Hwèzism

Hwèzism is the main religion of the Lianuskatch peoples of central Vidina. It is divided into several branches following largely geographic lines, these different branches are not internally consistent either, many small divergences and few major ones exist within a single branch. The religion is somewhat, with Hwèza being considered the only god, however it is also animistic, believing in the existence of spirits which inhabit the world and interact with people, some of those spirits are believed to be very powerful, thus playing a role similar to a god in other mythologies.

Overall commonalities
All branches of Hwèzism have figures, concepts, and practices in common, most prominently the eponymous god, Hwèza. They differ mainly on smaller figures and concepts such as the exact role of certain characters, or the exact way to practice certain rituals.

Hwèza
Hwèza is the central figure of Hwèzism. They are technically the only god of the religion as they are the only figure that is worshiped in any real sense, other figures might see some prayer, but these practices are usually very localised or very occasional.

Hwèza is characterised as a god of the sky, creator of the world, and ever-watching. They may take some supplementary aspects in some branches but the main ones remain their role as creator of the world, and the one who watches over it. In Hwèzist cosmology it is believed that stars represent spirits which come down to Earth and incarnate, and when they die they return to the sky as stars, they are said to be "joining Hwèza's court", as such they are the protector of the "underworld", although this is a very minor characterisation.

Deiwusto
Another important figure is Deiwusto, they are also called "the will of Hwèza". They are seen as the entity through which the will of Hwèza is made real in the material world, as such they are both an aspect of Hwèza as well as a different entity. This can create an interesting setup, in most myths including Deiwusto, they are simply a messenger of hwèza or sent to do their will, but in rarer myths they act out of their own volition. Deiwusto is represented by the winds, thus giving importance to especially windy places such as mountains, the open plains of central Vidina, and the sea.

Spirits
Hwèzism is a partially animistic religion, it believes that spirits inhabit the world, they live in everyday objects, rocks, trees, animals, rivers, mountains, or in mythical underground cities. Some spirits are stronger or greater than others, some act like local deities, others simply inhabit an object and do nothing. Even so, every spirit needs to be respected whether they are powerful or insignificant. Spirits can be agitated or angered, in those cases they must be placated by specific rituals so that they do not cause trouble. Spirits are said to come from the sky, where they can be seen as the stars, they sometimes fall and 'incarnate' on Earth, this is also the fate of people as they are considered to be spirits as well. Human souls are in fact spirits that fall from the sky, but humans are considered special because they are mortal, returning to the sky to possibly fall once again, and they have material bodies and lives. Some spirits, known as the "invisible folk" or (... in Teleri), live quite similarly to people except they have invisible bodies (invisible meaning ethereal, some have been given a description in some stories) not fully material ones, as such they may make use of what could be called magic, thus they are sometimes called to perform certain rituals, or bless crops for example. These "invisible folk" are said to live in grandiose underground cities, they are not believed to literally live a few feet under the earth, but in an underground realm sometimes called "...".

Secular Hwèzism
Secular Hwèzism is a more recent branch of Hwèzism, it first emerged in the 19th century with the advancement of the natural sciences. This movement seeks to reconcile Hwèzist tradition with scientific facts, as such it has abandonned some of the tenets of traditional Hwèzism such as the belief that Hwèza, and other spirits, actually exist somewhere in the world, rather they choose to think of them as fictional figures meant to personify nature, its forces, and its features. Secular Hwèzism differs very much from other branches in terms of belief, but it does not differ much in terms of practices, these rituals are however reframed from appeasing spirits or honoring Hwèza to displays of community and acknoledgement of nature. As this branch has moved away from theism, nature itself has recieved a divine role, as such this movement is very ecologically minded, even more so than other branches of Hwèzism.