Farzak
The Far Wanderer, The Seeker, The Defender
| Status | Lesser God |
| Domain | Travel, Exploration, Journeys, Quests and Protection |
| Ethos | The world belongs to those who see it. Always seen the endless horizon for there lies the future. |
| Typical Worshipers | Explorers, rangers, scouts, merchants, caravan guards, pilgrims, guardians |
| Head of the Church | None |
| Demographics | 29% Human, 27% Grum, 20%Sayune, 8% Orcish, 6% Elven, 4% Dwarven, 3% Ogrish, 3% Other |
| Geographic Regions | Worshipers and shrines can be found scattered widely throughout all of Ithria, but there are no concentrations in any particular geographic region. |
| Allied Faiths | Semorjon, Mireldokar, Magrizath and Erylon. |
| Opposed Faiths | All of the Dark Lords. |
| Holy Symbol | A circle divided horizontally across the middle by a single line. |
Description
Farzak is the God of Journeys, Exploration and Protection. He is the Far Wanderer, the Endless Horizon and the Seeker. He is worshiped by those who travel and seek safety on the journey. Farsak is forever on the move. He wanders all the realms of existence endlessly. The roads are his home.
He is also the Guardian, the Protector and the Defender. He is prayed to by those who seek safety on their journeys, but also by those who defend others. Guardians of every type pray to him for strength and vigilance.
Farzak is also the “god of lost things”. Any time something is lost, it is said to be “wandering with Farzak”. Often times, people will offer up a prayer to Farzak, in hopes of retrieving a lost thing. In some cases, young people have been known to beseech Farzak with sacrifices to mend their broken heart by returning a “lost” love to them.
In story and song, Farzak is described as a tall figure in a hooded cloak. He wears a pair of high boots and walks with a walking staff. Over one shoulder is wears a worn leather satchel.
According to the tales that his priests tell about him, Farzak speaks little and often cryptically. But buried within his words are often gems of wisdom. Many of his priests emulate this behavior.
Myths and Legends
The priests of Farzak have endless tales about their lord’s journeys. He is said to have traveled to every kingdom, no matter how distant, and visited every village, no matter how tiny. He has peeked under every fallen leaf in the forest, peered into every volcano, circled every hill, waded through every swamp and climbed every mountain. Each story has him visiting some distant and fabulous place, more outlandish than the last.
In almost every tale, he encounters various people of the world, helps those in need, puts right some injustice and then moves on. Furthermore, Farzak is always able to pull something out of his satchel to solve a problem or aid a situation. The satchel is said to be bottomless. In one story, he plunged the satchel into a lake and drained it dry. In other, he hid an entire village of people from a marauding giant by having them climb into his satchel, one by one.
Overview of the Church
The church of Farzak is one of the “Celestial” faiths. Although smaller, it still has many hundreds of priests and thousands of faithful that wander the world. Almost everyone who travels (or is forced to travel) utters a quick prayer to Farzak for safe passage. It is believed that he watches over every journey, no matter how trivial. It is common to offer a small sacrifice before a major journey and another offering as thanks at the end of the journey. Large caravans will often hire Farzak priests to accompany them for protection or may bear the symbol of Farzak to ward away ill fortune.
Those who protect others often pray to Farzak as well. This is especially true for the grum and sayune for whom he is a major god of protection. In human kingdoms, he is a popular deity with soldiers, those who serve in village militias and town guards.
Geographic Placement
Because of the nature of this church, its priests and worshipers are scattered far and wide across the continent and can be found almost anywhere. However, they are usually found on the major roads and travel routes between major cities and kingdoms.
History and Origins
Historical records indicate that this minor faith was embraced by travelers of the Thullian Empire long ago. The faith has spread, but remained relatively unchanged over the centuries. During the years of the Great War, his aspects of defense and protection became more prominent.
Goals
There are no central goals of this church. However, individual priests often agree that their goals are to see and explore every inch of the world, and then, to move on to other worlds.
