Faith of the Eight

The symbol of the Faith

The Faith of the Eight, known as the Faith of the Nine during House Septim's rule of the Third Empire, and sometimes referred to as the Imperial Cult, is the dominant religion throughout most of the human empires of Tamriel, and continues to serve as the principle religion in the Third Empire of the Fourth Era. The gods of the Faith are known as the Divines. Followers of the Eight are most common in Cyrodiil, High Rock, Hammerfell, and even Skyrim, though rarer in the other regions of Tamriel, especially the Summerset Archipelago, where the Church of Alaxon is still strong. Nevertheless, the Faith is the closest thing Tamriel has to a universal religion, and its worshippers can be found in all corners of the continent, and in all cultures.

The Faith shares many aspects with the Church of Alaxon, so much so that some priests have commented on how it is in reality the same religion, merely with different figureheads and altered pantheons. This is a result of the Faith adopting most of its traditions from the Church during the religion's founding after the Alessian Slave Rebellion.

The Eight

Members of the Faith worship the Eight Divines, eight deities that correspond to different aspects of life. Depending on their need, worshipers will pray to specific Divines. The eight gods are:

• Akatosh, also referred to as the Father, is depicted as a bearded man with long robes and a stern face. His symbol is an hourglass, though he is often depicted as his avatar, a golden dragon. Time is said to be the domain of Akatosh. As the chief Divine, Akatosh is prayed to for many reasons, though he is mainly associated with the qualities of endurance and virtuous service.
• Arkay, also referred to as the Lord, is depicted as a robed bearded man with a long walking staff. His symbol is an octagram with a sphere in the centre. He is the god of cycles, particularly life and death, though he is also associated with the changing of the seasons. He presides over funerals and burial rites.
• Dibella, also referred to as the Maiden, is depicted as a scantily clad, sometimes nude young woman. Her symbol is a blooming flower. She is the goddess of beauty, and the arts, and is among the most popular of the Divines.
• Julianos, also referred to as the Scholar, is depicted as a bearded man in scholar's robes. His symbol is a four-sided pyramid, or sometimes simply a triangle. He is the god of wisdom, logic, law, and the arts of magic. His temples double as locations of learning, and many educational institutions bear his name or maintain a shrine in his honour.
• Kynareth, also referred to as the Crone, is depicted as a robed old woman. Her symbol is a simple bird. She is the goddess of the heavens, wind, the elements, and the unseen spirits in the air, commonly interpreted to represent nature at large. She is often associated with rainfall, and as such is seen as the patron of sailors and travelers. Those who pray for rainfall for their crops might light a candle for Kynareth.
• Mara, also referred to as the Mother, is depicted as a robed middle-aged woman with a veil. Her symbol is a four-pointed star against a circle, or a small rope tied in a reef knot. She is the goddess of love, fertility, compassion, and the bounty of nature. She presides over marriage ceremonies, and offerings may be made to Mara when a woman becomes pregnant, to praise Mara for giving the gift of life.
• Stendarr, also known as the Warrior, is depicted as an aged fatherly figure with a long beard and robe. His symbol is a spilling wine goblet. He is the god of mercy, charity, justice, and righteous rule by might and merciful forbearance. He is the patron of all those who would protect the weak.
• Zenithar, also known as the the Smith, is depicted as a beardless, long-haired, middle-aged man. His symbol is an anvil. He is the god of work, commerce, and wealth, and is often associated with communication. His priests teach that the path to peace and prosperity is through earnest work and honest profit, not through war, bloodshed, or theft. He is often seen as a warrior god, though one who does not take up the sword unless in dire times.

Organisation

Religious Figurehead

The head of the Faith is none other than the reigning emperor himself, who serves as the Father of the Faithful. As both head of the Faith and head of the Empire, the emperor must attend to the needs of many, and often has his Potentate fulfil certain political functions in his absence.

While a tremendous responsibility, serving as the head of the Faith gives the emperor unprecedented amounts of power and legitimacy when initiating foreign conflicts or resolving domestic disputes, as his every action is backed by spiritual legitimacy. However, for many emperors this has not stopped the emergence of dangers, as among the high lords it is power that rules, not faith.

The Militant

The Militant is the military arm of the Faith of the Eight, under the command of the Faith's religious head, the Emperor. It is composed of several orders, the primary of which are the Knights of the Eight, which allow into their ranks only annointed knights that have given up their lands and coin, swearing fealty directly to the Faith. The Knights of the Eight have eight branches, one for each of the gods.

Several lesser orders have also been formed, such as the Holy Followers, who allow commonfolk and hedge knights among their ranks.

Practices

The Faith of the Eight is the predominant religion of the Third Empire, and derives much of its teachings from its progenitor religions; Alvarlism, the Church of Alaxon, and the worship of the old gods. It is practiced in Hammerfell, High Rock, Cyrodiil, and much of Skyrim. Only on the Summerset Archipelago, Morrowind, Black Marsh, Valenwood, and Elsweyr are followers of the Faith few.

Although the laws of the Ruby Throne and the gods are seen as one and the same, teachings of the Faith have a heavy influence on the law and justice of the realm. The Faith preaches against prostitution, gambling, and bastardy. It holds slavery to be an abomination, and considers polygamy, incest, and prostitution as monstrous and vile sins. Followers of the Faith consider no man as accursed as the kinslayer, although the degree of kin and circumstance of killing one's kin (e.g., in war) hold significant influence.

As with the Faith's progenitor religions, Alvarlism and the Church of Alaxon, the number eight is considered holy. Priests speak of the eight aspects of grace during prayer. Eight oils are used during a child naming ceremony, as part of the knighting ceremony, and when anointing an Emperor or King.

Holy Days

The eighth day of each moon is deemed holy by the Eight, and the pious do not work on such days.

History

Religious Duality

When the Faith was founded by Empress Alessia I Paravant following her slave rebellion, she took inspiration from the religion of her former slavemasters: Alvarlism. Under Alvarlism the religious head and the King of the Ayleids were one and the same, granting the king unprescedented flexibility and religious justification for whatever decision he made, specifically when it came to expansionism, as any war of expansion would have de-facto religious justification.

To Alessia such a system, which served the Ayleid Empire well for a time, would also be applied to the Faith and her new Empire, crowning herself 'Lady of Heaven' in addition to Empress, an honourific which would not be carried over to the Emperor of the Second Empire.

The Ninth God

After the death of Emperor Tiber I Septim of the Third Empire, his grandson and successor Pelagius I Septim declared him a god under his Nordic name, Talos, adding a ninth god to the Faith. Pelagius additionally elevated his grandfather to chief among the gods, making him the central figure of the pantheon above even Akatosh, the previous chief diety.

Worship of Talos did not extend only to the Faith, as it was also imposed upon all the other regional religions in the Empire, such as the Church of Alaxon of the Summerset Archipelago. Such a practice was an insult to the many peoples who suffered by the hand of the Emperor during his conquest, some of whom still named him 'Usurper'. Chief among these peoples were the Altmer of the Summerset Archipelago, who were forced to adopt Talos as one of their gods after seeing their families slaughtered and entire settlements wiped off the map by Tiber Septim's dragon and Numidium, and thanks to their long lifespans were not soon to forget such actions.

Worship of the late Emperor continued for over 600 years until the error was corrected by the Empire following the conclusion of the Great War in 4E 175, after which Talos worship was outlawed under the stipulations of the White-Gold Concordat. Thus, the Nine once more became the Eight.