Divinity. The immutable of the universe, that which man knows will never change. Are not a man’s actions but shadows and dust in the tempest of time? Where is man’s place in the world? Is it at the seat of Yashain in the presence of God, or in the shadows of Yeresse? Faith gives meaning to existence. A pact with the divine, to kneel humbly before that which you know is greater and profess you do not comprehend, but wish to understand.

Before you jump into the parables and foundations that form the Elder faith, the staff would like to make some comments on religion and our hopes with the new faith system. Religion is one of the most difficult concepts to role-play. Where racial tensions and cultural differences are grounded in very physical and tangible experiences, religion deals with the metaphysical – that which does not manifest in every day life. Thus, while a character may try to break the stereotype of Noctii being evil, he can be cruelly reminded the next evening that, yes indeed, Noctii do eat people.

This is not the same for religion. Faith, at its core, is believing in the supernatural and that which is unseen. As such, it is very difficult to deal with players who ask metaphysical questions such as “Why should the Gods exist?” or “Why should I care what the Gods think?”. The last thing we want is a world where the Gods interfere on the account of every mortal, belittling characters to the point of infancy. But the other extreme is equally undesirable, where faith is completely meaningless and worship is cast aside as a waste of time.

Equally unmeaningful are built in conflicts between Gods and Goddesses, that two factions hate each other ONLY because their God tells them to do so. While this certainly adds to conflict, its a conflict that can never be resolved. We would much prefer conflicts that arise from differences in interpretations, very human aspects of religion that can change over time rather than the immutability and infallibility of Gods somehow managing to say the other guy is wrong, so go kill him.

As a new system of faith is ushered in shadowing the Mercian Gods, our intent is to offer up a system where conflict can happen, but it is not spurred by some supernatural being saying “please, play chess and kill one another”. Many questions can still be asked, whether or not God really exists or that other Pantheons don’t exist, but religious characters will be equipped with both the knowledge to combat such questions and the tangible reward for pursuing a faith.

Without further ado, here lie the stories of the Gloria Divinitas, the Glorious Divine that serves to found the Elder faith.

When a man is daunted and overcome by pain and suffering, he looks blindly to the heavens begging repentance – that salvation be at hand to relieve him. Faith is more than mere askance of God for favor; a man with faith recognizes his own flaws and imperfections born into his body, that suffering exists in the world, that others cheat and squander. Through all of this, the faithful kneels before God and asks to understand. It is the fundamental purpose of religion to bring meaning into existence. Any man can live, only the faithful can live with purpose. Perhaps the agnostic or atheist will find sanctuary in the pursuit of happiness, the quest for knowledge, or even the effort to change the direction of the world – but all of these things have no meaning without understanding why a man takes action. Salvation, the ultimate goal of faith, is regarded as understanding the reason we exist. Through the ages it has had many names, be it salvation, immortality, or even enlightenment. The underlying meaning in every case is the same.

While the Divine (Gloria Divinitas) is immutable with time, faith is not. In the quest to understand why we exist, men have turned many times to false prophets and Demons, beings of immense power that appear divine, only to be manipulated to a meaningless course of life. Only the truly divine understands why the universe exists. One must be prudent then when they label a belief or path divine. Men have been lead astray before; history serves as the most brutal reminder.

The Paths of Fealty, Wisdom, and Strength each laud their own virtues that are said to lead to salvation. Like morals, these virtues must be lived by to glimpse the meaning behind why we exist. While all paths believe in the same God, there are disputes between each path. History holds no path to be known correct, saints and sinners having appeared from each school of thought. But through it all, there is an underlying conflict between what each path perceives to be the meaning of life.

At a single time, a man cannot be both merciful and strong (fealty vs. strength), feudalistic and balanced (fealty vs. wisdom), or patient and ambitious (wisdom vs. strength). Each individual must then choose a path – yet there is no guarantee each path leads to salvation.

