the folk acknowledge many deities - they believe every realm is controlled by a divine being, serving as masters of elements or guardians of landmarks, etc. though some cats may have reverence for one of these, it is sacrilegious to hold them in higher regard than the storm gods, and explicit worship of the other deities is discouraged so as not to provoke the storm's anger. the exceptions to this are the creator deity and her 'child,' the life-giver.

regular rites involve prayers, protective sigils and amulets, and ritual sacrifices. in times past, war has been used as a 'rite'.

An entity of pure energy, interwoven within every facet of the world. The Folk believe her love brought the earth into being; she is considered the mother of all other deities, alongside all living things. Though she created the world, she cannot control it, like a mother cannot make her child's decisions for them. Nonetheless she has empathy for any suffering that comes to the Folk; lush and prey-rich seasons are considered gifts from the Mother as penance for the agony of the lean, dry months.

She has never channeled a vessel to contact the Folk. Nonetheless, in artwork she can be depicted visually in a variety of ways, implementing her various motifs - but always weeping. Common motifs include olive trees and Cape hares; sometimes she is portrayed as an enormous felid, many times the size of the Folk.

THE GODS OF STORM known as the earth-razers, the bringers of the storm, the air on falcon's wings, the light-strikers, the all-listening, they who birth the rain A number of gods that operate in unison; when combined, their chaotic natures create fearsome storms. Though the Folk fear the Storm Gods, and reasonably so, they are often spared the worst of these deities' rage; many generations ago, the Seeing-Eye struck a deal with the Earth-Razers, earning his kin's safety in exchange for their eternal faith. The Folk believe that their collective worship of the Gods of Storm is essential to keep them safe from divine retribution, and have little tolerance for beliefs that spurn the All-Listening or, worse, put other deities above them. In artwork and sigils, they are depicted as birds - typically birds of prey or carrion-birds. Though they do channel other birds that embody individual entities within the Storm, their primary vessel is a pale-eyed Griffon vulture, referred to merely as "the Squall"; it is said that he is the same vessel that spoke to the First Seeing-Eye all those years ago, and accompanied him throughout his life, making him hundreds of generations old despite appearing to live, eat, and sleep like any living creature.

The deity that guides the sun. Little is known about them; as the opposition to the Storm Gods, to worship the Sun is considered especially disrespectful. They are believed to be the cause of the drought season. Though the sun lingers in the sky longer and longer every year, this God has not revealed themself within living memory.

They are vaguely recalled as a Persian fallow deer.

The deity that embodies the moon. She is less abhorred by the Gods of Storm than her heliomorphic counterpart, and thus some individuals worship her to a lesser extent. She has gone unseen outside of her celestial presence for all of living memory, but her dark flank and pale eye block out the harsh drought-season sun and light the land in a comforting glow, an act considered a blessing by the Folk.

[APPEARANCE]