Reference: The Gnoman Empire - Religion II

Under the dominant philosophy of Polyaspectism, all deities are assumed to be equally plausible, so the Gnoman Empire documents and formally recognizes many thousands of deities. Obviously, some gather more recognition and investment than others, however.

Theus

Pueraria's move to enforce Polyaspectism as the official religion of the Gnoman Empire resulted in some complications, as it married an innately chaotic philosophy to an incredibly structured legal system. To deal with the resulting disorder, her son and eventual successor, Pragmus I, established the First Church of Gnoman Polyaspectism, a structured institution tasked with officially managing and overseeing the worship and records of the Empire's gods. Pragmus himself was posthumously deified as Theus, the Gnoman god of organized religion, and eternal head of the church he founded. Due to the bureaucratic nature of Gnoman culture, Theus is also sometimes called upon in otherwise secular matters of legislation and organization, especially when ambiguous grammar may be a source of conflict. Biblical texts of any religion are considered holy to him, and to a lesser extent any formal doctrines, edicts, mission statements, and to do lists can fall under the scope of his influence. Theus is a sworn enemy of any gods devoted to anarchy, atheism, sloppiness, or improvisation. He is considered the divine frenemy of Dubia, the Gnoman's chief goddess of uncertainty. Per drawings from Pragmus's childhood, Gnomans generally depict Theus with two pairs of angelic wings, white armor, and a blazing sword of divine energy.

Dubia

In life, Dubia was Serise, Pueraria's daughter and Pragmus's older sister. As princess, Serise used her freedom and influence to become one of the most feared critics in Gnomania, but never herself showed any aptitude for an art - by her own admission, she could never create something that would satisfy her own standards. This likely contributed to her mother's decision to pass her over as successor to the throne, and resulted in a complex dynamic between herself and her younger brother. Serise had an unerring ability to point out weaknesses and faults in any idea or plan, making her feared by both sides of any debate held before her brother. She was posthumously deified as Dubia, a goddess of critical thought and skepticism, and is often called upon by Gnoman judges, scientists, or anyone else who wishes to see the potential faults in their own plans. Most commonly, she is revered by Gnoman agnostics and even moderate atheists, who believe that Dubia (if she exists) will defend their souls (if they exist) against any divine judgment (if it exists) that may be incurred by their skepticism during life. It is generally taboo to speak her name in restaurants, theaters, or during weddings. Dubia's representation is unknown, as Serise was never satisfied with anything she described as a child. As a result, in Gnoman iconography she is generally represented by an imperfect circle.

The Faceless

Secrecy is extremely important to Gnomans, especially to Left-Hands serving in the Sinister Legions of the Gnoman military. The Gnomans believe that there must be a god of secrets, but also believe that the true identity of the ultimate master of secrecy and concealment must be unknowable. Somewhat confusing outsiders, however, it is inappropriate for the followers of the Faceless to acknowledge this in conversation - as his/her devotees, they are expected to aid him/her in maintaining his/her mystery, by spreading misinformation at every turn. There is an annual Festival of the Faceless, but it is not held on a set date - instead, each year the followers of the Faceless interrupt another deity's festival, declaring for the day that that deity is, in fact, the true identity of the Faceless.

Reference: The Gnoman Empire - Religion I

The predominant religious philosophy of the Gnoman Empire is Polyaspectism. Myodes, third king of Gnomania, promoted the religion in order to stabilize his growing kingdom, and Pueraria, first Empress of the Gnoman Empire pressured the Gnoman Senate to recognize the religion as the formal state religion after the conquest of Facia.

Central to Polyaspectism is the idea of uncertainty in supernatural matters. Where most Kaleidan religions promote absolute certainty with respect to spiritual matters - to the point of questioning or even denying the mundane, Polyaspectism takes the opposite approach. To polyaspectists, only the physical, tangible world can be absolutely known - anything in the realm of the spiritual or metaphysical is beyond the capacity of mortal beings to observe and comprehend, and is therefore open to speculation. The traditional metaphor of Gnoman Polyaspectism is that of a wax seal created by a signet ring - the observable world is said to be akin to the impression made in the wax seal, while the 'true' world is comparable to the ring that made the impression. From the wax seal, one can make inferences about one specific aspect of the ring, but can say nothing else about the ring with any certainty. Accordingly, the existence of every deity is considered equally plausible, including those worshiped in other religions. Denying the existence of any deity is taboo and potentially heretical.

