Religion
From Aparsus
The people of the empire enjoy widespread freedom of religion. Imperial decree protects the sanctity of all faiths so long as they obey the strictures of Imperial Law, and the law specifically forbids the establishment of a state-sponsored religion. As a result, there is a great deal of syncretism among the most wide-spread religions in the Empire, and most of the faiths that Imperial Citizens adhere to can best be described as henotheistic off-shoots of the original churches.
Five faiths, described below, dominate Imperial religion, but paganus religions are still very common among the lower classes - non-citizens and poor, rural Citizens alike. It has become common for many rural towns and villages to maintain a forum divinitas, a small plaza set aside for the worship of local gods. While this is a common and accepted practice, the High Lords frown upon it - seeing such paganus traditions as ignorant and foolish, beneath the notice of a true Citizen of the Empire.
The chief three religions of the Empire - the Cult of the Nine, the Imperial Cult and the Triumvar Church - are scholarly traditions. Among their many other great works, they also form the back bone of the Empire's education system, providing Citizens and non-Citizens alike a basic education that, in other nations, would be the province only of the wealthy. The other two largest religions, the Korgoth ancestor cult of the Ghulmith and the Brotherhood of Steel, provide equally useful benefits to the Empire, though in other realms, as shown below.
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[edit] The Cult of the Nine
The Cult of the Nine originated in Verindus, among the river dwelling northerners whose society would build the Empire, and it still finds its primary lay following there. It's doctrine centers around the emulation and appeasement of the "Nine" - gods of both heaven and earth said to have created and shaped the earth before the dawn of history. These gods are divided into two distinct pantheons - the Riendir, or gods of the heavens, and the Fayedir, or the lords of the earth. Both pantheons are ruled by a central figure known as Gont, the hermaphroditic Creator god whose self-sacrifice provided the raw materials from which the world was forged.
Among the Riendir are Marwen and Annwen, respectively the gods of the moon and the sun. Marwen is the goddess of passion, of leisure and rest and the enjoyment of fine things, while Annwen represents hard-work, purity and industry. Also of the Riendir are Aragond, the god of stars and dreams, who teaches the importance of hope, and Gryme, the god of the dark behind the stars and the keeper of the dead, who teaches the importance of duty. The deeds of the Riendir during the creation of the world are detailed in the first of the Cult's holy texts, the Malkanus Saga. Priests of the Cult study the Saga and its countless variations and interpretations, and exhort their laity to follow the example of the Riendir and Gont - to work hard and sacrifice of themselves for duty, but to understand that their work brings peace and hope to the world as a whole.
The Fayedir are those who came after the creation of the world, born not from the act of sacrifice but from the desire of the world itself to be shaped from the formless mass created by Gont's sacrifice. Among the Fayedir, Gont is considered their king and creator, having given them the means by which they could be shaped. The four Fayedir are attended by the Cortes Divine, fey elemental spirits known for their mischievious nature. Alynea is the goddess of water, travel and commerce, the patron of merchants, thieves and gamblers alike, and she is invoked to provide good fortune and protect against bad luck. Mon'jihr is the god of fire, of war and of cunning, but also the god of anger. He is invoked to ensure victory in battle, but his rages and violence cause him to be blamed for earthquakes and numerous other disasters. Vrati is the goddess of air, knowledge and magic, for both good and for ill, and Caldosis is the god of the earth, of craftwork and tradition, invoked to bind oaths, but unwilling to change.
The deeds of the Fayedir are recorded in the Scrolls of Atonath, and paint them as larger than life hero-kings who ruled the pre-historic world and adventured widely. Whereas the Riendir are gods to be worshipped, the Fayedir are heroes - representing all that is good and bad about mortal life - and they act as examples and warnings for the laity. Many lay members of the Cult keep a copy of the Scrolls for just such a reason.
Aside from the Nine, the Cult venerates a number of mortal heroes and saints, the chief of which are the Imperial Saints - Salidarus Titus, the first Emperor, and Hanuman, the Wise General. These great leaders provide important object lessons for those who would follow in their footsteps, and the stories of their lives and sayings are collected in the Proverbs. Like the Scrolls, the Proverbs are often used by the Cult laity as a guidepost to proper action, helping them understand the five noble duties of the Riendir - sacrifice, duty, passion, hope and dedication.
