The Holy Astreas Cartal
The Cartal is the predominant religion of Edun in Phoebe , having spread to the rest of the world via the empries of both Jourdan and Ibeadour. Following the typical Basilican base common in humans, it follows the Divines Maas and Darius.
Structure
The head of the Cartal is unequivocally the Grand Priest, followed closely by the Grand General of the Holy Paladin’s Order. Underneath these two is a strict divide between the Paladins Order and the practicing Cartal.
Underneath the Cartal follows the bishopry and into the general brothers of the Cartal, down into the general serviceman and women.
The Paladins are much simpler, in that from General a soldier is ranked only in regard to service years and general success ranked from 1 - 100 (eg. Year 8-89). The only exception is the top echelon of the order under the General known as the Great of Ten; the soldiers with the greatest service record who serve both the Grand General and the Grand Priest.
Assets
The Cartal is one of the richest nations/organizations in the world, in part due to the tithes received from their practitioners all over the world as well as general donations to earn favour from both Jourdan and Ibeadour. Even Avorene makes regular donations in the name of keeping favour with the Cartal.
Most of their donations are in the form of precious metals such as gold and silver. Pushteel - a steel-pushtanium alloy - is also a major asset of the Cartal most recently given in bulk by the Nocluin Alliance in an effort to garner favour. The super hard metal that it is, Pushteel is the prominent component of Paladin armour.
Military
The military forces of Astreas are known as the Holy Paladins Order; an elite squad of both volunteers from other nations and from the ranks of the general army of Astreas. Paladins are known for being fierce, uncompromising warriors with a strict moral code.
“Not even God can help you if a Paladin is knocking on your door.” A common saying.They are known for being intense in their verdicts, often acting as judge, jury and executioner much to the chargrin of other countries. The Paladins have various ranks within their order (such as Grand General so as to juxtapose the Grand Priest) however unless within the top leadership, the rank itself doesn’t matter all that much. The Paladins operate in small groups of either two or three, either travelling the world enacting their holy judgement or by standing guard in St. Jacinthe’s Cathedral. As it stands, the Cartal doesn’t have a navy so all naval battles either occur through the other Edunian navies or through mercenary vessels under Paladin control.
Mythology & Lore
Like most other sub-sects of the Basilica, the Astreas ascribe to the creation story of Adje and Solis, as well as the Last Pantheon and the Abyss, with a few key differences. Without the influence of the Neruse, the Astreas stories of Adje and Solis got skewed in favour of a different narrative following that Solis accidentally summoned the Abyss to Adje, naming her a double edged sword of misfortune common in those sects influenced by patriarchal standards.
Adje is often refered to as God, credited with creating the earth for Solis' creations to live on. All in all, a lot more importance was placed on Adje by the Astreas than other sects preference for Solis or the general honouring of both.
The Astreas also peddles the belief that Solis was created from the remnants of the vengeful Aomyne, corrupting her into an avatar of disaster despite her good intentions.
In the story of the first prophet Darius, the world of Phoebe was described as a general wasteland near unihabitable; this condition is often blamed on the dual nature of Solis, and the saviour Darius with his terra-forming abilities as sent by Adje.
Divine Origins
The Cartal was created by the second prophet Maas and its original purpose was that of an army. Maas created the Cartal as an opposing force to the armies of Micah Seven which then over the years transformed into what is now the modern day Cartal.
Political Influence & Intrigue
The Cartal influences two of the three superpowers, and as such holds a lot of power over the rest of the world. A lot of the world regards the militaries of both Jourdan and Ibeadour as extension powers of the Cartal, especially if they have onboard Paladins of the Cartal - and this isn't even counting the rest of the world's Astreas nations. As of the last couple years the Astreas have been establishing a better relation with the Nocluin Alliance in an effort to cement themselves with the new up and comer.
Due to the influence and colonization efforts of Jourdan and Ibeadour, there are more countries under Astreas influence than those not.
A key detractor is the third superpower Avorene as it is a strictly atheist nation that believes, if anything, that their king is god.
Another key detractor is - somewhat ironically - are the Territories of Holiest-Laure. Despite being named for a holiest of the order, after gaining minimal independence a majority of the remaining Feihn nations removed all remants of the Cartal from the lands, and reverted back to their original beliefs of mother earth and grand spirits (though the various beliefs vary tribe to tribe.)
Victory in Sacrifice
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Alternative Names
Cartal
Demonym
The Astreas
Government System
Sortition
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Sovereigns
Judicial Body
Holy Paladin Order of Astreas
Notable Members
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