Here is the tenth and FINAL sample from my first novel, The Saga of Fidonhaal - Daughters of the East, which is an "anthro/furry" fantasy-adventure story that's now available in eBook and print-on-demand Paperback on Amazon!
More specifically, this here is a sample from the appendices, which, along with the other two appendices-bits and the chapters from the story, I hope might pique your interest toward reading the whole book!

If you like what you see, feel free to check out my other sample-chapters here on Weasyl, as well as maps and other artwork!
WulfeVanDerKross

SAMPLE-CHAPTER 1
SAMPLE-CHAPTER 2
SAMPLE-CHAPTER 3
SAMPLE-CHAPTER 4
SAMPLE-CHAPTER 5
SAMPLE-CHAPTER 6
SAMPLE-CHAPTER 7
APPENDIX SAMPLE: BESTIARY
APPENDIX SAMPLE: MAGIC

If you think you'd like to get a copy, you can do so by following this link:
https://www.amazon.com/Saga-Fidonhaal-Daughters-East-ebook/dp/B09RJQ24BD

This is not a part of the story itself, but is being offered on here to those who might be interested in reading up on a bit of world-building, especially if having a little more of an idea on the setting might intrigue them to get the book in full. This segment is about the setting's essential religion and spirituality, and gives basic details about the Fidons' spiritual lore, the Temple and the other ways by which the Fidons pursue and express their faith, as well as some information about the the angels, the afterlife, the "exemplars," and other things.
So, if you'd like to get a little geeky, read on!
Daughters of the East is set within the world of Fidonhaal, a wondrous world inhabited by creatures known as the Fidons. These beings, from our perspective, appear as anthropomorphic wolves, and the name of their race translates from their language as "Faithful One(s)." These people, and the world they live in, have endured ages of conflict and peace, triumph and tragedy, and good and evil, these times involving both the mortals and the supernatural, divine and unholy alike.
The events told within this novel are but one part of this world's saga.

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The bond between the Fidons and their Maker, Onu, is a point of paramount concern to the vast majority of the people. However, an individual’s particular approach to this relationship can vary significantly due to environment, personal temperament, philosophy, and other such factors.
Aside from simply praying to Onu in private, the Fidons most commonly practice the effort of communing with Onu by attending services conducted by the Temple. Such meetings are held daily, with the number of attendants varying from day to day. Nearly every settlement has a house of worship or a space regularly used to serve such functions, as well as at least one cleric and one high cleric to manage it.
For those outside the majority of settled society, be they Wild-Dwellers or simply travelers without access to a nearby temple, there are other sources for spiritual engagement and counsel available to those who seek them. These include traveling clerics, as well as roadside way shrines to Onu, the angels, and the Exemplars.
In addition, while most look to officially recognized clergy of the Temple for spiritual counsel, it is an essential Fidon belief that the task of helping others keep (or recover, as need be) their bond with Onu is a universal task in which all should help one another, though also ultimately each individual’s responsibility for oneself. Thus, any who wish to dedicate themselves to the attempt of studying and counseling the ways of the soul and the holy may do so. Consequently, Fidonhaal is home to the rank-and-file clergy of the Temple, the mystic druids in the woods, and the shamans of the roaming peoples. The Hand of Onu is always open for the mortal to grasp, but the will and decision to do so, and the manner in which one chooses to take it, is for each Fidon alone to decide.

