Gods and Deities
One day in the night skies, a star floating in an abyss of deafening silence appeared. It soon split into two - one was a bright white while the other was a rich black. These two beings communicated with each other through their light and soon with their power became more than just stars in the night skies. These two gods decided to call themselves Eos and Asmara. They played together and created natural wonders in their universe, creating galaxies full of light and beauty. Soon, however, these two realized that they wanted more.
They were lonely.
They created ten beings just like them. The two Stars crafted them out of stardust and hard, cold ice, sharing with them their magical abilities to create. These ten beings were sent off to create what they wanted with the Stars' powers, and soon the universe grew immensely in size. It was beautiful.
One day while the Stars were reveling in their kingdom, the ten gods they crafted appeared before them. "We have discussed for many a year," said the Traveler, "And we think that you are unfit to rule our universe." The other gods raised their voices until the ten were booming. The Stars, however, remained unfazed. "You do nothing except lounge around and stare into the night skies!" the Shadow roared.
The Stars looked at each other in silence before laughing. "Why, you must be out of your minds. We have done enough," said the Black Star, Asmara.
"We created this universe, children. We did much more work than you know," said Eos, the White Star.
The ten gods yell and rise in anger, their spirits and power swirling around the stars. The ice they were made from struck their hearts - they were cold and selfish. They hated their creators and wanted to rule over their own creations without the Stars. They tried and tried to scare them but yet again the Stars sit unfazed in their thrones. The ten gods suddenly rise up and lunge at them, bearing their fangs and trying to claw at the Stars. The two siblings look at each other once again, before a large glaive appears in front of Asmara's hand made from the sword and the staff the Stars used. Asmara gracefully waved her hand and the glaive flew through the air.
The ten gods were gone, just like that.
In their place were stardust and ice crystals. Blue, white, purple, and pink dust floated to their feet, devoid of life just as they started. The Old Pantheon was gone. Once again, the Stars look at each other in dismay. Their creations were cold-hearted and worthless. So they dusted off their failures and ventured into the kingdom until they found a planet full of life. These people were creating magic and technology far beyond what their creations did. They were a much better fit than the previous gods. The Stars hand-picked six individuals from this planet and once again gave away their powers. Each god was from a different kingdom.
Laurie, the young girl who loved nature, was from Trifia.
Tirek, the orc infatuated with magic, came from Tez.
Vena rose from the depths of the sea with her hunger.
Tiana with her mighty sword emerged from Arcoti's ice.
Hamia was hidden away in Teiboku with her secrets.
Sylvester came from the heat of Sabaku brandishing his intelligent edge.
The two Stars created a relic for each of these new gods - The Staff of Fysi, the Empyrean Tome, the Suit of Holderbane, the Golden Glaive, the Bow of Truth, and the Dagger of Inferno. These artifacts held large pieces of The Stars' powers that these chosen ones used to help their world.
Laurie uses her staff to pull Lois Island from the sea.
Tirek gave his people the ability to do magic through education rather than birthright.
Vena protected the sea from the wrath of the Dragon King.
Tiana uses the glaive to kill a legendary Leviathan.
Hamia uses her bow to grant knowledge in the hearts of the needy.
Sylvester used his dagger to punish those who dared to pretend The Stars did not create them.
When they have seen what the new Pantheon of Virtue had done with their relics, the Stars were satisfied with their work and finally stepped back and let their creations live without their divine hands. They can't do as much anymore even if they tried; The Stars have given away a large sum of their power to these people and their relics.
Still, they were fulfilled.
The Stars
Eos: Eos is the White Star in the myth. He represents light and life, being one of the creators of the world. His light is known for divine protection and his star is commonly seen on most holy symbols. Eos' Heavenly Relic is the Celestial Scepter, which can be paired with Asmara's Relic to create a legendary weapon.
Asmara: Asmara is the Black Star in the myth. She is the face of death and darkness, yet is not regarded as a bad god. Her star is the face of death, the afterlife, and darkness. Asmara's Heavenly Relic is the Sword of Passion, a sword that can create a legendary weapon when joined with Eos' Relic.
The Pantheon of Virtue
Laurie: Laurie is one of Eos' Chosen Ones. She commands nature and weather with Eos' power. Using her relic, she raised an island out of the Lois Sea with rich land in order to help feed the kingdom of Trifia. Her Heavenly relic is the Staff of Fysi.
