Geis Basics: Religion

Geis has a limited pantheon.  There are four worshiped gods, whose names are known by their followers but never used out of respect for the sacred nature of the names.  Instead, they are commonly referred to as the Creator, the Destroyer, Death and the Master of Undead.  All except the Master of the Undead have or had spouses but they are not worshiped.  The Creator, the Destroyer and Death are collectively known as the divine siblings.

The most popular of all is the Creator. The Creator is regarded as just that; the Creator of Geis and all the attending Realms. He is commonly thought of as the driving force behind all things Good and Pure. His biggest ally is his wife who is known by many names; Mother Nature, the Goddess and Geis are but a few. Both the Creator and his bride act through many spiritual agents, those of the Creator usually take on forms of animals like the a bear or mouse or bird, while those of the Goddess are usually forces of nature such as the North Wind or Summer or the sea. Popular belief has them having five children, known collectively as the Great Manitou and they represent the five elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. These Great Manitou have, in turn, created severeal other Manitou, each of them representing everything in Geis from the physical to mere concepts. The Manitou aren’t worshiped like the Creator is, but many pay their respects to them, asking for blessings. The Midewin order concerns itself with the Manitou; caring for them and working with them.

On the opposite end is the Creator’s brother, the Destroyer. The Destroyer opposes everything the Creator stands for. The Destroyer seeks to bring the Abyss back and eliminate all of existence. He seeks to end all that the Creator makes. For him, a death is a step closer to his ultimate victory. This is viewed as why those who serve the Creator excessively beyond what he asks rarely die, but often are removed from the Realm of Geis and can return when needed next. The Destroyer gains power with the souls of those who worship him by deed, especially by those who die before fulfilling the Creator’s purpose for them. If a person succeeds in the purpose the Creator gave them, their Soul does not power the Destroyer. The Destroyer also has many agents who have reached diety status as well. The most powerful of these fall under the general name of the Seven Pits of the Destroyer. They are Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Rage, Greed and Sloth and are directly opposed by the Seven Pillars of the Creator; Faith, Hope, Charity, Fortitude, Justice, Temperance and Prudence. Popular myth also has the Destroyer exerting influence and power over the elemental children of the Creator as well. These may be different factions within each element, or a conflict over the elements themselves, it is unknown.

Then there is the mysterious entity known as Death. She revels in the removal of life by any means. She does not gain souls when they die, but rather seems to be in charge of the transfer of souls as happens at birth and death. She is the sister of the Creator and the Destroyer, though not necessarily believed to be as powerful as either one. Her followers are the fish-men of the deep sea and usually assassins and mercenaries or warmongers. She is known mostly as the being that is feared most, and the only prayers sent her way by non worshipers beg that she not visit them. Her Priests and Priestesses know her husband as the Great Judge who determines a Soul's path after death. Death is completely neutral in her dealings with all the other entities, she is as much a part of the Creator as she is the Destroyer.

The least understood of all is the entity that is known only as the Master of the Undead. This being created the first Vampire and directed the Maelstrom to create the Death Knight. An enemy to both the Creator and the Destroyer, he cheats Death as well. All undead beings fall under the Master’s power and he can make them stronger or remove their undeath from them, sending them into oblivion.  If the Creator and the Destroyer are opposing forces, then it can be said that Death opposes the Master of the Undead.

For all beings of Geis, the Soul is immortal and oblivion is the worst punishment. The Destroyer will empower the souls of his most powerful to join him after they die in his eternal struggle, as does the Creator. Death's provenance is the transfer of those souls to where they should be, and the Master binds his followers’ souls to the Geis Realm. It is the fear of oblivion that drove Obsidia to the Death Knight and the Master. Most sages and theologians agree that the deities can be thought of as a pyramid, with the Creator, the Destroyer and the Master forming the three points on the base and Death sitting removed from them all at the top.