The core of the Fidons’ faith revolves around their creator, Onu, whose name simply means “The One.” Onu is the sole Creator of Existence, creating the angels and the Fidons, along with all else in nature, to share Creation with them. Thus, Onu blessed each of them with their own lot of powers and abilities that they may have a role in the universe in communion with him. However, Lovaariinu, the First Angel, whose name means “The All-Keeper,” sought to impose absolute order on all things, depriving them of their own will, in order to keep the mortals from possibly straying from Onu’s intended purpose. This intention, though well-meaning in origin, was refuted by Onu, who told Lovaariinu that the freedom of will was indeed essential to Onu’s design; for faith, love, and communion given and reciprocated willingly is true, as opposed to that acted out by mindless shells.
Lovaariinu, angered by Onu’s refutation, came to resent his Maker, nurturing in his mind the thought that he was greater and more righteous than Onu, and knew better than him on how to govern existence. This gave rise to Lovaariinu’s arrogant pride and wrathful hatred of all that Onu had made, and what began as the desire to control all things for its own good soon became corrupted into a desire to enslave all that he deemed lesser than himself (which is to say, all in existence apart from himself, including Onu). Whatever he couldn’t subjugate, he would seek to destroy.
When Onu at last called the angels together to reveal to them the Fidons and their allotted place in the universe, Lovaariinu rebelled against Onu and became thenceforth known as Raakaru, which means “The Hateful Heart.” Raakaru then gathered those spirits that he managed to persuade to his side and attempted to overthrow Onu and his faithful host. When the revolt failed, Raakaru and his followers fled from the holy plane of Onuhaal and went into the void, where he formed his own domain, the realm of demons, which is known has Raakhaal, or “The Home of Hatred.” From that time onward, Raakaru has sought to spite Onu and Creation by undermining, corrupting, conquering, and destroying the Fidons along with all else of Onu’s making.
In time, after millennia of peace and prosperity on Fidonhaal, Raakaru succeeded in swaying the Fidons away from Onu. This brought a devastating collapse of the wondrous civilizations of the world that marked the great Era of Communion and ushered in the Era of Raakaru’s Reign, when all of Fidonity was reduced to a race of warring barbarians. This was also the time when demons, ill magic, and horrid monstrosities came into the world. With this severance of the sacred bond, Onu and the angels left the world and its people to the fate they chose. Yet Onu did not destroy Fidonhaal or the Fidons, nor did he take away the Fidons’ will to impose absolute order, for he still held that his mortal children were to have their will, and still loved them despite their sin. Thus, Onu watched his children fall into darkness for a thousand years, waiting for the day when the Fidons might be led back to the bond they once held together.
That day came when four Fidons, warlords of their lands, discovered remnants of the Lost Times. Wondering of the artifacts’ significance, they learned it from Onu and the angels, who appeared to them at the utterance of their inquiries. Onu and the Angelic Host then offered them, and all the world, a chance to break free from Raakaru’s grasp and try to mend the bond they once had with Onu. In time, these four rallied their brethren against Raakaru and his servants, and exorcised Raakaru from Fidonhaal. Ever since Raakaru’s expulsion, the Fidons have struggled to rebuild their world and return to the blessed communion with Onu they once had.
Alas, for all the progress the Fidons made since that ill era, Raakaru’s influence had by that time taken deep root into the world and the hearts of the people, thus leaving the world far from being in the blissful state that it once held. Throughout the Fidons’ history since Raakaru’s fall, however, many heroes and heroines have come in times of peril and strife to try and set matters to rights. Some of these were specially chosen by Onu, having been blessed and marked by him with a sacred brand. Such heroes and heroines are referred to as being of the Elect in homage to the first Elect, the four who led Fidonhaal on the crusade against Raakaru.

