Dercesism

Derces Pantheism is what most Trajistavi people belive in. It is a philosophy rather than an actual religion. Its beliefs promote the "Derces", the unity of the terms God (which does not signify a divine being to the Pantheists), Infinity and Universe. In the Pantheistic conception, all of these terms are synonyms and therefore have the same meaning. God is not a being, nor a spirit, but it is the actual Universe and its whole: The Infinite; Derces Pantheists do not have reasons to pray since they believe in no deities, however they have "temples" where they can meditate and contemplate upon matters of Derces with others or alone.

The Ascețyi are people who live in seclusion, dedicating themselves to studying Derces. The Derces Pantheists only live by a set of morals and ethics that promote the wellbeing of the society in which they live and strive to be the best person of themselves during all possible lifes. Derces Pantheists believe in the wandering of the soul after death until the point when it chooses to reincarnate in case it can not yet become part of Derces, which is the ultimate goal of any Derces believer.

In Rathnir, The Derces Pantheism was brought by Lord Zbazan Duradenko of Osundir.

Symbols
Derces Pantheism has two main symbols, the first being the Infinity mark, which represents the entirety of the world as we know it and "all things as they are". This is a strong reminder that whatever we do, it was all meant as it is, and we should be grateful for the balance and equilibrium that we are living into.

The second symbol is a five-pointed star. Each ray of the star represents wisdom, intelligence, honesty, love and unity, all bound together by the middle of the star which represents truth, or Derces itself. The star was chosen because of its powerful lightning and because it is also used to explore.

"If you follow the proper stars, you can never get lost." - The Book of Derces

History
Derces Pantheism was first developed in The Kingdom of Trajistav, in the faraway realm known as Grotth, about a thousand Trajistavi years ago. It is unknown to this day who conceived The Derces Pantheism, but his or her ideas stand to this day as the staple of Trajistavi culture and society. The lack of the belief in any sort of deities is due to the fact that many people have complained about their inexistence, because they have never been seen or truly felt. This brought outrage from other kingdoms surrounding Trajistav, but the isolationist Trajistavi managed to promote their ideas within their realm without any disturbance.

This concept of the inexistence of any sort of deity could also be traced to the ancient history of the Trajistavi people. The Dune-Rasîi giants, which were considered divine beings by the Dwarves of Dun'Mur, have gone extinct due to a disease, which may have spurred the idea that such things as "divine beings" can not exist.

As mentioned, there is no purpose seen in the act of praying for those who follow The Derces Pantheism. The reason for this is that Derces Pantheists consider that Derces cannot change, thus the futility of praying for any sort of change or effect. However most Ascețyi and scholars, to this day, debate the purpose of hope and whether it is to be considered an act of pray or not. Derces Pantheists do not condemn such an act, however, they feel it is condemnable to waste time upon matters which have no conclusive and palpable results. They consider that "everything is as it should be, therefore it cannot be changed"

The Afterlife
The Book of Derces states that the afterlife is the same life that we have lived, but in another form or body. The purest afterlife is known as "The Union of Derces", or simply: The Union (Very rough translation from Trajistavi, although Union would be the most accurate of terms). It is a transcendent state in which the "soul" of a person becomes one with The Infinite. That person is therefore capable of being alive without the limits of a body. Those who have passed through The Union will basically have the possiblity to choose whatever they want to be, regardless of time, be it the future or the past, they can float in The Infinite. However, until The Union eventually happens, people must pass through several lifes in order to attain the knowledge which will allow the "soul" to transcede into The Union after their last limited life.

The Ascețyi
There are, among the Derces Pantheists, some that dedicate their life to knowledge and wisdom, trying to learn how and why do we exist in The Infinite and why is it that we are bound to our limited bodies, yet capable of so much.

These people are known as The Ascețyi, and they lead a solitary life, devoting themselves to lecturing, thinking and discussing or debating only with those who follow the same path as they do. These people usually coexist in places far away from any other societies, in remote monasteries. Visitors are not allowed, to enter such locations, unless they have a special grant to do so from a Velik Mudryman (a High-wiseman), which is one who has served long enough as one of The Ascețyi and has decided to spread the words of wisdom to all people of the world, thus ending their self-imposed seclusion. Usually, Velik Mudrymanyi serve the King at his court, although they are also teachers in universities or schools, or practice any profession as long as it does not intervene with all the beliefs proper to Pantheism.

The Knights of Truth
From Trajistavi, the word ”Valvat” would rougly be translated in english as ”truthfulness, honesty, veridicity”, or even ”axiomatic”. This fraternal order known as ”Valvat Kavaleryi”, translated as ”The Knights of Truth”, are also protectors of Ascețyi that choose to travel outside of Trajistav. Most Ascețyi refuse their aid, although there have been incidents that led to injured Ascețyi, especially while travelling the territories of Modar, where coronism is the dominant faith.

The Knights of Valvat also act as an order of justice and truth, taking it upon themselves to act as judges in matters when it is neccessary, not only inside the Monarchy of Trajistav, but also for the common folk. This order also hunts any bandits and criminals and seeks to punish them, never by death, but always by obligating them to work hard labour for the better of the communities that they have commited crimes against. The Knights of Truth hold their headquarters in castles, also acting as an elite body of the Trajistavi army.

Currently, there is one Branch existing in Rathnir, in Osundir. The Headquarters is located within the Duradenko Castle of the District.

Extremism
Although the Derces Pantheists do not seek to impose their belief upon others, but to rather guide them towards enlightenment, there are some who consider that the belief in divine beings is barbaric, hence having reasons to commit crimes against those peoples, in the name of Valvat, or truth.

There are several groups, some of which are more or less known. The most notorious group is known as ”Valvat Otrommanyi”, roughly translated as ”The Wrathmen of Truth”, who claim that the excessive lack of truth among those people shall no longer be tolerated, and that it is them which cause all the problems of this world. Erradication or conversion is, to this extremist group, the final solution to this matter, however, the Trajistavi authorities seek to dismantle such groups that do not properly represent the true values of Derces Pantheism.