Humans believe in a hierarchical set of deities. These deities possess superhuman qualities, but are also characterized with many human qualities such as the ability to have children, die, or make mistakes. Consequently, the Human Pantheon is constantly shifting, with its gods in constant conflict with each other, fighting for dominance, worshippers, and control over domains of magic. Due to the diversity inherent to the human gods, and the frequent missions of their priests to spread the religion, they are often adopted by individuals of other cultures, particularly those seeking a social connection to their deity. Only Iban and Amaleah are universally venerated, with bitter disagreements on the goodness of the minor gods.
The Church of the Empty Road is an institution of immense but waning power, with its two Major Cathedrals on either side of the Holy City of Provenance. It is said that the 10 Earthly Gods first arrived there at the first sunset, after the death of the Allfather Iban. The head of the church is known as the "Earthen Allfather", to underscore the believe that the Earthen Allfather is the messenger of Iban's will. The current Earthen Allfather is Helveticus XII, who has reigned since SA 2899. He is 98 years old.
While Ibanism is a very human-centric religion, with each of its gods being specifically described as such in text and pictures, missions across Blimnor have seeded the religion among other races. Ibanist churches can be found along in Norgir, Taesir, Fafdor, and Whilcyx. Perhaps the strongest Ibanist community outside of Ibania is in the halfing cities in eastern Udeluppa, where the faith-based teachings have a stronger appeal than the pragmatic philosophies of the gnomish west.
The creator God, Iban “outranks” all other Gods and Goddesses in the Pantheon. Often depicted as a strong, middle-aged man with a thick beard and holding a massive hammer called “Worldforger”, Iban rarely has churches built specifically in his honor, but is worshipped in any Ibanist place of worship. His wife, Amaleah and him had six children, three male, three female. They were Profero, Lord of Ambition and Trickery; Temperance, lady of wisdom; Dirk, Lord of Bravery and Warfare; Evensong, Lady of Music and the Arts; Doric, Lord of Knowledge and Travel; and Aesta, Lady of the Sea. He was betrayed by the trickster God, Profero, into gazing back at his own creation from high above Blimnor (which he had pledged not to do). At this moment, Profero pushed him out of heaven and his body crashed into the depths, killing Iban instantly. His body is said to have become the continent of Ibanfall, also known as the Great Eastlands. He is sometimes referred to as "The Allfather" or "Iban Allfather". He has no sigil.
Domain: Forge
It is said that Iban, lonely in his neverending quest of creation, created Amaleah for himself as a companion and equal. Indeed, Amaleah is one of the only universally-loved deities in Ibanism. In early Blimnorian history, before the Prohibition of Divine Intervention, it is said that she frequently journeyed among the peoples of Blimnor, offering counsel. Amaleah guided Iban on his quest to populate the heavens with many great worlds, forbidding him to ever once look back on one of his creations. In the absence of Iban, Amaleah is typically seen as the leader-Goddess of Ibanism. The great Oracles of Sygl all follow Amaleah exclusively, and are known counsel that seems to be divinely-inspired. The Symbol of Amaleah is The all-seeing eye.
Domain: Knowledge
In the myth of Profero's birth he was neither firstborn, nor last, nor the middle, and is envious of his brothers, sisters, and of all mortals lowly or highborn. Furthermore, he despised the impartial prescience of his mother, and the unerring discipline of his father, and believed that the world would be more interesting in their absence. Amaleah had forbidden Iban from looking upon the world he had created. Her guidance was that a creation is stronger when its author is undistracted. Instead she could observe the world, impartial for having not had a hand in its formation. Knowing then, that Iban would do as Amaleah said, Profero hatched a plan to disgrace them both. First, he took on the appearance of his mother, and approaching Iban said, "Your son will trick you into looking upon the world." The Allfather did not respond, instead pondered this alone for a time, as it was a contradiction to her guidance. However, then Profero took on the appearance of his father, and went to Amaleah. To her, he said, "If my son tells me to look upon the world, I shall." Amaleah, the distant arbiter of truth only listened and remembered. So, when Iban sought out his wife for assurance, asking "Is this true, can my son trick me? Will I break my oath to you?", she knew the answers to be true, and said only as much. Thus, when Profero and Iban stood in the heavens, and Profero told him to behold his creation, Iban did. And thereupon Profero pushed his father out of the heavens.
While Profero is often described as the Betrayer God, it is important to note that this is by no means a condemnation of him as evil. In fact many priests of Ibanism see his actions as an important catalyst for a new and necessary pantheon. Indeed, Profero is not only the patron of thieves and assassins, but also of entrepreneurs, merchants, and leaders faced with difficult and unpopular decisions.
Domain: Trickery
Dirk is the firstborn child of Iban Allfather, and his loyal guard in all times of battle. Dirk was the only child of Amaleah and Iban to see the wonders of Blimnor before his father's betrayal and death at the hands of Profero, having been born before the continents of Blimnor had taken full form. He took up the Great Worldforger as his weapon after his father's death, but tales of his deeds in battle frequently mention Dirk using nothing but his hands as weapons against his foes, who rarely survive encountering the God.
