The Triadic church is composed of all clerical orders dedicated to the deities Save-K'nor, Peoni, and Larani; these deities are the only ones accepted as true gods by right-thinking adherants of the faith known as Triadism. The material presented on each of these in GoH is basically an accurate representation of what good Triadists are supposed to believe in; much of the material in GoH on the other gods may be viewed as Triadic/Melderyni propaganda. Triadism can be traced back to the prehistoric beliefs of the Pharic tribes which migrated into the Trierzon/Shorkyne area around 1600 BT - 1000 BT, although it has been heavily influenced by other sources, in particular the cultures and mythologies of the Jarind and Azeri peoples, as well as by the predecessors of the modern Shek-Pvar.
Sarajinism is pretty much as described in the Sarajin article in GoH. Interestingly, it seems that it has developed from basically parts of the same collection of prehistoric tribal religions that formed the basis for Triadism, and there are in fact several elements in common between the two religions (if one looks hard enough). The relationship between Sarajinism and both of the other "big" religions is basically a neutral one.
Agrikanism has perhaps been unfairly maligned in GoH; it is after all the main rival of Triadism, and the "Libram of the Pantheon" was probably written or at least edited by a Triadic scholar. Agrikanism is by far the oldest of the Big Three religions, or at least it found its basic "modern" form far earlier -- this probably has something to do with the fact that writing has existed among the Azeri peoples much longer than among those dwelling further to the north.
It is perhaps best to begin at the beginning. All geographical names used are the modern ones, except where specifically noted.
Before 1600 BT or so, NW Lythia's only known human inhabitants were the various tribes of the Azeri and Jarind peoples; their technology was neolithic shading to bronze age, and they exhibited a variety of cultures with little sense of greater "nationality".
In the Azeryan peninsula and on neighboring islands, the Azeri tribes were mostly settled into small agricultural villages. They made tools and weapons from bronze, and had learned the secret of writing; they were neither particularly warlike nor excessively peaceful (although the relative abundance of lebensraum meant that there was little incentive for heavy warfare), and they cheerfully worshipped a variety of gods and nature spirits. There is evidence that they had contact with the older Mafani culture, and some of the religious ideas which have persisted even to the modern day may have their true origin in that mysterious elder empire. The Azeri lived in a variety of climates, although their oldest permanent habitation seems to have been along the southeast coast of the peninsula and on the various Karejian islands. It doesn't seem that they were very eager to form large political units; the norm was one tribe = one village = one nation. Their lands did not stretch quite as far to the north as the current Azeryani empire does; the area around present-day Meokolis was pretty much their frontier (although this did slowly creep north as the Azeri population grew and expanded). The semiarid lands in the southwest of the peninsula were in fact populated quite early, and the Azeri in that area had well- adapted agricultural and pastoral methods for the area (some of them possibly imported from the Hacherdad region; vague evidence suggests that the Azeri may have migrated through there long ago). In short, their population was centered further south than today, and what contact they had with outsiders was oriented more to the south and east than to the north -- already on a bronze-age stage, there was significant seaborne trade, and some of this was carried out by various Azeri tribes. Early city states were forming at natural harbor sites (though most modern Azeryani would hesitate to call those things "cities" if they saw them today).
From Trierzon to Ivinia, the Jarind were spread relatively thin (the population density was much lower than today), and they practiced a wide variety of lifestyles. Some tribes were more or less nomadic; gatherer-hunter tribes coexisted with scattered farming communities, there was still enough land for everyone. Farming was more common in the south, particularly in Trierzon, where the Jarind had learned bronze working (possibly from the Azeri or some other southern culture, possibly on their own). Further to the north, the Jarind were mostly still on a neolithic level. Even though the tribes' ways differed greatly, they still had basically the same language and a common body of religious myth; all tribes believed in a bewildering number of gods and heroes, and their own lands were seen as special and magical. Exactly which gods were seen as most important varied from tribe to tribe, depending on that tribe's most important livelihood -- for instance, fertility and earth deities were most venerated in the south, were agriculture was most common, and modern Peoni seems to have originated as the most popular earth goddess of the Jarind farming tribes. It seems that both genders were allowed the same respect and the same rights, although labor was divided along gender lines for practical reasons; each tribe was guided (ruled is probably too strong a word) by its respected elder members of either gender. Relations with outsiders were sparse to nonexistent; for some reason, there was a considerable buffer zone of near-wilderness between the Jarind and Azeri populations, so what little contact existed between them was mostly peaceful trade (no point in fighting people who live far away, especially when there's still unsettled land closer to home for those who need more land -- and other people also closer to home for those who just want a fight).