In Polyaspectism, everything that is, has been, or will be, exists not only in the observable, natural world but in the unobservable, supernatural world. This includes people, for whom the tangible, physical body and mind are only shallow impressions of a more complex entity. The other dimensions - are collectively known as the anima, or soul, with consciousness and unconsciousness being a bridge between the two. When a person's physical body dies and rots, the soul persists as a spirit, and if the person's legacy is powerful enough, the spirit may be elevated to godhood.

Note: In some particular cases, deities may also be formed from the collective will or consensus of many animae, creating a distinct entity some Gnoman writers refer to as a 'metagod'. 

According to some Gnomans, every anima is a god in itself, albeit one with a very limited domain. Other Gnomans might regard the anima as more comparable to a conscience (consulted when making moral judgments), guardian angel (interceding for its physical counterpart in matters of fate), or imaginary friend. In every case, though, the entity is considered to be both 'them' and separate from 'them'. This divergence between the physical and the spiritual is believed to be least pronounced among the young, and so most Gnomans encourage their children to think about their animae, describe them, and even try to talk to them while they are young, building a relationship between the mortal and spiritual aspects that will last throughout the Gnoman's life.

It's worth noting that, given the Gnoman's belief that the objective truth is unknowable to mortals, it is generally expected that children's descriptions of the anima will be outrageous and inconsistent over time, as the mortal mind struggles to understand its more complex spiritual counterpart. Gnoman philosophers and theologists have produced a large body of literature dedicated to interpreting descriptions of the anima, many of them written for parents as a means for better understanding and communicating with their children.

Note: Although Gnomans have a variety of colorful insults, the most severe are those directed at someone's anima, as making definitive declarations about someone else's anima infringes so severely on an individual's personal identity, that even praise can be considered taboo, if expressed in an inappropriate way. For example, to tell someone their "anima must be beautiful" would be offensive, as it severely oversteps personal boundaries by dictating someone else's anima to them.    

Unlike most other religions, it's well accepted that many Gnoman deities have been, or will eventually be, forgotten. Some may become irrelevant due to social changes, or they may be usurped by other deities. In fact, Polyaspectism lacks a traditional creation myth, partly because whatever entity was responsible for forming Kaleida is assumed to have long since passed from their knowledge.

Note: As an engineered race, the creation of the Gnomans and their close relatives are a matter of record, discussed academically by archaeologists, anthropoligists, and biomancers. The origins of the ancient humans that created them are unknown to the Gnomans, as are the origins of the physical world. However, such events are relative trivialities to Gnomans in the present - they enjoy stories and theories about such matters, but do not take such discussions especially seriously, dismissing any serious disagreements about the matter with the common phrase, "It's ancient history."

Some Polyaspectists fear that those deities, spirits, and even animae which are forgotten are consigned entirely to oblivion, and therefore place great importance on maintaining not only careful records of deities, but of family members and ancestors, to ensure that their spirits do not fade away entirely. They may even offer prayers and request unnecessary guidance from ancestral spirits and deities, simply to help them feel appreciated.

Other Polyaspectists, however, believe that the spirits of those who've passed remain relevant even when they have been forgotten, or are unknown. For example, a Gnoman traveling in a foreign city certainly does not expect to know the name of the local deity who governs pedestrian safety at a particularly busy intersection, but may have faith that such an entity does exist, and may reasonably trust his anima to make an entreaty to the unknown power on his behalf.

It is also considered acceptable to simply guess the name and nature of an unknown deity or spirit, and expect that - regardless of accuracy - the deity will appreciate the thought.

Reference: The Gnoman Empire - History I

On the eastern edge of the shallow sea, the Faci Mountains became known simply as Facia. In this large, mountainous, thickly forested island, the peace established in the wake of the Great Orc Rebellion did not last long.

