Afkethit

The Afkethit religion believes the Afke dragons are literal gods, and the rightful rulers of the entire Collective. They devote their lives to giving thanks to the Afkethit for their generous gifts and protection, and seek to live quiet lives of regular practices of gratitude and meek harmony.

Most devotees have never seen even a lesser dragon. But they view any sightings of one of the four aspects as a sign and will spend months or years pondering the meanings of each sighting. Great legends and debates have centered around how history was changed by a beetle in a throne room, or a wasp on the battlefield. While many shulte believe that most aspects are simply bugs and not Afke, many Afkethit followers believe that all aspects are avatars for the dragons. They will go to great lengths to show their devotion in the presence of an aspect.

Culture

rigid adherence to regular practices (daily/weekly/monthly, etc). Scions have outlined instructions for how to follow these practices at home, but more elaborate instructions exist at the temples. There is a clear right and wrong way to do things.









there are no punishments for not keeping the rule well, for such things are to be expected by a shulte. The only ones who properly keep the rule are the afke themselves, particularly the great afke. For this reason, one never prays to the afke during dawn/dusk/noon, for it is believed they are busy keeping the rule.





Each Scion must go on a quest to find an afke, greater or not, who will acknowledge them. This is the approval to become a scion and the way they get their scales. The afke will cast a ritual of binding, which creates a living grafting with the afke and the scion, and particularly with that specific afke. It is like the hybridits in most ways, with similar benefits, but moreso in that the Scion gives the living dragon permission to control their body (including access to their senses), though this rarely happens.

Sunrise, Midday, Sunset - these represent the sacred draconic triad that govern each of the worlds.









Midday is the Head's hour, for this is when the sun is brightest and no shadows are present. Dawn and Dusk are for each of the Wings, who exist in support of the Head.





all meals must betaken before full night. Food eaten at night is called fae-food, and believed to be unhealth. Food eaten at midnight is believed to be cursed.

The calendar has twelve months, one for each afke.









The first day of the month includes a ritual to honor the new ascendant dragon. All followers celebrate this, even if it is just in their homes when they can't make it to a temple. The celebration involves making an offering at midday to the afke (usually a gift of food taken to a wild place and left for the aspects)





each afke has their own special traditional celebration and meal for their ascention.

Annual









Summer solstice is a high-holy day, when the light is longest in the sky. It is a time of great feasting and celebration. It is when people believe the afke are near, and they work to create shrines to the afke and their aspects. It represents the triumph over the fae in the ancient dragon wars, and a belief that each day the sun will rise and each year will start anew. It is considered the last day of the year, and represents the belief that at the end of all things, the dragons will finally be fully triumphant and light will reign forever.





Winter solstice is also a high-holy day, but with a different meaning. It is a reminder that the fae still battle the dragons, as night battles the day. But it is also an important celebration that nights will always end, and the day will always come. The custom is to stay awake throughout the entire night to watch for the dawn, then celebrate the moment the sun peaks over the horizion. The hour of midnight is supposed to be an hour of contemplation of one's failings, when one followed the shadow instead of the light, but dawn is the relief that those failings are merely actions and the dawn will always come. It is called the year's hinge, when darkness swings back towards light.

Public Agenda

Plays out slightly different in each of the four worlds









Yenfleyt









relationship with dragons - antagonistic





Yenyi Afkethit followers are less common than in other nations, due to a general fear of the afke. But due to the large population there are still more Yenyi afkethit than any others of the four peoples.





Yenyi Afkethit beliefs focus on the the overwhelming power of the afke, and seek to be empowered by them through their worship.





Tvefley









relationship with dragons - symbiotic





More than half of all Vet'Vus are Afkethit, due to their love of history and desire to be interconnected with the greater things in the world.





Their view of afke as innately good is a natural fit for them with this faith, and one of the reasons why it is so popular. The afke system of logical interconnection, where everything belongs in its proper place, also makes sense to them.





Fleyteyt









relationship with dragons - segregated





though the Alai do not often see afke, they strongly align with the afkethit view of order being proper and good. They strongly stand against the chaotic destruction of the fae, so this faith is a good fit for them. It also reinforces their lack of engagement with the afke, because of course they wouldn't interact with such incredible divine beings.