Temples, Churches and Holy Sites
The religion of Farzak has no real churches. Scattered about the world are many small shrines to Farzak. Some are found far from civilization, lonely desolate things along major trade routes between kingdoms. Others are found in towns and villages operated by priests of Farzak. These shrines are often tended to by older priests who have "retired" from a life of wandering.
Worshipers
Farzak is very popular with rangers, scouts, explorers, adventurers, pilgrims, caravan drivers, traders, merchants, couriers, guards, soldiers, bodyguards and wandering rogues. He is particularly popular with the grum and the sayune. Many who travel wear his holy symbol on them as a ward against evil.
Allied and Opposed Faiths
Farzak is generally on good terms with most of the Elder Gods and Celestials. In particular, the church of Farzak feels a special kindred with Semorjon (whose followers often go on long voyages), Mireldokar (the earth mother) and Magrizath (who is a fellow god of questing). Farzak is opposed to all of the Dark Lords.
Tenets
Use each day to travel, to explore, to experience and relish life.
Never allow a day to pass without a thousand steps.
Protect those who cannot defend themselves. Provide for those who have needs.
Share the road, share a meal, share life.
Scripture
Although there are many tales of Farzak, many well known fables of adventure and faraway lands, there is no central holy book to this faith. This is very much a faith that is passed down by the spoken word. Priests of Farsak share stories of their travels with everyone they meet.
Symbols
The symbol of Farzak is a circle divided horizontally representing the sky, the land and the endless horizon that divides the too.
Boots are a common symbol of the faith as well, especially a single muddy boot.
Rituals
At the beginning of each day, a wandering Farzak follower will pray to the horizon, facing in each of the four directions. The four directions are an important component of this religion.
Holy Days
None. Every day that involves travel is a holy day and a good day for the faithful.
Artifacts
None.
Overview of the Clergy
The priests of Farzak are true nomads, never staying in any one place for long and rarely visiting a place twice. They talk with believers at village taverns, preach to fellow travelers on the road, do good deeds each day and often sleep under the stars.
Priests of Farzak have a variety of spells that aid them on their travels. They often come to the defense of others and many of their spells are oriented toward protection, defense and providing. In addition to magic, they normally wear armor and wield a variety of weapons. From their travels, they often have learned quite a few tricks and earned a few battle scars. Farzak priests will always intercede to defend the weak whenever they are being preyed upon by the strong.
The priests of Farzak must keep moving. Their magic is tied to movement. If they stay too long in one place, their magic begins to fade. No priest of Farzak will willingly stay in the same place for more than a week. The more they travel, the stronger their magic. A Farzak priest forced to stay in one place for more than a week will see his power and magic begin to diminish.
A farzak priest will only stop journeying when they become to old and weak to keep up with the daily rigors of travel. When that day comes, they will build a shrine to Farzak, settle down and tend to the shrine. Their magic is somewhat weakened, but they manage to keep up a few spells. They will gladly welcome any and all travelers to their humble shrine.
Imprisonment is the ultimate horror for the faithful of Farzak, especially his priests. Farzak priests will go to any lengths to free a fellow priest and will do what they can to free others who profess a faith in Farzak. Farzak priests often speak out against imprisonment, arguing for other forms of criminal punishment. “Better to be in hell than in a cell” is another common saying.
Divisions and Rank Structure
While most priests of Farzak are generalists, some specialize and focus their magic by picking a direction as their “favored” direction. In this faith, each direction is attuned to one of the four elements. Their magic is influenced by their direction.
Priests who favor the north have powerful spells of air. They can summon powerful gusts of wind, create defensive walls of air and cloak themselves in shimmering invisibility.
Priests who favor the south wield earth magic. They can cause earth to move, mud to flow, rocks to crumble and shape metal with their hands.
Priests of the east control fire. They can cast forth streams of fire, summon walls of flame, extinguish fires with a look and walk through fire unscathed.
Priests of the west wield water magic. They can breath water, summon fog, control waves and currents and erect walls of standing water.
When facing in their favored direction, such a specialty priest finds his magic strengthened.
This website was last updated August 9, 2023. Copyright 1990-2023 David M. Roomes.