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| | == The Old Faith == | | == The Old Faith == |
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| − | An animistic religion dating back to before recorded history, the Old Faith - sometimes known as the Old Way, the Green Path, the Way of Balance and the History - is often described as nature-worship. In fact, this is not entirely true; while those who follow the Old Faith do venerate the natural world to some degree, it is untrue to claim they worship nature and hate civilization. There are as many ways to follow the Old Faith as there are people who follow it. Broadly speaking, the Old Faith has two basic tenets: ''all things have souls,'' and ''seek balance in all things.''
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| − | A follower of one of the High Gods might pray to Rayge to avert the destruction of a thunderstorm, or to Soleus for a bountiful harvest. A follower of the Old Faith would direct their prayers to the thunderstorm itself, or to a local spirit associated with wind and rain; they might make an offering to the field itself, rather than praying to a deity. Whereas the followers of the gods seen the beneficence of their patrons as a peasant might a king, those of the Old Faith hold a more transactional view of the supernatural, believing that to gain the blessings of the spirits, one must make a token offering. Many households have a variety of small rituals meant to encourage such blessings.
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| − | The Old Faith can be a darker religion than the High Church. Since the Old Faith is based on the ideal of balance, this means a great blessing requires a correspondingly great sacrifice. Token sacrifice, such as a few drops of blood, a cup of alcohol, or a piece of food, is common in the Old Faith, with high holy days or unexpected disasters calling for more - animal sacrifice, the offering of a large value of material goods, or possibly even a sapient life. This has given the Old Faith a dark reputation to some.
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| − | While the High Church has its demigods and saints, those who follow the Old Faith revere the spirits of the land, often embodied in the form of particularly impressive animals or natural features. A tree that has stood for hundreds of years, a famous, one-eyed grizzly bear, a particular stream believed to be the abode of a powerful spirit, all may be "saints" of the Old Faith. Unlike the High Church, the Old Faith holds no illusions on the immortality of its patrons - the spirits are mighty, but the can be slain. All things die in time.
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| − | While the Old Faith has no true priests, those who dedicate their lives to it are known as '''druids.''' Often misunderstood as "priests of nature," druids are more akin to wizards, for their power comes from accumulated knowledge. A druid is one who lives their lives to the rhythms of nature and balance, and in so doing learns to draw upon the power of the natural world. Druids tend to learn much of the spirit world as well, and in so doing learn how best to approach and interact with the spirits of beast and bird, the trees and the elements.
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| | == The Dark Ones == | | == The Dark Ones == |
