The Old Gods's Faith

The Faith of the Old Gods is a religion in southwesternmost parts of Antarian Sea coast.

Followers
They are Villianese Duchy (almost every clan and tribe), parts of Aden.

Basic Principles
- '''The Old Gods are the spirits of nature and souls of champions and sages of past ages. '''They have varying degrees of power and are each personalities on their own (just like humans), but they are collectively referred to as 'Old Gods'.

- other entities DO exist beside the Old Gods (among others, The One and the Void are acknowledged) but these entities are otherworldly and manipulative, they care only about power. The Old Gods, on the other hand, are all around and among us, in every stone, plant, river, dreams, the spirit world (the realm of the dead), etc. They have been with humanity since its birth and they care for us, even if sometimes their actions or intentions are debateable.

- every clan, tribe, hero, shaman, chief have their own patron deities which usually suit their mentality. Note that it is not they who pick the patron spirit - it is the spirit which chooses whom to favor; and it is the shamans' job to identify what spirit accompanies a person.

- a common trait of the Old Gods is that they demand humanity to live in balance with nature. Those who shamelessly exploit and abuse the gifts of nature for their selfish needs (ie. chopping down entire forests for business' sake) will face terrible consequences, either in this life or the next. Such great can be the gods' anger that they might hurt even those who did not offend them (which is the reason behind natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes).

- the Old Gods are numerous, just like the humans, animals and plants they look after. No-one is supreme. If anyone ever accessed absolute power it would only bring ruin to the world. As such having multiple smaller communities living in close connection with each other is more favorable than a single state under a tyrant's rule.

- as a human, you are NOT expected to actually 'worship' your community's patron deity, but you ARE expected to be loyal to your family/clan/etc. Plus, upsetting your community's patron deity is usually not a good idea either.

- the Old Gods are often in conflict among themselves, but these conflicts rarely end in serious harm - they are more like brawls. The aim is to settle arguements, not to hurt the other. Following this principle, you should pay proper respect to deities beside the ones which favor your family/clan/etc; starting all-out religious war against a kindred community only leads to disaster and is plain stupid. But uttering your god's name in battles against greedy foreigners is perfectly okay.

- after death, you become an inhabitant of the spirit world - in a sense, you become a minor god yourself, but you won't have any power over the physical world unless you were an exceptional person in life.

Clergy
While seemingly scattered and disorganized, the clergy of the Old Gods, composed of shamans, seers and 'possessed' champions actually has a decent structure, but one without overly complicated rules. Each clan and tribe has its spiritual leaders; these leaders and their representatives counsel the Chiefs and High Chiefs, and form the so-called Council of Sages which helps the Duke in governing but also makessure the Duke doesn't overstep his/her limits. In the council every member has equal rights and decisions are based on simple majority votes. The council has no military might, but it is not uncommon that "chosen ones", men possessed by lesser deities assist shamans or their clans/tribes in military affairs.

Faith Troops
"Hah ! You dare challenge the Old Gods ?! Your foolishness knows no bounds ! Fighting the Old Gods is fighting the ground you stand upon, hitting the air you breathe, punching your campfire, neglecting the water you drink ! Here, have a taste of the power you wish to defy, wretched mortals !"

(Guided One educating Imperial Legionnaires before uprooting a young pine tree with his bare hands and pulveriaing the whole Imperial warband with it)

Faith Troops of the Old Gods are clad in dirty metallic plate armors, often rusted or even moss-covered at parts. Upon their armors, weapons and shields they wear symbols of the deity that guides and favors them. The gods' guidance is described as 'voices in the head'. Many claim that the so-called "chosen ones" of the Old Gods are plain lunatics, but their nigh superhuman abilities seem to suggest more than that...

Quotes
Why do you think of the Gods as something otherworldly, my young distant-brothers and distant-sisters ? Why do you think they lack the emotions we all have ? Why do you think they aren't among us, even in this very moment ? Yes, the Gods are among us, so have they written: "We, the Gods, are always with you. We, the Gods, live amongst you, in the rocks and rivers, in the winds and flames, in the animals and plants, deep within your souls while you live, deep in your mind when you sleep, and in the next world that awaits the dead, in everything you know, and everything you don't know, we are always around you, and deep down inside you. Treat our creation with respect, and we will treat you with love, and those who are the greatest among men, we shall welcome as one of our own; but those of you, who serve their own greed, shall find peace among us nevermore." What are our gods ? All that exists. They are the spirits who formed the world, the world which formed life and death, the life and death that brought forth our kind. And one day, the greatest of us will be Gods as well, so have they written: "When we find one worthy among you, he or she will be visited in visions and dreams, to reveal the purpose of his or her existence: to be our Chosen One, your Champion of Ancestors. They will be men amongst the Gods, and Gods amongst men, for they carry our will, and unleash fury upon those who hurt our creation." Respect and love the Gods my young distant-brothers and distant-sisters. If you live by their laws, good life is the reward, but fear the Gods as well, for if roused, they can sweep you away, so have they written: "When our teachings and works are ignored and harmed, we rise up with all the fury your kind came to know: the water can rise and drown you, the ground can open and swallow you, the wind can blow your homes away, and the fire can consume all you loved. So great is our rage, we might hurt those who bore no sin against us. Thus, all of you must bow to the laws we set, for they are for the good of the whole." Now, my young distant-family, you can understand why we live as we do; and we must protect what is ours, what must stay ours. Look at the Roman filth: they challenge the Gods, and they shall pay for it ! There can be no peace for men of ignorance, destruction and lies ! There can be only WAR ! So have they written.So it shall be.

 - Imona Crow-beak, High Priestess of the Old Gods (educating the children of her tribe, and reading installments from the Stone Tables of the Gods)

'''Villianese Duchy, Duke's Domain, Temple of the Gods, 1224. July 20.'''