The most interesting Jarind subculture was probably the "Henge Culture" of the Melderyn-Emelrene area (at least, I've assumed this culture was Jarind). This was probably an offshoot of the same group of Jarind tribes who migrated across to Hârn at some point near the end of this period, and it may have had significant contact with the Elder People of Hârn. Some scholars believe that the Henge Culture fostered the first human magicians of the region, and that these may have learned their art from Sindarin mages; some believe that the traditions of the modern Shek-Pvar descend from this culture (the Shek-Pvar certainly like to think so themselves). Those Jarind tribes who made it to Hârn proper (the ancestors of the modern Jarin) seem to have enjoyed a somewhat higher level of technology than the mainland Jarind; they had access to tools of Khuzdul manufacture and probably picked up elementary ironworking from them (although the deeper secrets of fine Khuzdul craftsmanship were kept to the Khuzdul), and they seem to have lived under safer conditions (the Codominium probably protected them both from major inner strife and from external enemies).
After Ilpylen left the world of mortals, the task of bringing the Azeri tribes to Agrik began, and it was fairly successful; bands of warrior-priests roamed the drylands converting entire tribes more often by persuasion than by force. The southernmost tribes were fairly easy converts since their previous beliefs and general culture were quite similar to many details of the Agrikan faith -- they already had Agrik or some very similar god in their old mythology, and many of their other mythological figures were kept around as servants of Agrik, organized in a vast hierarchy. Indeed, the initial spread of Agrikanism was more akin to a reformation than a revolution; sure enough, many of the deeper concepts in Agrikan theology were previously unknown to the Azeri, but most of the followers of any given religion generally don't know much about its deeper theological concepts anyway. Certain elements of other important gods of the southern Azeri were apparently subsumed into the conception of what Agrik was like; it was apparent that Agrik's domain of fire included both the fires below (volcanoes) as well as the fires above (the sun) and the smaller fires that keep men warm at night as well as burn them. Agrik was, and still is, a god of light as well as of fire -- light that reveals and guides and gives life to crops as well as light that sears and blinds and burns.
However, the further away from its origin the wave of Agrikanism reached, the more its growth slowed, as it ran into increased cultural differences. If there were any serious attempts at creating a unified Agrikan state at this time, they failed; Azeri communications technology was limited to simple rowed boats and men on foot, as they had not tamed the horse. Nonetheless, the rise of Agrikanism had serious consequences for Azeri society; it provided the ideal of a large-scale hierarchical social order, which had previously been missing, and it did possibly inspire the formation of somewhat larger political units (often patriarchal "petty kingdoms" consisting of one strong tribe dominating several smaller and weaker tribes, now with theological justification). As the generations passed, Azeri culture flourished; their population grew, and the northern part of the peninsula gradually became more heavily settled. The general state of naval technology in the Venarian sea improved to the point where regular trade became feasible, and Azeri trading colonies (generally offshoots of the larger "city states") began to pop up here and there; this was later seen as a Golden Age, and not entirely without justification. Contact with foreign cultures increased, particularly with the Karejian islanders (who were basically Azeri, or kissing cousins, anyway), and after a while with the Pharic newcomers in the north.
