Dygrathos

 W.I.P. 

Short overview
Dygrathos is a religion with its main place of worship being in Drakonia, which is also the holy land of the religion. The religion itself has many deities and recognizes the existence of other gods of different religions. The religion's primary deities are the winged serpent dragon Cytlabor and the burning serpent dragon Tlayrim, together both form the world serpent, the Ouroboros.

Main beliefs
Dygrathy, followers of the religion, believe in the Nine Planes of Existence. They believe that there is a balance of order and chaos between these planes. Dygrathy believe that both people and gods reside within the nine planes. Even though Dygrathy mostly pray to their own gods, they don't disregard other ones. Gods from other religions sometimes even appear in some of their myths. It is believed that the worlds were created by three specific deities.

At first there was nothing in existence, just an eternal void. In that void, however, there stirred beings that defied this emptiness. The Nameless Forger or just the Nameless, an entity little is known about, was one of the few lifeforms to exist in a place where there was nothing that existed.

The Nameless created a forge for itself in the nothingness, and from that forge it created the world and the surrounding Elemental Sea. Along with it, the Nameless forged the first deities and powerful entities. After they created these things, the primordial beings left the world, with no one knowing where they went. In the Elemental Sea, two particular beings were able to stand above all else: the Ouroboros, its two parts named Cytlabor and Tlayrim. In the Eternal War of the Elemental Sea, they subjugated most entities. That who did not submit were annihilated to the point at which they cannot even be remembered. In the end, all of the entities that remained were either their subjects, their allies, or were forced into hiding.

The differences between the two parts of the Ouroboros grew bigger and bigger, this was because Cytlabor was the order of the world and Tlayrim  was the everchanging chaos. So, they made a decision to spare the Elemental Sea from a conflict between them. They permanently split into two beings and created three realms for each of them. Cytlabor created the realms of Cestelec, Arcüdim and Bitterkalt for himself, while Tlayrim created the realms of Inferno, Hel/Niederreich (The Nether) and the Jagdlande. As they did not want to force their subjects to choose between them, they also created three realms for all of those who would not swear to only one of them. All souls of those who die move to a different plane of existence. There are different requirements for a soul to leave each plane, and to finally live in eternal peace in either Cestelec or Inferno.

To convert to the faith of Dygrathos, a person must make a pilgrimage to the Drakonian Mountains and sacrifice a helmet or an object of importance to them in a body of lava or the Holy Krukibel (or Holy Crucible). After this has been witnessed by someone of Drakonian clergy or the High Wyrm King himself, the person will officially be declared Dygrathy. For those who dare to take their worship even further and are not born Drakonian, there is the option of a ritual kept secret by the High Wyrm King and clergy. The ritual makes the person fully Drakonian by giving them dragonblood.

High Wyrm King
The High Wyrm King of the High Kingdom of Drakonia is one of two heads of faith and they appoint the High-Vraruc. The High Wyrm King and High-Vraruc have the power to declare sacred wars, which every Dygrathos follower is obligated to either partake in or donate something to. They also have the option to appoint people to lower ranks in the hierarchy. The High Wyrm King needs to come to an agreement with the High-Vraruc in most matters that decide what the religion as whole does.

High-Vraruc
The High-Vraruc shares full control over the religion with the High Wyrm King. A High-Vraruc is almost always chosen from especially devout full Vraruc or sometimes even lower ranking members who have proven their dedication to the belief in an extraordinary way. The High-Vraruc can be stripped of their rank if at least 70% of the clergy members and the High Wyrm King agree that they need to be removed.

Vraruc
Vraruc are the second highest rank of Dygrathy clergy. They are chosen from the ranks of the Däacon and are usually assigned to a town or village to represent the faith there. As such, they are usually the ones responsible for ceremonies and similar things events in towns.

Däacon
Usually, Däacon are helpers of the Vraruc who have been promoted to a higher rank after showing a good amount of devotion and loyalty.

