Besides the Ten Gods there are many other gods the Atlanteans wor- ship or propitiate in some manner, from deities who dwell with the Ten on Mt. Oeranos all the way down to the river- gods who rules the waters of the Great Island. Some of them include:
Aeraeia, goddess of the winds
Melicros, god of mischief, trickery, and thieves
Nomismon, god of trade and merchants Oeneiros, god of wine and revelry Talor, who guides the spirits of the dead to Dardaros
Cosmology
According to what the gods have told the Atlanteans, the world was once nothing but a vast nothingness filled with Chaos-stuff and a gigantic blue egg. The eggshell cracked, and from it emerged Tikarion and the other gods. Looking about themselves they were disgusted with the nothing- ness, so they took hold of the Chaos- stuff and formed it into land, and sea, and air. Eordica populated the new world with plants and animals, and she, Phestos, and Tikarion himself made the first men and women out of clay, stones, and sea-water. Phestos gave them fire, that they might make sacrifice to the gods, and crafts, that they might build their civilization.
But the gods’ work was not perfect. At times they differed with one another, or even quarrelled... and when that happened, imperfections entered into the world, becoming monsters, foul places, and other evils. One of the worst of these disputes, a fight between Ares and Helios, opened rifts in reality that allowed demons and evil creatures from other realities into the world to plague mankind. To this very day men have to deal with the consequences of the gods’ actions, sometimes with the gods’ help, sometimes not.
MOUNT OERANOS
The center of the world and of the Universe is Mt. Oeranos, the vast Atlan- tean peak whereon the gods have their palaces. Each of the Ten Great Gods, and many of the minor ones, live there in utter luxury, served by sylphs, spirits, godlings, and other beings. Some of the gods have other homes (such as Posei- don’s palace under the waves, and the shadowy hall of Ares in Dardaros), but
it is to their Oeranian palaces that they eventually return. Every day the gods come forth from their homes and go to the Haegalos, their vast meeting-hall, to discuss what needs to be done that day and respond to the prayers and petitions of mortals.
DARDAROS
When Atlanteans die their souls go to Dardaros, the underworld realm ruled by Ares in his aspect as god of death. The god Talor meets the soul as it leaves the dead body and escorts it to the Caverns of Lorr, where the soul must pass through several trials to win through to the underworld or be con- demned to roam the world as a restless ghost. If possible, the deceased’s family includes with his funeral pyre items that may help with these tests, since by burning them at that time they allow the soul to use them. For example, one test involves winning past the gigantic fire-breathing spider Phelgarac, and the best way to do that is to bring it a drink of water from the cool river Nevos nearby. However, a soul’s hands can’t carry enough water to the spider, so the deceased’s family includes a wine goblet on his pyre. Another requires the soul to defeat Tenebos, the Hound of Shadows, in combat, so the pyre includes a dagger or sword.
After making his way through the Caves of Lorr, the soul is then escorted into Dardaros proper and comes before the throne of Ares to be judged. If a good man in life, he gets to spend eter- nity in the paradisical Sunlit Fields, and may be called upon to help the gods from time to time. If a sinner, he’s consigned to the flames and tortures of the Fiery Pit, from where the screams of the damned sometimes reach as far as the Fields. Particularly egregious sinners may find that the gods have devised special tortures for them. For example, Atlantean legend tells of the merchant Korreon, a miser so greedy and grasping that he cheated everyone he met if he could obtain so much as an additional aes. To punish him the gods have placed him in a room filled with unimaginable riches... and then made him unable to move. All he can do is stand there, weeping tears of frustra- tion and anguish, surrounded by more wealth than he can dream of but unable to possess it.
GODS AND MEN
As the Ten Brothers’ parentage indicates, it’s not unknown for the gods to visit mortals, either openly or (more
often) in disguise. Some gods enjoy this more than others, but all of them visit the world from time to time. Some come in search of adventure, some to test mankind, and some to find love. Several gods, such as Ares, Helios, Poseidon, and Tikarion, seem to fall in love with beautiful human women often, then use their powers to seduce them. While this is rather cavalier, and sometimes decried by offended mortals, it’s also responsible for the siring of most of Atlantis’s great heroes and thus is one of the foundations of her power.
At times mortals get to visit the lands of the divine, though this is rarer. A truly favored hero may be asked to a feast on Mt. Oeranos, while an unfor- tunate one might be sent on a quest to enter Dardaros to obtain something. Any journey to the realms of the gods, even by invitation, tends to be perilous for mortal men.
The gods are just “human” enough that sometimes men can get away with tricking or offending them. They’re vain, so flattery may soothe offense given by accident or win a boon. They’re proud, and so sometimes cannot resist a chal- lenge, even from a mortal. And at times they’re even greedy, making it possible to buy their favor with gifts.