Eventually, the Azeri "first golden age" just sort of faded away due to a general sense of complacency and the lack of any real incentive or ability to establish a real central authority. Regional trade shifted more to the northeast, leaving the Agrikan strongholds in the southwest somewhat behind. The northern coast, river, and floodplain area gradually eclipsed the south in most respects, and a great deal of cultural cross-pollination happened there; the northern towns grew into bustling mercantile centers, and many foreigners and foreign religions gained footholds in the area (which had never been completely converted to Agrikanism in the first place). The south, meanwhile, turned inward and occupied itself with religious infighting and further development of Agrikan dogma; while continual attempts at creating a unified church structure were being made, none met with more than limited success. The Golden Age, even though it may have been born of the first wave of Agrikanism, continued on much longer in the still mostly heathen North. In the south, a great deal of resentment began to build towards foreigners, infidels, and fat backsliding merchants; the North was viewed as a barbarian wilderness for centuries after it had outgrown the South in population, economic significance, and technological progress; being largely unable to project force against their Northern brethren (whose political units tended to be somewhat larger than those in the South), the Southerners had to take out their frustration on each other. Sporadic missionary campaigns were directed northwards, but were largely unsuccessful. Bands of itinerant or semi-itinerant Agrikan priest-warriors began to roam the border zone, trying to make converts by any means necessary; while this strategy didn't succeed in converting the North en masse, it did eventually become a tradition, and many of even the first itinerants probably felt compelled to that way of life for spiritual reasons rather than as an attempt to make converts. Modern fighting orders are conceptual refinements of these bands, some of which eventually made it to very remote regions (and developed rather obscure variations of dogma).
The ur-Pharic pantheon was fairly similar to the Jarind one, although the Phari seem to have held war gods in higher regard than the Jarind did, and their culture was also more oriented toward a patriarchal structure -- in all known versions of their mythology, the chief of the gods was an old, wise male. It seems, in fact, that this figure (who had a variety of names, depending on which tribe you'd ask) is the original main source for the modern conceptions of Save-K'nor and Sarajin (though Sarajin seems to have more of a war-god in him). Pharic women were not altogether denied respect and power, though. Far from it; there were even female warriors and female war-gods -- it is possible that Larani and the Elkyri are derived from the same original source.
As the Phari began to dominate throughout Shorkyne, Trierzon, and Ivinia, the fates of the various Jarind tribes varied. Some opted to move to less desirable (and therefore less contested) areas -- the Yarili of northern Ivinia, and several tribes in more southerly mountains, are descendants of such tribes which never lost their cultural independence. The majority stayed behind and were eventually assimilated; the modern inhabitants of Trierzon and Shorkyne have a noticeable Jarind component in their ancestry and language (more pronounced the further south you go, since the Jarind population density was higher in the south). The differing proportion of Jarind ancestry is one main way of distinguishing between the Trierzi (who maybe have one- fifth Jarind blood), the Shorkyni (with one-tenth Jarind blood on average) and the Ivinians (with negligible Jarind blood). Emelrene is an odd case, since the Phari tribes just sort of seemed to leave it alone and the population even today is mostly of Jarind blood -- more speculations on this matter are made later in the text.
Originally, the Phari seem to have been mostly nomadic hunters and pastoralists, who practiced little agriculture -- a field of skill they had not developed very far; indeed, the settled Jarind tribes were much better at it. Naturally, as the years passed, more and more Phari tribes decided to try their hands at farming -- which, of course, they learned much about from those of their neighbours who already knew it well, meaning the Jarind. Along with knowledge of farming, the Phari absorbed much of the Jarind mythology, especially as it pertained to agriculture. The two peoples' notions of earth-worship unavoidably became mixed together, eventually forming the basis for the modern worship of Peoni, without which Triadism could not exist.
Among the Jarind tribes in Emelrene, there were chiefs/shamans/advisors wielding real magic -- the "direct" predecessors of the modern Shek-Pvar, and possibly descendants of the Henge Culture (but why did they stop building Henges, if that is the case?). It is a known fact that the Melderyn/Emelrene area (along with Hârn itself) has a much higher density of Earthmaster sites than the rest of the world, as well as more frequent Barasi points *and* more magicians. Not to mention elves and dwarves and gargun and apparently one actual god living in part on Hârn, plus general otherworldly weirdness. It's not too far-fetched to think that all these things might be causally linked. Perhaps magic is simply easier here because the divide between Kethira and other dimensions is thinner, which might be because the Earthmasters made so many "holes" in spacetime (Godstones). Or maybe the Earthmasters chose this area as their primary base on Kethira because it was easier to penetrate here in the first place. Many people believe that the first human Shek-Pvar learned their art from the Sindarin, who are known to practice magic (which they have probably done since long before there were humans around). Quite probably, then, Pvaric philosophy also originated with the Sindarin, although its human followers have probably altered it beyond recognition since they and their Sindarin teachers parted ways -- though the ideals of gentleness, subtlety and finesse rather than brute force do seem kind of Sindarin.