Äpräntiium
The lowest rank of the religion, Äpräntiium are usually members of the religion who have decided to join the clergy. They are still expected to be treated with a special respect.

Paladün/Paladin
Special devotees of either Mythrilis or Cataclysm, Paladün are between Vraruc and Däacon. They are expected to provide aid in battle, defend from bandits and always be filled with the will to fight like the war gods they are devoted too.

The Nameless Forger
The primordial Creator God of the Forge, the Nameless Forger created the Elemental Sea that the worlds formed out of. The Nameless Forger also created the first dragon gods, dragons and non-dragon gods out of the Crucible of Creation. The Nameless Forger is not prayed to as they retreated after the creation and thus it is believed they desire to be left alone; this is further confirmed as no prayer has ever been answered by them. Still, the Crucible remains an important religious symbol for serving drinks at feast, for brewing alcohol, for forging tools and weapons and to smelt enemies’ helmets. This makes the Crucible (or cauldron) their symbol if they are represented anywhere. Their domains are forgery and creation.

Ouroboros (Cytlabor and Tlayrim)
Once there were two beings, then they were one and then they were two again. Cytlabor represents order and time itself, while Tlayrim represents chaos and the everchanging space. They both formed the Nine Planes of Existence out of the ''Elemental Sea. S''ince then, they have acted as the two main deities. Neither of them are better nor worse than the other and as such both are commonly prayed to. Cytlabor lives in the eternal holy peaks of Cestelec while Tlayrim lives in the meadows and fiery caves of Inferno. They both share a holy symbol: two snakes, one with wings and the other one burning. The two snakes eternally devour the tail of the other, forming a circle. Cytlabor's domain is order and time. Tlayrim's domain is chaos and space.

Mythrilis
The Mythrilis, always wearing a helmet, is the dragon God of Justice. Mythrilis fights on the plane Icagren, the eternal battlefield, against the Sorceress of Conquest, Calamity. Once, he wore a helmet made out of the purest Mythril that existed, but after he was defeated in battle by Calamity, she took his helmet and smelted it to make herself a staff. Ashamed of his defeat, Mythrilis now refuses to wear anything superior than an Iron helmet. As such, his holy symbol is an Iron helmet. Mythrilis's domain is honor, dueling, chivalry and generally noble aspects.

Calamity
The Sorceress of Conquest is always looking for opportunities to expand her empire in her eternal war against Mythrilis in Icagren. Calamity represents the horrors of war, but also strategy, conquest, victory and similar things. The Drakonian tradition of claiming and smelting an enemy's helmet to humiliate them stems from Calamity's act of smelting the helmet of Mythrilis. Her holy symbol is either a depiction of her Mithril staff or her pointy hat. Dygrathy generally fear her, but also respect her. When at war, she becomes the main focus of any worship. Calamity herself is the Drakonian daughter of the previous ruler of the Celestiel dynasty. She ascended to godhood after steeping through a portal to Icagren and singlehandedly beating foe after foe. In the end, she defeated the previous God of War and with that took his power. She now challenges Mythrilis for dominion over Icagren. Calamity's domain is strategy, conquest, victory and war in general.

Nihildriel
"All things must end." This is the lesson Nihildriel tried to teach the Drakonians of the first three tribes. As punishment for this, the gods placed her in Nihilheim. Nihilheim was once a beautiful land, but it was changed into a barren wasteland to trap Nihildriel's soul there forever. As a god, she is the inevitable change that comes to all, which in itself is already a big part of Dygrathos. Whenever a world-changing event occurs, she is prayed to. Her holy symbol is the Soulgem, more commonly known as an End Crystal. Nihildriel's domain is change.

Blyak
Blyak is the overweight Dwarven God of Booze, Festivals, Potions, Hospitality and Hedonism. Every big gathering is a prayer to him. As such, his “temples” are taverns and inns. Blyak's always carries a giant barrel and bottle to drink as he travels between the Dwarven halls of the Plane of Existence he lives on. His holy symbol is a bottle of fine alcohol. Blyak's domain is festivities, brewing and hedonism.

