From RainGamersWiki

Contents 1 The World of Sevrea 2 Traditions 2.1 Spirituality 2.2 Technology 2.3 Divination

The World of Sevrea

Overview •

History •

Traditions •

Inhabitants •

Technology •

Maps •

Characters

Traditions

There are no gods in Sevrea -- at least none that have made themselves known. With the prevalence of spiritual forces, reality-bending magic, and abundant technology in the Empire Age, there was also no reason to invent any. What arose instead of religions are what are collectively known as the Wheel of Traditions.

The four Major Traditions are:

• Spirituality: belief that the spiritual forces control the universe;
• Magic: supporting the idea that each person can shape their own reality through force of will;
• Technology: the world exists to be modified and bettered by your own hand; and
• Science: the truth of the universe is in knowledge of its secrets.

In the Empire Age, these four major beliefs were so strongly held that societal factions formed, vied for political power, and even had wars with each other. To this day, the Traditions and their adherents are strongly factionalized in many parts of the world, especially so in human cultures, while nonhuman cultures tend to have homogeneity.

In human cultures, rural villagers and farmers tend toward Spirituality in their daily lives, while city folk tend toward the other three Traditions or just don't align with one at all.

In larger communities, there are Tradition Houses, where folks of like mind can gather. In smaller communities, these meetings tend to be held in barns, family homes, caves, or clearings in the woods.

The four Minor Traditions tend to have looser fellowships, less followers, and much crossover. They are:

• Mysticism: belief that the real world holds no secrets and that spirits and magic are the ultimate power;
• Technomagic: employing all the tools of men’s minds and bodies to make the universe conform to your own truth;
• Invention: knowing that the truest truth comes from creation and discovery; and
• Naturalism: every being and object is made up of a spiritual component and a physical one, and both must be in harmony to achieve truth.

There also exist several beliefs that tended toward the esoteric and strange. These "Heresies" tend to be shunned by the four Traditions, and their followers often go so far as to operate in an "underground" in those human societies where they have adherents. The four Heresies are:

• Divination: crossing Science and Magic, using science to predict the supernatural and using magic to predict the universe;
• Machinism: crossing Shamanism and Technology, followers of the spiritual force which drives machines;
• Individualism: crossing Naturalism and Technomagic, believing in the Self as the truest possible expression of existence and doing all one can to improve the Self inside and out; and
• Epiphanism: crossing Mysticism and Invention, believers in finding new and unique epiphanies and altered states of consciousness to seek exposure to the universal truth.

The four Major Traditions have Fellowship Halls in every major human city, where people go to pledge themselves every year, donate some of their income to the Fellowship, and participate in seasonal gatherings at High Assembly Day.

In most cities, the Minor Traditions also have Fellowship Halls. In smaller areas, they may all share one building or even one room.

Farming villages usually have only one Fellowship Hall, and meetings are rotated through, so that each Tradition has its own meeting day.

Spirituality

Spiritualists believe that the universe expresses itself to our world as spirits. A spiritualist's daily life involves certain rituals and ablutions to pacify angry spirits, appease greedy spirits, invoke helpful or harmful spirits, and intone the names of specific spirits to keep them at hand or keep them at bay.

Technology

Technologists believe that the universe is one giant tool for all self-aware beings to make that cosmic connection. Tools, they argue, are what make sentient beings unique; therefore, they must be a gift from the universe to its children. For them, there is no bad technology, only bad people.

Divination

A certain branch of Diviners have tried to answer the question, "Who is it that is capable of giving us these answers?", and they think they have the answer. They are just a small group so far. They believe that, if the Diviner's questions can be answered and answered correctly, there must be some central agent who has already decided the fate of all things. They call themselves Theists.