Imperial Faiths
These are faiths rooted in the imperial cultures and empires of the region.
Burevi Church The Burevi Church is a variation of the imperial church in which the deity they call the God Above All is worshiped as the supreme deity. They recognize and honor other imperial deities, view all other deities as demons or false gods, and enforce belief in the Burevi faith within their borders. It is a core part of the White Crown Concordance that all empires in the Concordance agree on paper that the God Above All, who is worshipped in Sacra Vitta, Burev, and Harkanheim, is the supreme deity, but within the borders of the other empires, this is never truly believed or promoted. The core beliefs of the Burevi Church are about loyalty to the God Above All (Bog Nad Vsichko), sometimes called Vŭrkhoven Edin (Supreme One), keeping to the 12 virtues of the faith (see below), and performing sacraments and sacrifices. One must tithe to the church to avoid enslavement. The God Above All demands submission to Himself and the Empire, and anyone who commits one of the 8 unforgivable sins is sentenced to death. 12 virtues: obedience to God, obedience to the crown, obedience to the father or husband, sacrifice for God, service to God, sobriety, humility, chastity, patience, charity, temperance, and diligence. Each of these is understood in the context not of helping others and resisting tyranny, but utmost loyalty to God, the Church, the Crown, and the traditional patriarchal family. 8 sins: blasphemy (putting anything above the God Above All), treason, promiscuity, gluttony, sloth, pride, intemperence, and wrath. These are always understood through the context of the God Above All and imperial ideals.
Caligialism Caligialism is common in Rendru and places under shadow or under the influence of Malaer. It is the belief that the shadows are alive, and that they represent the soul. That the soul gains power by consuming and absorbing the souls of others, and this is the natural order. It is not usually an offiical faith, but one practiced in secret by imperial nobles and Rendruans.
Kerremian Faith A faith centered on appeasing the nightmare spirits to quell the horrors that come in sleep.
Kordonian Faith Men were created by the King of the Gods, VesʹOtetsʹ, the All-Father, to be masters of the world, of the earth, the sea, the sky. Women were created to serve men and propagate the species of the world. Some species are less than others, with the enders (a species of male-assigned metahumans) being the top of the hierarchy. Witches are the greatest of sinners and must be burnt in offering to the All-Father. The faith focuses on the All-Father, but it is otherwise very similar to other imperial faiths. The country of Kordonia is currently split between Vesturia and Paurek, and thus, the Kordonian faith is a religion common in the region but not a state-religion. Its leaders are mostly the men of various Kordonian communities within those two empires.
Ollygran Church The Ollygrans honor Gospod Bog, the Lord God, above other gods. The kralj (kings) of Ollygrus are said to be of his blood, having therefore the Divine Right to rule, and this is the heart of their religion. They merge state power and ecclesiastic power, but the state is pimary over the faith. The king is the head of the church in Ollygrus, and the law is both state and church law. Ollygrans believe that Gospod Bog's most powerful servant is a terrible being known as Hollow Jack. Hollow Jack is a monstrosity of flesh and rats who devours the sinful, dragging them to the Hells to punish them. Hollow Jack is neither holy nor unholy, but the fate for all who defy the crown or the church.
Pan-Imperial Church Usually just called the Imperial Church, this is the faith of all the empires, the syncretized faith of many imperial cultures merged. There are many deities recognized, and those who follow this faith usually choose one or a few to honor utmost and just give praise or even just lip service. There are general churches that honor all the deities or some specific set of them throughout imperial lands (and encroaching on non-imperial areas). The tenets of the religion(s) of the Imperial Church mostly involve ideals of loyalty, national pride, and finding ways to justify the power of the imperial crowns, the practices of war and slavery, and so on. Some major deities not included in the other imperial faiths of the region (which are all the major players in the local imperial churches) include the following:
Murjan Church The Murjan Church honors Čistoća (Chistocha), the Pure One, the Masked God, who created the purest bloodlines and gave to them the duty of ruling the peoples of Shem. Murjans believe they are among the purest bloodlines, and they they have the right and duty to rule, and their princes and lords are of these bloodlines. Racial and blood purity are extremely important culturally, politically, socially, and spiritually amongst them. The church focuses on proving the various bloodlines are pure and justifying their right to rule.
Paureki Church The Paureki Church honors Kartuvių Motina, the Mother of the Gallows, a goddess whose tragic story is one of a broken heart, a Divine suicide, and tears that gave birth to an empire. It is said that she was once a mortal woman who loved a young man. This young man was a hero of Paurek who was captured by enemies of his people, and she offered to be married to the chief of their enemies in order to gain his freedom. He was freed; she was bound to his enemy. In despair, she murdered this man, and then walked herself to the gallows, where she willingly hanged herself, knowing this would be her fate. As she wept there, her tears fell and poisoned the entire enemy tribe, allowing them to be defeated by her love, the eventual founder of the empire of Paurek. He would go on to be guided by her Divine spirit as he conquered and made his enemies weep and feel his own grief and sorrow. Paurek is called the Empire of Tears, and the church and state are very much intertwined. The faith is centered on the usual imperial values - loyalty to crown and church, don't kill or steal or cheat on your husband, tithe to the church, pay your taxes, be humble and kind and generous so long as you aren't a problem for the empire, and so on. But there are ritual sacraments and sacrifices that are focused on emotional agony, grief, sorrow, sadness, regret, and other emotions that are held as sacred. It also sees certain forms of honorable suicide as sacred.
