Cult of Sekora

General Info
The Cult of Sekora was formed from the Sekoran nomads, a group of red dwarven artists that undertook a centuries long underground exodus from the ancient dwarven empire to the the lands of Eldham. The nomads recently surfaced on the continent and have begun to spread their faith to others.

Sekorans are a peaceful cult that are devoted to spreading beauty and kindness in service to Sori, the Tokoran Goddess of Art. Their motto is "paint the world," a call to shape and beautify their surroundings. In current times, Sori considered a one of the guises of Lux, the Nox Lucis Goddess of Life.

History
This history of the Sekoran nomads can be found in three volumes of text known as the "Books of Sekora."

The first book chronicles Sekora gathering her disciples. Sori sent a dream to Sekora of the destruction her father, Tokkad, would unleash upon the ancient darrow empire. Sekora attempted to warn people, but only nine listened. The ancient empire attempted to arrest her, but her and her disciples fled into the dangerous deep dark. The second book tells of the Great Walk, centuries of wandering under the the earth. During this time, the artists became nomads and learned to live where few others could. Lush caverns became sacred groves to the Sekorans and the glowberry, a sacred food. The final book tells of Sekora's final dream from Sori, commanding the nomads to at long last go to a new land and return to the surface. The prophet gave one last command to her followers: return to the surface and spread the gifts of the darrow to the world.

In the aftermath of Sekora's death, The parents of Lifty the Beardless took her ashes and the nomads dispersed. The elderly parents of Lifty perished before they reached the surface, but their child took the ashes. Eventually, a temple to Sori was erected in the city of Consilium, in the Lux Heartlands of Sylvania. Sekora's ashes were entombed in a sepulcher under the temple. Consilium is presently the heart of the cult's operation.

Overtime, the cult in Consilium came to incorporate the beliefs of Nox Lucis, the primary belief of Imperial Sylvania. The Sekorans came to see Sori as a guise and/or aspect of Lux, the goddess of life in Nox Lucis who led them to a promised land inside Sylvania.

Beliefs
The basic tenants of the Sekoran faith can be found in the book they "Way of Sekora." For the most part, Sekorans are a collection of peaceful artists and craftspeople. Their mission is to create great works, be it creating structures, landscaping, writing, forging arms and armor, or any craft. Sekorans, while not pacifists, are instructed to avoid pointless conflict, taking up arms only to defend themselves, others, or great works of art and culture. Additionally, they are instructed to be "beacons of joy" and inspire and encourage others to great works of art. Sekorans see lush cavern biomes as sacred and are commanded to impact them as little as possible. Glowberries are also a sacred food, eaten and consumed during rituals.

Beyond adhering to a few basic tenants, members of the cult are encouraged to explore and create their own rituals and practices that suit them.

Tokora and Sekora
Sekorans and Tokorans originally venerated the same pantheon of deities; however, they differed in several key areas. Sekoran's left the ancient empire before the prophet Rhesh would lead most of the dwarven people away. While Tokorans believe their faith is only for dwarves and center the faith around dwarves, the Sekorans are more concerned with spreading beauty and joy through works. Tokorans also deny the existence of other gods while Sekorans tended to simply incorporate other belief systems into their own, even ones that contradict each other. To a Sekoran, works and actions are more important than beliefs.

The goddess Sori played the most central role to Sekorans vs Tokkad in the Tokoran pantheon. They tended to only passively acknowledge the role of the other gods in their pantheon. Some even considered Tokkad's destruction of the ancient empire as an evil act, painting Tokkad as a cruel and merciless tyrant, though this view is rare.

Sekorans and Nox Lucis
The cult's time in Consilium has changed their beliefs. The older Tokoran gods are now seen as simply disguises used by Nox, Lux, and Sylvia to lead the Sekorans to safety and away from the destruction of their ancient empire. Sori herself is seen specifically as a guise of Lux, known as Lux-Sori, who came to them in a familiar form to lead them away while Nox destroyed the ancient evil empire. Though the gods they venerate may have changed, the basic tenants of the faith, to improve and beautify the world, remain steadfast.

The Sepulcher of Sekora
The Sepulcher of Sekora is located under the Temple of Sori in Consilium. The ashes of Sekora are safely stored here in a tomb. This chamber is used only by members of the cult for rituals. The only light permitted inside comes from glowberries.