Aeonic Way

The Aeonic Way is a new religious movement blending Fallanist teachings and neopaganism. It is unclear when or where the Way was founded, but the first temple opened in 78 SA by Boshaari priest Alyssa Devir. The Way is based on two holy texts : an ancient Boshaari text, On The Existence Of The Multiplanar Multitude (the Book), and the Addendum written by Alyssa Devir.

History

Belief in extradimensional planes of reality is a common theme of many cults throughout Boshaari history. Despite their otherwise different beliefs and rituals, many featured 'warlocks' who sought to commune with entities beyond our mortal world, trading agency for personal power. In late antiquity, concern with warfare between several of these cults, the nascent Chantry of the Void sought to keep a record, leading to the first version of the text.
Over time, cultic folk motifs were added to the rapidly growing book, and several versions were circulated within the Chantry. Whilst a few historians seemed intrigued in the similar nature of their 'warlocks' and in the improbably common theme of extradimensional entities, there is no evidence that the Book served as anything else but an indicative and extremely detailed field guide.
Many of these cults became occult and clandestine, especially in the Empire of Sixteen, where apostasy was a criminal offence. Over the millenia, the Book itself was forgotten by the general public, and at times banned by Imperial decree, though copies continued to exist across the Empire and beyond.

Pantheon

According to the Book, there are seven Patrons (also called Aeons) whose domains of existence cointersect with mundane reality. Each Patron is a corporeal deity, endowed with their own interests, genealogy and history, and governed by a unique personality. Each Patron is also associated with specific aspect of life. Most (but not all) Patrons have smaller, kindred deities to do their bidding. Their domains are their source of power, and exist as actual places outside the scope of space and time.
A key element is that the Patrons seldom interact with mortals, and in fact prefer to avoid contact alltogether. Rituals for most Patrons involved great sacrifice and generally went unanswered to all but the worthy few.
The idea of grouping the seven Patrons into a single canonical Pantheon is a very new idea, originating in the Addendum. Devir's work posits that the Patrons exist on the same metaphysical level and interact with each other, thus explaining similarities between cultic traditions and connecting evidence that, until then, had only been studied in isolation. This idea has appealed to many people dissatisfied with organized religion, as well as Shade researchers.

Tales and Motifs

Many of the folktales concerning Patrons follow similar thematic formats.
Most common are epic poetry of glorious battles or personal resilience in the name of a Patron. Sometimes these battles are literal, either in the mortal world or between different planes. In those tales, the divine is often idealized and anthropomorphized. In these tales, the righteous do not always win, but always display some desired quality of their chosen Patron.
Tales of punishment are another common format. In these stories, warlocks set to steal some important artefact, which results in the wrath of either their own Patron or an opposing one. Through these adventures, however, a common theme is that Patrons teach some important lesson to the warlock and their people. Chantry canon features many of these stories as relates to the Inheritor - for instance, agents of her enemies stealing magic from the mythical sky-realm of Meridia, causing her to collapse it into the ocean after teleporting its residents to safety, in order to teach them to lead humble and grounded lives.
A third format is that of love stories between warlocks and Patrons, and invariably these stories end poorly for all involved. This seems to hint that Patrons ought not to be seen romantically, as happy endings are rare.

Afterlife

Historically, different cults had different conceptions of the afterlife. The Addendum asserts that each domain is an afterlife, offered to those found worthy by their respective Patron. For example, the domain of the Inheritor is said to be a great and holy forest where the spirits of the dead become part of the natural world as celestial or elemental Aesimar, whilst the domain of the cursed Whisperers is a fiendish hive-city that crashed into that of the Raven-Queen in a failed invasion bid. Souls found unworthy by all Patrons are sometimes claimed by the latter two, to serve as wretched foot-soldiers in their unending battle for domination of the Raven-Queen's domain.

Patrons and Practices

The Inheritor

The Inheritor is the chief deity of the Chantry of the Void. She is a Patron dedicated to law, order and light. She is often depicted as a red-haired dark elf wielding Holy attributes. She is worshipped as 'the Goddess' by the Chantry. Her servants, called Æsimar, are worshipped in shrines as celestial or elemental spirits. Her celestial domain is said to be a holy forest. Many tales portray her as fickle, and her view of justice exacting.
Worship of the Inheritor is much the same within the Way as it is within the Chantry, with hymns, insense and dancing involved. However, the Inheritor's place within the Way is singularly different. As explorer Boriel Davi remarks, "Fallanists see the Inheritor as the central, single most important component of the whole. Practitioners of the Way see Her as a side character, on the fringes of an even bigger whole."
The Chantry has long condemned the Way, but many practitioners remain within the Chantry. Some shrines, led by 'warlocks', try to belong to both the Chantry and the Way; others break ties entirely, seeking to become independent. There is tension between both groups, as well as lengthy court battles over the ownership of shrine buildings.

The Raven-Queen

The Raven-Queen is a feared Patron who rules over ruthlessness and melancholy. Boshaari tales often chronicle the Raven-Queen as a demonic entity responsible for the corruption of many spirits into twisted Erinyaes. Her domain is a vast, endless, decaying plain of shadow and cold, where Erinyaes wander without hope. Her warlocks often act as spies and assassins, and are frequently the subjects of anti-heroic tales. She represents ruthlessness and desperation, and the power of instinct over reason.
In the Way, the Raven-Queen is depicted as an ancient black-winged elf. Her followers, called 'death-seekers' by the Chantry, are highly secretive, underground network of assassins and saboteurs. In recent years, however, Belter groups from Hestia have started openly carrying her skull iconography as they harass free traders.