Broken Chains









relationship with dragons - apathetic





Gik'i do not care much about religion in general, but they are the least interested in Afkethit out of all the four peoples. They doubt the Scions insistence on the pure innate goodness of the afke as well we the pure evil of the hassynzo. Those who do follow are either of the Unnamable or the Liv'clen. The Unnamable are often converted when they go out on their Work, but they usually are quiet believes who practice in private. The Liv'clen are a bit more vocal about sharing there beliefs and there are quite a few Liv'clen Scions.

Sects









Destroy all the fae sect - if the dragons are good and the fae are bad, why don't we just go kill all the fae. This has resulted in a very nomadic militant sect that abandons their homes/families to travel the land in hunting bands to find and kill fae. They also will stealth into a community in groups of three (like the afke) to befriend the locals for info, to find/kill the local fae.





Safe the lost afke sect - group that seeks out "stray" afke who have befriended fae and/or lost their support for balancing right and wrong (aka, embraces relativism). They will work to bring the afke back into alignment with the greater afke. This also includes "rogue" afke who have lost the light entirely and destroy too much. This group operates only with direct permission and under the direction of the Greater Afke.





Town guards - often guards with a strong moral compass are Akfethit, so much so that they have their own Order within the faith. (called the Scales, and their symbol is a scale for balancing light and darkness)They are not Scions, but Akfethit guards given great respect and honor as holy warriors. They keep to a strict honor code and are very hierarchical. They find great peace and contentment in this order, for they know what is true and right and good. They are ready and wiling to die for these beliefs. The most famous story is of an Scale who died because she refused to leave a trapped beggar in the path of a mudflow after a Yenyi firemount explosion. They couldn't get him out from a collapsed building, so she stayed and died beside him because it is wrong to die alone.

Mythology & Lore

Afkethit say the belief that dragons caused the Shattering is heresy, and blame this horrible rumor on the hassynzo. It is impossible that beings of order and goodness would disrupt the pristine harmony of Perfection.

The twelve Great Afke that rule the four worlds ascended soon after the Shattering, to help bring order in that early time of absolute chaos, and especially during the Fae Wars. It was these twelve that organized the four worlds, helping each shulte find their lands and their peoples. When the first of those original twelve died, a new afke said he had been directed in a dream to take her place and her name. When the others agreed and welcomed him to their number, he was filled with her spirit and knew what she had known. For this reason, the great afke always take the name of their predecessor, carrying on the names of the first great afke from the beginning. They hold the knowledge of eternity and are rightful guides of all that lives.

There are distinct myths for each of the twelve great Afke, and different myths in each of the four worlds. But the most well known of these are the Twelve Tales. Many Afkethit treate the Tales as their sacred texts and take them literally, though Scion academics often struggle with this.

Divine Origins

The Afkethit believe their faith began the first time a shulte looked upon a dragon in awe, and that the tenets of the faith solidified as the early peoples learned of the wonders of the dragons. Theirs is the first faith, and the only real faith, and they do not have definite records of their orgins because they began at the beginning of time itself with the Shattering.

For this reason, the Afkethit believe that all people share their beliefs, and they will assume this is true of anyone they meet until they learn otherwise.

Cosmological Views

Afkethit believe that dragons are the ultimate expression of what is right and good in the four worlds. The hold that the Afke are beings of honor, order, power, and care. If a dragon gets upset at shulte, then it is probably the shulte's fault because they are too small to understand what the ancient dragons can in all their wisdom.
Dragons fighting dragons is considered normal and not a problem because beings of such immense intelligence and ancient wisdom would know multiple good ways to solve any one problem, so they debate which is the best path of all the good choices. Dragons fighting isn't really fighting, as shulte fight of petty things like love or land. Dragon fights are called "dances" and are believed to be akin to the familiar lover's quarrel of a couple long married.
Afkethit have strong feelings about the fae, and will react with fear and revolution to anyone who say anything kind about a fae, or even doubt their evil nature. To the Afkethit faithful, Hassynzo fae are the antithesis to all the good of the afke, the darkness to the dragon's light. They are believed to be evil agents of chaos who are both the cause of and the direct result of the shattering. Hassynzo are blamed for the direct destruction they cause through their foraging, but also for the indirect destruction they've caused by causing the Shattering and releasing the magix into the four worlds. As such innately destructive creatures and the only benefit they bring is by providing food for the dragons. This is the only reason they aren't wiped out entirely, though some zealots believe that it isn't worth it and they should be completely destroyed.

