Salranism

Overview
Salranism, brought back to life by Saya-Orin of the Razuni Sultanate, is a religion based around balance, and the idea that the world is inhabited by core concept-energies that posses their own wills and some-what sentience, they are neither divine nor mortal, but simply are. It believes that this balance is to be kept through maintaining peace and order between each other and the world around us, and that labor, creativity, and general effort in the way of maintaining this order, whether by helping others or the world around us, does not go without reward.

History
It's unknown where Salranism originally comes from, but the farthest back it can be traced is an ancient society built up on the lands that have become modern-day Razuni, though not much is known about them. Modern-day Salranism was first discovered by Slanority during their nomadic period, after they stepped on an unstable patch of sand and fell into one of said ancient societies temples, and had a vision of what they describe as "a tall humanoid, wearing intricate armor with a flowing white cape wrapped about them, behind the table, hand outstretched and offering them a book". After taking the book they say that the vision dissipated, showing the real age of the ruin, as well as the book, and the fallen skeleton wearing the remnants of the same armor laying on the other end of the table. Their mind filled with questions, they brought the book with them on their travels and eventually reached an at the time new city called Al-Razun, where they would translate it working together with Malar the Alchemist, who has since died. They used what they could grasp of it to help the city in establishing a more solid government, based around the Arbiter, who served the Karashore Odenados, who was order, balance, and justice. However, after that they grew complacent in their studies of the ancient text, setting it aside for other things. Several years later, they found themselves plagued with horrible visions of the sultanate being overrun by strange and horrible creatures, who destroyed and killed all in their path, and found they felt a calling somewhere out in the desert. So, after saying farewell to their family and friends, they travelled out into the desert, where they remained for several months. They returned fully healed of their previous ailments, and with a far more complete knowledge of Salranism, and the title of "The Unyielding", marking them as the current leader of Salranism. It has since been reinstated as the national religion of the Razuni Sultanate.

The Balance
In Salranism the most core belief is the belief in "The Balance", an order of things consisting of seven forces of the world, The Great Zarazeer, the Karashore, V'resthmi, and Silran, or Humanity. This balance holds back Isthmaius, the chaotic being from the beginning of time, who is a rolling mass of creation and destruction, not much more about them is allowed into public light. The Great Zarazeer, who is death, pushed this being back to the abyssal reaches at the edges of this plain of existence, birthing the world as we know it, along with the Karashore. There are four Karashore, Odenados, who was the first, who is order, justice, and a representation of the balance itself, Almaerifue, who is knowledge and conception, Khalenth, who is force/effort, and Seran, who is the sentience behind all non-sentient life, so the plants and non-animal nature. But there were still remnants of Isthmaius about, and their dreams only sent more of these shards into this world. These shards would become their own sentient life, becoming us, who are the Silran, and the animals of the earth. With our birth V'resthmi, who is the lord of dreams, appeared, though this was an arrival, not a birth. With all seven members present, the balance was formed. We are all dependent on the other, none being above the other. In the end we are equals, but we have to be equals who respect and care for eachother, otherwise the balance will fail, and the chaos of Isthmaius risks entering, threatening our existence.

Practices
Salranist practices vary from person to person, but the only consistent one is that they must be kind and respect eachother as well as the Karashore and Great Zarazeer, and take care of those in need, as well as fight against warmongering and general selfishness. When they do practice, it is using mostly basic rituals and rites using various tools, the most prominent of these being the Circles of Selcran. They are theoretically built out of any material, as long as they are kept sacred, but they consist of a center altar with a flame and a chest underneath, and four pillars coming off of this altar, each an equal distance away, that are also lit with flames, and have chests at the base. The pillars are connected by a circle, making the circle around the altar that it's named for. Other common practices include the rites centered around death for when a loved one or other person passes, and the festival of the stars, a time dedicated to honoring the dead, which will be explained more in depth later on in this wiki. The most practiced of rituals goes by many names, but is most commonly simply called "Vesa", and is used to reach out to the rest of the balance, and seek council among them. In the end, what a Salranist practices and believes is entirely up to them, so long as they maintain the balance. More detailed descriptions will be available in books soon.

