Church of Ekaza

Every Sonevan knows the symbol: the white flower, with a jet black circle in the center. The flower can be different, but the Dryad eye at its center is always the same. For it is the eye of Halcyon, the eye of God, the all-judging, all hating font of truth in a world of unworthy deception. It is the eye of Suwota , the caretaker, the mother who loves and the mother who strikes. It is the eye of the state, the priest, the watchful parent, from whom no secret can be held.
You are brought into a world that desires perfection, but you are unworthy and so you fail. Your inevitable failure is a shame, a shame synonymous with but greater than pain. It is known to God- maybe to all. But by fulfilling your destiny, your role, you can rise above your shame and become the eyes of God and the whip through which she punishes the lesser. For there is good and there is evil, and only by surrendering your body to become a weapon of good can you destroy the shameful wickedness that taints your heart. This is heart of modern Ekaza.
It was not always like this- Ekaza has many forms, and the values of its compassionate past can be a balm even for those in its present congregation. Ekaza can inspire, unify, and bring out the best in people- but its current form of practice exists to glorify the holy crusade, the endless war against evil as defined by the immortal Suwota. Like her, centuries of hatred and focused violence has transformed Ekaza into a weapon of control.
From a theological perspective, Ekaza is a dualistic religion that worships Halcyon as the supreme god and Suwota as her heir and enforcer, fighting against The Adversary - a nameless, shapeless evil that has infected the world. Ekaza doctrine, contained within the Beatified Verse, is more of a method of finding evil and obeying good rather than explaining the universe. Mythology does exist to that end, but it is flexible and variant.

Structure

All Ekaza priestly positions are assigned from the top down, so priests are chosen by high priests, high priests are chosen by Overseers, etc.

Title	Role
Goddess	Supreme power, reserved for Suwota
Avatar	Leading the faith, only for those bred to be vessels for Suwota
Lord Interpreter	Managing home administration, particularly of the Runevan Valley
Lord Executor	Regional Administration
Lord Overseer	Provincial Administration
High Priest	Sub-province administration/local elites
Priest	Temple and community administration

Culture

Nostalgia and Regret

The past is always there in the Ekaza imaginary. There is shame, yes, but a deep sense of regret and longing. The innocence of beginnings is a thorough trend in Ekazan dogma and theology, and the shame of the recent past is always contrasted with the unfettered joy of the distant past. Even people with miserable childhoods are encouraged to twist their memories into uplifting and scrappy golden years. And the Adversary is always after the children, always coming to take their golden years of sinless innocence. Children are treated as almost alien beings: dumb, wild, joyful, naive, in need of protection. Other cultures may have an idea of youth or childhood, but nowhere is nearly as rigidly defined or segmented as here.
The great irony is that the Church idolizes innocence while also demanding that parents harshly force their children to grow up via isolation, harsh words, and physical discipline. Education here serves to both prepare children for their trades and to "whip them into shape". This is portrayed as a great tragedy, that this is a necessary part of a cruel world and that it will stop being necessary when the Adversary is gone. And just as children and one's own childhood are to be loved and adored, they are to be silently reviled as disobedient and untamed.
This whole weird bundle of contradictions about childhood and time really exacerbates Ekazan nostalgia. Nostalgia is a powerful force in any culture, just as shame is, but both are supercharged here.

Species Preference: It's Complicated? (But also Dryads)