Tenets of Faith

These are the four central tenets of the Afkethit:

The Afke are the ultimate expression of Harmonic Order and Light, and the Hassynzo of Chaos and Death.

It is an anathema to speak when Afke debate, the Shulte must wait in peace and stillness.

Light, Order and Goodness can always be found, even when life appears chaotic and dark.

Accepting one's limits and smallness in the Great Order is the key to freedom and peace.

Ethics

With a binary morality of clear right and wrong, the Afkethit expect a rigid adherence to regular practices (daily/weekly/monthly, etc) called Life-Rhythms. Scions have outlined instructions for how to follow these Rhythms at home, but more elaborate ritual practices are held at the temples. In an attempt to prioritize order and clarity, many volumes have been written with clear intructions on how to practice the Life-Rhythms correctly.

Despite having clear expectations for behavior, there are no punishments for not keeping the Rhythms well, for such fumblings are to be expected by a shulte.

The only beings who properly keep the Rhythms are the afke themselves, particularly the great afke. For this reason, one never prays to the afke during dawn/dusk/noon, for it is believed they are busy keeping the Rhythm. Similarly, it is an anathema to beseech or even thank to the afke at midnight, for that is to align with the hassynzo.

In what seems odd to many, the Afkethit believe that using base-10 number systems is heretical. They believe that base-12 is the correct system, and that this should be apparent to all due to the twelve divine dragons. This creates chaos, especially in Yenfleyt where base-10 is standard, but the Afkethit blame this chaos on the fae becuase it is believed that the hassynzo introduced the base-10 system.

Worship

Life-Rhythms

Afkethit worship is based on regular rhythms of centering one's mind, body, and spirit in a mental framework of acceptance and stillness in the light. Given that the afke are beings of mental energy, Afkethit rituals are theoretically dense and packed with multi-layered symbolic meanings that few but the most learned academics can comprehend.

Daily Rhythms

These practices are focused on the light of the sun (or daybells for the Alai) as an ever-present reminder of the power of the afke.

Dawn - greet the light in silence and awe that the light has returned once more. This holds hope that darkness and difficult times will never last forever.

Midday - the sacred full-light hour of no shadows, the hour of the Head Afke, the most greatest of the Great in each of the worlds. The midday meal is the most important celebration of the day, where one savors the full-light and expresses gratitude to the afke for blessings large and small.

Dusk - bid farewell to the light in silence and awe, drawing its warmth deep within to be carried through the night.

All meals must be taken before full night. Food eaten after dark is called fae-food, and believed to be unhealthy. Food eaten at midnight is believed to be cursed and should be avoided at all costs.

Monthly Rhythms

The first day of the month, or Dragon's Day, includes a ritual to honor the new ascendant dragon. All followers celebrate this, even if it is just in their homes when they can't make it to a temple. Each Afke has a specific ritual that is followed, and the celebration involves making a special offering at midday to the afke. This is usually a gift of fine food taken to a wild place and left for the aspects. This practice is well known in all worlds, and many of the poor plan their food for the month depending on what they can gather on Dragon's Day. The Afkethit do not mind this, and many even make efforts to give great offerings to show their devotion but also to help the needy in their communities.

Annual Rhythms

Summer Solstice is a high-holy day, when the light is longest in the sky. It is a time of great feasting and celebration. People believe the afke are near, and they work to create shrines to the afke and their aspects that will be burned through the night until dawn to keep away the Shadow. It represents the triumph over the fae in the ancient fae wars, and a belief that each day the light will dawn and each year will start anew. It is also considered the last day of the year, and represents the belief that at the end of all things, the dragons will finally be fully triumphant and light will reign forever.
Winter Solstice is the other day in the high-holy day binary, but with a different meaning. It is a reminder that the fae still battle the dragons, as night battles the day. But it is also an important celebration that nights will always end, and the day will always come. The custom is to stay awake throughout the entire night in darkness to watch for the dawn, then celebrate the moment the sun peaks over the horizon. The hour of midnight is supposed to be an hour of contemplation of one's failings, when one followed the shadow instead of the light, but dawn is the relief that those failings are merely actions and the dawn will always come. It is called the Year's Hinge, when darkness swings back towards light.

Priesthood

Priests are known as Scions, and they can be easily identified because they are the only scaled shulte. At the end of their apprenticeship, each Scion must go on a quest to find an afke, greater or not, who will acknowledge them. This is the final approval to become a Scion and the way they get their scales. The afke will cast a ritual of binding, which creates a living grafting with the afke and the scion, and particularly with that specific afke. It is like the hybridits in most ways, with similar benefits, but moreso in that the Scion gives the living dragon permission to control their body including access to their thoughts and senses.