Raesianism Raesianism is a religion from Kael'Ras to the east, but it has taken hold in many parts of Ranu. Raesianism in Ranu follows a goddess called Bessmertiye in Vesturia, Besmrtnost in Ollygrus and Murja, Bezsmertya amongst Kordonians, Nemirtingumas in Paurek, and Nemurire in Rendru. She is the Eternal Goddess, and she promises inmortality to her followers. Those who follow her belief that death is the greatest enemy and that it can be defeated. It is the belief that the body can live beyond its limits and become eternal like the goddess. They believe that the soul deserves to be inmortal and to remain on Shem. And for that, they practice holy necromancy.
Stillborn Cult A disturbing and obscure cult in imperial regions who worship a Sea God who was stillborn. They believe that he will return to full life if enough sacrifices are made, and that he resents that children get to live when he did not. Thus, they sacrifice certain children who are called for (conveniently not their own... usually). They believe that children must be proven worthy of life.
Vesturian Church The main deity of the Vesturian Church is the goddess Dostizheniye, the Serpent Goddess, who represents power. The church and state are much intertwined, and the tenets of the Vesturian Church are that one has a spiritual duty to honor the crown and seek to serve it, but also to oneself to achieve as much as one can, no matter what. If someone gets in your way, they are an enemy to you and the goddess. It is a faith that views ambition as a virtue.
Burevi Church The Burevi Church is a variation of the imperial church in which the deity they call the God Above All is worshiped as the supreme deity. They recognize and honor other imperial deities, view all other deities as demons or false gods, and enforce belief in the Burevi faith within their borders. It is a core part of the White Crown Concordance that all empires in the Concordance agree on paper that the God Above All, who is worshipped in Sacra Vitta, Burev, and Harkanheim, is the supreme deity, but within the borders of the other empires, this is never truly believed or promoted. The core beliefs of the Burevi Church are about loyalty to the God Above All (Bog Nad Vsichko), sometimes called Vŭrkhoven Edin (Supreme One), keeping to the 12 virtues of the faith (see below), and performing sacraments and sacrifices. One must tithe to the church to avoid enslavement. The God Above All demands submission to Himself and the Empire, and anyone who commits one of the 8 unforgivable sins is sentenced to death. 12 virtues: obedience to God, obedience to the crown, obedience to the father or husband, sacrifice for God, service to God, sobriety, humility, chastity, patience, charity, temperance, and diligence. Each of these is understood in the context not of helping others and resisting tyranny, but utmost loyalty to God, the Church, the Crown, and the traditional patriarchal family. 8 sins: blasphemy (putting anything above the God Above All), treason, promiscuity, gluttony, sloth, pride, intemperence, and wrath. These are always understood through the context of the God Above All and imperial ideals.
Caligialism Caligialism is common in Rendru and places under shadow or under the influence of Malaer. It is the belief that the shadows are alive, and that they represent the soul. That the soul gains power by consuming and absorbing the souls of others, and this is the natural order. It is not usually an offiical faith, but one practiced in secret by imperial nobles and Rendruans.
Kerremian Faith A faith centered on appeasing the nightmare spirits to quell the horrors that come in sleep.
Kordonian Faith Men were created by the King of the Gods, VesʹOtetsʹ, the All-Father, to be masters of the world, of the earth, the sea, the sky. Women were created to serve men and propagate the species of the world. Some species are less than others, with the enders (a species of male-assigned metahumans) being the top of the hierarchy. Witches are the greatest of sinners and must be burnt in offering to the All-Father. The faith focuses on the All-Father, but it is otherwise very similar to other imperial faiths. The country of Kordonia is currently split between Vesturia and Paurek, and thus, the Kordonian faith is a religion common in the region but not a state-religion. Its leaders are mostly the men of various Kordonian communities within those two empires.
Ollygran Church The Ollygrans honor Gospod Bog, the Lord God, above other gods. The kralj (kings) of Ollygrus are said to be of his blood, having therefore the Divine Right to rule, and this is the heart of their religion. They merge state power and ecclesiastic power, but the state is pimary over the faith. The king is the head of the church in Ollygrus, and the law is both state and church law. Ollygrans believe that Gospod Bog's most powerful servant is a terrible being known as Hollow Jack. Hollow Jack is a monstrosity of flesh and rats who devours the sinful, dragging them to the Hells to punish them. Hollow Jack is neither holy nor unholy, but the fate for all who defy the crown or the church.
