Cults & Sects

Author: Flosha
25.03.2024 - 13.06.2024
Last update: 24.09.2024

Religion of Myrtana

Within Myrtana, “religion” (a word that should not appear anywhere ingame) is practiced in form of Cults in the sense of the cults of antiquity, such as the mystery cults of ancient Greece. Accordingly, in the Gothic lore there are no “churches” in Myrtana, but temples in which the people pray to the gods and bring their sacrifices.

We may mention though that “cathedrals” are mentioned in the context of Gothic. A cathedral was among the very first things that were designed when the Mad Scientists and the founders of the later Piranha Bytes joined to work on what would later become Gothic and there is an associating music track too. But we should not confuse this internal (or even in-universe) term as to connote something very christian; the “cathedral” is primarily used because it is such an important gothic trope; it is of threatening, awe-inspiring and iconic character and when thinking of gothic fiction, a dark, gothic cathedral is among the first things that come to mind. So it was obvious to imagine and work on a cathedral.

There is a cult of Innos, a cult of Adanos and a cult of Beliar. There may be other cults too, but these are the prevailing ones. Myrtana under the rule of Rhobar II. propagates the Cult of the Three Gods. The myrtanian people believe in the three gods and in their role in the grand scheme of life, at some places the worship of Innos may prevail, while at other places, more followers of Adanos are to be found. But no devotee of one of the gods would negate the existence of another.

There are also other local deities, believes and cults in different corners of the realm, such as the shamanism of the orcs and specific movements considered as heretical by the priests, such as the Brotherhood of the Sleeper.

Cultic Wars & the Decline of Faith

Flosha, 25.03.2024

… wurden Priester genannt. Doch auch unter ihnen gab es viele, die bald unzufrieden waren. Und so kam es, dass sie zu Adanos beteten und ihren Ursprung vergaßen. Die Riege der Priester war gespalten. Kriege wurden entfesselt und auch der Glaube an die göttliche Allmacht war bald schon nur noch Mythos. So teilten sich die Priester. Die dem Adanos folgten nannte man nun Magier des Wassers, die Geweihten des Innos hießen aber die Magier des Feuers. [G]

The scripture informs us that cultic wars were started in course of the split of the priests and that apparently the belief in the allmightiness of god became a myth.
We can interpret this to suggest that atheism and other faiths gained popularity.

Cult of the Three Gods

Flosha, 13.06.2024

“the proclaimer of the faith into the three gods and representative of the highest god Ra” [C]

According to the Comic, Rhobar II. (perhaps Rhobar I. already) established this new faith, the cult of the three gods in Myrtana, while Innos or Ra - which at least in the present are used interchangeably - is seen as the highest god of the three. Rhobars proclamation of the faith into the three gods could thus be seen both as a reconciliation of the cults (after the cultic wars), but also, by establishing Innos as the highest god, he clearly decided the war in favour of Innos.

Just as Innos and Adanos, Beliar has dedicated followers too, but according to the sources, it seems that no sacrifices are offered to him and no public worship is taking place; if there is any cultic practice of the followers of Beliar, then it seems to be done in secrecy, since the worship of Beliar is condemned by the priests. While there are priests of Innos and Adanos, the manual specifically mentions - and also Mike said so at some point, that there are no priests of Beliar and the magic assigned to Beliar, such as necromancy or the summoning of demons, is banned and considered heretical. We elaborate more on this and why we think that this design direction was a trememdous failure in /lore/arcane.

[…] zu oberst stand Innos, der Gott der Sonne und des Gesetzes, der als erster und höchster Gott verehrt wurde und dessen Priester die Magier des Feuers waren. Die Priester des Gottes Adanos […] waren die Magier des Wasserkreises, nur dem Gott der Dunkelheit und des Todes, Beliar, waren keine Priester geweiht, denn seine Mächte waren von finsterer Natur. [M]

Also the Lore of the Gods at least implies, that no priests may be consecrated to Beliar, as they are not mentioned. According to the sources there may indeed be no priests of beliar - at least not anymore at the time during which the story takes place. And at least not where the myrtanian regime is in control - in the colony they aren’t…

The “clergy” of Myrtana is thus divided into the priests of fire and the priests of water (which in the sources were identified with the circles), while as a whole, as the communities of followers, they are described as the “House of Innos” and the “House of Adanos”. Similar to what in Christianity would be described as the Roman-Catholic or Protestant or Orthodox Church etc. Just that here they were reconciled in form of the faith into the three Gods.

The belief in the gods, while it may be in decline (and the reverence especially for Innos may be the lowest in a place like the colony), is still very popular within Myrtana and we can quote several mentionings within the game(s).

The Mages in the New Camp are planning something with the magical barrier. The Gods may protect us. (Secret Thieves, 0.56c)

Today I will succeed. I know it. The Gods help me. […] Today I will kill a troll. [G]

Rigaldo: May Innos protect us. [G]

Until my body goes to Beliars realm and the fire of life extinguishes. [G]

Worker: This pack of thieves, those lazy dogs, shall Beliar take them all! [S]

Letter of a worker fleeing from Khorinis to the refugee camp: Oh Innos, the orcs have done terrible things to them. / Thank Innos, at least we made it into the camp.

Origins of the Cult

In the Phoenix lore, we explain the origins of the Cult based on the Comic in association with the founding of the empire.

Rhobar I. took measures against the decline of faith and end the cultic wars by the proclamation of the faith in the three gods and in order to reconcile the houses of Innos and Adanos (and the associated disputes of the priests). The cults of Innos, Adanos and Beliar were prevailing since a long time, but since Rhobar I. the Cult of the Three Gods is “states religion”.

Rhobars cult can be seen as something like an ecumenical movement of Myrtana (although less peaceful, but a brutal, a gothic one).

By acquiring the Sceptre of Varant, claiming himself to be the governor of the highest god RA, identified with Innos he set himself into a lineage of the old realm.

Rhobar II. later established the Inquisition as another measure, as a representation of Beliars justice.

The Cults in Everyday Life

TODO: Write here how the cults find expressing in everyday life based on the ideas developed in /gods-in-relation-to-men; also: add the thoughts from our server about triage etc. from 24.09.2024.

Sect of the Sleeper

We will deal with the sect in the faction documentation. For here it has to suffice to note, that the entrance into the sect is accompanied by a radical and conscious renunciation of the three gods, that they also call the “old gods”.

Ich habe den alten Göttern abgeschworen. [G]

Novice: Pray for the last time to your gods. [A]

The priests of the cult still assume that their magical (psionic) power has to have a source in some kind of god, because they do not know or cannot imagine a magic unrelated to a higher, divine (or demonic) source, as magic is seen as a gift from the gods.

[…] The brotherhood is a threat. A threat for the proceeding of our trade agreement and thus for the King, the entire kingdom and also for your life. Therefore you should send out scouts and find out, on which gods and on which knowledge their magical power is based. If you figured this out, we will inform the priests of your findings, so that together we can bring an end to this phantom. […] [G]

Demon Sect

TODO

Orcish Shamanism

TODO: Write on shamanism and Vodoo here.

Cultic Practices

TODO: Describe how the cults are practiced and how they find concrete expression in the everyday life of the peopls based on the findings in /gods