The Cult's clergy spends many years in dedicated religious study. The core texts of the faith are complex and extensive, and priests are expected to become extremely familiar with them, as well as with the ritual activities that surround them - marriage ceremonies, ritual sacrifices to the Fayedir and the Cortes Divine, and so on. Though the laity are allowed to venerate one Saint or God over others, the clergy must worship all the divine hosts equally, and so temples of the Nine are built around several shrines, usually as towers ascending from the Saints, to the Fayedir to the Riendir. When they have enough land to do so, they spread the temples out however, building monastery complexes tended not only by priests but by lay monks dedicated to one god or saint or another.
Priests of the Cult are trained from the age of six - their entire life is planned out first by their families and then by the Church. They are accorded much respect by the members of the Cult for their sacrifice and hard-work in the name of the faith, but cannot own any wealth or hold any secular position of power. Most priests are circuit priests, traveling from town to town to oversee weddings and funerals and to administer church business in their circuit, but others settle to oversee the lay monasteries or work in the temple schools.
[edit] The Triumvar Church
Where the Cult of the Nine takes the majority of its laity from patricians and non-citizens, the Triumvar Church of Colndor is more active among the High Lords, not the least because it allows its priests - called Questors - to hold office in the Empire, allowing ordained High Lords to maintain their status even after finishing their seminary.
The faith of the Triumvar Church rests in the Passions - three entities credited with gifting the tools of civilization to humanity. Unlike the Cult of the Nine, the Church places the emphasis not on worship of the Passions but on emulation of their ideals, and the creation and innovation often necessary to fuel the growth of civilization.
The chief of the three Passions is Peitos, the Passion of justice and the rule of law. Those who seek to emulate him must be fair and wise in their judgment, tempering justice with compassion while ensuring that the law is always abided. Questors of Peitos wear purple in their clothes or emblems, representing the rights and responsibilities of rulership, and are often the personal advisors and ministers of High Lords, if they are not themselves of that august station.
Next is Heru, the Passion of chivalry, honor and war. She embodies passion and zeal for a cause, or a person, tempered by restraint and honor. As the Passion of warfare, she is favoured by soldiers and mercenaries, but also by courtiers who see the swirl of Imperial politics as just another battlefield, and in whom are embodied the concepts of courtly love first developed by her priests. Heru's colour is red, the colour of roses, of fire and of spilt blood, and it is for this reason that Legion commanders - many of whom are Questors of Heru - wear cloaks and capes of scarlet.
The third of the triumvarate Passions is Firos, the Passion of the written word and patron of history, philosophy, law and natural science. His blue-robed Questors are often scholars and philosophers, though many find their true calling as Advocates and judges, or as inventors. Some few even study the magical arts, seeking to find the hidden truth of the symbols and writings that can literally change the world. Questing for Firos is common among many Guild-members, and more than a few Guilds have become synonymous with the Triumvar Church for their widespread emulation of the craft-Passion.
Two locations are key to the Triumvar Church - the Meet-House and the Libreaum. The first, which may be found in any city with a large number of Questors - is an indoor marketplace set aside for debate, trade and all the other trappings of civilization. Meet-Houses are popular meeting places for merchants, because they are secure and well-guarded, and also popular among duelists seeking to settle a score without killing one another. Amid this swirl, the philosophers and scientists debate and refine their theories, trying to pierce the veil of mystery that surrounds the truth of the universe.
Librai are more sedate undertakings, and are slightly less common a sight than Meet-Houses. Within their walls, the Triumvar Church collects the written works of the Empire - the road map of its history and the growth of the civilization. Nearly any topic may be researched here, requiring only a small donation to ensure that the contents remain secure and the Church can expand the collection. Librai are tended by novice Questors, who work in exchange for teaching from one of the elders that run the Libraeum.
When a Questor completes his training at a Libraeum, or at the feet of an independent Questor - as many do - he chooses which Passion that feels most resonant to him, and takes that deity's colour as his personal marque. The Triumvar Church is aniconic, feeling that icons and symbols only draw worship - worship that it is not the Church's goal to generate. The only symbol ever used by the church is a plain bronze disc, known as the Disc of the Sun, representing the dawn of mankind's imminence as a civilization.
Questors of the Church, for there really isn't a lay movement among the Triumvar Church, are taught that worshipping the Passions, or any gods, is a false path that leads only to slavery and ignorance. Instead, they teach that humans should look to the gods as examples, and seek out that which is good and divine within themselves that they find reflected in the Passions and other deities. Questors see themselves as being on an eternal quest for a sort of spiritual perfection, a perfect balance of the positive virtues that can be cultivated within any human - cleverness without guile, honour without stubborness, valor without bloodlust, and justice without cruelty.
