Legends of Belariath

Wolven Religion

The Tale of the Eternal Stag

In the beginning Gaea was among the stars alone and lost in the vast ocean of the darkness. She held out a hand grasping one of the stars holding it close for warmth. She was so sad that she began to weep. A single of her silvery tears fell on to the shining star stilling its eternal fire and there was our world. At first she didn't know what to do with it but then she found that the cooling star would be able to bear a part of herselfand as she looked aat the little pebble her tear has caused she came to realize that now she has also to see for its wellbeing. She wondered what to do with it and sighed her breath hitting the tiny creation of hers filling it with air. She saw lakes and seas spread and soon there was a world full of blue and sandy colors yet otherwise empty. she breathed another time this time more strongly and saw the sands waving around chaging it making it fertile. she watched as the sands fell and as the air cleared she saw fertile ground all over. A smile crept upon her face as she realised what she had done. the little jewel in front of her sticking so out from all the other things around her it felt precious to her. She held the little gem close to her bothom feeling its very different warmth spreading through her and once more she looked at it. There were plants all over growig and growing soon covering the whole world and keeping on blookming and this was when she realized that steady growing without anything to restrict it would ruin this little treasure of hers.

And so she invented death but it was bothersome putting an end to all of the growing things herself too much of it was there. Then her eyes fell upon one of the beings that had evolved without her knowing a regal strong stag and with it she saw a young fawn with its mother also in the purest white of the silver stars. She saw them grazing putting an end to some of the bothersome grasses that had kept her so terrible busy. I smile crept upon her face and once more she blew onto the little gem in her hand and ice came over the world putting an end to the bloom and withit the young little stag. Seeing this gaea's heart broke. she didn't want to do that not realizing that putting an end to one thing might lead to an end for other things too. She cried and picked up the lifeless little body its parents jumping away disappeaing in the vast frozen forrest. She kissed the young stag lending it some of her powers the powers to bring the ice and end the cyle of blooming life. as well as the power of making the winter happen. She set it back on the world she created and so it is till today. Once a year the stag is killed taken from life by force and with the kill the winter`s breath befalls the lands stilling the bloom so it can regrow when the stag has grown out of fawnhood.

The Creation Myth and the Gods

In the beginning, when Gaea was young, she gave birth to the gods out of herself. And she told them that there was but only one rule: Until the End of Days, the Gods mustn't kill each other, or the murderer would face the same fate as the victim. And then the Gods were released, and Gaea… watched.

Then the Gods created the races, which were about to live on Gaea. And each God created a race according to his own countenance. And for a time it was good. But after a while, Garn, who of all Gods hadn't created his own race yet, spoke the words of warning. With the countenance, the different folks would inherit the flaws of their creators, and thus they would fall. But Garn, who of all Gods knew about his own imperfection, and was able to embrace it, became mocked by most the other Gods. Their Power already had corrupted them, and they held themselves for flawless. So, only 6 Gods heard his words and understood. And they were Leki, Skodi, Sira, Fenr, Rhe and Arha.

And as Garn told them , the six destroyed their creations. The other gods, pretending to be repelled from this act of violence, but really being bothered if Garn was right, banned Garn, and the six from their society. And for an aeon it was good. But then the crimes and the arrogance of Gaeas races became to much to ignore further. Instead of repenting their sins, which of course were the result of their weak and flawed characters, the different races and cultures were bathing in them, being ultimately corrupted by pride. Just as their Gods, they held themselves impeccable. And so... Garn decided to help the other Gods, which he still held as brothers and sisters, although they cast him and the other six out. He decided to finally create a race, that should teach Gaeas other races fear, to heal them from their pride. Like this they could finally be able to recognize their flaws, and try to learn from their failures. This new race was it, which should draw fear of the dark into the hearts of the inhabitants of the world. But he knew, that he alone would fail in such a task, for he didn't want the new race to suffer from such imperfection, as the other races did, and so the new race became a common creation of the seven. And it was decided to make them in the countenance of wolves, to embody the ferocity and strength of Nature, but also akin to men, to bless them with ingenuity and intelligence. And each of the seven gave to them, what was believed he could do best. And thus it was done like this:

Garn: The leader of the Seven. Garn was the one who made the decision to create the race, decided that Man and Wolf would be merged and created their heart, lungs, bones and muscles, and gave their souls the commitment. Proud and dominating, he is the most fervent in their desire to fullfil their destiny. Most wolven that pray to him ask for his favour or advice when they're seeking to dominate others and further the cause of Wolven Superiority.

Leki: The wisest of the Seven. Garn was by no means stupid, but Leki was the most knowledgeable of the four, as well as a master craftsman. His designs were for the wolven's brain, nose, eyes and ears as well as the intricate net of the nerves and arteries, as much as the well wighted system of internal orgnas. It was he who gave theirs souls the ability to learn and find enlightenment. Thoughtful and creative, he likes to see the things his own creations make, be they well-crafted weapons or mastery of magic. Most wolven that pray to him seek greater understanding or inspiration.

Fenr: The Savagest of the Seven. Not particularly bright, and incredibly impulsive, Fenr is about as strong as Garn, and challenged him every hunderd year, but was always defeated and then loyally followed Garn. When the gods of other races realized what the Seven were planning, they rushed to try to stop them. The othter Six were busy working on more intricate matters of the wolven creation, so could not be interrupted, and it was Fenr that fought the other gods off. He only made two contributions to the new races body an one to the soul, few, but important ones: It were the Wolven's fangs and claws, an their instincts. Brash, feral and violent he craves to see the creatures he once protected fight. Warriors often pray to him to grant them strength and resolve in combat.

