The World of the Five Gods series explores an alternate reality on a world analogous to Earth, influenced by conflicts between the old shamanic religion, the new dominant Quintarian religion, and the heretical Quadrene faith, mirroring the spread of Christianity in pagan lands and the later clashes between Catholicism and Islam.
[3] Quintarians acknowledge five gods—the Father, Mother, Daughter, Son, and Bastard—while Quadrenes deny the Bastard, claiming he is a demon rather than a god.
In the series, the various gods intercede in events, but must do so by influencing people through dreams and visitations as they have no power to act directly on the world.
The Hallowed Hunt is set in the Weald, an area roughly similar to medieval Germany, southwest of the Ibran Peninsula.
[6] Bujold's reading-order guide states that the works in the World of the Five Gods can be read in any order, although Paladin of Souls has spoilers for The Curse of Chalion.