The Creation

In the beginning, the Creator, his wife, the Destroyer and his wife and their sister Death and her husband were all of one accord. Working together, the made the world of Geis. The Creator created the animals and birds, the plants and weather, the Destroyer created the insects in their infinite variety. Death assisted all of them in their work and breathed life into their creations. It was then that the Siblings created the first intelligent beings. Working together again, they created the Owaha (Fishmen) who worshiped Death, the Sroloc who worshiped the Creator and the Kr’tchk (Insectmen) who worshiped the Destroyer.

A discussion of their creations led the siblings to pursue matters further.  The intelligent beings were widely recognized as their greatest creations but they needed trials in their lives whereby they might learn and grow. Forces needed to be created and control over those forces would be made available to all of them.  The three primary forces were magic, mental and physical prowess.  It was decided that creatures embodying the best of these primal forces and design for these creatures were given over to the siblings' spouses.  The Creator's wife made the Griffons who were the embodiment of the great mental abilities available to all their intelligent creations.  The Destroyer's wife made the Dragons that embody magic.  Death created the Jortons who could utilize their spirit to enhance their physical abilities to the extent where they could stand on even ground with the psychic Griffons and magical Dragons.  All three were given intelligence whereby they could instruct and advise the Owaha, Sroloc and Kr'tchk.

It was after that when the Destroyer and his wife started the First War for reasons that are unclear but it is suspected that it was to prove whose creation was the stronger. The Kr’tchk set about killing the Owaha and the Sroloc. Those beings fought back fiercely. The Sroloc and the Dragons forged an alliance based on their commonality and together they exterminated the Kr’tchk. In a pique of rage, the Destroyer killed his wife. He hid her body, and when the Creator found it, the Destroyer blamed him for her death.

Thus started the great enmity that now exerts such influence over the fate of Geis.

Death, distraught at seeing her brothers war, removed herself from them and set herself up afar from them. Left to their own devices, the Owaha waged a bloody war against the Sroloc. The Dragons, sensing that their Goddess was no more, withdrew themselves in mourning. The Creator, hearing the prayers of his faithful, split them into three sub-races; the amphibian Crocus, the dragon-like Dracus in remembrance of his brother's dead wife and the Chameus who worked so closely with the forces of Mother Nature.  The Jortons and Griffons, realizing that they would disrupt the delicate balance of the world, also withdrew from humanity.

Over time, Death and the Creator worked together to end the war between their creations.  They created the Helguar to ensure the two would not wage war again and as a peace offering to their brother, whose creations had been destroyed.  He refuted them and rebuked them, swearing vengeance on them both.  By some unknown means, he brought the Master of Undead to the Geis realm from where it is not known.  He had hoped that the Kr'tchk would be raised from their state but the Master ever has his own agenda.  Betraying the Destroyer, he rose their bodies and tied their souls to them to serve him.  The Master desired the realm of Geis to add to his collection.  With the Owaha and the Sroloc unwilling to work together and the Helguar outmatched, Death and the Creator realized that they needed another race, one that would be adaptable and fast breeding enough to thwart the designs of the Master.  Thus was the human race born.

Eventually, the Ancilene, Minotaur, Grenis and Malacore races were made as offshoots from the Human race.  The Elder races saw their societies decline.  The Midling race, Humanity, spread widely across the Geis realm.  The Younger races rose and fell, unable to match the Humans' progression and adaptability.  Death withdrew from the constant conflict upon the Geis realm by the machinations of the Destroyer.  The Creator's wife beseeched her husband to give all the races purpose.  So it was that each race came to represent both a Pillar of the Creator and a Pit of the Destroyer for he always seeks to oppose his brother in all things.  The Helguar represent both Prudence and Gluttony, the Ancilene Charity and Lust, the Sroloc Hope and Envy, the Grenis Justice and Greed, the Minotaur Temperance and Rage, the Malacore Fortitude and Sloth and Humanity, Faith and Pride.  Once this was done, no more did the siblings create for their efforts had been enough.