Give Me That Old-Time Religion

In the early times, before wolves were spread across the land and the gods were young, Ursula danced freely across the sky. She enchanted the heavens and the earth with her beautiful dance. Soon, Svarog found himself in love with her. He sought to create something that would make her fall in love with him, and pulled the mountains from the earth. She saw what he had made, but did not climb down from the sky. She continued her dance, and left Svarog to wonder what else might woo her. Then, he made the heavens for them to share. Here, all of the gods would gather and spend their time as they pleased. It was then that Ursula stepped down from the sky to join them all, and here is where she fell in love with Svarog. They soon birthed a litter, who were the first Lunashka's.

Those who bear a coat of white are blessed by Svarog, and closer to holiness than those without. The more unblemished the coat, the closer to Svarog one becomes. Parents often arrange couples with white coats together in the hopes of their children being blessed by Svarog.

Zhibog: The Life Dispenser. One of the most powerful gods, representing masculinity and the creation of life. Married to Zhiva.

Zhiva: “She Who Lives”. Married to Zhibog, and their relations create life. She is associated heavily with the art of healing.

Svetovid: The four headed deity of war, light, and power. “The Lord of Power” and “Lord of Holiness”. Two heads are male; Northern/White head Svarog, and the Western/Red head Perun. Two heads are female; Southern/Black head Lada, and Eastern/Green head Mokosh. The heads represent the four directions of space, and the four seasons. Representative of axis mundi, the union of the four directions with the three dimensions of reality (heaven, earth and the netherworld).

Svarog: creator of the heavens and the world. Associated with the north and the colour white. (primary deity of the Lunashkas)

Perun: God of thunder and lightning. Married to the sun.

Lada: Great Goddess of the Earth, harmony, and joy. Symbolizes beauty and love. Female counterpart to Svarog.

Mokosh: Goddess of the harvest. “The Corn Mother”, name literally means “Wetness”. Known by the name Mat Syra Zemlya, or the diminutive Matka. Goddess of fertility.

Devana: Goddess of hunting and the forests.

Dodola: Goddess of the rain, wife of Perun. Also goddess of weddings and infancy. (honoured at weddings through ceremony/tribute to be decided later)

Koliada: God of the sun. Associated with youth and brashness. Married to Perun.

Karevit: God of autumn and war. Often depicted with seven heads.

Lelia: Goddess of spring and mercy. (Celebration of spring in her name involves a maiden being ritually bathed in a spring and then honoured by a night of feasting and dancing.) Associated with ursa major.

*Marzanna: Goddess of winter and death. (Celebrated/honoured at funerals through ceremony I will create later)

Morskoy: God of the seas. (prayed to before sea voyages and coastal storms)

Ny: God of the underworld and earthquakes. Often the one to bring souls to the underworld. This makes tremors from the earth a sign that the dead in the underworld threaten to rise up, and is a very bad omen.

Puruvit: God of Summer. Often depicted with five heads, one of which is in his chest. (Has heads of eagle, bear, cougar, ram, and dragon (in chest)) (remember that the body is that of a wolf)

*Ursula: Goddess of the Moon. Associated with ursa minor.

Veles: God of wild animals that move in herds. Opposite of Svarog. (celebrated after each successful hunt of a herding prey animal, often given these animals as sacrifices during harsh years where prey isn't plentiful.)

Zvezda Dennitsa: the Morning Star (sister of Zvezda Vechernyaya)

Zvezda Vechernyaya: the Evening Star (sister of Zvezda Dennitsa)

Zimtserla: Goddess of the Northern Lights.

Leshy: spirit of the woods, trickster. Confuses those walking in the woods alone, leading them astray in hopes of securing a meal out of them. To free oneself from his tricks, one must walk backwards until they can find their way again.

Boginka: spirits of the water, generally inhabiting streams, ponds, and creeks. Very mischievous, and tend to pull pranks on unsuspecting wolves who wander near.

