The Kingdom of Littonia - Vaults of Pandius

SOCIETY
widely acknowledged to have the final
say. Spiritual expression is a fairly
simple matter, devoid of the pomp and
ceremony of more cosmopolitan realms.
What few rituals exist, such as marriage
rites, are held in the open air.
Congregation halls only exist in the
largest communities.
Plants and animals are accorded respect
as fellow children of Zemes māte. At
birth, every child is assigned a tree - an
oak for boys, a linden for girls – which
grows imbued with the person’s life
force. It is widely believed that, should a
tree be cut down, the person associated
with it will die. Few Littonians would
willingly cut down a tree associated with
a deceased person for fear that its spirit
would be angered. Lietuvans also offer
gifts – bread, grains, and herbs – to the
earth upon a child’s birth, burying them
in sacred mounds of throwing them out
to sea.
As bringer, purifier, and destroyer of
life, fire is also important, occupying a
central role in many celebrations. The
dead are cremated in great pyres on
sacred hills, along with their costliest
clothing and most precious possessions.
Many rural settlements have sanctuaries
on hills and riverbanks where priests tend
sacred fires, and traditional households
always keep a fire burning in their
hearths.
Immortal Patrons
The cast of characters in Littonian
cosmology is a product of several pre-
Rain traditions that congealed during the
migration of the Valoin people along the
Isle of Dawn and onto the Norwold
Coast. Considering the conflict between
the Antalians and the Litoniesu and
Lietuvans, the inclusion of Pērkons,
better known as Thor, is at first puzzling.
The answer lies in the legends of his
battles with giants – an inspirational
point for those enslaved by the giants of
Nordenheim. Pērkons is the only figure
to have a birth or creation story – a
testament to his relatively new
introduction.
The list below presents the most
commonly revered patrons in Littonia,
the Known World Immortal to whom
they can be identified, and what is
attributed to them. The names are
presented in Litoniesu; Lietuvan
equivalents are provided afterwards.
Italicized names denote Immortals
perceived as female in the Littonian
tradition.
Immortals Attributes
Jūras māte The sea, sailors,
(Protius) fishermen
Laima
(Terra)
Fate, luck, domesticity
Mēness
(Kagyar)
The moon, war
Meza māte
(Ordana)
Forests
Mikelis Astronomy, prophecy,
(Khoronus) abundance
Pērkons Thunder, the sky, rain,
(Thor) mountains, oak trees
Saule The sun, patroness of
(Ixion) the unlucky
Velu māte Ruler of Vinsaulē
(Nyx) (“beyond the sun”),
world of the dead
Zemes māte
(Ordana)
Fertility
NB: The word “māte” denotes “mother
of”; thus, Jūras māte would be roughly
translated as “Mother of Waves”, and
Zemes māte would mean “Mother of the
Soil”.
In addition to the major Immortals
listed above, the Littonians revere dozens
of minor deities, many of which
patronize very specific aspects of life or
nature – bees, or the protection of
hearths, for example. Immortals, such as
Ordana, can be affiliated with more than
one Littonian persona. Many of the
minor deities are actually lesser aspects
of the major ones.
Lietuvan equivalents to the names
given above, where they differ, are as
follows. Again, italicized names are
feminine:
13
Litoniesu Lietuvan
Jūras māte Bangpūtys
Mēness Menulis
Pērkons Perkūnas
Velu māte Giltine
Zemes Žemyna
Other Faiths and Traditions
Individuals whose roots lie in the
Known World tend to maintain their
ancestral faiths. Most native Littonians,
and their priests, have little contact with
foreigners; thus, they are unaffected by,
and pay little attention to, these new
faiths. Some members of the urban
classes, however, have embraced these
“new” Immortals, but their numbers are
still quite small.
Half of the Sarkans Goblins worship
the Littonian Immortals. The remainder
venerates the more traditional goblinoid
deities, including Meža vīrs and Dievas;
although the rites practiced are still
influenced by those of their human
neighbors.
Societies
Amber Brotherhood: The Amber
Brotherhood is a two-tiered organization
that views the increasing presence of
foreigners as an assault on traditional
Littonian values. The lower tier is the
public face of the brotherhood – a quasireligious
organization that stages cultural
events, looks after the poor, and provides
farmers with extra help when they need
it.
The secretive upper tier is the true
organization. It employs thugs to disrupt
the activities of merchants and seeks to
blackmail those members of the Saiema
whom it feels are betraying their nation
into supporting more “favorable”
proposals. Each member in the upper tier
knows only the person immediately
above and those immediately below them
in the hierarchy, to minimize the risk that
the brotherhood’s enemies can unravel
the whole network.
Requirements: Members of both tiers
must be Litoniesu or Lietuvan, profess
belief in the traditional Littonian faith,
and refuse to do business with foreign