Aarrtarrt
Aarrtarrt is the human Goddess of the Hunt, Fertility, Farming and the Forest. As such, she is mostly prayed to by farmers and hunters. She wears a coat of fur and a wolf head like hat. She was the one to teach the Drakonians how to live in the wild and how to craft bows and arrows. Her holy symbol is a wolf head or an arrow. She is also one of the very few gods that occasionally come to Rathnir, but she mostly lives on the Plane of Jagdlande. Aarrtarrt's domain is fertility, farming, wilderness, survival and hunting.

Nemesis
Nemesis is malice incarnate. In the depths of the Lower-Hel, there is a monster so foul that not even the bravest (or most foolish) souls dare to speak of. This foul creature is the reason the caves of Hel are corrupted and why the souls there are tormented. Nemesis is a hydra of unthinkable proportions that was once slayed by a great hero. However, its endless malice made it defy death and it reformed in Hel where it now rules over an empire of fear below the layers accessible by portals from Rathnir. Nemesis represents malice, revenge, corruption, defiance, destruction and pure power. As such, it is rarely worshipped in any capacity. Nemesis sends out avatars of itself. The Withers and the destruction they cause only exist for its amusement. Due to destruction being within its domain, it respects the hero who vanquished it, and it rewards people who defeat its avatars. The symbol of Nemesis is a Helstar (Netherstar). Nemesis's domain is malice, revenge, corruption, defiance, and destruction.

Chärön/Charon
Chärön, the Ferrymen of the Dead, brings souls to different planes after they fulfill the requirements of ascending to them. His symbol is a boat or oar. There have been movements to change his name after the name was tarnished by the ferrymen. Chärön's domain is ascension.

Yve-lt
Yve-It is the God of the Dead. He takes the form of a Draco-Lich (a skeletal dragon). Any person that dies is brought before him by Chärön and is judged. Yve-It decides if they can ascend to another plane or get reincarnated in their current plane. Yve-lt's holy symbol is a green flame. Yve-lt's domain is death, decay and reincarnation.

Wyvaia
Wyvaia is the God of Nature and Emotion. In general, they are represented by their split personality where one side is constantly happy and the other is depressed and sad. This is also shown by the dual nature of the plane they dwell on, Bitterkalt. Despite the plane being a cold wasteland itself, the people, the settlements and small areas of heat are some of the most pleasant places in all existence. Wyvaia's holy symbol is a campfire surrounded by snow. Wyvaia's domain is emotion and nature itself.

Yrgoth
Yrgoth is the God of Labor and Construction. It is said that he himself built the grand palace of Cytlabor and Tlayrim. He travelles from plane to plane watching over construction in secret and secretly helps workers from time to time. He is sometimes paired with Blyak to show the relation of work and the enjoyment afterwards. His holy symbol is a hammer inside a cog. His domain is work and building.

Astralil
The Goddess of Stars, Astralil is the goddess which the Calamity and the members of the Celestiel dynasty descended from. Her symbol is two five-pointed stars inside of each other.

The Forsaken Flames/ Balrogs
''"The first fire wasn't one of life, warmth and passion. It was the flame of destruction itself." ~Unknown Author''

In the darkness of the void there lived other creatures. They did not just simply disappear when the Elemental Sea and the Nine Planes of Existence came to be. Instead, they lurked in the darkest parts of the worlds. These foul creatures go by the name of Balrog. To the misfortune of the Drakonians, one of these primodial abberants lived in the depths of Rathnir. Over many years, a Balrog attacked the Drakonians who lived underground, slaying Gryndra and later slaying Endrur. But in the same moment Endrur died, she vanquished the Balrog and it took a new and now rather harmless form. Balrogs represent the raw destruction of the universe and many Drakonians still fear that there might be more lurking in the depths of the stony depths of Rathnir.

