A religion that follows the tenants of the Goddess Furina, those of suffering and cruelty, plagues and pestilence. Madness and Corruption and Death and Decay. Most lands oppress this religion, especially those that want to make some sort of a gesture to their people that death and forms of corruption only happen to degenerates and their ilk few. The open temples of Furina that were controlled by former mercy and passion sects have since been converted to asylums with small graveyards around them. The Furina faith has shown a willingness to work with locals to take in inmates of local governments and cities and hold them, creating less of a burden on some of the kinder governments and guards in some cities. The few darker temples that were open still remain, even though some have turned into assassin temple guilds or schools, and often sometimes work with the governments that allow them to exist.
Heka is the faith of the God of Magic, Rayth.
Heka is very different than the other religions of Tirradyn. Rather than focusing on the worship of a deity or two, Heka is guided by Rayth, urging all who follow its tenets to find glory, solace and passion in the magical arts. Founded by the Lord of Magic not long after his ascension to divinity, Heka seeks to gather knowledge from throughout the realm, bringing books, objects of power, and anything else of interest to the magical community to their temple, where it can not only be studied, but when appropriate, shared with the world.
The sharing of knowledge is important to those within Heka's ranks, and often, many who begin their journey as apprentices go on to take students of their own under their wing. Those who walk these magical halls are not required to serve only Rayth, though some interest in the arcane is preferred. Rather, they are expected to devote themselves to the pursuit, gathering and sharing of knowledge in all its forms.
The religion of Kasimir is the faith of the god Seir, lord of Domination, Deception and the Mind. It's a dark, brutal faith based upon the view that everybody falls into one or two categories: Master or slave. Both military and political in nature, the Kasimir seek to control as much of the realm as they can for their own gain, making others conform to their view of the world and how it should be. The faith was originally started in honor of a goddess known as Kasim, goddess of Power and Domination and was eventually taken over by the goddess known as Kedanna for her own private gain. It has now returned to a god of Domination and a restructuring has begun. It's detractors claim Kasimir is nothing more than a place for sexual deviants only interested in pushing people into sexual slavery. While sexual slavery is indeed a part of answering to someone above you, the Kasimir's view of Master and slave extend to all aspects of life and call for total control. As all remnants of the old faith were destroyed after a war with a horde of the god of Destruction, Drugaal, the religion has slowly been reforming in a new home under the patience and calculating watch of their god.
The Nadur Bekhai is a religion formed to worship Tirradyn and the spirits of the natural world and is a new religion compared to some others. Those that walk this path are many things to many different people. They can be teachers, caretakers, advisers, watchers and guardians. Respectful of all that is natural they strive to preserve it and watch it flourish. Remaining mostly indifferent to the other religions conflicts unless they threaten Tirradyn itself or the spirits they watch over their charge with passion. Not possessing a strict hierarchy, the Nadur Bekhai are mostly ruled by a council of elders led by the mortal leader of the faith. The rules of the faith are simple and all members are expected to know, understand and follow them.
The Nostrum still follow most of what the old Goddess of Darkness, Ariana set before them. That the Realm can and will one day find Peace. In order for that to happen a Neutral stance must be taken as Darkness can seek to aid or to take over and destroy when the time allows and calls for such intervention. The Nostrum are not Balance as that domain has fallen to Trellan and they believe the Lord does well with what he accomplishes within that sphere of influence.
The Nostrum and the Keepers of the Night, are now under the control of a new divinity, the Goddess Sachai and while her own alignments rest within neutralism and chaos, she believes the Nostrum to be Neutral in all forms. They are the soldiers of the Dark, the men and women who do not care for wars or arguments unless they are affected solely by what happens. For the Darkness does not care for petty squabbles of who is right or wrong. When needed the Dark can aid to find the light or take the light away. It is the keeper of those that walk within it's murkiness. The ones that depend on the lightlessness to survive and grow stronger.
Protecting those within that black void be they evil, neutral or good. Stepping in to assist only if it is deemed they should. Otherwise they watch, listen and prepare to keep the Darkness alive and all that live within it's embrace. For without the Dark, there can be no nightmares, Night terrors, Emptiness or Fears. The Dark is a solace to some, a fear for others and still yet to some it is a way of life.
The Sages are the champions of Life and the Healers and Protectors of the realm. Once seen as pacifist who remained neutral in matters of conflict, they have evolved over time with the changing of it's leaders. Started when Orma, the pacifist God who was brutally murdered by other Gods who were angry that he would not side with their plights or bend to their will. His followers came together to honor him and try carrying on his ideals. His spirit living on his followers and his power flowing through them, giving them the strength required to heal those in need, and banish the darkness that threatened peace in the realm. Offering aid to any who were in need.
