Page History: Lameth
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=Description=
Lameth is the name of a region where lies a group of kingdoms and cities. It would take about four months to travel from the south to the north and about six month to travel from east to west.
Beyond the western mountains lies Chaos. Unnatural creatures roam the mountains and the arid, desolate plains beyond. Traveling further and further into Chaos leads, eventually, into the Abyss, where the will of powerful demons hold sway. They are often the incarnations of universal forces.
West beyond Chaos lies another realm, similar in many ways to Lameth.
The northern extremities of Lameth are separated from the rest by a narrow sea. A great forest lies to the north and west. Traveling into the forest eventually leads to the Deep Green, a place where living forces stride the land.
In the sandy wastes to the southwest lies the path of good intentions, and to travel down this path is to arrive at the very Gates of Hell.
And, the three seas that bound Lameth harbour mystery in their depths.
The Astral Plane
The astral plane permeates Lameth and is local to it. It is supported by temples, monuments and other ontological machines, administered and maintained by various priesthoods. It is the medium through which most magic propagates.
Priesthood
Priests are the professional class who administrate the business of religion. Having faith in the religion is not a requirement. Being a member of the appropriate class usually is.
Rituals
Priests administer religion through rituals. The vast majority of them deal with purifying worshippers who have become spiritually unclean to one degree or another. Becoming spiritually impure is defined as a sin, and sins are not necessarily evil, immoral or unethical. Rather, it refers to a failure to meet one or more stricture of the faith.
Priests preside over festivals, important rituals that take place at different times of the year. These often act as support and reinforcement for the astral plane, itself.
The main purpose of the rituals is to establish and maintain a relationship between the people who live there and one or more of the supernatural personalities of the place.
Geography
The area that a priests religious power extends is determined largely by hieratic rank and degree of consecration to one or more altars. The altar is the wellspring of that power, and the boundaries are formed by monumental markers like stelae. The higher the priests rank, the more prestigious the altar they are consecrated to, and the deeper the degree of consecration.
Political power, economic power and prestige may extend beyond those boundaries, but spiritual abilities do not.