Though Onu is regarded as the Ultimate Being in Fidon lore, the religion and spirituality of the people includes an array of other spiritual beings who have played a part in the saga of Fidonhaal. The greatest of these are the angels, who were given roles of governance over aspects of existence and partook in the shaping of the universe alongside Onu. Originally, there were thirteen angels, the greatest of them being Lovaariinu the All-Keeper, who rebelled against Onu and became Raakaru. Twelve angels remained following Lovaariinu’s fall and have faithfully played their part in Onu’s design ever since.
When Onu showed the forms of the Fidons to the angels and the wondrous purposes for the differences between male and female and the concepts of mated pairs, the angels were moved greatly and took on male and female forms with Onu’s blessing. They then joined with one of their fellows as mates, and by their unions begot wondrous creatures collectively known as the Angelborn. These creatures were birthed upon the world by the angels shortly before the Fidons’ Awakening, and they have since taken their own places in the history of Fidonhaal, appearing in legends, and aiding heroes and heroines throughout time.
The Angels of Life and Death are named Vitahla and Morinaar. Both have been viewed as robed and hooded figures, tall and slender, and of beauty that is both simple and grand. The light that Vitahla emanates has been described as the golden white of a diamond held to the sun, and Morinaar’s glow is as shining silver. They have always appeared before mortals as a pair, ever representing the entwining of life and death. They each bear staves that are like the crooks of shepherds, and carry a flask of holy drink. The flask of Vitahla is filled with the holy wine of Onuhaal, which revives any dying Fidon who drinks it. The flask of Morinaar is filled with the holy water of Onuhaal’s river, which, ever refreshing to the denizens of Onu’s eternal home, sends a dying mortal peacefully to the Shores of Passing. Their children are the guardian spirits of life and death, looking over the living to ensure their safety, and accompanying the dead and dying as they depart from the mortal realm.
The Angels of Earth and Water are named Terranah and Stromarus. Representing both the might and bountifulness of the earth, Terranah has been seen as a tall woman, greatly muscular in frame while still having a highly curvy physique. Being also affiliated with flora and fauna, she has been sighted and depicted as wearing garments wrought by both hide and plant. She wields a great hammer. Her light is an immensely vibrant green. Her husband, Stromarus, being a personification of the strength of the waters, is also of tall and muscular build, and typically wears a simple, light cloth about his waist. He wields a spear. His form’s light shimmers as a deep, yet bright, blue. As imposing as their forms may be, they have been described by those visited by them as being largely taciturn, though still very kindly. Their children are the Arbonyns and the merfolk.
The Angels of Wind and Flame are Vente and Branok. Vente has been seen as slender and graceful, garbed in clothing light and short. She carries a long hunter’s bow. Her glow is of a light, shimmering white. Branok’s form is also slender, though more muscular than his wife’s, and he wears a light vest along with a kilt about his waist. His light burns a great, fiery red. Though both angels are kindly, Vente has been described as more playful and whimsical than Branok. The Angel of Flame is generally more given to sincerity and straightforwardness toward his charge, which could bring great destruction if not properly managed, and is yet vital to life and many of the tasks of mortals. Their children are the Lofons and the flamehearts.
In the days of the First Elects’ crusade against Raakaru’s tyranny, Branok and the flamehearts showed the repentant how to craft great steel with which to combat their foes. This metal is known as Branokian steel, and it has been highly prized throughout the ages for the making of the most prestigious of weapons, armor, and tools.
The Angels of Summer and Winter are named Estvii and Sardoth. Estvii has been viewed as light and slender, clothed in a light, short toga and glowing with a bright yellow light. She holds a scythe, as her season is a time of great harvest, and also wears a crown of mature leaves and branches. Sardoth is depicted with a tall, large, barrel-chested physique, wearing heavy clothes and cloak of hide and fur, and carrying a large woodsman’s axe. He also dons a crown of holly and evergreen branches. He glows an icy blue. Estvii’s temperament has been described as lively, yet stately. Sardoth, though friendly and caring to mortals, is more solemn. Their children are the summer centaurs and the bearlike winter giants.
The Angels of Autumn and Spring are Kyse and Vernid. Kyse, representing the ideal bounty of autumn’s final harvests, carries a great basket filled with food, and has been viewed as beautifully buxom and plump. She wears a roomy gown and a crown of aged but majestic leaves and branches, and glows a warm, orange light. Vernid, a figure of joyful vigor, carries and plays a harp while donning a short, light kilt. His form is lean and virile, and his head is crowned with tender green branches and leaves, along with newly bloomed flowers. He glows a bright, vibrant yellow-green. Both angels have been known as highly festive, though Kyse has been described as being more mellow in comparison to her vibrant husband. Their children are the autumnfolk and springlings, the kindly satyrs and fauns.
The Angels of Day and Night are Maywa and Yorun. Maywa is seen as slender and muscular, wearing a long, flowing gown and carrying a mirror. She glows a grand, golden light. Yorun, tall and lean, wears a light veil over his face in addition to light, flowing robes. He bears a lantern fixed to a tall staff and emanates a blue glow deeper than the lights of Stromarus or Sardoth. Maywa’s demeanor has been described as stately, but benevolent, while Yorun has been noted as very calm and quiet. Both angels have been associated with revelations literal and metaphorical, with Maywa representing the light of day dispelling the darkness and Yorun’s lantern being regarded as the light by which dreams and visions are seen. Their children are the sunwisps and the moonwisps.