The Shield of Dirk, sometimes called Garthir, is the universal symbol of the God in Temples to Dirk. These temples are relatively rare, but were more common in earlier ages, when warfare was a more daily element of life in Ibania. The central Temple to Dirk, sometimes called Glory's Rest, is located in Baeyrd, having been maintained for thousands of years by the Panthic Ibanists in the royal family who believed the God's favor kept their hold on the throne firm. Priests of Baeyrd wear golden chainmail in their services and carry rounded shields.
Dirk has a jovial, almost comic demeanor. When he still walked among the people of Blimnor, much of his time was spent engaging in contests of wrestling or drinking or feats of strength. Those who raise his ire, however, find him among the slowest to forgive any perceived transgression. One of the easiest ways to raise the Elder son's anger is by mention or support of his brother Profero. While most of the gods of the Ibanic pantheon are believed to have forgiven the trickster God for the Ibanfall, Dirk's wrath still burns as it did in the days of old. It is said that Dirk was most opposed among the Gods to the Prohibition of Divine Intervention, believing the peoples of Blimnor to still need divine guidance. However he, as always, acquiesced to the command of his mother, who still holds tremendous sway on the headstrong God.
Domain: War
Doric was the youngest son of Iban Allfather, and born with the knowledge of his siblings' foibles already on the minds of the father and mother gods. In scripture, more is said about Doric's upbringing than any other godchild. Iban trained Doric to be a Shieldsman to his older, stronger brother Dirk, frequently remarking at Doric's inferiority to his brother in feats of physical strength. In fact, a cursory reading of The Empty Road leaves the impression of a son disliked or even hated by his father. Even through this abuse, Doric was fiercely loyal to his father. However, seeing Dirk's stolidness and Profero's budding treachery Amaleah, who previously took a passive, loving role to each of her children, felt the need to parent Doric more directly. Without the knowledge of her husband, Amaleah would shepherd young Doric, in the adolescence of his godhood, down to the surface of Blimnor. There, unseen, the two would observe the messy diversity of mortal life there: Kings jockeying for position, Bakers running off with their mistresses, scholars discussing matters of philosophy. Thus, over the many years of the first age, Doric slowly grew and surpassed his brothers in both strength of character and wisdom.
At the moment of the Ibanfall, only Doric and his mother had come to expect Profero's treachery. When he stood to defend his father from his brother, to his surprise, Amaleah staid his hand. "From the first hammerstroke of Iban Allfather all things have been set into motion, for good and ill", she said, "and only through our darkest tragedy can the full glory of creation be realized". It was there, tears streaming down his face, that Doric stood down, and watched his own father's death.
Doric so loved the peoples of Blimnor, that he still occasionally sneaks to the surface of the world, usually in the form of a slovenly traveller. He remains the most beloved god by the peoples of Ibania and Fafdor, with a temple to him in every major city.
Domain: Order
It is said that upon being born, Temperance was herself already pregnant with new life, and in that instance the world exploded with new vibrancy and opportunity. The fields seeded with miraculous crops, mothers and fathers joyously celebrating newborns, and the sick and dying rising from their beds with new vitality. She is worshipped as the goddess of exponential growth, but she is also the goddess of sacrifice. Temperance is said to visit those in great peril, or close to death and quietly judge their worth before choosing to grant them a miracle, or allow them to perish. While she is perhaps the most universally beloved of the pantheon, some priests debate the limits of her power and whether she has the capacity to judge all the lives she creates, or if instead some she has forgotten entirely. Nonetheless, she is the patron of healers, parents, and growing villages.
Domain: Life
The god Evensong is enigmatic, since the scripture is inconsistent regarding their gender. In some text, Evensong is a man, in others a woman. Sometimes they are beautiful, other times homely. While some historians claim this is likely an error caused by miscommunications between early priests of Evensong, those priests believe something different. The god's domain is that of peace; their music, poems, and stories are soothing and create harmony and understanding. However, their art is never a rendition of Ibanist scripture, but instead the beliefs, ideas, and worries of the worshippers reflected back. Thus, believers say, Evensong is always a mirror of what a person needs to see in order to find peace, understanding, and acceptance. When a warrior's hands shake on the eve of battle, Evensong may appear as the steady voice of a father. When a villager must face judgement for their crimes, Evensong may appear as the soft assurance of a mother. Evensong is the patron of minstrels and actors, for whom the act of costume is an art. Before a performance, worshippers offer a prayer to Evensong.