Structure
The Salranist structure is fairly simple. There are councils of priests able to be selected by local leaders or the highest leader, the highest of such councils staying at the Laenstad, which is the sacred stronghold of the Salranist faith, and is home to the Salred, a devout league of warriors and scholars devoted to helping those in need of aid and protecting the balance. This structure is fairly flexible locally, priests being able to be picked anywhere by the balance, or just decided out of their own want to develop a Salranist group in the area, however potential Salred or High Priests must be guided on their path by the leader themself, and there are specific rites and rituals involved with becoming one. As an example of it's flexibility, in the home nation of Salranism, the Razuni-Sultanate, they have an Arbiter, who is the upholder of their law, who is picked by Odenados as their spokesperson. It is possible for every Salranist to choose specific Karashore or balance members that they want to work with, though that does not exclude them from respecting the rest.

The highest of councils is one selected directly by the Balance, called the Court of the Marked. They act as guides for other Salranists, and preform specific duties depending on which Karashore selected them to help maintain the Balance so it does not fall to Isthmaius. They are the Apothekhary, who is the Marked of the Silran, the Avias, who is the Marked of V'resthmi, the Aldri, who is the Marked of Almaerifue, the Ahelsai, who is the Marked of Khalenth, the Arbiter, who is the Marked of Odenados, the Augur, who is the Marked of Seran, and the Abhorsen, who is the Marked of The Great Zarazeer

The Soul
The soul in Salranism is, as stated previously, originally a shard of Isthmaius. They come from the being's dreams, or whatever it has that are like dreams, as it possesses enough power that even locked away in the void their sleeping thoughts altar our waking world. V'resthmi is tasked with taking care that this doesn't get out of hand, to maintain balance. The soul is a powerful thing, and is fully capable of feats similar to those of the Karashore. Through developing good relationships with the Karashore and the rest of balance, they allow us to, through our souls, bend some of their energy, creating what is known as Salranist magics. These magics have mostly been lost however, the only modern Salranist who attempted them being The Unyielding. Because of this, the extent of the possibilities using these magics is largely unknown, but they are rumoured to have the potential to be the most powerful feat of the living soul.

Death was obviously going to be mentioned in this section, not only because it deals directly with the soul, but because of how highly it is often held in Salranist beliefs. While it is believed that it is good if someone doesn't die, death is not seen as so much of a bad thing once it happens. Upon death, the soul is released, making them a spirit, which are capable of travel between certain plains with ease. This is not suggested upon death however, as souls that remain on any physical plain tend to eventually lose their minds, and it isn't usually pleasant. Anyway, the soul, if the body was given it's proper burial rites, whether Salranist or of their own religion, is lead up into the stars by the Great Zarazeer. It is believed by some that they are taken beyond them to a better place or to judgement, but the most common is that they join their ancestors as a star, watching and guiding those that are still living, burning brighter depending on how good of a person they were. This is part of why part of the burial rites for Salranists is to bury the dead with a compass, so that the soul may navigate their fellow stars and not get lost along the way. This is what the Festival of The Stars is for. On that day/night, families and loved ones come together and celebrate, as it is believed that the stars burn brightest on that night, meaning their light is stronger and it is possible to feel their presence. Many rites and games are practiced during said night.

Symbolism
Salranism utilizes heavy symbolism throughout its structures, as it is believed that this gives more meaning, and therefore more power to buildings, items, and rituals alike. The most common Salranist symbolism used is the repetition of the number seven in practices, buildings, and items, as it is considered to be a lucky number of sorts, representing the seven parts of the Balance. While this is the most common, the second is the Salranist sigil, a eight spoked design seen as structures and on banners around Salranist meeting sites. Believed to strengthen the connection to the balance with it’s presence, it consists of one central vertical line, with a shorter horizontal line in the the center, and lines connecting these lines together, forming a sort of circle, with the other four spokes reaching off of them. The top of the center line represents V’resthmi, while the bottom represents the Silran, the middle line represents the balance as a whole, and each of the spokes on the connecting lines represents one of the Karashore. The center is the Great Zarazeer.