Ekaza, just like Runeva, is a caste-based society. Looking at it from far away, one can see the ancient species-Runevan caste system, where the dryads ruled at the top, the humans did much of the physical labor, and the Prisms worked in very specific jobs. But the Church furiously denies any connection between modern castes and species castes and points to the humans, prisms, and cats in leadership positions as proof. While dryads may be the preferred species generally speaking, the actual way that the modern caste system works is so deliberately complicated that the government can do whatever it wants with little lashback.
There are a few basic assumptions at play in the Ekazan caste system. Firstly, the idea of blood morality. Good people are likely to have good kids, because goodness has a genetic component. Certain communities have certain bloodlines, and those bloodlines reflect those community's moral characters. To this end, various bloodlines are documented and placed in a hierarchy relating to various traits. Secondly is the idea of the idea of blood alchemy. Suwota, it has been shown, can modify the physical bodies of the faithful in ways that can be passed down to their children. Bloodline is not mutable for mortals, but it is for Suwota and Tunelo (Halcyon). Priests can, through Suwota's consecrated powers, change one's blood at will to instill new qualities in a person. These are both false assumptions, but they are very real in the eyes of Runevan society.
And what does it all mean in practice? It means a large, multi-layered caste system based along culture and species lines, with certain traits assigned to the castes as if biological. For example, Runevan-dryad-specialist is a high-status caste group that can become academics, priests, or clerks and is seen as inherently intelligent and beautiful, but susceptible to foreign diseases. Another would be 'Rubavan-dryad-lowborn', who are considered lustful, unfocused, fast, and hardy, and are perfect for farmwork, manual labor, and courier work. Both are dryads, but class and culture matter in how they are placed in castes. And for all the biologizing of their differences, Rubavan and Runevan dryads aren't even genetically very different: the ruling caste just disdains the newly conquered not-culturally-assimilated poor while also making up excuses for why the Rubavans were able to resist conquest so effectively. So while species is relevant in that dryads are more likely to be looked at favorably, culture plays a very significant role in caste.
So what was that about blood alchemy? Well, since all these "so very different" cultural-ethnic groups are not actually differentiable, the "obvious, inherent" lines between them are actually quite porous. The state knows this and leverages it to its advantage. The promise of getting your genetics zapped by a priest into being better physically and spiritually is a great path to social advancement.
So, basically, the church and state divide everyone into castes of which there are dozens. These castes are encouraged to fight each other and not unite against the leadership. Meanwhile, social mobility is linked entirely to priestly power so that people can be promoted and demoted accordingly.
This also means everyone is preoccupied with heritage and family records to an absurd extent.

History

Divine Era Ekaza

In the early days of the Divine Era, Ekaza was a series of stories and rituals shared by the early cities of Runeva. There were stories, Gods, and rituals outside of Ekaza that every city practiced as well, but Ekaza represented a kind of shared space where the rival cities could meet together in harmony. These shared religious practices became more formalized over time, and became more tailored to represent specific shared social values. The purpose was more to encourage community and teach social roles than represent what was strictly true.
When the cities came together against outside forces, Ekaza became strong binding force that communities gravitated to. The stories and rituals began absorbing the local traditions as the cities merged into a unified Runevan culture and state. Truth and power mattered again, and mystical secrets of Ekaza were entrusted to the all-dryad priesthood. A species-caste system set in, and the priests tried to use Ekaza to justify this as the natural order - just as those against caste appealed to religious tradition for why it was wrong. Religion and ritual became a battleground between groups, a way to call one's faction 'civilized' and 'traditional', and the enemy 'barbaric'.
Gentle interference from Halcyon slowly nudged Runeva away from species-caste, but religion remained synonymous with state power. And, when Halcyon departed, they left the immortal Suwota behind to watch over and protect Runeva. Suwota was instructed to be on the watch for a mysterious and sinister force while Halcyon and the Architects were gone - and she took her job very seriously.
When the "Old Ways" are discussed, it generally means this time period of the late Divine and early Modern eras, before Suwota took full control but after the interventions of Halcyon and the formation of a Runevan Empire.

Modern Era Ekaza

The history of Ekaza is inseparable from the history of Runeva. As the empire turned towards conquest, Ekaza became more militaristic; as the empire became more hierarchical, so did the church. Suwota was initially accepted as a Goddess, but not necessarily the religious and political leader of Runeva. In fact, she mostly served the priestly government for the first two hundred years and avoided direct political leadership until the Empire entered a political crisis in the third century. Suwota first started dropping the idea of an "Adversary" in the late 600s ME, in response to the increased anti-Architect activity of her sister Aysha. Preparing against the Adversary slowly increased in importance in the official theology for the next few centuries.
Things became much harsher after Suwota's direct assumption of power following the collapse of the Runevan government during the 1060 civil war. She took direct control of the entire priesthood, and all opposition to her rule was erased when the rebel priests were purged at the end of the civil war. By 1200 ME, Suwota's patience with mortal leaders had run out and she began seeding threats of divine judgment into all official religious dogma. The imperial expansions of the late 1300s added some intense militarism to the mix. And when the Lunar Pantheon began their campaign of containment in the 1400s and 1500s, Runevan theology took a turn for the apocalyptic: the world was clearly corrupt to the core, and had betrayed the Empire on every level.
Since then, the domineering attitude of the leadership and the constant external pressure has transformed Ekaza into its worst self: obsessed with control, with division, and with war.

