Gods, Heroes and Saints

In Orden the gods are objectively real and powerful, however they have been forbidden from acting directly upon or within the world. And thus, people of Orden do not believe the gods control everything that happens in the world, that is why there are saints and heroes. Beings of demigod-like status, once mortals, who now serve their patron god in eternity.

Each god has many saints, some well known others obscure. Churches and temples in Orden are consecrated to them. The most popular saints and heroes can have several churches - meaning distinct organizations devoted to them, but there are also smaller ones with only a few temples or others even with little more than handed-down tradition. Different churches of the same saint usually recognize each other as expressing different, but equally valid, teachings. However, occasionally churches compete to see which among them is the "true" church.

Dwarves mostly venerate dwarf heroes, humans mostly worship human saints, etc ... But this is just a side effect of the fact that members of the same species share the same culture and language and self-assemble along those lines. Any sufficiently large city has churches to gods of many species, because cities attract many different people.

Val and elven heroes

Val, the Noble Lord, First Among Equals was the patron of the elves, responsible for creating the Celestials, the True Elves. He had left Orden and taken residence in his private manifold, Arcadia, where all elves hoped to someday join their patron.

Heroes of the high elves

• A Sea of Suns, also known as the Composer. Credited for inventing harmony. Her life was taken by A Heart Trapped in Amber, the sorcerer-assassin of the Star Elves.

• The Taste of Morning, also known as the Librarian. He canonized the idea that knowledge, truth was a kind of beauty.
• Ripples of Honey on a Shore of Gold, known as Warkiller, the Diplomat. She created the Codex Pax Universalis, powerful enough to banish the concept of war, however, she realized what it took to finish her great work and she was not willing to take that final step.

Heroes of the wode elves

• Yllin Dyrvis, also known as the Beast Heart, the Wodespeaker, the Warden, witness to the Composer's first song. Cared for the creatures the Sea of Suns created learning their speech.
• Thyll Hylacae, the Forestal, Apothachron, also known as the Sacrifice. She learned the language of trees, in the end sacrificing herself for them, uplifting a small population trees, creating the Derwic.
• Illwyv Li Orchiax, the Moonknight, Marshall of the Gloaming, Manslayer. She fought against the humans constant expansion into the wode.

Ord and dwarven heroes

Ord, the Maker, the Engineer is the patron of the dwarves, one of the four gods who created Orden. Ord values integrity, honor, faithfulness to an ideal. Courage in battle and fair play.

Heroes of the dwarves

Hero	Aliases	Teachings
Zarok	The Law-giver, the first hero of the dwarves	- All people are equal under the law
Valak-koth	The Seeker, the Delver, the Unquenchable Fire, Koth Who Brought Light to Darkness	- Bravery in the face of the unknown - Virtue of curiosity - Not to fear the darkness
Stakros	The Engineer, the Machine, the Operator, founder of the Order of Fabrication	- Value of knowledge for knowledge's sake - Power of the mind

Kul and orc heroes

Kul, Father of Flames, Lord of the Forge, the Cleansing Fire who put fire and magma within the world at its creation. Kul teaches that action is the defining characteristic of being. Kul's heroes are no philosophers or poets, but warriors and hunters.

Heroes of the orcs

Hero	Aliases	Teachings
Korvath	Korvath who slew a thousand, the Slayer, the Scourge	- The best action is swift and immediate - Do not turn a blind eye to injustice (or soon it will be to late to act) - Peace is earned
Grole	The one-handed, Grole who Slew the Saint of Skulls	- Even alone, even against impossible odds, extraordinary victories are possible - To cast fear out of ones mind - A fearless regular person is capable of extraordinary deeds
Khravila	Khravila who ran forty leagues, the Eternal Runner, the Unstoppable	- Virtue of persistence, endurance and wits