The Whisperers

A Chantry legend tells of the original Whisperer, who foolishly sought battle against the Inheritor, and was sundered into a thousand spirits. The Whisperers are a pantheon unto themselves, following a strict hierarchy comprised of the Sundered Myriad and their legally bound clients. Whisperers seek their own advancement over anything else, but usually achieve it through cunning contractual obligations and corruption of well-established systems. Their very name alludes to the whispers they use to tempt mortals into their self-defeating - but entirely fair - deals.
Whisperers rule over the Hive-City - a place with no top nor bottom. Their followers are often depicted as fiendish Erinyaes. Legends tell of the everlasting battle between the Whisperers and the Raven-Queen, and indeed, the boundary between the two domains is one of lava pits and charred battlegrounds. The Raven-Queen's minions always outnumber the Whisperers, but the Hive-City's legions are well-organized and disciplined, and sustain fewer losses...

The Azalea

The Azalea is a pre-Chantry deity, also assimilated to the Zaalan Free Tribes Dawn-Mother and to early Mewei deities. She is a personification of death, associated with healing, warding, and safe delivery to other afterlives. She appears as a short Boshaari wielding a scythe. Her domain is said to be a vast ocean of the dead, which she controls like a ship, taking those who have lived well to rest in the Inheritor's Celestial Forest or other intended afterlives, and punishing the wicked by turning them into mindless servitors in the Hive-City or as the Raven-Queen's wretched foot-soldiers. Unlike other Patrons, the Azalea has no followers in her Domain, for she represents the transcient nature of life, where the only truth is the inevitability of death.
In Chantry doctrine, the Azalea became an important Aesimar; ancient Mewei and Zaalan mythologies also refer to a benevolent Goddess of the Dead, whose tales were added to the Book by Way scribes. Shrines to the Azalea often feature the eponymous flower, and are a common sight in Boshaari graveyards. She is invoked by physicians, healers and midwives.

The Fathomless Harmony

This Patron is of particular interest, having roots in both Boshaari and Mewei folklore. Mewei tales describe the Fathomless as a deity of inspiration, creation and progress, the 'spark' behind many scientific advancements. The Boshaari describe her as the Harmony, a deity of magic and knowledge, who is said to have invented arcane itself. This link is further evidence through similar depictions : millenia before first contact, both peoples have described her as a wispy, cowled Mewei. Practitioners argue that this is no mere coincidence, and that the Harmony waits, in the deepest depths of every world, occasionally drawn to the surface to behold the ingenuity of mortals.
Boshaari practitioners consider her a neutral Patron, a force of creation rather than destruction. Mewei practitioners consider her a deity of evil and misfortune, that must be safely harnessed and bound to reason, but one that can be bargained with for a price. Star pilots and Dive Drive specialists worship her openly as the Patron of stars and sailing, and beseech her for good luck. The Arkblazer Order also worship her, albeit mostly as their primary Aesimar, in order not to offend the Chantry.

The Faelord

The Way describes the Faelord as a 'dual deity', both Seelie and Unseelie. This is a break from Chantry tradition, which tends to split fae into 'Aesimar' or 'Erinyes', but never as their own category.
The Seelie Queen, Titania, is said to hide in places of natural beauty and hold a Fæ Court. However, the Unseelie King, Oberon, is often depicted as somber, treacherous, vain and vengeful. There are many records of the Seelie being worshipped across Boshaari history, notably in the lore of ancient nations such as Esaree or Heavenfall. Plentiful as they are, they pale in comparison to the records of the Unseelie Wars waged by ancient Mewei spacefarers 9000 years ago against creatures matching fæ characteristics. Wayfinders firmly believe that both the Seelie and Unseelie beings are identical species of Æonic servants. This belief persists even though the Boshaari and Mewei, two cultures who had not yet interacted, recorded encounters with these entities. For Wayfinders, this occurrence of two separate cultures encountering the same Æonic entities has served as the foundation for their universalist views as well as proof of Æonic influence across the Universe. From their whimsical domain, the Feywild, Archfæ lord over domains of nature and treachery. Their traditional colour is given as a shade of leafy green. Several small Mewei cults have emerged, believing their World-Goddess to be a Seelie Fæ. Likewise, Wayfinders seem to believe the Unseelie to be none other than the Oberon themselves...

The Warden

Of all the Æons, the Warden is by far the most enigmatic. Their presence is attested in Mewei, Zaalan, and Boshaari cultures - and references to their energy is hinted at across multiple ruins on Nufano. Though their appearance always differs in species or gender, their powers are unevoquably similar (and not shared by any other Patron) : the ability to weave Arcanic Energy anew. At such, their trace in the Field is not so much one frequency as the entire background spectrum.
It is strongly believed that the Embassy Ark itself may have been programmed by the Warden. This Æon thus could be a strong part of the mystery behind the Dubious Coincidence Hypothesis; most Wayfinders believe the Warden to have taken to the peoples of the Pyxis Globula, and to have guided them to the Embassy Ark in their greatest time of need.

Type

Religious, Cult