Áine WorshipThe main faith of both the Federation of Dál Riata & The Kingdom of Eigg is the worship of Áine, a goddess of summer, wealth and sovereignty. The faith believes there is a large family of Gods who are parents, siblings, cousins etc to each other. At first there were several families of Gods and they utilised mankind for their amusement, however Áine gathered together a group of Gods from her own family and some from others who believed that it was important that mankind is protected. Eventually Áine and her group of Gods established themselves as the superior force and eradicated all other families of Gods except one who were banished to the Shadowland. As such mankind found themselves left largely alone with the Gods merely ensuring humanity had the best chance of leading prosperious lives while ensuring those banished to the Shadowland couldn't return. Suspecting that in the future the Shadowlands will launch an invasion of this world Áine and her fellow Gods seek the most noble and virtious humans to stand beside them. As such life is merely a test to see who fits this bill. Those deemed worthy by showing faith, respect to others, spreading the teachings of the Gods and essentially striving to lead a productive and positive life are permitted to reside in the "Greenland" with the Gods enjoying what is essentially a paradise. Those deemed unworthy have their souls destroyed upon death and their bodies, like all human remains are disposed of by fire to ensure the Shadowland can not claim them should they return.
LIST OF GODS/GODDESSES AND ROLES
1. Áine - Chief Goddess, goddess of summer, wealth and sovereignty. She also has domain over love and fertility, she has command over crops and animals and is also associated with agriculture. She is seen as being the primary reason for humanities existence and demands sacrifice for her blessing, this is usually done at the various solstices by sacrifice of an animal.
2. Airmed - Healing Goddess - Following one of the inter-God battles her brother was killed by a rival God. Her tears over his body revived him and saw a vast number of healing herbs grow in that spot and she gathered them in her cloak. The cloak now contained examples of all the herbs needed to cure all illnesses. Her father (a now deceased God) was angry that she had meddled and ripped the cloak spreading the herbs across Mundus. As a result no one has yet discovered the cure to all illness.
3. Belenus - God of the Sun - He is thought to drag the sun across the sky behind a horse drawn chariot. He is drawn to the world each morning by ritual chants performed by members of the faithful. As such the Priestly Orders have someone carry this out every morning just before sunrise.
4. Borvo - God of Mineral Springs - He has granted mankind with a series of divine rivers. It is thought that by consuming this water and bathing in it the minerals it contains can help keep a person healthy. It is customary for these water courses to be crossed by small bridges often with votive offerings left.
5. Toutatis - God of Protection - He was seen as a watchman of the Gods, ever awake and ever vigilant. He is associated with the military. In order to appease the man it was common for soldiers after battle to melt down some enemy weapons or armor and make rings inscribed with the letter TOT. These were then often buried as a sign of thanks. Today it is customary for soldiers passing basic training to take their beret badge (all trainees wear the same one) and melt it down into a disc upon which they inscribe their name and letter TOT. When joining their unit for the 2nd stage of training it is buried while being witnessed by their new unit. Even when found be archaeologists these artifacts are always reburied.
6 - Lugh - God of Mastery of Skills - He is seen as being able to bless people in a wide variety of skills. It is tradition that those completing apprenticeships of other such practicial schemes of study give thanks to him upon completion. In the days of history upon entering a guild someone was expected to complete an example piece of work to be inspected by the Guild. Those who were admitted into a Guild usually then destroyed the object and presented its pieces to be destroyed in Temples dedicated to Lugh.
7. Epona - Goddess of Horses and Gatherer of the Dead. - She rides a horse and can command all related species such as mules and donkeys. It is believed that she rides the world bringing the souls of the deserving dead to the Greenland and inspecting the boundaries between this world and the Shadowland. She is worshiped by placing horseshoes on the alter of temples as well as statues of ritual horses.
8. The Morrígan - The Morrigan is a divine woman associated with war and fate, especially with foretelling doom, death or victory in battle. She incites warriors to battle and can help bring about victory over their enemies. The Morrígan encourages warriors to do brave deeds, strikes fear into their enemies, and is portrayed washing the bloodstained clothes of those fated to die. She is most frequently seen as a goddess of battle and war and has also been seen as a manifestation of the earth- and sovereignty-goddess, chiefly representing the goddess's role as guardian of the territory and its people. The Morrigan is often invoked to bring about good fortune for any major event.
There are multiple more regional and specialist Gods.
Worship varies for each God and each have their own group of Priests.
Any God having at least ten Temples can name a Chief Priest/Priestess who sits on a Divine Council which attempts to co-ordinate and manage matters of the faith on a day to day basis. This includes organising the major rituals and practices. They also manage various faith based educational establishments and a religious based newspaper.