Onuhaal is the abode of Onu and those faithful to him. The angels and faithful spirits dwell here with their Maker when not engaging with the mortal plane, as do the souls of the repentant and faithful Fidons. The name of the realm translates simply to “The Home of Onu,” and it is an eternal, wondrous place outside the confines of the mortal, corporeally tangible universe. It is a surreal place, but of boundless beauty and peace.
Upon death, the soul of a faithful Fidon passes from the body and arrives at what is called the Great Curtain, which is a supernatural veil separating the physical from the spiritual. Passing through this barrier, the soul then arrives at the Shores of Passing, where the recently departed gather and wait for the arrival of Morinaar and Vitahla’s ship. When this sacred vessel arrives, the departed board it and sail to the Isle of Onuhaal. The isle is home to a great mountain and tree, as well as a river with many streams branching from it. There are peaceful groves of trees, offshoots of the great tree on the mountain, as well as peaceful fields and shorelines.
Here, all the souls of the faithful forevermore reside, communing and reveling with their Maker, the angels, and their fellows, from those they knew and loved in the mortal life to those they never met until encountering them in eternity. Each Fidon, in time, finds an eternal mate in Onuhaal. For most, it is the soul of their spouse, once both have (presumably) made their way to Onu’s home. For others, particularly those who did not have such a relationship during their mortal days, they either find their soulmates waiting for them upon arrival or they need only wait a little while themselves for them to come.

The Temple of Onu, often simply referred to as “Temple” or “the Temple,” is the organized religious institution across all of Fidonhaal. Its figurehead is the salpion, the highest cleric, who generally resides at one of the four archtemples of the world when not abroad. Beneath the salpion are the alpions, who oversee the faith of the world’s major regions. At the time of the accounts told in this book, the alpions number sixteen, with one alpion to each of the four wards of the four nations. Under the alpions are the high priestesses and priests, one of which can be found managing every “official” temple in a given ward. These clerics oversee the rank-and-file priestesses and priests that tend to the temple, who vary in number depending on the size of the temple and the community it serves.
The Temple’s centers for worship vary in size and their general approach in practice across the world, ranging from small chapels to grand cathedrals, and places with high numbers of visitors to relatively secluded cloisters. The largest and most famous places of worship are the four archtemples, one of which is located in each of what are now regarded as the capitals of the nations. They consist of grand complexes housing many priestesses and priests, as well as several companies of Faithguard Knights, and also have quarters for visitors and residents of laity. A grand temple or cathedral serves as the central point of worship within these compounds, and are the sites of massive congregations on holy days and other special occasions.
While the essential teachings of the Temple are preached across the world, there is some variance to the exact philosophies and expressions of faith practiced. Many Fidons believe that an individual’s communing with Onu is to be a direct practice, praying to Onu and pondering one’s bond with him. Others have felt that, due to the deeply rooted darkness that was sown into the Fidon soul during Raakaru’s tyranny, they are unworthy of appealing to Onu directly unless the Maker deems to address a mortal himself. These people have developed the practice of praying to the angels, communing with the spirits of their ancestors, or both, though neither practice is to be confused with actual worship.
By the time of the tale Daughters of the East, the Temple has largely adopted a spiritual approach that entails varying measures of these practices, with individual worship centers potentially exercising some of them more than others based on the specific local culture. Most value the respect for departed ancestors and acknowledge the angels as the most powerful children of Onu, while still seeking to form and keep their most paramount bond with the Creator. So far, only one period in Fidonhaal’s history has witnessed an incident where these differences in exact spiritual views led to any severe problem, that being the time of the inquisition initiated by Salpion Gwellah Benarbu. Seen as the worst days in the Temple’s history, this period was marked by efforts to further unify the faith, but led to many deaths and horrors. Though the Temple and the world have largely moved on from that dark time, the inquisition remains one of the grimmest reminders of the potential evils that can spring from good intentions.

