Dominion: the Sun
Title: the Radiant One
Sacred Symbols: chariot of the sun, solar disc, cornucopia
Sacred Colours: yellow, orange, gold
Sacred Animals: white horses, wolves, red and white cattle, roosters
Sacred Plants: heliotrope, frankincense, poplar tree
Sacred Jewel: peridot
Day of Worship: Sunday
High Feast Day: Day of Midsummer (25th of June)
Festival: Yuletide (from the last New Moon to the last Full Moon of the year)
Devotees: the common people, countryfolk
Invoked for: love (especially between men), protection, luck, honour, power, success, strength
Temple: The main temple in Lindensea is in the city of Aldbury in the Shorelands. The temple in Camden is on Whitebread Hill, which faces towards the sun. The Wintertide Temple at Camden Palace is also dedicated to the Sun.
Initiation: None. All are welcome at worship and encouraged to participate in the festivals.
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There is a long tradition that a temple to the sun god was raised on what is now Whitebread Hill in the year 223 of the Roman Era. No archeological evidence of this has ever been found, but the sheer number and consistency of these reports means that the historian is unable to dismiss them entirely, even while admitting they cannot be confirmed.
However, according to what is known to us, worship of the god Sol was not common until relatively late in the Roman era. The Emperor Apollonius I converted to Sun worship in the year 356 of the Roman Era, but despite his promotion, it did not become quickly widespread. As the Romans withdrew from these shores less than a century later, there was little chance for the Solar religion to take firm hold in The Isles.
After the Saxons conquered the land now known as Lindensea, they brought their own gods, which gradually became blended with the Roman gods of the land. In turn, these had already merged with the local gods of the Tirathic peoples.
In the year 147 of the Saxon Era, the Emperor in Rome, Flavius IV, sent a priest of Sol called Lucius as missionary to the Saxon queen of these Isles, Bertha the Lawgiver. By all accounts, she was converted to the religion at the Feast of Midsummer, and gave instruction for a wondrous temple to the Sun to be constructed in the city of Aldbury, in the Shorelands of the country. To this day, Aldbury remains the heart of the Solar religion in Lindensea, and the High Priest or Priestess of Aldbury takes precedence over all others.
One of the reasons for its great success must surely be that at the time of Lucius' mission, the various religions had become increasingly insular and exclusive - perhaps even corrupt. The common people were effectively left without any religion to turn to, meaning that the Solar missionary found fruitful soil for his labours.
The democratic nature of Solarism, opening its arms to everyone, offering bounty to the poor and asking almost nothing in return, made it a very attractive religion. Indeed, so eager is Solarism to treat all alike that its very priests and priestesses are chosen by lot, rather than for their talents, abilities or social connections. In this way, the god himself is said to choose the successful applicant.
Today Solarism is the most widespread religion in our kingdom, the one which gives the greatest hope and comfort to the common people, and the simplest to join. Everyone, no matter their personal faith, takes part in the Midsummer Feast and Yuletide Festival, and celebrates the holiday each Sunday. Indeed, if someone says they 'have no religion', it will be assumed that means they are a child of Sol.
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