OneGod- The One God, God of All

        OneGod came to Alden with the ancestors, and as such, many of this
gods beliefs and powers were shaped in a non-magical world.  Onegod
originally was unable to grant spells to his followers, since he was not
able to do this in the non-magical world.  However, as the "False Gods",
(as all other gods are referred to,) began to gain followers, Onegod was
forced to acquire the ability to grant spells through saints.  This kept
Onegod from directly gaining the infidels power, while giving the Onegod
priests the ability to cast spells.
        As one might expect, followers of Onegod, and particularly the
priests of Onegod, are not particularly tolerant of other religions.  This
is really only a factor in Labhartain, where all other religions are
outlawed.  The Churches Inquisitors are often active in Labhartain, and
many Infidels have been captured and excommunicated, or executed.  The
ability of these Inquisitors to detect the truth in a persons words has
kept them from over zealously attacking the faithful, but beware the non
believers! The Chosen of Tribolone are the most common victims of OneGod
Inquisitors, since Tribolone apparently does not respect the Labhartain
border.  When priests of Onegod travel in other countries, they do their
best to refrain from insulting the local religion, at least until they have
managed to convert a few of the locals to Onegod.
        Only the upper class and a few wealthy middle class individuals
are allowed to become priests of Onegod.  The vow of poverty which is
required of all priests keeps these individuals from ever using their
families wealth, but this is unimportant since they are supported by the
Church.  Still, the Church of Onegod is the richest, most powerful religion
known.  Since all kings of Labhartain claim to be descendant's of Onegod,
the wealth of Labhartain belongs in many ways to the Church.  Not only are
taxes required of citizens of Labhartain, but a tithe of five percent of
their income is due to the Church.  Much of this wealth is used to build up
the infrastructure of Labhartain, but much also goes to support the many
churches and temples which dot the landscape.
        Onegod believes that it is responsible for bringing people to Alden
as a test of their faith.  The trials and tribulations of this world will
separate the "good" people from the "evil".  The more people which Onegod
is able to convert to the true belief, and away from the "false gods", the
more good people there will be.  Then, when there are enough good people,
Onegod will resurrect the worthy dead and lead all his followers back to
Heaven.
        The Church of OneGod is very rigid and hierarchical.  Each Parish
has it's own church, while the larger towns and cities may have several
churches, each catering to a different class of people.  A group of
Parishes is known as a Diocese, which is led by a Bishop.  The next largest
group of territories is known as an Archdioceses and
consists of a number of Dioceses.  Each Archdiocese is led by an
Archbishop.  The entire Church is controlled by The Pope, an Archbishop
chosen by OneGod to be his mouthpiece.  OneGod has been known to make
proclamations directly through his servant, The Pope.
        Each layer of the Church hierarchy has certain responsibilities and
duties.  Advancement within the church rests on ability, availability and
politics.  The most intelligent, insightful and educated priests are
elevated to the next level , if the superiors agree.  The new pope is
decided based on divine word, as related by the resident Archbishops.

Papincolae - Goddess of Fertility, Mother of All Children,
The Loving One.

