Five Gods

The worship of the Five Gods began in the city of San Briaforte around 15 AE it has spread and is now considered the dominant religion around the Theodovan city-state of Rovomonte. The name of the religion is a misnomer as the five divine beings have both male and female representations. These divine beings hold sway over the five aspects of life: child, youth, adult, wedded, and elder.

The clergy nearly always travel in pairs - often married pairs - offering the blessings of the divine on those they encounter. They expect to work for their meals or housing rather than demanding the support of the laity. This makes them very popular among those far from the riches of the cities. Most of the clergy would be considered journeymen in their craft.

There is no central organization beyond the large cathedrals in Rovomonte. The bishops of Rovomonte send brothers and sisters to the smaller towns and villages. They assign traveling priests and priestesses, always in pairs, to move among these towns to spread the enlightenment. The religion represents the majority within its region, but has not established itself outside of the towns around Rovomonte.

The ruling body of the church comprised of members of the Superiore. All decisions that affect more than one region are made before the council. Their deliberations have reached legendary status both in terms of debate and time. For this reason most regions prefer to handle disagreements among themselves or seek the aid of a traveling priests and priestess. The council meets in cathedral in Rovomonte at least twice a month even if nothing of import is discussed (a rare occurrence).

Destura, Besello, Morvita, Cieterra, and Vitilità are equals within the pantheon of the Five Gods; although they may be more or less important to the lives of their followers during their life. Destura is said to bless a child during its first steps while Vitilità is spoken of repeatedly as young adults leave the home of their parents.

Outside of the pantheon each of the divine imbue mortal heroes upon this world. These Eroe are always selected in pairs, but unlike the clergy are not often paired. Each eroe is the pure representation of their divine and serves to further their goals - even if that brings them into conflict with each other.

The clergy all are trained in Rovomonte and then sent to serve in more remote towns and villages. In addition to religious studies each member of the clergy is expected to learn a craft. During their travels they are expected to work their craft unless doing so would harm the local craftsmen. The belssings of others are not to be gained by begging or tithing, but instead by honest work.

The lowest rank of the clergy. These are often newly invested and sent to another town or village to receive their final training. They will serve under the brother and sister assigned to that area and after a time the original pair will leave. Brothers and Sisters always serve in pairs, but do not necessarily preform all of their tasks together. Should one of the pair die Rovomonte will send a replacement pair allowing the surviving member to return to Rovomonte to serve in other capacities.

It is not necessary, but it is often true that the men and women paired with each other will marry. The church encourages it as a sure sign their pairing was divine inspiration.

The next rung up the ladder are the priests and priestesses. These pairs are not assigned to any particular region or town, but instead encouraged to travel and enjoy the gifts the divine have blessed upon this world. If the pair are married they are often promoted to this rank should the priestess become pregnant. Birth and Children are blessed events cherished above all others. When they travel they bring the blessings of divinity upon all those they visit.

The only members of the clergy to obtain this rank are those that have not only given their time to enlighten others during their travels, but have given birth or fathered a child. They must have raised their children in the blessings of divinity. There are ten (10) Superiore to represent Rovomonte. In addition each recognized region has a pair of Superiore representing them. All of the Superiore meet in the Consiglio Dei Ministri to decide the affairs of the church.

There are five major liturgical practices, one for each phase of a person's life. From birth to childhood to adulthood to genitrice to saggio - each point in a person's life should be glorified.

• Birth when a child is born
• Childhood when a child is weaned from its mother or wet-nurse
• Adulthood when a child establishes their own house separate from their parents or family.
• Genitrice when they father or give birth to a child
• Saggio when their own child has reached adulthood

The divinity of the Five Gods is the blessings of life itself - both the good and the bad. The church teaches that following each storm is the clear sky, likewise the passing of the clear sky yields the rains. People follow the same patterns as that of the world. They can be violent storms wrecking anything in their wake - they can also help their neighbor expecting nothing in return. Blessed are those who help and wicked are those who stand aside.

All of creation is both male and female. The world was born in a clash of violence and rage, pain and sorrow. The five divine game into this world as pairs - just as men and women are natural pairs. While the world would survive if either of them die it would be a far more shallow place. The divine's dual nature are meant to comfort and support each other just as man and woman.

From the love of the divine the world was showered with life. Existing in so many different forms several lifetimes would pass before even a single couple could decipher them all.

The clergy of the Five Gods relies on very information practices and liturgy. This occasionally gives rise to splinters within the Five Gods. The Ministri accept such an event not as a problem, but instead a chance to learn the unexpected.

Conflict have also arisen internally. Often clergy and laity will rally around the local eroe and when different eroe come into conflict the followers may splinter. To the divine this is simply the natural order. Their own divinity is both supportive and in conflict and so should their eroe.

With a weak central authority it is up to each pair to decipher how to react to other religions - especially those whose doctrine opposes the Five Gods.

Magic is alive as a lesser heartbeat to that of the world. Those who turn from the divine to embrace this lesser heartbeat are not considered lost or evil by the religious. Instead they are simply people choosing for themselves a lesser path. Magic is not force for destruction or evil, but men have been known to use it for such purposes, just as with any other tool.

Destura is the duality god of luck and goddess of misfortune. It is Destura who reads someone's fate and shows them their destiny. This reading happens when a baby is first blessed sometime during their first year of life. Most parents have their child blessed as soon as possible for without Destura's first blessing their spirit will forever be trapped on this world after death. Once blessed they are known to Destura who will visit upon them luck and misfortune for the remainder of their days.

Besello is the duality god of animals that walk and goddess of animals that fly or swim. As one of the divine Besello holds sway over all animals. These animals serve followers as beasts of burdens, feed and clothe them, and occasionally companionship. It was a gift from Besello who gave his followers the loyalty of the dog to help hunt and defend. Cats and parrots are both considered sacred, serving to carry the words from followers to Besello.

Morvita is the duality god of death and goddess of life. It is Morvita who watches over the birth and passing of all life. As teh goddess she is the sun, as the god he is the moon. This cycle and passing is seen and worshiped by all. Morvita is said to walk among mortals during the nights when the moon is no longer in the sky. It is this new moon when a meaningful death might summon the divine himself. During the full moon Morvita is reflected in her full glory and all life is worshiped. A penitent follower will not seek to take any life during the full moon.

Cieterra is the duality god of the sky and goddess of the earth. Cieterra holds sway over both the firmament and earth. Cieterra is the judge over the pleasure and punishment of the afterlife. The gifts of grain and wood has given people food and material to house them safely - the winds cool their brows and fill their sails. The earth also shakes and swallows homes whole while lightning and hail fall from the sky crushing the wicked and penitent. Followers come before Cieterra seeking judgement over mortal affairs.

Vitilità is the duality god of fire and goddess of water. Vitilità holds sway over vitality and fertility - the reckless bloom of youth. All of the divine are equals, but Cieterra is considered the eldest and Vitilità the youngest. From childlike wonder and exploration to the first passions of love Vitilità is invoked often as a curse by parents or breathlessly by lovers. Fire is a protector who drives away fears and darkness, but is hungry for destruction if left unchecked. Likewise water irrigates the fields and carry ships, but floods care nothing for those washed before it and storms destroy ship and shore alike. Tempestuous, turbulent, unbridled, uncontrolled, and unrestrained and but a few words to best describe this divine.

Each of the divine claim two people are their eroe (heroes, avatar, first one) on the world. One is always a man and the other a woman. They hold sway over the nature of the god or goddess upon the world. The eroe are marked by a tattoo clearly visible on their body. Unlike the clergy these pairs do not travel together and in fact rarely work well together as each represents only a single aspect of the divine.