Andoran Faith

Andorens take their faith seriously, enough so that their government representatives elect a supreme vicar to work with ecclesiastical representatives from all across Andoran. This vicar holds real temporal and spiritual power, and advises the Supreme Elect on matters of faith and policy. Supreme Elect Codwin I is a paladin of Iomedae, and other paladins are common in the government. Although each day sees the People’s Council is salutation to the Golden Cathedral and its precepts of Common Rule (where every man is free to take control of his life), faith plays an important role in Andoran.

Religious Tolerance

The Associative Act of 4669 guarantees that the government must safeguard the interests of every citizen, and so every faith may practice as it sees fit as long as it does not harm or intend to harm any other person or property. When violence threatens or appears to threaten, the faiths run the risk of farm more serious intervention. The priests of Asmodeus delight in exploring the exact shape of this tolerance, and spend a great amount of time in the courts arguing their cases.

Faiths that espouse the tenets of good are most favorable in Andoran. While not illegal, evil religions face both popular and governmental disapproval; government agents watch evil temples, have their worshipers followed, and subject their priests and coffers to sudden inspection by the Ministry of Finance. It is not that Andorens do not believe their own words about tolerance; it’s more that having neighbors like Cheliax, Isger, and Nidal stagger under the lash of unholy gods shows Andorens what arises from allowing evil too free a reign in civic affairs. Even the worshipers of the paths of evil acknowledge that the darkest aspects of their faith are not the ones they should promote – at least, not if they want to win over their fellow Andoren citizens.

Faiths in Andoran

The primary faiths in Andoran are those of Abadar, Erastil, Iomedae, Shelyn, and Cayden Cailean.

Abadar: The church of Abadar is one of the great faiths of Andoran, especially in the cities. As Andoran becomes more cosmopolitan, more urbane, and more civilized, its citizens begin to recognize the need for civilizing values and the laws that help guide and direct a large populace toward harmony. Though Abadar is a neutral god, caring little for good or evil as long as the result is harmonious, his Andoren followers have begun changing his faith to reflect morals as well as values, and this is not limited to the laity. Even Darius Silvershoe, Archbanker of the Cathedral of Perfect Forms in Almas, has preached of the necessity of goodness towards one’s neighbor as a means of creating harmony among the community as a whole. In the interest of promoting community living, Abadar’s faithful have been visiting the slums of the cities and helping to improve their standards. They work from the outside in, trying to create a place of beauty of which all citizens can be proud. Devout urban Abadarans are expected to work in poorer neighborhoods for 1 week out of each year, building something of lasting value for the inhabitants. These activists wear a golden key on a chain around their necks to identify themselves in this task.

Cayden Cailean: Always popular among the middle and lower classes, and with those to whom the cloak of law is stifling, Cayden Cailean represents the freedom to make personal choices, informed or otherwise, as long as the choices further the cause of good. His worshipers are a rowdy lot, comprised of itinerant adventurers, dockhands, and other working citizens. They are largely unconcerned with the cause of law and common, civilized harmony. Their concern lies instead with making sure their lives – and the lives of their friends – simply work. They don’t take much part in politics, preferring instead to state their desires and move on to the next order of business (frequently a tavern). It’s precisely this desire to avoid serious work on a subject that makes Caiden Cailean’s followers frequent and jovial candidates for representatives on the People’s Council, strongly supporting the idea of small government.

Erastil: As the cities of Andoran expand, the traditional worship of Erastil is slowly disappearing into the woods, hills, and rural corners of the country. Though Erastil is a god of the countryside, hearth, and home, and his worship tends to be focused on the smaller villages, a large and growing faction of his believers are turning away from his older, rustic persona and focusing instead on his promotion of family and the comforts of home. The core of his faith, they argue, is not found in nature, but in the healing bonds of community. This is why his church has such power in Almas, and how they justify remaining in the cities. Urban followers of Erastil plant gardens on rooftops and in parks, teaching self-sufficiency among the city-dwellers. The city faithful carry wooden charms with the god’s symbol instead of bows, and hang antlers or horns above their threshold to show their faith.

Iomedae: The church of the Inheritor is one that demands vigilance of its worshipers, and one that calls for the forces of good to stand against the tides of evil that spring from the hearts of the corrupt. Little wonder then that the church enjoys a strong following in Andoran. Her followers serve eagerly and willingly in the military, and many of them aspire to join the Eagle Knights. Their devotion encourages and inspires their comrades in the military, and thus the Iomedaeans fortify the defenders of Andoran. Groups of the Iomedaean faithful serve as adjuncts to the local militias and help to keep crime rate down. In Almas, a priest of Iomedae serves as a balance between the powers of Abadar and Erastil, and her voice influences the council in its choice for Supreme Vicar.

Shelyn: For those who are less martially inclined, and who seek love and beauty in their lives, Shelyn is the obvious choice. She is popular among the fortunate upper class of the Andoren people, who don’t require great struggle in their lives, and thus are free to offer their thanks for the beauty she has provided them, and the blessing and privilege of living in the land of the free. Her followers in Andoran create art for her sake. Common themes are slaves casting off shackles, Chelish nobles amusingly trodden upon by devils, and the songs of a free heart.

Talmandor

The avoral Talmandor is the spiritual patron of Andoran. He is said to speak on behalf of Iomedae, Erastil, and Shelyn. Representing three faiths of the country, his words carry great weight, and his devotion to the widest cause of good is unquestioned. His association with birds of prey and other legends cements his place in the hearts of the populace, and popular histories tell Andorens that Talmandor saw the evil of Cheliax rising, and spoke the words Darl Jubannich wrote in On Government, the tract that set Andoran ablaze with liberty.

Though Talmandor is not revered as a deity in his own right, Andorens still set aside a feast day in the avoral’s honor, offer thanks to him, and occasionally pray for his intercession in matters divine and more pressing.

Aroden’s Dwindling Church

A few Andorens still follow the path of Aroden, their faith in their god unshakable even in light of his apparent death. “This is a test”, they say, “and he will favor those who kept his faith when all others had given up on him”. Still, they have lost their largest cathedral in Almas, and the faith is vanishing into a few backwater hamlets and small villages upholding old traditions and reluctant to embrace “new” gods. The core of the faith stays strong, but its practitioners are now in their third generation after Aroden’s death, and the younger generation seems to have other ideas about what it means to be an Arodenite. Without the pomp of the state behind it, the worship of this once chief god has become a small and paltry thing.