The Dosem are truly of two religions. The first was one that has been worshipped from the beginning of known history, before the Dosem Mythos and Gaelsam's Walkabout. A significant portion of the Dosem on Thistledown still worship this Sioux-style pantheon. More information can be found at the GvE Wiki entry for Gods.
Those not following that faith are agnostic, atheist, or follow religions in the lands they have adopted as their homes. A moderate number of Dosem follow an alternative religion though, which teaches that the world as it is known was born from a fragment of Death that became the bringer of Life. Spawned from the interaction of these two primal forces were the forces of Good and Evil. The Dosem visualize these four constantly shifting powers as the Four Winds, or on occasion, the four cardinal directions. As such, the Dosem do not worship gods or deities, but immortalize those among themselves who most personalize the traits of the winds.
The preferred method of immortalization by the Dosem is inclusion in the Dosem Mythos or one of its ancillary works, as passed down through the generations through oratory or in rare cases, written form. Chief among those honored in such fashion is a male Dosem known only as Gaelsam, who lived at a time where he was able in some way to be witness to the events that led to the Second Rising of the Faceless. Gaelsam is revered for not only being present for those events but for causing a key shift in Dosem civilization away from isolationism that could have resulted in their extinction by now.
This shift, formalized in the Walkabout (which itself is one of several facets that all Dosem religions share), encourages Dosem to 'go walkabout' and see the world. In doing so, the Dosem have been able to learn and extend their boundaries, as reflected in their intelligent nature, and are no longer chiefly agrarian in nature, but skilled in tasks that take advantage of their physical nature. Also, being spread across the planet, their survivability of any possible events that could result in the extinction of the Dosem is increased, despite being considered a very minor race. Unfortunately, this spread has also introduced many Dosem to other religious beliefs, and as a result, only about a third of the Dosem population on Thistledown are active in their people's faith. Naturally this has resulted in "gaps" in some of the stories as fewer and fewer are handed down to the next generation of Dosem.
Other Dosem figures depicted in the Dosem religion include Que, who is depicted as the master of trickery, Strasis, the first Dosem to travel the seas, and Neasa, who is best known for being a proficient practicer of magical arts. Of these figures, Neasa is the most recent to be immortalized in the Dosem religion, having had her story introduced in 1238 AF. One is generally not incorporated into the Mythos or its ancillary works until after their death.
The body largely responsible for the "maintenance" of the Dosem religion and inclusion of new figures into the religion is known as the Council of the Dawning. The Council earns its name not only from the date on which they meet every five years (1 Dawning, or the Spring Dawning), but also from the context that the Dosem religion is essentially based on the birth of new knowledge brought to them by Gaelsam. Meetings are typically held where the greatest concentration of Dosem are located, which over the course of the last millenia has changed significantly. Presently the Council meets in the "kingdom" of Loamburrow, and the next meeting will take place in 1437.
The Council oversees the investiture of new figures into the Dosem religion through the act of encouraging the sharing of information between all peoples. Though many Dosem are far enough away to make a regular pilgrimage to each Council's exchange difficult, many Dosem will make a pilgrimage if they happen to "be in the area".
Over the last millenia, the Dosem have opened their doors to these proceedings to other races, even non-believers or practitioners of other religions, starting with the Elves and halflings in 312AF, humans and orcs in 487AF, and remaining cultures per council edict by 1002AF. The edicts responsible for these radical shifts in policy generally tend to point out that the fates of all on Thistledown benefit from the knowledge shared, and that Gaelsam was proof enough that the other races on Thistledown can have useful knowledge to teach the Dosem. Of course, while membership is offered, participation is not mandatory and it has been common to see such memberships ignored outright.
Membership on the Council is for the remaining duration of a Dosem's life once elected to it, and by general election of those Dosem present, of their peers. Attendance in person and active practicing the faith to be elected to the Council is usually required, though certain rare cases have occured, including one in which an elected Council member had to be sought out and rescued from captivity, and others in which agnostic Dosem or even those of other faiths have been elected. Most of those elected to the Council are representative of the various trades and walks of life that Dosem are found in, and are either considered the most skilled in their trade among Dosem, or to have the most valuable experience and teachings to lend to the Council. Election is generally restricted to "fours of four", or 16 members, and while Council meetings are open to anyone, one must be of true Dosem blood to hold a position on it.
Being elected to the Council is a great honor for any Dosem, and is sometimes a sign that the Dosem in question may be immortalized by some mention in the Mythos. Out of respect for the elected, they are often appointed the Gronshar, or head of their family lineage. (If the elected is male, his wife, sister, or daughter is promoted to Gronshar instead, and he takes the title of Gonshar-fahn, or Escort to the Gronshar.)¹ That said, not all elected are appointed to this title, especially if a member of the family lineage already holds that role.
In addition to the Council of the Dawning, the Dosem religion has other factions formed by dissidents, fanatics, and extremists. The Will of the Winds group goes to extreme measures to ensure that what is done is by the will of the Winds, and are the closest among the Dosem to treat the winds as gods. Another faction, one that has been increasing in popularity among Dosem, is known as the Internalists, argues that the Dosem have been infected by the other Thistledown cultures, and argues that in being scattered, the Dosem race will become extinct, polluted by outside blood. A final group, the Winds of War, see it as their holy writ as handed down by Gaelsam to spread the Dosem religion to all corners of Thistledown through any means necessary, including acts against foreign empires. Membership in groups outside that of the Council itself are often private matters, where individuals are inducted by family or friends, or recruited through a long process to ensure that the recruitee is of proper stock for the group in question.
The nature of Dosem religion means that the Dosem often see death differently than other religions. The body of a deceased is viewed as simply an empty shell, the soul having passed on into service of Life, Death, Good, or Evil, and as such disposal methods vary per local laws and family wishes. The only exception tends to be in regards to Dosem who have distinguished themselves in any way in service of Life or Good; in these cases, the body is burned so that the spirit can be freed to the winds in a fast manner.
The Dosem have few religious holidays. 1 Dawning is perhaps their most important, as the Council of the Dawning meets.