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 Religions of the World [WIP]

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Pat
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PostSubject: Religions of the World [WIP]   Religions of the World [WIP] EmptyTue Oct 02, 2012 7:32 pm

Religions of the World


Introduction

The World of Aeria is one of numerous, conflicting faiths and beliefs. While almost every "deity" is worshiped, most never spread beyond their extremely devoted and reclusive cults. Others, through circumstance, culture, or divine interaction, have become incredibly popular, consuming entire nations. This is a record of those faiths.    


The Elven Theosophies -
The so-called "Elven Theosophies" are what scholars call the group of religions directly inspired by traditional Elven beliefs, spread during the time of Elven expanse. Though varied, the Theosophies share several core beliefs; That creation began in purity and light; The actions of impure spirits (Concordism), evil Deities (Reformist and Messianic Tyrism) or rebellious Jinn (Mukhamism) sullied the previous, pure creation and plunged the universe into war; The world is mired in sin and impurity, and their religion represents the way to proper purity once more. Beyond this, the religions vary wildly, and disagree on a number of things.

Elven Orthodoxy - Concordism
Lacking a proper name, "Concordism" is what human scholars call the traditional beliefs and rituals of the Elven people, specifically the Elves of the Ahdsurian Isles. Elven Orthodoxy is bound up in the racial and spiritual identity of the Elven people - to reject the mandates of the faith is to lose your place among the Elven people. This accounts for the creation of Elven sub-racial groups - the Wild Elves, Dark Elves, Golden Elves - is directly linked to the rejection of the core tenants of Elven belief.

The Elves believe that the world was born awash in splendid light and purity, from which the first and greatest emerged, Aten, father of light and lord of purity, to rule as King over all existence. Soon after formed the lesser light, Kielm, spirit of life. Others, came, too; formed from the pureness of light in the old days, Aten's sons, whom he named Malakhtyr, meaning "Purity of Action", and Illmatyr, meaning "Purity of Spirit"; and many others, such as the Malakhim, or the "Servants / Doers of Light". There was darkness, too, in those days; but it is said that the darkness existed only to exemplify the light, and served them in every way.

One day, the Elves believe, Kielm beheld all of Aten's sovereignty, and saw that it was beautiful. Nevertheless, he searched for a way to greater accentuate the light's glory. He came to Aten and argued for the creation of a new group of beings, one with the will to choose to serve that of the light or the dark, to better exemplify the light's glory when they chose to follow the light. Seeing Kielm's folly, he nevertheless allowed Kielm to take a single ray of his light. Kielm sundered the ray, splitting it into a thousand thousand shards. Born with a freedom to choose between two natures, these lesser lights at first chose to serve Aten, and were the greatest of those that sang glory to the light's dominion because of this willful rejection of their impure natures.

Then came the Sundering. As in many other creation myths, the Elves include a fearful, devastating creature that emerges from the void / chaos beyond existence. The Elves call this creature "Sharess", "Crawling Darkness". This creature infested the world with it's chaos, casting existence into impurity. The spirits of darkness rebelled against the rightful authority of the light, and creation was plunged into war without end. Evil grew in the world, great and foul.

Many ages later, a number of the lesser lights were fleeing the destruction of the Eternal War. They found refuge in a small realm perched atop a great storm. This was the mortal realm. They discovered the Dragon-Gods of Old, and communed with them. Soon others came, seeking refuge, many beings from across the cosmos. But Shar, Mistress of Night and rebellious spirit, discovered their refuge, and flooded the world with her spirits, to secure it for her purposes. The lesser lights communed with them too, and soon began committing many great evils and impurities. They begat children with the darkness, and all did impurity. This continued for many years, as the war raged.

But Aten learned of the evils being committed by his children, and grew enraged. He knew of the great sin that filled the world by Shar's will, and could not permit it to exist. He cast his wrath upon it, a thing most great and terrible to behold; and the world was plunged into flame, shuddering and turning to ash at his power. And Malakhtyr, favored son, led a great roving tribune, wherefrom he judged the land piece by piece, and finding only iniquity and foul sin wherever he went. Many died in this flame, thousands upon thousands. The licentious shadows fled to the darkest corners of the world, escaping the flames for a time. Near the end, the realm itself began to split and char. No impure thing, no matter how great, could withstand Aten, Lord of All.