Null
''"No one knows from whence it came, only that it has existed for aeons, unchanging and unrelenting. Perpetually roaming the cosmos, it has finally arrived." ~Eulogy of Null''

In the void, the peak of creation was formed. Null is the perfect lifeform by all means and as such is never changing. This has led to Nihildriel, back when she was free, fighting against it in the ''Elemental Sea. Nihildriel'' locked it away somewhere after she barely defeated it with a massive army of her own.

The Lost Conqueror
"Rise! Oh, Dark Lord of Despair! Crush the stars! Lay waste to care! May your symphony of tragedy cause the end of everything!” ~Prayer to the Lost Conqueror.

The Lost Conqueror is a Human-turned-god. He is the previous God of War who got usurped by Calamity. One fateful day, he will come return to claim his rightful position with a great and terrible army. He shall conquer all in his way, for he shall fight as another faction in the war between Mythrilis and Calamity.

Soleannen gods in the view of Dygrathos
Dygrathy see the Soleannen gods as secondary to their deities. They believe they exist, but for them they are specificaly the gods of the Niedene. Still, there are some occasions where they are worshipped to honor them. While this is only done on the side of Dygrathos and not shared by the Soleannen religion, Dygrathy see the Soleannen deities as allies.

The Dygrathy believe that Solaris sprang into existence completely on his own accord after the creation of the Elemental Sea. This is unlike the other gods at the time, who all where created by the Nameless Forger and helped the Ouroboros a great deal with shaping the Nine Planes of Existence. The Soleannen Dimensions are either the same as the Dygrathy planes, or they make up a big part of the planes themselves. If Dygrathy represent Solaris anywhere a golden sun is used. His domain is fire, light, passion and the sun. In the most common version of the tale of the hero who defeated Nemesis, he receives his weapon, the Shattering-Star, from Solaris himself.

Soleannens and Niedene are outside the Dygrathy reincarnation and ascension cycle.

All other gods remain the same for Dygrathos.

Void
The vast nothingness before all, it still exists in small pockets of the elemental sea. The Void is neither dark nor bright, everything is just dimly lit and creatures not know exist there. Somehow the Void creates lifeforms on its own accord from time to time.

Elemental sea
An endless space of colours, stars and energy. Creatures with enough power can form Demi-planes (small worlds) for themselves here and creatures with enough power and control over it can form entire new planes of existence in it. Besides the Planes of Existence being located here on a massive endless mountain, the souls of the dead and ascended travel from here to other planes. Notable for Dygrathy here is the Strax, a stary river on which the ferrymen Chärön carries the ascended to other planes.

Cestelec
The top of the world mountain, it is a paradise for all who come here, it is reachable trough some portals on other planes or by ascending to it by fulfilling the ascension requirements to ascend to it. It’s said the heights of Cestelec are the most beautiful place in all off creation and words cannot even come close to describing it. Cytlabor lives here, in a temple on the very peak of the mountain, other minor and major gods live here.

Arcüdim
A place of perfect order and peace, it is filled with vast dwarfen empires and the dwarfen race is thought to originate from here. The plane does not have specific god that rules over it but one of the main deities that resides here is Hädos. To ascend here means to have been an extraordinaire worker in a previous life on another plane. The Plane is mostly filled with vast cliffsides and meadows that span huge amounts of land. Portals to here are found in cave openings on the side of mountains.

Bitterkalt
A frozen Wasteland as far as the eye can see.In Bitterkalt there are near constant Blizzards and snowfall, from time to time one may find in this plane a pine forest, a heat vent where life sprawls or even a settlement where one may meet the nicest people anywhere. People who ascend to Bitterkalt may have been extraordinary cold or heart-warming to others in a previous life. There are no portals to this plane, instead if one gets lost in a snowstorm, they may find themselves here instead.

