Kalsema: The Lands of the Long Light (Isekai Homebrew Setting)

[Marcarius5555]

With the Suns being rather powerful and omnipresent what kind of religions and philosophies have sprung up around them?

There are several.

Radiolaria, Dragon Queen of Radiance, the White Queen, Mistress of Illumination, Handmaiden of the Unwavering Dawn

One of the most prominent is the veneration of the Goddess Radiolaria the Queen of Radiance, a white dragon goddess. A prominent opinion among historians is that she was among the major deities, alongside her brother Drazhasthur, venerated during the Age of the Dreaming of the Dragons. Another opinion holds that both Radiolaria and Drazhasthur only appeared after the fall of the Empire of the Dreams of Wyrms, and merely presented themselves as venerable objects of worship to potential adherents. Taking advantage of the fall of civilization that appears to have accompanied the war between Teachers and Students of the Dragons, these deities successfully enmeshed themselves in the religious practice of northeastern Chamadron. However, their substantial absence from other regions of the continent, including regions that were indisputably heartlands of the Dragondreamer Empire, suggests some truth to the claim that they are later interlopers arrived from heretofore unknown planes of existence that have only recently come into dimensional alignment with the Lands of Long Light.

The faith of Radiolaria is the dominant religion only in the Resplendent and Auroric Realm of Radiolaria, which is named after its divine patron. The goddess' channeler emissaries known as Radiances, Auroras, Halos, Glistens, and other, similar, titles, enjoy a pride of place in society as the chief engineers of the distinctive radiance-dependent technology which powers the weapons and tools of the realm. The proclaimed beneficence of the goddess is in part undermined by the actual effects of the powerful planar energy of which she is, if not the sole source, the major purveyor in the Lands of the Long Light. Radiance is both a powerful and dangerous source of energy -- it can consume those who channel it too much or too speedily, and possesses powerful mutagenic properties which manifest in those who spend an inordinate amount of time employed in its use.

The channelers of Radiolaria often depict her as a solar deity, but this identification is widely rejected outside the adherents of the goddess, who see the radiance of her realm as a different type of illumination than the suns which light the realms of the mortal races.

Zalur the Unconquered Son, the High Lord, Master of the Heavens, the All-seeing Eye

The deity Zalur is widely venerated throughout southern Chamadron, including the realms of the Domain of Choran, as well as the kingdoms of Zaltas, Chanur, Shobadar, Valtrac and Hyrethule. The Knights of Sol are among his most widely recognized emissaries, holy warriors who administer the highly-fortified temples of the Master of Light. Outwardly at least, Zalur is the patron of unvanquished light and abundance. However, a substantial minority of his followers venerate the deity under the name Sar Saitan or Saitan ba'alazmon, the Blazing Lord -- these proclaim the true identity of the deity to be a tyrannical god of order and unremitting fury; these 'blister knights', or 'emberlings', operate in clandestine cells distributed throughout the Summer Houses of Zalur.

The veneration of Zalur is unusual in that it is a principle faith among the humans, tavi, ryven, kitsune, tanuki, and other mammalian races, who are usually adherents of non-deific fonts of channeling. This situation creates a subtle tension between the faith of Zalur and the adherents among the warm-blooded races of the various non-deific solar powers -- the adherents of the 'Suit of the Sun' of the Faith of the Tarot, the priests of the Summer and the Spring, those who worship each of the three suns of Kalsema, or their unity, among others.

Apalas, Lord of Song, Prince Sunsprite, Herald of the Dawn, Weaver of Mirages

Apalas is a popular deity whose portfolio combines the role of a trickster and a pastoral deity. He is held to be responsible for mirages and sunblindness, as well as vision and agricultural fecundity. He is also the patron of the Music of the Spheres. One popular story relates how he stole the Shani'el, wife of the war god Myanor, whilst a guest in his house. The priests of Apalas are famous for producing displays of fireworks and similar entertainment. Its principle adherents are among the chameleon-like subspecies of lizardfolk known as Lan Khamai.

Lightkeepers

This order of druids of Rast Vadame caretake ancient stone monoliths used to count the passage of the ages. It is also rumored that they possess the power to walk backwards in the stream of time, or see into the varied currents of future events.

Faith of the Spring

The adherents of the Spring are among the most popular temples of southern Chamadron, found in most major cities. Sacred spring is the source of fecundity and renewal. However, it is also a faith of sacrifice and bloodletting, a duality expressed by its many martial orders and legions of inquisitors. In particular the Paladins of the New Fire are feared for their blood-drinking blades which they whet in the opened veins of their foes.

Nisnai, Mistress of Absolution, Heart of Nova, the Princess of Immolation

Nisnai is a mysterious goddess symbolized by the supernova -- the destruction of a sun. It is disagreed whether this portfolio technically classifies Nisnai as an anti-solar deity, or the representative of the ultimate effusion of light in a dying star. Many of her followers are a strange form of positive-energy undead known as the irradiated. She is also known as the 'ever-dying', and there are numberless stories which recount different reasons for her death. Many depict her implosion as some kind of noble sacrifice on behalf of the cosmos. Her adherents include an order of assassins known as the extinguishers. Her most prominent evangelists are the minstrel clerics known as the nuclear heralds.