Religion
Compared to many realms of the Atlantean Age, the Dominion has a rela- tively simple, straightforward religion, thanks largely to the fact that the gods so often speak to or interact with the Atlanteans directly.
TEMPLES
At locations revealed to them by the gods, the Atlanteans build temples. Most temples are dedicated to a single god, but some serve more than one, and a rare few (like the Temple of the Ten Flames in Argolis) propitiate them all. Atlantean temples are typically large buildings made of marble or whatever other expensive, beautiful materials are available. Walls are usually decorated with mosaics, frescoes, and/or sculpture depicting the god (often in scenes from the best-loved stories told about him, such as how Tikarion slew the Kordar- ian Giant).
In most temples the central struc- ture is a large, round domed room that contains the temple’s chief altar in the center. This is where the priests perform sacrifices and ceremonies. Projecting off from this central room are structures containing quarters for the priests, the
temple’s library, storerooms, and more. However, some gods occasionally dic- tate other shapes for their temples — for example, Ares sometimes likes his tem- ples to be long, rectangular structures.
Some temples encompass more than one building. In this case the main building of the temple complex is for worship and sacrifices, while the other buildings contain living quarters, schools, and other facilities that serve the temple. These complexes sometimes become small towns unto themselves, with nearby communities providing food and services in exchange for the temple’s assistance with various matters.
PRIESTS
Serving the gods at their temples are priests (or, in the case of the god- desses, priestesses). Priests are called to the priesthood by the gods themselves, and are sometimes granted special powers by the gods (see Chapter Seven).
A priest’s main function is to per- form the sacrifices and worship ceremo- nies demanded by the god (see below). At other times he studies, meditates, practices his ceremonies, or does tasks and chores necessary to keep the temple functioning smoothly. Compared to, say, a farmer, a priest has a pretty easy
life; compared to a nobleman he works rather hard.
The Atlantean priesthood doesn’t really have formal ranks. Most priests are just typical priests. A temple will have a “high priest” who’s in charge of the place and appoints other priests to serve in special offices (such as keeper of the sacrificial animals, master of instruction, chief scribe, envoy to other temples, and the like). A standard priest has a 3-point Religious Rank Fringe Benefit, a high priest has an 8-point Religious Rank, and the others scale between those two extremes.
Atlantean priests wear elaborate robes whose basic pattern remains the same regardless of god served, but whose colors vary from deity to deity. The basic robe is a single-piece garment reaching to the ankles with long sleeves; it’s belted at the waist with a cloth belt. Over the robe the priest wears a tabard- like garment consisting of a panel of cloth running down each side of his chest and then down his legs; the color and decorations of the “tabard” depend on the god served. In contrast to the Atlantean layman, who usually keeps his head uncovered, a priest at all times wears a headcovering — a short, hood- like hat whose point bends gently back- ward. As his badge of office, a priest car- ries an adamantine rod about two feet long and tipped with a crystal or symbol appropriate to his chosen god (such as a falcon for Astranar, the sky-god).
CEREMONIES
The Atlantean religion features a dizzying array of ceremonies and ritu- als, most performed on a specific day of the year for a specific purpose (such as to thank the gods for a good harvest, bless a newborn baby, or request the gods’ favor for a military expedition). Learning the different types of ceremo- nies, and practicing until he can per- form them perfectly, is the priests’ chief preoccupation.
The central feature of most ceremo- nies is the sacrifice. To please the gods, Atlanteans sacrifice to them. The typical sacrifice is a sheep or goat whose throat is cut and body then burned on the altar
after its body is drained of blood, but the type of sacrifice can depend on the nature of the ceremony. For example, in the ceremony performed to thank the gods for the harvest, the first fruits harvested are sacrificed. To invoke the gods’ aid with a trading expedition, a merchant sacrifices something valuable that relates to his journey.
Sacrifices usually involve burn- ing the animal or object in question; this mystically transform the sacrifice into an “essence” the gods can absorb and use. The gods are extremely touchy about their sacrifices. If they don’t get one when they’re supposed to, bad things happen. If someone seeking their aid skimps on the required sacrifice, the best that person can hope for is that the gods ignore him. And if a priest makes a mistake while performing a sacrifice (i.e., he fails his PS: Perform Sacrifice
roll), the gods may take revenge, regard- less of how innocent the mistake was. See the accompanying table for deter- mining the results of a sacrifice.
SACRED WRITINGS
The Atlantean faith has no one sacred book or scroll that all priests must study. However, it has a large body of theology and lore that mostly revolves around stories about the gods and the moral messages that mortals can derive from them. Collections of these stories are kept in temple librar- ies, and priests spend much of their time studying and copying them. It’s not uncommon for a priest to make a pil- grimage to a distant temple to study and copy their stories, since no two temples’ collections are identical.