Conflict thus perpetuates. No one path is known to be correct, yet brotherhood must exist between each path for society to move forward. There are merits and downfalls to each Path, struggles and hardships that each man will have to encounter on a personal level. It is through these struggles that a man learns his place in the world and ultimately steps closer to understanding the fundamental question of “why”.

The greatest proof man has of the gods, and the strongest grounding of his faith, lies in empiricism: personal experience. When a man can see the act of a god, or draw power from a god’s message, he will be all the more certain of that god’s divinity. It is with that in mind that we document the real effects of worship and faith.

All of the righteous forces of the world lay claims to drawing power from Yashain. While this author will not claim to know which path is indeed inline with Yashain, he will attempt to explain how one may draw power from it.

There is a certain pattern to the universe. The Great Weave flows in a certain way. The reality of this comes to peak in Yashain, where the Great Weave is best visible, and most easily manipulated. Manipulated is perhaps bad word-choice, but there lacks a better one. The virtuous of the world will never bend or distorted the Great Weave. They will not pull at the threads of reality to get a desired result. These actions are against the Facets and will only lead to downfall, and they are documented later. The virtuous are instead able to see the direction of the world and move in that same direction. By moving with the Great Weave, one can tap into all the power of the universe.

Moving with the Great Weave is not as simple as it sounds. Beyond this, using the flow of the world to produce immediate effects is terribly difficult. While it is possible for man to accomplish this on their own, it is far easier with the aid of a god. The righteous god knows the Great Weave, and knows how to manipulate it. He gains a greater understanding of the universe and all things in it, and he gains the ability to influence the world in very real ways. While some may consider this to simply be a matter of the gods, that is not the case, as the gods have shared with humanity the secrets of the world. Following a righteous god means walking a path that is inline with the Great Weave, and Yashain. The Paths allow man to commune with the Great Weave and Yashain, and from it comes power. The most pious and righteous men will then be most able to draw power from Yashain.

The powers of evil are just as indeniable as the powers of good. It is with this in mind that this author will document the power of evil, but he warns all who may be tempted to keep from this path, as it will assuredly lead to demise.

The Great Weave makes up the entirity of the universe. Anyone that flows with it will have all the power of the universe. Anyone who goes against it will have the whole universe pushing against them. Anyone who learns to damage and abuse the Great Weave, however, will be able to inflict his will upon the whole universe. The place where the Great Weave frays and tatters the most has become known as Yeresse. This is the domain of damnation. Like a glutton, Yeresse and all that inhabit it eat up the Great Weave. With the destruction of threads and the very destruction of the fabric of the universe these people generate huge amounts of power. Following and making use of the Great Weave is like untying a strong knot. With time and patience the knot will come loose and the rope will be undamaged. Those of Yeresse have found simply hacking up the knot produces a much more immediate effect. It is easier to get power this way, but the dangers are nearly unbelievable.

By continually distorting, damaging and destroying the Great Weave, the dark powers distort, damage and destroy reality. It is thought that if every being in the universe immediatly walked this path, the universe and all in it would be destroyed, near instantly. The effect a single man can have on the universe are admittedly less, but almost as damaging on the man and the immediate area around him. While destroying the fabric of the universe, a man destroys himself. Those that draw the most power from this practice lead the shortest of lives. A practitioner of this dark art is often sick. His skin will gray and his hair will fall out. Like the worst of disease, his connection to Yeresse consume him. These evil men are also known to make vegitation near them wither and generally unsettle all living things. On top of all this, these men will assuredly be reborn in Yeresse.

Following the virtuous paths of Yashain will generally bless the follower with strength and long life. He need not use the Great Weave to make miracles or otherwise influence the world; he need only follow. The follower of the Path of Yeresse will be cursed with poor health, a short life and almost any other ailments one could imagine. Likewise, these followers do not need to be making curses and casting dark magics; they need only follow. That said, there is power in faith. Following the paths laid forth by the gods, saints and even demons will grant marvelous abilities to any man.