Mythology & Lore

The matter of Ekazan mythology and dogma is strange: there is the new mythology officially stated by the church, but there is also the old mythology that leaks in. The church does not suppress the old ways, but allows the accounts to coexist among the commonfolk. This allows people to pick whichever they need at that moment and allows the church to appear less domineering.
The church also plays around with literalism and metaphor: the more fantastical elements of creation are sometimes framed as metaphorical, sometimes framed as literal. Those who downplay the magical and mystical call themselves 'Rationalists', while those who insist on absolute literalism call themselves 'Traditionalists'. Both tend to agree that the stories are best applied to the modern day as a sort of guide to god-intended social roles.

The Official Mythology of Creation

In the beginning, there was abundant chaos and excessive life. This chaos was centered around two great creator Gods: Tunelo (known to foreigners as Halcyon) the Spirit of Heaven, and The Wildspirit or The Wildmother the Spirit of Land. Tunelo saw the great potential of life, but also it wasted by the purposeless, destructive chaos of the Wildspirit. Tunelo demanded order; the Wildspirit refused. Tunelo set upon the Wildspirit and overcame her, seizing all of creation for herself. Tunelo brought perfection to the world, and all of reality was ordered under one absolute Empress of the Cosmos. Her perfect authority set the definition for goodness, and her virile power set a standard for moral behavior.
The Wildspirit, defeated and obsolete, conceded to Tunelo's perfection and exploded into three Gods of Ordered Chaos: Dozenti the God of Magic, Minava the God of Animals, and Bava the Sea God. These are referred to as the Primal Gods, as they are the only Gods not to derive their power from Tunelo. The Primal Gods do recognize Tunelo's primacy, though, and are not evil beings. The evil of the Wildspirit slunk off to become its own creature: The Adversary -the incarnation of all evil and rebellion against Tunelo.
To protect the world against the Adversary, Tunelo consecrated the perfect world. As long as all were obedient to their perfect roles, the Adversary could never enter. But, alas, the chaos introduced by the Primal Gods inevitably offered some mortals the opportunity to disobey. And so, the world began sliding into corruption. Tunelo tried for millennia to convince mortals to act well, but the mortals not only continued sinning but carried their sin with them to the Afterlives. Humans, the most debaucherous and hateful of creatures, caused their afterlife to become a Hell. Eventually, Tunelo ascended in order to do damage control and focused on purifying the lands of the dead while the living stewed in their own suffering.
While most of the world screamed like the spoiled, ruinous brats that they are, the obedient priests of Runeva sent up a devout plea and recited the tenets of goodness. Tunelo saw that Runeva was pure and deserved assistance and sent down aid: the Immortal Three (Aysha, Suwota, and Mavara), the Lunar Pantheon, and the lesser spirits of goodness that we call gods.
The Adversary is crafty, though, and set to work subverting the fallible guardians Tunelo had sent. Once again, only Runeva held firm: Suwota, firstborn of the immortals and purest daughter of Tunelo, never faltered like the others, and Runeva was never corrupted.

