The religions in Ilomar

The religions of Ilomar

Ilomar is a very religious country. Most people are religious in some shape or form and in varying degrees and it is taboo to not believe in some sort of god(s) (however there are some atheists and agnostics, most of them being the younger generation). Of course there are many different religions, some within just a small group, some larger and more structured within communities. However, there is only one religion that is accepted by the state and law as the main religion and that is Iostanity, also known as the “new path religion”. This will be explained in more detail under its own category on this post.

There are two main religions, where one is known as “the old religion”, some would even call it the uncivilized religion, and the other, Iostanity, is known as “the new religion”.

Delianism:

Delianism is known as “the old religion” and by majority of people in Ilomar it’s also known as the uncivilized and primitive religion, since it stems from before Ilomar had its political structures and before religion was structured in larger communities. Therefor, Delianism has a lot of variations depending on the family or small community that practices it and there isn’t a way to define all of its aspects. However, there is an ‘over-all’ truth in the religion and that is that there are several gods, not just one.

Delianists – the people of the religion – believes there to be 5 main gods known as the Elementals. These gods are:

Dicstian – the god of Water
Vexta – the god of Earth
Elios – the god of Fire
Kosna – the god of Air
Iosta – the god of Spirit

You can read "The Gods of Delianism" for more details on the different gods.

Iosta, the god of Spirit, is seen to be a god on the same level as the other four elementals. Other than that, there are also smaller gods, created by the Elementals, known as sub-gods or sub-elementals. These are gods of the sub-elements. While all the main Elements are in one way or another worshipped by the delianists, sub-gods are more personal and it varies a lot from household to household which sub-god (if any) is worshipped, but most households recognize all the sub-elementals as true gods, even though they don’t specifically worship them.  

The Elementals represent different values, perspectives and lifestyles, so it wasn’t (and isn’t) unusual for a household to worship one of the Elementals more than the others, although all are respected and recognized. Also, in this religion there isn’t any Devil, perse, and the religion doesn’t focus on good versus evil. Everything in the religion is about balance and how it all ties together and connects to each other. It’s only bad when that balance is disturbed somehow, which is why some delianists are against the new religion, since they believe it to be off-balance (however, they are not public about those views since that would be illegal). Some delianists don’t believe that Nachon Warlocks are evil because of the belief of balance, since they believe that Nachon Warlocks and Enferi Warlocks have been created to balance each other out, like Fire Warlocks and Water Warlocks balance each other out, and the same with Air Warlocks and Earth Warlocks. Some delianists – actually a large group of them – do believe that Nachon Warlocks are bad, since they believe that they throw off the balance of the energies – those delianists have mostly been affected by the rise of Iostanity and their negative view on the Nachon Warlocks.

Delianism is not an illegal religion and it is mostly safe to practice. However, there are some limitations – you are not allowed to publicly worship (which also refers to temples) one of the Elementals without also including Iosta in your worship – whether that be a prayer, a ritual or a holiday. You are not allowed to use religious arguments to justify the Nachon Warlock existence. You are – of course – not allowed to speak against Iostanity. And you are not allowed to wear the Delianty in public which is the symbol of Delianism (a pentagon with a circle inside), nor any of the religious symbols linked to any other Elementals other than Iosta (Iosta’s symbol is the Prism)  


This religion was the main religion and the majority religion of Ilomar several hundred years ago. But after the spread of Iostanity and after the state a hundred years ago made Iostanity the only true legal religion, Delianism and the number of people in that religion has shrunken a lot. It’s still the second largest religion in Ilomar, but because of all its variations it can seem smaller, since some households only celebrate it privately.

