Faith

Zarthurian Deities are typically personifications and representations of natural forces or embodiments of characteristics or concepts. These Deities are honored and appeased through regular offerings and rituals at shrines and temples, performed so that they may continue to function according to the divine order.

The number of beings in Zarthurian tradition who might be labeled as Deities are difficult to count. Going back through History, ancient texts list the names of many Deities whose nature is no longer known, and frequently make vague, indirect references to other gods who are not even named. Though many have fallen into obscurity over the years, there are approximately 50 Deities that are still recognized and worshipped with at least some regularity in the Eternian Empire. Of these, there are six core Deities -- The Madjai -- which are honored all throughout Zarthura and are thought of as the most important embodiments of the concepts laid out in the Law of the Loregiver.

In the Eternian Empire, Deities are assumed to be capable of influencing natural events and the course of mortal lives. Zarthurians frequently pray for divine guidance, use Rituals to compel Deities to act, and call upon them for advice. Even so, contact between the mortals and the divine ones is believed to be restricted to special circumstances (such as only occurring within the consecrated grounds of a temple, or only after giving sufficient and satisfactory offerings), and the limitations of mortal comprehension are thought to force the Deities to only be able to communicate indirectly with their subjects; anything more and it would be overwhelming, to the point of invoking madness.

More often than not, formal religious practice is related to, but distinct from, the private Faith of ordinary people. Official religion involves a variety of rituals based in temples, nearly all of which are carried out by the Espers. Some rites are performed every day, whereas others are Festivals & Holidays which take much more time but are often limited to a particular temple, deity, or province. For example, offerings are typically given as part of a daily ceremony, but only shrines dedicated to Deities related to craftsmanship, the hunt, or battle are likely to put together an event for the Festival of Blades.