Atheism, but not without admittance that the gods are real. They are aware, but choose not to worship or adhere to any faith. Unaffiliates have been present since the dawn of time, but have gained prominance since the founding of Nox, and as Ptitheros becomes more interconnected. However, many who steer away from intense faiths tend to choose Architectism rather than full abandonment.

"The mysteries of the universe will unravel with time."

A multi-god faith followed by those not aligned with a single Architect, but instead embrace two or more. Most embrace all four at once. They analyze and adopt the systems and morals they consider good and are open to teachings from foreign Architects as well. Architectism has been growing more popular over the centuries as cultures merge and the world becomes more connected. It promotes a sense of self and reflection, and recognizes the insignificance of people compared to the vast universe.

Sigils: Solar Systems, Comets, Globes, Clocks, Tesseracts

"Remain until the end of it all."

When the world was untouched, left in silence, Edenlline brought power and grace to the bones and ashes, forming her people who dreamt of nothing but loyalty to Her. The Sagekin, offered will and wisdom, soared across the mountain peaks and glaciers of the north, and became the first peoples to devote themselves to a god. And despite how much the world has changed, they endure the same as always.

Sigils: Vases, Fantamen, Foes, Feathers, Birds, Lanterns

Focuses: Freedom, Collaboration, Knowledge

Edenlline is not reached via priest nor prayer. She is a goddess of flesh, and her faithful are all welcome to show their devotion by reaching her in the ruins of Chaveri, needing to brave spirits, windiage, and their own self-doubt to reach her palace. There, among howling wind and time lost, they can speak to her, deem themselves worthy of becoming an "angel". Those who do not venture, but devote their time to Her, are brought to Bayblua in their afterlife.

During the reign of Chaveri, Sagekin souls and aura were divinely woven together. This granted longer lives, vitality, and magic insight, but to protect the people from aura corruption, half their souls were sealed away in chalices guarded by the goddess Herself. But Chaveri eventually fell, and the vessels were scattered and broken, turning the half-soul faithful into cursed beasts. They wander as windiage, echoes of their former self.

Rites: Painting a chalice once per year to honor those from before. Wearing silk shawls embroidered with sky and storm patterns. Leaving the ruins of Chaveri alone, never stealing from the sacred sites. Killing windiage when presented, as it is a mercy and never a cruelty. Sprinkling foe dust into community wells, bringing light and cleansing to the waters.

After the collapse, Wyndgale remains the only large Sagekin territory, especially after the loyalty of rubasyns were lost. Despite how many centuries have dwindled Edenlline's faithful, they are loyal and enduring people, ever-watching the world and listening to the wind just as their goddess commanded. Much of Sagekin strength lies solely in the fact that Edenlline is the last in-the-flesh Architect.

"The happiness of many is worth more than the power or greed of a few."

The Dreamer, the god of whispers, tenderness, and unfathomability. He formed his people from ash and wood and taught them, sang to them, brought sacred knowledge of the wilds to them all. Cymer never demanded worship from his people, rather, he sought to earn it. To his faithful, his true name is never spoken, and He is instead referred to as Cymarvas'tiyn, which means He-Who-Dreams.

Once, Sequn rivaled the strongest faiths in Ptitheros, but when fire swallowed the kingdom, fear became the new ruler. It silenced Sequn for many decades, many fled to different lands, masking their beliefs for protection. But as time came to pass, the fear died down, and the faith has rebuilt itself... but they are quiet this time.

Sigils: Nebulas, Vines, Cubes, Feathers, Snakes

Focuses: Joy, Dreams, Loyalty

There is no higher power to Sequn, aside from channeling divine magic through the purpose of clerics and paladin defenders. However, after death, the faithful are brought to Sallenin, a gifted dream-realm. In time, these souls can be called back to the waking world as Kosmos, who are powerful, divine guardians and guides. Faithful are also immune to the corruption of voiden, parasitic dream-entities, due to an ancient pact between Cymer and the Arch.

Rites: Wearing turquoise as a symbol of spirit. Dipping found feathers into clean water, then placing them on a sunny rock in offering. Lighting a small fire, dipping a feather into it, and blowing its ashes out into the sky. Particpating in rituals, communal or not, to honor dreams and love. Be mindful of curiosity, knowledge, and never succumb to greed.

