Baruc

Baruc is the primary deity of the Church of Baruc, the dominant religion in both the Alliance of States and League of Nine. Religious doctrine claims that He created humanity.

His church holds the Codex Baruc as their holy book.

There are other religions on Ethos, but they are located in regions beyond the lands of the War of Nine. The church of Baruc also hosts many different sects, but the contents of this article are items agreed upon by all sects.

Creation Myth
In the beginning, there was only Baruc. He created three children: Elohim, Ogdilla, and Halil. Baruc also created the world of Ethos, and its plants and animals. He instructed his children to fill the world with people; he would depart for a time, and then return to see what they had built.

Elohim created the Eldest, Ogdilla the Firstborn. For a time, they lived in peace. But Halil could not create life, so He instead took to corrupting His siblings creations. Thanks to Halil's influence, conflict erupted between the Eldest and Firstborn. When the Eldest were losing, Elohim taught them magic. When the Firstborn then fell behind, Ogdilla taught them of civilization. Soon their conflict had consumed the whole of Ethos. Elohim and Ogdilla fled from Ethos, unable to save Their creations and fearful of Their father's appraisal of what they had done to the world.

When Baruc returned, He found his beautiful world torn by war. The Eldest had torn a hole in existence itself and rendered themselves extinct. The Firstborn were nearly extinct themselves. The whole world was pocked with war and blight. And in its center stood Halil, begging Baruc for mercy from all the suffering He had caused. With a heavy heart, Baruc flooded the world and then drained it. Baruc knew that Halil must be kept away from life, lest He cause more harm, but destruction was not in Baruc's nature. So, as the ground was still wet from the flood, He entombed Halil deep beneath the earth, where He might never harm anything ever again. Once Ethos had dried out, Baruc created humanity. He told the kings of humankind that it was their duty to restore Ethos to its former glory. He would leave them, and when the damage of the Firstborn and Eldest had been fully undone and humanity lived in harmony, He would return.

Church History
There were many books that claimed to speak for and about the prophets of Baruc. In 487, the antecedents of the modern church met to discuss which should be considered canon and noncanon. The canon books were established as the Codex Baruc. The noncanon books have picked up the unofficial name of Codex Aprocrypha, but were not catalogued until the late 17th century, well after the conclusion of the War of Nine.