In the beginning, in the dark and cold of the waters, humanity huddled together for warmth and protection from the Deeps and the things spawned thereof.
And then stood Lir, proud and unafraid, and said to the people STAND, AND BE ONE.
And he led them to a great city undersea, empty of life but full of spires and buildings, room enough for them all.
And in the palace of the city undersea, his daughter declared herself Queen Beneath The Waves, and named the gathered people Rebman, and called them a nation.
And seeing this, Lir said these things:
There will be blood before these claims are truth, but once true they will be bound with blood.
For Above and Below are unbalanced, and unbalance cannot stand.
There is power Below, as there is power Above, but the power Below is sealed until Above and Below are joined.
And having said these things, Lir left the people in their city, to do these things, and so it was.
Religion in Rebma is a quieter, more contemplative affair than in most places. Rebma is a place of the past, and its religion looks backwards to the lessons of history and the words Lir left when he took his leave. Since his final commandments can be summarized as 'sit tight and wait,' religion in Rebma tends towards a few simple expressions of faith:
- Be thankful for the gifts of Lir; the City, the connection to history, and the riches of the sea are all considered to spring from Lir, who is often equated with a personification of the Sea.
- Wait for the time when Above and Below are joined, and watch for the signs.
- Acknowledge that all Rebmans are children of Lir; do not make War on one another. (This commandment can be bent to near the breaking point when Houses come into conflict, although commando raids and political struggle are generally considered to be short of War.)
The clergy is similarly understated - to the outside observer, they may even been mistaken for academics. House Dilwen makes up a large portion of the clergy, considering it to be their birthright. The priesthood's senior members are referred to as the Elders, who form a council. Among these, Tanwen Dilwen, sister to the Marchioness, is the most senior and influential, though technically the whole answers to the Queen. The priesthood's ranks are of three levels: Elders (referred to as Your/his/her Most Holy Reverence), Priests/Priestesses (Your/His/Her Reverence), and Novitiates (referred to as Brother/Sister).
The priesthood marries and engages in politics, but they hold themselves to a "higher standard" of private morality than a typical Rebman, and are expected to remain chaste until marriage and faithful once in it. They are also sworn to only marry others of the faithful of Lir (except with dispensation from the throne).
It is generally felt that the most important role the priests perform is that of Reconciliation, in which anyone may confide in them and receive spiritual counsel. A priest can only break the confidence of Reconciliation if, by their own discretion, they feel it is a matter of security for the realm as a whole.
Although not perforce opposed, members of the clergy must take oaths of loyalty that preclude the oaths necessary to gain Master-level initiation into the Mirror Mage secrets, and thus they tend to avoid going too deeply into that area of study. Currently, the clergy is enjoying tremendous and rising political influence. The fulfillment of the Great Prophecy and the disgrace of House Ygrayne have ensured that they have ready and quick access to Moire's ear.
