The Eternal

Overview
Also referred to as “The New Pantheon” or “The New Gods,” the Eternal are a group of eleven gods that make up the pantheon of the common religion. From Ferus to Kyros there are few who do not revere the power of the Eternal. Not everyone worships them, but the name Tabor is never far from the lips of someone in need of luck and farmers pass around the name Koresh as often as their own. Even those who don't treat the Eternal as their gods are at least aware of all the gods in the Pantheon.

Church Structure
Formal worship is done at churches. Priests lead the formal services and are responsible for tending to the religious needs of those who come to his church. The church itself is maintained by lesser clergymen, usually those in training to become a priest themselves. These clergymen are led and taught by a female steward. Among the devout there is a division between those who worship a single god or a subsection of gods and those who worship the Eternal as a group. The division is caused by the inclusion of the 'evil' gods in the pantheon. On one side of the argument, there are those who believe it is foolish to worship gods who will only bring misery and destruction upon you. On the other side, you have those who believe that without evil there can be no good and it is arrogance for mere mortals to deny worship to any god.

Because of this separation there is no central church for the Eternal; the attempts at creating a central, governing body for all the churches of the Eternal in the past have always met with failure and occasionally disaster. Instead, each of the nine gods has its own central church where the top priests and religious scholars meet to discuss matters related to that god. Across Amikus there are many churches dedicated to the worship a one, several, of all the Eternal, each using the teaching of the central church for whichever god or gods they worship.

History
They are called “The New Gods” in relation to Lords of the Storm, the previously prevalent pantheon, but worship of the Eternals goes back thousands of years on the continent of Anitum, almost as far back as the worship of the Lords of the Storm. When the Tantus Empire began its grand conquest it brought the worship of the Eternal to areas that had never heard of them before. The religion spread from there. For a couple hundred years worshipers of the Lords of the Storm and of the Eternal existed side-by-side, but slowly worship of the Lords of the Storm died out, leaving the Eternal as the common pantheon.

Afterlife
There is no afterlife according to the churches of the Eternal. Only the Eternal are everlasting and immortal; mortal being exist for only a short time and then die. The idea of each person having an 'eternal spirit', such as the worshipers of the Lords of the Storm believe, is just arrogance mixed with fear of death. The priests preach that mortality is a beautiful gift that is sullied by desire to be eternal. The gods gave it to us to allow our experiences to mean so much more, to make love more passionate, anger more fiery, joy more ecstatic. It is the precious fragility of life that forces us to experience these emotions with such force.

Depictions
While the Eternal are referred to as either male or female, it is considered blasphemous among the devout to try to put a human face on a god so there are no depictions of them in human form. Instead, they are depicted by their sacred animal. The gods are said to use their sacred animal to communicate with their mortal followers. In some stories the animals speak with a mortal tongue, in others they merely provide clues as to the god's will.

Aecim:
The god of justice and morality. His church preaches the values of righteousness and truth. Worshipers of Aecim strive to be honest, loyal, and charitable. Some worshipers think it is enough to live by these values and preach by example, others believe that to be truly righteous you need to be willing to take a stand against evil and injustice. There are many crusaders who bear Aecim's symbol on their breast as they hunt evil and protect the weak. Aecim's sacred animal is the hawk.

Reim:
The god of law and order. Also called the god of civilization. It is believed that he is the god who ascended humans from savages to a civilized society. He brought about the governments of man and concept of the rule of law. Cities and metropolises today only exist because of the order he brought forth into the world. “Civilization” also means culture, such as art and music; Reim is considered the patron god of artists, musicians, and anyone who yearns for creativity. Reim's sacred animal is the ram.

Karies:
The goddess of love and lust. She is described as a god with two personalities. In one persona she desires the people to love and be loved, to find their perfect matches and live happily and in harmony forever after. The other persona desires nothing but to fill the hearts of men with lust, a wild, untamed passion. Love is gentle and kind, beautiful and everlasting. Lust is dangerous and fierce, swift and sudden. Karies's sacred animal is the swan.