        Papincolae is the nurturing God, the mother of us all.  When the
ancestors first came to this land, none were able to have children.  Only
after many years of hoping and praying did the ancestors attract the
attention of Papincolae, who began to grant children.  Due to this act of
love, people began to pray for Papincolae, and as they prayed, LO! the
Goddess appeared before them.
        "Children and the ability to have them are the greatest gift anyone
can give.  As long as you love your children, and care for them as best you
can, we shall be friends.  If you mistreat your children, then you will
have no more.  The love which all beings feel for one another shall abide
between us, but you will have no more children."
        Through the years, Papincolae has become the champion of the young
and weak.  Priests and Priestesses of Papincolae have the responsibility to
care for children.  Whenever children are orphaned, either by their parents
dying or abandoning them, the Papincolae Priest/esses take them in.
Followers of Papincolae are also called upon to help in the growth and
education of Papincolae's Children.  Papincolae hopes that eventually all
children will come to a loving world, where they are treated well and
encouraged to grow and become strong healthy individuals.
        Papincolae is also The Loving One.  By extending the Love of
Papincolae to two individuals, this Goddess is responsible for romantic
love.  Sometimes Papincolae causes two people to fall in love whom others
do not believe should be together.  These marriages are often the
strongest.
        Followers of Papincolae can be from any background, from the
wealthiest individuals, to the poorest.  Even outlanders can follow
Papincolae, and many are beginning to bend their hearts toward Papincolae.
The only restriction placed upon followers of Papincolae is to do their
best to love one another, and to care for and protect children.  This
service may be in the form of material donations to the church, adopting
lost children, or even sponsoring a poor child into a trade.
        Priests and Priestesses are both married to Papincolae, although
they are free to form pair bonds elsewhere as well.  All Priest/esses are
encouraged to have children of their own,  who are raised communally with
the other Children of Papincolae.  For this reason, any Papincolae Church
is attended by at least two Priest/esses.  The symbol of Papincolae
Priesthood is a badge with a wrapped infant on a white background.
        Although Papincolae has many followers, it is not a particularly
wealthy nor politically powerful religion.  Much of the wealth accumulated
by Papincolae is used to help the local community.  Being most concerned
with caring for children, Papincolae Priest/esses do not have time to delve
into politics.  The rare occasions when the do venture into politics, are
when the interests of children are directly at stake.
        Many of the Priest/esses of Papincolae were once lost children
themselves.  these individuals have felt a strong need to remain with the
church, and to return the good which has come to them.  A smaller number of
individuals have seen the good which can come from this house of children,
and have come to assist.  It is this caring which has made Papincolae
strong.  Those who grow in the family of Papincolae usually remain loyal,
and even if they don't become priests themselves, they help in the caring
of the young.  These people generally sponsor one or two of their younger
Brothers or Sisters into their trade, as they do with their own children.
        The Church has a fairly lose hierarchical structure, with the
acolytes and full priests sharing many of the same duties.  It is only the
greater age and experience which sets the full priests apart from the
acolytes.  For a time during the priests lives, it is just these
experiences which pull them away from their true role as nurturers.
Eventually, when the mundane tasks of running the Church are passed on to
the younger priests, the master priests return to their roles as nurturers.

        Somewhat unexpectedly, Papincolae is one of the few religions with
a strictly militant sect.  Some Priest/esses of Papincolae are trained to
defend their charges from those who would prey upon them.  These warriors
come from within the family itself, and may be of either gender.  In fact,
the female Defenders are often more fearsome than the males when protecting
their charges.  Even in combat, however, the Defenders try to avoid killing
their attackers

Tribolone-God of the Harvest, The Beast's God

        The ancestors were not prepared to survive on Durrin.  There was
not enough food available, and even hunting and gathering was not
sufficient.  Since the ancestors did not know which plants were edible,
many got sick from eating the wrong things.  The first several years were
very hard on the ancestors.  Eventually, one of the ancestors had a vision.
In this vision, Karen saw a short-horned deer grazing in a field, and
eating only certain plants.  Karen also saw the deer wade into a marsh and
begin to eat wild rice which was growing there.  With the help of the deer
visions, Karen was able to lead her people to palatable food.  The final
vision Karen reported seeing was of a tall robed man with antlers who spoke
to her and said "Follow the animals, for they know which plants are safe."
Unfortunately, Karen took this advice literally and was killed by a mother
bear while following it's cubs.  Shortly thereafter, however, others
reported having visions, and they often mentioned a short woman with dark
hair standing next to Tribolone.  Karen was still helping her people.
        Followers of Tribolone hope for a bountiful harvest, a good catch
in the snares, and another year with the land.  Mostly Tribolone gives
these gifts, with the understanding that part of the gifts will be nurtured
and returned to nature.  No matter how hungry, followers of Tribolone
always release a part of their catch, and leave choice tidbits of food for
natures creatures.  The priesthood of Tribolone wear loose, comfortable
clothes, with a headband of braided wheat.  All of the priesthood are hard
workers, and many enjoy hunting and fishing.
        Although Tribolone is not interested in material things, all
members of the church are meant to donate a part of their time and energy
to the church.  Often this means helping with the community gardens, or
building storehouses for the surplus food produced on the fertile plains.
The churches of Tribolone are not particularly wealthy, although they do
control many of the food stores available.  Presently this does not give
them much power, but as trade increases, it may become more important.  Of
course, it is also likely that even an increase in trade will lead to
little extra revenue, since Tribolone is most interested in keeping
everyone fed.  It is unlikely that priests of Tribolone would hold out for
higher fees if people were hungry and food stores were actually available.
        Like several other Durrin religions, there is a strong lay
priesthood associated with Tribolone.  These followers often travel the
countryside assisting the populace, and in general trying to improve the
land.  Because of the nature of this God, there are many believers who have
had visions which help them to better foster their lands and persons.  It
is the responsibility of the true priesthood to maintain records of these
visions, and spread the word to others.  Occasionally, the visions become
more and more frequent, until the individual realizes that hey have been
chosen!  The Chosen of Tribolone are even more dedicated than their lay
brethren, and often build their own small temples.  These temples are
active for a time, sometimes attracting other Chosen, and sometimes closing
down as their Chosen are attracted to other temples.  These temples
continue to act as storehouses for foodstuffs, and more importantly, the
religious energy which allows the Chosen to affect local weather
conditions.
        The Hierarchy of Tribolone's Temples is very bottom heavy.  The
Chosen appoint themselves, and build their own temples.  Each of these
Chosen preaches his or her own version of Tribolone, until such time as
they either go to another temple, or attract other Chosen.  It is
remarkable, considering the lack of communication between the temples, that
the Words of Tribolone are as consistent as they are.  It seems that a
small number of the Chosen wonder about from Temple to Temple, collecting
stories and visions, and circulating them.  It is in this way that the
Faith is maintained, since the Chosen make no effort to maintain  written
records.  There are only two truly large temples, one in Bramhillian, and
the other in Tashnais.  Although these temples collect tribute from a huge
web of smaller temples, each cooperates with the other.  The Chosen of
Tribolone are the most common victims of OneGod Inquisitors, since
Tribolone apparently does not respect the Labhartain border.

