New Dynalism
Basic Beliefs
New Dynalsim was founded in -5289 by Iswold I of The Old Dynasty and adopted many ideas and concepts from old Dynastalism which had been the prominant religion in the Dynastal Empire before it. It was centred around the belief in the semi divine nature of the Dynasty's Emperors. Although it had no specific sacred texts, many documents were written on its key values and beliefs to encorage people to keep interest.
Deities: The Eight Beings.
A central part of New Dynalism was the belief that the Emperors of the Dynasty were descendants , or at least blessed by divine beings. There were 8 divine figures in New Dynalism, most of who were said to have existed outside of Ecoth. These god like beings consisted of:
- Yavuch: Being of Emperors, who would gift the emperor of the Dynasty with divine protection and was the leader of the 8 divine beings.
- Hugrah: Being of Life, who was tied to the natural world, and would bring about a good or bad harvest based on if the people had been good to their emperor or not in the last year.
- Vaduch: Being of Death, who would judge a person after they died based on their loyalty to the emperor. Vaduch could influance the time and place of a person's death, choosing if they lived or died. He also lived in the northern mountains of Ecoth where it was said to be too cold for any mortal human to ever venture.
- Haratachus: Being of War, who would determin the outcome of a war based on the soldiers loyalty to the Dynasty. He worked closely with Vaduch to decide which soldiers should die.
- Hevouse: Being of Riches and the Afterlife, who chose if you were born into riches or poverty. If you lived well and forefilled the purpose within your class, Hevouse would reward you in the afterlife.
- Meluvas: Being of Mystery/Chance, who could contol random aspects within Ecoth such as the weather and the coming of disease. Meluvas was exiled by the other beings to the island of Volavo, where he strikes Ecoth with random chaos such as storms or plagues as revenge.
- Chaphara: Being of Youth, who assisted in the upbringing of children and ensuring only good children had a chance to grow up to adulthood. If a child died at birth, it was seen as a sign that they would have done bad or blasphamous things in the future, and Chaphara had spared Ecoth by killing them before they could speak their first words.
- Nivshnive: Being of the Night, who brought about the darkness when it was time for rest and revealing light when it was time to wake. Night was also seen as a sacred time for worship and Nivshnive would light the stars especially for this, if the stars could not be seen then Nivshnive was displeased.
Worship
Worship had to be performed to all eight of the beings as often as possible. Cahuruphas were buildings of worship for New Dynalists where worshipers would gather at night. Worship always had to be performed at night, as humans need night to sleep and by giving up their valuble time for recovery to worshiping the Eight Divine Beings, New Dynalists believed this showed the Eight Beings how devoted they were. Worship could also only be performed if the night was starry, as if it was cloudy, that meant Nivshnive (Being of the Night) felt that the night in question was not fit for worship. Children under the age of ten were not required to attend nightime worship, as they would be protected by Chaphara.
Order of Worship:
Worship began by praising the Eight Divine Beings and the current Emperor of the Dynasty. Then a moment of silence would be held for all the past emperors of the Dynasty before individual passages would be said for each of the individual Divine Beings. A final praising would be held towards the emperor and the Eight Divine Beings before a ceremonial bell would be rung in the rafters to help channel all their prayers and worship to the Beings. The spire of every Cahuruphas are designed to channel all the prayers into one of the stars where they can be recieved by Nivshnive and passed on to the other beings.
Goals and Ideals
There were six key principles of New Dynalism set out by Iswold I which were since recorded and preserved in Cahuruphas across the Dynasty. The six key principles are:
- Respect for the Emperor and his servants.
- To perform worship to the Eight Divine Beings whenever possible, exept on starless nights.
- Not to perform sinful acts such as murder, theft or adultry exept within a military context where some like murder were allowed.
- To be honest and kind to anyone exept the enemy.
- To follow the direction and command of the Emperor and his representatives such as generals, lords or tax collecters.
- To evangalise willing populations into New Dynalism and to expand the teritory of the Dynasty to do so.
Iswold believed that these six principles would keep the population in check whilst still apealing to the religious side of morality.
