Hasaapian (Religion)

The Hasaapian religion refers to the religion largely followed by the Hasaapian people, beastkins who mostly live west and east of the reach of River Hasaap. The religion is polytheistic and focuses its worship on a diverse pantheon of different gods.

Beliefs

There are no consistent creation myths in the Hasaapian religion, but there are a range of widely worshiped gods.

Appearance of the Gods

The appearance of the gods varies by how they appear - and canonically, some gods do not have a fixed race or appearance - instead they are considered beings that are above the mortal’s realm of existence and do not need to bind themselves to one physical form. Depiction of them varies from depicting them as the artist’s race - or as a base form of Macen that have a nondescript tail and ears.

Pantheon

The various most popular god worshiped in Hasaapian mythology includes:

• Piks - The Storm God - A god of justice that chases after their enemy and vanquishes the one that portrays a danger to the dangers of the world and the right order of things. He calls upon storm and thunder and is portrayed with long beard and white hair regardless of race. He is married to Lal.
• Lal - The Goddess of Earth - A goddess of the earth who is always depicted as extremely beautiful. Who represents the softer side of humanity and is the maintainer of one of the realm of the dead, with the same name as her. When someone dies, they are embraced by her and serve her while being provided food.
• Kaus Henle - The Four Centaur of the Cycle - The Kaus Henle represents the four seasons and represents the cycle of powers, dynasties, day and night and the seasons. They are always depicted as a pair of centaurs drawing a cart containing the sun or the moon across the sky - When the first pair is done with their work, the second pair emerge from the other side of the sky, so that they may rest for half a day and work for half a day. Kaus Henle are depicted with varying and inconsistent gender.
  • Ayl & Koylyiks - The first pair of the centaurs who drag across the sky. Ayl is depicted holding a bow and Koylyiks a lance. They are seen as the gods of war in Hasaapian mythology, and are prayed and sacrificed for good fortune. They represent energy and the vigor of war. On their carts, the righteous dead are collected from the realm below and taken to a great afterlife.
  • Tierme & Ly - The second pair of centaurs who drag a cart across the sky. Tierme is depicted as holding a staff containing magic, and Ly is depicted as holding a book. Tierme is a centaur who is never depicted speaking, but holds great wisdom and oracle and is consulted for subtle signs of magic - hallucinogen is seen as a way to connect to Tierme. Ly is the god of justice, and with one book he counts the sins of those below him and on the other hand he takes the evil dead and guides the cart to a horrible afterlife for them.
• Mu - The Goddess of the Sun - depicted as a beautiful goddess always with golden hair and rays emanating from her head. She always sits in the cart of Ayl and Koylyiks and tours the world for half a day. She maintains the realm of Mu, which is a land of eternal sunshine, where the air is pleasant and cool at all times, and fields of flowers cover the land. This is a realm in which the righteous dead are taken so they can rest in bliss.
• Ryip - The Goddess of the Moon - depicted as a beautiful goddess always with silver hair. Like Tierme, she never speaks. She places one hand on Tierme and imparts to them the secret of magic, and she is seen as the one who maintains fate, the stars, cosmology and the law of magic. She is often prayed to directly to implore her to impart luck. The realm of Ryip is another afterlife possibility for those who have done a lot of evil, and is depicted as an always rainy, dark and depressing realm.
• Nert - The Goddess of the Sea, River and Lake - depicted as a treton always, with blue hair. She emerges to reward the honest fisherman with catches of fish and treasures under the sea, and trick those who are dishonest with junks and perilous chests, which when opened always curse them. She is also the goddess of justice and often renders collective punishment if a tribe has sinned too much - by cursing their land with flood that creates corrosive, moist air, or calling upon deadly eldritch creatures of the sea who intrude onto the land. She takes all those who die and is buried in the sea as her own in the Realm of Nert, and they are treated to an eternal banquet of fish and the wonder of the realm under the sea. Many Hasaapian followers believe the Arcane Seas to be the Realm of Nert and refer to it as such.

Organization

The Hasaapian religion is decentralized and there is no organized priesthood. Clerics almost always worship multiple deities, and one of their chief duties is to direct sacrifices to the appropriate god and goddesses for the most immediate need. There is a sense of give and take in the Hasaapian religion - that blessings only come with appropriate sacrifice.

Other Beliefs

Hasaapian generally does not prescribe rituals or beliefs for most things and instead, those rituals are dependent on the culture that interprets them.

Branches

There are no significant branches of the Hasaapian religion.