Amanism

The Heptagon

The followers of the seven believe that there are seven gods in the world. They are all connected to each other and revolve around each other. There are two parent gods. They represent the beginning and are the most powerful, and they rule the heavens with their five children.

Amano

He is the god of creation, the All-Father. He is the gentle but stern overlord of the world. In his wisdom, he demands discipline and respect from his children, as well as hard work and dedicated effort.
He gave people life, a place to live in, the will to thrive, and the imagination to construct.

He is prayed to for many things, but mainly inspiration and the strength to carry on.

Shelis

She is the goddess of mortality, of life and death. She is Amano's wife and lover, and together they created the universe and all its inhabitants. She is the one who was in charge of the creation of the soul, as well as creating a place for them to go upon a person's death.
She is unpredictable and temperamental, much less patient and understanding than her divine husband. She is cold and harsh at times, but warm and seductive at others. She embodies all of the good things in life and all of its hardships. She is the one who gave people the ability to die, in order to spare them from having to endure the torture of eternity.

Now, she rules the underworld, the land of the dead, while her husband attends to more earthly matters, with the aid of their five children.

People pray to her for their fallen loved ones, they pray for health, and they pray for protection.

Dinor

God of Labour and Commerce.
The first child. He looked to his parents' creations and was inspired by their dedication, their crafts, and their efforts to make a living. It was then that he decided that these were whom he would watch over. He is the patron of the hard-working and of the skilled creator, he watches over the businessman who uses intellect to become successful, and he brings fortune to the humble merchant, who travels great distances to find buyers for his wares.

People pray to him for success, for luck, and for aid in their ventures. Farmers pray for good crops, and merchants pray for favorable trades.

Moaru

Goddess of Passion.
The second child. She, like her older brother before her, looked to the people. She took an interest in their passions, their drive to form attachments, both to each other, and to the things they created. She found great beauty in this and decided it would be these people she would aid. She is the goddess of love and beauty. She blesses the lover, who innocently seeks happiness with their one and only. She blesses the maiden, who does her hair to appear in greater beauty. She watches over the happy child, who simply seeks to enjoy life without the burdens of adult struggles. She blesses the artist, who pours all his passion into their one true masterpiece, granting him the inspiration he seeks. Her power is that of passion, and love, of peace and serenity, to comfort each other and to be dedicated to your loved ones—not only romantic relationships, but family and friendships as well.

People pray to her for inspiration, for their affection to be reciprocated, as well as fortune and happiness in marriage. They pray for family issues to be resolved, and they pray for their passions to be understood.

Elyneth

God of the Elements.
The third child. He wasn't as interested in people as his older siblings. Instead, he looked to the natural world. He chose to be a god of nature, the elements. He not only maintains the natural forces that keep the world in balance, but also the vital weather patterns that bring rain at exactly the right time. He unleashes the power of volcanoes, both destroying and fertilizing.
When there is an earthquake, a wildfire, or another type of natural disaster, it is said that Elyneth is displeased.

People pray to him for rain, they pray for sunshine, they pray for favorable seas, and many more things like this.

Kato

God of War.
The fourth child. Kato was concerned about the struggles of the people. He saw them in conflict, fighting and hurting, and he saw how miserable they were. At first, he tried to be the god of peace, but he soon figured out that, no matter how much he tried to be a diplomat, there would always be conflict. So rather than trying to avoid conflict, he decided it would be his domain to teach the people how to survive, to be vigilant, and to protect themselves and those they care for.

People pray to him for strength, and the strength of others. They pray for protection, and for the world to be kinder to them.

Yaviina

Goddess of Nature
Yaviina looked to the world and saw beauty in nature, in the plants and the animals. This would be her domain. She was the one who granted the tame pig to the Enyanians, as well as providing the world with all other domesticated animals. She is the one who changed the plants to be better fit for consumption, but that was not all.
She could not only give, but she also protected. She put measures into place to protect nature, clearly distinguishing between plants that are meant for people to eat and those that are to be left alone. She also created animals to protect the wilderness, most famous among elves is the jaguar, which is said to be a divine creature, sent to the world to guard the forest.

Religious Practice

The faithful gather in houses of the gods. Within these houses, there are often many depictions of their gods. The way they are depicted depends greatly on the exact branch of faith, but in elven nations, they are depicted as elves, and in human nations, they are more often depicted as humans or unknown entities without a clearly definable race.

These churches are headed by priests, and the higher-level priests are called bishops. The original leader of the faith is the Archbishop, who lives in Ynan Yllith and is a subject of the Enyanian Monarchy, but most nations do not acknowledge this person as the faith's legitimate leader.

Celebrations

All universal celebrations are celebrated differently per branch of faith, but these are the ones that carry greater importance.

Creation Day
The day that people celebrate that Amano created the world. Most people celebrate this with creations of their own, especially artisanal crafts and food.

Marriage
This is a celebration of Moaru and the people getting married. Exact wedding celebrations differ, but they all emphasize music and dance as a vital part of the process.

Kato Day
This celebration is done annually and is meant to thank Kato for the strength he gives the people. The way this is celebrated differs greatly between times of peace and times of war.

