Post by reyne on Apr 9, 2020 21:09:59 GMT
Summary
The universe was first chaos, until the Maker brought order to it and created the Earth from quenching a star and sculpting it, and then creating life. He created four sons (Divi Filius) to help mankind survive and prosper, though now they have been long gone and rarely do they intervene. Good souls shall ascend to the Maker’s side, living in eternal comfort and peace, while bad souls are damned to the Abyss, the dark, empty and primordial void. Makerism is by far the largest religion in Calradia, having syncretized many aspects from the locals, as such Makerism in one realm is a bit different than in another, though this trend is going down as the church seeks to organize itself.
God, The Maker, Creator of the World and Life.
His four sons, the Divi Filius:
Diath, patron of the land and creator of the Empire.
Vhagar, patron of the skies.
Rhudan, patron of the sea.
Ortysis, patron of the Abyss, disgraced son.
To some heretics, his other children:
Anselm, who joined the old gods with the Maker.
Rose, who reformed a church to His vision.
The core teachings of Makerism are known as The Four Pillars.
Justice, the first and most important of the Pillars.
Penitence, the second Pillar.
Forgiveness, the Third Pillar.
Death, the fourth and final of the Pillars.
A brief history of Makerism after the events of Krenn 2:
After the fall of the Empire, much of the makerist world found itself overrun, with the holy cities of Shariz and Halmar finding themselves in the hands of infidels, the Sarranians of the Nahasa and the Khergits of the Steppe respectively. And in the emerging regional powers that rose after the fall of Diath’s holy Imperium, the Rhudanian Kingdom of Swadia and the Vhagarian Tsardom of the Vaegirs, a war for the city of Dhirim, founded by Diath on the eve of his death, started that threatened to break Makerism apart.
Luckily for the faithful, men of piousness were not lacking in the Makerist world and, after the final Swadian victory which saw the fertile plains of Dhirim integrated into Swadia, a great council was convened which reformed and united the faith under a spiritual ruler instead of a temporal one.
And thus, the seven Archbishphorics were instead made into a Pentarchy of Patriarchal sees, headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Dhirim, also known as the Pope of Makerism. The Pentarchy is composed of:
The Pope (also known as Archpatriarch) in Dhirim, currently Nestorius the I, now holding court in Uxhal due to the Vaegir occupation of Dhirim.
The Patriarch of Curaw, currently Vladimir the III.
The Patriarch of Praven, currently Felix the I.
The Patriarch of Veluca, currently Adolfo the I.
The Patriarch of Santalaia, currently Francisco the V.
Makerists who are religious minorities and as thus have no concrete diocese, such as in Balion and the Sarranid Sultanate, they either follow the closest Patriarch, a smaller bishop in their country, or no one at all.
The Patriarchs are autonomous from one another. While one region may differ in some practices from that of another Patriarch, they generally seek to have a uniformity in the faith and convene on Great Councils every decade or so to discuss theology and reforms. Two notable Great Councils was that of 952 in Uxhal, where simony was outlawed and celibacy enforced and the Great Council of 1097, where the faith was reformed.
While united spiritually, Makerism is divived between the two major Makerist nations, the Kingdom of Swadia, whose patron Divi is the sea patron Rhudan, and the Tsardom of the Vaegirs, named for the lord of air, Vhagar, from whom they are named. King Harlaus claims the title of Son of Rhudan, while Tsar Yaroglek claims the title of Vhagar Reincarnate from Reyvadin. Both men have often feuded over which one of them should follow the path of the Calradic Emperors and claim authority over all makerists. The strenuous situation has been kept in control by the Pope in Dhirim for at least two decades, but the invasion of Dhirim by the Tsardom has inflamed the situation beyond repair.
There are whispers in Rhodokia over royal-promoted Diathan cult, and some say that King Graveth wishes to join the holy scuffle by crowning himself Diath-on-Earth and claiming the long dead Empire of the Calrads.