Tirek: Tirek is one of Eos' Chosen Ones. He is an incredible spellcaster and is the father of modern wizardry. His relic is the Empyrean Tomb, a book that can hold all the spells known (or unknown) to man.
Vena: Vena is one of Asmara's Chosen Ones. Coming from an ocean colony, Vena is known for her savage instinct. Her relic is the Suit of Holderbane, a suit of armor that protected her from many types of damage.
Tiana: Tiana is one of Eos' Chosen Ones. This warrior is known for slaying the most fearsome beast in Arcoti - the Leviathan. Her Heavenly Relic is the Golden Glaive, a weapon that can bypass all protection and hit where it hurts.
Hamia: Hamia is one of Asmara's Chosen Ones. She does everything in her power to bring the truth to light and keep her knowledge hidden. She uses her Heavenly Relic, the Bow of Truth, to get this knowledge.
Sylvester: Sylvester is one of Asmara's Chosen Ones. He considered himself the a rogue of The Stars, defending their honor when they were not there. His Relic is the Dagger of Inferno, a dagger that can inflict such an intense pain that it feels like you are on fire.
Chosen Ones
The Chosen Ones, commonly referred to as "champions" or "avatars", are mortals chosen by the gods to carry out their divine duties and spread their teachings. They travel across all five kingdoms regardless of their homeland and often volunteer their time and energy to help the needy. Chosen Ones are often clerics, paladins, and knights, but of course different people serve certain gods better than their divine comrades.
Lux Regem: One of the most powerful Chosen Ones currently active, Lux Regem serves Eos. A tenaciously oathbound paladin, Regem crusades across the Western side of the Rings (Arcoti, Trifia, and Tez). Regem is a stern and serious man known for his few words but is indescribably kind to those less fortunate. He regularly shares his strength in the form of charity, often helping small communities through hardships such as natural disasters. He usually dons a set of heavy full plate armor enchanted with Smite of the Light, an enchantment that deals extra damage to the undead. He also has a large shield and his flaming longsword named Harbinger. He wears Eos' holy symbol, a single 4-point white star, around his neck. The symbol is also emblazoned on his cape and shield.
Luna Tenebris: The other incredibly powerful Chosen One, Tenebris is a skilled shadow caster capable of leveling a battlefield in one motion who serves Asmara.
Pyrrah Earthbound: Laurie, druid
Twilight Progem: Tirek, wizard
Domina Oceania: Vena, paladin
Maveriak Lybringer: Tiana, knight
Zubeia Moondaudis: Hamia, cleric
Decadence: Sylvester, rogue
Places of Worship
Different kingdoms have different names for their places of worship. People who immigrate to other places may bring their religious practices to their new homes, so it's not uncommon to find another kingdom's houses of worship near your home city.
The Teibokunese call their houses of worship shrines. These shrines reflect the architecture of eastern countries, specifially Japanese shinto shrines with their striking red gates and sloped roofs. These shrines are small and usually have a pool of water or stream of running water for ritual washing.
Sabaku worship the gods in mosques, towering buildings with large spherical dome roofs and beautiful spires reaching to the skies commonly used as a place of worship for real-world Muslims. Inside you can find a rainbow of colors, tiles decorating the walls and ceilings that illustrate the history of the Chosen Ones in beautifully crafted mosaics, much like you see crafted in Morocco. There is also an indent into the wall called a mihrab, an indicator of where Trifia's Providence Island is located.
In Tez, large buildings called synagogues are the most common place of worship, based on synagogues used by those of the Jewish faith. Tall buildings with beautiful stained glass let in soft, tinted sunlight and the towers that rise about the landscape give those looking for a nice place to relax a unique sanctuary. Each synagogue has an ark that points to Providence Island and a ritual bath called a mikvah.
Trifish citizens have temples for their gods. These temples are based on ancient Greek architecture. Commonly built out of the finest marble they could find or import, Trifish temples are widely regarded as some of the most beautiful architecture in the world. Sturdy, yet ornate columns that hold up their roofs are sometimes replaced with expertly sculpted statues of the gods, most commonly having two large statues of the Stars in front of the temple.
In Arcoti, Christian churches, chapels, and cathedrals are the norm. Cathedrals are common in the large cities; workers working long hard days come to wash their hands clean and pray to Eos, Amara, and whoever else they chose. The Engel Cathedral in Arcoti's Kyr Lordship holds many celebrations and is the "blueprint" other cathedrals in the kingdom want their buildings to be modeled after for its grandeur.