Ladonist
Worshipping Clans
- Light Dragon
- Winged
- Woren
This religion worships Ladon, the Dragon God. He is a fair and just deity who takes the form of a gigantic golden Dragon. Ladon believes in letting his followers grow through experience to find themselves and has no exact expectations as to what they should do.
Another worthy note is that, as all sharp toothed creatures, Ladon is a carnivore. That's why Dragons, even though they are in human form, don't ever become vegetarians; some Winged Clansmen do but it is rare, and Woren vegetarians are unheard of because they are structured like a carnivorous animal. As they are the clan that embodies Ladon the most, they feel they should follow his general habits of existence.
History
In ancient times, Ladon created the Dragon Clan based on some of the characteristics of the Dinosaurs hunted by humans. They were loyal to him and opted not to take sides in the Huma/Reptite struggle because it did not benefit their god to help either side. When the Ice Age hit, the belief in Ladon became a central part of life because of the suffering that the world was now seeing.
During the time of Enlightenment, however, dreams of power caused Dragons to shy away and worship Myria instead. Despite this, he was still worshiped by a small sect of Dragons living in the Kingdom of Zeal. Their belief was that they should treat the Earthbound Ones as people in need of help and not as filthy primitives. Princess Schala and the 3 Gurus were among this sect.
When Zeal went down and the Enlightened Ones were stranded on this world, the Dragon Clan divided in two. Those that accepted their new status and strived to help their new neighbors became the Light Dragons and worshiped Ladon, while the dissident members of the clan left the refugee camp and formed their own society. This second group became known as the Dark Dragons and they continued to worship Zeal's patron diety, Myria.
Because the refugees in the camp that took in the Light Dragons were Winged and Woren, they too became followers of Ladon. However, other refugees that were from other hidden villages continued with their own religions.
After these events, not much change came to the primary structure of the worshipers. Some Huma who lived in areas populated by Dragons, Woren, and Winged Clansmen worship Ladon, but no other Clans utilize him as their primary deity.
Worship
Since Ladon has three clans that worship him, he is the most widely praised diety. His followers tend to keep shrines to Ladon in their homes and celebrate their god there instead of going to an official shrine.
There are priests and priestesses, but not in a sense that they officiate services. Instead, they travel the world and seek to help those in trouble with the grace of Ladon. Many draconic, winged, and tiger heroes, whether or not they become official priests and priestesses, are also called by those titles.
Becoming a priest or priestess requires five years of intense study in the history of the world and powers that can be used to aid other people. After that period, candidates are tested with both a performance and oral exam. Those that pass go on to become full priests and priestesses, while the others will train more and take it again later on.
A ceremony does take place every year at Midsummer for Ladon. The Clans that worship him as a primary diety will dress up in costumes that look like Dragons and attend a large festival, usually setup in a field near the town. There, they will play games, eat meat related foods, and watch ceremonial dances and chants depicting stories of great heroes who served Ladon.