The Old Ways
Centuries ago, before the fated day known as the Godfall, humanity eked out an existence in the Great Forest and its surrounding areas, gathered into myriads of tribes and family units.
These tribes worshiped deities and entities far removed from the dichotomy of the Progenitor and the Adversary, and these religious practices have come to be known to the wider world as the Old Ways.
Even though the Old Ways differ from the teachings of the Church of Resounding Truth, there is a surprising amount of overlap in the cosmological aspects of the faiths. There is a focus on duality in both theistic views, and both consider humans an important part of the grand design of the universe.
Where these views diverge, however, is in the role of gods in the lives of humans. The Old Ways teach that gods are the original inhabitants of Nascindor, and that humans came to be under their watch and tutelage. Therefore, the species owes a great debt to these gods, which is paid in worship and sacrifices.
The church does not even profess to the existence of the gods of the Old Ways, and the Progenitor is considered a monotheistic, benevolent parental figure that chose humanity to cherish and to protect, with the only debt owed being symbolic. The Adversary is universally reviled and is only worshiped by the deranged and the corrupt.
There is less of a clear moral divide between the gods of the Old Ways than there is between the Progenitor and the Adversary. Whereas the latter are a clear-cut split between good and evil, there are gods such as the Night Man and Gloamwing within the pantheon of the Old Ways that are, by all metrics, actively malicious yet still venerated and appeased through acknowledgment and sacrifice. These morally ambivalent gods are considered necessary evils by the Pale Men, who still enact ritual sacrifices to these beings.
Finally, the aims of the two faiths are largely disparate. Whereas the church seeks to perpetuate the Eternal Hymn and contain the evils of the Black Forest, the Old Ways are more aligned towards the veneration of natural forces and the search for a balance among all things, a universal equilibrium that the proponents of the faith believe will bring about a world that is at peace with itself, and therefore evil cannot exist.
Much of the proceedings and rituals of the Old Ways are sacrificial in nature. The most common of these sacrifices are the alabaster tributes left across the breadth of the Mourning Plateau by the different tribes of Pale Men.
These ritualistic offerings often consist of spoils of the hunt, fruits and vegetables and sometimes ritually sacrificed animals or even humans. Human sacrifice, however, is mostly frowned upon and is really only practiced by the most ruthless and reclusive tribes of the plateau.
Another important aspect of the Old Ways are personal trinkets and keepsakes, which denote to whom the individual is devoted to. These small curios are often carved from wood, bone or stone to represent the god that the individual most feels attuned to. This connection is often discovered via projection into the Tapestrum Arcanum, though the tribes of the plateau refer to the process as weaning.
Once in the tapestrum, an individual will be accosted by the gods who will present them with several different conundrums. Based on their answers to these scenarios, one of the gods will claim the individual as their own and they will be their devotees for the rest of their lives.
There are a lot of spirits and apparitions that are considered godly in the teachings of the Old Ways, but these are the six entities that could be considered the actual deities of the pantheon.
The god-like being thought to preside over the night as the monarch of sleep. Usually depicted as malicious, other times as simply a facet of reality.
The primary god of the Old Ways, a benevolent spiritual guide of humanity who the Pale Men still venerate.
The inverse aspect of the White Raven, Gloamwing is a massive, black vulture that heralds doom and misfortune. Not so much worshiped as it is feared.
A lesser known god, usually depicted as a colossal lizard, that was believed to be the fundament upon which Nascindor eventually formed.
The Pale Men now believe he was shattered under the weight of the world and splintered into the Cragbacks that inhabit the outskirts of the Varlem Desert and other arid locales.
Just as the night is the domain of the Night Man, the Golden Child presides over the light of day.
Whimsical and juvenile, the Golden Child delights in trickery and tomfoolery, especially if it is targeted towards the Night Man and its machinations.
A mortal elevated to godhood by the White Raven, the Stormcrow is a fierce protector of the Pale Men who is given dominion over the sky and all its rage.
These tribes worshiped deities and entities far removed from the dichotomy of the Progenitor and the Adversary, and these religious practices have come to be known to the wider world as the Old Ways.
Theology
Where these views diverge, however, is in the role of gods in the lives of humans. The Old Ways teach that gods are the original inhabitants of Nascindor, and that humans came to be under their watch and tutelage. Therefore, the species owes a great debt to these gods, which is paid in worship and sacrifices.
The church does not even profess to the existence of the gods of the Old Ways, and the Progenitor is considered a monotheistic, benevolent parental figure that chose humanity to cherish and to protect, with the only debt owed being symbolic. The Adversary is universally reviled and is only worshiped by the deranged and the corrupt.
There is less of a clear moral divide between the gods of the Old Ways than there is between the Progenitor and the Adversary. Whereas the latter are a clear-cut split between good and evil, there are gods such as the Night Man and Gloamwing within the pantheon of the Old Ways that are, by all metrics, actively malicious yet still venerated and appeased through acknowledgment and sacrifice. These morally ambivalent gods are considered necessary evils by the Pale Men, who still enact ritual sacrifices to these beings.
Finally, the aims of the two faiths are largely disparate. Whereas the church seeks to perpetuate the Eternal Hymn and contain the evils of the Black Forest, the Old Ways are more aligned towards the veneration of natural forces and the search for a balance among all things, a universal equilibrium that the proponents of the faith believe will bring about a world that is at peace with itself, and therefore evil cannot exist.
Rituals & Practices
These ritualistic offerings often consist of spoils of the hunt, fruits and vegetables and sometimes ritually sacrificed animals or even humans. Human sacrifice, however, is mostly frowned upon and is really only practiced by the most ruthless and reclusive tribes of the plateau.
Another important aspect of the Old Ways are personal trinkets and keepsakes, which denote to whom the individual is devoted to. These small curios are often carved from wood, bone or stone to represent the god that the individual most feels attuned to. This connection is often discovered via projection into the Tapestrum Arcanum, though the tribes of the plateau refer to the process as weaning.
Once in the tapestrum, an individual will be accosted by the gods who will present them with several different conundrums. Based on their answers to these scenarios, one of the gods will claim the individual as their own and they will be their devotees for the rest of their lives.
Pantheon
by Midjourney
The Night Man
The god-like being thought to preside over the night as the monarch of sleep. Usually depicted as malicious, other times as simply a facet of reality.
by Midjourney
White Raven
The primary god of the Old Ways, a benevolent spiritual guide of humanity who the Pale Men still venerate.
by Midjourney
Gloamwing
The inverse aspect of the White Raven, Gloamwing is a massive, black vulture that heralds doom and misfortune. Not so much worshiped as it is feared.
by Midjourney
Spine of the World
A lesser known god, usually depicted as a colossal lizard, that was believed to be the fundament upon which Nascindor eventually formed.
The Pale Men now believe he was shattered under the weight of the world and splintered into the Cragbacks that inhabit the outskirts of the Varlem Desert and other arid locales.
by Midjourney
Golden Child
Just as the night is the domain of the Night Man, the Golden Child presides over the light of day.
Whimsical and juvenile, the Golden Child delights in trickery and tomfoolery, especially if it is targeted towards the Night Man and its machinations.
by Midjourney
Stormcrow
A mortal elevated to godhood by the White Raven, the Stormcrow is a fierce protector of the Pale Men who is given dominion over the sky and all its rage.
We were all under the wings of the White Raven once.–A Pale Shaman to a young traveler that sought his aid
Come home, child.
Notable Members
by Midjourney
by Midjourney
What a nice way to show off the old faith of the world and its current state in a world where other religions have come after it.