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Faith & Religion

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BySuraia Silverbell

“Gods rise, gods fall, but people will always tell stories.” — Archivist’s note, Xaverion Library

Overview

Across Eonil, faith is woven into everyday life — from the way years are counted to the stories whispered by the fire.

Two great currents shape most belief:

In the present Fifth Era, the Church of the New Faiths rules openly. Followers of the Old Gods and other forbidden beliefs survive in hiding, in ruins, or in the wild places where law and temple light grow thin.

The Old Faiths

Origins

According to the oldest surviving tales, Ghor was the first god: a being of chaos who plunged Eonil into darkness and twisted life to its will. From across the stars came the twin goddesses Quintra and Denday, embodiments of light and darkness who together challenged Ghor and reshaped the world.

These three are the Old Gods:

  • Ghor — chaos, corruption, monstrous change.

  • Quintra — light, the sun, day, ordered civilisation.

  • Denday — night, the blue moon, secrets and shadowed paths.

It is commonly taught that Old Gods cannot be killed, only banished. Quintra, Denday and Ghor were each driven from the surface and bound to their celestial bodies — the golden sun, the blue moon and the red moon. For this reason, most learned folk quietly admit that the Old Gods are not truly “dead”, no matter what later temples claim.

Eonil, the World-Spirit

Beyond the three stands Eonil, once a goddess in her own right, now the world itself. Old stories say that Ghor cast her into the heart of the planet, turning her into the very land underfoot.

Her worship is rare on the Xaverion Islands and is kept mainly by the Ee’dornil and other so-called mythic races. They tell how Eonil blessed mystical creatures — centaurs, nymphs, minotaurs and others — with power to guard wild places and the balance of nature. Many believe these beings walked openly in earlier eras, though most now assume them extinct.

Because Eonil is seen as nature itself, not a god who walks and speaks, most common folk treat offerings to her more as respect for the land than formal religion. The Church of the New Faiths seldom names her as an Old God, and quiet reverence for the world is often tolerated where worship of Quintra, Denday or Ghor would not be.

Old Faiths in the Fifth Era

Although the New Faiths call them “dead religions”, all four Old Gods still have followers:

  • Some keep small household altars and pray in secret.

  • Others gather in hidden societies or cults, often deep in ruins, catacombs or remote valleys.

  • A few, like the Silent Vigil in the City of Silence, quietly tend the mummified dead of Quintra and Denday and preserve their ancient rites.

Open devotion to Quintra, Denday or Ghor is branded heresy, punished by exile, imprisonment or death if discovered by paladins of the New Faiths. Even gentle sun-or moon-worshippers risk being mistaken for cultists or Ghor servants.

The New Faiths

The Coming of the Silent Gods

Late in the Age of Darkness, when undead, plagues and Ghor-spawn prowled unchecked, four new gods appeared: Thoron, Myalanna, Envylon and Ysandra. Landing upon an island now known as the Landing of the Gods, they built their first temples there and forged a Pact of Unity to stand together against Ghor.

From their earliest days:

  • They organised joint hunts against Ghor’s creatures.

  • They raised temples and called mortals to faith.

  • Their chosen champions became the First Ghor Hunters, legends whose names still mark days and cycles in the calendar.

The four declared themselves the Gods of the New Faiths, and proclaimed that Quintra, Denday and Ghor were dead, unable to bless anyone further. Worship of the Old Gods was branded heresy, and conversion to one of the New Faiths was demanded under threat of death.

Silent, Distant, Questioned

The gods of the New Faiths are known as the Silent Gods. Since the end of the Age of Darkness, they have not appeared openly in recorded history. It is said they speak only through their highest servants — if at all.

Many believers trust in quiet signs and answered prayers. Others, noting the gods’ long silence, quietly question whether they truly exist or whether the Church itself has become the true power in their stead.

The Church of the New Faiths

On the Xaverion Islands, the Church of the New Faiths is the most powerful religious organisation in the present day. It speaks for all four gods together.

Temples and Public Worship

  • Every town and settlement has at least one temple of the New Faiths.

  • Small villages often share one building where all four gods are represented.

  • Larger cities may boast separate temples for Thoron, Myalanna, Envylon and Ysandra.

The vast majority of islanders publicly support one of these four gods. Worship of any other deity is officially considered heresy. Paladins of the Church still hunt heretics and Ghor-servants into the present Fifth Era.

Because the four gods are united, their followers are expected to cooperate rather than compete; Thoron’s warriors, Myalanna’s caretakers, Envylon’s hunters and Ysandra’s seers often work side by side.

