Kherala, the Court
Technically, the Court is the head of the Church of Raitha, "The Way of Truth". But since Raitha is characterized by the intense indoctrination and control over people's lives, the Court basically controls something of a federation of 5 separate countries, each worshipping one of gods above others.
The Undying are followers of the Great Plague, the Pure worship the dead Father, the Touched - Saya, the Eyareen Empire - the Beasts of Sun and Moon, and the church itself is devoted to the Mother.
The Court consists of 30 members: 5 of the church itself, 4 of the Undying, 3 of the Pure, 6 of the Touched, 6 of the Eyareen (3 of the Sun and 3 of the Moon), 2 of the Candles, 2 of the Ash and 2 of the Tears. One of the members is elected the head of the Court every sacred cycle, and has two separate votes. In case voting ends with a tie, the head will get a third vote. The Court is deeply imbalanced, and the fact that it is part of one of represented sides doesn't help.
The Court's primary purpose is to prevent conflicts, set rooted in the Raitha standards for everything, and spread and strengthen the faith of people.
Raitha and the Court are basically inseparable. It is both a religion and a country that despite many peoples in it acts as one.
Mythology & Lore
The base of Raitha is the legend of Creation. There is surprisingly little else. The whole religion is just this one myth, but explored to its fullest. There are lesser legends, but they usually simply describe various phenomena in terms of the old gods. Such is the story on the origins of the Ocean of Despair, that presumably was created from the tears of the Mother and is still expanding. This very story in turn created a sect of Tears, that was influential enough to gain representation in the Court. Similar are the sects of Candles and Ash.
There are also numerous tales of the Ascended - humans, who through their acts of piousness and heroism attained divinity. They are something of more specific lesser gods.
Sects
Five main branches of Raitha are considered inseparable and canonical, despite the fact they primarily focus on one deity. It must, be noted, however, that the Pure and the Undying have very tense relationship. The former worship the Father, while the latter worship the Great Plague that killed the Father. The Pure consider it blashpemous to forget the Father and devote oneself to the corruption that befallen him, and the Undying think the same about worshipping a dead god. The Court is generally on the side of the Undying, and the Pure slowly isolate themselves from the traitors.
The sects of Candles, Ash and Tears all arose from a particular element of the original myth - namely, the primordial Candle, ashes, and the grief of the Mother. Their teachings are as deep and complicated as those of the church. For example, the central truth of Candles is the endless cyclical nature of existence, where every cycle is destined to end, while another, different, but the same, starts. The Candles symbolize the mortality and limits, but also the will to exist and the power to affect.
The monks of the Lasstreenh Mountains believe in the gods of Raitha, but primarily worship the duality of wind and earth.
One of the most widespread heretical sects is the sect of Mother-Earth. It proclaims Father, Mother and the Beasts false gods, and worships the Earth, her insatiable hunger and her cold benevolence. The members of the sect are quite reclusive, but are reported all around the lands of the Court. The rituals and the ways of worship differ from place to place, but they are known to create labyrinthine underground temples and make numerous sacrifices.
"Kherala" - organisation, church, union; the court, senate.
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Subsidiary Organizations
Defiance
The Court doesn't like the existence of Lashtria and encourages a variety of strategies to keep their dead to themselves. The Land of Death couldn't care less.
Tension on religious basis
The Court considers Astarion heretical, and Astarion considers the Court savage. Eyareen Empire trades with Astarion, but all the remaining members are very hostile. The lands of Court are separated from Astarion by Lasstreenh Mountains and Cestorian jungles. Astarion has vastly superior military and could easily conquer the Court, if not for Kashta.
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Comments
Author's Notes
If you want to learn about some aspect of the Court in particular, feel free to ask! If you liked what you read, have any suggestions or spotted some errors or typos, let me know!