Skodi:

The astute Thief.Leki was wise and intelligent, but nevertheless Skodi was of greater wit and cunning , and thus he forged this ability into the new wolvens souls. Skodi was never good in creating things as the other six were, being incredibly creative, but not as patient or just as committed to do so, and thus he disguised himself, and sneaked to the gods which expelled the Seven once, to steal from them the best parts of their designs. With this knowledge he returned to share it with the other six. But Garn denied the knowledge, arguing, that these parts could never be used, should the new race not suffer from the same failures the older, minor ones were suffering. He was finally convinced by Leki, that even if they could not just copy these parts, they could use the ideas, to come up with better ones, and to do so was decided. Like Fenr, Skodi made only two contributions to the wolvens body: The fur, which allowed them to stay unnoticed in the appropriate surrounding, and the feet to allow the wolven to sneak unheard. Skodi likes to see his creation to come up with clever tactics, and thus wolven pray to him seeking knowledge to outwit an enemy.

Sira:

The strong-willed healer.

As the gods who once cast Sira and the other six out, learned what the seven were about to do, they tried to gain more knowledge. But being not as astute as Skodi to come up with a good plan, they ordered the five most vicious of them to abduct Sira, who was considered the weakest, and do what is necessary. These five knew that they weren't allowed to kill her, due to Gaeas one and only law, but argued, that this doesn't mean that they couldn't torture her. And thus they raped her and tortured her in the most gruesome ways. But for no awail... her iron will couldn't be broken. But as Garns sensitive ears caught her screams from far, he took Fenr, Leki, and Skodi, and together they rushed to her rescue. And the five torturers saw the fire in Garns eyes, and became afraid and fled, but to no avail, because Fenr caught them all with his strong arms. But afraid now, the five cowards called upon Gaea, and her intervention.

Gaea saw the wounded and desecrated body of Sira, and spoke but one word... "Vengeance".

And so Leki constructed five torture racks of living rock to hold Siras violators till the End of Days, and filled them with a life on its own. But he argued that this life would vanish, if it was not fed all day, and thus one of the gods would have to stay, and care for this chore. And Sira saw her opportunity for vengeance and spoke, that she would do it. And so, even in spiritual form, she returns to the place of her torture every day, and feeds the racks with blood from her former violators before healing them, so that they could outlast the next day.

Of all of the seven, Sira was the most stubborn but at the same time the most skilled healer.

Being not particularly bright or strong, she made up with her unbreakable will and unmatched stubbornness. What ever she took up... she stood on target, and mastered it. With iron, never-give-up will, she reached her objectives, no matter how high they were chosen.

This will she endowed into the wolvens soul. But she also was warm at heart, to the ones who earned it, and so she also wove Skodis fur into a dense one, so it would protect against the adversities of Nature, and gave the wolven their great ability to withstand pain, torture or wounds.

Sira is often called upon by wolven who have to withstand overwhelming adversitities,pain or troture, but she is also the matron of all the wolven healers, and wolven working on dull or time intensive chores.

Rhe:

The Mother. As Rhe saw the wolven design of the four gods Garn, Leki, Skodi and Fenr, it caught her eye, that they were creating a cold warrior race, without a home in their hearts. So she contributed the drive to build strong family bounds, as much as she created womb and seed of the new race, so they could be fertile. And she gave the eyes the ability to glow red, whenever the limit of a wolvens patience was reached, allowing two adversaries to part, and meet again when the spirits have lowered .Rhe loves to see her creations build strong, healthy families, and thus wolven, that are in search for a soulmate often turn to her, as much as wolven mothers that want to thank her for the blessing of having a child.

Arha:

The Sensual Goddess.

Being the most sensual and sexually open minded one of all gods, she contributed the sexual attributes, be they primary or secondary, as much as the tactile senses to the wolven. She was once declared Archenemy of Rhe, (of course) but the problem of procreation was a too difficult task to solve for Rhe alone, because the new race was already too complicated, due to the intricate concepts of so many different designers. Thus, Rhe was not able to fix the problem alone. Too seldom would two loving wolven be able to be blessed with children, and thus she turned to her former enemy Arha, who seemed to be the only one who understood her concerns about the wolven future. Arha of course came up with an idea, but one that pleased Rhe in no way... Nevertheless...there was no choice at all. If the new race was about to stay vital, they would have to be able to have more children, than Rhe could guarantee with her work alone. Thus Arha encrafted her own sexual drive and desire into the wolven, which was unmatched by any other god. She gave the wolven the ability to enjoy the sex with even the same, if not more intensity, then they enjoyed the fight. And to do this, she interwove the instincts, which were Fenrs gifts, into the sexual drive, and that’s why the wolvens eyes glow also, when they are aroused. Instead of having children more often, when they have sex, the wolven from then on had the overwhelming desire to have more sex, and thus would become children more likely. With this gift of Arha, Rhe was not able to add her so desired monogamy into the wolvens souls, or otherwise it would have torn them apart in the first second of their existence.

Arha loves to see the wolven in sexual acts of unmatched sensuality, and even if the attitude of wolven to rape their enemies displeases her, she accepts it as her work of interweaving Fenrs instincts with her own. Wolven that seek to meet in a sexual Encounter ask for her guidance, and sometimes, whole orgies are held in her name.

The Descent of the Gods, or how the gods became part of the wolven

But the other gods sought to destroy the work of the seven, to annihilate the new threat to their own creations. Because if the wolven succeeded, it would mean their creations, and thus them, were flawed.