Though the clergy of the Temple receives training in predominantly nonlethal, hand-to-hand defense techniques, their roles are intended to be focused on spiritual concerns rather than combat, even that which is done for the defense of the good. For such instances, the Faithguard has become the Temple’s answer. Being founded alongside the Temple itself, the Faithguard is a broad order of warriors trained for the defense of the Temple and its people, from the clergy to the worshippers. This intention to protect people from the forces and creatures of evil has, in essence, always extended to all Fidons who strive to live in pursuit of bonding with Onu, even if they do not specifically approach the communion as typically practiced by the Temple. This has especially been the case, however, since the aftermath of the inquisition, as reformative declarations issued by the Temple following that incident officially charged the Faithguard to defend all “faithful-hearted” Fidons.
The Faithguard was founded by Konoth Alpharon alongside Elukus and Sophia Aganon, the first salpions of the Temple. Konoth was a woodcutter and militia-fighter in a struggling village during the early years after the expulsion of Raakaru, when one day Elukus the Blind Seer and his wife, Sophia, arrived to offer spiritual guidance to the people who lived there. The first centuries following Raakaru’s reign were hard and full of conflict, being a time of many small feuding domains and people both desperate and devious. Concerned by this and moved by the consoling and inspiring words of the Blind Seer and his loving wife, Konoth frantically prepared to follow and defend them from the sure perils of travel when he heard of their prompt departure. Grabbing his wood-axe and the lid from a cooking pot, and donning his heavy fighter’s jacket of chain and hide, the first Faithguard knight accompanied Elukus and Sophia on their wanderings, protecting them from monsters and brigands alike.
When the Faithguard was founded, the order comprised only of those who would now be referred to specifically as the Konothian Knights, warriors who adopted the fighting techniques of wielding an axe and a small shield. In time, however, other martial styles began to be practiced by the Faithguard, and there are now numerous other orders of knights within the general order of the Temple’s defenders, each focusing on a favored weapon and array of equipment.
Other orders affiliated with the faith, if not officially by the Temple itself, have arisen over the centuries. These include the Vibonmor (“Life and Death”) Shepherds, who are wandering healers and consolers of the dying with a modest level of experience in defensive combat. Modeling the inseparable union between the Angels Vitahla and Morinaar, and their domains of Life and Death, each agent of this order is paired with another, and they embark into the world in pairs. They then do their best to heal the sick and wounded, and bring comfort to those beyond the help of medicine.
Another order, one that is heavily steeped in mystery and controversy, is that of the Yorunian Nightblades. Named after the Angel of Night, the Nightblades are a shadowy network of assassins. However, it is understood that they are not for hire by anyone, instead being a group that acts solely at their own discretion and only resorts to murder in the direst of situations, targeting the most corrupt and dangerous of individuals. Their numbers are unknown, as is the exact number of times they have acted in history. Though the Temple has constantly denied having any affiliation with them, this claim has been met with much skepticism. All that is known of them for certain are their daggers, shaped in the likeness of the crescent moon, along with their veils and cloaks, mimicking those of Yorun himself.

