Alleborg, relevant history and people
Three prominent deities
These are the three prominent deities of Masmuria. Feel free to add your own, but please include a brief description similar to what's provided below.
Perun
Perun is the god of the sky, thunder and lightning and oversees all. He is considered the most powerful of all the deities of Masmuria, and worshipers see him as The One True God. He is the most commonly worshipped deity in Alleborg.
With the power to destroy with storms and lightning, Perun is both revered and feared by virtually everyone. This reverence and fear has naturally led to the enforcement of a rigid hierarchical structure within the church. The leaders of the church tend to hold positions of influence due to the power derived from Perun's sheer number of followers. His symbol is that of the thundermark, and his faithful often carve it into the tops of their houses to ward off lightning. The thundermark is a single hexagon with three bisecting lines intersecting to form six equilateral triangles. Its origins have been lost over time, but the perfection of the hexagon and triangle are thought to somehow relate to the control of Perun over the world. Perun is also sometimes represented with a lightning bolt.
- Perun symbol.png (41.03 KiB) Viewed 2054 times
Worshipers of Perun tend to fear death because it means surrendering their souls to Veles who is in conflict with Perun. Exceptions are those who bring great glory to Perun; they are called to the sky to join him directly after death. Fighters and nobles often choose Perun as their deity.
Worshipers of other deities often chafe against his worship. They see his followers as mindless and ignorant, following a deity mad with power for no other reason than fear.
Perun is best described as a lawful neutral deity.
Veles
Veles is primarily the god of the dead and of the underworld. But he should not be confused with an evil being. Those following Veles see the afterworld as a pleasant, even blissful place of eternal spring. Followers of Veles see death as a natural part of life and not something to be feared. These followers envision the pantheon of the gods as a tree, with Veles and the underworld under his dominion providing nurturing roots for the rest of the structure. In fact, one of the major symbols of Veles is a chaotic network of tree roots branching in all directions, some of which have moss and even leaves of their own.
His worshipers have the least hierarchical structure of any deity. There is no single authoritative text as to the precepts of his worship, and most of his teaching have been passed down orally. As a consequence, significant regional differences exist amongst his worshipers. Unfortunately, some of these teachings have been perverted to serve the self-interest of powerful priests.
The basic foundational principle of Veles worship is that of doing good in the world. The ends very much justify the means, and so Veles is often also seen as the god of trickery and deception. He is also seen as a patron deity of illusionists and other practitioners of mystical arts.
Followers of Veles often balk at authority. Given the rigidity of the heirarchical structure of the worship of Perun, these two deities are often in conflict, and several myths exist detailing the struggle between Veles and Perun. However, there have been no large-scale conflicts in documented history between practitioners of the faiths.
Veles is often depicted as an elderly, slender, tall man with a black beard. Some worshipers see him as the god of livestock and shepherds as his underworld provides the fertile soil that grow the grasses and foodstuffs livestock depend on. A black sheep is seen as a particularly direct sign of Veles's intervention, and is another symbol associated with him. The birth of a black sheep is seen as a harbringer of good fortune. Most powerful priests of Veles wear tunics made of black wool.
His alignment is best described as chaotic good.
Jari
Jari is the goddess of fertility and agriculture. According to lore, she began life as an exceptionally beautiful dryad. Her spirit occupied an enormous lone tree in the center of a farmer's field. The farmer cared for the tree affectionately, knowing nothing of her dryadic nature. Perun and Veles knew, however, and we captivated by her beauty. Veles enriched the soil to nurture her tree to such an extent that she gained the powers of a goddess, while Perun grew more and more jealous. One night while she was roaming the countryside, Perun threw a mighty bolt of lightning at her tree, destroying it. The reverberations of this bolt are sometimes still felt in the form of earthquakes. Perun hoped to compel her to join him in his kingdom in the sky, but his act so enraged and frightened her that she sought refuge in the underworld.
She returned the next spring to help ensure a good harvest for the farmer that tended to her tree, and her true nature was revealed. She immediately garnered a huge following, and when she announced her intent to return to the underworld, her followers were anguished. To assuage them, she gave them the gift of the moon. Her face, visible when the moon is full, assures them she is watching over them.
She returns every spring to view the lands and bless them. Her followers often attempt to roam with her upon her return. She is very gifted in the art of concealment, and is able to hide from the still jealous Perun. By the end of the harvest, she returns to the underworld. There is much scholarly debate whether this is because Perun has located her or she desires to return to Veles.
Jari's main symbol is a crescent moon. She is also symbolized by a gnarled, sturdy walking stick.
Other deities
Other deities certainly exist. They tend not to be well known and enjoy smaller followings. Evil deities are not worshiped openly, but they are known to exist.