Azanti

History
The origins of Azanti are unknown and mysterious. It is known however the religion is older than the kingdom of Solsgaard with the position of High Oracle first being occupied by the Great Prophet. In addition all works of literature were lost during the great transportation of the Solsgaardians.

The great transportation resulted in the religion only surviving orally until the Solsgaardians were able to write down and record their history after the creation of Solstice. Many of the clergy died or dissappeared during the transportation and the events following. This led to Archon Matanic Tyburn-Ambrosia taking the office of High Oracle until a suitable candidate could be found. The Archon collected all those with knowledge of Azanti and they decided to condense all knowledge into one work of literature. This was called 'The Tenants of Azan'. The book contained the condensed story of Azanti and its beliefs.

Main Beliefs and Practices
Azanti focuses around the worship of Azan the great driving universal force. It is neither bad nor good and is similar to fate although it acts upon every atom in the universe, having a specific path it wishes to have carried out.

Azan is the past, present and future. It is all matter and energy. It is also the memories of ancestors whose names are forgotten. When a person dies the transform into a spirit form. This spirit form lasts until the person is no longer remembered or venerated. After this the spirit with all its experiences and knowledge returns to Azan where it helps to increase the power of Azan with its own memories.

Ancestor worship is very important and family members remains should be buried nearby as their spirits will offer protection to the living. Additionally saints or great individiduals will have large crypts so their spirit may still bless their faithful living followers. Many followers of saints may choose to be buried within the saints crypt so they may add to the power of their masters spirit.

Priests primarily focus on being vessels of Azan. They listen to oracles to uncover Azan's will and how they are able to help carry it out. They perform rituals which allow them to absorb Azan in the hopes that it will help guide them. Oracles are individuals who have usually mediated for many years. If they are lucky Azan will choose them and convey cryptic messages which they are able to translate.

Azanti is very religiously tolerant as it believes all 'Gods' or 'Deities' are merely great individuals with very powerful spirits. The Azanti Oracle Council is in charge or recognising which great individuals are suitable for worship. A great individual are only valid for worship if the Oracle Council believes the individual furthers the will of Azan. However this rule is poorly enforced and many worshippers praise great individuals unrecognised by the Oracle Council.

There is no formal conversion process to Azan. The only requirements are the belief in Azan as the supreme universal force and the recognition of all former gods as great spirits.

The Fantastic Explosion
In the beginning it was pure energy. The energy was pure, raw and uncontrolled. The energy grew its own awareness and intelligence over time. It gave itself the name Azan. Uncontent with the current state of the universe as a great energetic mess, Azan triggered a fantastic explosion in which it split itself into five parts: energy, time, matter, space and the soul sleeve.

The first part, energy, was the leftovers from the explosion. It powered the many changes in the universe that were to come. The second part, time, was the force that would push the universe continuously forward towards the design Azan willed for. The third part, matter, was formed when the explosion cooled after many millenia. This matter created all the stars, moons and planets. The sacred energies of Azan arranged these objects into great pattern structures which formed the galaxies. The fourth part, space, gave a place for all of the parts of Azan to occupy. The fifth part was the soul sleeve, a great pool of soul energy, this soul energy was the thinking conscious part of Azan.

The Divine Evolution
When Azan was arranging the skies it put certain planets with specific constituent matter in specific positions. This enabled an emergence of a new force, life. Azan watched and waited for this new force to slowly develop on these planets. Eventually the first lifeforms evolved, this life was however very basic and microbial. In order to power these lifeforms into something truly marvellous Azan would have to do something drastic. Azan gifted to these life forms parts of the soul sleeve. This soul energy bestowed consciousness and feeling into the lifeforms. This weakened Azan’s own consciousness slightly but Azan was able to still very directly control the universe.

Over time these life forms evolved into many different creatures, occupying every niche. However Azan’s plan was not complete, it wanted a final creature that would add to its knowledge. A creature that would be able to discover things even Azan could not. Thus Azan chose a group of lifeforms onto which this great honour would be bestowed. Over half of the soul sleeve was given to these lifeforms. All that remained of Azan was its memory, knowledge and weak interacting powers. Azan was no longer able to move the universe as it once had. It was now an entity of pure knowledge with the occasional power to exert its will and desired path through these hyper intelligent lifeforms.

The Great Prophet
The birth of the great prophet was marked with no fanfare, being just an ordinary baby born to a lowborn family. The prophet’s early life was similarly uneventful until the prophet was out in the mountains foraging when the skies darkened, the prophet was far from their village and the quickest way home was to directly ascend the mountain. The prophet climbed and was near the summit, however the skies began to pour down a flood of rain and the rumbling of thunder could be heard. The prophet quickly scrambled to the top of the mountain in a desperate attempt to reach the village quickly when an almighty great strike of lightning hit the prophet. The raw energy of Azan surged through the prophet’s body and they collapsed. In the darkness a spectre of light emerged.

It spoke to the prophet ‘I have waited many millenia for a prophet to reach me. You have been chosen to fulfill a great task.’. The prophet replied ‘Who are you? What is this task?’. Azan introduced itself, ‘I am Azan, I am the wind in the trees, the snow on the mountains, the sands in the desert, the great forest fire. The task I bring you is to educate the people of my existence, you will teach them my ways.’. The prophet asked ‘Why me, of all the many people you could choose, why me?’. Azan spoke softly ‘You are simply the correct person, you are formed from my own consciousness. You however retained the greatest connection to me out of all my lifeforms. You have always felt me in your surroundings, you just knew not how to listen, I will teach you. All you must do is close your eyes, breathe me in and listen.’

The prophet awoke and the storm had passed. They eventually found their way back to the village. In the village they told everyone there was something they must do but that they hoped to return one day to help them all. The villagers did not understand this cryptic message but wished the prophet well nonetheless.

The prophet trekked back to the mountain and found a cave where they set themselves up for 100 days and nights. There the prophet meditated just as Azan had asked. They had many conversations with the great energy. Through these sessions the prophet created several lessons they would preach to the people. Eventually the prophet would become the first High Oracle and would train many other oracles.

The Sacred Tenants
I. Azan is the supreme cosmic force, overseer of all and master of fate.

II. Each person must lead their life as Azan wills it, they must follow the path of fate.

III. All followers should visit an oracle to learn their fate.

IV. Great individuals may be worshipped after their death in order for them to continue following their fate and serving Azan even in the afterlife.

V. Ancestors should also be worshipped after their death so they may offer protection to their living family and help them serve Azan.

VI. Upon death your body must be buried within close proximity to your family both alive and dead. Your families’ home is best but a family crypt will also suffice. Your remains may be moved to a new crypt if your family move to a new location.

VII. All other gods are merely great individuals

VIII. Never try to subvert fate

IX, Set aside time in your day to mediate and listen to Azan