The Old Faith grew out of the interaction of ancient Agdivari peoples who arrived in Durnia and encountered the native N’Zolani, Egh’dnee, and other groups to eventually develop into what is now called the Old Faith. The religion is a polytheistic one, organized around a central family motif.

The Major Pantheon (a.k.a. “The Seven”)

Elginer “The Sky Father” – god of weather, storms, rain, mountains, justice, honor, war. He represents power, authority, and leadership, and is considered the leader of The Seven. Often invoked in matters of governance, war, and weather, he is also considered a somewhat aloof god.

Alvima “The Earth Mother” – goddess of fertility, crops, family, mining. Her faith is a deeply esoteric one, full of obscure imagery and hidden meanings that you only learn through a lifetime of devotion.

Yevara “The Watcher” – goddess of the Moon, the night protector, goddess of death, witchcraft. She is depicted as a skeletal woman who sits upon her obsidian throne watching the world below. She is responsible for taking people to the afterlife. If they weren’t very devout, they came to the underworld. This is not under the world, though…it is under the surface of the moon.

Chimosh “Lady of the Waves” – goddess of the sea, sea voyages, fishing. Chimosh was once a wrathful force, but she has been tamed somewhat by the friendship of Neff. She is still mercurial and destructive, though, and is easily offended by the failure to perform the right rituals or in violating the various taboos of her faith.

Agadara “The Light One” – goddess of healing, beauty, youth, and the hearth. She was the last of The Seven to appear (see below) but she is also one of the most revered deities of the pantheon. Her faith is hugely important in the daily lives of people.

Bibi “The Devourer”– A ravenous primordial destroyer. Bibi is a forest entity that will one day destroy the world, god of animals and forests. He goes by many names including Galdeko, Takev, and Cigoten. It is said that saying his name “Bibi” (pronounced bee-beh) can draw his attention, hence most use one of the other monikers listed above. Bibi texts say there are 999 names, but only about half are now known.

Neff “The Clever” – god of intelligence, shrewd dealings, trickery, money, civilization, magic. Neff is often made the patron of particular cities, and Neff’s mastery of magic, which the primordials somehow unleashed into the world, has made him particularly appealing to academics and mages alike.

Creation Stories and Cosmology

The universe has always existed and was comprised of heaven and earth. After a long time, they awoke from their slumber and manifested as Elginer, “The Sky Father”, who is married to Alvima, “The Earth Mother”. The Celestial Parents as they are sometimes called, then gave birth to two entities/gods of chaos. Their Children Bibi and Chimosh are violent primordial forces. After the Sky Father and Earth Mother created them, they created the world as we now know it. While they created the world. One or both of the primordial gods created Yevara, the moon goddess. To mock their parents for their creation. But Yevara, herself, had little patience for the Primordials and departed to be near the world. The Sky Father and the Earth Mother created the living things of the world. Yevara, demanded a gift from her grandparents and said she wanted the lives of all the living things to take as her own. And this is why there is death in the world. The Celestial Parents also created humanity to combat or contain the primordial forces of the world.

One early human was so gifted with intelligence, he not only created writing and mathematics, he cleverly convinced (some say he tricked) the Celestial Parents into exalting him into godhood. Elginer and Alvima then demanded he marry their granddaughter, Yevara. Neff, wary of marrying Yevara, used magic to trick her into marrying Bibi who he had temporarily transformed into a duplicate of himself (Neff). He would only release her from the predicament by forcing her to create a divine figure for him to marry; one that was everything she wasn’t, life-affirming, young, beautiful. This is how Agadara was created, and Neff and Agadara were married and now act as protectors of humanity.

Bibi, this ravenous creature is said to be destined to destroy the world, only to have the gods recreate it. Some Bibi cult texts describe this as an eternal cycle and that we are on the 1344th cycle of creation and destruction. According to these texts, once Bibi’s 999 names are discovered, the destructive cycle is triggered.

Lesser Divinities

In addition to the primary gods of the pantheon, there are myriad lesser divinities. Some are little more than regional protectors of a small hamlet or village, a few others have specific domains such as grain, roads, or caves. Some are supposedly descended from “The Seven”, many are local deities that were incorporated into the Dominant Agdivari / Shedforther religion.

Religious Organization

The Old Faith has priests and priestesses who maintain the various temples and shrines. The organization of each god or goddess varies considerably. However, a priest or priestess is dedicated to worshipping only their deity, but they will generally show respect for the other Old Faith Deities.

THE OLD FAITH

The Old Faith grew out of the interaction of ancient Agdivari peoples who arrived in Durnia and encountered the native N’Zolani, Egh’dnee, and other groups to eventually develop into what is now called the Old Faith. The religion is a polytheistic one, organized around a central family motif.

The Major Pantheon (a.k.a. “The Seven”)

Elginer “The Sky Father” – god of weather, storms, rain, mountains, justice, honor, war. He represents power, authority, and leadership, and is considered the leader of The Seven. Often invoked in matters of governance, war, and weather, he is also considered a somewhat aloof god.