Festivals:
Corination:
Seen as an incredibly important event when a new Emperor was crowned and first given protection by Yavuch (Being of Emperors) which would last them for their entire reign. It was a highly celebrated festival that did not happen very often so no one was allowed to work on a day of Dynastal Corination. Those who could attend the corination had to attend and so in the days and even weeks leading up to one there would be a massive migration of people to Capswold to witness the event. It was also believed that all eight of the Divine Beings would attend the corination (even Meluvas who would be temporarily be released from exile, just to witness the incredible event.)
Anual Growth:
Every year, New Dynalists would ask Hugrah (Being of Life) for a good season for crops and animals. If Hugrah delivered they would celebrate, often with a feast, praising Hugrah for a good harvest. If Hugrah let the crops fail, bringing drout or famine they would repent for their wrongdoing and hold an all night ceremony at the Cahuruphas to make up for their failures (though this did not happen if the Dynasty was at war or extensive rest was needed).
The Mercy Festival:
The mercy festival was held once a year and was where New Dynalists would ask Meluvas: (Being of Mystery/Chance) not to send bad natural events their way such as storms or disease.
Dynal New Year:
Whilst introducing New Dynalism, Iswold I also reformed the calender with eight days between the end of the last year and the start of the next one. This inter year period allowed for self reflection and worship. Each divine being would have a differnt day, and every night New Dynalists would attend the Cahuruphas to worship the individual Being. The first day of the Dynal New Year was devoted to worship of the Emperor, as he was the closest mortal to one of the Beings and therefore he could be worshiped as soon as time had resumed.
History
Old Dynastalism
Old Dynastalism was the religion adopted by the Dynastal Empire which came before the Dynasty. It focused on praising the Dynastal Empire, and seeking to expand and spread the Dynastal's influance across Ecoth. Although it was used to ensure that the citizens of the Dynastal Empire stayed in line it also did have a level of authenticity as it had first been developed from more primitive religions when the Dynastal Empire had formed, mixing togather many complicated ideas from different smaller cultures into one religion. By the time of the late Dynastal Empire many nobels considered it a mess but none spoke out against it through fear of persicution. One such man was Prince Iswold III.
Iswold I and The Dynasty
After the Dynastal Civil War -(5296-90) , Iswold III renamed the Dynastal Empire to the Dynasty and reformed many aspects around it, including its religion. Iswold was paranoid about the power of the elite legionaries and wealthy lords who had couped against his father and wanted to make a religion where the people would be loyal to the emperor, not the empire. He drew inspiration from Old Dynastalism when creating his religion but simplified many concepts into key values and the Eight Divine Beings. He assured people that New Dynalism was just a continuation of Old Dynastalism in a way that was clearer and more accurate but people were still skeptical.
In the year -5278 Iswold I was hit by an arow and fell into a coma. He was rushed back to Capswold where, three days later he miraculously recovered. The doctors treating him were unaware he had been in a coma and immidiatly began claiming that Iswold I had risen from the dead. After recovering Iswold used this to convince people that the Being of Emperors, Yavuch, had saved him from death. This led to much more widespread adoption of New Dynalism across the Dynasty and when Iswold I died of dysentery three years later his body was displayed for months in the capital as devoted followers awaited for him to rise again before them. His son, Sovin even held back the corrination for a year in the chance that his father may not have fully perrished, but when the body began to rot, and it became clear that Iswold the 1st was dead for good, he was sealed in a stone tomb, lined with small breathing holes (should he feel the urge to live again), and was buried in the royal palace.
New Dynalism in the Dynasty's Golden Age
Iswold's son, Sovin I began a new era of the Dynasty which is widely refered to as its golden age, due to cultural development, financial succsess and wars abroad going well, New Dynalism increaced in popularity to become the largest religion in the Dynasty. With the cultural explosion, many new Cahuruphas were built, often dominating the skylines of cities and towns and being crowded with worshipers during festivals.
Decline of New Dynalism
Political Influence & Intrigue
Sects
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