Deus Helios



Deus Helios - It is a religion revealed by the one True Sun God Deus Helios through a vision the prophet Chazarios received during a stroke from prolonged exposure to the sun. This religion rejects the lies of the heretics of Pillars of the Sun and Soleannen. Its main enemies are the worshippers of Athaz, the Moon, and all cults associated with them. The moon is the greatest evil for the Deus Helios believers. The main nation centered around this religion was Revasol, but now it is the Kingdom of Adavia.

Lore
In the beginning, there was emptiness. Deus Helios, the pure emanation of light, arose from the universality that surrounded reality. For eons of his existence, the Almighty felt lonely. So he decided to create his two sons as companions who would accompany him in his existence. He created the Moon (Daemonium) and Rathnir, who together decided to accompany their father on his cosmic journey. However, after watching his Father create millions of stars one by one, Rathnir couldn't resist but to feel lonely himself, so he asked his Father for more companions to bear with him on their journey. Deus Helios rejected his request, but he decided to not leave him empty-handed. He gave his earthly son the gift of life on his body surface, by creating a race of people and all kinds of flora and fauna, to ever be fascinated by them. When the Moon saw the deed Father had bestowed upon Rathnir, he asked him for the same. Deus Helios decided to fulfill the request of his equally important son by giving him the power to control light, darkness, and the undeath. These gifts, in spite of their greatness, did not please the Moon, who desired power over life rather than death. In an act of desperation, he challenged his earthly brother. As foul as it is, he killed him and started creating his own life on Rathnir's already decaying body, which was all kinds of monsters. At that time, humanity suffered during the newly-made eternal night, which only ended when Deus Helios intervened to defeat the Moon. During the battle the Moon rose many great monsters which are known as demons. These great demons became the gods the majority of Rathnir follows today. Deus Helios struck these demons into the abyss of the void, but as much as he tried, he could not force himself to kill his only remaining son. As one of the ways to stop Daemonium, he limited him and reduced his influence, which divided the perceived day on Rathnir into two seasons, the day when people could see the greatness of Deus Helios, and the night during which the Moon could rule the monsters and a handful of lunatics who were ready to worship him in exchange for his gifts; this exchange of seasons is called "The Solemn Cycle". After these events, mankind was locked in this aforementioned cycle of struggle between the Father of the Universe and his wayward son. Mankind received many gifts from their Sun God, including gold which is his tears that he shed during the death of his son, all life that consumes Rathnir's body and light that protects Sun Followers from the evil of the night and shadows. The same mankind however, forgot about its True Father who. The demons Deus Helios had struck into the void came out and convinced the people with their great power, that they were gods themselves. Bored with waiting, Deus Helios chose for himself a prophet named Chazarios who was appointed to show again humanity the true path, which they had long abandoned for thousands of years.

Occasionally the solemn cycle will stop in the season of the Moon. When this occurs monsters, famine, and war befall Rathnir. This has only occurred a few times since the casting of the spell that bound Deus Helios and his son together, but as of lately it's occurrence has been more frequent.

Practices
Every believer in the Only God is obliged to praise his power daily with the words "Laudate sole" at sunrises and to make at least one pilgrimage a month to the Holy City of Revelation, Aten, for rituals that are known only to the Sun Worshippers themselves. The city was once deserted and almost lost to memory, now and only recently regained its pride.

All believers are advised to drink lots of water, as the sign of sweating due to warmth of sunlight is considered pleasing to Deus Helios. It is recommended to drink 4 full bottles of cleansed water every day.

If it can be considered a practice, it is a duty for Sun Worshippers to stay away from shadows when possible. At night a follower should always carry a torch or a lantern to beckon off the shadows that surround them.

Water is the enemy to fire (and indirectly, the light), but to the contrary belief, this is not a fact to our religion. The water is a vital part to our culture, as it grants us the possibility to build many things with its use, it is the source of food and simultaneously the part of the lifeforce inside of us.

Beliefs and traditions
The followers of Deus Helios believe in the all-embracing presence of their God in every thing surrounding them, for this reason the followers of the One God do not eat corrupted meat, which does not have the essence of Deus Helios. Instead, it contains the essence of the Moon. They eat all kinds of plants including the holiest of all, wheat, which has the most blessings from the God. A believer in the Only God, in relations between fellow worshippers and unbelievers, must be guided by a special code... The content of which can be known only by a true believer.

It is believed, that inside all large water reservoirs there's a seething corruption. As told once by consul Kwan, it is caused by moonlight absorbed by water itself. It is not visible to human eye, unless detected with a special kind of material proposed by Deus Helios himself in one of the stroke-induced prophecies. This given material changes its original orange color to its complete opposite, to a strikingly violet shade. The religion and its members have yet to figure out the long-term consequences of it and ways to fight it.