As the world burned, only a few of the lesser spirits survived the initial wrath cast upon the world. Numbering 1,440,000 out of millions prior, there arose a great leader among them, Akron Viel, whose spirit is said to be the spirit of the Archons to come. Viel led the spirits in great supplication and mourning, in prayer and repentance. They called out to their father, to spare them, to deliver them from his wrath. Illmatyr heard their pleas, and came before his father, begging that they be spared; that they, few righteous and pure still, deserved life yet. And Aten allowed it. He removed his wrath from the world and cast it instead on Illmatyr, who, being of perfect spirit, accepted such torment in proper supplication. And so Illmatyr burned, and burns still; consumed in absolute agony, punished in the world's stead.

The world was left charred and broken. In suffering Aten's great wrath, it had been wiped clean of nearly all life, and was on the brink of annihilation. Kielm, feeling great remorse for his part in the apostasy of the lesser spirits, and pity for the state of the world, sacrificed himself to save the realm, merging his spirit with Aeria. From his spirit flowed all life that came after, filling the world with many beasts, growth, and the sentient races.

To the lesser spirits came the presence of Malakhtyr, awash in flame and truth. As Lawbearer, he made known the Concord and the Mandate set upon their kind; which include the Laws of Proper Birth, the Rites of Atonement, the punishment for Apostasy, and the Admonition against consorting with foreign spirits. Thus was born the Justiciers, Lawbearers, under Malakhtyr, to guide and punish accordingly. Thus these lesser spirits were named the Alfar, the Elect People, for to them was given a Concord, to save and bind. And from his hands, Malakhtyr gifted them the center-stone of the Room of Souls, by which they, though mortal from their impurity, could remain till the end of the world.

In his last act, Malakhtyr spoke with the authority of his father, and told of the future of Aeria. According to this prophecy, which is incredibly sacred to the Alfar, there will come a time, in the future, when Illmatyr's agony will end. Having paid the full price of the Alfar's sin, they shall be welcomed back into divinity, in the fulfillment of the Concord. Then there will come days of war and chaos, as the world's nations fight each other into rubble. Weakened, they shall be entirely obliterated when Aten comes, robed in majesty, to cast Aeria in flame once more, and remake it to be the seat of his throne, ruling all of the cosmos.

After the prophecy was spoken, Malakhtyr disappeared. To the far east came a great light, as the sun opened in the sky for the first time. And the Alfar followed the light, travelling across barren land and open sea, until they came to a land under the direct light of the Sun. There they set the Corner-Stone and constructed the Room of Souls, which is at the base of the Halls of Justice. And it was named Ahdsur, to be a homeland till the end of the Concord.

"Concordism" is followed mostly within the Ahdsurian Isles, though many Elves and Half-Elves practice a modified, less severe version of it, in Brython especially. In these modified versions, birth is much less important, and anyone who follows the moral rules of the Concord are granted eventual glory, to live forever. The Alfar themselves condemn these variations, but usually do little to enforce their view, even in their own province of Brython.


