Religions of Kudahn

Compiled by Qassin Dohar, Sc.N.P., Dept. of Comparative Religion, Oso Arcanum

Primordial Worship

Overview

Between the cities and deserts of the east—among the sagebrush and scrublands—live the practitioners of what many consider the oldest religion in Tadros, and potentially the continent itself. Primordialists believe that the energy of the Primordials suffuses all of nature, and that all creation is literally comprised of the four essences. To Primordialists, the dualism of Ngan-Shaír and the magic-focus of Kūdism are overly simplistic.

Whether Primordial Worship was brought to Kudahn from across the Iboro Sea or evolved from goblinoid animism is an ongoing topic of research, though similarities between these traditions are abundant. Unlike goblinoid ancestor worship, Primordialists reject the idea of spirits as conscious entities, favoring instead a physical understanding of the universe.

Creation Myth

The Primordials are revered as eternal natural forces from which all matter—and thus all life—arises. Their “myth” is a cosmological assertion: that before all else existed the essences themselves, and from their mingling the world was shaped.

Deities / Key Figures (The Primordials)

Ur

Domain of solids, earth, mountains, strength, tradition, death, family, and winter.
Symbolized by a simple circle representing stone, or concentric circles in more elaborate depictions.

Eloa

Domain of the ocean, change, tranquility, rebirth, inspiration, growth, and spring.
Symbolized by a wave or by vast interlocking patterns.

Aea

Domain of the sky, gasses, freedom, weather, fall, art, and creativity.
Symbolized by a gust of wind or swirling chaotic patterns that never repeat.

Shaír

God of passion, fire, poetry, sex, love, anger, light, and the sun.
Symbolized by a triangle or by a red disc surrounded by orange flames.

Regions

Practiced primarily in the eastern deserts, sagebrush regions, and scrublands.

Illūs

Overview

Illusi traditions are common in the north, northeast, and east of Doran where elves and humans historically intermingled. This belief system is widely practiced among elves and the ancestral Dorani.

Named after the ancient elf Illusani—said to have gathered humans and elves in the mountains and revealed her understanding of serenity—Illūs is a tradition rooted in the pursuit of inner tranquility.

Creation Myth

Illūs does not possess a creation myth in the traditional sense. Rather, Illusani’s revelation is treated as the moment of “awakening,” when she perceived the natural rhythm of life and death and taught that all beings have spirits which are constantly recycled back into the earth.

Beliefs

Practitioners of Illūs believe that through meditation and deliberate action one’s soul may be brought closer to true peace. If enough souls achieve tranquility, the entire planet may reach perfect balance. Illūs represents a state of true understanding that permeates all beings—a serenity that cannot be shaken.

The Illusi hold that life has no inherent meaning and that conscious beings should strive simply to be. Spirits are recycled endlessly into the earth and then into newborn creatures, like nutrients returning to soil. Individuals are temporary vessels for temporary sentience.

Illusi seek to do as little harm as possible to the world and to aid others in achieving tranquility. They are often criticized as too passive, for they neither seek dominion nor defend against injustice, believing such tragedies to be mere eddies in a vast cosmic river.

Regions

North, northeast, and eastern Doran.

The Divine Family

Overview

Worship of a family of gods—two parents and two children—is common in the western portion of the central Khudan shield. The family represents the virtues of humankind divided among multiple figures, reflecting the belief that no single being (not even a god) can embody all virtues without also risking vice.

The Divine Family is central both to cosmology and to countless folk tales. Their interactions with “demons”—minor deities who represent counterpoints, vices, or natural forces—form a vast mythic cycle.

Many splinter traditions exist. Some emphasize a single family member, relegating others to the status of demons. Others elevate demons into gods. A northeastern variation integrates the family into Primordial Worship by treating each of the four family members as avatars of the Primordials.

Creation Myth

In the dominant strain of the faith, the universe, celestial bodies, and life forms are eternal, without beginning or end. The Divine Family are said to dwell among the celestial bodies with which they are associated, visiting the world as needed. Their myths are less concerned with cosmic origins and more with the eternal interplay of virtues, vices, and natural cycles.

Deities / Key Figures

Yara

Female aspect of nature, fertility, wisdom, the moon, the home, the harvest, childbirth, the hearth, summer, cooking, and healing.
Vices: lust, spite, jealousy, indifference, apathy, sadness, blindness.

Sernos

Male aspect of nature, strength, passion, duty, warriors, work, crafting, protection, winter, and the sun.
Vices: power-seeking, hatred, stubbornness, gluttony, deafness.

Helya

Female child god of bravery, hunting, determination, sacrifice, perseverance, fall, and the stars.
Vices: revenge, malice, single-mindedness, ignorance, close-mindedness, dullness.

Dorán

Male child god of art and music, beauty, inspiration, adaptability, spring, and the planets.
Vices: vanity, pride, superficiality, flippancy, distraction, mindlessness, insanity, anosmia.

Demons (Minor Deities)

Hanumo

A frivolous monkey spirit frequently paired with Dorán; represents the impulsive or base.

Geru

A raging boar paired with Sernos; represents animal might and power.

Farthuk

A sentient mountain; represents the scale and indifference of nature.

Sarth

A thieving raccoon paired with Helya; represents nature’s capriciousness.

Jadarka

A secretive fox and companion to Yara.

Malchek

An undead wolf who guards the dead.

Magnangam

A massive snake with a head at each end that endlessly consumes and regurgitates time.

Ashari

A giant bird that brings the weather.

