Xak Ralothian Religion

In the beginning there was only one god. His name is Aeranus but he is mostly referred to by most intelligent beings as The All-Maker. Through him, two other gods were born: Soryn and Rayneth. As the universe was nothing but unconcentrated aether, the brother gods decided to entertain themselves by creating a living world. But in order to do so, they needed help. They pleaded to Aeranus to imbue them with power enough to create their own gods.

Aeranus granted them such power and Soryn created two other gods (Ashar and Shyem) while Rayneth created three (Leria, Perlye, and Veraz) just one-up his brother, in good sport.

All seven gods had a role to play: Soryn created light and fire, Shyem created wind and water, Ashar created earth. As this world was taking shape and it can breed life, Leria created living creatures of different varieties. Veraz created the passage of time, allowing these creatures to learn and grow. Perlye created the very concept of death, giving the creatures knowledge that their time will eventually end and thus, know to not waste their lives make every moment count. All that was left was Rayneth, who wanted to make sure every creature has a part to play in the world, gave every living thing a purpose, thus creating Order.

For a while, this world that the gods created was good; good but boring. Soryn created another god, Eano. When Eano came to be, he created a hierarchy within the creatures. Some creatures were to become prey, others predators. Some creatures who were meant for simple sport became more intelligent while other developed mutations depending on where they were in the world.

Rayneth, not to be shown off by his brother, also wanted to bring something into the world. Rayneth created Arimel, a beautiful god who created the concept of love itself. Once the more intelligent beings understood the concept of love, they loved each other not just because they needed to survive through procreation, but because they meant something to one another. These intelligent beings also caught on to the fact that they were alive because of higher beings, which then grew to love the Gods that created them.

The love for the gods evolved into worship, which then the 9 Gods and Goddesses realized that when they are worshiped, their powers grow, they become stronger in every way. All but Rayneth felt this power of worship. He created order within every living thing in the world and yet almost no one loved him. His confusion, through the centuries, became misplaced anger, to which he began to whisper in his children's ears.

Rayneth told Arimel "Maybe love should be more widely spread, not just a concept where one loves another". She listened to him, created some other forms of love; thus lust was formed.

Rayneth told Perlye "Maybe not everything needs to die, maybe some creatures give more than others." Perlye listened and granted some creatures immortality; thus jealousy was born.

Rayneth whispered to Leria "Maybe some creature should have more qualities than others. We are not equal so why should they be?" Leria listened and granted some creatures abilities than others would not have. The creatures noticed this and grew to hate other species other than their own; thus the concept of war was created.

And finally, Rayneth whispered to Veraz "Maybe time should not be linear and the creatures below should experience the aether as we do, all at once." Veraz did not listen to his father, as he knew that should the creatures experience the aether, they would all go mad. Veraz, being the God of Time, also saw through Rayneth's schemes to create chaos among the world and told Soryn of Rayneth's doings.

Rayneth was confronted by Soryn, accusing him of trying to destroy everything the gods have worked for. Rayneth did not deny it; he agreed with his brother's convictions. Rayneth also asked for forgiveness from his brother and his children as his misplaced anger and jealous condemned the world they so loved. As the gods forgave Rayneth, he started working on his next scheme. Rayneth was not regretful of his actions, he was only regretful he was so careless that he was found out by the rest.

As he was still not being worshiped nearly as the other gods, Rayneth had no intention to stop. In fact, Rayneth noticed as the worship for the others decreased, his own power grew. He realized he was growing more powerful from the chaos he was brought through his trickery. He began to influence certain races of intelligent beings, certain key figures in their respective societies, certain key worshipers of the other gods.

As thousands of years passed and the Gods' powers were slowly fading, Rayneth had become almost all-powerful. He'd been hiding his powers from the other gods, biding his time until he knew he could overthrow the rest easily. But Veraz had always kept an eye on his father. All those millenia ago, when Rayneth first tried to trick him, Veraz had seen into the future and how Rayneth would kill his brother and sisters. But never knew how it would happen, until he saw Rayneth go down to the world in the form of a mortal and speak with the mortals.

Veraz then met with all the gods, Rayneth excluded, and told them of what was happening. Soryn once again confronted Rayneth, only this time Rayneth was ready to retaliate. He smote down Soryn, almost killing him. He would've succeeded if not for the rest of the gods able to fight Rayneth back. The other seven then came up with a strategy: should they go down to the world and reveal themselves for who they are, they can maybe gain enough Favor and restore their powers. Only issue being that Rayneth has been doing exactly that the whole time.

As the gods reveal themselves to their worshipers, their power increased and they began to lead their worshipers into battle against Rayneth's forces, thus the start of the Invocation Wars.

For nearly a century of battles and lives lost, the gods could not have mustered enough power to be able to take down Rayneth but collectively, they can combine their power to create a new god themselves. And thus Bantor, the God of Order, was born. As Bantor had just been created into existence, he can still channel the Aether through his body and have enough power to drain Rayneth to a mortal being.