Domain: Peace
Unlike many of the other gods, Aesta's birth is described as a dangerous product of natural violence. The ocean rose to the sky, while fire seared below. The air boiled in the depths as the earth shattered and shook. All the world trembled and churned in great upheaval, and from it the goddess of storms was born. Most descriptions of Aesta are not that of an angry goddess, however everywhere she goes great disaster follows. As such she is worshipped by those whose livelihood is dependent on the hospitality of the wilderness. Sailors treat her as synonymous with the sea, and druids call upon her for vengeance against those who would besmirch nature. However, she is also regarded as a symbol of the unpredictability of nature, and the importance of harnessing its power and controlling it for the betterment of civilization.
Domain: Tempest and Nature
Qirvis is depicted as wearing a jeweled mask, whose facets are always shifting to defy description. In myth, he approaches strangers to pose a riddle, proffer an obscure fact, or test them with a paradox. He is the patron of wizards, inventors, and philosophers, who call him to "eternal enigma". To them he represents the ever changing nature of knowledge, magic, and technology. However, his depiction in the myths of his sibling gods is rarely as flattering, with him often appearing to pose a pedantic conundrum meant to confuse his sibling, only to be dismissed in favor of an intuitive moral lesson.
Domain: Arcana
As Iban worked to create Blimnor, his hammer strokes were crude and imprecise in the darkness. And so Oreth emerged, her light flooding the young world. With renewed vigor, Iban worked furiously at his creation, but soon his hands shook with fatigue, his grip slick with sweat, and once again his work suffered. And so his wife, Amaleah asked Oreth to also create darkness, so that Iban would be forced to rest.
For this reason, Oreth has domain both over the cycle of day and the night, the sun and the moon. She never rests, as each cycle is a single beat of her heart. While her duality is inherent to her nature, most worshippers choose to worship either her persona of the day, or of the night.
Domain: Light and Twilight
Most mysterious of the gods, Urdu's face is shrouded in a dark mask, and shielded from the light by a wide-brimmed hat. In some scriptures he is described as desperate and malformed, devouring the scraps and waste left behind by Iban's relentless work.
In some versions he is portrayed as selfish and pathetic, and his taking of mortal lives a form of hunger for the vitality that he does not himself possess. However, in other scriptures he is described as careful and dignified, dutifully cleaning and clearing the world of detritus. The latter interpretation of Urdu has led him to be revered among farming cultures as an agent of nature, reclaiming wasted harvests to fertilize the land for new growth.
However, in all versions, he is an unnerving and silent figure, neither friendly nor malicious, but whose presence is a sign of death and decay.
Domain: Death and Grave
Those who belong to the Synagent sect believe that the Ibanian gods are metaphysical representations of philosophical aspects such as War, Knowledge, or Nature. They reject the notion of the corporeal manifestation of either the original Ibanist gods, or the subsequent pantheon of deities. Instead, they believe that the entities were present and necessary to the creation of Blimnor and life. While this does contend with the creation myth proposed by the worshippers of the elven goddess Ilar, Synagents are content in believing that these gods are the same.
Galmolian Ibanists believe that the gods are physical and powerful entities that possess great magical powers, but also distinct flaws, limitations, and vulnerabilities. Furthermore, they believe that the fall of Iban proves that gods can die just as mortals can. Even beyond the discussion of the physicality, Galmolians also believe that the gods have complex but comprehendible emotions and agendas, and that their actions are far more socially motivated. Galmolians more than any other sect have members who claim to have encountered a god in human form, discovered a holy relic, or to be given a holy mission.
The newest sect of Ibanism was formed at the start of the Modern Age in response to the discovery that all rifts to the heavenly plane had been sealed-off by the celestial inhabitants. The only reasonable explanation, the Church believed, was that the gods wished to isolate their devotees. The belief of Intentile Ibanists is that before they can earn the divine guidance of their gods, they must first learn to morally govern themselves. Temples that cater to this philosophy are aggressively opposed to any claims of direct correspondence with gods, and will confiscate any holy artifacts. Instead, religious guidance and practice is to be strictly derived from scripture, study, and moral debate.
The Yaulic tradition of Ibanism predates the Second Age emergence of the Ibanist Pantheon. While it shares the gods of Iban, Amaleah, Oreth, and Urdu, its practices are considered primal and barbaric, and unrecognizable as the origin of Ibanist religion. Among its rituals is the use of fresh blood and viscera from a sacrificed creature to divine the future or a god's intent. Its most famous practice is that of the Drularre, a ritualistic suicide and organ harvest performed by those who felt they had outlived their body's usefulness. Practice of Yaulic blood magic is strictly illegal in Ibania.
Records of ancient halfling beliefs share many similarities to Yaulic traditions of Ibania. Religious carvings discovered on Ferrymellow have striking similarities to the gods of Iban, Amaleah, Oreth, and Urdu. The imprecise oral traditions of Halflings have made it difficult for religious historians to determine how these similarities came to be, though the prevailing theory is that of early Ibanist missionaries. However, one distinct difference is that the halfling gods hold slightly different domains from their Ibanist counterparts. Examples include Iban ruling the home and hearth, while Urdu rules harvest and decay.