Ossaki religion

The religion of the Ossaki developed over the millennia before the Ossaki world, Feldirjo, was incorporated into the Golden Empire. It revolved around a pantheon of ruling gods and goddesses and their mortal "avatars".

Pantheon
Seven gods and goddesses made up the Ossaki pantheon.
 * Ashkal was the ruling deity of the Ossaki, the god of the earth and storms. He was considered generally indifferent to living beings, but inclined to unleash hurricanes or other destructive forces of nature on those who defied him.
 * Vasel was the wife of Ashkal, and the goddess of the ocean. Like the ocean, she was viewed as unpredictable and moody.
 * Segrod was the god of fire, considered the source of power behind volcanoes. He was portrayed in art as a slumbering giant, and much slower to anger than his fellows; the eruptions of volcanoes on Feldirjo were considered Segrod's retaliation only after years upon years of insufficient sacrifices and reverence.
 * Temi was the goddess of all living things other than the Ossaki themselves, and was considered the most benevolent of the seven deities.
 * Shavo was the god of the sun, and his worship was given great priority (second only to Ashkal) to encourage frequent sunny days and a correspondingly bountiful harvest.
 * Ompay was the god of war. Since the Ossaki prided themselves on their fighting abilities, all sides of a conflict regularly prayed to Ompay; the victor was considered to have earned Ompay's blessing, while the losers were left to wonder how they had been negligent in his worship.
 * Kejriko was the god of death. Kejriko was oftened represented as a grim warrior with a sword or spear, surrounded by dead bodies.  Kejriko was the god most feared among the Ossaki, and they would make offerings at his shrines if a relative or friend was ill or undertaking a dangerous voyage, hoping that the death god would be appeased by the offering and spare the Ossak in question.

Worship practices
Devout Ossaki made regular sacrifices of food or valuable objects at shrines or temples of the gods. Shrines were to be found in even the smallest village, while only major cities could afford full temples. Ashkal and Shavo were given the most regular worship; Kejriko and Ompay were paid sacrifice when occasions for it arose.

Avatars
The Ossaki believed their gods existed beyond space and time, but could descend to the mortal plane to pass invisibly among living beings. They also believed that, on rare occasions, the gods would choose to be born as "avatars", beings with the form of mortals but indwelt by the spirit of the god in question. Gods might choose to become avatars to experience mortal life out of curiosity, monitor their worship "on the ground", or to influence the lives of mortals for their own reasons.

The status of a mortal being a divine avatar usually arose by common consensus. Many political and military leaders tried to claim to be avatars, especially of Ashkal or Ompay, though if they did not have the achievement to back it up, it was usually considered sacrilege and the offending Ossak would be sacrificed at the altar of the god in question to appease him or her. Those claiming to be avatars of Ompay faced this difficulty most of all; since the god of war would not lose a battle, an avatar of Ompay could never afford even a passing defeat.

After the Battle of Feldirjo, in which Rin Sakaros conquered the Ossaki tribes and united the planet under her rule, many stunned Ossaki took to viewing Rin as an avatar of Kejriko.

Decline
The work of the Educational Expansion Corps, illustrating the laws of nature and natural science to the Ossaki, undermined a great deal of the faith in the traditional pantheon. By the time the Golden Empire conquered the Chiss Ascendancy in 137 ABY, the traditional Ossaki religion had relatively few adherents. However, out of respect for her martial skills, most Ossaki continued to refer to Rin Sakaros as the "avatar of Kejriko" as an honorific, and she adopted it as one of her regnal titles.