Alvia Religions

Alvia Religions-

Two Goddesses:
The Worship of the two gods is the dominat faith in Alvia primarily being worshipped in the Eques Valley, Clan Lands, and Heartlands and scattered converts in Faewood, the Islands, the North, and the Gray Hills.  This faith worships  the two Goddesses of Hope and Despair Madoka and Homura.  
The faith originated in the far east and was brought to Alvia by the Royal Guard Clans and spread throughout Central and southern Alvia.  Issac converted to the faith upon entering the heartlands and won the support of the faith in securing rule of Alvia.  The heart of the faith in Alvia is the Grand Temple of Rosemont, where holy relics of the Goddesses are housed.  
The faith's divine warriors are the Puella Magi, Magical Girls.  Powerful warriors who wield magic and slay demons, guarding the souls of mankind.  They are typically young women and most tragically die young as the job the preform is incredibly dangerous.
The organization of the Temple and its clergy is considerably progressive.  Both men and women may join the Clergy though only women may achieve the highest ranks.  Members of the clergy are allowed to marry and have families, same sex marriages are considered perfectly acceptable.  The clergy is arranged on several tiers starting with Brothers and Sisters, they are not processional members of clergy and are in truth trainees seeking to join it.  Clerics hold the duty of spreading the teaching of the Godessess to the masses either traveling around the world or by running a local temple.  An abbot or abbotess is a senior member of the clergy who is charged with the faith of a city or castle.  An Archabbot or Archabbotess is the highest position most in the church may attain, charged with the faith of whole regions.  The highest rank of Eldest Sister must be chosen from among the Puella Magi however.   The Eldest Sister must be younger than twenty five years of age when she is elected.  The Eldest sister changes her first name to that of one of Madoka and Homura's fellow Puella Magi these being Sayaka, Mami, Kyouko, Nagisa, Yuma.  The Eldest Sister shall serve for life as head of the temple, leader of the Puella Magi, and a member of the King's council.

Old Gods:
The Old Gods are a hard to define series of dietes mostly of nature and the natural world.  The faith of the Old Gods was once the dominat faith in Alvia but is now second to the Faith of the two Goddesses.  The Old Gods are worshipped primarily in the North and Gray Hills with scattered support in the Islands, Clan Lands, and the Wald.
The Old Gods are not worshipped in temples or chruches but under the open skies.  Great standing stones and Groves are places of worship for followers of the old gods.  Worship of the Old Gods may include blood sacrifices though the usage of human sacrifices is illegal in Alvia.    
Followers of the Old Gods do not become knights as there is no equivelant to knighthood.  

Elven Goddesses:
The Elven Goddesses are worshiped almost exclusively in Faewood or in other places of high Elven populations.  The Elves worship three Goddesses; Celendias the sun Goddess, Lunaresta the moon Goddess, and Raukotari the mistress of the Inferno.  The three Goddesses are sisters who keep balance over the world.  The Center of the religion is found in Eldernesh at the High Cathedral.
Most elves worship one or perhaps two of the Goddesses primarily but always acknowledge the other one or two.  Only a handful worship all three primarily.  Each Goddess has their own clergy and methods of veneration.  The heads of each clergy make decisions regarding the faith as a group called the Conclave.
Followers of the Elven Goddesses are able to become knights though few do so.  This is due to the difficulty of raising Horses in the forests.    

Faith of the Nine:
The Faith of the Nine is practiced almost exclusively in the Islands, particularly the Skyborn Islands.  It is a faith that worships nine gods.  Each God or Goddess has its own aspects, and each has its own devoted clergy answering to a central clergy.

Faith of the One:
More commonly found in the East, the Faith of the one is a monotheistic faith which worships a nameless all powerful God often refereed to as The One.  It is most commonly found in the Heartlands, the Islands, and the Eques Valley though it is a minority in the Heartlands and Eques Valley. The Faith of the One slowly trickled over into Alvia from Estalia, Ambria, and Allyion where it is the dominat religion.  
The Faith of the One worship in churches and the clergy is primarily male.  While it upholds noble ideas of peace, love, and charity its strict tenants has slowed its growth of converts in Alvia.  There are also the rumors of corruption of the clergy in the east which turn away more than a few converts.  Then there is the crusade which occurred less than a century prior in which thousands of soldiers from Estalia, Ambria, and Allyion invaded Alvia and were driven out after half a decade of brutal fighting.