And they led their races into the wolven territories, and began to slaughter the wolven. And even if the wolven were stronger, quicker and better then any other race, the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming. This was when Skodi went to Garn, and told him his idea... It was, when the last wolven were driven into a valley, when six of the seven, all but Skodi, sacrificed themselves, and hid their souls in the remaining wolven. And Skodi went to the other gods, and told them, that if the wolven would die, so would the seven. And thus Gaea would keep her promise and kill the murderers, who were all other Gods, because they took part in the genocide of the wolven. And then he gave up his own physical form too, to let his soul find rest in a wolven that fitted his ideals best. And the other Gods became afraid and angry, and soon voices were heard, that the death of the Seven would have been their own fault, for they chose the weak forms of wolven as their hull. And soon the war-drums sound was heard again, and it seemed all over for the wolven, as Gaea... arose. And she warned the other Gods that Skodi was right. Not earlier then the End of Days should one God raise a hand against each other in the attempt to kill. So the other gods had to retreat grumbling and unsatisfied, unable to finish their work. And that’s why the wolven refer to Gaea as their saviour, and worship her and even feel the urge to protect her sometimes.

The wolven know, that the spirits of their creators are hidden within them, and this is why the wolven can use magic, for it is nothing else, as the power of the seven floating through all wolvens conscience. And whenever a wolven embodies the ideals of one of the seven strong enough... he may become the impersonation of the god in the end of days. Because in the End of Days, the gods will choose the one wolven that served their ideals best, and endow him or her with all of her power, cease the own existence and leave the new god as their fighter in the Fight of Fights.

The Dark Gods

... and how they came to existence

"Come to the dark side of Fenr, Lupe... because... I am your father..."

"Nooooooooooo... I have no father!. Just a genitor who left and betrayed everything we believe in. But i will give you a chance to start anew. Prepare to die!"

The young godspeaker of Fenr, Lupe Cloudrunner, who was raised by the pack, fighting his ... genitor, who lost the path.

As the dark forces of Chaos saw, how seven of the gods turned their backs on all other, they laughed, for they recognized the gate, that opened before them widely. They held council, about what to do, and the decision was made to approach four of the seven with the demand to seed imperfection into the wolvens souls. And the forces of Chaos approached Fenr with Rage, luring him with promises of eternal war. And they approached Leki with Knowledge about the last secrets of the universe, not to be known by anyone but Gaea, and they approached Arha with Perversion, promising her orgies that would fulfil the darkest dreams, and they approached Skodi with Mistrust and Lies, promising him power beyond his wildest dreams, by the only necessity not to spare the pack from his lies either.

They didnt approach Rhe, for she rested too deep in the laws of families to betray Garn.

They didn't approach Sira, for it was recognized that her Loyalty couldn't be broken, and they didn't approach Garn for they feared his initiative,and that he would see beyond their false promises.

But they failed.

Fenr burned in rage, and tore their herolds apart.

Leki lured them into his well thought traps, to hold them until even the Stars die out.

Skodi pretended to go along, but only to seed doubts and mistrust, to see how the herolds tear themselves apart,

and Arha asked them, to show her how her darkest dreams would come true, and the herolds died the most twisted deaths.

And for a time it was good. And the Forces of Chaos withdrew, and believed their plans to be failed. But the doubt was sown into the souls of the four. And then the gods gave up their corporeal existence to save the wolven, and the forces of chaos laughed again, for they knew about the laws of the spiritual world better then anyone else. And they watched.

And they saw it was Fenr, who was the first, who fell because of the battle in himself. And they saw how a part of his spirit gained self conscience, and parted from Fenr. And so Bael, the dark god of war, evil twin of Fenr, came into existence.

And they saw it was Leki, who was the second who fell, because of his inner struggle, and they saw how a part of him gained self - conscience, and parted from Leki. And so Hog, the dark god of forbidden knowledge ,evil twin of Leki, came into existence.

And they saw it was Skodi, who was the third who fell, because of his inner struggle, and they saw how a part of him gained self- conscience, and parted from Skodi. And so Grema, the gark god of Mistrust, evil twin of Skodi, came into existence.

And they saw it was Arha who was the last who fell, because of the battle in her, and they saw how a part of her gained self-conscience, and parted from Arha. And so Sade was born, the dark godess of sexual perversion.

And The wolven shamans and godspeakers in these times were warned by the gods, that these four spiritual avatars of Chaos would approach the wolven, and that they would have to rely on their wisdom to tell the gods and their evil twins apart.

But the four dark gods were clever, and the forces of chaos taught them how to lure the wolven, and so, from this time on, wolven, packs or even whole tribes fell to the false promises of the dark gods, following their lead, all the time believing that they were still folowing the gods path, but having lost it long ago.

Followers of dark gods

Due to the nature of the dark gods, most of the wolven, which follow them are not aware that they are doing so. And when those who do it finally understand, whose path they were following, most turn back. Sadly it takes a long time to convince a wolven that they are following the wrong path. General stubbornness, and the tendency to value the own point of view most, doesn't help to ease the task at all. But when they can be convinced, nothing holds them on the side of the dark gods. Usually. There exist wolven, that follow the path of the dark gods consciously. These are the truly tainted souls of the wolven, and they are often, but not always, shamans, godspeakers or wolven in high ranking positions within the tribe, that try to use their power to lure even more wolven into the tainted embrace of the dark gods.