For this reason, the Scions are quite literally believed to be the eyes, ears, and voice of the afke.

Political Influence & Intrigue

The influence of the Afkethit and number of followers plays out slightly different in each of the four worlds

Yenfleyt

relationship with dragons - antagonistic

Yenyi Afkethit followers are less common than in other nations, due to a general fear of the afke. But due to the large population there are still more Yenyi Afkethit than any others of the four peoples.

Yenyi Afkethit beliefs focus on the overwhelming power of the afke, and seek to be empowered by them through their worship.

Tvefley

relationship with dragons - symbiotic

More than half of all Vet'Vus are Afkethit, due to their love of history and desire to be interconnected with the greater things in the world.

Their view of afke as innately good is a natural fit for them with this faith, and one of the reasons why it is so popular. The afke system of logical interconnection, where everything belongs in its proper place, also makes sense to them.

Fleyteyt

relationship with dragons - segregated

Although the Alai do not often see afke, they strongly align with the afkethit view of order being proper and good. They strongly stand against the chaotic destruction of the fae, so this faith is a good fit for them. It also reinforces their lack of engagement with the afke, because of course they wouldn't interact with such incredible divine beings.

Broken Chains

relationship with dragons - apathetic

Gik'i do not care much about religion in general, but they are the least interested in Afkethit out of all the four peoples. They doubt the Scions insistence on the pure innate goodness of the afke as well we the pure evil of the hassynzo. Those who do follow are either of the Unnamable or the Liv'clen. The Unnamable are often converted when they go out on their Work, but they usually are quiet believers who practice in private. The Liv'clen are a bit more vocal about sharing there beliefs and there are quite a few Liv'clen Scions.

Sects

Apparitors

if the dragons are good and the fae are bad, why don't we just go kill all the fae. This has resulted in a very nomadic militant sect that abandons their homes/families to travel the land in hunting bands to find and kill fae. They also will stealth into a community in groups of three (like the afke) to befriend the locals for info, to find/kill the local fae.

---

Order of Scales

Often guards with a strong moral compass are Akfethit, so much so that they have their own Order within the faith. They are called the Scales, for despite not having literal scales like Scions, their symbol is a weighing scale for balancing light and darkness. They are not priests in the usual sense, but the Order is given great respect and honor as holy warriors. They keep to a strict honor code and do not tolerate corruption, ejecting any of the Order who forget their duty to humbly protect others. For this reason, when a guard takes their vows with the Order they forgo any and all forms of power or authority. The Order's leadership is a council of rotating members over small locales and there is no larger national or international organization. Guards find great peace and contentment in this Order, for they know what is true and right and good. They are ready and wiling to die for these beliefs.

Game Guides

Many often look for evil secrets hidden within the Order of Scales, but find nothing beyond the occasional problematic individual. They really do seem to be good people working hard to help others. The focus on humility seems to protect them against typical corruption found in other groups. They are wholesome and good, though perhaps a bit naive and they struggle to understand nuance. But they're devoted to bringing some good into the world.

The most famous story is of a Scale who died because she refused to leave a trapped beggar in the path of a mud flow after a Yenyi firemount explosion. They couldn't get him out from a collapsed building, so she stayed and died beside him because it is wrong to die alone.

---

Game Guides

Odzh Sect

A secret society that seeks out "stray" afke who have befriended fae and/or lost their desire for balancing right and wrong (aka, embraced relativism). They will work to bring the afke back into alignment with the greater afke. This also includes "rogue" afke who have lost the light entirely and destroy too much.

This group is made entirely of Scions and operates only with direct permission and under the supervision of the Greater Afke.

Type

Religious, Pantheon

Deities

• Chalan
• Egu
• Lysha
• Nis'ahkt
• Sodza
• T'set

Divines

• Chalan

Related Species

• Afke Dragons

Enemies

Afkethit

-75

Set'glo

-50

The Afkethit view the Set'glo as emissaries of the Shadow and do not acknowledge the ancient schism between Set'glo and Vampires. The Set'glo find this lack of nuance offensive and avoid the Afkethit at all costs. In Yenyi and Alai lands, this has come to often come to open combat when an Afkethit starts a fight and a Set'glo finishes it.