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The Four Sires

The Four Sires, or The Four

The world is a story painted on the canvas of creation. The faithful work to make it good and strong, so all may share its fruit.

  • Religious Family: Vurd, the Tangible Word. Achan was the first religion born from it, and the Four Sires came afterwards, recognizing Achan but evolving differently from the same source.
  • Current Status: Main church of Algeron. Beyond Algeron it is carried by merchants and the Withal Guard along the trade routes, gaining footholds in nearby cities, but checked by the rival Achanites of Nevaria.
  • Creed: Pandeism and immanentism. Transcendence exists throughout the universe while remaining separate from it.

Deity/Deities

  • The Voice is something that talks to everyone, even rocks, and explains the true nature of things
  • This Voice may take many forms depending on the intent

Main Deity: Erathul, the god of the kings and authority,

  • the decider of truth, the one who creates the story
  • god of the thousand doors, opening doors as a sign of power
  • the portals of long ago were the teleport-gates of the high-magic past, open ways now lost as magic faded. Erathul's thousand doors recall that age, recast as his power to decide who may pass
  • the faith of kings, priests, and the Hearken hierarchy

Lesser Deities:

  • Arral, the god of exchange: the faith of bankers and the Withal Guard (the Withal, the Lodge)
  • Sholla, goddess of union: the faith of marriage and binding (the Joinage). Her priestess must approve any divorce
  • Varmin, the gone (who left the gods): his devotion now hidden

Places of Worship

The faith's power flows from its holy sites, above all The Source.

  • The Source: Cantermer, the place where the Vurd faith grew from. An ancient holy city on the sea, where the religion was founded by the 4 First Hearken (the ones who hear). Now the supreme pilgrimage site, ranking above Itis in spirit if not in power.
  • The Plaza of the Faithful, in Itis (also called the Plaza of the 3 doors, for its three visible doors). Only 3 of the 4 gods have public temples in the plaza.
  • The One Hall: Main Church of Erathul
  • The Withal: Main church of Arral (from withal: in addition)
  • The Joinage: Sholla
  • Temple of Four: other than in the plaza, every other city must have all 4 gods in a temple
  • Shrines: can be dedicated to single gods, but only out of cities, for example in villages
  • Altar: can be dedicated to a single god, also in the cities

History and Origins

  • The Reclamation was a Holy War that liberated the world from evil
  • The Four Sires were created at the beginning of Algeron to suppress the old clerics of Vurd, who tried to keep the old Empire alive, and to resist the Achanites, the other main child faith of Vurd.
  • The first Hearken, Makken, was one of the four First Hearken and probably the most important. He wrote The Discourses.
  • All four gods were major gods of the previous pantheon. They were said to be the last to leave humans or be defeated by the Keeper.

Core Beliefs

  • Virtues: Trusting, Ambitious, Diligent, Honest
  • Sins: Deceitful, Impatient, Lazy, Sadistic
  • There is a voice, something that can communicate to everyone
  • Listening is difficult, but the voice tells people how to follow their nature
  • If all follow their nature, everything will be balanced
  • Greatness is the nature of all humans, those who listen will become great
  • Following nature means acting and making the most of everything
  • People who cannot hear need to trust those who listen (core beliefs are kept secret)
  • Old Gods were ones who listened to this voice when it was more present, and they taught how to listen to humans
  • Sholla taught union, the binding of people together
  • Arral taught separation, the dividing of property
  • Erathul taught greatness, how to rise and rule

Main Doctrines

  • View on Gender: male and female are equal
  • Religious Attitude: Righteous, other religions are not accepted, but not openly destroyed
  • Clerical Tradition: Only priests can give rituals
  • Head of Faith: Temporal, the king is also the chief of the faith, even if he should listen to hearkens
  • Pilgrimage: Everyone must receive the blessing of the Four once in life, usually they need to come to the Plaza of the Faithful and listen to one Utterance from the Hearken
  • Authority: only the priests can read the words
  • Marriage & Family: marriage is for life, to a single member of the opposite sex. Only the Sholla priestess can approve a divorce. Only an Erathul priest can legitimize a child born out of marriage
  • Crimes: Same-sex relations and adultery, by husband or wife alike, are shunned. Heavier are the acts the faith holds criminal: kinslaying among close kin, deviancy, and witchcraft.

Holy Texts

  • The Discourses: a number of dialogues between the old Vurd priests and the gods
  • Aumnin (from Traen, “Hear and follow”): the laws given by the Keeper, who created the Voice and established it as a transcendent god.
  • The Lodge: A book used to track all credits and related maths. Arral is the money maker, and money is considered magical.

Holy Days

  • The Discourse is said at each odd day. It is important that all believers listen to it and commune with it to be bound to the divine, and to share the rite is to belong. The castout who cannot join is counted not as a person but as a criminal, and may be killed. The faithful renew these bonds at the discourse, for no gathering is complete without one, and to refuse a discourse is shunned.
  • An Utterance is held in an open plaza on the first day of each month.
  • The Day of the Pleste: On the winter solstice, the order is reversed: priests listen to the people and accept gifts. The lesser speak to the higher, and the higher must listen.
  • The Reclamation (also called the Riddance): In spring, people give thanks for the removal of evil (the other races). The festival commemorates the Reclamation, when the other races were removed.
  • The Masking: At harvest time, people wear masks to become someone else. The observance is more closely tied to culture than religion.

Clergy

Only men may enter the clergy, and membership is for life. They often assume a role of control over the believers. They cannot marry and they must avoid public positions.

Religious Hierarchy

The faithful answer We listen, the way they close a prayer.

  • The first Hearken (the one who hears)
  • The Hearkens
  • The Echoes (the ones who distribute the word)
  • Churchmen

Militant Orders

  • Withal Guard: A select group of knights who serve as fighters, archivists, and bankers for Arral.