they are worthy of The Shaper’s design. Whether fortuitous occurrences in the Frozen North are truly the will of The Shaper remains to be seen, but the Milvasi seem convinced all the same.
Divine Classification
God
Religions
Church/Cult
Children
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