The Beldsantu, its name meaning simply “The Holy Book,” is the primary compilation of sacred texts for the Fidon faith, being read and referenced regularly by the Temple and the average Fidon for counsel and inspiration. It contains the Fidon account of Creation, along with the lives of the First Ancestors, as well as the world’s fall into Raakaru’s tyranny and the following liberation by the combined actions of Onu, the angels and the First Elect. It also lists prophecies spoken and written throughout the millennia of the Fourth Era, as well as summaries of many of the ideals and lives of the Exemplars.

The Fidon faith teaches that communion with Onu can be practiced in a variety of ways. However, prayer is naturally one of the most common ways in which Fidons pursue their spiritual efforts, and they vary from the extensive list formulated by the Temple to prayers said in the moment and from the heart of the individual.
Whatever the prayer, however, the Fidon concludes their words with the phrase, “In you I strive to trust,” or “In you we strive to trust,” if the prayer is spoken amongst two or more people. This closing statement comes from the words said to have been spoken by the First Ancestors, when Onu spoke to them following Raakaru’s first attempt to lead them away from the Maker. Raakaru, having tried to convince the First Ancestors that Onu was neither caring nor trustworthy due to his allowance of freedom, sowed a seed of doubt into their hearts that they and their descendants would have to contend with for the rest of time. Nevertheless, when Onu spoke with them after Raakaru’s departure, he told them once more of his love for them. The First Ancestors continued to commune with Onu, saying they would strive to keep their faith in him.
This conclusion to Fidon prayer is meant to reflect the honesty necessary for a true and loving bond with Onu; it is at once both a confession of doubt, even if only as much as a grain of sand, and a declaration to continue the efforts to overcome the doubt and keep the faith.

The Fidon faith has been expressed by countless works of art and iconography throughout the millennia. Paintings, sculptures, and other forms of art depicting people and events from Fidonhaal’s religious and spiritual history adorn temples, castles, and homes throughout the world, with many of these works being hailed as some of the greatest achievements of art in general.
The most vital, unifying piece of iconography for the faith, however, is the emblem of the Uqua, which translates to “The Four.” This emblem at once represents a number of important elements from the faith and its lore. The subjects of this symbolism include the Heart, Eye, Mouth and Hand of Onu, as well as the Maker’s Four Breaths, which were breathed during the first processes of Creation, by which spirit, wind, life and will were made.
The Uqua also represents the four elements of earth, flame, water and wind, as well as the four Fidons who became the First Elect and led the mortals’ efforts to drive Raakaru out of Fidonhaal. Indeed, this emblem is what marked the foreheads of the First Elect and all those who have since succeeded them. This symbol is present throughout all of Fidonhaal, a universal expression of the Fidons’ efforts to commune with Onu. It is the official insignia of the Temple, with pendants and talismans bearing its design, and with druids and nomadic shamans carving the emblem into monoliths and other places of significance.

Throughout Fidonhaal’s history, men and women have demonstrated ideals, and the pursuit of ideals, that have been recognized and recounted by the people. A number of these people have been designated by the Temple as “Exemplars” of the ideals associated with their lives, and have inspired generations of Fidons as they journeyed the paths of their lives in seeking to bond with their Maker.
One example of this designation is Konoth Alpharon, the first Faithguard Knight. Being cited as a warrior who did not resort to unprovoked violence and accepted his foes’ surrender, he was designated as an Exemplar for Righteous Warriors. Another Exemplar is Konoth’s wife, Devora, who forgave a group of brigands who raped her when she had the chance to condemn them to her husband’s vengeance. She has since been cited as an Exemplar of Forgiveness, and many of even the most empathetic and compassionate Fidons have not fully matched Devora’s capacity for mercy.