Main Characteristics:

Bael:

Bael is the evil god of war. While Fenr at least sees war just as a tool to reach his objectives, Bael loves the war as an end in itself. He doesn't want the war to ever end, and blodshed and the noise of crying widows are delight in his ears. Warriors that seek to prolongate a war, that has fulfilled its purpose, or leaders that supress other wolven by keeping them in a state of eternal warfare, have lost the path of Fenr, and walk in the steps of Bael.

Hog

Hog is the evil god of forbidden Knowledge. While Leki has accepted the principle, that only the fool would tear something apart, to find out how it works, Hog doesn't abide it. To Hog, only his own development is important, and be it at cost of the live or future of others. Wolven who seek for knowledge not meant to be in the hands of mortals, or wolven who destroy valuable scrolls to keep the place as the only one with certain knowledge, have lost Lekis Path, and walk in Hogs Path. Especially endangered are of course Mages, which steal the power of Gaea, instead of earning them like the honorable Druids.

A Wolven mage (Gaean) , that has crossed the line too far, has gone "Hogwards"

Grema

Grema is the evil god of betrayal and mistrust. He gains power by seeding mistrust and doubt into the haert of others, and thus tries to gain dominance even about the minds. But he spares neither his closest friends, nor even his relatives. Wolven that betray the family for personal enrichment, or the pack to gain power... have lost the path of Skodi, and decided to follow Grema instead.

Sade

Sade is the evil god of sexual perversion. She loves the sexuality in all forms, and the joys of life so much (her own joys meant here), that nothing else is considered important anymore. Important task are postponed, friends betrayed, and packbonds broken, if it just helps her, to gain her so desired reliefs.

Wolven, that betray their family or pack, to wal the paths of joys and personal delight, have lost Arhas path, and are in bed with Sade instead.

General Religious Concepts

... or how a wolven follows his gods

When talking about the gods, most wolven refer to the pantheon of seven, for this is the original wolven belief. Of course there are differences in the beliefs of the different wolven tribes, but the names or at least the roles, which the gods occupy, are the same. Nevertheless there are wolven, especially in regions where wolven are a minority (meaning: being a minority, which is not dominating the rest of the population), which have adapted and even replaced their own beliefs with the ones of other races. To cover all these possibilities is nothing less then impossible. That’s why we only refer only to the pantheon of seven here.

A task, which, in fact, is not much simpler.

Even IF all tribes believe at least in the same gods, and even IF the gods in their common belief have at least resembling concepts, the importance of the different gods, and their relation to each other, differ from tribe to tribe. To be at least able to talk about the variety of beliefs, one would have to introduce the concepts of “The Hierarchy”, “the Order”, and “The Path”, which is what we want to do now.

Hierarchy and order of the pantheon

There is a difference for the wolven in the concept of order and the concept of hierarchy. Simply put, while the hierarchy describes the importance of the gods in the pantheon, the order describes how their points of view relate to each other, meaning how they are in terms with each other.

The Hierarchy of the pantheon.

It is not as bad as it seems first. Yes, the importance of gods and thus their place in the Hierarchy may differ from tribe to tribe, but at least not the importance of all seven Gods. Being a race created for hunt and war, the place of Garn, who is the most skilled hunter, and Fenr, who is the most savage of all seven, are relative fixed. Relative fixed, because most tribes, at least the bigger ones, consider Garn as being the leader of the pantheon, while smaller Tribes, sometimes believe that this place is occupied by Fenr. The wolven of these smaller tribes replace Garn completely with Fenr, sometimes even attributing the idea to create the wolven to the more savage God. And while the concept of hunt for intelligent beings is attributed to Fenr, these tribes refer to Garn as “just” the hunter for animals.

So either Garn or Fenr take the leadership. This is common with all tribes. But the places of the other, “minor” gods may differ from tribe to tribe, and they usually do, depending on the environment, in which the wolven of the specific tribe are living. And even if two tribes believe in the same hierarchy, the reasons why they do may differ.

Example: Tribe Winterrage

This Tribe is living at the north-eastern rim territories of the northern steppes, a region which is traditionally described as “Wolven Land” in many human sources. The tribe is rather small (only 8 Packs), and used to very hard winters. There are not enough resources to feed the wolven AND the near settlements of elven and humans. This means that war is a necessity in order to survive. Because of this, Fenr has replaced Garn as the leading god in the belief of the tribe. But still Garn is the second in place for the necessity to hunt for food. Leki is rather unimportant in the belief, for the pack simply has no time to value the achievements of wisdom. The same holds for Arha, for even if the desire in the wolven to have sex is present, the overall situation is too hard, to allow for the members of the tribe to give in too often. Rhe, on the other hand, as a protector of new life, is highly valued. Sira and Skodi are of average importance, because of the necessity to stay through hard times, and the necessity to outwit the enemies. Thus the hierarchy in the pantheon, in the tribes view, is ordered as follows:

Alpha: Fenr

2. Garn

3. Rhe

4. Sira

5. Skodi

6. Arha

7. Leki

Tribe Bloodclaws

The Bloodclaws Tribe lives at the southern border of the northern steppes,within a very fruitful landscape. This is the reason, why it is confronted with invading settlers from time to time. Thus, warfare has become a form of life to them, but long times of war alternate with long times of peace, when the humans draw breath, and rebuild their settlements.

Being a big tribe, which is controlling a much bigger area than Tribe Winterclaw for example, a good leader is of higher value to the tribe than a good warrior and thus, the tribe believes in Garn as the leader of the pantheon, followed by Fenr. In order to replace casualties in times of peace, the importance of many children, has led to the result, that Arha and Rhe are valued highly. Sira is rather unimportant, for the wolven are in control of the area, and there is seldom any need to pray to her, because of the amount of resources.

