The Pantheon of the Five
The Pantheon of the Five is a rich belief system followed by the human races of Demtera, distinct from the Faekind's more singular worship of a single deity. This pantheon comprises five gods, each symbolizing key aspects of existence:
Uro’nus - The youthful god of creation, representing innovation and vitality, celebrated in festivals of creativity.
Lun’nus - The shadowy god of moon and water, associated with mystery and introspection, guiding followers in contemplation and reflection.
Sol’nus - The honorable god of the sun and fire, symbolizing strength and courage, often invoked in times of decision-making through courage-themed festivals.
Gaii’nus - The beautiful goddess of life and fertility, embodying growth and nurturing, revered in agricultural celebrations and family milestones.
Exa’nus - The sorrowful goddess of death and decay, representing transformation and acceptance, providing wisdom on the cycles of life and loss through memorial rituals.
Structure
At its head stands the Archcardinal, advised by the ten-member Ecclesiastical Council (the five national prelates plus five “God-Speakers”). Each great kingdom—Cappirdiom, Sahra, Fjallheima, Akerlan, Tor-MetaTera—is led by its own senior cleric (Patriarcha, Wazir, Higoðar, Archevêque, Bishop-Commander), who oversee their national priesthoods and martial orders. Local temples and shrines fall under regional priests who implement council edicts, manage daily worship and life-cycle rites, and mobilize lay devotees. Authority radiates outward from the Archcardinal through the Council to national heads, then through regional clergy down to every village, weaving spiritual unity and political influence across all human realms.
Military
Each sect of the Pantheon maintains a distinctive martial corps charged with both defense and the upholding of religious ideals.
Cappirdiom’s Patriarcha Guard; A cohort of veteran legionnaires personally sworn to the Patriarcha. Raised from the Dominus legions, these heavy infantry combine strict military discipline with scholastic ritual. They serve as bodyguards in times of peace, and as shock troops when Cappirdiom’s borders are threatened.
Sahra’s Blade-Maidens: An all-female order of muhrib mercenaries renowned for their speed and precision. Each maiden undergoes rigorous physical and spiritual training at oases and caravan-palaces. They often act as caravan escorts, city guards, and elite envoys for Sahra’s merchant houses.
Akerlan’s Paladins: Knightly champions consecrated by the Archbishopric. Clad in gilded plate embossed with the sun-fire of Sol’nus, Akerlan’s Paladins lead crusades against bandits and heretics. They are empowered to administer sacraments on campaign.
Fjallheima’s Skald-Warriors: Battle-axemen bound by oath to the Higoðar. Skilled in both saga and sword, each skald-warrior carries a rune-etched axe and an oral chronicle of their forebears. They fight to preserve Fjallheima’s histories in epic verse as much as to defend its frost-forged halls.
Tor-MetaTera’s Temple Guards: Also known as the Silver Order, this monastic-military brotherhood is charged with safeguarding the Grand Temple at Midwall—the earthly proxy of Ava’rinn. From Initiate to Bishop-Commander, every member combines liturgical duty with drill-ground rigor, and they alone may bear arms within the sacred precincts.
Cappirdiom’s Patriarcha Guard; A cohort of veteran legionnaires personally sworn to the Patriarcha. Raised from the Dominus legions, these heavy infantry combine strict military discipline with scholastic ritual. They serve as bodyguards in times of peace, and as shock troops when Cappirdiom’s borders are threatened.
Sahra’s Blade-Maidens: An all-female order of muhrib mercenaries renowned for their speed and precision. Each maiden undergoes rigorous physical and spiritual training at oases and caravan-palaces. They often act as caravan escorts, city guards, and elite envoys for Sahra’s merchant houses.
Akerlan’s Paladins: Knightly champions consecrated by the Archbishopric. Clad in gilded plate embossed with the sun-fire of Sol’nus, Akerlan’s Paladins lead crusades against bandits and heretics. They are empowered to administer sacraments on campaign.
Fjallheima’s Skald-Warriors: Battle-axemen bound by oath to the Higoðar. Skilled in both saga and sword, each skald-warrior carries a rune-etched axe and an oral chronicle of their forebears. They fight to preserve Fjallheima’s histories in epic verse as much as to defend its frost-forged halls.