Otherwise, Makerism has recovered from its ancient losses, ending the Rosist cult in Jelkala, and exterminating most forms of Ortysianism. Currently, Makerism is the dominant religion of Geroia, Rhodokia, Swadia and Vaegira, also having prominent minorities in Shariz, Narra and Halmar.
In the Kingdom of the Nords, the words of Anselm the Touched are spreading like wildfire in Tihr and Sargoth, and Rosism is slowly recovering from the loss of much of its Rhodokian faithful by expanding into the Emerald Isles, many minor Geroian cities, and more importantly, many of the bigger tribes of the Geroian Savanna are harbouring Rosist priests and converting to the words of Rose of Jelkala.
Click the spoiler to read the Holy Book of Makerism!
{Read here for the Book of the Pillars!}
Click the spoiler to read the Holy Book of Makerism!
The Holy Book of Makerism
Before the dawn of time, the Cosmos whirled in chaos and disorder. The heavens above shifted and spun relentlessly, and no life could prosper, it was truly an Abyss. Whatever divine beings wrought this havoc upon the Maker’s universe are gone now, for upon his awakening before conceivable time they were vanquished. Mayhaps he was simply slumbering, and so it was that without him Order could not reign, but no matter the cause, the effect was certain.The Universe halted, its heavenly bodied began to move in slow meandering patterns, the stars formed rigidly, and the Universe as we know it under the Maker was born.
So it was that our Universe was forged, however our world had not yet been born. The bright balls of fire that once whisked wildly across the cosmos had halted, but no such world as our own yet existed. Not but slow meandering light, and darkness now existed. The Maker, now awakened, grew weary of this, and in his divine intelligence, required more. And so it was that he created our World. He took a near star, and examined its light. This he saw, would be the first of his elements: Fire. He clasped the star tight and quenched its flame, leaving only a dense mass behind, and thusly the second element, Earth, was born. He then began to sculpt that mass, he placed massive indents, large peaks, and flat plateaus. He filled those massive holes with a new element of his own ingenuity; he filled them with Water. These became our first oceans, his plateaus our first land masses, and his peaks our Mountains.
His creation was not yet done, for what could he do with yet another floating mass. And so it was that he blew unto our world, and from his breath came the final element; Air. With this, he could now begin to design our world. He covered the lands in lush green plains, he dotted the landscape with lakes and rivers for he loved the beauty of the Water he created. He did many things with this most versatile of elements, he froze it and covered our mountains with it, and then with it he created clouds, a thick fog to forever shield him from our sight. He built this perfect world, but had noone to share its glory with. His lonesome tormented him, for he is a great being, and could not stand to be alone in such a wide cosmos.
To soothe his lonesome, he created life on his World. He created all manner of beings in all shapes and sizes. His first creations were truly grotesque and attractive to look at, and so he made their domain the sea, where in its depths he would not have to see them. As he grew fond of creating living beings, he began to create the first creatures of the land. Large and still a bit grotesque, they were able to be looked upon with pride. And yet as he looked down upon his new creations, he felt something was missing. Though they could never come to him, there was such vast space above the earth, and such a beautiful sight to be seen when looking down, that he could not be the only one to know its glory. And so he gifted some of his creations with wings, and they could then soar through the air and see what he had done.
And so it was that the Maker had created life, and his quiet absent world quickly became a bustling wilderness. Millenia passed by, and in that time he saw his creatures interact and was fascinated by it. He created new beings in new ways with new traits and each time saw and loved them even more. However as time passed, he began to grow tired of them. Their animosity, their simple instincts, and all at once he realized what he had done, he had created the very existence he himself wanted nothing to do with. It was chaos, with no order or control, just on a smaller scale. He was saddened, reminded of his days before, and knowing that each of his beings meant nothing if they were but walking mindless husks, no matter how great and terrible some may have been.
He pondered, for what could have been another millennia, leaving his savage beings to wreak havoc on each other whilst he did. The earth in some places scorched, in some froze, in some became overgrown, in some flooded. It was the Makers absence in that time that formed the world as we know it, no longer a paradise. Unshielded, those places that were scorched became our deserts. Unloved, those places that were frozen became our Tundras. Unchecked, those places overgrown became our forests. Unguarded, those places that were flooded became our swamps. A fair bit of land maintained itself, and by sheer luck, we have our plains. But what, after so long would he place now within them?