Alpha: Garn

2. Fenr

3. Arha

4. Rhe

5. Skodi

6. Leki

7. Sira

The Order of the Pantheon:

While the hierarchy describes the importance of the particular gods, the order describes, how the gods are in terms with each other. To understand that this is a completely different subject, one must accept that for a race as aggressive as the wolven, it is not surprising, that gods in the pantheon take opposing positions. Conflict is a big part in wolvens everyday life, and thus also a part of the wolven belief. Moreover, Wolven usually embrace conflict as an opportunity to solve problems, and don’t try to evade it, as they are used to witness with other, “weaker” races. Even the wolvens justification of their superiority relates to conflict in their pantheon, because if the gods were of too similar character, the result of their efforts, which is the wolven race, would have inherited the flaws of these gods and would not be able to overcome them. And, as a wolven would point out, that is of course utter nonsense.

Moreover, the wolven believe, that the viewpoints of all seven gods are equally distributed, meaning that the forces of all seven would exactly outweigh the flaws of each god. This leads to the result, that, because there are seven gods, each god would have two “allies”, which agree to his points of view in the most cases, two opponents who disagree, leaving two “neutral” gods, who would decide from case to case. Thus, because of the different nature of the gods, conflict is unavoidable.

Important is to note here, that the wolven don’t think about it as a contradiction, that there exists arguments within a strong hierarchy. In times of peace it is accepted, even encouraged that wolven challenge each other, and with the gods it is no difference. But the gods will only have to fight one war at the End of Days, meaning that arguments within the pantheon are in no way seen as something that violates the hierarchical concept.

But who opposes who? This, just like the question of the place of the “minor” gods Arha, Rhe ,Leki, Skodi and Sira in the hierarchy, depends strongly on the tribe of the particular wolven.

(To fix the order, in which the tribe believes, one should draw a heptagram (an important religious symbol for the wolven by the way, see Symbolism). Then, one should attribute each vertex (tip of a spike) of the heptagram to one god, and each edge with opposing positions within the pantheon. “Allied” gods occupy neighbouring vertices (Neighbouring spikes meant here).

When doing so, one should think about the reasons, why it makes sense for the particular tribe to believe that two gods oppose each other. Of course it does not necessarily need to be a good explanation, even if logical, environmental driven explanations are of course better. (Because they make the whole tribe more believable). But “Because I want to play my wolven like this”, is good enough, when it is hidden in some good invented reasons ;-) )

Example: Tribe Winterrage

As pointed out above, Fenr is the highest god to the wolven of this tribe, but Garn challenges him very often. Garn is less aggressive than Fenr, and urges, that instead of waging war for food, one should use the natural resources better, and attack only to expand the hunting grounds. Accompanied in this believe is he by Rhe, who sees the valued children die in young age, instead of being able to found new families. Skodi and Leki stand neutral to Fenr. Sometimes, in times of war he can rely on their wisdom, but they both agree, that Rhe and Garn have their points. Sira is on Fenrs side, arguing that the wolven have had to endure too much, not to strike back, while Arha is drawn towards the strong Fenr sexually, and hopes that the wolven will have more time for “more important things” when the settlements of men are burnt down.

The Path

While in human religions it is common, that one aspect of life is attributed solely to one god, with the wolven gods it is different. In wolven Religion, each god has his own views on every aspect of life. Thus, the wolven gods are not distinguished by the aspects, but by the interest, they take in each aspect. Garn i.e. is most interested in the hunt, but of course also in the raising of children(new hunters) as self dependent beings. Fenr loves the war, but is also interested in a healthy sex life. He is “just not as into it” as Arha.

The views on the different subjects are called “the Path”, and when a wolven decides to follow the path of a particular god, he decides to adapt many of the views, and to some degree even the levels of importance, which the gods attribute to them. But of course it is not expected that a wolven offers the same levels of commitment as the god for a particular subject.

Most tribes believe that the adequate situation to declare the Path, which a young wolven wants to follow, is the coming of Age Ritual. Only a few tribes leave it to the particular wolven, to keep a secret about his intentions.

The wolven may also decide to follow not only one path, but two. The only condition under which this is possible, is, that the two gods are allies, within the order in which the tribe believes. The name for this is “walking in the gathering Path”.

And there is one last possibility, which is called “Standing in the common ground”. This possibility means that the wolven is following the path of all gods. It is, almost uniquely, taken by Shamans, who interpret the will of the gods, and who are in fact enabled to do so by choosing this path. It is noteworthy that, while the wolven refer to the other paths as “walking in the path”, they say “standing in the Common Ground”. This means, they believe that in this “Path” no, or at least only few, development is possible. Moreover it is believed that the shamans give up the possibility to become the Avatar of one of the seven in the End of Days, and for this sacrifice, they are highly valued in the society of wolven.

But not only the wolven follows a path. The pack, and even the tribe, is following a path too. The path, which a pack or tribe follows, describes, what the wolven of this tribe/pack believe about what the purpose of the whole pack/tribe is, according to the will of the gods. The Paths of the particular wolven may and will differ from the path of his tribe, and from the path of his pack, but this is what they believe as their common purpose.

But while the paths of a pack, and the tribe it belongs to, may differ strongly, up to the point where the paths of the tribe and the pack are opposing, the paths of particular wolven and their packs are stronger correlated. Usually packs don’t allow wolven to choose paths, which are opposing to their own points of view.

