Congregation

The Congregation is the collective name for the complete pantheon of 16 gods.

Within the Congregation there are several significant "political" divisions:

Political Factions

The Interventionists

This group of gods believes that mortals need firm (but gentle) direction to mold them in the way of right and progress, and that the gods should bend their efforts in that direction as much as possible. They are the most apt to communicate directly (or as directly as allowed) with their followers and prescribe patterns of worship and behavior. The interventionists are not entirely united in the exact direction they should be pushing, however.

The Seasonal Four

This group, made up of Sakara, Tor Elan, and Melara, are the most actively-interventionist deities. They push strongly for collective conscience and communal behavior, for unity and universality of faith and for proselytization of that faith. Their most notable church in Noefra was the Church of the Seasons, headquartered at the Grand Temple in Kaelthia, capital of the Holy Kaelthian Republic. Since the fall from grace of Loran Hae, things have shifted and that temple has gone silent.

They are not henotheistic--other gods are allowed to be worshiped and placated in their order of things. However, the four of them have primacy and the others are subordinate. This has not won them many friends among the other ascendants.

Other Interventionists

Lon-ka is another notable interventionist who is not allied with the Seasonal Four. He believes that the way of progress is the way of technological progress and advancement. Invention, discovery, and science are the things he pushes. He is primarily worshiped in Shinevog, and has become the patron deity of that nation.

Roel Kor is the other notable interventionist. He believes that progress is best made with a strong ruler. Him, particularly. He allows his people to pray to other gods, but in his churches, his role is paramount. Order above all, and order by strength--these are his teachings.

The Dutiful

The opponents of the Interventionists are the self-proclaimed Dutiful. They believe that to actively interfere with mortals would be to step beyond their bounds and will only lead to chaos and war. Instead they act mostly to counter the Interventionists and to encourage mortals to learn and create their own truth and right.

Although there are fewer of them, they have the upper hand politically due to their unity. The Dutiful congregants are Korokonolkom (the most conservative), the Hollow King, Yogg Maggus, and (strangely) Pinwheel.

The Peace Faction

These just want everybody to get along. They act as the third party, siding with one group or the other to maintain stability. They are Peor-fala, Ytra, Aerielara, and Kela Loran, and Sarapha.

The Unaligned

The last two congregants really don't care what happens to mortals. Their concerns are elsewhere. These are Selesurala and Lae Loara.

Rules for Divine Interactions

The Congregation are not the highest powers. The Great Mechanism, via its Voice, has put restrictions on all ascendants, the gods among them.

1. Gods can be in multiple places at the same time via avatars. Only one of those places can be in the mortal plane.
2. Deific avatars are vulnerable, as if they were (powerful) mortals. If a mortal-plane avatar is destroyed, the god itself is removed from its place in the Congregation. Destroying an avatar on another plane merely removes that source of information until another avatar can arrive. It does piss off the god rather tremendously.
3. Gods cannot discriminate based on style of worship--all prayers in faith must be treated the same, regardless of adherence to mortal-plane religious protocols.
4. Except by incarnating on the mortal plane or in response to a "proper channels" spell (ie commune), the gods cannot directly talk to mortals and must use agents, especially when acting of their own accord, rather than in response to a plea from a cleric. These agents must be at arms-length--no puppets. This includes clerics.
   1. When responding to a spell, they are bound by the strictures of the spell.
   2. If a mortal visits the Astral in person and interacts with an avatar, all interactions must be agency-preserving. The avatar can answer questions, if doing so would not impinge on the agency of the individual, but cannot answer a different question, even if that's what was really desired. These restrictions must be stated up front on any first interaction.

Holy Symbols

Not pictured (yet): Sarapha, whose symbol is a sheaf of grain.