Chongbai
Chongbai (崇拜) also called Worship of the Deep is the ethnic religion of Daxia and is practiced by a majority of the Daxian people. A polytheistic religion, the Chongbai pantheon is composed of dozens of gods and hundreds of minor deities and aspects of nature. Aspects of Chongbai have influenced the cosmovision of Daxians and their sense of special destiny; Daxian racialist theories are deeply enmeshed with Chongbai religious doctrines. The Emperors were considered to be the heads of the Chongbai religious hierarchy thanks to their special connections to the divine, in their absence the Custodian of the Grand Temple of Diqiu and Grand Hierophant is considered the seniormost and preeminent religious figure. Out of favor after the end of dynastic rule, Chongbai has begun to see a revival in its popularity during the last two decades as resistance and agitation against 'foreign' religions is on the rise.
Mythos
In the Chongbai mythos of creation, the creator of the earth is Diqiu who is God of the Underworld. Diqiu built a barren world at first and shaped the first three gods in his Furnace of Creation, these gods who he considered his children were then to fill the world with their own creations; they would be given a domain in accordance with their nature. The first of Diqiu's children to emerge from the Underworld was Tian who looked above him and saw nothingness, which displeased him. Tian began exhaling air for many days until he had created the sky and the clouds; for this he was made God of the Sky. The second god to emerge was Sangu, he walked the earth and grew tired of the harshness of its surface on his feet. He took out a satchel filled with water from the underground and spilled it about him, thus he created the first oceans; for this he was made God of the Seas. The third god to emerge was Ziran who looked all around and saw nothing but bleak rock and tepid water. She cut locks from her hair, planted them in the hard ground and fed them water from the sea and blood from her hand, from this grew the first trees. Ziran the Goddess of Nature also known as the Gardener traveled all over, creating more greenery until the world was a paradise; she gave it the name of the Great Garden. Upon seeing the works of his children, Diqiu was pleased and as a reward he created all the creatures that fly in the air, that swim in the seas and that crawl on the ground to populate the world and domains of his children.
Shortly after this, Diqiu began to meditate in a cave and over a number of years he expelled the bad humors from his divine flesh. These spiritual excretions fled from his presence and hid in the dark corners of the world, resting and growing. Eventually they would resurface and as befits their godly origin, the took on the appellation of the Ruinous Powers. Each according to the trait that gave them shape, they took on terrible shapes and set to impose their will upon the lands by unleashing evil creatures upon it. The goddess Ziran appealed to her divine father for help to protect her Garden, he responded by fashioning two brass golems; one male and one female. These Men of Brass would go on to defend the Garden and would eventually sire humanity, but this the gods did not know yet.
Deities
Beneficent Deities
Diqiu
God of the Underworld, creator of mankind and chief deity of the pantheon. Commonly represented as a bearded old man sitting in a cave.
Ziran
God of Nature, creator of the Great Garden and guardian of nature. In ancient times she was worshipped primarily by the Men of the hedge. Often depicted as a serpent with feathers.
Tian
God of the Sky, associated with dreams and prophecy. Depicted as a large cloud with lightning bolts coming out of it.
Sangu
God of the Sea, depicted as a large crab.
Mingje
Mingje is the God of Fortune, his domain is luck and games of chance; he also has ties to Daxian Numerology. Mingje was created by Diqiu from a puddle of magic clay, his original task was to arbitrate a dispute between Ziran and Sangu as to who had domain over swamps. With both laying claim and refusing to budge, Mingje determined that the most fair way to decide was by the simple flipping of a coin, which he produced. The two gods each chose a side of the coin and Mingje flipped it, Ziran was the winner and added swamps to her care. From the on Mingje and his coins became an arbitrator of the gods, if they chose to chance the outcome of disputes with his coin flips. It is noted in religious texts that Mingje has no permanent abode, he wanders the cosmos tempting anyone to play games of chance with him. He is often depicted playing with various supernatural beings such as ogres and sea dragons. Mingje is said to have acquired his signature gold coin by stealing it from Jinyuan's pot, an act that has turned the God of Greed into his eternal enemy.
It is said that when a human is born, Mingje flips a coin to determine if that person's life will be lucky or unlucky. The God of Fortune cares not about the outcome, he will enforce whatever the coin dictates. Very rarely he may use his will to move the coin to grant favorable luck, this may happen if he's had a good streak himself. Temples to Mingje are few and far between, they usually feature a fountain where devotees can toss a coin to gain the favor of Mingje. Small shrines are more common, they are usually sparse and consist of a single room with a statue of the god and a bowl to leave an offering. Mingje is considered the patron god of gamblers, he is popular in Zhijun for this reason. Businessmen and sportsmen are also common devotees of him, praying for luck in their respective endeavours.
Ruinous Powers
The Ruinous Powers were originally the dark traits of Diqiu's divine being, they took independent shape when they were expelled from his body.
Yeenog
God of Shadows, Decay and Strife, also called the Dark King, is the chief deity of the Ruinous Powers. He often takes the shape of black smoke with ten arms.
Jinya
Jinya is the God of Greed and is the deity responsible for creating the obsession of Daxians with money and profit. He is represented by a clay pot with a sinister grinning face. He is one of the primordial dark traits that Diqiu cast out from his own flesh
Abotur
God of Tremors, responsible for earthquakes and seismic movements, is represented by a mountain with one eye.