Religion and Magic in the Kingdom

The Creation Myth of Värld (as known in the Kingdom)

''In the beginning there was Ursprung. Lonely, Ursprung created the world, infusing it with aspects of Herself (the spirits) and creating the beasts and the plants. And Ursprung entered the world and walked amongst its plants and animals. But soon She noticed a flaw in Her creation. For Her creations sought to multiple, to spread, and there was no room, for nothing ever died. Conflict and pain entered the world. Ursprung therefore introduced death into Creation, for everything requires balance. And now there was room, for the old died, allowing the young to grow. And there was harmony in what She saw. But while there was harmony, Ursprung was unhappy, for while She incorporated all things within Herself, She desired an equal with whom to share Her Creation. And so, Ursprung split in two, creating Förintelse as Her companion. ''

''And for a time, Ursprung was happy. ''

''But Förintelse was made of the darker parts of Ursprung and was resentful of Ursprung’s Creation, for there was little of His nature there. He therefore sought to create on His own, but could not do so as creation was against His nature. And so Förintelse took some of Ursprung’s creations and reshaped them. But their shapes were uncertain and lacked harmony. Angry with His failure Förintelse demanded that Ursprung provide Him with the secrets of Creation. But try as Ursprung did, She could not teach Förintelse, for Creation was against His nature. Instead, Ursprung offered to assist Förintelse in creating something new; a fusion of both their natures. ''

''And so it was that humanity was created, creatures capable of destruction and creation, harmony and disorder. ''

''And for a time both Ursprung and Förintelse were happy. ''

''But eventually, Förintelse became jealous once again, for Their joint creation walked Ursprung’s earth, drank of Ursprung’s waters, and ate of Ursprung’s fruits and animals. And so He went amongst humanity, and whispered in their ears sowing discontent and jealousy. Why should only the Gods be immortal? Were not humanity Their chosen creation? Should they not sit at Their right hands? ''

''And some of the humans listened, gathering to Förintelse. And He offered to remake them, to gift them with Eternity once they destroyed Ursprung’s “flawed creation” and recreated the world to His design. And thus war came to Creation, fought between the followers and creations of Ursprung and Förintelse, and much damage was done to the world. ''

''Finally Förintelse was overthrown, His followers and creations driven into the dark places. But Ursprung was unable to kill part of Herself and instead imprisoned Förintelse outside Creation in order that He could do no harm. Unwilling to risk Förintelse’s escape, Ursprung retired from Creation to guard Förintelse. Before She left however, realising that not all of Förintelse’s creations had been destroyed, She entrusted Her followers with the secrets to unlocking their own potential (mysticism) and the ability to use reason to manipulate the world (sorcery), in order that they could defend themselves and Her Creation from the remains of Förintelse’s armies. ''



Sorcery and Mysticism – The Dominant Magical Traditions of the Kingdom

The people of the Kingdom consider the above creation myth as a good a “Truth” as any other. Ursprung is typically honoured as the Creator of the world although actual worship of Ursprung is rare. The few priests of Ursprung that exist are generally pacifistic wanderers, taking up arms only against the unnatural creatures of Förintelse (e.g. undead, chimera-like beings, etc.), and instead administering to the needs of nature, the poor and the needy. Some, but by no means all, are practicing mystics, or sorcerers on the Path of Healing.

While priests of Ursprung, and organised religions in general, are rare, there are a multitude of orders, schools and paths of sorcery and mysticism within the Kingdom. Some say these organisations were originally one Order, created to protect humanity from Förintelse’s creations. However if that is the case then those origins are lost in the past as the ancient and widespread Wars of Sorcery destroyed much of the accumulated lore of the Kingdom and sorcerers and mystics now generally serve themselves rather than any greater purpose.

With regard to Förintelse, while some deluded fools may attempt to worship Him, there is little evidence that there is any benefit from doing so as the only powers typically exhibited by His followers are sorcerous or mystical in nature.

The Lesser Powers – Respected but not Worshipped

Scholars in the Kingdom also acknowledge the “Lesser Powers”. These lesser powers are not considered to be true gods, but are recognised as powerful spirits within the Aether, embodiments of the different aspects of Ursprung’s and Förintelse’s natures (e.g. earth, water) and teachings (e.g. knowledge, crafting, healing, war). While respected by the people of the Kingdom these “spirits” are not typically worshipped amongst the people of the Kingdom and there is typically insufficient devotion for any of their so-called ‘priests’ to be able to obtain miracles from these powers. Outside the bounds of the Kingdom however, this may not be the case. The Kingdom names for these powers, and their areas of governance, are as follows:

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 * ·          Luft (air, the wind)
 * ·          Hantverk (crafts, handicraft, craftsmanship, handcraft, handiwork)
 * ·          Frånfälle (death)
 * ·          Jord (earth, land)
 * ·          Bördighet (fertility, fruitfulness)
 * ·          Helbrägdagörelse (healing)
 * ·          Jägare (hunters, hunting)
 * ·          Vetande (knowledge, learning, lore)
 * ·          Farvatten (water, the sea)
 * ·          Värme (fire, sun, warmth)
 * ·          Handel (trade, trading, commerce, dealing, bargain, barter)
 * ·          Bedrägeri (deception, fraud, knavery)
 * ·          Strid (battle, combat, fight, conflict, war, action)

"The Dream"

From what is known, The Dream seems to be some kind of alternate dimension or plane where the non-consious minds of people dwell. It seems that all individuals who are sleeping might "exist" within The Dream, but certain people can remain lucid in The Dream while unconsious in the real world and may manipulate the environment using the power of their will. This is all purely hypothesised at this stage. The dangers posed in The Dream are unknown, the effects of events that occur in The Dream are unknown, and any creatures bar one (the beast, for lack of a better word) that might dwell in The Dream are unknown. It seems that a particularly strong will is necessary to manipulate The Dream.