The varying false religions of Eartea (The world of Bonesword) can be divided into three categories: The Cosmovisions, the Paganisms, and the Cults.

The Cosmovisions all share the same basic central cosmology. (A understanding of the universe, only the cosmos forms various gods.)

The basic cosmology begins with the Nether, an absolute nothingness, absent of laws, matter, and even space and time. Through a series of spontaneous creations, not detailed here, space, time, matter, and the laws of science are born, creating the Ether. Nether is the Nothingness while Ether contains all existence.

Here is where the split is born. Separated after the Cleansing Fire on the two continents of the Soutwyth, two separate applications of this cosmology were born.

The Harmonia believe that all of the Ether is meant to be a glorious musical harmony. Because of the music driven cobha of Eartea, the harmony isn't considered an abstract concept but a concrete reality which transcends the human understanding of music. Technically, this is a mystical atheism. "Good" and "evil" are value judgments based on the idea of harmony. Evil is generally associate with the divisive and destructive forces of the Nether. Some groups hold that the Nether exists to make obvious the glories of the Ether (the Balance view of good and evil) other view Ether and Nether as conflicting forces drawing near to a final battle.

The Dechept is a religious, but very intellectual and value oriented atheism. Basically, there are separate value Dogmas, each group in conflict with the other. Some worship the Nether and his metaphorical "sons", Destruction and Division, some worship Ether, or certain various elements within the Ether, including the Tri-fold Time, Space, or "Matter". Some are even so selective as to create a division between used Space and unoccupied space.

Generally, those on the side of Ether get along tolerably. They view the forces of Nether as the ultimate evil. Some (as some Harmonists) view the Nether as existing to give rise to and make known the Ether. Others view the Nether as an enemy.

The Netherists, on the other hand, have no loyalties and no tolerance. They do not care for anyone, even each other. They view the Nether as the ultimate good, and Ether and Harmony as foes which must be annihilated, literally. They work for division and destruction among humanity and nature, hoping that it will spread and ultimately over throw the Ether, returning all to nothingness. The Netherists know no hope, no dreams, and no happiness. They are saturated with deceit, despair, and a lustful and unfulfillable desire for destruction.

While the cosmovist complete dominate the Soutwyth, the Norwyth demonstrates much variety, including a better reception of the Covenants.

The many isolated tribes, city states, and nomadic groups of the Norwyth are famed for warfare, strife, and superstition. However, while their wars are unnecessary and their gods are false, the peoples of the Norwyth are, if anything, a little wiser than the people of the Soutwyth.

The Paganists broke off from the other tribes after the Cleansing. They claimed that the creatures and objects of the world did no have any spiritual value, because they lacked intellect. Recognizing that the spirit was the connection to a "spiritual realm" they gradually developed a system of spirits who governed the world. These spirits, originally viewed merely as mystical cousins of mankind, developed into gods over the passage of time.

Some were gods of war, or love. Others, gods of trees, rivers, oceans. They did not constitute these things, but rather loved and chose to govern them. They chose to govern those things that were similar to their hearts and loves, and therefore resembled those things. Thus a river god might be painted, metaphorically, as a human shape made of water.

Two gods stand out uniquely, though. When the Paganists were forcible expelled from the Soutwyth, they were forced to cross the Eternal Ice, and ultimately cross the Twillight Band. Few survived the deadly cold. Others died of despair in the darkness.

At this time, a new god was postulated. The God of Darkness. A fearful god who hated mankind and all things that loved light. They also remembered from their past references to a Light From Which All Things Sprung, and believed it to be their creator, the god of light who illuminated knowledge.

After the Pagan tribes entered the Norwyth, they were quickly scattered by emotional, mental, and spiritual attacks by demons. Once scattered, select portions of the Pagans were taken by the demons and altered to form the Huri, servants of the false gods. The Huri became the chief enforcers and priests of the gods that they served, and were shaped to be ideal in that service. The most famous Huri, the War Huri, were nearly war machines.

When the Covenant was revealed and introduced to the people of the Norwyth, it was not always received fully. Many tribes adopted portions of the Covenant into their own traditions, creating the first of many cults to form. While never prevalent or powerful, the cults often contained eccentric intellectuals who developed many of the advances that led the Norwyth into an early Renaissance of sorts. But the Norwyth paid for it's materialism.

When a Norwyth scouting patrol used new technology to safely travel the Twilight Band (which had grown more dangerous) they were taken captive by the Soutwyth. After gleaning all possible information from the Norwyth scouts, the Soutwyth, who had developed the musical cobha of the world into an incredibly powerful weapon, invaded the Norwyth and forced its people to obey the principles of Harmony.

Technological advances were destroyed. The cults and the true Covenant were nearly stamped out. Paganism passed away entirely. But the world was united, and passages for traversing the Twilight Band allows the Covenant to find new converts in the Soutwyth.

It was at this time that a Savior, a More Perfect Sacrifice appeared. But that is another story, eh?

I liked that you made the cosmos a center of religion. Very honest.

I like the musical cobha, it's very interesting. The fact that paganism doesn't start as a worship of thing but can easily get confused is a neat twist. Do they sort of believe that everything exists because of a spirit so non-spirit things need a ruler? Does that also make themselves their own gods in a way?

Yes, the pagans tend to view themselves as gods of a degree.

As an example, there is a tribe of elves in the Norwyth who live on a single river flowing out of the coastal mountains into the ocean. Because they derive their sustenance from the fish of this river, they have developed a holistic culture based entirely on the life cycle of the fish.

The fish are bred and come to life at the highest springs of the river, and so the mountain springs are heaven. Like men, the fish are pulled down by the force of gravity and the flow of water. They are pulled down to the sea, where they spend their lives building the strength to return to heaven. They return and die, being freed into the higher heaven of the skies, to begin other, unknown journeys. Their entire society and precepts are based on this story.

That's a very fascinating example. I like the analogies.