Pan-Imperial Church Usually just called the Imperial Church, this is the faith of all the empires, the syncretized faith of many imperial cultures merged. There are many deities recognized, and those who follow this faith usually choose one or a few to honor utmost and just give praise or even just lip service. There are general churches that honor all the deities or some specific set of them throughout imperial lands (and encroaching on non-imperial areas). The tenets of the religion(s) of the Imperial Church mostly involve ideals of loyalty, national pride, and finding ways to justify the power of the imperial crowns, the practices of war and slavery, and so on. Some major deities not included in the other imperial faiths of the region (which are all the major players in the local imperial churches) include the following:
- Alitheia, the Goddess of Truth from Baradin
- Beadu Feriend, the War God of Tzuk
- Benplesir, the Love Goddess of Jhuin
- Catena Factorem, the Smith God of Urayme
- Ettutuu, the Spider God of Srisia
- Haeddiannol, the Huntress Goddess of Mwyr Aeld
- Lath-Scipe, the Dragon God of Annec
- Mal'och, the Bleeding Angel Goddess of Endruin
- Neidi, the Huntress Goddess of Shrikewood
- Reinheit, the Masked God of Soldrath
- Rota Fumi, the Industrial God of Lyfane
- Tacite, the God of Wisdom of Terre Blanche
- Victoris, the War God of Furich Amol
- Yatana, the Diamond God of Lann Kurat
- Zammacath, the Redeemer of Inall
Murjan Church The Murjan Church honors Čistoća (Chistocha), the Pure One, the Masked God, who created the purest bloodlines and gave to them the duty of ruling the peoples of Shem. Murjans believe they are among the purest bloodlines, and they they have the right and duty to rule, and their princes and lords are of these bloodlines. Racial and blood purity are extremely important culturally, politically, socially, and spiritually amongst them. The church focuses on proving the various bloodlines are pure and justifying their right to rule.
Paureki Church The Paureki Church honors Kartuvių Motina, the Mother of the Gallows, a goddess whose tragic story is one of a broken heart, a Divine suicide, and tears that gave birth to an empire. It is said that she was once a mortal woman who loved a young man. This young man was a hero of Paurek who was captured by enemies of his people, and she offered to be married to the chief of their enemies in order to gain his freedom. He was freed; she was bound to his enemy. In despair, she murdered this man, and then walked herself to the gallows, where she willingly hanged herself, knowing this would be her fate. As she wept there, her tears fell and poisoned the entire enemy tribe, allowing them to be defeated by her love, the eventual founder of the empire of Paurek. He would go on to be guided by her Divine spirit as he conquered and made his enemies weep and feel his own grief and sorrow. Paurek is called the Empire of Tears, and the church and state are very much intertwined. The faith is centered on the usual imperial values - loyalty to crown and church, don't kill or steal or cheat on your husband, tithe to the church, pay your taxes, be humble and kind and generous so long as you aren't a problem for the empire, and so on. But there are ritual sacraments and sacrifices that are focused on emotional agony, grief, sorrow, sadness, regret, and other emotions that are held as sacred. It also sees certain forms of honorable suicide as sacred.
Raesianism Raesianism is a religion from Kael'Ras to the east, but it has taken hold in many parts of Ranu. Raesianism in Ranu follows a goddess called Bessmertiye in Vesturia, Besmrtnost in Ollygrus and Murja, Bezsmertya amongst Kordonians, Nemirtingumas in Paurek, and Nemurire in Rendru. She is the Eternal Goddess, and she promises inmortality to her followers. Those who follow her belief that death is the greatest enemy and that it can be defeated. It is the belief that the body can live beyond its limits and become eternal like the goddess. They believe that the soul deserves to be inmortal and to remain on Shem. And for that, they practice holy necromancy.
Stillborn Cult A disturbing and obscure cult in imperial regions who worship a Sea God who was stillborn. They believe that he will return to full life if enough sacrifices are made, and that he resents that children get to live when he did not. Thus, they sacrifice certain children who are called for (conveniently not their own... usually). They believe that children must be proven worthy of life.
Vesturian Church The main deity of the Vesturian Church is the goddess Dostizheniye, the Serpent Goddess, who represents power. The church and state are much intertwined, and the tenets of the Vesturian Church are that one has a spiritual duty to honor the crown and seek to serve it, but also to oneself to achieve as much as one can, no matter what. If someone gets in your way, they are an enemy to you and the goddess. It is a faith that views ambition as a virtue.
This topic: Shem > Campaigns > ThirdShemCampaigns > ShadowOverGrey > SOGCharacters > SOGCharGen > SOGReligion > SOGImperialFaiths
Topic revision: 26 Sep 2026, SallyJaneBlack
Topic revision: 26 Sep 2026, SallyJaneBlack
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