'Cults'

A deity is any immortal being who possesses great power and disciples who honour them in exchange for favour. Some of those beings--saints, ancestors and 'gods' proper appear to be abstract, residing in some unseen spirital realm. Others, however, are very much present and physical. They can be located, seen and touched. Followers of those abstract religions decry the latter as 'cults'.

The first deities were the trolls. Their power was control over stone - they could shape the earth like a potter shaping clay. The mortals who dwelt in the primordial grasslands worshipped them in exchange for remaining untrodden by their gargantuan feet. The trolls would erect stone pillars where offerings would be received and would aid their followers by gathering stone into great walls to protect them from threats, and to provide shelter from the unforgiving sun. Since the Sun came and turned the trolls to stone, worship of those ancient beings is very rare, except in places where mortals are still vulnerable to them, such as near mountain caves, deep forests and coasts where a troll may lurk upon the seabed. Nevertheless, evidence of troll-worship can be seen across the landscape in the form of pillars, cave paintings and prehistoric artefacts.

Among the earliest deities too were the fairies who built the forests and had control over the trees and who permeated their lands with magical light. The trolls would not tread on their enchanted woods, so mortals would seek shelter there, paying tribute to the fairies in exchange. Fairy-worship, similarly to troll-worship, became rarer when the world became more pleasant and habitable, but it never went extinct. Fairy-worship is typically targeted towards specific powerful fairy-lords, with their lesser kin being somewhat akin to angels. Fairies have always been ambivalent about humans, but have held enough fascination and affection for them to grant them favour when flattered sufficiently.

Dragons, giants powerful sorcerers and even vampires are all objects of worship by many by virtue of their physical, mental, magical, meteorological and monetary power. Dragons and vampires are usually evil and are thus worshipped by evil races and deeply desperate tribes. Sorcerers may be good, but, being of mortal stock, they are susceptible to corruption when given such great power. Giant-worship is less common because of their almost total lack of concern about the affairs and wellbeing of humans.

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