Pelekism

The Axe Faith, religion of the Amazons, the worship of Galatea as a goddess with twelve different aspects

Pelekism is the religion of the Amazons of Achillonia. It is a monotheistic religion centered entirely around the worship of Galatea, the goddess of battle, the divine mother of the Amazon people. It is considered an offshoot of the Empyreal Faith, and indeed, the Amazons do recognize all the Empyreal Gods even if they do not actively worship them. Nonetheless, the Imperial Ecclesiarchy of Egea has decreed pelekism to be heresy.

Etymology

Pelekism gets its name from the word pelekus, the Primordial word for axe. The axe is one of Galatea's holy symbols across all the world and in the Empyreal Faith as well. The Amazons of Achillonia hold as the most sacred weapon of all the double-bitted axe, known as the labrys. Pelekism is also known as the Axe Faith or the Labrys Faith or Labrysism.
In the canon of the Empyreal Faith, Galatea's primary symbol is Alpha, a primordial glyph that represents superiority, power and victory. Derivates of Alpha have come to resemble an axe in both shape and sound, e.g. the symbol Alphaz. Duplicating such symbols along a vertical axis of symmetry has resulted in the contemporary symbols for the labrys.

Alpha

Alphaz

Pelekus

Labrys

The star axe and the holy mountain

The sacred symbol of the double-bitted axe is visible in the night sky of Amanor as the Labrys Constellation, also known as the Star Axe or the Astropelekus. The constellation is comprised of twelve stars which form a regular geometric shape with distinct vertical symmetry. The constellation is attached to the firmament directly above the White Peaks, the mountain lands of Achillonia.
By divine design, the constellation can be observed in full only from atop Mount Pantokratos, the highest peak in the White Peaks. When the constellation is viewed from anywhere else, only the asterism known as Alpha is visible.
The Empyreal Faith accepts Alpha as Galatea's sacred symbol, and its appearance as an asterism above Achillonia speaks of the divine favor that Galatea shows the Amazon people. Achillonians view it as further proof of their favor that the goddess reveals her greatest secrets only to them -- that the true form of her mark upon the firmament is shown only to those of her children that brave the peak of Mount Pantokratos, a most dangerous of ascents.

Below: The Alpha asterism, the only part of the Labrys constellation visible to most of Amanor.

by CraniumBeaver

Below: The Labrys constellation, visible in full only on Mount Pantokratos.

by CraniumBeaver

Mount Pantokratos is a sacred site of the Amazons, also known as Hagia Oros, the Holy Mountain. It's high slopes are the domain of the oldest of all Amazon temples: Laurentia, a small but respected temple of priests, paladins, and monks. Their capital is the city of Laurentum, which has guarded the pilgrims' path to the sacred summit ever since the myth-shrouded beginnings of the Amazon people.

Other names
Axe Faith, Labrysism, Labrys Faith, Astropelekism, Archemeteism, Materarchism, Southern Galateanism, Amazon Religion
Origin
In the Arcane Age ca. -10.000 ER
Distribution
Achillonia
Relations with other faiths
Heretical sect of the Empyreal Faith
Relics and holy texts
?
Holy symbols
Labrys (double-bitted axe)
Galatea's holy symbols
Holy city
Laurentum
Historic characters
?

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Deities

• Galatea

Galatea's twelve aspects

The Amazons believe that Galatea is a multi-faceted goddess. She embodies a dozen different divine aspects, each in equal measure and each equally important -- She is not only the goddess of strength, battle and violence, but also of nature and nurture, of cunning and wisdom, of war and victory. The twelve aspects of Galatea are witnessed in the twelve stars of the Divine Labrys, the sacred constellation visible only to the goddess' children -- her chosen people.

Akhillia is the Aspect of Misery, She That Causes Distress, the one that relishes not only the pain she causes her enemies but also the sorrows and hardships of war that fall upon entire peoples.
Antia is the Aspect of Opposition, the Eternal Antagonist, she that seeks conflict for the sake of conflict, she that sets herself against others only to incite violence.
Apollo is the Aspect of Brilliance, golden-eyed and golden-haired, she that embodies in equal measure cunning and intellect, optimism and bravery, curiosity and discovery.
Aristea is the Aspect of Excellence, the embodiment of supremacy and victory but also of dire achievement, the spirit that drives the Amazons to their greatest accomplishments in the face of death.
Arteme is the Aspect of the Hunt, She That Strikes True, the epitome of mortal triumph over beasts and the elements, the relentless pursuer of all prey, the hunter of both man and beast.
Athene is the Aspect of Wisdom, the Arbiter, quick of with and silver-tongued, the giver of sage council, the collector of knowledge, and passer of judgement.

Eris is the Aspect of Strife, the Sower of Disagreements, the spirit of discord that ever endures through times of peace and drives mortal peoples to war again and again.
Hera is the Aspect of Leadership, the spirit of maternal compassion and caretaking, she that not only shares the burdens of others but also takes upon herself the burden of the leader.
Kybele is the Aspect of Nature, the Mountain Mother, the insurmountable and unquenchable power of life, the primordial strength that makes living things grow, multiply, compete, and thrive.
Tauros is the Aspect of the Aurochs, the She-Bull, the White Beast that scatters all foes before her when roused to wrath, the one whose mere legend strikes fear in her enemies.
Thorn is the Aspect of Retaliation, the Final Insult, she that embodies resistance and revenge but also perseverance, determination, and relentlessness.
Thurisas is the Aspect of Strength, the Giantspawn, the daughter of Thurs and Maelach, the greater scion of a great sires, possessed of boundless strength in both body and mind.

Primal Mother

Pelekism attributes Galatea with a much wider range of divine domains than is canon in the Empyreal Faith. Her roles and responsibilities overlap with those of many other Empyreal gods and goddesses, for example the major deities Seldariel, Melora, and Kal-Sebek.
Many pelekists see Galatea as the most powerful of all gods, supreme not only in war but also in peace, the cultivator and destroyer of civilization, the beginning and end of all life. Such dogma refers to Galatea as the Primal Mother, Mater-Arkhe in Primordial, Archemethea in Tyrian. Worship of the Primal Mother is a minority religion in the lands of Tyria, but largely esoteric elsewhere.