Religions in Tehir

Religions in Tehir

The Grand Elements

Worshipped only in the roughs and the wild lands beyond, The Grand Elements religion is the least mystical of all the religions of Tehir for in the wilds seeing the lesser elements effects on the world around them is undeniable.

Followers of it thank each element for the gifts it gives and it is a loosely organized religion being variable where it comes but generally the leader of any given group is a Stormcaller.

Offerings are made to the  Storms in place of the elements and in a larger temples it tends to be separate rooms for each storm, whereas a humble shrine may just have a bowl for each.

Earthquake
Representation: Earth
Prayers: Solemn, quiet
Offenses: Digging,

Glacier
Representation: Ice
Prayers: Long low notes that sustain on a light song
Offenses: Lack of committment, Melting, Glacier generally is presumed to take small offenses over time.

Flood
Representation: Water
Prayers: Quick, 'true tones' for singing.
Offenses: Regidity, forcing water flows

Inferno
Representation: Fire
Prayers: group chanting
Offenses: Protection, putting out fires

Thunder
Representation: Instrument
Prayers: Loud, Booming and quick
Offenses: daliance, silent stalking

Those who think they have offended the Storms make offerings separately generally speaking outside of the prayers in hopes of placating the storm. Offerings vary greatly and are usually done on the advice of the Stormcaller or Shaman of the gathering.

The leader of the gathering is typically either a Stormcaller themselves or for those not so ‘blessed’ is called a Shaman for his understanding of the storms and role in leading the prayers.

The Church of Moraty

In the cities of Tehir far away, there are several religions, but few are as seen and motley as the Church of Amorty. Moraty, the father of luck, is their revered figure and they view life as an exercise in chance and fate or so they say. They offer prayers and such in hopes of good luck and perform deeds that they believe will please Moraty.

The truth is that the Church of Moratyis little more then hypocrites. While they claim to worship luck the truth is they manipulate luck and cast charms using the Subtle Art of Magic and use the religious trappings to protect themselves and give them a façade of respectability. Few ever win games of chance against a practiced acolyte of Moratyand those who seem to annoy his people come down with bad luck reinforcing the ‘gods’ will.

In any given church expect there to be games of chance, revelry and light heartedness while the acolytes themselves are both this and magicians of the Subtle Art, studying and working on it.

The Iron Ministry

Perhaps the largest of Tehir’s churches The Iron Ministry worships Yardin, the great smith. A staunch people with a belief in creation and a long past, the Iron Ministry has become in some ways captive to its traditions even as it gains greater acceptance.

Worshippers of Yardin, and members of The Iron Ministry are expected to each day spend a half hour in prayer thanking Yardin for creating the world and for the various other creations throughout it.

Prayers to Yardin tend to be ritualistic, and spoken in short lines before the refrain ‘thanks to the Lord of Iron’.

Leaders of congregation in The Iron Ministry are called Temperers as they temper the iron of the people that Yardin has made.

Chief among their beliefs are that people are created for good and that people are who they shall be and that while they can change it is never an easy process. Parents are taught carefully how to ‘forge the iron that Yardin has entrusted to them’ and thus in its smaller days the Iron Ministry led itself to smaller self-contained communities with group think.

With its relatively recent explosion in popularity, the communities have expanded of course and diluted that impact some. Adopted by the imperial family and some of the court some say now that its doctrine is more hollow then it once was.

Its primary beliefs are:
-	Raise those around you to the highest standard
-	Never tarnish that which was made by Yardin
-	All will face their fires of forging and must do so. Choice is how we are reforged and it must not be removed.