The story begins with the five deities flying through the sky together as they had done for all time before. As they flew they came upon a speck that was not the sky. Flying closer, they found the world of Greshland falling through the air. Greshland was fully populated with the humans, sea creatures, land creatures, goblins, and spirits roaming the land, but without thought or order. All behaved as mindless beasts. The gods decided that they would make their home there and descended. They first fixed Greshland in the sky so it no longer fell and molded the heavens (the sun, the moons of which there are two, the stars, etc.) around it. Once this had been finished, each god claimed some part of the world as his own. Frethur claimed humanity and the plains, Nolen claimed the sea and its creatures, Thoruk claimed the goblins and all the underground, Ethron claimed the spirits, and Grinoth claimed the forests and cliffs. Grinoth found no affinity with any of the living creatures of the earth and instead decided to craft his own race out of the stones of the mountains and the earth of the darkest forests. These became the demons.
The gods felt that, to better organize themselves in their new home, they would need to choose a leader among themselves. They argued about this for days before deciding that they would provide gifts to their chosen races. Whosever gift was judged the greatest would be deemed the most fit to govern them all. That decided, they each crafted gifts. Grinoth gave physical strength to the demons. Nolen caused the creatures of the seas to multiply to fill its every corner. Thoruk made the goblins nimble and clever. Ethron gave the spirits freedom to travel anywhere. Frethur gave humanity reason. Within a brief time it was clear who the winner was. While the demons proved strong and resilient, the seas teamed with life, the goblins scampered and scurried, and the spirits flitted throughout the world, it was the humans who excelled. Within a brief time, they could create structures stronger than demons, ships to sail the oceans, and mines to enter the earth. They made art and music. The tamed the animals of the land, sea, and air. One by one the gods conceded to Frethur, except Grinoth. It was seven years before the demon god, pressured by the other members of the pantheon, allowed Frethur to be named the pantheon's leader.
Grinoth, however, never accepted Frethur as leader. On numerous occasions he attempted to demonstrate the weakness of humanity to demonstrate that his gift was greater. On other occasions he sought to discredit Frethur himself. This period lasted hundreds of years and there are numerous stories associated with it. Each time, Grinoth failed and was punished in minor ways and temporarily accepted Frethur's rule (sometimes in truth and othertimes merely in word). Finally, Grinoth, who always put more stock in physical strength than anything, decided to take what he could not win by consent. He spent a hundred years creating the strongest, toughest demons he could and creating avatars. When he was finished, he launched an attack against humanity intending to wipe them out. He left the sea, underground, and spirits alone at first not wishing to antagonize the other gods, but the other gods sided with Frethur and battle was joined. Only Thoruk remained neutral, attempting to calm Grinoth and the other gods to cease their battles. Although Grinoth was well prepared and made progress early on, he was gradually ground down by the combined forces of the three opposing gods. The seas were closed to him and storms hampered his movements. Spirits spied his armies out and lay traps. Human armies with massive devices of war and human heros and avatars led the assault against the forces of the demon god. After 70 years of war, the demon armies were trapped in the northern wastes. Thoruk finally consented to join the fight against Grinoth and the four gods bound the demon lord in a mountain deep inside the wastes. He remains there to this day. His children still roam the northern land, but grow weaker as the travel further from their master. Only the lands closest to the wastes still need to worry about demons.
Note: The people of Skae do not share the belief that Frethur is the leader of the gods but instead simply claim that each god has their domain and these domains are separate. Hence they worship Nolen since it is his domain where they reside.
It has been almost a thousand years since the binding of Grinoth. There are fewer stories from this period. Some tales describe Frethur granting a new art to humanity. Others describe Frethur granting the right to rule to one person or another. (Needless to say, the latter stories differ considerably depending on who is ruling the area where the stories are told.) The stories chronicle a couple attempts by Grinoth to free himself which have (obviously) failed. The most recent one happened 87 years ago. Frethur still appears (so people claim) to individuals to grant them influence and power and his church continues to thrive.
The main services occur every Tuesday evening and take about an hour. Special services are held on holidays (most of which commemorate the defeat of Grinoth or the death of some avitar in the fight although the highest holy day is April 8 and commemorates the arrival of the gods in Greshland). Smaller services are held every morning and evening and last about 15 minutes. Only the most devout attend these on a regular basis, although most people will do so during times of crisis or need. Services consist mostly of chanting and the telling of parables. There is usually an icon, relic, or other item that is the focus of veneration - larger temples would have multiple such objects. Tithing is also considered an important activity and goes to support temples. In Bashan, the tithe is mandatory and is effectively a tax. In Hirat, the tithe is optional, but careful records are kept and large contributors are recognized. In Gos, tithing is more an indication of individual devotion than support for the church.
In Hirat, the religion is organized primarily by town. Although nominally all under the high priest in the capital (Alma) individual cities are mostly left to their own. The city priesthood decides which aspects of Frethur are represented (although the main four are common). For example, Riga, which is coastal, views Frethur - the Sailor as a major aspect while Eckford, which is inland venerates Frethur - the Farmer as a principle archetype. Worship varies widely from city to city. (If one moved from Riga to Eckford, aside from a few parts, the format of the service would be unfamiliar.) Average towns have one major temple to Frethur. Larger towns may have up to four while small villages may make do with only a shrine. Cults to specific aspects are usually in separate buildings and have their own priests. Large cults (such as the Cult of the Warrior) may even have a hierarchy completely outside the regular church. Relations between cults and the main church vary from tight coordination to ignoring each other's presence. Generally, these relationships have more to do with the personalities of the respective group's leaders than anything else. Overall, however, the smaller cults tend to get along well with the central church (providing, of course, they do not follow some heretical aspect). Merchant houses will often sponsor temples within cities where their influence is strong (or growing).
