Beans

Warning: extremely explicit, very horny hedgehogs

It’s quiet, in the fields just outside the capital. The grass sways with the wind, and you can hear the crickets if you’re still and silent enough. Narinder has been gracious enough to accompany them out here, recently. Things have shifted. Lambert doesn’t have a word for how Narinder has been regarding them since the shift in the seasons - at least, there is no word that can accurately describe their situation and how… patient he has been towards them.

Narinder pauses his slow, leisurely steps. Lambert has gotten used to speeding up their gait, given how much longer Narinder’s legs are, but evenings like these are their favorite with the way the God instead chooses to match their pace.

“You wish to know how I received my power?” He asks as he turns his head to regard them. They still don’t know how to react when all three eyes are trained on them, attention undivided and gaze piercing.

Lambert nods. “The history books describe how each of you won your Crowns, either in battle or with cunning. At least, they describe how the other Bishops earned their Crowns,” they explain. “Your entry is the shortest, my Lord. It gives no details, other than you earned it very young and grew into your power quickly. Why is that?”

The sun has begun its dip below the horizon, casting the sky in beautiful shades of yellow and red. The rest of the followers have begun to return to their homes, and most do not dare nor wish to venture this far from the safety and peace of their homes and the Temple. Had there been other ears to listen in on their conversation, Lambert would not be so bold as to question the archives, nor to ask Narinder so bluntly what could be a seriously invasive question. Despite the God's command for them to not hold their tongue when they are in private, to freely speak their mind and ask questions, they fear the other followers would think them disrespectful. They get enough stares and attention as is, and they’d prefer to avoid more.

Narinder hums, staring at them for another long moment with a contemplative look, before turning back to staring at the horizon. “I’m afraid my story is not as awe-inspiring as that of my siblings,” he says after another beat of silence.

“I find that hard to believe, Lord Narinder,” Lambert says with a quiet laugh before they plop down to sit in the grass. They pluck a blade from the ground and curl it around their finger as Narinder pauses once more and kneels next to them, seemingly not caring about getting grass stains on his robes.

He’s been doing a lot of this, as of late. Stooping down to their level, disregarding their initial dynamic as God and Follower. Indulging them in their whims. If Lambert is not careful, that sort of privilege will get to their head.

“I never thought this would be said, but you may be overestimating the extent of my grandeur,” he dryly responds. “I did not earn my Crown in battle, be it strength or wits or otherwise. It was given to me.” “Given to you?” Lambert furrows their brows as they look back up at him. “I did not think such a thing was possible. I always believed a Crown had to be taken by force.”'

All the animals are technically omnivorous, in the sense that they can all stomach both meat and fruits/veggies/grains, but their food preferences typically lean towards their irl diet! Their food preferences can also depend on the region that they grew up in, if they grew up with people who had a more carnivorous diet, etc. Lambert can tolerate more meat-based dishes because they were raised by Ratau and their best friend is a pig, though they still have a tendency to eat plant-based dishes when given an option

The Lands of The Faith is kind of made up like a giant kingdom with different biomes, with each Bishop being in charge of a biome. Everyone who lives in LoTF are free to worship whichever Bishop they want, with those who either worship all the Bishops or more than one living closer to the borders in between biomes. Basically, the closer you live to the capitols of each biome, the more dedicated you are to worshiping that one specific Bishop

All biomes in LoTF operate under a mix of a kraterocracy and an autocratic hierarchy. The Bishops rule because they were able to seize total control of the land from the First Gods thousands of years ago, and work together in controlling the Faith overall while having complete control over their individual regions. Shamura, because they are the oldest and is also the god of Wisdom, is seen as an unofficial authority of the other Bishops (really they’re like the parent of the other four because they raised them).

The Mainland still exists, and only the Bishops are allowed to have contact with those who live there! Some select advisors from each region are allowed to have restricted contact, but only under their Bishop’s supervision, and they are never allowed to travel to the Mainland. The Bishops themselves hardly ever do so, anyway, so there’s no real reason to.

All species have different rut and estrus/heat cycles, but the time of year, frequency, and length depends on the species! And mates are a thing! Not exactly like a/b/o because there is no secondary gender, it's just similar to how it is irl.

In LoTF, it's tradition that you go through your first heat/rut naturally, and then you start supressants immediately after. The supressants don't totally get rid of the cycles, you get kind of irritable and may feel a bit under the weather at certain points of your cycle, but you don't experience any actual heat until you stop taking the supressant, and you only do so once you have gone through the process of courting a mate and it is time to see if you're compatible. After that, if the mates decide to have a bond, they stop taking supressants altogether!