kingkonrad said
I'd love to be in for this. Save me a spot, as a Norse Huscarl.
Sure! Just for you, here's the Norse (and Romano-Briton) religions.
Religions available only to Norse characters:Norse Paganism: Norse Paganism, also called
Forn Siðr ("the old way") or Ásatrú ("allegiance with the gods") by those who practice it, is the traditional religion of the Norse people. Many gods and goddesses are worshipped and venerated, and even though adherents may specialize their worship to a particular god or goddess, all deities in the pantheon are believed in; these deities include Óðinn, Allfather and lord of
Valhöll, Thórr, god of lightning and owner of Mjölnir; Týr, god of law and heroic glory; and
Freyja, Óðinn's wife and goddess of magic, fertility, and love. Practices include ancestor worship and remembrance, blóts, sacrifices (sometimes humans) and the raising of runestones as signs of devotion to the ancestors or deities. Other mythological creatures, such as giants, dwarves, elves, etc. are also a part of this religion. There are also
nine homeworlds which the followers believe the gods used to shape the world we live in today, some of which are Miðgarðr (land of the humans, middle land), Ásgarðr (land of the Aesir), Jötunheimr (land of the giants), Niflheimr (land of ice), and Múspellsheimr (land of fire). Religion is administered by a class of priests called
goðar, in a manner vaguely similar to the Celtic druids. In Britannia, the lands in which this religion is followed are all those that have been touched by Viking colonization, with the exception of the kingdom of Danelagh. Norse religion is symbolized by the
raven, found on many Viking banners and emblems.
Norse Christianity: also known as
Scandinism or
Kristatrú, this religion is a product of the Viking contacts with Christianity in their first raids in the Frankish kingdoms and in Britain, in the second half of the eighth century. During this time, Christian books began to circulate in Scandinavia, brought by the raiders returning homewards, thus leading to the Norsemen "discovering" Christianity on their own, without any missionary activity from any Church. In time, some pagan rulers and chieftains in Scandinavia, seeking a broader source of legitimacy than the old tribal links, decided to formally embrace Christianity; meanwhile, many of these books (mainly from the New Testament) were translated into Old Norse and re-written in the runic script by some pagan scholars and priests who too had embraced the Christian message. Thus, from a Norse interpretation of the Christian scriptures the Kristatrú church was born. Many parallels were drawn between the figure of Christ and the Norse god Baldrs, and this new
Baldrs-Krist deity, seen as the son of Óðinn the Allfather and the Allmighty, has become the protagonist of a new tradition of sagas with a Christian theme. Other Norse gods are also venerated as minor deities, subservient to Óðinn and Baldrs-Krist. In Britannia, the Scandinists, a minority among the Norse, who do not have an organized clergy, often choose to unite in small communities residing in the territories of tolerant pagan lords; they tend to be more "civilzed" and peaceful than the rest of the Norsemen, engaging in activities such as trade or agriculture. A Norse Christian shrine or place of worship can be identified by the large
cross-shaped symbols, covered in sacred runes.
Ragnarökic Paganism: known as
Røkkatrú by its followers, Ragnarökic Paganism or Fenrirism is a particular branch of Norse paganism, focusing its worship on
Fenrir, the wolf destined to devour Óðinn, and his sons, Hati and Sköll. The Ragnarökic cult sees the Aesir as gluttonous corrupts and the Vanir as debauched revellers. They believe that during the end of time, the Ragnarøkkr (Twilight of the Gods) or
Ragnarök (Fate of the Gods), Fenrir will devour the Aesir, the Vanir and their corrupt realms of Ásgarðr and Vanaheimr and afterwards rule the renewed Miðgarðr with those that stood by his side, purged of the tainted influence of the Aesir and Vanir. Also, other chtonian deities are worshipped, such as
Hel; according to Norse mythology, these gods will be spared during the times of Ragnarök. This cult is effectively an inversion of the traditional Norse religion, originally developed in the coldest regions of the far north of Scandinavia: the fearsome and fierce peoples living there were very jealous of their independence, and when other Norse rulers attempted to subjugate them, they asked the evil gods of Norse mythology to grant them victory; it seems that this request was fulfilled. In Britannia, the Røkkatrú are very few, and are viewed with a mixture of fear, hatred and admiration. Appearing as blood drenched, crazed beasts on the battlefield, they can be often seen in the retinues of kings or warlords, who allow them to mantain their religion in exchange for their services on the battlefield; also, upon becoming a part of the cult, they are branded for life with the symbol of a
wolf on their chest or back. They say that, if you wander around too much, you can see small congregations of them in isolated places in the deep of the night, performing their strange, macabre rituals...