The Church of Sanctimonia - Reformist Tyrism
The official, state-sponsored religion of the Kingdom of Sanctimonia, the Church of Sanctimonia embodies a resurgent and progressive revival of some of the oldest traditions of the west. Intimately tied to the structure and history of Sanctimonia, it is only slightly older than the nation itself. The Church's roots can be traced to a time of religious turmoil. In the year 584 MoP, nearly a thousand years of religious orthodoxy was shattered with the reported death of the Prophet, combined with a sudden and swift Imperial crackdown on the affairs of the church. Hundreds of high ranking officials were arrested on charges of corruption, while the Church itself was practically gutted. The entire church hierarchy was purged, publicly respected holy men charged and detained, Paladins stripped of their titles and disarmed forcefully, shackled with Imperial Overseers whom the clergy were expected to defer to on matters of doctrine. The Church lost privileges and power that it had held for hundreds of years. Those that remained were left to rule over a desiccated husk. Of those that remained, many left the church, either in anger, or in a crisis of faith. This was the beginning of the Schism. There were those that refused to accept the stories coming out of Surna, and believed that the story as well as the crackdown on the church was a demonic plot perpetuated by greedy and corrupt politicians; and then there were those who accepted the stories, yet could not reconcile that truth with what they believed, and so wandered the land, consumed by their crisis of faith. Out of one of these men came the beginnings of a revival - Faeru Kelvas, former Knight of the Order of the Prophet, left for Ahdsur, supposedly spurred by divine guidance to train under the Justiciers, the ancient Alfar sect devoted to Tyr. He would return in 5 years time to form the fledgling Knights Concordic, an order devoted specifically to safeguarding the lands of the west, and worship Tyr in a more correct manner.

It was then that the terror known later as the Great War occurred, a tale that has been told many times over. The Empire was shattered, the land left in chaos. It was at this time that, as the story goes, Tyr guided the desperate men-of-faith left after the end of the false Church to the ruins of Imperia. It was there, working to save the people, purify the city, and restore order to the land, that the Church was truly born. In the ruins of Imperia, Church, Knights, and Crown united together as three facets of Tyr's will, and founded Sanctimonia.

It is important to know this history to understand that one of the most integral features of the Church of Sanctimonia is one of reform. Many of it's founders were exposed to the brutalities and intolerance which The Prophet and his faithful perpetuated, as well as the rampant corruption and abuse of power it sheltered. They were also ever more aware of the lie which The Prophet had created, forging a false religion in which he played a center role. Reformist Tyrism was ruled by a strong desire to atone for the crimes of the past, and reject all that The Prophet had taught. To this end, they turned to Alfar mythology, to understand Tyr as not a supreme deity, but as one of several. They attempted to reconcile the Alfar Triune Concord with their worship of Tyr singly. In doing so, they underwent a more direct communication with their god. Many artifacts were recovered, and communion attempted, to divulge wisdom from the deity.

The ideology which was eventually formed on a sort of soft exceptionalism - that Tyr, being the Lawbearer of the old Concord, had sought out a place for himself among men. He chose to set his throne in the west, setting the heavy weight of his law upon the people, not to condemn, but to guide. To this end, he has communed with several men of righteous and unrighteous stature, leading them to influence the nation. The first of these was Romas Talibar, the great King of Old. And to this day, they say, "Tyr is the grace of the land", a strong and firm ally, teacher, and guide for the entire nation. The Crown of Sanctimonia is divinely mandated, but not absolute. His Law is meant to guide, to act as a franchiser to the disenfranchised, a freer of the enslaved, a savior to the damned.

Many of Sanctimonia's critics decry Sanctimonia's status as a de facto Theocracy. But in rejection of The Prophet's crimes, a series of strict laws have been established in the land, specifically to eliminate religious corruption, abuse of power, and intolerance. People in Sanctimonia are free to hold contrary religious beliefs, even those of The Prophet, so long as their religion does not spur them to commit crimes and vile acts. Indeed, the only religions banned in Sanctimonia are that of the dark deities - Ossus, Bane, Shar, Nijaal and Verumai. Harsh laws are in place to punish attempts to persecute people via religious means, and the religious orders themselves are policed heavily and taught to police themselves. The system is not perfect, and mistakes are made and abuses still carried out, but great pains are made to err on the side of tolerance, examining one's actions thoroughly.

Though Sanctimonia draws on many Alfar concepts, they are by no means ruled by the Concord, nor united in ideology. Indeed, the Church of Sanctimonia disagrees on many core tenants. The clergy has declared, for example, that the Laws of Proper Birth should be entirely repealed, a proposal entirely insulting to the Alfar. They have also declared that the Justiciers should either be dismantled or heavily policed, and judged for "abominable crimes". Such things have almost created a complete schism between Ahdsur and Sanctimonia. As of now, little has come of it save harsh words on either side.