Ulanti

A vast and beautiful fish whose eggs seed the oceans; represents the bounty of nature.

Other Family Members

Aljun (Grandfather)

Wisdom, winter, methodical thought, legacy, and leadership.

Bakuna (Grandmother)

Sacrifice, struggle, perseverance, humility, kindness, love, dignity, and wisdom.

Regions

Western central Khudan shield; northeastern variant integrates with Primordialism.

Kūdism

Overview

Kūdism is a monotheistic religion focused upon magic (Kūdahros). Adherents believe magic to be a sentient force and the creator of the cosmos. Anthropomorphizing Kūdahros is considered absurd if not disrespectful.

Kūdahros is believed to exist on another plane or series of dimensions, incomprehensible to the conscious mind.

Creation Myth

Kūdahros is described not through narrative myth but through metaphysical assertion: that magic itself preceded creation, and by acting upon inert cosmic potential gave rise to all things.

Beliefs

Kūdists hold that practicing magic connects an individual to Kūdahros, and that the more magic is practiced, the stronger this connection becomes. Most magic in the universe is believed to be locked away and inert; freeing this energy hastens the universe’s destiny to become composed entirely of arcane force.

Practicing magic is akin to prayer, and powerful wielders of Kūdahros are venerated. Among the deeply faithful, herbal or arcane psychedelics are used to glimpse the mind of god, and a touch of madness is often considered a divine gift.

Regions

Most heavily practiced in cities. Oso is considered the most important Kūdistic center.

Ngana-Shaír

Overview

A dualist religion concentrated in the deserts of Tadros. Ngana-Shaír is thought to represent an evolution of Orcish animism shaped by desert life. It focuses on the interplay between fire and water.

Creation Myth

Rather than a single creation account, Ngana-Shaír frames the world as the consequence of endless oscillation between fire and water—sun and moon, drought and rain, passion and restraint. These forces predate the world and produce all dualities within it.

Beliefs

Demi-gods and demons exist as embodiments of fire and water. Some are benevolent, some destructive, but their conflicts arise from contrast rather than morality. Human conflicts are viewed through this same lens.

Regions

The deserts of Tadros and regions influenced by Orcish migrations.

Ærodynites

Overview

Ærodynite belief traces back nearly two millennia to the wars between Munar and Ysgr. Its founder, Ærodyn son of son of Ærod, was a Munari warlord whose grief and desperation transformed into mystical revelation.

Creation Myth

Rather than an account of cosmic origins, the Ærodynite myth recounts Ærodyn’s personal dissolution and enlightenment:

After leading the Munari across the sea and witnessing the destruction of his homeland, Ærodyn entered the forest intending to die. Starved and half-mad, he consumed bark, leaves, and fungus and achieved a revelation: that all matter, life, and consciousness are waves in an endless ocean—minds and realities constantly surfacing and being reabsorbed.

He carved these revelations into stones until his death. Animals are said to have continued carving after him.

Beliefs

Regions

Historically Munari regions; the temple’s current location is unknown.

Ysgr Animism

Overview

The Ysgr maintain many scattered traditions, varying widely by clan. Most hold that all creatures and certain natural structures possess spirits—some benevolent, some malignant.

Creation Myth

Ysgr traditions hold that the material world and the spirit world exist in parallel, neither preceding the other. Spirits age, becoming increasingly abstract until they dissolve into pure energy. Under rare circumstances, such energy may recombine into new spirits.

Beliefs

Ancestor spirits are especially significant, communicating readily with the living. Fear is believed to be the root of all evil, arising from spiritual ignorance. Eliminating fear through understanding brings peace.

The worlds of spirit and matter eternally exchange energy: newly liberated spirits enter the spirit world, which then injects them into newborns. Energy is finite; therefore the number of living beings is finite as well. Disturbing this balance can cause lasting harm.

Regions

Practiced among Ysgr clans across mountains, forests, and tundra.

Huuna

Overview

One of the largest religious traditions of the southern islands. “Huuna” means “truth” in Yagkuuna, a major language of the Aongh.

Creation Myth

Two primary gods—Raurani and Gulanu’u—were once a single being of pure energy before being split at the formation of the universe. Many similar beings exist but are now scattered across the sky as stars.

Raurani’s rage created lava; as his anger cooled it formed land. Gulanu’u’s tears created the oceans. Where sea met land, steam arose, and Raurani gathered it to craft the sky.

Gulanu’u created the many creatures and plants of the sea to distract himself from grief. Raurani breathed life into them by channeling his passion into Gulanu’u’s creations. Over time, these beings transitioned to land. The brothers then took their place in the sky as the sun and moon.

Deities / Key Figures

Regions

Southern islands of the Aongh.

Ulunism

Overview

A common goblin religion with a pantheon of gods primarily associated with nature. Thought to descend from Huuna due to shared solar-lunar duality. However, in Ulunism the sun is usually female and the moon male—reflecting matriarchal goblin society.

Creation Myth

Ulunite traditions teach that the sun goddess and moon god shaped the cycles of the world together. Their myths parallel those of Huuna but emphasize the authority of the sun goddess.

Beliefs

Regions

Goblin communities throughout Kudahn.

Zidatan Agnosticism

Overview

A practical agnosticism common in Zidan. The Zidatan assert that a god may have created the cosmos, but they claim no knowledge of what such a being might be or desire.

Beliefs

A being powerful enough to create the universe would be incomprehensibly beyond mortal understanding. Humanity likely matters little to such a creator, and therefore worship—whether offered or withheld—is irrelevant.

Regions

Zidan.