Nihil/Nihilheim (The End)
Legends say that once Nihil was a rival to Cestelec in its beauty, but even if that’s true, it isn’t like that now and will never be again. The plane became corrupted and its original name was forgotten forever after Nihildriel was banished here after she slaughtered so many Drakonians in her attempt to “teach” them their lesson of change. As a bizarre twist on Nihildriels philosophy of eternal change the plane was twisted to never change, even if it looks like was changed in some way, it will always return to its former form of being frozen in time and barren. Strange creatures wander here, believed to be the court of Nihildriel. To ascend to Nihilheim one must have committed an act that caused a massive change to the world. Portals too here are sparse and deactivated but there are chances to reactivate and use them.

Rathnir, Eldham and the ancientworlds
Rathnir and Eldham hold many people of different believes, cultures and origins, too many to explain them here. But before these times Rathnir was roamed by dragons, dragon-gods and non-dragon gods that came here after the creation of the planes. These dragons, dragon gods and non-dragon gods left Rathnir to live in other planes of existence after they fought the "Blood War" against each other.Still some gods remain in Rathnir be it of their own choosing, banishment or a curse. Parallel to Rathnir there are places called the ancient worlds that are similar to Rathnir but unreachable from Rathnir itself. Portals to Rathnir and Eldham from other worlds are rare and nothing is known about them. Any person ascending from another plane can freely ascend to Rathnir or Eldham no matter which plane they lived on.

Icagren
Icagren is an endless battlefield where most deities of war reside. Most notably are the two main Dygrathos deities of war: Mythrilis and Calamity. The terrains of the plane are mostly muddy grasslands, forest and sometimes hill lands. The plane is in eternal war between the two main sides and some minor ones. But once a month a truce is declared on all fronts for two days and all people of Icagren hold a giant feast. In respect of each other all inhabitants of the plane take of their helmets. Everyone who dies on Icagren gets revived after a week, unless they ascended to another plane. Portals to Icagren are said to appear in the midst of battle to recruit someone into the eternal war. Ascension to the plane is an offer made by one of the sides, if you impress them in a previous life, they might want you to join their side of the conflict.

Jagdlande
The Jagdlande are known to be an unending, untamed and extremely fertile wilderness. The inhabitants of the plane rarely live inside of organised communities, except the elves that originate from here. All that lives here is equally a hunter and prey for all, this should always be remembered. To ascend here nothing is required as such a person dying in another plane could always choose to reincarnate here. Portals to here don’t exist, but a person may enter it by accident when they get lost in a forest.

The three circles of Hel/The Niederreich (The Nether)
Hel (or the Nether in common tongue) are a massive cave network spanning trough the lower world mountain, corrupted by cursed souls and the influence of Nemesis radiant evil aura. The First Circle are the upper caverns. This is the part of Hel reachable trough an obsidian portal. This part is the most corrupted but also untouched by Nemesis empire. The uppkarv holds some different biomes together with massive lava seas and Helum (Netherite). While Netherite is powerful it is looked upon with uncertainty by Dygrathy. As they fear being corrupted by Nemesis influence that may linger within it. The main reason it isn’t part of Nemesis empire is that it is not worth it for him as more valuable resources and souls lie in the lower parts of Hel and are already are difficult to manage for him. The Hedartel is not reachable trough any portals, to go to it one must ascend there or be particularly unlucky while treading trough the uppkarv. Hedartel is a place of no hope and demons. Little is recorded about it as that may be for the better. Tartirim-Nesis is the lowest part of Hel and the personal hoard of Nemesis, if someone not trusted by Nemesis enters, they will be immediately killed or enslaved by Nemesis. All of those who to server him are his most loyal subjects who follow his every command. In here he also chains up his favorite souls and hoards a treasurer of uncountable value.

Inferno
Despite its name the Inferno is a not a horrible hellscape. The name stems from the fire palace of Tlayrim deep within the plane itself. In every aspect it mirrors Cestelec in its beauty. Inferno represents the bottom of the world mountain as such it seems to be a giant valley, filled with pine forest, grand rivers, impossible to scale walls and similar things. Seemingly in the centre of the plane is the world mountain and carved into its side is Tlayrim´s Palace, the Inferno Hall.