Last edited by Pat on Thu Nov 14, 2013 2:12 pm; edited 3 times in total
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Pat
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PostSubject: Re: Religions of the World [WIP]   Religions of the World [WIP] EmptyTue Oct 02, 2012 7:34 pm

Yes, I intend to add more. I posted this because I felt like doing something tonight, and finishing the Elven creation story.
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Munroe
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PostSubject: Re: Religions of the World [WIP]   Religions of the World [WIP] EmptyWed Oct 03, 2012 3:55 am

This is long.

But good. Nice job Pat.
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PostSubject: Re: Religions of the World [WIP]   Religions of the World [WIP] EmptyFri Jan 25, 2013 4:25 pm

Dominator046 wrote:
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The Old Times: The All and the Universe – The Aldinn-Aevi Stones

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Standing in a peaceful mountain glen, overlooking a beautiful river valley with a view that stretches for miles, are a ring of stones that have most likely borrowed the inspiration for their writing from landscapes such as these; dating back to shortly before the arrival of the elves, and showing as perhaps one of (if not the very) first uses of the traditional Gaerdic written language; these stones are the unified beliefs of the Gaerdic creation story put to stone in ages past. The ideals and values expressed therein are considered quite wholesome and valid; though some worry that elven tampering is present, most are quite confident that is not the case.

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Spoiler:

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The Daybreak Times: The Dawn of Man – The Dagan-Aevi Stones

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Believed to be the single oldest and most deified of all the Elder-Gaerdic sites is known as the Dagan stones, standing in the North of Vale in the center of a great field of many barrows. Dagan, meaning daybreak, is ominously close to a choice piece of material to which these stones entail: Dragons, or traditionally known as Draegar. These stones paint a colorful canvas of legend, regaling a time before written language, when man first began to rise up from the state of beasthood, and serves as the revelation of their religion as a Monism instead of a Polytheism. These stones entail the creation of man, the rule of the dragons, the faith of Kelund and the Vjattir, the Riddle of Steel, the Value of Honor, and Coming to Terms with Death. Some of these stories have been translated into the traditional Gaerdic language, and even common, and have been held as incredible stories of self discovery, faith, and hope.

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Spoiler:

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The Early Times: The Beginning of History – The Snimma-Aevi Stones

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One of the greatest sites of pilgrimage for the Gaerdic people is a ruin in Northern Sanctimonia where a ring of stones stands within the bounds of a great ruin; these stones are known as the Snimma-Aevi Stones, and they contain the first written record of the Highland History to be transposed either from a direct or secondary source. This record perhaps sets the bar for human history before that of other human societies, with records and accounts transcribed to stone as to better last the ages; though the accuracy is disputed amongst some, it proves vastly reliable. The site around the stones suggests it was once a great city, despite its great age and what little of it remains; though through the test of time, the stones containing the important depicted records remain, using Proto-Futhark Inscriptions that can be interpreted by anyone skilled in the traditional Highland script. In addition to providing a history of the Gaerdic people, it provides information on their religious beliefs; showcasing their world view and their place within it.

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Spoiler:

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A Treatise on the Gaerdic People at the Behest of the Talibarian Emperor

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An excerpt from an official Talibarian decree of acceptance and tolerance of the Gaerdic peoples upon missionary attempts to recruit some of their populace into proper adaptation into the Empire. Such was birthed by the effort of their religious preachers after time has passed, and attempting to appeal to their old tradition and bring them into seeing the divinity in the Elven Pantheon, and the pact as well.

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Spoiler:

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A Surmise on Gaerdic Traditions: The Rise and Fall of the Dragoons

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This exceprt is a historical analysis of the rise and fall of the Dragoons, a group originally formed by the Ancient Gaerdic Draegor; whose purpose remained mostly the same throughout its long and revered history.

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Spoiler:
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Pat
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PostSubject: Re: Religions of the World [WIP]   Religions of the World [WIP] EmptyTue Feb 26, 2013 9:00 am

Updated.
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