Tor-MetaTera’s Temple Guards: Also known as the Silver Order, this monastic-military brotherhood is charged with safeguarding the Grand Temple at Midwall—the earthly proxy of Ava’rinn. From Initiate to Bishop-Commander, every member combines liturgical duty with drill-ground rigor, and they alone may bear arms within the sacred precincts.
Cosmological Views
The world is a deliberately fashioned creation born of a single divine will. In the beginning there was only Uro’nus, whose tears became the stars and whose thought wove together the four primordial elements—earth, water, air, and fire—into the world of DemTera.
To govern his new realm, Uro’nus then fashioned four children—Sol’nus (the sun and day), Lun’nus (the moon and waters), Gaii’nus (life and fertility), and Exa’nus (death and destiny)—each embodying a fundamental aspect of existence. Finally, he breathed sentience into the Kind—humans imbued with choice, love, and purpose—splitting them into Man-Kind and Fae-Kind and launching the unfolding ages of history.
To govern his new realm, Uro’nus then fashioned four children—Sol’nus (the sun and day), Lun’nus (the moon and waters), Gaii’nus (life and fertility), and Exa’nus (death and destiny)—each embodying a fundamental aspect of existence. Finally, he breathed sentience into the Kind—humans imbued with choice, love, and purpose—splitting them into Man-Kind and Fae-Kind and launching the unfolding ages of history.
Tenets of Faith
Every member of mankind strives to honor Uro’nus, Lun’nus, Sol’nus, Gaii’nus and Exa’nus as co-equal facets of a single divine will. One’s life becomes an act of worship—bringing beauty into the world, pausing for quiet insight, standing bravely for justice, nurturing growth and embracing loss—while weaving a tale worthy of the Gatekeeper’s ears. By living with creativity, compassion, courage and acceptance in constant balance with one’s community, a soul earns its passage into the eternal city of Ava’rinn rather than lingering forgotten in the Field of the Storyless.
Worship
Worship of the Five is woven into every moment of daily life: dawn and dusk see quiet invocations to each god, a whispered word of thanks to Uro’nus for new ideas, a bowed head toward Sol’nus for courage, a moment’s stillness under the moon for Lun’nus’s guidance, a soft prayer to Gaii’nus for growth, and a humble remembrance of Exa’nus for life’s fleeting grace. In towns and villages, families gather in simple shrines or open courtyards—offering fresh bread or a carved blossom, sharing stories of personal triumphs and losses, and often weaving these tales into song or dance. At the turning of seasons, entire communities come together in feasts and ceremonies that honor the cycle of birth, light, decay, and renewal, ever mindful that each act of devotion brings them closer to the day their own story will be told at the gates of Ava’rinn.
Priesthood
Across Demtera, the clergy act as intermediaries between the mortal world and the Five Gods. Their duties include: Leading public and private prayers, festivals, and ceremonies for all five deities. Presiding over life events such as birth, marriage, coming-of-age, and death. Maintaining temples, shrines, and sacred sites. Chronicling community and personal histories to help souls prepare their stories for the afterlife. Offering counsel and moral guidance to individuals and rulers. Safeguarding and interpreting religious texts, myths, and the oral tradition.
National Variations
Cappirdiom's clergy here are seen as both spiritual guides and scholars. They hold four ranks: Novus: Initiates and learners, Sacerdos: Regular priests/priestesses, Summus Sacerdos: Senior priests overseeing regional temples, Patriarcha: The religious leader and senator of the college of religion.
Sahra’s clergy are unique in being exclusively female, reflecting local traditions and social roles: Eadhra'u: Entry-level priestesses, Kahinatun: Experienced priestesses, often acting as community leaders, Wazir: The chief priestess, holding significant influence even in civic affairs.
Fjallheima is the land of skalds, the clergy are both spiritual leaders and keepers of history: Skald/Volur: Storytellers, bards, and seers, Goðar: Priests who manage temples and lead major ceremonies, Higoðar: The high priest, guardian of the national saga and tradition.
Akerlan’s clergy is highly structured and closely tied to the nobility: Novice: Trainee clergy, Prêtre: Priests who oversee barony in religious matters, Archiprêtre: priests who oversee county in religious matters, Évêque: Bishops who oversee duchies in religious matters, Archevêque: The archbishop, the religious leader and advisor to the king.
