Order of Light

Mythology & Lore

The Order of Light worship the Goddesses Tamriel and Kestramore. Members of the Order of Light believe that after the world was Fractured and broken by Galdarian, the goddesses were the ones that pulled humanity back from the edge of extinction. After the Fracture when humanity was lost and dying, the Goddesses spoke to a man named Eioc. They guided him to a river where he found the first Dawnstone. Eioc was given a vision of a cave full of similar stones that would lead his people to salvation. He and his people ascended the tallest mountain and it was there that they discovered the Dawnstone caves and were granted visions leading to the survival of life on Obrios.
The Order of Light believe Tamriel is the goddess of Creation and Kestramore is the Goddess of Change and Rebirth. It is believed that during the desolation's, before the Fracture, Tamriel made a great sacrifice to protect the people of Obrios, but in doing so she was greatly wounded. She hid herself away with the aid of Kestramore so that her brother could not find her. After the defeat of Galdarian, Tamriel used what little power she had left to help Kestramore purge the world of Galdarian's monsters so that they could no longer harm the people of Obrios. In doing this Tamriel's wounds became too great and she fell into a deep sleep, leaving Kestramore to watch over Obrios until Tamriel recovers. Every hundred days, Kestramore returns to Tamriel's hiding place and tends to her wounds, helping nurse her back to health so the two can be reunited and create in tandem once again and watch over the people of Obrios together.
It is believed that the two suns on Obrios are the two goddesses themselves. The larger of the two suns being Kestramore and the smaller, the wounded Tamriel.

Divine Origins

The Order of Light was said to be founded just after the discovery of the Dawnstones. The Order considers Eioc to be one of the original founders of the religion due to his discovery of the Dawnstones, but it is unclear if he was actually involved of the founding of the Order.
In the year 121 AG, the head priests of the order all gathered and wrote a book of the teaching of the order titled "Words of Radiance". Words of Radiance contains the entirety of the history of the Order of Light as well as its teachings and stories of the gods Pre-Fracture. It is required by those who are devout to the Order of Light, to have read Words of Radiance at least once, though many have read it multiple times. The Order of Light in present day devoutly follows the teachings written in Words of Radiance and the book is the foundation of the religion.

Cosmological Views

The Order of Light differ in their belief in cosmology because they believe that Tamriel was the only deity who was actually able to create on their own. They believe that when Galdarian was creating all his creations, he required the assistance of Tamriel and would sometimes manipulate her to help him create his more monstrous creations. Once Kestramore showed up, she started to help Tamriel avoid Galdarians abuse and this is what the Order believes is the inciting incident which caused Galdarian to turn on the other gods.
The Order of Light also believes that there is a spiritual land in the sky where the Goddesses live and that when one dies, their soul ascends to the top of one of the Great Mountains on Obrios and if you have lived a fulfilling life of good, one of the goddesses will extend their hand and allow the person to join them in their domain in the sky, The City of Light.

Worship

Regular prayer for people who practice the ways of the Order of Light is common. Usually people pray at a temple or church to the goddesses, sometimes praying to a particular goddess depending on what they are praying for. In most large cities there are churches devoted two both goddesses both individually and together. In smaller villages and towns, usually a church will have a grand alter to both the goddesses and smaller alters in separate wings of the church for the goddesses individually.
When someone has a particularly important prayer that they need fulfilled, they will paint a glyph on a piece of cloth and then burn the cloth in a fire. Every hundred days during the Meeting, those who worship the goddesses will burn multiple glyphs, sometimes they will even make pyres and burn rare plants or livestock in order to pay tribute to Tamriel and help aid in her healing. Priest of the Order will fast on the day of the Meeting. Every 500 years there is a Great Meeting where the suns eclipse over each other every day for 7 days. During the Great Meeting, a massive fire is made in the center of the major cities and a huge festival is thrown in honor of the goddesses.
When a person dies and they worship the Order of Light, their body is cremated and their ashes are sprinkled at the base of one of the Great Mountains. This is done to help offer up their soul to the sun goddesses and help the spirit find its way to the top of the mountain so it can climb the steps to the goddesses domain.

Priesthood

A priest of the Order is appointed by a display of faith. Each priest must choose a display of faith, typically in some form of grand gesture, though it is not required.
If one wishes to become a priest, they must study under another and have a full knowledge of the religion. Usually a priest of the Order can recite all 1200 pages of Words of Radiance by memory. A priest will continue to study until they discover through self reflection what their grand gesture will be. After they perform their grand gesture, they are then sworn in to the Order by the High Priest.
A grand gesture in the past consisted of a priest climbing to the very top of the Kestramore Steps and reciting passages from Words of Radiance. Another grand gesture involved a priest writing out and burning glyphs for an entire week for the sun goddesses.

Political Influence & Intrigue

The Order of Light is the most practiced religion on Obrios and therefore has the widest political reach.
Most of the Brightlords in Nen Doral as well as the Shairian monarchy all practice the ways of the Order of Light. Many members of the High Council in Eshalla also practice the religion, though the High Council makes a point to have representatives from all religions. The Juspian empire used to have a much larger population of members who followed the Order of Light, but recently the Juspian's have become less devout and have started to look at things in a more "scientific" manner. This includes the Juspian monarchy, though they do still practice the ways of the Order.

Sects

Though most members of the Order of Light worship both goddesses, there are some who only worship one.
There is a particular sect who believe that if Kestramore was never born, Galdarian would never have wounded Tamriel. While they understand that without Kestramore, Galdarian would never have been defeated, they still hold a bit of resentment towards the goddess and choose not to worship her. This sect is usually looked down upon by other worshipers of the Order of Light.
There is another sect that is the opposite and chooses to only worship Kestramore. They believe that Kestramore was the true savior of humanity. Though they do not deny that Tamriel was essential in the destruction of Galdarian, they believe she also helped Galdarian create the Council of Origins and almost had a hand in the destruction of Obrios. They also tend to believe that Tamriel was actually healed by Kestramore long ago and chooses to remain in hiding and has chosen to renounce her title as goddess, despite what others might think. This sect is particularly controversial and is one of the main reasons why there are now churches devoted to each of the separate goddesses as well as the two together.
These sects of the church though are few and far between and exist usually in small pockets in society. Though they may disagree with the general teachings of the Order of Light, the Order still preaches peace, and so there are very rarely confrontations between the different sects.

Deities

• Kestramore
• Tamriel