Centrific Faiths

Major faith worshipping a limited pantheon with a central diety held above the rest.

The Centrific faiths are the most prominent among the Mythos faiths. It teaches that one must hold the divinity of Uhrico, the “Arch-God” above all the other divines. The teachings of various prophets and leaders, most prominently Vaelix (In Viguel; ‘Vhakli Uhlix’), guide the worshipers, collectively call Arconites.
The most prominent aspects of the Centrific Faiths involve a balanced life, keeping in harmony with the various gods, especially the Assembly of the most divine gods, and concepts of nature. A form of reincarnation exists within all the Centrific branches, with most denominations generally believing in spiritual rebirths as redemption for unbalanced lives. Laws that govern how one should live are described in a series of canonical books, the Lilda being the foremost book.
Each faith shares many beliefs with each other but has largely been divided over the interpretation of the Assembly and other deities. This divide came largely during the reorganization of the major nations of Valakola and during widespread centralization of the faith.

Common Beliefs

There are many sets of beliefs that are shared among the Centrific faiths, and many beliefs that differ between various denominations of Arcorious. Individual practices performed by Arconites resemble those practiced by the related Vala faiths, though interpretation of their results differ. The teachings of Vaelix in the Lilda and the Azulites teach about balance, and the consequences, both physical and spiritual, of not keeping oneself centered.

Balance

One of the most important aspects of the Centrific Faiths is the concept of balancing one’s life between the twelve (12) major attributes. There is a little division in denominations, but the most common attributes are as follows:

• Charity - Consumption
• Hedonism - Despondency
• Logic - Emotion
• Servility - Freedom
• Zealous - Apathy
• Presence - Contemplative

Individuals are taught to keep a life that stays centralized in these concepts. It's taught, for example, not to give too much of your wealth for charity, but do not horde it either. Adherence to the balances vary somewhat. The orthodox and reformed Arcorious denominations favor a guided approach to unbalanced lives, where a member of the faith will help repentance, where the liberated denominations favor communal and individual paths.

Faith in the "Assembly"

While the various Centrific Faiths hold dozens of deities in their pantheon, none are more important than the assembly. The name itself for most denominations, Arcorious, translates to "The Gathering". A collection of twelve gods representing the attributes in balance. Unlike other Mythos faiths, the pantheon is not described as a constant struggle with one another, but rather in a game of balance.
Described specifically by Vaelix, this assembly is in an unending strategic struggle of honor. He describes, in details, rare occurrences of the gods interacting overly in the world, and contributes various historical activities to these acts, including Twina, the goddess of contemplation, exerting directly control of the emperors of the first Garvin Empire, resulting in it's decline.
Giving homepage to the Assembly is how you keep your temptations in balance. Without asking for their touch on your life, it is believed that base desire will grow chaotic, and you will fall out of balance.

Arch-God

The largest divide between many of the denominations of Arcorious is the concept of the Arch-God, a supreme being above the Assembly that is worshiped by even then. While agreement on the nature of the Arch-God is not shared, the existence of the Arch-God is assumed by all the Centrific Faiths.
Soon after Vaelix's death, a council of oracles came together to interpret his life. Three interpretations came from this; Vaelix was a messenger of the gods, he has ascended to godhood, or he was the Arch-God incarnate. Garvin Arcorious follows the first belief, that Vaelix was a messenger. The general belief is that the Arch-God touched Vaelix for his divine balance of soul, and revealed to him the structure of the divine so that he may bring balance to the world.
The Arch-God takes many forms, depending on denomination, but is always given the highest honors in prayer, ritual, and architecture, even for those that believe the divine as apathetic to the modern world.

Iniviu and Xidix

Death is a step towards the divine. For those in balance, they are raised to live in the fields surrounding the Assembly. This release from the pains of balancing a mortal life is the desire for believers. For many, this will take several lives.
A life that is out of balance, but barely, are said to linger in the world as Inivi. An Iniviu is a benign, sometimes helpful spirit of the dead. Released from a life unbalanced, they wait between worlds for a body to inhabit. While not considered a painful existence, many believe the Inivi are confused. They linger in the world, shadows of their former self, and try to interact with those that they knew in life. Inivi can be reincarnated by either helping them find a body (the famous remembrance births of Tayah) or when those that they knew also pass from the mortal world.
In addition to those out of balance, most denominations believe that children and animals become Inivi at death, with a much faster reincarnation since they either did not or cannot hold onto memories of their moral life.
When a life is wildly out of balance, a person living in servitude of one or some attributes, their spirits raise as Xidix. These spirits can be benign or malicious, depending on the individual and where their spirit resides, but are considered to be a painful existence. A Xidix will wander, confused and unfulfilled, waiting to reincarnate to find balance.

