Orthodox Desmianism
Desmia, in the old tongue, meant "Struggle". It is the name of the land, the people, and their way of life. To Desmians, conflict defines life- struggle between good and evil, duty and temptation, community and individual, warrior and demon. It is this philosophical understanding of struggle that defines the Desmian religion group- Orthodoxy in particular. What Gods you believe in, what prayers you give, and what heavens await you are considered less of a sign of Desmian identity than understanding of and devotion to the Cosmic War.
Orthodox Desmians are a theologically diverse group, with cult abounding to thousands of Gods and ancestors that vary and intermingle. Every additional group that converts brings their own new Gods to the mix, which inevitably hybridize with the international network. By some standards, Orthodoxy doesn't even qualify as a religion- but those standards miss the enforcement of very real ethical, social, and material norms that come with Orthodox identity. To be Orthodox is to join the international trade and military network, to conform to a militarized international economic system, to reject "Demons" from the community, to accept the Holiday of The Day of Blood, to accept the rulings of the Perpetual Conclave , and to conform Rites of Passage to the crusading norm.
What defines Orthodoxy is the unorthodox, which comes in three categories: the outsider, the heretic, and the demonic. The outsider is defined by being corrupt and ignorant, and should be shown generosity but suspicion; the heretic is twisted and dangerous, and may be slain without consequence. But it is the Demonic which stands as the ultimate outsider, the true linchpin that allows Orthodoxy to retain a definition- that which must be slain, can never be welcomed, and is denied all empathy or humanity. Non-animalistic non-humans- primarily the Dryad and the Prism - are considered demons, the biological outsider that must be attacked on sight. It is them and their Demonic Gods that are the source and epitome of evil- the Struggle can never end while demons breath.
Mythology & Lore
There is a vast amount of intersecting mythology in Desmian religion- as a fusion of multiple pantheons with overarching ancestor worship, mythology is extremely variable. That said, there are two common creation stories that have been officially canonized by the Conclave:
The world was born from endless chaos- in the darkness, great Old Gods fused and danced in the impossibly dark abyss of All-Nothing. The Great Chaos came together for a moment and from its union was born The Divine Couple, Gairm the All Seer and Medra the Mother of Life. Gairm and Medra tried to create light, meaning, and hope- and the chaos was spun into reality. But some of the chaos resisted and became living darkness. From the darkness crawled Halcyon (from jealousy and want), Leviathan (from ignorance and fear), and Chimera (from hate and resentment).
These 3 creations besieged the newly made world with their demons- but Gairm and Medra drove them back and created Desmia as a fortress against Evil.
Gairm and Medra's children helped craft and protect the world. Arvana, the first-born, made rivers and then shaped humans out of clay (including her lover, a demigod). Corvis the Cat Goddess made the animals of the land and taught them the ways of goodness- and taught the humans farming; her husband, Matgon the Fish God, made the creatures of the sea.
Arvana's child, Ezerok the Champion, led the humans against the demonic armies in a chariot of lions and stags. Matgon and Corvis' child- Adukar the Trickster- proved to be very wily and capricious, but works to destroy evil nonetheless.
The Story of the South
The Story of the North
In the beginning, there was a dark, swirling sea of chaos. Where the tides of infinity met, two sparks began: Baskhu and Akasha, the moon king and moon queen. The two moons began sailing the endless black night, until one day, as they talked, they fell in love. Their love created sparks, as they touched hands- these sparks became seeds, which they planted in the night sky as stars. These seeds blossomed into light, illuminating the world and allowing Order.
They began to scoop up chaos to make land and truth, and as they made Good, Evil formed from where it did not touch. They made the sun, and the darkness became afraid- it lashed out into form and devoured the sun!
Bashku and Akasha had 3 children: Terazed, Akeba, and Aokri. To play with their children, Bashku made people from clay, and Akasha made animals from grass and mud. But the Darkness became envious of their love and became the Three Evils- and stole sea grass to make children. But the grass children were not given love or free will, and the Darkness felt no joy. Angry, it unleashed their children to kill the God's children- Aokri helped the humans and animals stay safe from the storms and demons, Akeba made his own winds to blow the storm and demons away, and Terazed wore grass and leaves as a disguise and snuck into the Dark Sea to steal the sun back!
Aokri gave the humans fire from the sun, but the Darkness sent a bolt of poison to strike him down. When Akasha came to use herbs to drive the poison away, humans learned medicine- and the joy of Aokri's survival had created a new god- Atersain, god of healing- to drive disease away. Natharan and Nezmit are great creatures, joyous and destructive pets/children of Akasha as she created magic and wonder. Haznik is the oldest son of Terazed, the Sun King- and humanity's defender.
Divine Origins
In -6000DE, the lands of Desmia were peaceful, prosperous, and hospitable. Hunter-Gatherer tribes wandered seasonally across semi-shared lands. In that year, the Dryad migration- numbering in the hundreds of thousands- crashed into the land. Initially welcomed, the dryads soon became an uncomfortable addition to the land. Unable to truly integrate, speaking completely unintelligible languages, the dryads disrupted much of the ecosystem- just as a bad weather season struck the land. Led by an articulate young priestess and an increasingly violent and desperate warrior-priest, a coalition of tribes turned on the dryads for cursing their land. The targeted killings led to reprisals, and before long a species-war had broken out.