Sequn have a strong commentment to joy and familial love, with a vice against possession and materialism. Territories with large Sequn populations primarily barter and are full of unique artisans. In their west land and in small pockets across the world, they endure and spread without the desire to conquer.

"Power is built through respect and righteousness."

In the twilight years of the later era, after Meldr'uno cast his Ola'mel kin from His cities, he crafted Tucruit to be His new faith. A new spiritual truth and a new form, Meldr'uno recreated himself into a being of blinding light called the Virtue. Ancestral bonds were shattered that day, all power stripped from Ola'mel and given to His new favored followers.

Sigils: Quartz, Beetles, Eyes, Triangles, Hourglass

Focuses: Empowerment, Self-Pride, and Forgiveness

Virtues place power in the hands of those who serve them. From royalty enacting law, to priests tending the temples, to those who devote their life to defending their honor, such as clerics and paladins. These types recieve faith-based magic strung through the Virtues themselves.

Followers are safe from the humming og the searching glass, a dimension of madness the unfaithful are punished with. The greatest of Virtue's priests gain access to the fringes of the glass, glimpsing the flow of time, and are offered light control of their time as well, creating longer lifespans and soothsaying.

Anyone awell-attuned to the Virtue never lose sight of the sun, even on the darkest nights. They feel the daylight move through their rocky bones as if the sky were a clockwork machine.

Rites: Obeying the word and wisdom of older women. Meditating daily in the shadow or embrace of the pyramids. Proving one's worth through combat and succession. Tattooing a virtue decal under one or both eyes, marking the bearer's morals.

Although rising late, Tucruit became the fourth Architectual pillar. It overtook Ola'mel until it became a whisper, and once the Sequn lay broken, Tucruit gained favor and followers. It became one of the strongest, rivaled only by Swavvel. Tucruit is much like a mirror, those who step inside it must be prepared to become who the Virtues demand they be.

"Patience is the greatest asset, it permits reason and strength to become one."

The gentle giant, Swa Veduro, god of the tides and the south, was once merely an addition to the Sagekin faith. But They soon broke away, creating Their own will, for they did not agree with Edenlline's goals. They created the Swavvel, the most serene, and the most enduring faith known to Ptitheros. Swavvel do not believe in miracles, but they are often unshaken by tragedy, not of war or grief, walking among chaos without wavering. Veduro's ancient temples have long been washed away by the tides, but Their followers roam all of Ptitheros' shores, ever watchful, and ever teaching. They whisper of good change coming to the world, that there is calm after a storm.

Sigils: Coral, Lavender, Antlers, Minituries, Pearls
Focuses: Gut Feelings, Achievement, and Acceptance.

"The eyes of the Sea" is said to channel the power of Veduro. Enlightment can be achieved through specific meditative and fortune-like gamble activities, making soothsayers common and revered as a source of inspiration and knowledge. Eyes grant a heightened sense of peace, but also powerful faith-based magic, and have the oppurtunity to become an isolon in death.

Rites: Hangings lavender baskets in open windows. Returning purple fish and creatures back to the sea, as they are sacred messengers. Placing stone or coral Veduro talismans within the home, be it a talisman of fertility, rainfall, or renewal. Respecting the faiths of those who were created before, life is about balance, not conquest.

Swavvel contains a sub-faith known as Vedlun. Though smaller in number, Vedlun's hold one key belief different from Swavvel: that Swa is alive, that They will be back, and that the alterations to Their teachings in light of modern change will be met with distain.

"Respect and righteousness go hand and hand."

In the early age of Tora, Ola'mel reigned, worshipping Meldr'uno as a solar god and their religion was treated as a cosmic pact to the cycle of the sun and a devotion to the fire it created. Ola'mel were born from the firey breath of Meldr'uno and were the original soul of the eastern kingdom, Tucruitora. They had close ties to the ancient Sequn and Sagekin foundations. Ola'mels are seen as strong and independent, valuing tradition and recognizing the cycles of life. They are known for their stubbornness and bravery in preserving their culture.

Sigils: Fire, Serpents, Volcanoes, Sundials, and the Sun.
Focuses: Courage, Gratitude, and the Cosmic Cycle

In ancient times, those befitting Meldr'uno's ideals were placed among the Volcanic Council, a group of prophets and pyromancers who could shroud their form in pure flame. They served the Architect as His mortal vessels, to speak His truth. Council members charted the stars and had knowledge of all astronomical alignments, able to prophetize the future and all routes the world may take.