Sonadal

Every person should experience a month of Sonadal for every attribute. The practice has evolved significantly since it was first practiced, but the concept, at it's core, is the same since Antiquity. To understand your natural tendencies, to connect with the divine, and to learn how to keep a balance, every person should, once in their life, experience a Sonadal for every attribute. During these retreats, a person will start and end the day in divine reflection and prayer and servitude. They shall embrace the attribute, both good and bad.
Most modern worshipers practice a semi-structured regiment adapted from the Lilda to help facilitate this practice without falling into it.

Afterlife

Very little is described of the ascended state of those in perfect balance. In the Lilda, it is only described as a field before the Assembly, shined on by the Arch-God. Various interpretations describe it as a place of perfect balance, no mortal strife between the balances, where you are free and whole, but these descriptions are not actually used in the Lilda.
Several stories describe quite clearly what life is like for an Iniviu and Xidix. While described as a difficult existence, it is surprisingly pleasant compared to many other contemporary faiths.

Creation

In the Lilda, Vaelix explains creation quite briefly, but makes it clear that the Arch-God was before the void and created the field that would eventually be the seat of the Assembly. Following this, the Arch-God created the first deities, to include the Assembly, before falling asleep. In his sleep, these gods created the world and fought over it. On waking, the Arch-God was disappointed and sad. He felt pride for his children's creation, but sad that they fought each other and that so few remained. He punished the gods without families to live beyond the fields of the gods, and gave the Assembly a home and the right to rule the created world.
Vaelix never went into much detail about the other gods without families, and even specifically leaves out in the creation myth what gods were part of the Assemblies family but not in the Assembly themselves. This confusion has led to various interpretations, including adopting older Centrific works that predate Vaelix, if where they contradict his work.

Shared Practices

While the most commonly shared practices revolve around adherence to the Assembly, many of the faiths split away significantly on their preferred way of adherence. This is most obvious in the Liberated Arcorious denominations, which have all taken very family-oriented approaches that can be seen in various small towns holding their own festivities.

Monthly Worship

While there is not specific days or dates associated with worship, most denominations assume that at least once a month will be spent in reverence to the assembly. In general, these days are practiced as a large group from sunup to sundown, but this isn't always the case. While organized reverence is the norm, it isn't the only choice for many modern believers.

Remembrance

In order for a person who may not have ascended to the fields of the gods to reincarnate, they need to be taken away from those that they remember. A common practice includes some form of purging a home of the person that has passed, and remembering them in either a neutral place, or a place of worship. This has some different interpretations. Tayah hospitals have remembrance halls next to he birthing rooms in hopes that a spirit is drawn to their memory and reincarnates into the new child. Many orthodox faiths practice a year of mourning, then a festival or passing where the belongings of the dead are burned.
While the practices vary, the remembrance and moving the mourning out of the home so their spirit does not linger are common among the religions

Religious Texts

While there are few dozen books, hundreds of writings, and other forms of older paintings, carvings, and other artwork depicting aspects of the Centrific Faiths, the only widely shared book is the Lilda.
Created by Vaelix and forming the basis for Arcorious, it is largely a description of the divine world, and how the soul fits into this role. The concept of balances became prominent through the Lilda, and a revitalizing of older Ancestor Worship in a milder tone to help the spirit pass on.

Core Philosophies

Life Balance * Worship of Assembly * Faith by Action

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Deities

Arch-God

Uhrico

Assembly

Twina * Luralus * Iwiniriu * Zorv
Vriklav * Tevrinik * Awlur * Mirvakol
Golvannik * Emdriv * Emkalk * Hilv

Others

Sivuana and Srikav

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Books

Canonical: Lilda
Supplemental: Azulite Series

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Denominations

Liberated Faiths * Orthodox * Reformed (Tayah) * Family Centric

Centrific Faiths

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A family-tree of the Centrific Faiths representing the evolution of the some of the largest branches of the religions.