Thoughts on my religion

[mbartelsm]

In my setting there are four tiers of deities, I'll list them in order of importance:

1. The Titan Sisters (Light and Shadow)
2. The Seven Gods (Wind, Fire, Metal, Earth, Wood, Water, Ice)
3. The High Patrons (Too many to name)
4. The Bound Patrons (Even more)

The Titans' worshipers are few and far between, even though Titans were the creators of the universe and are pretty much omnipotent, they only meddle in mortal affairs under universe-disturbing circumstances. The few priests and priestesses of the Titans focus on trying to communicate with them in order to follow their will and to understand better the universe and the forces that shape it. The priests can be found in royal courts as counselors or in very isolated temples where they seek enlightenment.

Gods' worshipers are more common but still quite few and for a similar reason as Titans, Gods don't usually meddle with mortals, unless the situation is unbalancing the order of their respective element. Another reason is that most folk don't trust the Gods as they created the Seven Immortals as messengers between them and mortal people, but ended up being corrupted by power and would have conquered the world had the Titans not intervened. The priests of the Gods usually travel alone or in small groups, looking for disciples to teach them the arts of the elements.

[Will update tomorrow]

 

[Pythagoras]

This is really interesting and clearly you've put a lot of thought into it. I'm interested to read more.

 

[mbartelsm]

It seems like I can't edit the original post.

High patrons, among all deities, are the ones who enjoy the most worshipers. Their job consists on handling and "fine tuning" many actions or places which mortals consider ordinary, for example, there is a patron for blacksmiths, there is one for miners, there is another one for forests and another for deserts. Patrons must do what's best for their sphere of control, that includes those that are affected by it, which is why it can be said that patrons (both High and Bound) are the most accessible deities. Because their number is large (I haven't even listed them all), a great number of cults can be found, each worshiping a certain Patron or a number of them.

Bound Patrons, or Low Patrons, are Patrons who reign over a defined area of land or population, unlike High Patrons who are descendants from the Gods, Bound patrons are spontaneously born when a large enough number of souls is in need of one, and they become dependent either on these souls if they are on the move or the place this souls gathered if it is place of constant high density of souls. Because of their nature, Bound patrons tend to become guardians of natural areas or groups of people (such as clans) and are worshiped in exchange for their protection.

 

[Ennokos]

Awesome start, a few delving questions:

Is there conflict between Titans and the gods, especially since the seven Immortals incident?

I really like the bound patrons, it's interesting to have a deity that is actually bound to a group of people. What happens when two groups under bound deities go to war? Do they interfere, or let the mortals handle it themselves?

It seems that the magic of your world flows through the gods, is it just them, or do the priests and priestesses of the titans have the same magic?

Really interesting tiers though.

 

[mbartelsm]

Awesome start, a few delving questions:

Is there conflict between Titans and the gods, especially since the seven Immortals incident?

I really like the bound patrons, it's interesting to have a deity that is actually bound to a group of people. What happens when two groups under bound deities go to war? Do they interfere, or let the mortals handle it themselves?

It seems that the magic of your world flows through the gods, is it just them, or do the priests and priestesses of the titans have the same magic?

Really interesting tiers though.

Nah, It wasn't the Gods fault that the Immortals rebelled, and even after they did the Gods could stop them because they are Immortal and have too powerful magic.

Really depends on the Patrons, they can try to kill each other, they can connect essentially becoming a single entity or they can work together as individuals. One of the legends of the world is that of a Patron (or Patroness as it was born from a woman and took her shape) who "ate" all Patrons on the area to create and expand an empire.

Pretty much anyone can control the Physical elements or elements of the gods, they don't need an actual connection as they way Gods magic and Mortal magic work is different, Mortals bind the elements to their souls, move them and unbind them, while Gods are more like sentient forces of nature and work on a much bigger scale, them moving a rock would be like a giant trying to grab an ant, they can move the entire mountain if they want but not each individual stone.

The same applies for titanic magic, except that only a few gifted people can use it, and it doesn't affect the physical elements, it uses Light and Shadow, and Space and Time instead (on a small scale of course, no matter how gifted you are you cannot change the past or travel to the future).

 

[Scribble]

I quite like the structure, I read your replies where you developed it further, and I think it's sharp. However, I am stuck on a niggling point, perhaps my science geekness talking, of why ice and water are separate gods?

 

[mbartelsm]

Waterdeals not only with water, but all liquids (including oils), Ice deals with crystals (as in water crystals and gems) and cold. Yeah it doesn't make much sense from a scientific point of view, but neither do most of things on the setting.