Ashuran Pantheon

The Ashuran Pantheon (Alternative Name: A'ashism) is a religion that is worshipped by the Dune Elves of the former Dominion of Ashura, and the second largest religion in the Sharla Province.

Among the oldest continuing religions in the world, the Pantheon is currently the only legal religion that is not Twin Dragon that is legally practiced in the modern day Aurlûnor Velande, however, only in Sharla and the Erúme Province. The Ashuran Pantheon believes that the Dune Elves originated from specs of sands in their original homeland, with all Dune Elves being the children of a deity known as A'ashia.

Holidays and Rituals
There are many rituals that undertake within the faith as well as holidays. The grandest festival takes place during the Season of Harvest, which is equal to October 6th, where the planes of the fertile Nirine River are the most fertile, and the soil is black. This holiday is usually dedicated to Nirine, hoping for a better season and for a better flood for even more food, and for more crops to grow. There is also a Spring Festival that is hosted every Janurary 15th for Anu, which is dedicated as a "Spring Festival". This festival is usually honoring the dead, but it is also for a celebration before the main planting season begins, and for hopes for a year marked with good fortune. The coronation of a new Pharaoh is also considered a national holiday, but this can happen any day. This will sometimes substitute current holidays that are ongoing.

Apothcares usually preform the "Posion Ritual", which involves offerings to Enkhrah, presented with toxins, in hopes they will be blessed to counter disease that may come to a person. These "blessed posions" are applied to medicines, which are mixed in, and hopefully counter disease easier. This is also applied to Rhajat, as the deity is that of Health, and plague-warding. An important ritual in terms of blessing the Pharaoh is known as the "Pharaoh's Sacrament", where the Cult of A'ashia and Dennu circle the Pharaoh, placing forth a golden khoseph and a flail, bowing their heads, wishing for the Pharaoh to be given their strength and power. This was often used before a major war or a major conflict, as Pharaohs who personally lead soldiers, are said to give the miltiary even more of a boost due to their leader being present to fight. Military rituals are usually conducted in the name of Dennu, where soldiers are blessed by priests or priestesses before going off to battle to be granted his strength to fight their foes, usually by palm tree fronds that are brushed along the sides of the soldiers shoulders.

Marriage
Marriages are often huge, not just involving only vows with a priest and preistess, but a huge feast, as well as music playing, depending on how rich the person is. However, it seems that all walks of Ashuran life have big weddings, even if they are lower class. The quality of the celebration usually varies, with peasants often having music sung acapella and hands clapping and traditional Ashuran dances, to nobility having professional musicians play music, and having fancy food, and being dressed in exravagent clothes.

Sex is considered sacred in marriage, and it is usually encouraged that once married, the partners should be intiment freely, and to treat each other's bodies as if they were sacred artifacts. Abuse and physical harm caused towards a spouse is considered heretical and strongly frowned upon, with the offender being branded as a heretic, with a mark on them showing this, as well as removal of their chances to reproduce. A couple is always expected to argue, and it is seen as normal, as well as extremely healthy, as it often displays the fustrations and struggles that the marriage could be facing. Divorce is often done through a civil court, and officalized through the couple wearing red bands, and if divorced, them being cut off.

Death
When a person dies in the Ashuran faith, the body is sent to a mortuary, where an mortician, who is also a priest of Anu, who pledged their lives to being the first step to guiding their physical selves to the afterlife, where they will begin preforming embalming services. Depending on the wealth of the person, the Priest will emblam them, and rub sacred oil on the body with a different scent. Peasants receive a clay smelling sort of oil, middle class receive a more rose scent, while the upper class receives a luxurious smell of copper, henna and honey. The body is then placed into a casing regardless of how rich the family is, though poorer families usually get the more basic looking box, while the elites and pharaoh get golden casings.

Depending on who died, the person is burried in a small local mortuary mastaba, a necropolis of sacred mastabas, or if they are related to the royal family, a pyramid. Cremated deaths are placed inside of Mausouleum drawers as well as their jars. All bodies have canopic jars which contain their organs, including a special large urn for the cremated remains for a person.

