Editing Setting:Hail and Kill (section)

==Religions of Ferrumgard==
Religion is hectic business in Ferrumgard. In the ages of the Old Empire, nearly all of Ferrumgard from the western shores of Tyrnoth to the frostbitten North bent the knee to the Old Gods and the indigenous Nature Spirits. Since the introduction of the foreign White God and Raven Prince, religious strife has been unending, from rogue crusaders sacking Pagan settlements to naive souls making ill-fated bargains with conniving demons. As war rages in the heavens, the turmoil occasionally spills into the Mortal Realm, where battles between Angel and Demon tear cities asunder in the crossfire and the faithful are recruited by the celestial for quests to determine the fate of the cosmos.    

===The Old Gods===
Fabled to be those who bestowed the gift of Song upon man, veneration to the Old Gods has been the traditional religion of Ferrumgard for millennia. The gods themselves are too numerous to count and go by many names, each having domain over multiple aspects of life and the elements. Although they do not have as many followers as the ages before the coming of the White God, the Old Gods grant might to those who would stay true to their heritage. The Old Gods, while they value strength and cunning, have little time for 'civilized' people. They are quarrelsome and factionalized, and often battle one another. Those who follow the Old Gods and Nature Spirits are referred to as Pagans.

====Kronn the Allfather, God of Thunder, Wisdom, and Might====
And from the settling of the astral storm came many gods to challenge the wretched beings spawned by the Chaotic Verse. Leading the charge in the war for the astral plane was Kronn. With his mighty thunderhammer, Skybreaker, Kronn conquered his dominion and established his throne in Valhalla. He is the Bringer of Thunder, the Keeper of Wisdom, and the lord of the Pagan pantheon. 

====Aldri the Mother, Goddess of Fertility, Sleep, and the Hearth====
Mother of Man, Tender of the Hearth, Singer of Lullabies, Aldri is the goddess Pagans pay tribute to before attempting to conceive a child. She is said to dotingly watch her children sleep and bless Man with pleasant dreams. Sages from all over Ferrumgard have claimed to have met her while in drug-induced trances. She is said to whisper secrets of the ethereal plane in their ears.

====Avaenar the Crusher, God of War====
And so Kronn and Aldri beget Avaenar, a god born of blood and battle. He is the one destined to lead the armies of the Einherjar in the final battle for the heavens. Avaenar is the god kings, generals, and soldiers pay tribute to in hopes that he will possess their warriors as his avatars to and crush their enemies with an ungovernable berserk frenzy. 

====Svargjall the Gravelord, God of Death====
A bitter rival of Kronn and his kin, Svargjall reaps the souls of cowards, oathbreakers, and kinslayers to row as slaves on his immense boat, Thrallheim, a realm in its own right. For millennia, the souls of the damned shall row through the astral plane under the watch of Svargjall and his brutal slave drivers until they reach their destination- the sun, where Skoldrimr will be unleashed from his prison to unleash his vengeful wrath upon the gods.

====Lyre the Skald, God of Music====
“Wake up!  Wake up!! It worked! You know how I’ve been struggling with ideas for new material, right? Well, I sacrificed my first guitar to Lyre last night and I just had a vision! No, I am positive it wasn’t a dream! He told me where to find them! The sacred music tablets the Gods hid in the realm of Man! The details were a little blurry, but I’ll know the tomb when I see it! Yes, they’re in a tomb- a perilous one! Now pack your shit, we need to start heading east! Lyre promised me a sign if we just kept heading east!”

====Ostavor the Moon Guardian, God of Protection====
“You see that up there, boy? Yes, it’s the moon, but do you know what it is? It’s a shield! Strapped to the back of Ostavor himself! You see, lad, he stands guard outside the realm of Man, ever vigil, to protect us from the beasts and horrors that lurk beyond the stars. And it’s a full moon out! That means Ostavor is at his strongest! Quick, whisper a prayer to him so that he may watch over us!”

====Skoldrimr the Firebeast, God of Fire, Hate, and Revenge====
One of the last dark gods birthed by the Chaotic Verse, Skoldrimr is kept prisoner inside the sun by Kronn, deemed too volatile and dangerous to be left unchained. His flaming sword Ashcaller is prophesized to bathe the realms in flame, should he ever be reunited with it. Those who wish to seek vengeance upon their enemies will invoke his name or make a burning sacrifice so that he may channel his rage into them and grant them the righteous fury to exact revenge. Asking for Skoldrimr’s might is considered taboo amongst most Pagans and is only done in the most extreme situations.