Example: The Pack “Fenrs Fangs” of Tribe Mistclaw

The pack “Fenrs Fangs” is one of three warrior packs of Tribe Mistclaws. The pack of course chose to “walk in the path of Fenr”, but that’s not all. To fully evaluate the dangerousness of this pack, one has to know, that in the belief of the Mistclaws Tribe, Sexuality, War and hunt are closely related(allies) and the whole Mistclaw tribe itself chose to follow the “gathering path of Fenr and Arha”. Thus the pack is infamous for their raids deep into the neighbouring human territories, where they kill all but the strongest human males, and rape the human women. Believing that women have no place on the battlefield (one of Fenrs more infamous points of views), the wolven warriors bring the males and females as presents to their mates, where they become slaves and live their lives in labor and sexual degradation.

(When creating a wolven with original wolven belief, one would first have to develop the gods hierarchy, and the order in the belief of the tribe. To do this, read the articles, and use the hint with the heptagram (see above).

This fixes which paths the wolven can follow, and so the definition of the order should be done with respect to the kind of wolven that should come from this tribe. (Of course there is always the possibility to choose already existing tribes.

General tribes take the “Common Ground”, for taking another path usually influences the packs too much into particular directions. But tribes that believe, that they fulfil a holy cause, may choose their path accordingly. Packs choose their path according to the role they fulfil within the tribe, meaning that warrior packs choose Fenr, Garn or Skodi, artisan packs most often choose Leki or Arha, and provider packs choose Garn, Rhe or Sira.

At last the path of the wolven should be determined, which finishes the religious development of the particular wolven character.

Note that this is only meant as help to create the different beliefs in different tribes. As pointed out first, not all tribes have kept their original belief, and this article is just for those who have.

There are a plethora of tribes,living in areas under stricter control of other races, who have abandoned even their own pantheon, or adapted it (added Gods to the pantheon or abandoned them). On the other hand there exist tribes which, even according to wolven standards, must be called primitive, and who don’t believe in a wolven pantheon, but an eternal war of Garn and Fenr.)

Symbolism

The Heptagram

The heptagram is but one of the most important symbols of the wolven, and many tribes know it. Because of the many numerological meanings and graph- and number theoretical traits, the number of meanings, which is attributed to this symbol, is far too much to cover here (everybody is invited to come up with own interpretations). What follows are just the most basic interpretations.

Each vertexv(tip of a spike), and the spike it belongs to, is attributive to one of the gods. Neighbouring spikes mean, that the gods they are representing are very similar to each other( the gods are allies), while an edge between two vertices symbolises an opposing view on the world, making it is most likely that these gods argue about many subjects of wolven life. The heptagon symbolises everything, where all gods agree, the triangles are the subjects in which two gods of the pantheon take corresponding points of view. As one can see, where two gods agree, three gods oppose. Conflict is imminent. Often, the symbols of each god (see description of the particular god), are drawn into the tetragons(the spikes) that represent the path of this specific god.

Noteworthy is, that, because the Heptagram is also a requisition for some greater rituals to conjure demons, the pantheon of the wolven is often misinterpreted as a demon-pantheon. Moreover, the wolven believe, that the gods were cast out by all other gods (they fell…), doesn’t help to invalidate this point of view. And so it is no wonder, that the wolven are sometimes misinterpreted as an evil, demon-worshipping race of murdering monsters (especially in regions next to wolven territory). This is of course utter nonsense. They do not worship demons...

Afterlife

Wolven believe in reincarnation. It is their fate to be reborn until the End of Days, when seven of them are chosen to become the avatars of the gods. Until this day, the wolven believe, they can show their commitment to the Path of the gods, and so prove worthy for the power that the gods will bestow in them. Then the gods will give all their power to the avatars and cease their existence, and the avatars will kill the other gods, and return as the new gods to the heavens from which the old ones were banned. Then it is done, and while the wolven will reign on Gaea for eternity, so do the gods in shape of wolven above them.

At first glance, this is of course a contradiction to the possibility to choose the gathering path of two gods, or even the “Common Ground” as your path. Doing so could never lead to the desired result of becoming a god one day. The explanation why some wolven nevertheless choose these paths is a twofold one, and the explanation differs with the age of their soul.

Because by solving this problem, the wolven elegantly solved also one of the big problems of all religions, that believe in reincartion, namely the question:

“If there were only few wolven in the beginning, and all wolven are reborn, why is the culture of wolven growing? Where do all the souls come from?” And the answer is: There are new souls born all the time.

Now, the question which path to choose is a complicated one, for it will define the wolven for the rest of his life, and thus it must be done with caution. But the new souls are inexperienced, and thus should be allowed to do experiments, in order to find their place. So young souls, which haven’t found there place yet, will choose the gathering paths of two gods sometimes.

With the “Common Ground” it is a completely different matter. When a soul grows old, and it is finally able to tell ,which path should be the path it wants to follow for the rest of eternity, sometimes, only sometimes, there grows a feeling of responsibility in it. Yes… it could choose the path of one god and keep the chance of becoming a god in the End of Days. But in these souls, the possibility of becoming a god is not as inviting as the possibility of helping the other wolven to find their way. These wolven struggle, but finally accept that they were chosen to become shamans. And thus, they choose the “Common Ground” as their path, knowing well, that in all further lives, they will not be able to leave this path again. Because of this sacrifice, and because they are the oldest souls, and understand best the will of the gods, and the needs of the younger souls, the shamans are honored in the society of wolven.