The Maker in his infinite wisdom, created children in his own image, beings of modest size, but beings of intelligence over savagery, He created mankind. However alone, man would not be able to survive such a world, and so to guide them, and to rule beneath him, the Maker created the Divi Filius, his four sons, that would aid man in mastering his domains. He created Vahgar, patron of the skies, to watch over man in its inception. He created Rhudan, patron of the Sea, to quell its rough waters and subdue its wild beasts, so man could tame it and master the sea for its own. He created Diath, patron of the land, to bring life and prosperity to the men that dwelled upon it, and he created Ortysis, patron of the abyss, warden to all those souls damned to its eternal depths for abusing the Makers many gifts, or for lacking gratitude for them. These divinities would take human form, and spread wide across the lands, leading men in the conception of civilization. It is under them that such primordial beasts as the Makers first creations were slain, and it is under them that society was born.
The Beginning
So it was that our Universe was forged, however our world had not yet been born. The bright balls of fire that once whisked wildly across the cosmos had halted, but no such world as our own yet existed. Not but slow meandering light, and darkness now existed. The Maker, now awakened, grew weary of this, and in his divine intelligence, required more. And so it was that he created our World. He took a near star, and examined its light. This he saw, would be the first of his elements: Fire. He clasped the star tight and quenched its flame, leaving only a dense mass behind, and thusly the second element, Earth, was born. He then began to sculpt that mass, he placed massive indents, large peaks, and flat plateaus. He filled those massive holes with a new element of his own ingenuity; he filled them with Water. These became our first oceans, his plateaus our first land masses, and his peaks our Mountains.
His creation was not yet done, for what could he do with yet another floating mass. And so it was that he blew unto our world, and from his breath came the final element; Air. With this, he could now begin to design our world. He covered the lands in lush green plains, he dotted the landscape with lakes and rivers for he loved the beauty of the Water he created. He did many things with this most versatile of elements, he froze it and covered our mountains with it, and then with it he created clouds, a thick fog to forever shield him from our sight. He built this perfect world, but had noone to share its glory with. His lonesome tormented him, for he is a great being, and could not stand to be alone in such a wide cosmos.
The Gift of Life
And so it was that the Maker had created life, and his quiet absent world quickly became a bustling wilderness. Millenia passed by, and in that time he saw his creatures interact and was fascinated by it. He created new beings in new ways with new traits and each time saw and loved them even more. However as time passed, he began to grow tired of them. Their animosity, their simple instincts, and all at once he realized what he had done, he had created the very existence he himself wanted nothing to do with. It was chaos, with no order or control, just on a smaller scale. He was saddened, reminded of his days before, and knowing that each of his beings meant nothing if they were but walking mindless husks, no matter how great and terrible some may have been.
He pondered, for what could have been another millennia, leaving his savage beings to wreak havoc on each other whilst he did. The earth in some places scorched, in some froze, in some became overgrown, in some flooded. It was the Makers absence in that time that formed the world as we know it, no longer a paradise. Unshielded, those places that were scorched became our deserts. Unloved, those places that were frozen became our Tundras. Unchecked, those places overgrown became our forests. Unguarded, those places that were flooded became our swamps. A fair bit of land maintained itself, and by sheer luck, we have our plains. But what, after so long would he place now within them?
The First Men and the Divi Filius
{Read here for the Book of the Pillars!}
The Book of the Pillars
The Makerist Faith is built upon four core teachings. Each of the teachings is paramount to anything else in Makerism, and most be followed explicitly. These the Pillars of Makerism.
Justice: Justice is the most important Pillar of Makerism, and therefore is the first. The Maker, his Sons and the Kings and Nobles touched blessed into power by the Maker are there to enact justice upon the world. Should one fail to enact true justice, they face the threat of being condemned to the Void. When the Maker first brought humanity into existence, it is told that he imbued them with the virtue of Justice - the belief that all actions require just and proportionate reaction. Every single man, woman and child are expected to be just in the face of danger or peril no matter the situation. The Maker is Justice, and as such Justice is the Maker; and Justice is to be respected.
