Dailism
Dailism is the largest religion on Ahno. Dailists worship and revere Gratia, the One at the End, as both the creator of all life and the end of it.
Dailism, as the predominant historical religion of Ahno's largest human population, also gave this group of humans the name of their ethnicity: the Dail. Though once the religion and the culture were synonymous, recent theological and political shifts have resulted in a firm distinction between the two. As such, Dailic is used to refer to the people, while Dailist refers to the religion.
Dailism is sometimes referred to as Modern Dailism to contrast it with the Old Dailist religion of Ioya's western coast. The split between the two sects is doctrinal. Old Dailists continue the ancient practice of worshipping Gratia directly, while Modern Dailists believe doing so is both heretical and a sign of ill luck. Modern Dailists instead worship Gratia through a variety of saint intermediaries.
Divine Origins
Dailism was founded on the shores of the Iteshire Lake, where the humans of Ahno can trace their origins. There, worship began of the goddess Gratia, the diety Dailists believe to have created the entirity of Mirrorspace. The worship of Gratia spread so quickly among the humans of southern Ioya that Dail became synonymous with the southern Ioyan humans.
Dailism soon encompased most of the human communities of southern Ioya, but centuries after its emergance came an ecclesiastical split that threatened the unity brought by a shared religion. In the western regions and the Expanse Desert, humans continued following Old Dailism, which permitted the worshipping of Gratia directly. In the east, a new school of thought emerged that worshipping Gratia diretly was both heresy, as she was too powerful and pristine to be interacted with by mere mortals, and doing so invited bad luck, as direct interactions with the One at the End would naturally result in a beseechers spirit attempting to leave their body to reunite with its creator. Instead, these Modern Dailists worshipped Gratia through intermediary saints, humans that had achieved such devotion to Gratia in life that they could be canonized in death, acting as go-betweens for the goddess and her followers.
This split has resulted in two primary centers of faith for Dailism. Old Dailists have historically traced their center of faith to Eaglen, the capitol of the Dirongulf Theocracy, while Modern Dailists do the same with Dirts, the capitol of the Duchy of Gras.
Tenets of Faith
According to her followers, Gratia is responsible for the creation of Ahno and the entire Mirrorspace system. However, doing so came at a great personal cost to the goddess, as creation could only be spun out of her very own existence, which inexorably seeks to be made whole. That is why creatures and people age and die, as the material of their bodies and their spirits seek to be reunited with their creator.
Due to the self-sacrifice inherent in the creation of life, Dailists revere Gratia, and view returning to her at the end of one's life not a punishment but a grateful reward, though misusing the gift of life is a grave offense.
Additionally, any attempt to directly commune with Gratia as heresy and a sign of ill fortune. While humanity owes their creation to her existence, to speak with her directly risks a premature death, as the spirit and soul of the beseecher will inevitably be drawn back to the goddess. Instead, Dailists worship Gratia through intermediaries, called saints, whose dedication to Gratia in life canonize them in death. Though not gods themselves, the saints are often mistaken as such by outsiders, as their individual rituals and followers vary based on the saint's actions in life. Because of their mortal origin, saints are also numerous, with each nation and settlement generally having one or a few that hold more sway than the others, and non-canonized local saints are also quite common, especially in rural provinces.
Worship
As is typical for dieties on Ahno, the Confluence, the day in the year when the planet passes through its spectral mirror, is the largest holiday of the year. For Dailists, both old and modern, the event is treated as a massive celebration, with partying in town streets, large feasts, music, and other activities.
Dailists believe that the Confluence is a reminder from Gratia about the impermanence of all things, allowing people to come face to face with their very souls that will one day be returned to Gratia's being. Rather than somber, this is treated as a joyous occasion and a reminder to all about the sacrifice Gratia made to create all life. Dailists also encourage one another to directly confront their mirrored self, believing that doing so while speaking aloud one's greatest wish for the coming year will help enable that wish to come true.
Political Influence & Intrigue
The influence of Dailists on politics varies by political organization.
In the Duchy of Gras, where the center of the Dailist faith is based, the church and the state are nearly totally intermingled. However, this is mostly done via the secular interfering with the religious, as the Duke of Gras wields enormous influence over the High Priestess of the Dails. This has made Gras an enemy of every other Dailist state, who condemn the percieved manipulation of the faith's highest leader.
In the Glom Union, Dailists hold little overt political power, as the union is a joint state between Dailist humans and Morndinsamman worshipping dwarves. Thus, efforts are taken to prevent any one religion from potentially stepping on the toes of the other to preserve the union's stability.
In the Republic of Silhalia, Dailism is the official state religion, but enforcement of that fact has waned in recent years. Recent wars with the yuan-ti worshippers of the Zatus Theocracy have resulted in numerous Witnesses of Gurdenel living in Sihalian lands. Fears over a reignited conflict have resulted in a bestowing of leniancy towards Gudenelians, despite the requests of Dailist zealots to convert these recent conquests.
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