Church of Astor

The church of Astor is the dominant religious organization in Salia. Since the faith acknowledges uncountably many gods converting is not seen as a very tough ordeal, one must simply acknowledge that the current deity of worship is just one of many and that Astor is the ruler of the gods.
Worship is done mostly through prayers, burning incense or offerings of food and drink. This might differ slightly depending on the region. Astor himself is also honored by martial competitions, many mock battles, tournaments, and athletic competitions are arranged yearly in his name.

Mythology & Lore

The Astori believe that the world is cyclical and Astor is both the beginning and the end of the cycle. Astor is defined by duality, being both creator and destroyer, male and female. Every cycle begins with Astor being reborn as a human and declaring war on the gods. After defeating the gods Astor's loyal believers ascend as gods with Astor himself as their leader, thus the cycle begins anew.

Cosmological Views

The world itself is created by the remains of the previous gods, their bodies becoming the land and their blood the sea. Astor ascends to become the sun and moon, the moon representing the female side and the sun the male side. Followers of Astor ascend to the heavens as stars.
Humans are gods from the previous cycle reborn. Animals and lesser races may be reincarnated as humans if they've lived a life where they fulfilled their roles especially well. Devout followers of Astor tend to alternate between godhood and life as humans, only those who live bad lives are reborn as mere animals.

Tenets of Faith

1. Defend your brethren.
2. Do not lie.
3. Give to the poor.
4. Do not surrender.
5. Do not steal.

Ethics

Astori follow a very strict honorary code. Astori faithful should always be able to defend themselves or those they hold dear, never surrender to an enemy and never back down from a challenge. These rules especially apply to nobles who may be cast out from their families if they bring dishonor to the family name. This martial culture leads to a glorification of the warrior lifestyle, many lords declare wars on each other for even small slights on their honor. It is not allowed for lords to conquer each other, but wars to defend honor are still very common.
For commoners, it is more common to simply follow rules like not stealing and always speaking the truth. Most people still consider it extremely cowardly to surrender or not accept challenges and physical prowess is usually sought after.

Worship

Believers usually travel to temples where they pray and ask the gods for advice when making large decisions or when facing hardships. A multitude of local deities are worshipped around Salia, a town may have their own gods and some noble families even worship family specific gods. This diversity in worship leads to greatly varying holidays and ways of worship depending on the region.
The two largest holidays occur during the summer and winter solstices. These holidays each last for an entire week. During the summer Astori celebrate masculinity by arranging a multitude of warrior competitions, women are allowed to participate if they want to but it is expected of all able men to take part. The event concludes during the summer solstice, during this day great hunts are arranged followed by large feasts during the night. When winter comes it is time to celebrate femininity, during this week large bonfires are lit outside and dances, performances and feasts occur daily. The week concludes during the solstice with a grand ball.

Priesthood

The Astori faithful are led by the paladins. These warrior priests are often initiated at a very young age. Recruited children are brought to mountain monasteries where they learn to read, write and pray. When they get a little older they begin their training in multiple fighting styles and weapon types. Once the basic training is complete their weapons training is supplemented with strategical exercises to improve their ability as commanders. They also read many different religious texts and are expected to know about most of the different gods worshipped in Salia. Upon reaching adulthood the paladins are assigned a specific temple where they will serve to guide the faithful but are expected to continue their training by themselves. Paladins wear read sleeveless robes in peacetime and adorn their armor with red details when preparing for battle.
Paladins are known to be the finest warriors and commanders in Salia. Their allegiance lies with Astor, whether that be a God or a human. The paladins are allowed to join political wars only if it is to defend their family names, nobles often send young children to the paladins for this reason. The paladins' warrior status has somewhat dwindled since the introduction of firearms, paladin training nowadays include firearms practice but older paladins still frown upon these dishonorable weapons.

Political Influence & Intrigue

The church greatly influences Salian politics in many ways. All rulers are required to have a paladin advisor to make sure they govern according to the principles of faith. This allows the church to exert a large amount of influence in the provinces. Rulers who deny the church access to their realm face invasions by neighboring lords very quickly. The lowborn usually put a lot of faith in the paladins and are in that way easily manipulated by the occasional power hungry paladin. Since the church is also able to order executions for heresy most people try to keep on their good side.

Sects

Individuals claiming to be Astor reborn are not unheard of in Salia. Most of them are just hanged as heretics but some manage to amass quite a following. These false prophets often cause open rebellion in their provinces and in sometimes even manage to win over paladins to their side.
There is an underground faith who call themselves the Bandori. Followers of this religion believe that the world is not cyclical at all. Astor never walked the earth as a mortal being but has always been a god. Astor the trickster god disguised himself as human and after amassing a large following and spreading his false faith once again rose to the heavens. Bandor, the goddess who had birthed the humans felt pity at her misled children and told them the truth. Many did not believe her however and war ensued, the Astori faithful were too numerous and well armed. The followers of Bandor were almost wiped out entirely and were forced to hide their religion. Even today Bandori have to hide their worship or risk execution.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Demonym

Astori