Phaetun Creed (FAY-tunn)

An older religion of Icalar stemming from even older elements of local tribal beliefs that include ancestor veneration and animism. At its core, it maintains that through venerating and communing with one's ancestors, one might not only be granted great fortune and wisdom on how to live an honorable and worthwhile life, but also great foresight. This veneration and communion is believed to be made possible via Listeners of one's tribe, sanctified and empowered by the Avatar aku'Phaetun -- the living spiritual or blood descendant of the founder spiritualist, Bejol aku'Phaetun. 
The first formal Creedist writings -- limited though they are -- are dated to around 402AC and this is usually given as the 'founding date'. Many of the first members were of the recently-settled Bephtalpet Tribe.
It is dominant in Kiva, with a moderate following in Balaqalneyis and Unenshuut. It is largely absent in Ustraria, Seyis-Gol, and Iyr.

Structure

The Avatar aku'Phaetun is considered the descendant of the holiest ancestor (Bejol Phaetun) and in this sense, is a 'leader' of sorts, but more accurately is considered the person that endows a tribe's Listener with the ability to commune with the tribe's individual ancestors. A Listener is never also a Head Tribesman.
On their assumption of the title of Avatar, leaders cast off their birth surnames in favor of the honorific aku'Phaetun, meaning 'born of the bloodline'. Their full formal mode of address then becomes 'Avatar [first name] aku'Phaetun', though they may be referred to as 'Avatar' or '[first name] aku'Phaetun'.

Avatars in Order of Succession:
Bejol Bephtalpet (402-468AC)
Anrehet Bephtalpet (468-490AC; hereditary succession)
X (490-511AC)
X (512-572AC)
X (572-575AC)
X (575-609AC)
X (611-694AC)
X (694-749AC)
X (749-739AC)
X (739-799AC)
X (799-857AC)
X (857-908AC)
X (908-953AC)
X (953-978AC)
X (978-986AC)
Cyu Thirnamuth (989AC-Present)

Culture

At its heart the Phaetun Creed remains deeply steeped in Kivan culture, which is in turn deeply steeped in teachings taken from the myth of the Plains Hunter. As such there is great emphasis on living in harmony with the land -- not wholly surprising given Kivans' nomadic nature, and going some way to explain its acceptance in Balaqalneyis -- and understanding the fleetingness of life and one's role in the ecosystem. 
Although Creedist teachings do extol living virtuously, this is not seen as the same as pacifism. Instead the emphasis is placed on worthwhileness, to oneself, one's family and tribe, one's ancestors, and to anyone else one may meet in the course of one's life, due to the inescapable interconnectedness in both the world of the living and between the living and the dead. This is not a new concept to Kivans, but Creedists have taken it a step further through the visions of Bejol aku'Phaetun that gave it structure and formal writings. It should be noted that the idea of 'being well with one's soul' and interconnectedness mirrors sentiments in the teachings of Sehndism / the Cradle of Mists, which have since been echoed by the Order of the Burning Crown and House of Leavings.

Divine Origins

Although ancestor veneration existed previously in a simplified sense, it wasn't until Bejol Bephtalpet's vision at what would become Baon that a formal religious structure took root and its scope broadened. Bejol claimed that his vision showed him that the dead could have a very real impact on the world of the living, and that through certain ordained individuals (shamans, who would become Listeners) a tribe could receive wisdom from their ancestors. It was on the shoulders of the Avatar aku'Phaetun to spiritually awaken these individuals with their own limited given power, to enable and bless them in the sanctified task of speaking to their dead.

Founding Date

~402AC

Type

Religious, Primacy

Alternative Names

The Creed

Demonym

Phaetuns, Phaetists, the Creed, Creedists

Leader

Cyu Thirnamuth

Leader Title

Avatar

Founders

• Bejol aku'Phaetun

Permeated Organizations

• Etir
• Jiermeb
• Kaolevne
• Kiva

Location

Baon

Related Ranks & Titles

• Avatar
• Listener

Notable Members

• Anrehet Bephtalpet
• Bejol aku'Phaetun
• Cyu Thirnamuth