Place of Origin: Sylsalian
Major Deities:
- Lathlaeril: God of the summer, light, and leadership.
- Symbol- A complex "triple knot" symbol
- Shenarah: Goddess of spring, fertility, healing, and storms.
- Symbol- A similar triple knot, adorned with vines
- Ilsevel: Goddess of autumn and winter, death, pain, betrayal, and suffering
- Symbol- A graphic triple knot set in a circle
Beliefs:
There are two very different versions of elven religion, unsurprisingly- the one held to by the high and wood elves, and one that is practiced by the dark elves. They both focus on the same three gods, Lathlaeril, Shenarah, and Ilsevel. They also both share the same beginning to the beliefs.
The elves believe in a force called the Saelyn. It is, essentially, a semi-conscious cosmic force that created and now guides the world. It shaped the races, and created guardians to look after and guide each intelligent race. The two guardians created to look after the elves were Lathlaeril and Shenarah. They were both nature spirits, and taught the elves to live in harmony with nature, rather than fighting against it.
Lathaeril, the representative of the high elves (although worshipped by wood elves as well), was a leader, god of the sun and summer. A fierce and passionate warrior, yet also a wise scholar and teacher, he encouraged the high elves to band together, form cities, trade with other races, and turn their attention to crafts, while still respecting the nature around them.
Shenarah, on the other hand, was perhaps a bit more, well, unpredictable. She is the goddess of the spring, healing, and fertility, but also of storms and change. She taught her wood elves the importance of personal freedom, to make their own way, stick to small and trusted groups, and rely on themselves rather than outsiders. To live in harmony with nature, not just respect it from inside their walls.
Up until this point, life for the elves was, for the most part, peaceful and idyllic. However, that changed with the appearance of Ilsevel, and this is the point at which the two versions of the elven religion deviate. According to high and wood elves, Ilsevel was a strange, evil being that slipped into this world through a tear in the dimensions. She immediately took to the elves, the longest-lived of the races, and began gathering followers, using dark magic to corrupt their bodies and magics, forming an entirely new race.
Of course, this new race did not live in harmony, either with their neighbors or nature, and soon war broke out between the high and wood elves and the new race, the dark elves. The dark elves had powerful magics, but they were smaller in number, and hence defeated. However, before they could be completely wiped out, Ilsevel took her followers and fled Sylsalian, searching for a place where she and her followers could regroup. They eventually settled in the underground tunnels of Ko Ghadadh, forming an entire subterranean civilization where they were free to practice their depravity undisturbed.
If the dark elves' side of the story is to be believed, no new being entered the world at all! Instead, they hold that Shenarah and Ilsevel are, in fact, one and the same. According to their side of the story, Lathaeril grew arrogant, viewing himself as the more important of the two elven gods, and he resented the influence Shenarah had over the wood elves. As such, he betrayed his companion, attempting to kill her. He and his allies might have succeeded too, for he was a more powerful warrior than she. However, some wood elves, still loyal to Shenarah, fought on her side and foiled the attempt.
However, bitter and betrayed, Shenarah fled Sylsalian, fearing another attack, and her loyal defenders came with her. She found shelter among the supposed "evil" creatures of Ko Ghadadh, taking on a new name, Ilsevel, to represent her new start in life. She implored her followers to train and become as strong as possible, so that she could return to her homeland in triumph to defeat her betrayer once and for all and regain her place. Those loyal elves have remained in the wastelands ever since, their bodies changing and adapting over the generations as they pursue their refinement of magic and quest for power, seeking to serve and avenge their treasured goddess.
Church Organization:
Just as the high/wood elves and the dark elves have two very different versions of their religion, they have different ways of practicing it. For the high and wood elves, while they believe certain members of the community to be holy, blessed by the gods (mainly due to having powerful magics, anr being able to work "miracles"), they don't have any organized worship of their gods. In their minds, the gods' purpose is to take care of the elves and nature, and honoring them requires no rituals or religious ceremonies. Rather, simply being kind to each other and being guardians of the nature around them is worship enough.
For the dark elves, however, religious and political leadership are one and the same. The same matriarchs who set the laws to follow also strictly dictate how and when the other elves worship Ilsevel, and they are expected to devote their entire lives to fulfilling her dark purposes.
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