By using their powers in subtle ways, then, the proto-Shek-Pvar were able to keep the Phari out of their own back yard while not attracting much attention to themselves. Meanwhile, they gently guided the development of the Emela Jarind "for their own good" -- pretty soon they were farming as good as any of the more southerly tribes, and whatever skills the Phari possessed in metalworking or cavalry tactics were soon known to the Emela as well, so they could hold their own when necessary. The dominantly Pharic population of Trierzon and Shorkyne probably came to think of the Emela as "folks that are much like us except they talk a bit funny", if they thought much about them at all.
There had long been a general trend in the Trierzi practical mythology, towards increased veneration of those gods who represented agriculture and those who represented war -- a reflection of the increased importance of farming as opposed to other ways of getting food (the total population of farmers had increased significantly, while non-farming tribes had generally not increased much in numbers -- and more people took up farming than gave it up), and the increased population was leading to more competition for space and resources, which led to more fighting, which made people think of war as more important. As it happened, these deities were generally thought of as female -- the early forms of Peoni and Larani, although they were known by many different names and the associated myths were diverse. A similar but weaker trend held among the Shorkyni tribes; the Ivinian tribes were by this time no longer in close contact with their southern cousins since they had mostly wandered all the way up to the Ivinian islands, so they were now developing off in another direction.
Then arose the prophet Eilar. He was apparently born to parents of Trierzi extraction, living some distance down the Azeryan peninsula. There were in fact quite a few Trierzi living in traditionally Azeri territory at this time. Parts of northern Azeryan were also affected by the Pharic migration, coming as it did in the declining years of the Azeri Golden Age, but not that much land was actually invaded -- even though the Phari had general tactical advantages over the Azeri, it was easier to pick on some Jarind tribe instead since these were less organized. But as the generations had passed, some Pharic/Trierzi tribes and families had wandered south and settled peacefully in northern Azeryan (which was already one of the more cosmopolitan places in NW Lythia anyway, and which was still far from settled to capacity). Eilar was a bright lad, and learned reading (which was only common among Azeri clergy and some merchants at the time) and studied all the scraps of writing he could come across. Obviously, he must have come into close contact with Agrikan theology, and his visions (his interpretation of what his visions meant, an any rate) undeniably show significant Agrikan influence. It is on the visions he was granted after his nine-year desert hermitage ended with the sun burning his eyes out, and that were written down by his three disciples whom he also taught reading and writing (though he himself was blind at the time), that most of the current Triadic theology is based. (Much has been made, in theological discourse, of the fact that the sun which took Eilar's vision is also *the* most important (or at least the most readily apparent) symbol of Agrik). It was Eilar's visions that established the Three Gods as the only real gods, relegating other figures of Trierzi mythology to "demigod" or "servant" status (later modified to sainthood, for the ones that are still remembered).
However, the new faith proved itself to appeal much better to Trierzi than to most other people. The only major exception at this point is Emelrene, where the people also took to Triadism nearly as fast as in Trierzon, even though they were much more distantly related than the Shorkyni (who did not eagerly get in line for conversion). The most likely explanation in this case involves the Shek-Pvar influence mentioned earlier -- I'm assuming that the proto-Shek-Pvar saw the rising Triadic faith as the big coming thing and decided it was best for their people to get in on the action as early as possible. Also, they must have found a lot of personal appeal in a religion that extols the virtues of esoteric knowledge gained through personal effort, and where they could strongly identify with (arguably) the supreme element of the Triad. By 200 BT, the great religious centre at Berema was in operation, and the island of Melderyn was being won over as well -- apparently ending a protracted period of struggle between powerful mages. It seems likely that the present structure of the Shek-Pvar was forming then, while Melderyn was previously dominated by mages who thought their powers should make them the natural rulers of men and that they should be able to have their way with anyone or anything, while the proto-Shek- Pvar of Emelrene had ideas closer to the modern Pvaric norm. So together, the proto-Shek-Pvar and the Triadic church tamed the wild mages and won over the Melderyni.
