Religion of the Eight Tribes

The most commonly practiced religion in the Confederation has no formal name. It is often referred to by outsiders as New Mexican Paganism, Hellenistic-Diné Bahanism, and Native Caeserism. Followers of the religion usually refer themselves as followers of their selected patron god, however they all recognize the divine authority of the Pontifex Maximus, the head priest of the religion, and the Collegium Pontificum, a body of elders made up of 12 senior priests who serve as advisers.

The religion is a syncretic blend of Roman Catholicism, Navajo native religion, and Roman paganism introduced by Caesar's Legion. The highest God is known as Deus. Beneath Him exists a pantheon of Gods, with 12 chief Gods who hold prominence over the others.

Creation Myth

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God saw the light, and it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness."

Genesis 1.3

Deus (or God) is believed to be omnipresent, without a beginning or end. God decided to let there be light, and created the universe as well as a mythical bird known as the Nyx. The Nyx laid an egg, and out of this egg came out Cupid, the God of love. Out of the egg shells, Cupid created the sky, named Caelus, and the Earth, named Terra. Cupid made them fall in love and the resulting couple resulted in the birth of 14 deities; Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Mars, Venus, Apollo, Diana, Vulcan, Vesta, Mercury, Ceres, Minevra, Satanas, and Pluto. The 13th diety, Satanas, while possessing great beauty and piety, grew ambitious and sought to overthrow Deus and become the Supreme Deity of the Universe. Satanas recruited Pluto in order to overthrow Deus, and together the duo created an army of Titans from clay in order to help them battle against their siblings. The ensuing struggle lasted a million years until Jupiter defeated Satanas at a decisive battle in modern day Albuquerque (where the Temple of Deus stands). Minevra was killed in battle, passing her responsibility to Mars. Pluto was instrumental in this victory, betraying Satanas at the behest of Jupiter. After the war ended, Deus banished both Pluto and Satanas to the Underworld. However, because of his turn back to the Light, Pluto was allowed to rule the Underworld, while Satanas was simply eternally punished. After casting down Satanas and Pluto to the Underworld, Deus rewarded the loyal deities, making them God-like powers. After creating the Garden of Eden and the First Man and First Woman, Deus retired to his palace and allowed the Children of Dyx to control the universe.

Prophets

There are countless holy men in the religion, however there exist certain people who are believed to have been talked to by the Gods, or even Deus himself.

• Asdzáá Naadleehí/Asa Nadile- Asa Nadile was believed to be the third human, the child of First Man and First Woman in the Garden of Eden. After being banished from the Garden due to Adam betraying Deus, Asa Nadile was reportedly tasked by Deus Himself to rid of the world of the Titans left over from the First Cleansing War. Afterwards, Asa gave birth to 200 people who would be the ancestors of every single human.

• Abraham

• Moses

• Romulus

• Homer

• Orpheus

• Jesus Christ

• Julian Richardson

• Caesar/Edward Sallow- Caesar is believed to be the son of Mars himself. According to tribal legend, the Great War was an act of rebellion by Mars against Jupiter and Terra. The world had been cleansed through nuclear fire in order to facilitate Caesar, Mar's son, conquest of Earth. The death of Caesar and collapse of the Legion, however, is interpreted as Mars surrendering to Jupiter and Terra. Nevertheless, Caesar is still regarded as a divine figure, and arguably has had the largest influence on the religion as a whole, introducing Roman paganism to the tribes.

• Gaagii/Gagi