Vila: spirits with power over the wind, who delight in causing storms. They wear cloaks of leaves. During storm, encountering one and stealing her cloak of leaves will force her to stop the storm. However, one must return the cloak at risk of serious injury or death from the spirit.

Rusalka: water creature with webbed paws and gills, with a fish's tail instead of hind legs. Benevolent and often helpful to those in need.

Rites of Rebirth:

Upon reaching the age of six months, all children are to conduct their first hunt. Most of these hunts occur as a group, be it among a litter or all children born within a season. They are to track the first prey item that they locate. This can only be an animal that can be safely hunted on their own. The safety of the children is the most important thing.

When the prey is caught, the child is to return home with their catch as quickly as possible. The shaman will perform the ritual of bonding the soul of the kill with that of the child. This will ensure that they earn a second life after this one.

The first animal the child encounters during the hunt is the one that the Gods choose to bestow upon them, and is indicative of who they are deep within. They are not to deviate from this prey, as it is against the will of the Gods. Doing so may jeopardize their second life.

Festival of Marzanna:

To welcome the goddess Marzanna, and the arrival of winter, a festival is held. Foods are gathered and stored, for communal use. Hunts abound, to add to stockpiles. Relations between packs are strengthened for the coming season, so that no wars should break out during the cold months. Sometimes groups will leave offerings to Mokosh so that they can bring children into the world in the bounty of spring, under the watchful eye and care of Lelia.

Festival of Lelia:

Welcoming of the goddess Lelia and the season of spring. This festival is abundant with fruits and wine, as well as young animals to feast upon. Fawns and young rabbits are the most common. The festival is held at night, and the day before a maiden is chosen by the goddess (who communes with the shaman) to be bathed in a spring to welcome the season. She becomes the goddess' physical form for the festival, and holds a seat of honour for merriment and feasting.

Festival of Karevit:

To welcome the god of autumn into the land during the season, a festival is held. Trading takes place the most heavily at this festival, in preparation for the coming months. As many herbs and foods are plentiful during the season, it is most common for the largest gathering to take place at this time. Many bonds are forged here, in hopes of strengthening packs before winter. Grievances are frequently aired here, so they do not fester during the cold months. The number seven is prevalent here, due to the god's seven heads.

Festival of Puruvit:

Summer is welcomed in this festival. The number five is predominant, with many games involving the number in some way. This is to call attention the god's five heads. Occasionally tied in with the Rites of Rebirth, as many pups come of age during this season. This festival generally involved the most drinking, as the summer is a season of plenty in most cases. Sparring and healing trials are the most notable feature of this festival.

*Celebration of Ursula:

This one is mostly specific to the Lunashka's. Due to their belief that their lineage descends from Ursula and Svarog's coupling, they celebrate the time where the grandmother looks upon them (the full moon). Often older wolves will spend the night with festivities, and once a season there is a feast that night in her honour. There is also usually drinking involved, which is often why children are exempt from the festivities.

Funerals:

When someone has passed on, a funeral will be held. Marzanna's claim on them is seen as one of love, where she holds them until they can move on to what might come next. A tribute will be left to Ny, the one who ferries the dead to the heavens and underworld. This is in hopes that the food distracts him from his task, allowing their soul to be reborn before he can claim them. Thanks are given to Zhibog for his gift of life to the one who passed, as well as to his wife Zhiva for the creation of all things.

Births:

Parents are expected to leave the placenta as a gift and offering to Zhibog and Zhiva, as thanks for their gift of life to the children in the mother's womb. In turn, the gods will grant strength to the new parents in the days to come.
Mokosh is often thanked for aiding in the conception of the children. Thanks are given to her in the form of prayer, and a small offering if desired.