As a tradition, wearing a golden helmet is an important part of rituals, or while receiving visions if Deus Helios chooses to give them. The extracted gold, as you know, is the tears of the Only God himself, it is also a fact that it heats up quicker than any other material, which could grant the ever-wanted heatstroke much faster.

Death by fire is one of the most glorious of deaths. For it to be the most fulfilling, one must carry an item really important to the person and burn with it, the God always acknowledges it.

Every believer should welcome the re-emergence of the Sun every morning by bowing to it on a golden carpet to celebrate the continued existence of their God.

One of the prophecies told of the musical instrument, with parts made of glass, that the apparatus somehow captures hidden vibrations from the sunlight and thus will create the most gorgeous sound known to mankind. Its design in the plans is known by the prophet, but it has yet to be built.

Drinking is to be done on special occasions, and it should be done with relative moderation. When completely wasted, the Moon is given many opportunities to corrupt that person into following his shadow.

History
The faith in Deus Helios was rediscovered by the prophet Chazarios, who while searching for the meaning of life in the deserted Holy City of Aten, suffered a serious stroke during which Deus Helios appeared to him in the form of a huge sun, which told him the history of the world and ordered him to start preaching faith which followed him. After that, Chazarios converted his first servant Kwan into his right Hand man, into a consul. The religion was split in the Schism of Light and it suffered greatly during this time and sparked a short civil war.

Schism of Light
At a time when faith in the one true God required the greatest possible unity, the moon decided to infiltrate the faithful. He chose his champion in Chazarios himself. Chazarios was driven mad during the climax of the Aten v Athazolant issue. During negotiations with Athaz (leader of Athazolant), Chazarios decided to take the faithful and flee the Holy City of Aten. He told none of his discussion with Athaz, and when this information was discovered, many of the faithful contested Chazarios' decision as he had kept a secret of great importance from his followers. Deus Helios then picked his own new champion in the young man Arch Xngel who had just turned 18. Arch debated Chazarios for hours on end, but when the clock struck 5pm the religion split. As the Sun fell over the horizon at sundown and the Moon rose up. The false god Athaz declared that Aten had risen its flag in rebellion. Arch occupied Aten and refused to let it fall to the false god. But those who followed Arch lost faith in the power of Deus Helios and fled once the discussion between him and Athaz was over. Arch was left alone to fight the entire nation of Athazolant. Then, the Sun grew into a huge size as it had when Deus Helios spoke to Chazarios. Deus Helios told Arch to flee Aten and regroup the faith elsewhere, and to one day comeback and retake Aten. Arch did as he was told by the One True God.

Trial of the Frozen
Seeing that Arch was still a young man, Deus Helios decided that he had to harden him, and test Arch to see if he was worthy of his position as the second prophet of Deus Helios. Arch was sent to the cold tundra of the UBSR and was told to live there for the next 3 years. Arch did as told. Arch met many travelers during his time in the tundras of the UBSR, and he made a small tent and a campfire to warm himself. He was not a citizen of the UBSR, but instead an adventurer who scaled mountains and fished in the ice sea. Time passed quickly for Arch, and soon his 3 years was over. On the day before his exile was over, the Moon acted. The Moon convinced the UBSR government that Arch had stolen a shulker box. So they sent over their top soldiers to deal with him. Arch with the light of Deus Helios above him, fought them off and managed to escape by boat into ice sea. The Trial of the Frozen was over, and Arch had passed.

The Revival
A few years after Arch had escaped the UBSR government, Deus Helios spoke to him again. Deus Helios told him to go back to Aten and travel eastward until he came to the mountain covered in wilderness and ruins, with 2 caves embedded on the west side. There Deus Helios told him to create the city Revaria. Revaria under the guidance of Deus Helios grew quickly, and became one of the founding cities of the Adavian Union (currently known as the Kingdom of Adavia). Deus Helios told Arch to lay low until told otherwise, and Arch kept the details of his religion mostly secret from those who lived in Adavia. Years passed and eventually Arch in a grand vision, was told by Deus Helios to begin to revive and spread the religion. The faith in Deus Helios quickly became the most widespread and popular religion within the Kingdom of Adavia.

The Future
Despite the recent success of the religion, the future bears dire news. The solemn cycle now thousands of years old grows weak, and its bonds are shaken. Several times in the recent age has the cycle paused on the season of the moon, and each time disaster falls upon Rathnir. The first being famine, the second being great wars, and the third being a demon invasion which was barely repelled. The faith now bigger than it has ever been before in the modern age, must now have unity greater than ever. It stands ready for all words of Deus Helios, and stands ready to face the tribulations that will one day come.

Book locations
Several books of the holy scripture can currently be found in Revaria, although not out for widespread access yet. Many books are being copied and soon they will be out to all for free.

Major Characters
Deus Helios

Rathnir

Daemonium

Demons from the warring era

Chazarios

Kwan

Archturious Talinthus

Athaz the Traveler