The smallest of the Fugencian races had been crafted to handle the administration of Fugencia, and they had been among those who'd been most discontent with their roles in Fugencian society before the Star Shift. To add insult to injury, although these small people had comprised an extraordinarily large portion of those living in the cities, they had been among those given the lowest priority when the cities were finally evacuated.

Still, many of these people did escape to the relative safety of the mountains; unfortunately, most of these refugees had never left their city of birth before, let alone spent time in the wilderness. Given this lack of preparation, and their small size and relative physical weakness, it is remarkable that they survived the ensuing chaos at all.

According to Lady Heppa, their attention to detail, their capacity to learn and focus on complex tasks, and their ability to work for long hours with minimal sleep was "beyond human." Being urban dwellers, they were naturally more resistant to the diseases that ravaged the tightly packed refugees, and being exceptionally small, they could survive on less food than their starving kinsmen. Eventually they found comfort and safety in the high trees that covered the mountains, and life in the Facian forests hardened them, honing their innate mental strengths into what Heppa described as "remarkable cunning" and "breathtaking ruthlessness."

When the elves swept in with their orc armies, the former administrators readily turned on their prior masters, happily betraying them to the elves, who accepted their aid and granted them freedom and status second only to their own. They served happily in this capacity until the Great Orc Rebellion came, at which point, most of them stepped out of the line of fire and waited to see which side would come out on top.

Although orcs and elves alike knew that the small Fugencians' neutrality was a matter of self-interest, and denigrated them for their lack of loyalty, they assumed that the small Fugencians' intentions were to dedicate themselves to the survivors once the war was over. Much to the orcs' surprise, however, when the outcome was finally settled, the descendants of the seemingly meek administrative caste turned and struck at the victors. Their small size, quick bodies, and home-field advantage made them dangerous combatants in the thickly forested Faci Mountains, and after generations of war, the Facians ultimately drove the surviving humans, orcs, and elves from the island and declared themselves to be the people of Facia.

The Facians prospered, and after settling into a period of relative peace, they focused on developing maritime skills to match their proficiency in the forests and mountains. They became great shipwrights, fishermen, and traders, as well as explorers. They 'rediscovered' much of their lost country, colonizing scattered islands inhabited by orcs and humans who were too disorganized to fend off the coordinated tactics used by Facian invaders. The Facians eventually claimed dominion over the entire shallow sea to the west of Facia and named it, unsurprisingly, the Facian Sea.

About the Facian Sea: The waters are so shallow and often so peaceful, that it is sometimes possible to study the seafloor below. In fact, Facian mariners began mapping the sea floor as they rolled along the oceans above it, and as others have contributed since, we now have relatively detailed maps of what Fugencia must have looked like before its flooding. Of note, long, wide, deep trenches running along the sea floor have been determined to be ancient rivers. The longest of these, in fact, still connects to the mouth of the Gygian river, carrying cold river water along the sea floor down to the warm, tropical waters of the Facian Sea. Littering the seafloor, and particularly concentrated around these submerged rivers, are numerous ruins which now host massive coral reefs. Most of these ruins are nearly unrecognizable to the untrained eye, but one of these locations must be carefully avoided in rough weathers, as the structures remain tall enough to tear through the bottoms of ships.   

Eventually the spreading Facians reached the large landmass that had once been the expansive, high elevation plains that lay east of Fugencia's western mountains, the Gnoma Range. Shielded by the mountains, these plains had once been relatively dry, even desert-like in places, but thanks to the shifting climate, the rivers running down from the Gnoma Range had swelled and increased in number, turning the dry plains into verdant farmland. The Facians, of course, claimed it as "Gnomania" and took it for their own, gradually displacing or eliminating the disorganized clans of freed orcs and indigenous humans over the centuries that followed.


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Interested in reading more about Kaleida? The Rise of Azraea, Book I,  is a high fantasy story with elements of comic fantasy and satire targeting present day, real world issues such as economic inequity, and sexual and racial discrimination. It is currently available on Amazon.