The Cathedral of Helheim is a bastion of faith and community, located in the castle complex of Helheim.
♛ Last update: April 2026 ♛
The nature of The Four have long been debated throughout history, with scriptures and historians often debating the finer details regarding the domains and personifications of the gods. A recurring truth has always been present: a shared belief that Mikhail, Aidos, Dormia and Junten are four separate gods responsible for the very creation of Sincadere itself. Whilst The Four are revered as the deities overseeing the world, it is commonly understood that The Four are also not separate beings at all, but four quadrants which together make up a whole being: the Greater God, the Higher Being or simply The One. The theme of unity is strong in Helheim and many argue that only together, much like the citizens of the realm, can The Four be at their strongest. Many scribes have tried and failed to define how four gods can simultaneously also serve as one omnipotent entity: but this is known to be the mortal folly of trying to define the very nature of a being far beyond mortal comprehension. It is said the Greater God spread themself amongst The Four in order to create a world and walk amongst it in forms more familiar.
Depictions and imagery of the Greater God differ between scrolls and paintings, a victim to artistic license but bound to traditional templates. They are always a tall human figure silhouetted against a bright light: usually the sun which serves as both halo and frame to the image. It is commonly known that none know the true face of The One, with many arguing that even suggesting a face exists is mortal error. This figure represents the unknown parent to a vast, unknown universe. Follows of a particular god have been known to skew the image more towards a likeness of their favoured patron, though certain hardliners have considered this blasphemous. Artists depict the Greater God anywhere from a towering humanoid visiting temples to a celestial being that fills the entire sky: these are generally welcomed by the faith as artistic tributes rather than attempts at a definitive image.
Many adherents to this way of thinking exist in the modern day.
Details
Appearance
In the days of old when the Gods walked amongst the humans, Aidos was seen as a tall and pale women with long, flow hair of red and white. She would often be seen holding a seed in one hand, quoted to have said 'To hold life in one's hand is the most precious gift of all.'. It was once said that Aidos was genderless, but through generations, this assumptions has been lost and contemporary texts all paint the picture of a woman with 'soft features', though the original depiction can be seen in earlier texts.
Season
Aidos represents the Spring, a time of rebirth, new growth and warmth.
The Greater God
When the Four come together, creating the whole, or Greater God, Aidos is said to be the beating heart ensuring all that is done is done with goodness in mind, even though the methods may be anything but.
Element
Aidos is represented by water as an essential ingredient of life, but also by a late frozen late or early morning frosts.
Domains
Rebirth and Life
It is said, in the scriptures of old, that Aidos breathed life in to the very planet of Sincadere that Domia had crafted, filling the world with the plants, animals and humans that would soon come to inhabit it. This is why Aidos is often not referred to by name, but rather The Mother. Once Mikhail has judged a soul and passed it along to Aidos, she finds a vessel fit for its purity, giving it life once more. Naturally, offerings are given to The Mother before a child is born to ensure they receive a pure soul and during their early years of life to ensure a healthy start. Aidos, however, considers all souls to be pure, once Mikhail's judgement is complete.
Health and Nature
Closely linked to life, is health, another aspect of Aidos. When sickness spreads across the Kingdom, or even strikes down an individual, it is Aidos who receives the prayers for recovery. Families will surround an ailing person's bed, link hands and pray to Aidos, to draw her attention to the ailment plaguing their loved one. What is less understood is that closely linked to health is nature itself. Without the bounty of the harvest, a hunter's successful expedition or the bees busily working the pollen, the mortals of the land can not survive, so it is Aidos who provides life to the farms and forests.
Details
Appearance
Curiously, the image of Dormia has changed little in the unknowable amount of years Helheim has existed, a lithe and androgynous figure with long flowing hair not unlike Aidos(sometimes described as her sister, sometimes brother). In most depictions, Dormia is pictured as lounging against a rock, beside a tree, on a pile of hay but often in the sun's embrace and by this depiction, is mocked by detractors as the laziest of the Four, though supporters point that anyone who created a world from nothing has earned their rest as any crafter does at the end of a day's toil.
Season
Dormia represents the summer - long hot days of toil and warm nights of pleasure.
The Greater God
When the Four come together, creating the whole, or Greater God, Dormia is the finely crafted armour that embrace God's form.
Element
Unsurprisingly, Dormia takes earth as their element as ultimately all that is made comes from the ground, be it rock above, ore below or trees from within.
Domains
Crafting and Commerce
Dormia created the world, crafted from the earth meticulously and with great detail, carving valleys, raising mountains and flattening plains, only for Aidos to then fill it with water and life. For this very reason crafters of Helheim and Sincadere find Dormia most receptive to their prayers for steady hands while making their goods, and favourable trade to sell them on. A house builder might seek good weather for a day working outside, while a carpenter prays for wood free of knots, simple needs but important to those of the trades. Some pray to Dormia for good winds to take the merchant ships off on their journey, but often follows of Mikhail suggest that the winds and seas, via the Navy, are their domain - Aidos is not quiet on the question of the sea being it is made mostly of water, leaving a three way split between the gods, one of the few areas in which their spheres intersect.
Old histories have stories of Dormia teaching and helping the first human Helheimers to build their grand city, a world apart from the settlement of today. Coins of ages past were seen to have Dormia's anvil stamped on the reverse.