The Old Tale of Creation

In the beginning, there was the Wildspirit, essence of chaos and life. The Wildspirit created with love and wonder, but consumed her creations, except for one: Tunelo, the Spirit of Goodness. When the Wildspirit looked upon Tunelo, she could not bring herself to devour her and she raised her as a daughter instead. Eventually, Tunelo left the Wildspirit's palace for the land of Runeva. She taught the people of Runeva the secrets to farming, to magic, and to taming the animals of the wild. Tunelo would visit the Wildspirit and come back with more divinity for lesser gods, and her island of stability expanded every time.
The lesser Gods of the land got into many wacky misadventures, often threatening the stability of Runeva until Tunelo intervenes and saves the day. Each God was the patron spirit of a race or creature, and each felt a deep dissatisfaction with existence. Tunelo had to teach each the Principle of Purpose - that all things have a role to play that will make them and the world happy, and the meaning of life is to find that role.
With this growing harmony in place, Tunelo expanded Runeva across the planet in a great golden age. All was well, as Tunelo's domain had reached its natural extent. But while Tunelo cherished the world, her first children in Runeva fought one another for power. The demigod co-rulers Tunelo had given Runeva to turned on one another. The eldest sister, Kanaziti, exiled the younger and more virtuous sister, Kalukir (Orchid of Blue ) from the valley to a distant land. And Tunelo furiously tore her paradise-manor away from Runeva and took it into the sky, where it became Paradise. Chaotic beings flooded in from beyond the world to infest the land and make it wild once more. For a century, a terrible giant named Ketsito ruled over Runeva and imprisoned Kanaziti on the moon. This era of darkness only ended when Kanaziti sacrificed herself to Tunelo. Her sap rained down from the moon and became holy water, which drove Ketsito into the wilds, and consecrated Runeva to once again be bountiful.

The Lesser Gods of Ekaza

Gods have old names and old personas, but newer trends rebrand them as something more "useful" for modern society. Some people know them by their old tales, others by the new ones. Some people mix them together.

• Araki, God of Stone and Parent of Prisms. Originally a mercurial god that can be harsh but also loving and protective. Now, a god of masons, roads, consistency, and preservation.
• Paizu, God of Cats and the Night. Originally a comedian, a patron of artists and doctors, and a merry leader of reveling bands of ghosts. Now associated with Minava, god of animals, and known as a god of honor, loyalty, and hunting.
• Taseva, God of the Sun, dandelions, travelers, and Solars. Originally a wise old shapeshifter that taught magic to the worthy and knew all the secrets of the world. Now associated with comedy, merchants, wine, and coin.
• Ukivo, God of Humans. Originally a cranky but kind-hearted elder and wizard that could make medicines and magic spells. Currently seen as more of a warrior-god of knights and conquest, the old mage with a lightning-sword in hand.
• Runeva, God of Dryads and the land of Runeva. The personification of the valley of Runeva. Originally an agricultural and river deity. Now associated with "civilization" and "purity", in whatever forms the state prefers.
• Rohdsa, God of the Sea and Aquatic Races. Originally a patron of sailors, lobster-herders, and fishermen, also a bit of a war-god. Has become a 'Patron of Rationality'.
• Lija, God of Pearl Pangolins, Giants, and Protection. Guardian of the Border between the wilds and the non-wilds. Also enforcer of guest rights. Originally a bit of an ambiguous figure, but has been either heroicized or villified in various phases of history. Currently seen as heroic, conquering, and friendly.

Cosmological Views

Purity and Corruption

In Ekazan cosmology, there are a great many planes and existences beyond the material, but only the material plane and the afterlives are of any concern for mortals. Everything else is either the property of Halcyon and none of your limited existence's business, or similar to our world and corrupted by the Adversary. The great exception to this is the Runevan Valley, which is less corrupted by the Adversary and therefore closer to the possible Pure World that awaits us after the Adversary is defeated.
The Adversary's eventual defeat (should it come to pass) will lead to Judgment Day, when Suwota and Halcyon judge all mortal souls and decide who to spare and who to destroy. Only by purging all those whose corruption has become untreatable can the Adversary be defeated for good.
In the meantime, everything is a matter of pure original matter and worldly corruption. The world is deeply sick, full of vile and wicked corruption that seeks to spread to every corner of existence. People, spirits, lands, all are faded and broken shades of what they were meant to be, and it is an eternal struggle to try and stop things from getting worse before Judgment Day.
'This is truly the darkest hour' is how Ekazan dogma sees every hour. The Lunar Pantheon has fallen to corruption; Aysha and Mavara have betrayed the Gods; the spirits of the land are sick and weak and in need of sacrifice; the servants of the Adversary walk openly and are worshipped by the decadent and wicked sinners of the rest of the world.

