Creation: Hwajenku, a great being of fire, made the waters and a giant volcano to serve as its home. When the volcano first erupted, the lava spread through the water and formed together in various masses, making land. Some of the water evaporated and made the clouds. Then Hwajenku made companions for itself, first the great sea people, then the land dwellers, then the air dwellers.

Death: Fresh-water hydrans believe that they become rain and then return home. Part of the motivation for this belief may be that these hydrans are often kidnapped and removed from their home during life. Salt water hydrans become bubbles and float in water. They believe they will be able to watch the future lives of their brethren.

Purpose: They don't know; they wonder and ponder. Because of their short life spans, progress on big questions is slow.

Holy Text: Hieroglyphics, ancient and contemporary, are etched into rock walls using lava wands.

Fresh water hydrans, who have no access to lava, rely heavily on oral tradition; they sing religious songs in voices that sound a bit like dolphins on Earth.

Religious morals: Violence in self defense is acceptable. Protection of the territory is a scared duty, especially protection of hydran eggs. It is forbidden to interfere with younglings, because survival of fittest must be allowed to take its course. As a result, many young hydrans die from hazards of their harsh environment.

Saltwater hydrans attend worship services in temples with small underwater volcanoes in the center.

Magic is a gift from Hwajenku. The magic is one with the water, and learning to manipulate that magic is an essential part of what a hydran is meant to be.

Hydrans also revere their ancestors, and maintain portraits of previous rulers on a memorial wall; if a ruler turns out to be bad, the portrait is burned and covered over.

Hydrans observe no major religious holidays; due to their short life spans, they must focus on work and duties

A sacred rite of passage - when a hydran reaches puberty, he or she must go the surface of the water for a month and survive there alone. Often, a group of hydran youth is led to the surface by a priest before they are left to struggle on their own.