Commandments and Sins

Commandments:

Translations of wolven-religion related subjects always have been difficult, for many concepts of the wolven-religion seem rather alien to humans. While in human religions, one god often takes the role as the single responsible entity for one aspect of life, in wolven religion every god reflects all aspects of life in his or her specific way. This is the reason, that the concepts of sinning and of commandments as they are common in other religions, are rather unknown to wolven.

It comes as no surprise, that the number of commandments is sevenfold. Misleading in this case is the word commandment, as what it is translated by humans. More precisely would have been “strict recommendations”, for the wolven know that actions one god dislikes, could be perfectly accepted, even encouraged by another one of the pantheon. At least, all gods reflects all aspects of life. Nevertheless this doesn’t mean, that i.e. the war is for all gods of equal interest. While Fenr lives for the war, and Garn and Skodi also take a great interest in this part of life, Leki for example is more interested in the opportunities of personal advancement and advancement of the wolven at all, which war brings. So it is still helpful to seek Fenrs or Garns advice in times of war, rather than Rhes or Arhas. And of course the recommendations can vary from tribe to tribe, even from pack to pack, so the examples (see the post above) can be adapted. And while one tribe has a set of recommendations for one specific aspect of life, another one could not even have a necessity to have such.

Sins

“To be an error, and to be cast out, is part of the gods design…” Wilam Blackfur, famous Wolven Shaman of the clan Windwalker

Wolven are no sinners. From a wolven point of view this is true. The enslaved settlers of a village may have a different opinions, but that’s another story. The reason why the concept of sin is alien to the wolven is twofold. First of all, the gods were not perfect. Each of them had single flaws and merits, and the wolven are a creation of them, each as a single mix of the merits and flaws of the wolven gods. Moreover, in the wolven point of view, each virtue is in fact a flaw, it depends on the point of view. Rhe for example cares for her children, but if she cares too much, they become dependent, and thus an abomination unto Garn. But becoming too independent is bad too, for the Hunt, which is Garns favour, is best done in packs, and not alone. And so on. So… what one god dislikes could be a virtue in the eyes of another, and so wolven seldom feel ashamed for things they did. You can’t please every god so you should not bother to try. Just follow your path and everything is good. Just don’t get lost in it…

The second reason for the absence of sins is of course the absence of “commandments” as such, and their replacement by “recommendations”.

So...with the wolven, a sin is not a matter of religion, but of the society, and because of that it is common that the alphas decide, when a wolven has crossed the line and become a danger for the pack, or even the whole tribe, and not the shamans.

Shamanism and Clergy

"Judge me by my size, do you? Hm? Mmmm? You should not. For my ally is Fenr, and a strong ally he is"

Yodr Swampraider, Wolven Godspeaker of Fenr towards Heru Strongarm, a Minortaur Gladiator, just before giving him the pounding of his life.

The "Clergy" of the wolven divides into the shamans and the godspeakers (clerics), which both fulfil different roles.

Shamans

It is said, that sometimes, when a wolven is blessed with a soul older then ages, which has lived many lives already, he feels the urge to choose the Common Ground as his Path. The wolven then knows, that he is either the reincarnation of a shaman, or a soul that stands on the brink of becoming one.

But the shamans path comes at a price. While all other wolven can at least hope to become the avatar of one of the seven gods one day, the shaman gives up this possibility when choosing the path of the "Common Ground". No god would choose the shaman as his avatar in the End of Days, for it means that the deity would have to give up too many of its views.

Nevertheless the Gods are not ungrateful. With the power to see the spirits which inhabit the world, and the ability to talk to them, Shamans can wield great magic. Because of this, and because of the great sacrifice the shamans bring, when choosing their path, they are truly honoured by the wolven of their tribe.

A pack does not necessarily need a shaman, for it could be too small, or too new, so that no Shaman has been found for the pack. But older and bigger packs usually have two of them. The younger one is the adept, that either takes the role of the older shaman, when he passes away, or leaves as the shaman of a new pack, when the old pack splits. The shamans of both packs then look out for a new adept, not to endanger the circle. This means that in traditional packs, there are always two shamans, and it is seen as a bad omen when less or no Shamans care for the pack, for it would mean to lose or endanger the possibility to gain the advice of the gods (see role of the Shaman).

The role of the Shaman

In important questions, important to the whole tribe (or pack), the Alpha can turn to the Shaman and ask for the advice of the gods (which happens seldom, so the Alpha would not to lose his face, meaning the believe of the other wolven in his ability to make own decisions. The advice on the other hand is just that, an advice, even if the most wolven Alphas listen to the words of the Shamans)

The Shaman then retires from the material world for a few days, and holds council with the gods. Assisted is he by the tribes (packs) godspeakers, which accompany him in his tent. Within this debate, the shaman represents the wolven point of view, while each godspeaker represent the view of their god. Thus the shamans task is to moderate the differences of the gods, so the council could come to a result.

Godspeakers (Clerics)

Old souls, which have lived many lives, and proven valuable to a god by following its path truly through many generations, sometimes become chosen to be the Gods Speakers for one live. These souls feel the urge to spread his word, and his views. Being a godspeaker for one live means of course, hat the wolvens soul has at least some chances of becoming an avatar in the End Of Days, because he followed the god's path so well. This is the reason, why the wolven often see Godspeakers as role models. Godspeakers are (oh wonder) able to speak to their gods, even if the wolven believe, that the reason is completely different to the reason why Shamans are able to speak to do so. The wolven shaman can speak to the gods because of his ability to sense and manipulate the spiritual world, because the gods once gave up their corporeal existence, and became spirits within the wolvens common conscience. A shaman is thus completely independent from the gods, which allows him to keep his neutrality between the gods positions, and thus ultimately to fulfil his purpose.