The Cult of Reason

The church has a very specific approach to mapping out the planes. During the time of Tunelo's reign, the world was part of a larger universe of divine forces that actively added things and modified rules on their whims. But after Tunelo left, the world as we know it (the material plane and afterlives) became a closed system with unchangeable rules. These rules and forces can be detected and understood by creating even smaller closed systems - basically, controlled experiments. Even immortals, magicians, spirits, and the Adversary are bound by Tunelo-given rules.
This is all to say that Ekaza rejects the idea that the material world prior to Judgment Day is unknowable. Through the use of Reason, nature can and should be understood and conquered. Tunelo triumphed over the Wildspirit with reason, and all beings of goodness have a moral obligation to dominate the wild  The wild always claims to be unknowable, and it always lies. Reason and domination is what differentiates adults and "superior people", and children, who deserve to be controlled. By understanding the limitations of something, one can best diagnose its purpose in the natural order. And, as the Ekazans see themselves as the most Rational and Good, this can be used to forcibly correct the world to that natural order.
This fixation with knowledge collection and experimentation does cause conflict within, though. After all, Ekaza demands absolute obedience and focus - is the quest for knowledge not individualistic hubris? And what about where the more mystical elements of dogma meet the rationalist observations? This conflict has split the academic faithful between Traditionalist literalism and Rationalist inquiry, with the Church playing both sides. And those Rationalists who find themselves questioning actually important dogma that is used to justify state violence, like Suwota's infallibility or blood virtue or blood alchemy? They have a way of being silenced, even by other Rationalists.

Tenets of Faith

• Punish Evil: The world is overflowing with wickedness. Foreigners wallow in it, but every being has a little something making it worthy of punishment. Feel bad, but make the bad people feel worse.
• Champion Good: It isn't enough to just punish evil. The efforts for Good allow us all to rise above our failings and become more. Support the church's wars against the Adversary! Only when the world is united under Tunelo's banner will good triumph once and for all!
• Seek your Purpose: We all have a purpose in society. Find your purpose, and accept your position in the great machine.
• Respect Authority: Pride becomes hubris. Let your unimportance grant you humility and contentment. Obedience is the most important step in that transformation.
• Seek Perfection, Be Strong: Become the best *whatever you do* you can be. Through discipline and effort, you can become a shining example of your kind. And encourage discipline and completeness in others as well. 

Ethics

Morality in Ekazan is defined by form, intent, and thought: did you strive to do your duty and be obedient to Tunelo? Were you pure in deed and thought? To think disobedient thoughts is to sin, and Suwota knows all.

Priesthood

Priests wear grey robes, High Priests wear green, Overseers wear green with silver, Executors blue with silver, Interpreters blue with gold. All wear something called the Consecration: a collar or sash on their robes with their sacred vow to Suwota written in ancient Runevan. When around clergy of a lower station, they are to wear veils. All clergy are to wear veils when in the presence of non-clergy. 
Priests are often Dryads, but human, prism, and cat priests are not unheard of. The priests mark one as being of the ruling caste, and to be chosen is an immense honor. 
There is a large gulf between the priests of the lowest order and the rest of the hierarchy. Common priests may be of the highest caste, but their station demands they interact with people from all castes and stations. Only the handful that manage to curry favor above them can make the jump to High Priest - which is quite a lifestyle jump, as one is expected to abandon all ties to the outside world.

Political Influence & Intrigue

Ekazan is essentially the religious arm of the Empire of Runeva. Only Runeva and its puppet states follow this faith. As Ekazan is opposed aggressively by the Lunar Pantheon and bases all government legitimacy on Suwota's blessings, there is little incentive for any elites to convert. Elites who seek similar ideas and gods generally gravitate to Navana instead.
That said, commoner and merchant communities of this faith do exist abroad. Many are persecuted, and migrate around the world seeking refuge. These communities in exile wait patiently for Suwota's loving arrival, but have the freedom to make some of their own rules in the meantime.
The church also runs the spy network and education system. The church-run academies are loosely based on Desmian and Sunekan models (that is to say intense, disciplined, and militarized), and separated along caste lines.

"Be Worthy"

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Demonym

Ekazan

Leader

Suwota

Permeated Organizations

• Empire of Runeva

Deities

• Halcyon
• Suwota

Divines

• Suwota

Location

Sonev