A'ashia
A'ashia is the goddess of the Sun, and the Queen of the Gods, and the primary deity of all the people of the faith, A'ashia's domain of the Sun is among the most important and vital signs of the world. It is said that without her, that many things on this plane of existence, would die, and wither away. A'ashia was thought to be a primary source of life, in which many things, such as the existence of Nirine and the others would all be seen as her children. Around the Dominion, there has been many temples to her that Pharaohs would have erected and built. It was said that she was also responsible for the many mana pools that would help keep the empire afloat. Much of the Sun's energy was thought to have been divine, directly sent by A'ashia herself, to provide life, and prosperity to the Ashurans. Her origins are said to have been from the "Great Desert" from beyond the lands west of Rathnir, likely referring to the lands west of the present day Celume Province.

A'ashia's portrayal is that of the Sun itself, and is said to have no form. However, she was later given a form of an extremely luxurious looking female, who does not look Elven, nor any being of this world, and is said to be made as alien-looking as possible. Many temples continue to, however, portray the formless appearance, out of respect. Some other portrayals of her include the Lion, which can be seen in the streets of Ebonimemar.

Nirine
The Goddess of the Nirine River, bodies of water that surround the former Dominion, as well as fertility, life, and considered the mother goddess, Nirine takes form of a water spirit that, when she steps on the land, it becomes mud, and fertile. It was said that she was born a virgin birth, being the source of life that provided many people and animals nourishment and the right to exist for many centuries. Her major cult center was primarily Menat-Kahun before the city was abandoned. There are many other temples that laid in ruin following the collapse of the Dominion.

Nirine was portrayed as a literal water spirit. Although, some cities tend to affiliate her with the hippopotamus, as they are seen as the guardians of the rivers and the oceans.

Nedu
Nedu is the God of the Sky, and previously was the husband of A'ashia. His role is the one who keeps the world secure from threats from beyond the mortal realm, and separates the realm of mortals from the worlds beyond, as well as the afterlife. Nedu works very closely with the Underworld Goddess, Anu, to ensure that mortals enter the correct realm upon their death. He also creates clouds to help produce the needed rain and storms to help keep the waters full. He is also to have said to have created all creatures who are able to fly, and the creator of the now legendary flying ostrich and flying chicken, which at one point were said to have been able to fly, until he was wronged, and cursed them for eternity to no longer fly.

Nedu is unique among the Gods, as he usually is portrayed on murals rather than in statue form. However, the Second Dominion portray him as a man who holds his hands up all the time, as he is "pushing" the realms above away from the mortal plane. He is also portrayed with his hand upfront, with a spear behind him, indicating his role as the gatekeeper of realms beyond the mortal realm. He used to be paired with A'ashia before he was divorced from her in the Second Dominion.

Mutawakh and Sarakwah
Mutawakh and Sarakwah are the sister goddesses of the moon. While A'ashia shines the day brightly with her light and power, the two Mutawakh and Sarakwah gives the glow of a peaceful, and serene ascent to the sky, and basks a darkness upon the world. The feel of the cool air that they produce, provides a nice change from the usual heat that A'ashia gives, and helps provide the land with the needed crisp breeze, usually sometimes providing moisture. They were also seen as Guardian Goddesses of the then-Pharaoh during the night time, and were quite important in religious ceremonies. No city is usually complete without a palace having the twin flames, with one being white, and the other being red. Their role has been replaced for protecting the Velereth instead due to the region no longer having a Pharaoh.

Mutawakh and Sarakwah are both portrayed as the moon in the sky being formless like A'ashia. Like A'ashia, however, they were given an elven form, and are usually seen holding hands in the sky. Some older temples however, keep the formless motif of them. The associated animal with the twins is the cat.

Dennu
Dennu is the Protector of the Velereth (previously Pharaoh), and at times, of War and Valor. Dennu is a God that was once a Goddess. When he was female, she rode the battlefields that was against the enemies of Ashura with their dangerous poisonous tail, which was said to feel as if a billion arrows were penetrating ones back. Dennu would later become so addicted to war, that she'd go mad, and eventually started to destroy anything that gets in her path. It would take both A'ashia and Enkhrah to stop her. Dennu was created to be a man-slayer, as much of the soldiers were men, however, Enkhrah proposed to turn Dennu into a man, and tame her from destroying anything else. With a snare, A'ashia would create a special type of Fig Wine, together with a bit of blood from Enkhrah's beetle form that was said to give hallucinagetic effects, that she would give to Dennu as a "gift". Following her drinking it, Dennu transformed into a male, glancing at the water, looking in complete shock, as she-now he, noticed that he was slaying his own soldiers. The pool of blood, as well as the corpses that appeared made Dennu end their rampage, being full of regret. Since that point onward, Dennu became more of a guard, rather than a frontline soldier, and would later become the Guardian of the Pharaoh and later, Velereth, but he would still be worshipped as the God of War and Valor.