While the dryads found some human allies to bolster their numbers, the warrior coalition had a lifetime of training on the hunt. The human-dryad alliance gathered under their own charismatic leaders, who relocated them to the mountains in present-day Empire of Avana. Their fortress settlements were the first "true cities" of Desmia, and their agriculture set the model for how sedentary life in Desmia would operate for millennia. But they could not hold out against the warriors, who chased after them and worked to destroy them. When the defenders begged the heavens for aid Halcyon took the dryads North, abandoning the humans to destruction. They were enslaved in their own cities, and from their labor was born the first Desmian agricultural war machine.
Halcyon further interfered, telepathically calling all Dryads North. Seeing human allies abandoned and dryads moving as if a hive mind, the humans of Desmia panicked. Their fear made them easy converts to this early religion of extermination. As the priests raided and harassed the dryads to the North, Halcyon cursed the continent with the The Day of Blood. The The Chimera cursed Desmia with Gem Plague. The Gods terrorized and harmed the Desmians but never destroyed them. From the curses of the Gods, the priests created a religion of absolute fear and struggle. Orthodoxy is the most direct inheritor of this tradition.
Cosmological Views
Desmian cosmology sees Good and Evil locked in an eternal battle. Every good act strengthens the ancestors and Gods; every evil act feeds the Demonic Gods. The Struggle is not only a physical contest of arms, but the everyday choices to be honest, to be welcoming, to be dutiful, to be pious over temptation. The afterlife is divided between the Pure Lands of the just and the Torment of the Impure.
Tenets of Faith
- The Faithful is Dutiful. To fulfill your role in the struggle is to achieve spiritual purity. Do your job, be pious, be the person your family and community need you to be.
- The Faithful is Brave. Temptation wins only when you surrender to it. The World is terrifying and dangerous, so be brave.
- The Faithful is Generous. Every human life is valuable. The demons win when humans refuse to share with each other.
- The Faithful is Loving. Every person is in struggle. It is together that the pure win- be kind and gentle to those who can be saved
- The Faithful is Relentless. Evil seems impossible to overcome. Yet the demon gods run in terror when we refuse to stop fighting. Let us be impossible to overcome! We are the Bulwark of Good!
Priesthood
Desmian priests and priestesses are marked by their unusual dress- distinct blood red robes often marked with holy symbols and a blue or white cloth sash bearing holy script. Desmian priests spend most of the year at a local temple, with each temple belonging to a regional group (usually defined by political borders, but not always). Regional groups are part of larger Ecclesia, which are large subunits that send representatives to the Perpetual Conclave.
Temples typically contain multiple shrines to saints or Gods, each shrine attended by a shrinekeeper. Shrinekeepers are also the low-level administrative managers underneath priests that operate as assistants. In larger temples, a cluster of shrinekeepers known as The Select will act as the priest/priestesses' closest assistants and potential successors.
Every year, for the The Day of Blood, regional conclaves will be called for the organization of festivities (usually a month or two in advance). This is when other administrative matters are usually handled such as the ordaining of new priests. Regional emergencies may also lead to calling of regional conclaves.
Regional Conclaves typically also designate a First Among Equals, who selects a representative for the regional conclave to approve. This representative will then go to the Ecclesia. The Ecclesia then elects their own Speaker to venture all the way to the Perpetual Conclave in Hadara. Perpetual Conclave is the highest administrative body among Desmians; the tie-breaker, war-planner, and executive leader among them is the First Speaker.
The Perpetual Conclave is a relatively recent invention, but the precedent of the greatest speakers of a generation coming together to guide the Faithful during a crisis is ancient. Now, the Speakers manage crusades, define the religion in the face of heretical movements, and decide what is Canon Law: What exactly qualifies as demonic, what laws fit within the religious boundaries. The Perpetual Conclave can also declare a monarch or priest heretical or spiritually corrupt- the punishment for which can be abdication, exile, even imprisonment or death. The powers of the Conclave do have limits, though - their power ultimately derives from the many local priests and temples of Desmia, and many communities listen to their local temple over a distant religious authority.
Political Influence & Intrigue
Priests make up the judicial system of most Orthodox countries, run the religious education system, and often play a very active role in government. The Ecclesia often host peace negotiations for kingdoms in their regions, and are expected to be bearers of peace and unity. The Perpetual Conclave can theoretically dissolve a government, though this has never been tested on a large empire.
Kingdoms and empires have often ignored or skirted around priestly orders in the past - Orthodox kingdoms have often waged illegal war. However, protracted war between Orthodox armies can be difficult to manage in the face of priestly disapproval- multiple times, armies have simply abandoned wars deemed illegitimate by the priesthood.
Crusades and demon-slaying are ultimately the great burden of the priesthood and their greatest strength. Priests are expected to take responsibility for many logistical burdens, are expected to record the number of demons slain by each warrior, and coordinate crusading expeditions. This requires constant effort from shrinekeepers and priests across the continent- managing paperwork, sending correspondence, and managing budgets. For their role in Crusading, priests have acquired a great deal of sway over the crusaders themselves. Crusading veterans make up the bulk of Desmian mercenaries, city guards, and private armies, so impious leaders can find their armies suddenly turning against them if they lack religious legitimacy.
Founding Date
-4000 ME/300 ME
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Demonym
Desmian
Subsidiary Organizations
Permeated Organizations
Divines
Official Languages
Notable Members
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