Decadence and Pleasure
Often misunderstood and derided by followers of the other gods, is Dormia's representation of decadence and pleasure. Rather than being hedonistic traits, decadence refers to the desire for the citizens of Sincadere and Helheim to always seek better quality goods in higher quantities, to ensure that what they own lasts for generations, providing more comfort than that which came before and advancing technology for the good of the Kingdom. Pleasure comes with the reminder that after a hard day's toil, the body and soul must be allowed to rest and indulge in the good that life brings, especially as the long summer days give extra time with one's family and friends to laugh, dine and sing together. There were said to be more literal and uncouth depictions of Dormia's deeds, but these are known to have been destroyed by hard-line practitioners of the Faith.
Details
Appearance
According to old scriptures, when Mikhail made himself seen to mortals, he took on the appearance of a hooded skeleton holding a set of scales in one hand and a scythe in the other, representing his roles in the caretaking of Helheim's dead and the reaping of judgement. Throughout history, images of Mikhail more often show him in full armour, the type changing depending upon the technology level of the day, while the scythe evolves in to various types of sword. He is known to be able to wield a greatsword in one hand, however.
Season
Autumn is the season typically associated with Mikhail, presiding over the death of all that is in his sphere, necessary to allow the new to come through in spring.
The Greater God
When the Four come together to create the whole, or Greater God as it has been described, Mikhail is the indomitable strength that no being can overcome.
Element
Many do not understand why Mikhail is associated with wind, but a cursory dive in to some of the older archives will provide an answer. Upon finding the location in which Helheim would be founded, the centre of Sincadere, Mikhail stood on top of a large mountain surveying the land while a bitter wind blew. A more obscure writing notes that it was a battlefield that was being surveyed and not during the creation. Another noted it was brisk winds to fill the Navy's sails and yet another to make the Army's banner snap with vigour, while yet another speaks of 'the winds of change' - perhaps all are true.
Domains
Death and Judgement
Mikhail is the god of death, ruler of the underworld. After passing from the mortal world, it is in to his presence that a soul will find itself to be judged based upon the deeds done in life. Those souls which are deemed to owe a debt to the living through wickedness, inaction or indifference shall be flayed until Mikhail judges such a debt repaid. Those considered of goodness or high moral standing shall be rewarded in the next life. All souls are passed to Aidos once judgement is complete. It is said, through his actions that he takes the most interest in mortal lives.
Souls which evade Mikhail's grasp through improper means, often considered to mean necromancy, risk falling in to the worlds beyond the Four's reach, often described as Hell. For this reason, necromancy has been traditionally considered a sin across Sincadere, or Helheim in particular, at least from the worshippers of Mikhail.
War and Honour
To serve in the defence of the Kingdom is considered one of the highest virtues by Mikhail and it is believed that the afterlife favours those who serve. Mikhail is known to imbue soldiers who pray to him with a stalwart spirit and focus on the battlefield, pushing them to great deeds beyond what they believed themselves capable of. Soldiers who fall in battle for Helheim are said to be immediately cleansed of all sin and passed to Aidos with the souls of the good. Cowards who flee, panic or retreat without good reason who then fall are damned to pay a hefty penance in the afterlife, slowing their passage to the next life.
Details
Appearance
Junten, much like Dormia, has not changed in appearance through the many histories of the Faith. A wizen older man in a long, heavy robe, wielding either a spell book, orb, cane or a mixture of the same. Anyone who suggests this might be a cliche is reminded that if they have been involved in the world of magic, they have met someone who looks exactly like Junten. This has led to many Junten devotees insisting that he is the only God to still walk amongst the mortals to this day, using magic to blend in, or his anonymity to simply exist in the open.
Season
Junten is known to favour the winter, when the chaos of the other three seasons with the busyness of the fields, workshops and military manoeuvres gives way to the calmness of snow covered fields and frozen seas. It is said that magic has a more concentrated effect on cold, clear winters days, though modern testing can not reproduce these results and it is considered to potentially be specific to and older iteration of Helheim.
The Greater God
When the Four come together to create the whole, or Greater God, Junten is the vast, unknowable amount of knowledge which is planning ahead centuries or millenia in advance.
Element
Junten's element is that of fire. It is written that once humans were able to master the art of its creation, they were considered ready to lead the world. In many depictions of Junten, the flames are not reds and oranges, but purples and blues, leading some to suggest that this was not fire as it is understood today, but a magical flame. As the history of humans is that of guidance by The Four, this interpretation is considered to be the most accurate, but remains disputed.
Domains
Magic and Knowledge
While Dormia was busy crafting the lands and Aidos giving them life, it was said that Junten was busy laying down the leylines, but given his preoccupation with so many other tasks, forgot where each one was laid exactly. It is even said that the others gods, busy with their own tasks, were unaware of this taking place, but like much of history, this too is disputed as Junten's penchant for the arcane was well known amongst the gods. Junten taught the earliest mages his art and ever since, humans and the other denizens of Sincadere have followed the path of magic in one form or another, from magitech to the overuse of magic resulting in cataclysms. Though most citizens have rightly pointed out that the use of magic to such levels is beyond reckless, followers of Junten fervently refuse to allow it to be described as blasphemy, as they consider the father of magic to be the single greatest supporter of magical experimentation. It does not need to be said that mages pray to Junten for their spells to be successful, for it is said a failure is his disproval manifest.
Archiving and Teaching
Though Junten's teaching and liberal use of magic is his most well known trait, it was in fact the archiving of knowledge and history which took up the majority of his time, according to the old texts. It is considered virtuous for the individual to record their own and family history, but is considered essential for those of high station or position of importance to do so, and with factual accuracy - knowingly lying, recording non-truths or omitting important information can bring disaster on the writer. Likewise it is considered virtuous to pass the knowledge of the past along with one's own skills to the next generation, so that knowledge is not lost. As much of the population can neither read nor write, scribes and similar professions find themselves seeking Junten's influence.