While we're talking about the subject of constructing religions, I'd like to bring up the concept of the Creed. The creed is nothing more than a simple statement of the religion's beliefs, meant to be recited. If you cannot write a creed for your monotheistic religion, it probably needs work on internal consistency. Creed examples:

The daughter of a long line of Shinto priestesses, Mei has sworn to protect her adopted city of Washington from the dark godlings that infest it, feeding upon the greed and lust of those who live there. There's just one little hitch...

Strange plant-creatures from Rosetta II, the Rosahomin are, for a small portion of their lives, roughly humanoid creatures, fully sentient, and capable of interacting with the galaxy.

A mid-sized sailing ship with an embedded Shard of the Storm.

The product of a conjuring gone horribly awry, the Devourer hungers, and it hungers not for anything of this world, nor of the next..

Ringed round by ancient political foes, this ancient nation finds itself dealing with a powerful foe, one with far more sinister hungers than money or land.

The legacy of a master of the martial arts, the Fistwraps of Hwang are a testament to his sheer willpower.

One of the common variations on magic is the concept of 'sword mages' or 'knight mages'. We all know and love them as the folks in full plate that split globes in twain with flaming swords, before twirling around to change their flame sword to an ice sword so they can stab the flaming angel of vengeance in the chest to maximum effect.

A summary of the tools, weapons, and transports of the Kel’Regar.

Twin-aspected aliens, the Kel’Regar are strange creatures, and their alien society, strange technology, and lithe bodies evoking the images of elves in some humans.

The Wise Woman of a small family of the giant hill people known as the Volgotoi, Korara's particular gifts of illusion have allowed her a surprising degree of influence over the local Imperial outpost, helping spare her people the ravages of 'civilization'.

Even the Thoron may thirst for knowledge, and Embraced-A-Star has chosen the most direct route it can find to new discoveries. It chooses to go where no other creature can.

The shattered remnants of a divine weapon, a certain amount of power remains in these bits of celestial metal.

Bursting with an incredible, terrible complexity, the Oraki are a powerful breed of mechanoids, once that blurs the line between machine and man from the other direction.

Man, too, is a primal creature, though he binds himself with the chains named Reason and Law, locked link by link from birth. Yet, those locks can be opened, the links broken, in both the savage world of the street-slum, and in the gilded cages of nobility.

One such creature is the countess-to-be, Alia duBois, who crouches within her golden jail, a puma waiting paitently to maul her captors...

Those cast out of eternal life by the Great God Juffo find themselves lost forever in the Non. Here, away from both His Holy Warmth and the cold, harsh vengance of His Adversary, Zeln, there is truly nothing.

This discreet and stylishly concealable weapon is quite capable of cleaning up its own mess.

Be wary, adventurer, of the smoke of Mal'Mennoth, that dread, choking cloud that blots out the very sun! Be wary, adventurer, of the demon's dread shadow, of the things that prey on your mind!

The legendary blacksmith, founder of clan Ironspirit, and he whom brought the steel of the Gods themselves to mortal man.

"Didja see the way way I nailed that, Marty?" "Thunderingly effective!"