The rise and fall of Lothrim the Foulspawner (about 100 TR - 120 TR) is well known, and it was a watershed event also for the religious history of Hârn. Most of what is known about his brief empire is summarized in the Hârn article; what that article does not mention is that before Lothrim resorted to bringing Gargun into the world, he tried bolstering his forces by hiring a fairly large force of mercenaries. These were Azeryani mercenaries, veterans of many small wars in their homeland, and most of them remained on Hârn after Lothrim's fall -- more precisely, they decided to try to carve out a small kingdom for themselves in the fertile Thard valley, on the western fringe of Lothrim's empire. Being much better organizers and tacticians than the "native" tribal warriors, they managed to seize power in a small area and eventually form the core (or at least upper crust) of the Corani tribe-kingdom.
The next couple of centuries were crucial for the future of both eastern and western Hârn, as well as for continental Triadism.
In the Kaldor region, Triadic missionaries enjoyed increased success. This was in part a consequence of Lothrim; the Kaldor region was now more organized than before, and its petty kings were also desperate for anything that might help them better stand against the chaos of the Migration Wars -- such as a unifying religion extolling the virtues of both loyal toil in the face of hardship and disciplined martial prowess. Also, the horrors of Lothrim's regime were a fantastic example of the kind of thing from which the Triad promised to deliver the suffering people. Some converts were also made in the Thard valley, but these successes were tempered by a growing Azeri influence in that area, which had become a kind of dumping ground for Azeri misfits -- some of those who ended up on the losing sides of the various power struggles that accompany the birth pangs of the Azeryan Empire found it expedient to relocate, and the area around Coranan was now known as a place where other Azeryani expatriates have already done well for themselves. This trickle of immigrants slowed down a bit after the Azeryani Empire is properly established, but renewed itself during the period when south Trierzon was an Azeryani province (the fourth and fifth centuries TR). In general, western Hârn was able to attract some Azeryani trading ships mostly because it represented a source of slaves that could be taken without annoying any neighbors back home, and also because it offered some exotic goods such as furs (also, some trade was conducted between the continent and the nearby Sindarin port of Ulfshafen, source of the most exquisite glasswares and musical instruments and other baubles -- low-volume trade, but high profit per unit).
This development did not come soon enough to keep Azeryan from invading and annexing the greater part of Trierzon, however (though that might not have been possible in any case). Over a six-year period, the southern two-thirds of the Trierzi petty kingdoms were either defeated militarily or brought to submission to political means; at last, the Azeryani legions were stopped at the gates of Berema and eventually a peace treaty was negotiated (over objections from hardliners among Agrikans as well as Triadists). Under the terms of the treaty, Trierzi inhabitants of Zonara would be allowed religious freedom and the north-central Trierzi would remain free. While the latter part of the bargain was held (Azeryan had neither the resources to conquer the entire region while attending to all its other affairs, nor much interest in the hinterlands), the first part was often violated, and more often as the years passed. Much of the bad blood between Triadism and Agrikanism dates back to Zonara, when Triadic bandits/freedom fighters would hide out in the mountains and raid the properties of prominent Azeryan citizens (largely Agrikans) in response to their oppression of the Triadic peasants, while the latter would go trample on the basic human rights of some Triadic peasants (who were *not* living in an anarcho-syndicalist commune) as a response to those pesky bandit raids.
These years were also the glory days of the Corani empire in western Hârn. Its self-apellation as an empire must have amused the Azeri no end, but it was nevertheless a welcome trading partner for the Empire, being (as the Azeri saw it) an island of near-civilization at the back of beyond (and being a source of several goods that were rare and valuable back home, plus slaves of course). One might regard the Corani empire as a sort of satellite state of the "real" Empire, and Azeri emigration to western Hârn continued -- the Azeri element in the west- Hârnic population was always a minority, but it was an influential minority, and it left a large mark on most aspects of the area's culture. For instance, the present-day language of western Hârn is basically unintelligible to a speaker of Kaldorin or Melderyni Hârnic, although they share much of the vocabulary and most of the grammar; if Hârnic is the creole of Jarind and Pharic dialetcs which is currently spoken in the southeast of Hârn, then the southwestern tongue is a creole of Hârnic and Azeryani; it is often called "Corani". And many continental religions were imported, most notably Agrikanism (which had entered the scene centuries earlier with Lothrim's mercenaries, and was now bolstered further) and also Morgathism, an ancient religion which has historically been important around Meokolis. However, since many of the Azeri immigrants had been forced to leave Azeryan exactly because their religious orthodoxy was questionable, the Hârnic versions of both these religions were supplied with far more than the usual share of heretical ideas. Thus, for instance, when the Balshan faction of Morgathism arose in the sixth century, it was a heresy deviating from an "orthodox" local version of the faith that would itself have been regarded as a terrible heresy by most Morgathians. Anyway, the Corani Empire's fortunes rose and fell with the Azeryani Empire; its decline began after the Azeryani province of Zonara fell in the early sixth century TR, and it was put out of its misery by the Balshan Jihad as chronicled in the Hârn article.
