As with all peoples, religion and faith has changed as Y'Myrani culture shifts. One constant, however, remains. Since the arrival of the human Firstlanders, the worship of a twin set of deitys, a god and a goddess, has spread throughout the kingdoms.
Astariu is the female half of the Twain, and she has three aspects. They are the warrior, the witch, and the healer. Of the three, only two aspects actually have priesthoods, those being the stardancers (healer) and starseekers (witch). Warriors who swear to follow the teachings of Astariu take her mark and bear the rank tattoo denoting their allegiance.
The rank mark for a stardancer is three red teardrops tattooed under the left eye, on the cheek.
The rank mark for a starseeker is a pentacle tattooed on the forehead.
The rank mark for a goddess sworn warrior is a sword tattooed on the right cheek, just under the eye.
Astarus is the male aspect of the Twain, and he also has three aspects. They are the Scholar, the Trickster and the Mage. Unlike his sibling, Astarus doesn't often meddle in the affairs of mortals enough to have a special preisthood dedicated to any singular aspect, therefor those who are called to serve are generally known as the "Brotherhood" or the "Sisterhood".
Astarus' followers mark themselves with the tattoo of the Astariun symbol. (This symbol can be seen displayed as a token in the page banner.)
The Twain are viewed through an array of cultural lenses, for example, to the dwarves, Astarus is the master of the smithy, creator of the holy fires that fuel the mountain smithies, while Astariu is the mistress of mead and song, for without the warmth and cheer that her bounty brings, the dwarves would be a race of solitary peoples.
For the elves, Astariu is the lady of the oaks, the enchantress of trees while Astarus is the red deer, the prize said to give the true hunter the greatest chase.
Other gods are also worshipped in Y'Myran, though not nearly in as great a number as the Twain.
Temples to Celedine the sea-maid can still be found scattered about lake, river, and ocean front ports. Her faith has mostly been abandoned, and slowly her temples are being converted into Astariun houses of worship, or sadly, torn down altogether.
Not much is known about the origines of the Celedinian faith. Those who follow the goddess of the waters claim that she is the great mother ocean from which all life on Y'Myran came, while others say that she is merely myth, a remnant of a far distant past that lingers in a form unrecognizable from the original.
The morgedraal also have a separate belief system, but like everything else about themselves, they are remarkably reticent to share that information. All that is known is that it has something to do with the great mages who made them.
There are darker gods in Y'Myran as well, but their worship is kept secret, and away from the prying eyes of light. Only recently have Y'Myranis learned the true nature of one of those faiths, dedicated to a demon lord called Ecarthus.
Ecarthus demanded offerings of blood and pain, and channeled powers into those of his priests who spilled the most blood or caused unrelenting amounts of pain.
Since the demon was destroyed, his worship has fallen off, though small sects dedicated to resurrecting the foul beast still linger.
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