Eramgol

Eramgol
Serenity, Knowledge, Truth
Other names	Erīm, Arāmgolla
Major cult center	Saræ
Texts	The Twelve Orations, the Lotera Eramtæ
Gender	Male

Eramgol is the chief god of the Selaminæans, who worship him as the sole god of the world. Selaminæ, having once been home to a divine multitude, has now abandoned throughout most of the land the gods and goddesses that had provided them morality, protection, and fertile fields, worshiping instead Eramgol the Lord of Serenity, who taught them that their former gods were demoniacal and unworthy of worship.

It is unknown and, perhaps, unknowable what manner of deity Eramgol is, for it is said that he descended from the heavens at the village of Míras, and there he gave the first of his Twelve Orations. Disbelieving Men have often declared Eramgol to be a sort of Demon Lord, or a creature from beyond the Worlds of Being, for it is well-known that the gods and goddesses of the earth seldom show their faces so directly, and only in the eldest days did they ever hold dominion over the earth as incarnate kings.

In his First Oration, Eramgol described himself thusly:

I have come upon the earth as a cleansing fire to purify this Land of its evil. With sword in hand I shall vanquish the tyrants that have oppressed thee, I shall cast out the demons that slaughter thy children, I shall banish for ever all evil from the Land and cast it into the Pit. And thou shalt know Me as thy SERENE GOD.

Later orations clarified Eramgol's nature as the 'One God of the Earth', declaring all other gods to be demons or lesser spirits. His priests scrutinize everything that he has ever said for hidden meanings, attempting to discern or create new meanings and truths supposedly hidden in his words. His worship is unnatural to the world and is contrary to the inclinations of Men, as it argues that there are no other gods worthy of worship, and though the truth of this argument is manifestly false and easily refuted, it is the power of Eramgol to ensorcell Men and make them believe in that which is untrue.

Cults and Doctrine

Contrary to the natural process of the world, Eramgol's worship is hierarchical and structured in a fashion hitherto unseen in Laredhidan. The proper way to worship him is not that which was discovered or divulged to one's ancestors, nor is it that which has changed to appease the gods, but it is instead determined by decree, which is often given not by Eramgol himself but by his priests. He is served by six Exarchs, Men raised up onto the pedestal of immortality who, it is said, may die only at the leave of Eramgol.

Eramgol's decrees are interpreted differently by Men, some of whom, it is supposed, do not understand the meaning behind his orations or his doctrines. Some Men, being far from the Serene Empire, worship Eramgol as one of many gods; others, being closer or within the empire, worship him as the sole god of the earth. Within the rural north of Selaminæ, as well as within most of the March of Catæl, Men worship Eramgol as part of ancestral cults that are, by divine decree, tolerated by his priests.

The Twelve Orations

Eramgol has given Twelve Orations to his worshipers, each of which is aimed at elaborating on his nature or explaining one of the Five Revelations. Each location that Eramgol gave an oration at is regarded now as sacred and a place of such holiness that Men flock there in droves to touch the soil that Eramgol once stood on. Every town and village that he gave an oration at is now a great city, and those wildernesses where he orated his doctrine are now the sites of Human settlement. There are three orations considered to be the most important to Eramgolites: the greatest is the First Oration, which he gave at Míras, where he described his philosophy and what one must do to follow it. The second most important is the Fourth Oration, given at the plain where Erat Irítás was founded; in this oration, he elaborated on holiness, the separation of the material and spiritual world, and the 'Essential Nature of Man'. The third most important is the Fifth Oration, which was given at the Palace of the Sovereigns, where he convinced the House of Túræn to worship him as the One God of the Earth. This oration is considered especially important, as Eramgol described how to achieve his perfect society and laid the foundations for his Serene Empire.

The Five Revelations

Eramgol supposedly delivered Five Revelations to Mankind. The first was that all gods save for Eramgol are unworthy of worship; the second is that goodness comes from Truth, and evil from Ignorance; the third is that the spiritual world and the physical world are separate but were once whole; the fourth is that the physical world entraps the souls of Men in bodies of flesh; and the fifth is that the physical world was corrupted by Altugotha, who is the Face of Ignorance, so as to enslave Mankind.

Ban on Polygamy

When Eramgol achieved mastery over Selaminæ through the conversion of Gauthiær the Great's sons, he issued a divine edict banning polygamy and ordered Gauthiær's sons to enforce it, which Pernival Savírant obeyed. Eramgol justified it through his philosophy of material evil, arguing that taking multiple wives was an 'act of unrestrained lust' and ran counter to his vision of relations between Man and Woman, which ought to be 'stood on the foundation of love'.

This decision brought discord into the ranks of the nobility, for there were many among them who had no desire to part with their consorts for one reason or another. Chief among these nobles was Mathær, Gauthiær's son, who had been the second to convert to Eramgol's new religion. Mathær dissented from the new policy and sent a petition to Eramgol to rescind it; this petition was denied, and Mathær persisted in attempting to end the policy using arguments founded on moral and practical reasoning. For his dissent Mathær gained the title of 'Herræt', or 'Unbeliever', and his brother ordered him imprisoned for blasphemy.

History

Nine hundred and eight years after the Great Migration, Eramgol manifested himself in the town of Míras, and there made a declaration that there were no gods but him. This declaration brought him to the attention of Bauthoín the Pious of the House of Jautiæ, who had ruled as King of Nautín. Hearing of the miracles which were reported to have occurred at Míras, Bauthoín came to the town with a host of warriors and a number of priests to investigate the matter for himself. He engaged Eramgol in a debate in which the god convinced him of his sole divinity, of the evil of the physical world, and of the rightness of his cause. Bauthoín's priests, having within them no argument that could convince Bauthoín of the divinity of his gods, were exiled or killed.

Eramgol's manifestation had come at a time of great upheaval for Selaminæ. Gauthiær the Great of the House of Túræn, Sovereign of the Etugaútha, had unified most of the land under his banner and was opposed by the last free kings, of whom Bauthoín was part. These kings had sworn no oaths of brotherhood to one another, and opposed Gauthiær independently, trusting no one but themselves. This distrust prevented any attempt to unify the kings under a single host, for each had assumed that his fellow kings had treachery within his heart, and when Gauthiær dispatched them one by one, each king took comfort in the fact that his rivals were next.