Tor-MetaTera's clergy double as a military order tasked with guarding the Grand Temple: Initiate: Novice members, Cleric: Full members who serve both martial and spiritual roles, Cleric-captain: Leaders of clerical units, Bishop: Senior commanders, Bishop-commander: The ultimate authority, responsible for both religious and military operations.
Cappirdiom's clergy here are seen as both spiritual guides and scholars. They hold four ranks: Novus: Initiates and learners, Sacerdos: Regular priests/priestesses, Summus Sacerdos: Senior priests overseeing regional temples, Patriarcha: The religious leader and senator of the college of religion.
Sahra’s clergy are unique in being exclusively female, reflecting local traditions and social roles: Eadhra'u: Entry-level priestesses, Kahinatun: Experienced priestesses, often acting as community leaders, Wazir: The chief priestess, holding significant influence even in civic affairs.
Fjallheima is the land of skalds, the clergy are both spiritual leaders and keepers of history: Skald/Volur: Storytellers, bards, and seers, Goðar: Priests who manage temples and lead major ceremonies, Higoðar: The high priest, guardian of the national saga and tradition.
Akerlan’s clergy is highly structured and closely tied to the nobility: Novice: Trainee clergy, Prêtre: Priests who oversee barony in religious matters, Archiprêtre: priests who oversee county in religious matters, Évêque: Bishops who oversee duchies in religious matters, Archevêque: The archbishop, the religious leader and advisor to the king.
Tor-MetaTera's clergy double as a military order tasked with guarding the Grand Temple: Initiate: Novice members, Cleric: Full members who serve both martial and spiritual roles, Cleric-captain: Leaders of clerical units, Bishop: Senior commanders, Bishop-commander: The ultimate authority, responsible for both religious and military operations.
Granted Divine Powers
Clergy and consecrated champions of the Pantheon draw on divine Favor to perform supernatural deeds whose potency grows with both rank and ritual preparation. Every priest can heal wounds and fatigue, turn or banish the undead, inspire allies with a unifying morale boost, and—through longer rites—call down favorable weather, bountiful harvests, or protective wards over towns. Beyond these shared gifts, each god grants a specialized suite of powers: Uro’nus blesses creativity and even lets a high priest grant an ally a second chance at destiny; Lun’nus weaves moonlit cloaks of concealment, calms wild spirits, or shapes water as needed; Sol’nus imbues weapons with burning radiance and projects pillars of valor that bolster friends and scorch unholy foes; Gaii’nus coaxes verdant growth for shelter or entanglement, restores life force on a grand scale, and heals grievous wounds; Exa’nus channels necrotic decay to weaken enemies and can bind or safely guide departing souls to Ava’rinn. Simple prayers fuel minor miracles multiple times a day, while major and supreme acts—altering fate, sanctifying entire regions, or unleashing celestial phenomena—demand hours of ceremony, rare offerings, and the authority of the highest-ranking clergy.
Political Influence & Intrigue
In every human realm of Demtera, the Pantheon’s clergy operates as both kingmakers and power brokers, their influence woven so tightly into governance that no treaty, tax levy, or war council convenes without a priest’s benediction. In Cappirdiom the Patriarcha commands a seat in the imperial senate, trading divine sanction for political capital, while in Sahra merchant-priestesses underwrite caravans in exchange for favorable market edicts. Fjallheima’s Higoðar shape Jarls’ verdicts through epic recitals that sway public opinion, and Akerlan’s archbishop serves as the crown’s chief advisor, blessing crusades while quietly steering noble appointments. Even the Silver Order at Tor-MetaTera, ostensibly guardians of Ava’rinn’s proxy, doubles as a diplomatic corps, its Bishop-Commanders arbitrating border disputes under the veil of liturgy. Yet as rival sects whisper illicit bargains and send secret emissaries to courts across the land, holy rites can conceal corruption as easily as they bestow grace.
Sects
Across human lands, the Five have inspired rival sects that emphasize different facets of the divine. Some embrace sorrow’s lessons to deepen empathy, while others glory in the sun’s fire and the warrior’s code. A green-minded circle tends earth and life, dream-focused adepts chase visions of creation, and a small, austere band dwells almost entirely on death’s mysteries.
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Alternative Names
The Doctrine
Training Level
Semi-professional
Veterancy Level
Experienced
Leader Title
Permeated Organizations
Divines
Related Ranks & Titles
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