Harvest Festival
This is a celebration dedicated to Yaviina, and all nations have a version of this celebration, depending on local harvest seasons and crops.

Land of the Faithful

This is an originally elven religion founded in the Stone Age somewhere in Enyanin. It is followed by all elves and has even managed to spread to a number of human nations. Each has their own way of following the faith, some more independent than others.

Enyanin

Being the original homeland of the faith, they have a lot of power over religious doctrine and practices, especially within the nation of Enyanin, of course, where it remains the sole religion. Faithful will gather at the houses of faith once a day, each day being dedicated to a different god. These congregations usually take place after dark, when people have finished up their daily chores. The imminent start of Mass is announced with a church bell. This bell is rung once, then twice, and so forth, and when the bell sounds five times, it will begin.

Yaviina is among their most important deities, and they place special emphasis on living in accordance with nature. Most wood elves will say a little prayer when they enter the forest, asking for safe passage. When someone is killed by a jaguar, people whisper of the wrath of Yaviina, and that they must have done something to anger her.

In Enyanin, there are Prince-Bishops who, besides their cathedrals, also rule land. This used to be common practice, but it has since been limited to three regions of the Enyanian Kingdom.

Anmye

This nation officially follows the Enyanian branch of the faith. They recognize the Archbishop's religious authority but resent his control over their religious policies, and they retain the right to appoint their own bishops. They do not allow the church to own land outside the houses of faith. Prince-Bishops tried to seize control during the early years of the island's elven settlement of Trianmye, but this was soundly rejected by the locals.

The islanders prefer Elyneth over Yaviina, as his power over the weather and the seas has led them to ask him for many favors. Being a sailor is akin to being a priest, and captains are the spiritual leaders of sailors.
They are commonly seen praying for favorable winds during journeys. They also wear weather amulets for protection.

They are much less zealous than their woodland kin, though. They go to mass only on Amano's and Elyneth's days.

Westingham

After the Holy Wars, Westingham denounced the Archbishop for facilitating such conflict and tyranny, and since then, they have managed their religion separately. They have their own version of an Archbishop, whom they call the Pope.
They have grown to distrust the faith in politics, and therefore, they do not allow the faith to own land. All churches are owned by the Crown of Westingham, and the Pope appoints bishops. The Pope is subject to the will of the king and isn't allowed to independently make proclamations.

The Westerners favor Dinor the most, and they go to church only on weekends, where all seven gods are revered equally. While Dinor is the most popular, all gods are worshipped, and who is favored usually depends on the season, town, and recent events.

Isich

Isich follows the same branch of the faith as Westingham, and they recognize the Pope as the legitimate leader of the faith. They even allow him to appoint their bishops, as long as they are of Isich origin.
The Isich have even more of a preference for Dinor than the people of Westingham, and they have an annual festival celebrating him. Other than that, their practices are very similar to those of Westingham.

Rendia

Rendia follows the Westingham branch of the faith, and they recognize the Pope's religious authority. However, they don't have any bishops, only using priests and one high priest, who is their national head of faith.

The Rendish version of the faith has kept a lot of aspects from their native religion, and they still believe the moon is sacred. Most Rendish believe that the moon is the home of the gods, from which they look down on the earth, and that during new moons, their influence is the weakest. They celebrate full moons, believing that at this time, the gods are closest to them.

They go to church once a week, and their general teachings differ quite a lot from other branches.

Marn

Marn neither recognizes the Enyanian Archbishop nor the Pope of Westingham as legitimate, and instead they have their own head of faith, called the Prime Believer, or Prime for short. They have completely separate religious doctrines, and it has grown quite distinct over the years.

They believe that all seven gods are merely representations of a single all-powerful god, and they see them all as one. They use churches as community buildings, and gather there every day at the end of the workday. People come and go as they please, and sometime during this gathering, the priest usually makes some kind of short speech. Official mass is only one day a week, and this is when the priest really teaches about the religion and comments on last week's events from a theological perspective.

People usually pray before consuming a meal—a leftover from their previous religion—but other than these things, the religion doesn't play a big role in their lives. They are not known as zealous people or as those who stress about the opinions of the gods too much. This is because they believe that the gods can see their true opinions, their true intentions, and as long as those are good, the gods will approve.

The Marnish also believe that people who were especially good in life are eligible for rebirth, and put in special places, such as those of leaders or heads of faith. It is also said that these people are destined to be the most powerful of mages.

Branches of Faith

These different national practices have created four distinct branches of faith, which all interact with each other in certain ways.

Elven Branch

The two elven interpretations are seen as one, and they see each other as brethren in faith.
The Western and Rendish branches both view them as heretics, but the Marnish simply see them as "astray," which means that they believe that their paths have not diverged too much.

Western Branch

The Westingham and Isich branches see each other as one, and they have good relations with two of their neighboring faiths. They see the Rendish interpretation as brothers in faith, and the Marnish as simply astray.
However, they see the Elven branch as heretical.

Rendish Branch

The Rendish branch is alone, and they see both the Western and Marnish branches as brothers in faith, but, like the Westerners, they see the Elven branch as heretical.

Marnish Branch

The Marnish branch is most accepting of all, seeing all the other branches as astray, but not heretical.