Tiedeman- The God of Healing, The Many-Faced God

        Since the ancestors did not know Durrin, and were not familiar with
the local flora and fauna, the Isle was a dangerous place.  Many people
were injured due to accident, or poisoned because they ate the wrong kind
of plant.  Some of those who ate the fruit of the Silver Sword plant died,
but others collapsed with a fever and recovered days later.  Those few that
recovered reported visions.  These visions became the source of the
Mysteries of Healing, as many survivors had gained the knowledge of which
local plants were of a curative nature.  Through time, the rituals of
administering the curative plants became complex, requiring less and less
of the actual plants.  Those early Healing Prayers have evolved into actual
magical spells which require only small amounts of healing herbs.
        All who have visions of Tiedeman report the God to be human, but
that is were the similarities end.  Each individual has their own vision of
Tiedeman, based on what the individual feels is the wisest, most caring
person they have known.  Often this vision resembles a caring grandparent,
or a kingly stranger.  Although the vision varies from person to person,
each individual always sees the same vision.
        The Many-Faced God grants long life to its followers, and helps to
protect them from the elements.  However, there are certain costs related
to this.  True followers of Tiedeman may not hunt or kill for sport.  Only
out of necessity may one of Tiedemans' followers take another life.  In
addition, as much of the slain being as possible must be used, with the
rest returned to nature.  If the slain being was intelligent, the being
must be returned to it's Gods as it would have wished, or it must be
cremated, if the individuals beliefs are not known.
        Followers of Tiedeman must donate a portion of their income to the
church, and clerics are restricted from owning more than they can carry
comfortably.  However, when actually in residence, all of the churches
amenities may be utilized by the cleric.  Churches of Tiedeman tend to be
rather wealthy, since they charge those people who can afford it for their
services.  Often this leads to difficulties when local aristocrats require
healing, but since the Church is fairly powerful and important, rarely is
there any real trouble.
        Since the original visions of Tiedeman were a result of eating the
fruit of the Silver Sword, this plant has become very important to the
religion.  The symbol of Tiedeman is an interpretation of this powerful
plant, which is worn in an obvious place.  In addition, each local church
has a number of these plants growing near it, and often has a carved statue
attached to the roof of the church.  The fruit of the Silver Sword is still
used in the investiture ceremony.  In the past, many potential priests died
as a result of this step, but now Tiedeman communicates to the potential
priest before the ceremony and tells them to either delay until ready, or
to find another way to serve.
        Tiedemans Temples are places of healing and hope.  Any who come to
Tiedeman will be cured of their ills, if Tiedeman wills it.  The Acolytes
and lay priests are trained in first aid and medicines.  Many Temples are
on very good terms with the local Alchemists' with whom their is an active
trade in medicinal herbs and healing potions.  These potions are not free,
of course, but they are certainly not outrageously expensive.
        Only those Acolytes who please Tiedeman are allowed to taste the
Fruit of the Silver Sword, and only those who survive the experience are
ordained as Priests.  Any ordained Priest may learn the prayers necessary
to cast the available spells, and advancement within the church requires
that the prayers be learned in a certain order.  Only those who have been
active in the church for a long time know the most advanced prayers,
although all are written in the Holy Books.  Tiedeman is the final arbiter
of who is actually healed by these spells.  There are very few who are able
to pray for Resurrection, and even then, Tiedeman rarely grants this
prayer.