The Gods of the Veresechi Peoples
This paper is an attempt to preserve some of the beliefs that my ancestors held in the times of yore, for I fear there will be no one to record them should death claim me.
In the beginning, there was Bezmirie - a state when nothing but light and darkness existed, ever shifting, blending and separating. Then, in their own time, Zharobog was born in the light and Khladobog in the darkness.
Zharobog, full of vigour and flame, began shaping everything that was in his reach, creating earth, liquid water and immortal plants, beasts and men. Such raw and ubridled was the passion of Zharobog, that all his creations were wild and furious and knew no rest.
Khladobog noticed this and acted in accordance with his cold and still nature. He unleashed frosts upon the earth and waters, he hung the veil of night to shade the world from the scorching sun, and he divested all the life of its immortality, commanding Death to perform its eternal duty.
And so this world was brought forth, obeying the will of both gods. The soul of each man, calm or fiery, bears their mark. It had been said that the souls of those who pass away return to Bezmirie. There they shall await the day, on which unruly Sun God plays his last, briefly throwing all there is into an inconceivable chaos. The Night God will then restrain his last, and a perfect harmony, free of any vicissitudes, shall be instated forever.
Various sacrifices were offered to the gods in the hopes of gaining their patronage in the matters of hunting, farming, war, and love. Sacrifices to Zharobog included cattle, burning bonfires made with massive tree trunks, and pouring molten metals in elaborate patterns. For Khladobog, it was carving an idol out of a certain kind of stone, which was then placed on the seashore in shallow waters at the beginning of the frost season. Additional offerings of gems were laid beside. The ice that formed on the shores would hold the idol in place during the coldest months, and then drag it into the sea when the thaw days came.
There were cults that favoured one god over another. I have heard of a group that worshipped Khladobog specifically, preaching that life itself is a flawed property of existence, poisoned by Zharobog's madness, and only by Khladobog's side, in the everlasting and unmoving darkness, a true peace could be achieved.