Church of the Beyond
The Church of Draganna Kalila Piitag, it is responsible for preventing space-time anomalies, but spends most of its time selling its services as diviners or utilizing teleportation magic to help others move quickly throughout the world.
Culture
Dragannans wear colored clothing to signify which aspect of Draganna they primarily venerate; purple for Draganna and time, blue for Kalila and space, and black for Piitag and the void. High priests tend to make sure that they wear all three colors equally to not show preference for any one sect.
Infrastructure
Being one of the most active churches, the Church of the Beyond has temples in every realm, and are one of the few churches able to easily navigate past the Rier with their advanced teleportation magic. Temples with sections devoted to multiple deities often make sure to include a large section for the Church of the Beyond, so that they can be ready if her followers ever suddenly appear. Due to a large portion of draconic worshipers, may dragons often convert their lairs into temples to Draganna, instilling them with deadly traps to keep out the weak and the nonbelievers.
Divine Origins
Draganna has been worshipped for thousands of years, and thus the Church of the Beyond as been around ever since the dawn of mortal life.
Tenets of Faith
Draganna's Holy Code is as follows
- My foremost duty is to uphold the laws of time and space.
- I will understand that some moments in history are destined to happen, I must let those moments happen, even if those moments cause me pain.
- My time is precious and I will not waste it. When my time is up, I will accept it without question.
- I will always respect my elders, as they have witnessed much more of time and space then I have.
- If my enemies refuse to repent, I will bring the icy death of the void down upon them.
- I will always be prepared, so that I may be ready when “That Time” finally arrives.
Ethics
The church of Draganna is less concerned with the ethics of good and evil then with the stability of time and space, falling more to combating the forces of chaos and entropy rather than fighting against evil acts. They often can come into disputes with local law enforcement, as they sometimes attempt to arrest or even kill people for crimes they supposedly will commit in the future.
Worship
Common worship of Draganna involves watching the stars, counting minutes, talking long walks in set routes, or enduring harsh cold. A more ritualized form of worship is to walk in a circle while staring at the sky and counting the minutes for 30 minutes, then to reverse your steps and walk backwards for another 30 minutes. After that hour is up, the practitioner steps into the circle and prays to one of the aspects of Draganna while contemplating a mystery of either space, time, or void. The most devout who perform these rituals often find that their spells become more potent at overcoming magical defenses.
Priesthood
Most upper level priests of the church are in fact dragons, as few creatures other than dragons have the natural lifespan to unlock the greater mysteries of Draganna; a feet that often takes hundreds of years. These high level priests often keep their nature hidden, and are charged with locating temporal anomalies and delegating lesser tasks to humanoid followers.
Granted Divine Powers
Dragannans who worship her Draganna aspect are gifted with what is considered one of the strongest form of magic: chronomancy. They are often also granted visions of the past and future.
Those who venerate her Kalila aspect often find their teleportation spells finding their mark and often find areas that they are looking for when looking for directions.
Those who venerate her Piitag aspect find themselves more resistant to cold and often find that their night vision improves.
More general divine gifts often manifest when plans made in advance succeed, finding one arriving earlier to appointments then expected, or a good view of the stars on cloudy nights. Her disfavor appears as a lost sense of time, a sudden clumsiness, or dark spots appearing on one's skin.
Political Influence & Intrigue
Due to following a Supreme, Dragannans are heavily influential in the courts of kings. Many monarchs have advisors from the church as part of their personal retainers to help guide the realm down the correct path.
Sects
The Church of the Beyond is divided into three main sects each who venerate a different aspect of the From Beyonder; each of her names is considered a different aspect; Draganna watches over Time, Kalila protects Space, and and Piitag brings the wrath of the void down upon their enemies.
The Three Pillars Must Stand
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Demonym
Dragannan
Deities
Divines
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