Marriages:

Dodola is often invoked at the beginning of a wedding. If she has chosen to bless the ceremony, rain will occur at some point in the day. This does not mean that a wedding without rain is cursed. Based on the season in which the marriage is taking place, the deity will be invoked and thanked for their allowance of the celebration on that day. Mokosh is often invoked to bless the couple with fertility (if heterosexual) in the coming seasons, and by proxy the gods Zhibog and Zhiva to gift them with life quickly.

Hunting:

Before a hunt, especially one taking place as a group, the goddess Devana is invoked to bless the occasion. By offering a prayer to her, she will keep the hunting party safe from harm at the hands of the prey animal. If hunting a herding animal, a prayer is also offered up to Veles that the hunt will go smoothly. At the end of the hunt, a small piece of the kill is allocated to both gods as a tribute for the success of the hunt.

Healing:

Healers are devotees of Zhiva, and as such are highly respected. They are linked to the gift of life by protecting life. In certain instances, the word of a healer holds more power than that of a leader. (Not to be mistaken for a shaman.)

Shamans:

These are wolves chosen by the gods to be linked with the heavens and the spirit realm. They are believed to be able to communicate with the gods and the spirits. They are the ones who decide when festivals are held, and often aid in finding a holy place in which to host them. The Rites of Rebirth can only be preformed by a shaman. Often work very closely with leaders.

The story starts with a couple, Shadow and Lily. Lily, by virtue of her nearly pure white coat, was arranged to marry a man of similar markings. This was far from uncommon within the kingdom, and expected of many other wolves. She was the daughter of the Czar and Czarina, and destined to rule the kingdom herself when the time came.

One day, she came across a man travelling with a rogue band of mercenaries. It was love at first sight. The two stole away frequently to spend time together, cementing their love for one another over the course of Shadow's stay within the borders of the kingdom.

The time came when Shadow and his band were to leave, and the pair decided. Shadow would challenge for Lily's hand in marriage. Due to his situation, as a male with a dark charcoal pelt, this was quite the scandal within the kingdom. He fought against her suitor, and eventually won. Not long after, the two were married. They took up their place as heirs of the lands, and learned from the Czar and Czarina how they were to rule in their stead.

After many long moons, the Czar and his wife passed peacefully in their sleep. It came time for the pair to take up the crowns, and they did so with pride. Soon after, Lily became pregnant with their first litter. From this came a daughter, white as a snowflake, a son, who's pelt was brindled brown, and two stillborns. They named the living children Aurora and Falcon.

The two grew up in revelry and grace, with Aurora groomed to be the heir. Due to her pale complexion, she was revered among the kingdom.

The next year, a litter of stillborn pups found only one survivor. A ash grey daughter, with a patch of white over one eye. She was named Twilight. Lily did not recover well from the horrors of losing four children, and became overprotective and aggressive towards any who came near the den. The sight of her was quite traumatic for the whole family.

One night in the summer, out of nowhere, an immense fire broke out. The kingdom, situated in the woodlands within a mountain valley, suffered. Forced from their home in a mass, frantic exodus, many wolves were lost. As they travelled far and wide in search of a new kingdom, more still died. Falcon and Shadow sacrificed themselves to protect the survivors from a rogue bear attack. Twilight was carried off by a hawk in the open plains as they passed through, barely old enough to walk such distances. Lily starved to death.

Aurora remained the last of the kingdom to survive, and found her way to a land called Alacritia. There, she settled into a pack called Ludicael. Not long after, she made friends with a woman named Song, and her husband Cherokee. Through Song, she met a man named Magnus, who soon after became her husband. They concieved a pair of pups, Svetovid and Lirika- the latter of which was named for her best friend, Song.

Postnatal depression gripped Aurora, who abandoned her litter soon after they were weaned and disappeared. Magnus left the pair to search for his missing wife, and thus the children were left to raise each other.

((This religion is most likely going to vary by region and grouping, with wolves believing themselves to be the result of different gods' couplings, and worshipping different ones. Thus, you are free to interpret it as you see fit! Plz PM me if you have any questions, or if you would like me to alter it in favour of a wolf with a certain background!))