Aethanism (AY-than-izm)
The official state religion of the Ethelan Empire is called the Aethanism. The religion is dualistic, believing in two opposing gods; Aethan and Aefan. The fight between Aethan and Aefan is foundational to Aethanist belief, especially an individual's and institution's responsibility to fight alongside Aethan. Aethan commands the domains of Light, Life, Death, Nature, Order, and Justice among others; while Aefan commands the domains of Darkness, Undeath, Chaos, Trickery, and Tempest among others.
Mythology & Lore
Most Aethanists strongly believe in The Dying Birth myth, which was written by the religion's prophet Kustaa Totukieli. Many understand the two Great Dragons to be Aethan and Aefen respectively, whose powers were great enough to surpass the gods in all the planes, and even enough to create the material world. As such, many Aethanists believe in a second continent, Kaloson, which would be the continent made from the body of the physical embodiment of Aethan.
Divine Origins
Aethanism's beginnings are a far cry from its current prestige. During the Sistren War, many Ethelan Elves turned away from their god Kaasvi of The Dead Path. There was growing discontent with Kaasvi's inability to stop the war, or come to the aid of the innocent who were suffering as a consequence.
In 156 J.E., an Ethelan moon elf named Kustaa Totukieli, who was among the discontented, became the only survivor of his lineage after a Melarond raid on his village. Lost to grief, he wandered deep into the woods and sat beneath a large tree, hoping to return his body to the soil.
According to legend, during his period of stillness, Aethan revealed Himself to the Elf. He revealed the Great Duality (see Polasenok - The Universal Order), laying bare the dynamic between Good and Evil. He explained that there were no gods that could be more powerful than Goodness and Evil, because even the gods were subject to their rein. It was then revealed that Goodness alone was worthy of worship, and worship of any other god was nothing more than a misguided attempt at worshipping Goodness or Evil.
Kustaa, after receiving the revelation, ran from the woods and began proclaiming what he had learned to anyone who would listen. Part of his proclamation involved tangible acts of charity for those suffering from the war, and many miracles. It was during his first years of ministry that he became the first cleric of Aethan, when he found himself channeling Aethan's Divine Power directly and cured an entire village of a plague of Mountain Sick. Thereafter, his words and actions were easily accepted, and he quickly developed an earnest and powerful following, especially among his moon elf kin. Around a century later, at the end of hostilities in 14 J.E., the Aethanist cult had enraptured roughly a quarter of the Ethelan population.
With the death of his mother and eldest sister in an assassination carried out by disgruntled Ethelan citizens in 9 J.E., the young prince Aarimein, a sun elf, achieved the crown as the King of the Ethelan people, forming the Lineage of Rahntuia. In his youth, he had become fixated on the message of Aethan and converted. At his coronation in 0 T.E., he declared Aethanism as the official state religion, and dedicated the Empire to His glorification. Thence, the cult quickly became the most popular religion, even among the traditionalist and reserved sun elves.
Cosmological Views
The popular Polasenok cosmology was formed by Aethanist scholars, seeking to reconcile the existence of divine beings from other cultures with the existence of Aethan and Aefan as the true supreme gods. The understanding to which the scholars arrived was that the great deities and cosmic beings of other faiths existed at an order below Aethan and Aefan, and that the two Gods work in and through all other beings.
Unique to Aethanist cosmology is the understanding of Life and Death. Aethanists do not believe in a life after Death in the way that most other religions do, wherein a mortal being's soul achieves immortal life in a different plane of existence should they seek the favour of a particular deity. Instead, Aethanists believe that participating in Aethan's nature and fulfilling His Good Will will grant their soul eternal peace in unity with Aethan's very being. However, rejecting Aethan and living for Aefan's will leads a soul to an afterlife of Undeath and chaos, forced to wander the world in a state of constant pain and selfishness until the End of Days, or the good favour of a cleric who decides to exorcise it. Often times, these souls find themselves in the plane of existence wherein the god they worshipped in life resides.
Tenets of Faith
Adherents believe that living for Aethan and in accordance with His Will will lead to greater peace and life around the world, and the achieving of a paradise of peace after Death. Aethan's Divine Will is summarised simply as the promoting and preserving of life and peace. Aethanists, then, are required to maintain peace and order at all costs, both in their personal and social lives.
This requires pacifism, in which violence is reserved strictly for survival and self-defence, or the proliferation of the Empire (however some heretical scholars would disagree on the latter point). To give into any sort of chaotic, hateful, or evil intent is to give into Aefan's will, which places an adherent directly opposed to Aethan and all He stands for. For the sake of their own spirits and the sake of the Universal Order, then, Aethanists must remain vigilant against Evil.
Aethanists also believe that people groups and institutions (races, kingdoms, acadamies, etc.) also bear their own spirits, which are endowed upon them by their constituent people. As such, Aethanists believe that although Aefan can overcome certain individuals within their lifetimes, their participation in the greater good of an institution will still allow them to participate in the fight for good. This is an especially potent doctrine when it comes to the Ethelan Empire, as the success of the Empire is often conflated with the success of Aethan. With peace and proliferation as the goal of the Empire, then, soldiers of the Empire are exempt from the ban against violence.
One unique belief held by Aethanists is the universality of the Great Dulaity. Aethanists believe that Aethan and Aefan work in and through all things in the universe. In fact, some Aethanist scholars debate whether Aethan and Aefan are gods at all, rather that they are the universal constants of Good and Evil in the Universal Order's Great Duality(see Polasenok - The Universal Order). It is for this reason that practicing Aethanism can appear dramatically different from place to place, and situation to situation. Many Aethanists who reside outside of the Ethelan homeland simply worship gods with similar domains in the local religions in order to both maintain favour with Aethan, and blend in with locals.
Worship
Aethanist worship is deeply linked to charity. Aethanist temples act as hospitals and temporary housing for the vulnerable. Worship, then, is always a combination of active praise of their god, and tangible participation in life-giving and charitable works. In the Ethelan homeland, the Aethan is manifest in daily, weekly, monthly, and annual celebrations of thanksgiving for life and glorification of Aethan, celebrating both religious and imperial milestones. Worship services are conducted in praise of Aethan for the Gift of Life, and for offering sacrifices of fruit in the favour of the protection of life and the success of the Empire. Non-magical adherents worship by volunteering at temples, often either engaging in medicinal practices or making food and clothes. Magical adherents worship by channeling the Good Will of Aethan
Priesthood
Aethanist priests come in all sorts, depending on whether they are priests directly of Aethanism, or priests of a translated religion. However, all Aethanist priests and clerics are united in their determination to be symbolic soldiers for Aethan in the fight between good and evil. They do this by dedicating their lives to serving others and promoting good health, preserving long life, and counselling for peaceful resolutions to conflicts (both personal and political).
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