Solianism
Solianism is the oldest fate still in practice in the known world. It is a polytheistic religion that hailed from the old kingdom of Darnia at the very start of the First Age.
Structure
Local offices
- Paran: Lowest rank in the Solian church. Any Afhora can become a Paran for their community, if it so chooses. They can be married and have kids. They can be magic users or not, but they cannot be a Soulmage or a Shadowmage.
- Arcani: An arcani is the rank just above the Paran. Their main job is to keep the Paran under them in check, offer support and resolve any internal problems at the local level in accordance to the orders of the Arcan. The Arcani are the ones who must choose someone from their rank to represent them, and elevate them into an Arcan.
Temple offices
- Arcan: The Arcan is a very exclusive rank. Only about 20 of them exist across the organisation. They are the equivalent of the regional governor, transmitting orders from the Rayn himself down to the Arcani under their guidance. They choose the next Rayn amongst themselves.
- Rayn: The Rayn is the highest rank in the Solian church and is regarded as the holiest person in the fait, as well as Saol's personal earthly servant.
History
The beginings
While it is widely known that the Darnians already believed in a deity known as Saol for quite some time before, a large meteor shower that occurred in 3711 BC over southern Enaskia is thought to have been the catalyst that would ultimately lead to the creation of the Sun Tablets, a series of clay tablets where the basic tenants and rules of the fate were written and confirmed. It is also widely recognized that the City of Solthar was build atop a small crater caused by one of those meteor hitting the ground during the meteor shower of 3711 BC at that place.The Long Winter
Solianism, unlike many other smaller fates, survived the events of the Long Winter, but it did not come out of it unscaveled. Solianism used to have up to 30 different gods during the fist age. Most were minor, and during the Long Winter, it seems like these smaller gods were absorbed under the umbrella of either Saol or Uxal.Schism
The arrival of Soulbound magic into hysal during the dark ages and the second age posed a connundrum to the Temples on how to interpret this type of magic and their users. After a series of events, the faith officaly split into two different sects in an event called the Solian Schism.Present day
Solianism as a religion is still going strong and even had a revival caused by The Fall, which also benefited Choranism, Solianism main religious rival. Nonetheless, cracks in western Solianism have begun to spread, as another sect, called Sokralism follows the teachings of what the other sects called a false prophet. This much stricter form of Solianism is gaining influence in Enaskia and Samaria.Territories
The various sects of Solianism are present on 4 different continants. Western Solianims is mainly concentrated in southern Enaskia and Northern Samaria. Eastern Solianism, also sometimes called Arrosian Solianism, is mainly concentrated in the south, along the coast of the Tyrenian, Illynian and Aarbor seas as well as in the Gysian peninsula and the Southern roynish plains of central Arros. Solianism is also practiced in the kingdom of Tomboraan, in Mahador. Sokralism is dispersed across the territories of Western Solianism.
Mythology & Lore
The war between Shadow and Light
Saol, the god of Light and Uxal, the god of Darkness both used to live in a place called The Empty. In this place, Saol and Uxal battled each other for eons, with neither side winning over the other. Saol then convinced great beasts of incredible power, Dragons, who had been neutral to help him, promising them a place by his side once he achieved victory. Most of them accepted and together, they defeated Uxal. Saol created Hysal and locked Uxal within it, assuring an everlasting victory.Dragons and moons
The dragons that helped Saol were elevated high into the sky and transformed into stars. The ones helped Uxal were banished to Hysal and transformed into flightless beasts, called Wyverns. The remaining dragons that didn't side with anyone were also banished to Hysal, but kept their original form, allowing them flight. He used the bodies of the fallen beasts to create the moons, who would act as eternal guardians against Uxal.Humankind
Saol then created Humans and everything else in Hysal. He decided to give humans some of his powers so they could protect each other from the influence of Uxal. He then decided to give light to the entire world by turning himself into the sun in the sky.Tenets of Faith
All forms of Solianism follow 7 tenants of faith. These are not exclusive and over the years, some had their meaning altered while some entirely new, and lesser tenants were created. However, the core 7 Tenants remains ever important and removing one or considering one less important than the other is considered blasphemy by the Temples. Summarized, these are as follows:
1: No other god, being, person or object shall be venerated in place of Saol, for Saol is above those things and above all other things, for he is The God of Light 2: No emotional or physical harm shall be done to followers of the fate, for they are Saol's soldiers and therefore deserving of protection, not of wrath. 3:No faithful shall emotionally or physically harm non faithful, for they are still Saol's creation and therefore deserving of protection, not of wrath. 4: No faithful shall judge another person's action based on their own beliefs, but only by their belief in Saol and by his teachings. 5: No faithful shall hurt or mistreat any aknesis, for they are the soldiers of Saol* 6: No Aknesis shall hurt or mistreat any faithful, for they are the protectors of Saol's faithful* 7: All faithful shall seek to pray 3 times a day to ward off Uxal's dark influence and to honour Saol and his light inside them.Tenants 6 and 7 have very different interpretations around who is considered an "aknesis". Enaskia Solianism argues that it should only apply to the Elemental mages present at the time, but not the Soulmages that came thousands of years afterwards. Arrosian Solianism believes that both of these tenants can and should be applied to Soulmages as well. Other rules have been created to further regulate the fate. These are generally considered less important than the main 7, but can still draw so ire of not respected, especially in Enaskia. These are:
1: No Aknesis shall couple with a non-Aknesis, for it would distract for the formers duty towards Saol and his followers. (This is only applied in Enaskian Solianism. 1: All faithful should pay homage to Saol and his creation by doing a pilgrimage to Solthar and give a prayer inside the Temple. (Arrosian Solianism would prefer people go to Vrahlis) 3: Soulmages cannot enter the house of Saol, for they are products of Uxal's corruption. (applied mostly in Darnia)
Proselytizing
Although in the Sun tablets, there is no call to spread the religion further to other culture, that is exactly what the temples did since the Second Age. This is partly because of the rise of Choranism, which had been deemed to be heresy and was rapidly expanding. Missionaries were sent to western Enaskia and Arros to further spread the faith. It was highly successful in the Hasian city states, who then proceeded to spread to Gysia as they created colonies on the peninsula. The Empire of Carathenga was the most successful propagator of the faith, with their territory reaching all the way to the Fork, in the far east of Arrosia as well as the northern coast of Mahador."Arat Saol" meaning "By God" in Darnian
Sects: Currently, 4 main sects of Solianism exist. These are:
Majority Solian Countries:
- Western Solianism
- Tomboraan solianism,
- Eastern Solianism*
- Sokralism
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Alternative Names
The Solian fate
Leader Title
Permeated Organizations
- Kingdom of Darnia
- Kingdom of Gysia
- Triarchy of the Free Cities
- Kingdom of Tomboraan
- Kingdom of Nhaggoria
- Kavasian Empire
- Arbitian Mercantile republic
- Neo-Karthian Empire
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