Basarianism

Basarianism is a pragmatic ideology and philosophy, centered out of southern Alteniquia, based on the core idea that honesty and the uncovering of knowledge is the greatest goal of being alive. In its followers and believers this manifests in a way of life that outsiders often find jarring and disturbing, though the descendants of Basarios's teachings preach it fervently.

To be a Basarianist, you tell no lies, and conform to absolute honesty - even if wordplay and tricks of the tongue are still in use and are seen as skillful talents to have in a world that doesn't wholly conform to their philosophies. Within their circles though, it is highly frowned upon and seen as dishonest. Secondly, as a Basarianist, you do not conceal your emotions, or try to hide it with unclear body language. When a Basarianist is upset about something, he'll tell you that he's upset, and go into detail about exactly why he is upset, and what steps he believes you should take to remedy your faults. Outsiders watching Basarianists debate among each other have often described their speech as robotic and emotionless, though no one would deny their skills at conflict resolution.

As a result of their belief that the world should strive towards honesty and truth, Basarianists often take up professions as researchers, scholars, or archivists, jobs at which they are exceedingly effective at when working together in large numbers, and their scientific papers cataloguing the world and its knowledge are oftentimes seen as the pinnacle of science, not just on the continent of Alteniquia, but stretching far beyond its borders. So, too, is their philosophy. From the great southern wastes of Syltör all the way up to the Bardonian cities a growing number of people are embracing the virtues of absolute honesty and absolute truth, with the goal of making a society that's not only more fair, but that can cooperate with itself on a larger and larger basis.

Holy sites
Basarianism has two main capitals for its followers. The first is the city of Lestria, where it was born; still today its sewers are seen as sacred ground for the truth, and even if few dwell in them long-term staying 7 days in the damp halls with nothing but your own provisions is often seen as a trial of faith among devoted Basarianists who want to relive what the original company of Basarios went through.

The second capital is the city of Praestenia, to the north of Lestria - originally simply called the black library due to the black tower that stands at its center, it has continually been a centre of learning, knowledge, truths and honesty among the Basarians, and it's the city with the highest density of followers in the empire of Yimmu-Audal at current. Though the black library itself stands in ruins in the current day - that great black tower on the hill - a growing number of Basarians are growing interested in reviving it, and turning it once more into a centre of learning for all of mankind.

History
Basarios of Lestria, born Basarios mor-dorete Barutar, was a simple woman; in the wake of the Battle of Yestanbul, when the great empire of Astyllea was on its last legs, she was 27 years old, and had a number of years prior started working as an archivist in the Carnian city of Lestria. It was a simple job for a simple woman, mostly dealing with simple matters such as birth records and namekeeping. However, a nation in chaos is in chaos not only for itself but for its citizens, and as things grew more unstable so did the people around her. Panic at what was to come slowly filled the streets as news of the upcoming election to decide the fate of the nation spread, and with chaos came the lies.

People were afraid, so they started telling lies to comfort each other and the people around them, that they'd won at the battle of Yestanbul, that we had a functioning military - that the high council knew what they were doing. But the lies did not work, for they only added to the panic when conflicting information crashed with what was already there, and Basarios saw this - so she knew that things had to change. She retreated into the sewers under Lestria with a group of people similarly growing disillusioned with the chaos in the streets, and they formed a bond between eachother, to never tell lies, to adhere to absolute honesty, and to preserve knowledge no matter what.

After seven days they emerged, and as they gathered in the grand square of Lestria Basarios called out to the people of the great city - she implored them to think about their actions, what they were doing to the fabric of truth that they were weaving, for it was in chaos; she told them about the vitality of truth, and honesty, and though many did not listen enough did for Basarianism to be born; they saw the need in the chaos for order, and they saw in the lies a truth that could not be hidden.

Art and culture
When it comes to the creative pursuits of life, Basarianism, wherever possible, favors straight-forward interpretation simple shapes and a de-emphasis on muddling the truth. Basarian painters often strive towards portraying their subjects as realistically as possible, and often in dialogue with each other. Portraits and landscape paintings are preferred by most, as well as paintings of cities and other man-made objects with a focus on relatively simple color composition and linework. While this may at first seem like it'd make their work dull it instead works as a limitation upon the painters that allow them to express their creativity in ways rarely seen outside of their home cities. This, too, goes for their architecture, though to a lesser extent due to the relative lack of such. Basarian architecture works with simple lines, simple colors and rigidity in their structures, with an additional focus put on the buildings themselves being simple on the mind, with easy layouts and uncluttered spaces inside.