Rites: Elder women are revered memory-keepers. Fire is appreciated in all forms, for it is the will of Meldr'uno burning away fear. Do not answer to the calls of the night, darkness must not be heeded. Carved bone obelisks, the last true remnants of the old culture, must never be mixed with mundane items.

Ptitheros left the Ola'mel culture behind. Meldr'uno cast them from His cities and mocked their loyalty. The Council was scattered, temples were turned to ash, braziers cast into the dunes, but the flames crackle still. Some traditionalists refuse to bend to the new god, salvaging Ola'mel doctrine in their minds and aging books. Ola'eml carry the old truth, they call it, and believe they'll rise again.

"Four shaped the world… but a Fifth waits in the void."

Whispering among the darkness - those who forsake the old truth of the four gods and instead claim there is a fifth. The Fifth, an unseen Architect, cloaked in shadows, said to drift far beyond the sky. They worship Her, offering their blood, breath, and souls. It is said she is the Matron of disease and chaos, the silent Mother of the void, of lindosts. Although lindosts do speak of a matriarch, they deny Her divinity, insisting she is no god. But the faithful reject such a thing, because they know the truth. There is a fifth.

Her name is lost, Her face unseen, but in every plague and overcast day, Her presence is felt. Faithful believe that by holding reverence where others fear they will be bestowed the gifts of Her children: power, communion with the creatures of the void. Most never live long enough to learn otherwise. In the morning light, post-ritual, faithful are found dismembered at the altars, eyes leaking darkness, bodies twisted. A gift... or a warning.

Created from fragments of truth, the Fifth calls the forsaken to join them. The outcasts, the misunderstood, or those abandoned by the light, they are all welcome. Although the outside world calls them heretics, warlocks, and monsters, the group offers sanctuary. All are fed, cared for, seen, in exchange for loyalty towards Mother. The patron of the group, Keir, Dream-Seer, gazes into the hearts of those who approach, discerning the faithful from the liars.

Their cradle of devotion: the Verge is a trench shrouded in mist and dread, throught to be a scar left by the gods. Here, in the depths, the cult makes its home. Dark obelisks mark the path through the alcove, where waterfalls shower the valley in mist and a maze of tents and old stone structures rise. The centerpiece of the camp, the Altar of Shadow, where rites are performed. Some offer chants, others, slaughter. The most vile ritual is only known as the Feeding - ptithians corrupted by shadows are captured and offered as living feasts to the lindosts, sacrificed to attract their attention. For a moment, they claim, the air grows still, the mist thickens, and one may feel Her presence… watching.

Majority of people revile them, and scholars claim them mad, but they endure. Driven by the belief She is real, She awaits in the darkness, scorned by the world, longing, and when She is finally recognized, the faithful may stand at Her side. Reborn, transcended, an equal among the voiden. To tear down the illusion of four.

A secretive sector of Vedluns who reject that Veduro vanished with the other gods and instead believe that They lie entomed in the icy, supposed ancient kingdom beneath the Glacial Abyss due to vague Irthir tomes. These obscure tomes hint that Veduro, in an attempt to protct Cymer from being cast into the voided abyss by Meldr'uno, was hurled into the void themself. Seekers scour endless ruins, sacred sites, and archives seeking more proof of Veduro's location. Although Seekers are mostly ignored by the public, their raids on sacred sites and libraries have earned them ill-will and are considered fanatical.

A sector of Sagekin who dwell within Edenlline's sunken city (Chaveri). Considered necromancers and occultists, Hallowed are pale and imbuned with the strange aura of the ancient forest, which gives them great power for their magic. Hallowed are said to be lost wanderers of the Aurix, lured into the caverns and reborn with loyalty to the god trapped inside the city. They honor Edenlline in ancient ritual sites long abandoned by the public and guide losts souls of the Aurix towards said enlightment. All Hallowed believe that their intense service will make them Skywatchers upon death, and view modern Sagekin as merely an echo of the true path to serving Edenlline. Much of their ways remain unknown to outsiders, cloaked in ritual, mystery, and the rotting fog of the forest.

A fanatical occult of rubasyn supremacists. Due to many isolated generations within Nox, literally and figuratively looking down upon the rest of the world, Heart-forged hold a hatred for all other races that festered alongside the technological rise. Heart-forged dream of domination, of overthrowing the Nox government, and purging all non-rubasyns from the isles. This, they ensure, will recreate Steam City into the great kingdom it once was, and once the isles are secure, they will overtake the other kingdoms, enslaving the inferior races as they go. Kin of Edenlline are particulary marked for extinction.