With the signs read around the realm there are those who believe that the Dark Times are approaching. The times told by those who follow Fate as the ending of Peace among the gods. Foretelling of a great battle that would see several immortal protectors of domains fall. In this great battle and time of suffering, the lands will know further decay. Those that should be dead will rise to walk once more, though without any mind or memory of who they were before. Only seeking to feed their hunger upon the living. Even Nature is not immune to Fate, for all have a beginning, and an end. The rarest gift of Fate is a rebirth, a chance to change things, to create ones own Fate anew. It is for this reason, that Umbalor was formed. The slightest of manipulation, the tiniest of meddling, can tip the spool askew, possibly leading to a Darker, more evil Fate than what must soon be endured. Those of the Umbalor (Dreams Fate) are the watchers, the protectors of Fate's design. Always looking for those who would seek to interfere, though never interfering themselves, without good cause. They are teller of Dreams, and can decipher symbols and significance within them, or assure that it was nothing at all. They are often considered a prideful people, and those who are thin of skin are usually turned away. For to record Fate, to watch its path as it begins to cut away through time, to stand by and watch as what many would feel is an innocent fall, rather than step in and act to save, or to save, when perhaps death would have inevitably been the outcome and such death was desired by many, takes a special sort of person. One who can separate themselves from emotion to do, only, what must be done.
Time has changed the face of Tirradyn, and with it, the views of its inhabitants. Trellan, not being above adapting to the needs of the new world, created Vadoma to act as an avatar of balance in a land that sorely lacks a true center. With factions of both good and evil acting in the world, the need for a central force became obvious to him, and with the disappearance of the Red Tower, he used his considerable power to construct a temple and draw up the tenents and laws that will help the followers of Vadoma work for balance in the land. Vadoma's followers are from all walks of life. Good and evil people, and all ranges in between are accepted within its ranks, as all are a part of universal balance, however an acute recognition of the need for balance is required. Shadows are seen as the epitome of balance, since they are an exact match to their counterpart in most instances.
Vantiga serves many purposes in service to the Goddess Kedanna. They can be a cruel, vicious lot in their pursuit but as with the Goddess Herself they will go out of their way to make sure a child is not harmed and can bring their entire unholy wrath to bear against the offender. It is in this manner that the Vantiga show their homage to their Lady's domain: Love. While they may not care for adults who may or may not be able to protect themselves, to harm a child is perhaps the highest crime one is capable of and deserving of only one thing, Kedanna's ultimate judgment. They also serve many other functions in the realm, sometimes acting as priests whom conduct marriages or offer advice to those in Love, sometimes they run orphanages for children. While at other times they scour battlefields, ending the life of the dieing and wounded soldiers, releasing them of their mortal coil or summoning the undead and unleashing a horde to bring about those who's time has come, after all, if it's not your time to time, you won't die, right? It is because of this that there are conflicting views of Vantiga, depending upon which side of matters you're on. Children may look up to their odd protectors while the innocent villagers fleeing a horde of zombies, ghouls and vampire curse the religion before they are swept away in the onslaught.
Vinum is the faith of the God of Wine, Dance, and Mischief -- Dionacus.
Vinum is not a religion about partying and getting drunk. Rather, it is a faith that, much like Volupta, celebrates something that is often maligned and misunderstood. It would promote not careless revelry, but instead, would encourage everyone to celebrate the simple things in life, to laugh and make merry even in the darkest of days. Vinum's faithful would delight in the playing of harmless pranks, both one one another and strangers. Victims of such pranks would be given a wineskin containing Vinum's 'holy water' as a gesture of goodwill for 'tolerating' the prank.
The religion of Volupta is often misunderstood as a religion of desire, sex, and debauchery. While these things may encompass one aspect of the religion of desire, it is so much more than these things. Grendafel's sphere of desire, and thus the aim of her followers, is not only to foster a desire for pleasure, but to foster all desires, whether they be for money, power, strength, romance, revenge, or any number of other things. Desire is a broad spectrum, and the followers of Volupta should work to both foster desires in others, encourage desires, and in some cases help to fulfill them. While Grendafel herself is Chaotic-Neutral, as is the main focus of the religion, this is not a requirement of initiation into Volupta. Those worthy of following her may be of any disposition, and from any walk of life. As a religion which deals with the motives, wants, and desires of all people, knowledge of those desires is a must, so followers should always watch for signs of them, and be able to recognize and identify those things, but also to that end, Volupta will have confessors. Confessors are open to the realm, to hear confessions in private and by doing so, allow laymen to vent their secret hearts to someone without fear of retribution or judgment, and perhaps to receive help in achieving those dreams. We are not a religion of absolution, we are a religion of perpetuation, encouragement and, sometimes, assistance.