Koresh:
The god of nature and the harvest. Koresh respects man's dominion over nature and man's right to take from nature what he needs to survive, making him the patron god of hunters. All he asks is that man not take more than he needs, and work to protect nature when it can not protect itself. He is a popular god amongst the tribes of the forest dwellers and rangers in Ferus. He is also responsible for whether or not a harvest is bountiful, making him the patron god of farmers. Koresh's sacred animal is the stag.

Tabor:
The god of luck and fortune. No other god gets praised and then blamed in such rapid succession. Tabor's name is frequently on the lips of people in need of a bit of luck. Religious scholars will tell you that Tabor does what he does because he thinks chance makes the world more interesting and a world without chance grows stagnant. It's impossible to predict who he will smile upon and who he will shun. Tabor's sacred animal is the mockingbird.

Leoria:
The goddess of war and mercy. Her church preaches lawful and honorable warfare. War must only be fought for good reason and must begin with a formal declaration of war. War should be fought with honorable, upfront tactics, never from the shadows. Soldiers and military tacticians alike pray to her before any battle, hoping her favor will turn the tide of battle. She is also the god of mercy and forbids the killing of an opponent who is defenseless or has surrendered. Leoria's sacred animal is the bear.

Vane:
The goddess of storms and the winds. She is the patron goddess of all sailors and fisherfolk who pray for favorable winds and to avoid storms. Her association with sailors has led to the common misconception that she is the goddess of the ocean but religious scholars will tell you that the ocean falls into the natural domain of Koresh. Vane brings the winds and rains. She is known as the most wrathful of the gods, bringing forth terrible storms on those who anger her and long droughts on those she truly despises. Vane's sacred animal is the pelican.

Vidal:
The god of life and death. All life exists due to Vidal's will, and what he gives he can just as easily take away. He is the most mysterious of all the gods, even the most learned of religious scholars can not judge what motivates him. While the churches of the other gods preach the proper way to worship and how to live your life to earn their god's favor, the churches of Vidal can offer no such words. The priests of Vidal can only say to appreciate the god's work even if you can't understand it. Be joyous and give thanks at the birth of a new life and take solace and comfort after a death that it is all part of his plan. Vidal's sacred animal is the crow.

Gyn:
The god of knowledge and wisdom. A long time ago, during the age of wizards, he was also considered the god of magic; most writings referring to him as such have since been destroyed or rewritten by his priests. Gyn is considered the father of all human knowledge and ingenuity; he blessed us with the gift of fire, the concept of language, and the ability to use tools. He is the patron god of scholars, inventors, architects, and anyone who values the power of the mind. He is prayed to often by those facing difficult life choices who ask for wisdom to make the right decision. Gyn's sacred animal is the raven.

Uziel:
The god of power and destruction. Considered by some to be one of the 'evil' gods. Like Leoria he receives many prayers by those about to go into battle, but people pray to Leoria to watch over the battle while they pry to Uziel for strength and the ability to bring devastation down upon their enemies. His worshipers are not restricted to soldiers, though; the promises of power his church makes can mean physical power, but can also mean political power, the power of wealth, or the power of cunning. The latter has made him the favored god of many thieves. The priests of Uziel deny that he is evil, saying that power is not something to be feared. Still, his church is often left out of many religious circles. They are often at odds with worshipers of Leoria, as his message of destruction and Leoria's message of mercy are often at odds. Uziel's sacred animal is the mammoth.

Odile:
<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">The goddess of hatred and greed. Considered by some to be one of the 'evil' gods. She has come to represent all the dark sides of humanity: avarice, greed, deception, envy. Her church preaches that natural human desires are nothing to be ashamed of and you shouldn't repress them. They look at the religious circles that banish them for openly embracing the darkness as 'foolish'. The gods gave humans these desires for a reason: to motivate them to getting the most out of their short life. The gods gave humans the ability to hate as well, so they would not forget the wrongs done to them. Odile's worshipers are often at odds with worshipers of Aecim. Odile's sacred animal is the snake.