Priests and Paladins

The Church is divided into two main branches: Priests and Paladins. Their structures are shared across all four faiths.

Priestly ranks

  • Acolyte – A priest in training, initiated into one god’s service and taught doctrine, rites and basic magic.

  • Priest / Priestess – Once found worthy by a High Priest, an acolyte is ordained. Priests may serve at a temple, transfer elsewhere or travel as wandering clergy to spread the faith.

  • High Priest – Every temple has at least one High Priest. In larger complexes, each god may have their own.

  • Grand Priest – There are four Grand Priests in total, one for each New Faith. They interpret their god’s will and pass it on to the High Priests, who in turn instruct priests and acolytes.

Paladin ranks

  • Paladin in training – Apprentices personally trained by a full paladin. When their mentor judges them ready, they attempt the trials at the Proofing Grounds on the Landing of the Gods.

  • Paladin – Those who pass become full paladins and may specialise as:

    • Defenders – Guardians of temples, priests and the faithful, often assigned to specific towns or clergy.

    • Templars – Wandering paladins who seek out heretics and Ghor’s minions, protecting the innocent in their god’s name.

  • Inquisitor – Commanders over paladins, defenders and templars.

  • High Inquisitor – One per faith; the supreme leader of that god’s paladins.

Heresy, Witch Hunts and Religious Conflict

Religion on the Xaverion Islands is not merely a matter of belief; it is deeply entangled with law, war and persecution.

  • Worship of Quintra, Denday or Ghor is heresy, punished by the Church’s paladins.

  • After the rise and later fall of the Crimson Order — a zealot Thoronite movement — suspected members became targets of the Crimson Witch Hunts. Even now, people can be imprisoned or burned simply for being accused of Crimson sympathies.

  • Prisoners of faith and politics alike may vanish into places such as Abaraxion, the prison island shared by Ahn’Ghor, the Xaverion Order and the Church.

Publicly, the Church speaks of unity and protection against Ghor. In private corners and darkened taverns, people also whisper of abuses, false accusations and the lingering fear that any unusual belief might be branded treason against the gods.

Much to the Church of the New Faith's dismay it is however by law not punishable if you are not a follower of the New Faith. Therefore there are those on the Xaverion Islands who aren't a heretic, but they simply do not believe in deities. The most commonly known people are called the So-Called Eighth Faith.

Everyday Faith

For ordinary folk, religion often appears not as grand decrees but as habit:

  • Swearing oaths “by Thoron’s blade” or “under Myalanna’s mercy”.

  • Lighting a lamp for Envylon before a voyage, or leaving a small offering to Ysandra before a difficult choice.

  • Muttering an old dawn prayer to Quintra or a whispered night-blessing to Denday, even if such devotions are no longer safe to show.

The calendar itself bears the mark of belief: seasons named for the New Gods, cycles and holy days echoing ancient Ghor-hunts, festivals and tragedies. A year cannot turn without passing through the shadows of old wars and the light of new promises.

Death, the Veil and the City of Silence

Across cultures, it is “common knowledge” that the dead must be laid to rest with proper rites, so their souls can pass safely through the unseen barrier often called the Veil and reach the Spirit World.

If the rites are interrupted or neglected:

  • Souls may become ghosts, ghouls or wailing drowned, especially where necromantic forces linger.

  • Veilwardens and priests are often called when such disturbances occur, to set things right.

In the oldest stories, the priests and paladins of Quintra and Denday were not buried like ordinary folk. Instead they were mummified and carried to a hidden necropolis known as the City of Silence.

In the present Fifth Era, the City of Silence itself has slipped into legend.

Everyone has heard of it; most believe it must have existed once, but:

  • Its location is lost to time.

  • Many assume it was destroyed in some forgotten war or disaster.

  • Others claim it lies buried deep beneath the earth, sealed away with the last true servants of Day and Night.

Scholars argue over half-rotted maps and conflicting travelogues, and a few Old Faith dreamers still search for it, but for most people the City of Silence is little more than a solemn fireside tale — a reminder that even gods’ favoured dead can be swallowed by time.

Eonil’s Quiet Places

Far from temples and courts, there remain places people simply call “Eonil’s territory” — groves, lakes, caves and ruins rumoured to be the last haunts of the mythic races or the resting places of ancient guardians.

Travelers and locals alike often leave such places undisturbed:

  • A lake said to be home to nymphs.

  • A wood whispered to be watched by centaurs.

  • A cavern remembered as a minotaur’s lair.

Whether these tales are true or not, the respect given to such places may be the oldest form of religion of all: a wary reverence for the world itself, and for the unseen powers that might still be listening.

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