The Godspeakers on the other hand contact their gods due to their deep personal connections to them. This allows a godspeaker to talk to his and only his god, and use the mighty magic that comes with this ability, but at the same time makes him dependent on the gods benevolence.

Role of the Godspeaker

While the role of the Shaman is a passive one, the role of the Godspeakers is active. They may ask the gods, and the gods may give them advice, but the Godspeaker knows, that they will only give advice from their point of view. Now, even if to the particular Godspeaker this may be sufficient, to the other wolvens of the pack/Tribe it could prove dangerous to listen just to the words of one god. Thus seeking advice in these dimensions is the sole domain of the shamans.

But the Shamans are stuck in the common path, where few development is possible. They cannot call upon the gods for magical help, because which god to call? What one God would accept, even encourage, could be seen as an abomination by the other. So to call upon this mighty help, the wolven turn to the Godspeakers, whose responsibility is only their god.

Gaea, Magic, Druids and Mages

"Does all magic come from the gods, wise Gelor?"

"No, Gaet, all magic comes from Gaea, and we use it."

"But the shamans, and the godspeakers... they say that their magic comes from the gods. And when i sharpen my claw, it is Fenr who i call..."

"Yes, that is true, we usually use the power which the gods give us, to craft our magic, and only Gaeodes and Gaeans dont follow this path. But where do you think does the power of the gods come from?"

Gelor Windwalker, a wolven alpha, and Gaet Thunder-in-the-Voice, his nephew.

Gaea.

"Who is Gaea, oh wise Gelor".

"Gaea is everything that exists. She surrounds us, penetrates us, she is core and source, hull and estuary. Everyting that exists creates her as much as she created everything."

"But why don't we pray to Gaea, if she is so mighty, wise Gelor?"

"Listen, Gaed, the other races have a parable. Some of them say, that their gods are so high above them, that compared to them, they are just ants. And they even argue that this is the reason why their prayers remain unheard so often. Now... even if our gods care more for us of course, gods themselves are nothing but ants in the eyes of Gaea. And thus our sorrows are of no interest to her, they are even less then less. This is the reason why a tree does not answer your plea for fruit, you have to climb on it and take the fruit by yourself, and this is the reason why we don't pray".

Gaea, even if recognized as the saviour of the wolven, is not actively worshipped by them. The wolven had learned the hard way, that nature does not care, and the way they explain it is described in the discussion between Gelor and Gaed. The wolven which are raised in the original belief meet other races who worship her with lack of understanding. And they even consider Gaea Temples as something... dangerous. Because .. can you even understand her motivations? No? Of course not! So, even if it is highly improbable, what do you think will happen when you finally gain her attention? Something pleasurable? Probably...

Of course this doesn't mean that there could be no wolven Character with belief in Gaea. He is just more probable a wolven of humanized tribes, or has become humanized by his touch with other ciilizations.

Gaeodes(Druids) (Traders with Gaea)

"But the Gaeodes... they pray to her"

"No... they don't. She is all around us, and so is her magic that holds everything together. The Gaeodes know how to take something from this power. But they also know about the importance of balance. So they take only what is necessary, and give something back in return. They don't need to speak to her, for she wouldn't answer. It is as if they would sneak into another wolvens tent, take some food, but leave some tools as payment."

Sometimes there are wolven children, who can talk to the animals. When the Clan is hungry, the animals just come to them and lay down before the tents to be slaughtered. The wolven then know that a Gaeode, a wolven druid is with them. Like Shamans and Godspeakers, he is able to wield magic, and is honored within the tribe, even if his path is not as fixed as theirs. While Shamans choose the Common Ground, and Godspeaker he path of their god, a druid has complete freedom of decision, and so there can be Druids following Arha, or Fenr, or Rhe... just... not Gaea. They honor her, they watch about her to repay her... they just don't worship her. It would be futile, and not desirable that she answers, for in a system of survival of the strongest, there has to be an absolute reference, and this reference has to be merciless. How could you otherwise tell strength from weakness, if the weak are helped. So the druid is relatively free, compared to Shamans or Godspeakers, relative because most, if not all, spend their live in a system of taking to help he tribe, and giving back to keep the balance.

Gaeans(Mages). (Thieves on Gaea)

"But if she doesn't notice... why can't we just take from her power?"

"This is how Gaeans argue"

"But... isn't their magic more powerful?"

"Yes, but we can't say aything about Gaea. Probably she notices. And she is the god of the gods. So.. tell me Gaed. Do you want to be near one of them IF she notices?"

That summarizes it pretty good. Sometimes there are wolven, blessed with Gaeas might, who, when they still were young, tried to see what would happen, when they would not repay Gaea. Just for little things first... And oddly... Nothing happened. And so these wolven took more and more and gave less and less in return. But they are not of good standing with the other wolven, which is why most of them leave the tribes, to learn from other races more about magic.

These wolven often loose the believe that the magical fabric is part of Gaea, or the believe into Gaea as an all-encompassing being at all. They had stolen too often and the invisible shopkeeper did nothing, and there is no sense in having a bad conscience all day, because of something nonexistent. In the eyes of these wolven, Gaea becomes but a stupid superstition.

But even if it leaves the mind of the wolven mage... when he was raised in the original belief, it will not leave his heart. And so he can't be entirely sure, and probably one day...

The few mages who stay have a hard live, for even if they are not actively attacked (well, sometimes accidents happen...), they are generally avoided. Because nobody wants to even know a Gaean, when Gaea notices that something is missing in her tent...