Dennu is portrayed as a Scorpion. For their elvish form however, it usually varies from region to region. At first, it was confused to worship Dennu as either male or female. To this end, statues were made to have Dennu have a woman breast and the other to have a male chest, splitting the gender on one side, and the other. Animal statues to Dennu however, remain ambiguous, and usually vary. Many temples however, follow the half male half female portrayal of their statue, with the face being replaced with a scorpion head. Some old temples to Dennu are usually portrayed as male, and some others as female alone.

Enkhrah
Enkhrah is the other protector of Pharaoh, later Velereth, and the goddess of medicine, plots, intrigue, luck and beetles which includes scarabs. Although she plays a very sinister part of assassinations, Enkhrah is portrayed as a very non-chalant, and patient goddess who seems to be popular with doctors. The toxins of Enkhrah's blood, which is also beetle blood, is said to have cure the most powerful venoms and toxins when mixed correctly, while also delivering the death of many of Pharaoh's enemy without him/her laying a single finger on them. The Goddess also played a part of stopping Dennu's madness when they were out killing their own soldiers by using her a part of her blood with fig wine to not kill, but to give hallucinations to prevent Dennu from further causing damage. The luck role came from whenever the Pharaoh/Velereth is present in a battlefront. At one point, the Pharaohs of the Dominion had a pet scarab, which was seen as a symbol of good luck.

Scarabs and beetles were deemed as sacred animals, and it can be seen as a punishable offense if one purposefully kills a scarab (not accidental though), and usually most people would try to own a scarab farm. Enkhrah remains popular among doctors, assassins and spymasters, but also by archers and others who are bound by luck. Her only change was her role in medicine, as Rhajat already fulfills that role, with some cults combining both Enkhra and Rhajat together as Enkhra-jat, a beetle woman goddess with a cat tail.

Anu
Anu is the Queen of the Underworld, and the wife of Nedu, the God of the Sky. While her husband rules the sky, Anu rules the underworld. However, the two work in a harmonious pattern, in which she deems if souls are worthy to head to the afterlife of their choosing, or are to live in the underworld to atone for their lies and mistakes. She usually ferries down bodies to the gateway to her realm. If souls are deemed to have been worthy and weighed from pureness from their heart, answering her questions as truthfully as possible, they are deemed worthy to pass through the other gate, which is a portal to Anu's realm in the sky to be guided to their afterlife. If the heart is not of pure, Anu consumes it, and sends the soul to her realm in the Underworld, in which, depending on how wicked they are, are sent to either a pitiful part of the underworld, or the most damning part of it, which is said to be pitch black and eternally depressing and suffering.

Anu was at one point just a mere associate of Nedu before she was paired with him, when Nedu was divorced from A'ashia in the Second Dominion. Anu would remain her partner even after unbanning of the Goddess' worship, and would remain the patron of mortuaries and in court houses for those who are being sentenced to death.

Rhajat
Rhajat is the Goddess of Health and Sanctity, Plague Warding, Domesticated Cats and the Warden of the Ashuran Desert. She is among the most popular gods second only to A'ashia herself. Her role is mostly mixed with Enkhra's role as the goddess of medicine, except she also caters after the desert in A'ashia's stead. Her affiliation with cats comes from a myth, where once, a city was infested by serpents and rats. Rhajat would be in the city at the time. One time, a giant rat would come into view, and would begin to target civilians, spreading pestilence. Suddenly, several wild cats would appear, and assist Rhajat, by using their sharp claws to penetrate the skin of the beast, and help pull it down, before Rhajat slammed her hammer into it's head, crushing it's head. The wild cats would begin a sweep away the serpents and rats, consuming them. Rhajat, being extremely grateful to the cats, would introduce them to her creations, integrating domesticated cats to society. Cat killing was made a criminal offense in the dominion due to Rhajat worship, and this continues to be against the law in the present day Sharla Province.

Rhajat was originally known known as Heshar, and was the Goddess of Health, Sanctity and was known as the "Plague Slayer", as she was blessed for ridding the First Dominion of plague. She would remain on the pantheon as Heshar until the conquest of the Dominion by the Qanti, which would officially adopt the Qanti name of Rhajat. She is portrayed as a black-haired woman with a large hammer, crushing a rat's head.