The core of the world and faith is The Machine - a divine relic - a massive, heart-shaped construction suspended over a pit in their cavernous headquarters. Although long dormant, Heart-forged believe the heart will awaken and will signal their day of ascent. The Machine is worshipped as a god, they feed it, and research it, hoping to unlock some forgotten power. Heart-forged reside in the arteries of the city's underground tunnels, sewer systems and mechanical steam valves, spiraling around the heart. Cells lined with blood-stained iron hold enslaved subjects, chambers echo of sermons and cries. Entry is heavily guarded and only rubasyns are considered for joining their ranks. They are reviled across Ptitheros, the name whispered with disgust, they are a symbol of cruelty and a mark against the progressing world. Many people say they would trust a lindost before a member of the Heart-forged.

An extremist, matriarchal, religious cult made up by solely female lefikas who follow the ancient, rigid doctrines determined by the god Virtue. They place blame on Cymer and His kin for the world's downfall due to their lax view on heirarchy and genderfluidity, and believe the only path forward for Tora's children is to return to the old kingdom ways, where only woman claimed dominace and men were subservient. Matron members revere recall-lefikas, the direct descendents of the ancient lessifeals, as divine messengers of the upcoming reclaimation. The cult indrocinates youth, teaching boys subservience, and outsiders are rarely accepted, since only pureblooded female lefika from Torian lineage are welcome, but go through intense scrutiny.

Matrons work in secret, trying to infiltrate Torian government and violently overthrow the new age laws. Their eventual goal is a purely lefikan empire, with all other races purged and male lefika enslaved, thus creating a clean world where Meldr'uno will feel proud enough to return and walk among them. These ambitions line up with the Heart-Forged and the groups have allied in the past, however, both seek to undermine one another once the goal is achieved. They meet in secret chambers beneath elite manors and catacombs, hiding from authorities. While publicly loathed, the group is difficult to fully eradicate. The Casm Association has marked them for destruction.

A murderous, bigoted faction devoted to purging morshin. Rotbloods believe in racial purity and view inter-species breeding as vile. Hunting people is illegal, they conduct their acts as violent assassinations, often targeting morshin in positions of power or influence. Their primary goal is to spread fear, eliminate social progress, and force families into hiding, thus away from the public eye. They are brutal and uncompromising, killing infiltrators the moment of suspected disloyalty. Hunters are wide-soread, but key hunts are coordinated at their headquarters in Braeyc. Rotbloods enjoy spreading propaganda, framing morshin as diseased and unnatural. Their cruelty has earned them a reputation worse than lindosts, and while they are scorned, their commitment is far more powerful.

Architects always begin with spirit realms; afterlives for their kin. But over time, the aura that holds up these small dimensions leak out, stolen by hungry stars jealous of their children. The stronger the Architect, the longer they can uphold their spirit realms. Some Architects strike deals with the Void in order to supply their realms with more aura to keep it alive. Making deals between the Void and star children is considered shameful, so most Architects do not do it.

Skywatchers are ethereal guardian spirits that originate from Babylua. They serve as protectors and guides for Sagekin, assisting them in transitioning to the afterlife and providing wisdom and positivity. Skywatchers can travel between Babylua and the overworld of Ptitheros without the need for a portal relic. They are recognized as skilled users of rune sigils and are often sought out by high aura Ptithians for their guidance and teachings. While they have a certain level of autonomy, their actions and experiences can be monitored by Edenlline.

Kosmos are enigmatic guardian spirits originating from Sallenin, the realm of dreams. They possess the ability to traverse all dreamscapes, ensuring the safety and protection of those who are asleep. Kosmos can repel lindosts, upholding the rules set forth by the pact. Kosmos manifest as shadowy, ethereal beings with misty forms, adorned with dark galaxy colors.

Isolons, the spirits of Veduro, are rare and trusted protectors who can travel between Solona and the real world. They take on two forms: a liquid orb known as the Shielded Form and a pure form resembling their previous selves. The Shielded Form emits a harmonious drone sound, while the Pure Form is rarely revealed to preserve their anonymity. Isolons draw their appearance and essence from the oceans of Solona and serve as guardians and guides, offering wisdom and protection while maintaining an air of mystery.