Khaeros

Physiology & Appearance | Notable Characters | Additional Information

Religion

The Tyrean relationship to the divine is indeed a unique one. Gods are not blindly worshipped as in other cultures. The statute of their covenant to the six gods is almost business-like. An exchange is almost always entailed. In effect, the Tyrean believe that worship, effigy and prayer are the gifts of mortals to honour the gods. In return, the gods offer specific favours or their blessings upon the worthy mortals who pay attention to their presence.

It is not unknown for the gods to ask a service of mortals. A man’s life may be miraculously saved for a year of service. A lost ship may find its way back, but given a dangerous mission before it returns home. A smith may endow an object with the mark and blessing of one or several gods, in exchange for a large offering of steel, favoured metal of the gods.

Despite their casual engagement to the divine, the Tyrean are not strangers to superstition. Bowls of food are left on the windowsills of households in case a being would need nourishment. The dead are offered to the denizens of the deep to appease their wrath. Nothing is done to anger the creatures of the night, and so on.

Life and death are the two great mysteries of life. The Tyrean recognise the presence of the gods, and their own lack of knowledge, and remit their souls to the whim of the divine. Death is imagined as a great, endless travel on ships that navigate the stars. The worthy will have the best positions as crewmembers of these stellar ships. Shooting stars are often directly associated with the gods.

The Gods

Ohlm is the god of wealth, luck, the sea, travels, the unknown and glory, whom Tyreans also refer to as The Wave, Sea-wind, Ever-moving and Many-Necks. His priests, however, use only his real name, in order to ensure the exactitude of their worship.

Father of all, Ohlm is strongly associated in his cult and folklore as the Hydra. As befits his far-ranging persona and rationale, the many-headed mythical beast represents the god well. His is the direct involvement in the life of mortals, sailors in particular. Tyrean sailors speak out loud to him on a regular basis.

The chief element of Ohlm is water: the element which binds all. Water holds the continents together, makes ships float, gives life to the thirsty and falls from the skies, carried by the wind of Ohlm, completing the cycle of life. Water is flexible, soft and violent at once. In winter, it turns to snow and guards homes from the cold by enveloping them with its pure white mantle. In extreme cold, it turns to ice, which is the reserve for the spring, gift of Ohl, so that his people will not go thirsty. It bears the ships of the mighty Tyrean people and allows travel in the most remote parts of the world. It is mixed with honey and aged to become the mead that is drunk in all Tyrean households.

Priests of Ohlm dress in long grayish robes. When they step into the sea to conduct their rituals, their robes are drenched in seawater. This gives it the washed-out color so instantly identifiable. Prophets of Ohlm have a tendency to grow long beards from the moment they devote their life to his traditions.

There is no strict hierarchy between prophets of Ohlm. However, there is an initiation rite that must be observed. A prophet must go through a trial of endurance. He must remove his clothes and swim the entire Tyris river from the southern lake to the sea. Once he has reached the sea, he is recovered in a boat and robed. His fellow prophets openly welcome him to their ranks, challenging Ohlm himself to dare refuse such a devoted servant. A vigil is kept onboard the ship to watch for signs from Ohlm. If all goes well, the new prophet is accepted, and begins a life of service.

Prophets of Ohlm are knowledgeable in religious matters. They are counsellors to the Tyrean people when asking Ohlm’s augury or his favour. Common rituals include blessing a ship before journeys, baptism, the crowning of a Koen and his Jarl, adding a new member to the Jarlsgaard, blessing a newly constructed ship.

Maelmia is the well-loved goddess of Love, Fertility, Nature, Piety, Endurance, and Balance. Her chief element is the earth, the mother of all men and women.

Although her male devotees are well-known for their unusual fervour, the worshippers of Maelmia are mainly women, prophets of love and fertility. Their role is to teach women the art of love, assist in childbirth, advise and reconcile unstable couples or quarrelling family members, organise and ritualise festivals and see to the welfare of all Tyreans. Their place in Tyrean society is as important as that of a Bjorn. Even though their role differs from those of the military rulers, their authority remains the object of great respect. The word of a prophet of Maelmia is never in vain, for the wisdom of the ancient earth is the source of their truth.