The heyday of the Azeryani empire was also a period of renewed and increased trade throughout the Venarian Sea and all the way up to Hârn and Ivinia. At the hub of most of this trade, of course, was the Imperial capital at Meokolis, which already had old cosmopolitan habits. With trade came foreign ideas and religions; in particular, this trade was responsible for spreading Haleanism (which was finding its modern structure during this time) to regions where it and its predecessors were unknown -- such as Hârn. Present-day Haleans in Hârn and other Pharic/Jarind areas are mostly descendants of Karejian traders, of which there were enclaves in most significant trading centers. However, due to extensive intermarrying between these traders and the native population, as well as quite a few cases of locals (mostly traders seeking success by emulating those who are evidently successful) converting to Haleanism, the visible difference between a northwestern Halean and his Triadic neighbours is usually small, and most Haleans speak whatever language is common where they live as their mother tongue. There was also a significant flow of Triadic missionaries to the south (resulting most notably in the establishment of the Byrian matriarchy) along the same trade routes.
Ivinian colonial expansion has been a significant element in recent history, and it has had some effect on religious matters, but Sarajinism has no aspiration towards becoming a universal religion -- it is for Ivinians, and most of Sarajin's followers couldn't care less what gods are worshipped by their non-Ivinian neighbours or subjects. So Triadism isn't really challenged on its own home ground by this religion, although some Triadic missionaries have tried to gain converts among Ivinians, with very little success so far -- as noted in the Ivinia module, all but a few thousand serfs (and the Yarili) in Ivinia itself worship Sarajin. The situation is similar in the various colonies, although the Triadists have had a bit more luck in gaining converts there (particularly in the smaller colonies, and/or those surrounded by Triadic lands). Also, some Sarajinans show interest in spreading their religion to certain of the Hârnic barbarian tribes -- most notably some of the southern tribes, who are of almost pure Pharic descent, and are seen by some Ivinians as "lost kinfolk".
In Azeryan, the religious/political struggle between the Lysaran church of Agrik and the various other faiths of the Empire has reached a stalemate, albeit a bitter one. After the moderates took over the mantle of leadership in Lysara, the Agrikan church has postponed its goal of converting the whole Empire -- thus backing down from a confrontation which would likely have caused a full civil war and might have destroyed the Empire altogether. However, the Agrikan church has only been reinforced in its ultimate goal of bringing the entire world under its control, and it is likely that this will lead to a renewed missionary effort directed at lands outside the current Empire, Agrikan style. Most of the Empire's neighbours are getting a bit nervous, especially at the prospect that this might lead to a combined Imperial/Lysaran effort to regain control of lost provinces. And of course, the Lysaran theocrats still wish to bring the rest of the Empire to Agrikan orthodoxy, it's just that they've adopted a more patient and subtle strategy.
In western Hârn, the situation is still quite unstable, as described in the Hârn module and the various kingdom modules. Agrikanism remains dominant in Rethem and important in Tharda, but is splintered into many rival orders -- none of which is exactly orthodox from a Lysaran point of view, although most of them pay lip service to Lysara. And unlike in Lysara, Hârnic Agrikanism nowhere has full control of its population; while most of the political leaders in Rethem are Agrikans, large fractions of the population worship various pagan gods (mostly tribal gods of the Kubora, which are tolerated but disliked by the Agrikans), and there is a Triadic underground (gaining ground among the peasants) as well as important Morgathian and Sarajinian factions. The dividing line between Triadism and Agrikanism is fairly sharp along the border between Kanday and Rethem, while the Thardic republic is a blur; there exist powerful Agrikan *and* Triadic factions within the republic, which still allows more religious freedom than most of its contemporary states (a legacy of the Corani empire). Future conflict is a near-certainty; it may either show up as a new Rethem/Kanday war or as open internal conflict in the Republic (or both, possibly at the same time or one leading to the other).