Religions available only to Roman characters:Solar Christianity: Solar Christianity is a branch of Christianity (not recognized as such by any other Christian church) established in the fourth century and popularised during the reign of the Roman Emperor Alexander VII, in a desperate attempt to reconcile the two most prominent religions of the Empire; the Christian religion and the cult of
Sol Invictus. Solar-Christianity claims that the Christian messiah Jesus of Nazareth is the son of God, and
Sun Incarnate. While it does share basic elements with other Christian creeds, its pagan elements (such as the adaptation of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti as central holiday, or the personality cult of the Emperor as Christ's sole successor) make other Christian creeds treat their Solar brethren with suspicion and caution. Solar Christian monarchs enjoy undisputed authority, stemming from the Solar component, and supported by
Saint Augustine's theory of "Civitas Dei" (City of God), according to which a strong secular state is required to protect the faithful from evil until the Day of Judgement comes and a pure Kingdom of God is created. In time, Dumnonia became a major centre of this almost "artificially created" religion: when the Empire became officially Catholic again, they kept practicing their own kind of Christianity, more or less secretly. When the presence of the Church disappeared around the fifth century, they simply let the Solar traditions resurface. Today, Dumnonia is a true spiritual hub to Solar Christians in all of Europe, with even the other monarchs of this faith recognizing the spiritual superiority of the Dumnonian Rex, who is also head of the Ecclesia Solis. The religion is very organized, and bishops and priests, dressed in golden garbs adorned with the sacred
sun cross, can be seen offering animal sacrifices to the Sun-Christ and administering holy masses in richfully decorated churches and cathedrals in all of Dumnonia.
Mithraic Christianity: this religion is a sort of peculiar blend of
Mithraism and Christianity. Adherents to this religious sect believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the incarnation of the Romano-Persian deity Mithras, "
Mithras-Christos" (Mithras the Lord). It combines many Mithraic and Christian elements, both in the theology and in the practice, but the core belief is that Christ is
Mithra made flesh as Redeemer of the World, sent by the God of Light to save humanity from the darkness. Mithraic Christianity is very different in its message from other Christian sources in that it is highly militant: the faithful believe in sacrificing themselves in "fighting evil" at all costs, in order to one day resurrect to fight again, led by Mithras-Christos, against the forces of the darkness. Just like Solar Christianity, this religion is not even considered a heresy by other Christian churches: in fact, it is seen as an outright heathen faith. However, differently from its Solar "cousin", this religion was spontaneously born when the Mithraic Mysteries and the Christian faiths, which both held a significant presence in the Roman army, slowly began to integrate with each other. Many military vassal kingdoms were originarly Mithraic in faith, so when Christianity became the state religion of the Western Empire, they adapted it to their own traditions and customs. After a very long process of synctretization, which lasted a couple of centuries, an organized church was set up in Ravenna, Italy, in the attempt to unify the Mithraic Christian faithful of the former Roman military colonies of all Europes, such as Cornovia. In Britannia, the holy warrior priests of Mithras-Christos, adorned with the symbol of the
flaming cross, can be seen at the head of the armies of Cornovia, chanting sacred hymns and smiting their enemies in the name of their God.