Sankath is the oft-mentioned god of Life, the Sun, Rebirth, Changes, Power, and Majesty. His chief element is Fire, while a complete mystery, useful to all.

There is no special worship of Sankath, as he is a very detached and general god. His presence is constant and widespread, but it is believed no personal bond or covenant can be made with Sankath. Mysterious and powerful, he rules the day with majesty and unexplained radiance.

Guthraneil, elder sister of Maelmia, is the mysterious goddess of wisdom, magic, the moon, the unseen, beauty, and secrets. Her devotees are few and held in great reverence. Her name is spoken by all, beautiful and pleasing to the ear. She represents all the things in life that men and women cannot understand. She is the dancer in the sky, the wind who leads the clouds in their great endless migration in the skies. The main element of Guthraneil is the air, ungraspable, immaterial, yet necessary and just as binding as water or earth. Guthraneil offers her love to the human race by her bounty, which is the gift of magic, given to those deemed fit to exert the powers of the unknown upon the world. Her main worshippers are for the majority male, and are often students of astronomy.

Athaelbas is the exciting god of War, Storms, Thunder, Chaos, Creativity and Cunning. His name is spoken, shouted and screamed when the bells of the Baelin ring, and the foe awaits. Lightning is the expression of his passion, and the symbol of his energy.

Worshipped mainly in times of war or of great, rapid action and decision making, Athaelbas rewards the passionate with inexhaustible vitality. Athaelbas loves to see action, regardless of its nature or consequences. Men may end up killed by their outbursts of passion. Many may be allowed to achieve their goals through the assistance and inspiration of Athaelbas, but may also end up stranded in dire situations as a result.

A smith calling upon Athaelbas hopes to perform his tasks better and find inspiration to come easier, allowing him to solve previous problems faster, but, having become enraptured in his work, may turn mad or lose the affections of family and friends. A warrior may be granted the strength to fight his enemies, earning a place in the legends, but lose his life in the process.

Sildethel is the calm sister of the passionate Athaelbas. The serene ruler of the Abyss, Sildethel, is the stoic mistress of Death, Order, Continuity, Night and deep Spirituality. Her chief element is the human spirit, without which no life, no death, no gods and no order would exist.

A cold and cruel mistress, Tyreans respect her as the final arbiter of the afterlife. What worth they have will be weighted by Sildethel, which will decide their place of final rest at the end of the world. Her name is spoken and engraved on the cairn of those fortunate enough to get a burial. Those who die at sea are marked with her symbols with paint, tar, blood or whatever else is available. No immediate rewards for worship are to be obtained from Sildethel. In lieu of this, her devotees in effect invest in her, assuring their place at her side in the great beyond.

Traditions

The Tyrean way of keeping records is through song and verse. No written records exist with the exception of short and simple runic messages written on the stepping stones leading to a temple of Guthraneil. Since she is the mistress of magic, it is said that the carving of power-words - transferring the human voice to the strength of stone - on the stones leading to her temple prepare the spirit of the person who enters. Such runes have also found their way onto weapon hilts and sometimes blades in the recent century.

Spitting or spilling drinkable water into the sea is frowned upon by Tyrean folk. It is considered an insult to Ohlm to introduce unsalted water into the sea. If accidental, it is then considered a sign of ill luck.

All calculations in Tyris are based on the dozen. Tyrean men and women count in dozens, half-dozens, grosses (144) and half grosses (72). Larger numbers like thousands remain the same as in other lands.

Tyrean given names are often followed by the given name of a parent topped with a suffix. Men are named after their fathers, and add the suffix "-son", while women are named after their mothers and add the suffix "-dottir". In the examples: Beorn Gjaltson and Olga Iannadottir are a young couple living in the house of Vjerdn Jodennson, the Bjorn.