Iostanity:

Iostanity became a proper religion about 300 years ago, where an Enferi Warlock – Thelmian the First–  is said to be contacted by Iosta herself, where she told him, that the society had misunderstood her ways and split her energies that belong together as one – whole. It is said that by doing so, the society had given power to Iota’s evil counterpart, the so-called Tarron, who is this religion’s version of the Devil. Therefor it was the iostans’ mission to spread the religion and convey to others what Iosta had said to them – to connect the energies again and make the spirits whole. And as leaders of this mission was the Enferi Warlocks because they are blessed by Iosta to create the energy, that Tarron tries to take from the people and destroy. So, the religion of iostans spread quickly and firmly and a bit over a hundred years ago it was finally announced that the state of Ilomar – which already by then had Iostanity as the biggest religion – would show full support of the religion and claimed it as the only legally recognized religion of the country. By then Iostanity was already the religion that majority of people were in, but it only spread further afterwards. Today it’s the biggest religion by far and the norm of the people. Even people who aren’t that religious still go by the norms of Iostanity and celebrate the holidays as part of their culture (like Christmas in Christianity).

This religion only recognizes Iosta as the one, true God. She’s the Creator of Energy and therefore the Creator of the world and the humans. Iostanity also included Tarron, the Destroyer of Energy, as her counterpart, because where there is good, there is evil. In the endless cycle of energy that roams between these two beings are Warlocks, that can give and take energy (but most can’t create or destroy energy).

Enferi Warlocks are seen to be closer to Iosta, since they’re the only beings who can create energy like she can. They were also the ones to spread the religion and are the only ones who can become priests of the religion. They spread the word of what is good and what is evil. They’re connected by the Fellowship of Iota and the priests are spread out throughout the country in different churches. They also speak to the politicians about the laws, so they have great political influence as well. The whole religion has one high priest which goes down through generations of trained priests. The high priest right now is Nitrius the Fifth, and he is in general a very well-liked high priest.

In this religion, the Spirit (the soul) must be whole, so the human or Warlock can live in connection with Iosta. The Spirit is sacred and must never be touched in a way that takes energy from it. Therefor, Nachon Warlocks are seen as evil with their powers to take energy from the Spirit. It’s also said that they’re connected to Tarron, since they share his abilities. Most religious people would describe Nachon Warlocks as demons because of this – either as a complete dehumanization of them or as a way of saying that they’re possessed by Tarron and cannot be saved.

It is important to note that some Nachon Warlocks also believe in Iostanity. Some Nachon Warlocks do believe that their powers are evil and that they shouldn’t use them, whilst some other Nacho Warlocks believe in Iostanity but do not believe that they’re evil or connected to Tarron.  

Iostanity is the national religion, which means that all national holidays follow this religion and that it is the norm to believe in Iostanity. It is not unusual for households to have a prism (the symbol of Iosta and the religion) in their homes, even if they aren’t that religious. Most people – about 90% of the population of Ilomar – are iostans, some more dedicated than others.


Iostantism:

Iostantism surfaced about the same time that Iostanity became more well-known. Someone proposed that maybe Tarron doesn’t exist, but just Iosta. Iosta is the Two-Faced Creator: the Creator and Destroyer of Energy. They believe that everyone has good and evil in them and that it’s up to the person to choose which part of them they want to show.

This view of Iosta has always been controversial (since Iosta is the representation of all good and whole), so this religion has always been frowned upon by iostans. When Iostanity became the nation religion a bit over a hundred years ago, this religion was made illegal. Any practice of it, publicly or privately, may result in jailtime with the crime being blasphemy.  

Due to this, the religion is very small and only a very small percentage of people practice this.

Deliostity:

Deliostity is the newest religion to have surfaced, only a few decades old. Its religious views can be said to be a mix between the two main religions. Deliostians do believe in the other Elementals and Sub-gods as well, but they believe that Iosta is the main god and the Creator of the other gods and the world. They also do believe in Tarron, but they don’t see him as a person – they see Tarron as the only bad form of energy that can disturb the balance of the other energies.

Since this religion is so new, it’s still very small (but bigger than Iostantism) and mostly practiced by the newer generation. It’s frowned upon by most from both main religions, especially of the older generation, and are seen by some as an “on the fence” religion, where the people don’t take religion seriously. But for some people of the newer generation, it’s a safer way to practice the old religion while still being respectful of the new religion.