===The Nature Spirits====
Thought to be as old as the Old Gods themselves, if not older, the Nature Spirits are the shepherds of the sprites. Spirits are paid tribute to on a local basis, each general area having its own collection of spirits to venerate, often alongside the Old Gods, and in some communities, the White God and Raven Prince. The sprites watch over the Nature Spirits' domains, often protecting those who live there and defending it against those who would cause it harm. Sprites often take the form of translucent, ghostly animals native to the environment they watch over, often being able to shapeshift into different forms. On occasion, this includes human. 

Generally the spirits are manifestations of the natural world, but some adventurers claim to have seen disturbing, alien or insane spirits that don't seem to represent anything of this world. These spirits, claim the Sages, are the relics of the distant past, or are the only traces of the races that predate humanity. If this is true, then it could bring the accepted view of creation into question.

===The Gospel of the White God and the Left Hand Path of the Raven Prince===
About a millennium ago, strangers from a far-off land made landfall on the shores of Ferrumgard. With them, they brought the gospel of the White God. This God commands its followers to abide by specific rules, which differ from sect to sect. The Ferrumgardic kings of old saw this as a means of controlling their subjects and converted, forcing all beneath them to do the same. And so Ferrumgard saw centuries of oppressive theocracy. That is, until the people of the North rebelled and began a revival of the Old Gods at the price of the lives of their converted king and those who continued to turn their back on the Old Gods. This began the collapse of the White God's rule and most of the land secularized as a result. In most places (excluding the North), the White God is still tolerated, but not as widely venerated. The truenames of the Gods, Demons, and Angels of this religion are kept secret from most mortals. As such, these Gods are often referred to by titles or falsenames. Followers of the White God are referred to as Whitists. Those who follow the Raven Prince are known as Ravenites.

====The White God, The King in Heaven, The Lord of Creation====
Yea, and so from the darkness of the Chaotic Verse did come the greatest and most benevolent of Gods, the one true White God. It is He who created Man from clay and water and sang the song of life. 
In their hearts, the True Believers know that one day, even the proudest of Pagans will bend the knee to the One True King.

====The Weeping Mother, The Angel of Sorrow, Lady of the Dead====
For the starving child in the streets, she weeps. For the warrior left for the crows on the battlefield, she weeps. For those who have none to weep for them, she weeps. Her’s is the name men whisper to embrace the souls of the dead and guide them home to Heaven. It is to her that the Dirge sing slow and mournful songs at their ritual funerals.

====The Raven Prince, The Lord of Hell, The Devil====
If The White God is the King in Heaven, that makes a Prince next in line. Once the White God’s greatest archangel, he was cast to Hell for reasons only known to them. Now, the Raven Prince reigns from Hell, ever-plotting his next move in the War in Heaven. Sustained by ritual and blood sacrifice, it is the duty of every Ravenite to ensure the throne of Heaven is given to its rightful ruler. The Raven Prince is depicted as a goat-headed manbeast with cloven hooves and pitch black raven wings. He is also rumored to take the form of a common raven to whisper temptations and dark secrets into the ears of Man.

====Kainus, The Reaper, Bloodthirster====
One of the most prominent villains in Whitist/Ravenite theology, the arch-demon known under the falsename of Kainus fearfully whispered of among the Whitist clergy. Empowered by blood sacrifice in his name, he leads the Raven Prince’s armies in the War in Heaven. In the holy scripts, it is prophesized that he will bring the war to the Realm of Man and bathe the ensuing sea of red.  The Cult of Kainus works tirelessly to uncover the secret ritual to summon the Bloodthirster and fulfill the prophecy.

====Kytherion, The Tainted Engine, Daemonium Ex Machina====
A less well-known yet equally deadly servant of the Raven Prince, Kytherion's true name is not known to mortals, yet his effects are felt across the world. He is the dark temptation of technology given flesh, whispering in the ears of mankind whenever a new invention is made that it could be more efficient or could be more effective, without paying heed to the increased cost on people or the landscape, until the land is a barren waste and the air is thick with a black, choking smog. He spreads his demonic technology across the world, mutating people into horrific cyber-abominations known as the Tainted who form the majority of his cult. In the gospels of the Whitists, it is said that he was the one responsible for the fall of the Old Metallican Empire, causing them to build ever-larger weapons in their wars until they destroyed themselves. Some say he now has his sights set on Arkdam. If it should fall to the Taint, then Ferrumgard will surely fall with it, as Bal-Mortus is unleashed.