The Circle Of Sol

Rediscovery
The Druidic Circle of Sol is an animistic and polytheistic faith based in Eldham, claiming to stem from the original tribes that populated the wooded peninsula that is now known as the Duchy Of The Wolfswood, a vassal of the Avarian Empire. The faith was rediscovered by Aethelred the Builder after having discovered an abandoned church with a crimson tree, also known as Fyr (Fyer) Tree and making a flame from its sap to create a blue campfire with fortune telling properties, otherwise known as soul fire. This soul fire whispered to him and told him the history of the Wolfswood and its tribes. The myths, rituals, and theology had previously passed through the tribes orally as they did not possess paper nor did they think that their faith or culture would fall into obscurity. Due to this lack of foresight and written records, Aethelred has listened to the whispers of the soul fire as the ancient druids did and applied the knowledge of the spirits to writing, and only after this has been achieved will he begin to spread the word of Sol and help his goddess of fire and light prevent Hiemrok, the forever storm.

Theology
The nascent Circle believes in three theological attributes. The first being polytheism, where there many gods controlling many aspects of the world, with Sol, the goddess of fire, light, and harsh justice, being the High Queen of them. These gods are also named the Venerii, an ancient godlike race that once inhabited Veneer, until the Venerii race scorched it beyond repair after several wars occurred, all caused by greed. The survivors reshaped the Overworld, becoming godlike with their vast wisdom and strength. The second attribute is animism, the belief that spirits inhabit everyone and everything. The Circle states that the destruction of Veneer trapped many Venerii underground, forcing their souls to become one with the earth. Sol and her fellow deities used these souls to gain divine power, which allowed them to shape the earth and create life. The Fyr trees posses trapped souls of the Venerii who are awaiting release Usually Fyr trees grow straight from the Nether, as the souls strive to reach the surface, or the ancient druids used soul sand and soil to plant the crimson trees in the overworld. Finally, the last attribute is reincarnation, where the souls of living things enter a new body and are reborn, which is why the tribes of old are depicted as fighting with nothing, but weapons and had no armor because they did not fear death and knew that if they were buried or cremated properly they would live on.

Creation Myth
The world has been reshaped and reformed many times, and we are just the latest. Every time the world has ended it has been caused by a force of nature only described as the storm, or in ancient Keltoi, Hiemas. The last forever storm was countless millennia ago which nearly brought Veneer to its knees, until they harnessed fire and beat back the storm. However, this great fire gave great power and with it great greed. After the Venerii's divine wars over this fire, the world was scorched the surface with almost no survivors. All that remained were Sol and her subjects, and by collecting the trapped souls of the Venerii, they reclaimed the earth and built a new world on top of the old one. Using soul fire they created new life: animals, humans, plants, even insects.

Prophecies
There are two main prophecies as told in the old stories. The first Hiemrok, the forever storm as mentioned above, which when it arrives will cast the world into darkness, rain, hail, and snow. Crops will be destroyed and castles torn from their foundations. It is unknown how it can be defeated or why it is here, but it is known that human kind must come together with the gods in order to defeat it. This requires a unified kingdom to cover the globe which brings us to the next prophecy. The prophecy of the "Purple Flame." The old stories tell of a great warrior of a long noble house, born amidst lightning and rain, with a soul of not blue fire, but purple, who will cast down the avarice and bring fourth peace, until the final tempest comes. This individual is known as the Eldritch Chief.

Tenets
Solism, despite being based around nature, passion, and ambition does pass harsh judgement to those who are considered dead weight to mankind such as criminals or greedy imperialistic leaders who might hinder the advent of the Purple Flame, by keeping the world divided. In the words of one of the ancient bards "It is time to amputate this diseased limb, lest we fail on their witless whim." To achieve this delicate order, draconian and primitive punishments are often used, such as judicial duels, trials by fire, or (in more extreme cases) the wicker man. Moreover, moderation and humble lifestyles are emphasized in order to ensure that avarice and greed do not turn one's soul from blue to green. If conversion or punishment was impossible, the old tribes would often band together to form a holy order, or more accurately a "sacred war band." As for its relation to other religions, Solism sees other faiths usually as astray and following the wrong path but are usually sympathetic to religions that worship and or value nature, fire, order, and moderation.