Penitence: Penitence is the second most important of the Four Pillars. Penitence is the basis on which Diath and Vaghar constructed and lead their Kingdoms; Diath leading the Calrads and Vaghar the Vlandians. Penitence should not be abused to enact vengeance and should be reflective of the crime or failure.
Forgiveness: In the Makerist faith, the third pillar is referred to as ‘Forgiveness’. Therefore, every child of the Maker is entitled to forgiveness, but not before serving their Penance; this leads into the final pillar.
Death: Death is a part of everyday life in Calradia. It is not strange to grieve for a lost friend or family member, but oneshould not find himself or herself in peril due to the death of one whom is close. The dead go either to the Maker’s Realm to find eternal peace with the world, or they are outcast to the Void where Ortysis decides what is to be done to those unworthy of entering the Maker’s Realm. If an individual dies before having been forgiven, then their immortal soul is weighed between their sins, and their virtues. If found lacking, they will be condemned to the void.
Working in conjunction, the Four Pillars allow Makerist society to operate on a system of societal order, and generally proportional justice. It is also for this reason that many Makerists find that penance must be served, regardless of the will of the penitent. To this end, many clerical communities keep militant priests known as ‘Pillarmen’, and communities oft keep a form of moral neighbourhood watch known as the Faith Keepers.
There exists a common prayer for all Makerists by which one may remember the Four Pillars. It goes as such:
"Justice must prevail even if the world must perish over it."
-Makerist Proverb
-Makerist Proverb
Justice: Justice is the most important Pillar of Makerism, and therefore is the first. The Maker, his Sons and the Kings and Nobles touched blessed into power by the Maker are there to enact justice upon the world. Should one fail to enact true justice, they face the threat of being condemned to the Void. When the Maker first brought humanity into existence, it is told that he imbued them with the virtue of Justice - the belief that all actions require just and proportionate reaction. Every single man, woman and child are expected to be just in the face of danger or peril no matter the situation. The Maker is Justice, and as such Justice is the Maker; and Justice is to be respected.
Penitence: Penitence is the second most important of the Four Pillars. Penitence is the basis on which Diath and Vaghar constructed and lead their Kingdoms; Diath leading the Calrads and Vaghar the Vlandians. Penitence should not be abused to enact vengeance and should be reflective of the crime or failure.
Forgiveness: In the Makerist faith, the third pillar is referred to as ‘Forgiveness’. Therefore, every child of the Maker is entitled to forgiveness, but not before serving their Penance; this leads into the final pillar.
Death: Death is a part of everyday life in Calradia. It is not strange to grieve for a lost friend or family member, but oneshould not find himself or herself in peril due to the death of one whom is close. The dead go either to the Maker’s Realm to find eternal peace with the world, or they are outcast to the Void where Ortysis decides what is to be done to those unworthy of entering the Maker’s Realm. If an individual dies before having been forgiven, then their immortal soul is weighed between their sins, and their virtues. If found lacking, they will be condemned to the void.
Working in conjunction, the Four Pillars allow Makerist society to operate on a system of societal order, and generally proportional justice. It is also for this reason that many Makerists find that penance must be served, regardless of the will of the penitent. To this end, many clerical communities keep militant priests known as ‘Pillarmen’, and communities oft keep a form of moral neighbourhood watch known as the Faith Keepers.
There exists a common prayer for all Makerists by which one may remember the Four Pillars. It goes as such:
“The Maker grants me the power to pass Justice,
Through Justice comes Penitence.
From Penitence comes Forgiveness .
Through Forgiveness, my I rest peacefully in Death.
From I, your faithful servant.”
Through Justice comes Penitence.
From Penitence comes Forgiveness .
Through Forgiveness, my I rest peacefully in Death.
From I, your faithful servant.”