Alvima “The Earth Mother” – goddess of fertility, crops, family, mining. Her faith is a deeply esoteric one, full of obscure imagery and hidden meanings that you only learn through a lifetime of devotion.

Yevara “The Watcher” – goddess of the Moon, the night protector, goddess of death, witchcraft. She is depicted as a skeletal woman who sits upon her obsidian throne watching the world below. She is responsible for taking people to the afterlife. If they weren’t very devout, they came to the underworld. This is not under the world, though…it is under the surface of the moon.

Chimosh “Lady of the Waves” – goddess of the sea, sea voyages, fishing. Chimosh was once a wrathful force, but she has been tamed somewhat by the friendship of Neff. She is still mercurial and destructive, though, and is easily offended by the failure to perform the right rituals or in violating the various taboos of her faith.

Agadara “The Light One” – goddess of healing, beauty, youth, and the hearth. She was the last of The Seven to appear (see below) but she is also one of the most revered deities of the pantheon. Her faith is hugely important in the daily lives of people.

Bibi “The Devourer”– A ravenous primordial destroyer. Bibi is a forest entity that will one day destroy the world, god of animals and forests. He goes by many names including Galdeko, Takev, and Cigoten. It is said that saying his name “Bibi” (pronounced bee-beh) can draw his attention, hence most use one of the other monikers listed above. Bibi texts say there are 999 names, but only about half are now known.

Neff “The Clever” – god of intelligence, shrewd dealings, trickery, money, civilization, magic. Neff is often made the patron of particular cities, and Neff’s mastery of magic, which the primordials somehow unleashed into the world, has made him particularly appealing to academics and mages alike.

Creation Stories and Cosmology

The universe has always existed and was comprised of heaven and earth. After a long time, they awoke from their slumber and manifested as Elginer, “The Sky Father”, who is married to Alvima, “The Earth Mother”. The Celestial Parents as they are sometimes called, then gave birth to two entities/gods of chaos. Their Children Bibi and Chimosh are violent primordial forces. After the Sky Father and Earth Mother created them, they created the world as we now know it. While they created the world. One or both of the primordial gods created Yevara, the moon goddess. To mock their parents for their creation. But Yevara, herself, had little patience for the Primordials and departed to be near the world. The Sky Father and the Earth Mother created the living things of the world. Yevara, demanded a gift from her grandparents and said she wanted the lives of all the living things to take as her own. And this is why there is death in the world. The Celestial Parents also created humanity to combat or contain the primordial forces of the world.

One early human was so gifted with intelligence, he not only created writing and mathematics, he cleverly convinced (some say he tricked) the Celestial Parents into exalting him into godhood. Elginer and Alvima then demanded he marry their granddaughter, Yevara. Neff, wary of marrying Yevara, used magic to trick her into marrying Bibi who he had temporarily transformed into a duplicate of himself (Neff). He would only release her from the predicament by forcing her to create a divine figure for him to marry; one that was everything she wasn’t, life-affirming, young, beautiful. This is how Agadara was created, and Neff and Agadara were married and now act as protectors of humanity.

Bibi, this ravenous creature is said to be destined to destroy the world, only to have the gods recreate it. Some Bibi cult texts describe this as an eternal cycle and that we are on the 1344th cycle of creation and destruction. According to these texts, once Bibi’s 999 names are discovered, the destructive cycle is triggered.

Lesser Divinities

In addition to the primary gods of the pantheon, there are myriad lesser divinities. Some are little more than regional protectors of a small hamlet or village, a few others have specific domains such as grain, roads, or caves. Some are supposedly descended from “The Seven”, many are local deities that were incorporated into the Dominant Agdivari / Shedforther religion.

Religious Organization

The Old Faith has priests and priestesses who maintain the various temples and shrines. The organization of each god or goddess varies considerably. However, a priest or priestess is dedicated to worshipping only their deity, but they will generally show respect for the other Old Faith Deities.

Doctrines and Practice

Those lay people who worship the Old Faith will often venerate many gods throughout the year, including local patron deities, deities that have to do with their work or livelihoods, and occasionally, etc. Followers of the Old Faith may view one diety as their favored one, but they will attend the festivals and pilgrimages celebrating other Old Faith gods. However, there is a sub-sect of Neff worshippers who are Henotheistic (i.e. they acknowledge the other gods, even Yorbis (see below), but feel they are all inferior to Neff). This henotheistic sub-sect is called “Followers of the White Throne”

Godstones

In in the ancient past, the early human inhabitants of Durnia established shrines at large stones found throughout the land. These boulders were either deemed the home of a sacred spirit entity (for example, the ancient N’Zolani tended to be animists) or to be somehow tied to a particular faith. Over time these evolved into Godstones.

Godstones are range from 8 to 20 feet tall, with most averaging 12 feet or so in height. Most have carved patterns on the surface. These patterns are often spirals, lines, or occasionally, stylized faces and/or depictions of animals. Over the years, many of these have been forgotten, some are worn nearly smooth from the elements and/or years upon years of use.