In Bashan, the church is significantly more tightly organized. There is a strong hierarchy with the High Priest in the capital Kiho ruling over a half dozen diocese, each with authority over the individual parishes within their territory. Clergy may actually move location as they achieve higher offices (unlike in Hirat where one's rank in one church seldom grants much influence elsewhere except at the very highest levels). Eventually, the senior most clergy gravitate to Kiho where the church is run. Services are largely identical regardless of location, although minor variations may occur due to situational or geographic differences. The aspect cults are all part of the church and often housed in the central cathedral. Large cults may have a designated sanctum while smaller cults may share rooms by placing an icon or some similar focus at the front of the room before services and taking it down afterwards. Cults with open, independent buildings are extremely rare and indicate the cult has a great deal of influence. Any cult attempting to establish itself outside the central authority is considered and enemy of the state.
Gos is even less organized than Hirat. Individual tribes each have their own manner of service and their own aspects. These methods change and grow as the tribes meet and members pass from one group to another. Tribes seldom have sub-cults and, instead, specific cults may be integrated with general worship. Tribes generally recognize no higher authority on religious matters outside themselves. Even within Gosan cities, this pattern is repeated. An average sized city may have dozens of temples, each with their own flavor of religion. In most cases, these temples are not very large and may simply represent a single clan, although most welcome outsiders as well.
Nolen
Those who make their living on or by the sea will often offer respect to Nolen to avert his wrath, but it is to Frethur that most sailors will ask for protection. Frethur is the protector of sailors while Nolen is simply a force of nature whose attention is best avoided. There are usually several small shrines, usually stone carved in the shape of sea creatures, which people show their respect to by spitting at their base with downcast eyes. Many ships carry such shrines as well and carvings dedicated to Nolen may be inscribed on the keel. On occasions, someone from the mainland may "hear the call of Nolen". These people invariably make their way to the sea, build or purchase a small boat, and head out into the water never to be heard from again.
The people of Skae are the only major population known to worship Nolen as their primary deity. They only hold services on holy days (of which there is about one per month), but they engage in short (1-4 minute) rituals at most stages of the day (when waking up, before eating, before stepping outside, before boarding a ship, before going to sleep, etc). These rituals usually involve tracing a specific pattern. Most houses and major structures have carved decorations in the shapes of these patterns that practitioners trace, although they can be traced in the air just as effectively if one knows them. They also follow the practice of spitting at the base of shrines to show their respect. Major rituals often take the form of people walking along large patterns to the beating of deep bass drums and low, wordless chanting. Many Skae are quite nervous about letting people on their boat who are not followers of Nolen (or at least who haven't performed the necessary rituals). People of Skae often refer to themselves as sea creatures to distinguish themselves from the people who live on the mainland.
Inland, Nolen doesn't cross the minds of most people, although if a storm is particularly fierce, Nolen will often be blamed and Frethur petitioned to calm the sea god.
Thoruk
Thoruk is generally not named by people and is instead referred to as "the one below". His influence is malicious, although not evil, and his attention is best avoided. When a wheel breaks or a horse throws a shoe or some other minor misfortune occurs, the goblins, or "underpeople", are usually held responsible (at least metaphorically). Respect is usually paid before Thoruk's realm is entered. Miners will offer supplication to Thoruk, usually by crushing a clod of dirt and tossing it over their shoulder, before entering the mines since they are traveling into Thoruk's realm. Also, when digging a well or foundation, supplication are offered and sometimes small bits of glass will be buried nearby to avert the god's wrath for entering its territory. For those who do not delve below, however, their only acknowledgment of Thoruk tends to be charms against goblins, which have the general meaning of "good health to you, but leave this place in peace".
There are stories of some miners who actually worship Thoruk and live their lives underground without ever returning to the surface. Whether these stories are true is a subject of much speculation.
Ethron
Unlike Nolen and Thoruk, who is a regular part of some people's lives (mostly sailors and miners respectively), Ethron, lacking any physical domain, does not figure into human lives. Even those who live near areas with large concentrations of spirits tend to pay their respects to the spirits in general rather than Ethron in particular. Sometimes, small icons or other items to Ethron are placed in areas where spirits are present, but this is more to appease the spirits themselves and are not part of any human worship of the god.
There are rumors of cults to Ehron, but where and how they would worship is anyone's guess.
Grinoth
Grinoth is the enemy. His name seldom mentioned except as a curse or when referencing Frethur's defeat and imprisoning of the demon god. There are always rumors of cults dedicating themselves to Grinoth in return for rewards if the god is freed. In virtually all cases, however, these accusations are baseless and simply spread by people seeking to discredit some other group through lies. In the very few occasions where actual followers of Grinoth have been found, they did not appear to have received any assistance from their "patron", which many take as further proof of the strength of Frethur's prison.