Note that in the world of Atheus, Lunism, like all the religions, may or may not be true.

Lunism

The moon has always been seen as holy by the peoples of Atheus, or at least as something more than the norms of mortality. Cults that worship the moon are frequent, as are barbarian tribes that worship some moon god. As such being the case, was it any surprise that a whole religion dedicated to the moon arose?

Lunism is an ancient religion. It either predates Trianarianism, or (if you believe that Trianarianism returned by the prophet Adonis), was founded in its lull. Its prophets and priests spread it quickly, as its basic tenets was all ready common beliefs among the peoples.

In the modern world of Atheus, Lunism is the most widely spread religion that it has the most followers. However, if you were to take the two halves of the world- the barbarian half, and the human half- Lunism would be less common in each of those. This is true mainly because Trianarianism is a 'human' religion, and the barbarians are mostly polytheists, while Lunism has spread over the entire continent. It is also prevalent enough to have a place of worship at every human city in Atheus- including Triastu, the Trianarianistic Holy City.

Overview

Lunists believe that the moon is one entity, represented by five different gods. These gods would be represent themselves through new moon, the crescent moon, the half moon, the gibbous moon, and the full moon. Though each has power, and can enact their wishes whenever they please, they have greater power when its their phase.

However, the gods themselves do have their bad times of the year. And the times when the moon is waning is those times. The waning crescent, half, and gibbous moons are all 'bad' times of the month, especially the half moon, because the half moon is seen as the God of Change (more on the gods themselves below). Likewise, the waxing moons are seen as 'good' times of the month.

This carries over into births. The lunar phase that a child is born under effects what kind of person the newly-born is going to be. A child is more likely to worship the god they were born under, as that god is probably going to be their protector. In fact, occasionally (though this practice has all but been stamped out in the modern world, but is still done in secluded, fully-lunist communities), a child born under the waning half moon will be smothered, and buried far away from town, certainly not in the family graveyard. For that child will be seen as a herald of bad change, that may signal doom for either the mother, the family, or the community.

Lunists also have iron-founded traditions that are carried out at night. For some moons, certain things must be done. For example, a celebration is generally carried out the night of the full moon. No one leaves the house the night of the waning half moon, from sun-down to sun-up. And the New Moon sees Lunists going to visit their family graveyard, to mourn their fallen family and friends.

Gods

Mortes, Deity of the New Moon and Death

Mortes' main duty as the God of Death is to guide the dead's souls to the afterlife, of which he is the Lord of. Some say that the solar eclipse is a rare window into that very afterlife. He is not seen as an evil god, nor a good one, but simply a fact of life. As the month turns slowly towards the new moon, a person's life turns slowly towards their death. A common thing to note about Mortes is that he lacks a gender, though most use the male pronoun when discussing him.

Catenam, God of the Crescent Moon and Liberty

Catenam has also been refered to as the 'Shackled One,' or the 'Giver of Choices.' The first is because he remains imprisoned forever in a dark cage in the middle of the moon. None but one without it knows how precious liberty is. As he waxes, liberty, and choices that aid in freeing oneself, are helped (as such, there are more attempted prison breaks on the waxing crescent moon than any other time of the month), but when he wanes, choices that are made to gain freedom are hindered. For those all ready free, your choices are effected. The Waxing Catenam makes your choices better, and the Waning Catenam makes your choices worse.

Alea, Goddess of the Half Moon, Change, and Chance

The patron of the gambling hall, and the overseer of big decisions, Alea is a fickle goddess, and changes her wants and fancies as much as she pleases. She may bless you for a while, but be wary, for your luck may run out as Alea abandons you for someone else- hopefully not your opponent after you go 'all in' in the local casino. Her waxing and waning selves differ only slightly. She seems to be in a fouler mood when she wanes, and some say that worse changes to peoples lives happen more frequently on those dates, but it is an acknowledged fact that bad and good changes happen roughly equally on either side of the moon.

Iustitia, Goddess of the Gibbous Moon, and Justice

Iustitia is not worshiped by any. She is the deity of the state, not the people. She is venerated in courtrooms or places where guilt is found, and she is called upon (in Lunist places) to aid in the discovery of truth. She is the goddess that insures that all is right with the world, and those who seek to wrong it have been dealt with. Of course, this is all for when she waxes. Waning Iustitia is the Mother of Vengeance. When she wanes, personal matters of revenge are aided, and though they may go against society, Iustitia cares not, for justice of a sort is being carried out. And then, when the night is done, vengeance has been carried out, and Iustitia starts to Wax, she bears the might of the state against the revenge-taker, and brings them to justice too.

Vivenus, God of the Full Moon and Life

At the opposite side of the lunar cycle from Death is Life. Vivenus is a stern god, and is unforgiving. It is he who balances the scales of life, and determines the path that one must take to keep those scales balanced. As such, he attempts to take the role of fate, and determines every child's destiny when they are born. However, he is sometimes thwarted by either the person themselves or the other gods (most notable Alea).