I have been filling my spare time with detailing the continent of Tollanar, and figured I would share some of what I come up with as I get it worked out.
And the first is the religions of Tollanar.
THE UKAVIC CHURCHES OF TOLLANAR
The religions of Tollanar share a common pantheon of 70 odd devine or quasi divine entities, many with overlapping, duplicate and conflicting portfolios and natures. They share a common theogony and creation myth; which starts with the god Ukavu as the universal uncreated demiurge and thus they are all classified as Ukavic religions.
In this theogony, Ukavu causes the universe to come into being through the agency of a number of quasi divine beings that are more amorphous deifications of concepts and such than actual deities. The final act of creation is the emergence of the four great deities, three goddesses (Kur, Ovkoj and Xad; collectively known as the “Divine Triad”) and one god (Udo), with whom they all bear children who are the gods of the pantheon.
The religions can be broken into three basic categories: Ukavian and the two non-Ukavian cults (Trinitarian and Udosian).
UKAVIANThe Ukavian religion worships Ukavu as the only true deity and views all the others as mere manifestations of Ukavu’s many aspects, or even as simply angelic creatures of some sort. This cult has long since been superseded by the Trinitarian and Udosian beliefs and outside of it’s land of origin it no longer constitutes more than a small minority of worshippers who are scattered throughout the continent in isolated communities. Ukavians are viewed with distrust by the others, and are often subjected to persecutions, pogroms, and forced conversions.
NON-UKAVIANThese sects, which make up the overwhelming majority of all believers, believe that while Ukavu is the ultimate creator, it is the subsequent gods who exercise authority over creation. The various denominations differ over their interpretation of which of the various divine lineages take precedence, and exercise the supreme authority.
TRINITARIANThe various Iškosite, Kaorisite, and Kradosite sects are termed Trinitarian cults in that they believe that the authority over creation has passed through one of the Divine Triad, their differences being based on which of the three they deem to be the senior.
IškositeThe Iškosite Church, along with the Kuronian Kradosite Church, is a Kurian sect in that it teaches that Kur is the first of the divine triad, and so authority descends through her. These two sects differ as to which of Kur’s two daughters takes precedence, with the Iškosites believing that Kolkudavo is the senior, and that the authority now rests with her daughter Iškavko and her children Kakok and Klako.
KaorisiteThe Kaorisite Church, on the other hand, holds that Ovkoj is the senior of the Triad, and that the authority over creation has passed through her to her son Kaor.
The Kaorisite Church is divided into two main branches; the Ecumenical Kaoriste Church, which recognizes the Archprimate of Lausoem as the supreme head of the Church; and the various Autocephalous Kaorisite Churches, which reject the Archprimate’s claim to universal primacy and hold that each Primate is the fully autonomous head of an independent church.
KradositeThe Kradosite Churches hold that the divine authority rests in the line descending from Krado. The two branches of this school are the Xadian and Kuronian Kradosite Churches. The Xadian church holds that Xad is the senior of the Triad, and that the divine authority passes through her to her son Krado, and thus on to his descendants. The Kuronian church, like the Iškosite church believe that Kur is the senior of the Triad, but they hold that it is Kuro who is the senior of Kur’s two daughters, and that the authority therefore passes through her, rather than through her consort Krado.
UDOSIANThe Udosian Church believes that Udo himself is senior to the Triad, and that he, as the ancestor of all the gods is the ultimate ruler of creation.
The following map shows the predominant Church of the various regions of Tollanar.
http://1drv.ms/1zsS2mOP.S. the Š/š is pronounced sh.
