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 the Moon and all cults associated with it, which are one of the greatest evil for the Deus Helios believers.

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 on him. Since then, Chazarios has converted his first servant Kwan into his Right Hand man, into a consul.

Lore
In the beginning, there was emptiness. Deus Helios, the pure emanation of light, arose from the universality that surrounded reality. For thousands of years in his existence, the Almighty felt lonely and decided to create his sons as companions who would accompany him in his existence. He created the Moon 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, and asked his Father for more companions to bear with him on their journey. The Father 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 a part of his power and the ability to give light. This gift, in spite of its greatness, did not please the Moon, who desired power over life, and in an act of desperation 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. As much as he tried, he was not able to kill his own son, as one of the ways to stop him, he limited him to reduce 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, bored with waiting, chose for himself a prophet named Chazarios who was appointed to show again humanity the true path, which they had long abandoned.

It is yet to be revealed in prophecies if the cycle ever ends, and the, perhaps dire, consequences of it.

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 it is regaining its pride once again.

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 carry at least 4 full bottles of cleansed water in the equipment and consume it every day.

If it can be considered a practice, it is a duty for Sun Worshippers to stay away from shadows at all costs. It is advised to always carry 2 sets of flint and steel, in case one wanders too far away, loses track of time to realise it will be night soon, one should use the power of knowledge of making fire, and light his way to home. Also, a lantern should be carried in left hand, if possible.

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 meat, which does not have the essence of Deus Helios. Instead, 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 by consul Kwan, it is caused by moonlight absorbed by water itself. It is not visible to human eye, unless detected with 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 complete opposite, to 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 the tradition. 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. In the result of currently occuring cycle, none of our members experienced permanent death, if it could be a thing.

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.