Sakrelism

Creation Myth
''In the beginning there was nothing, save for the eternal shadow which we call Darkness, and the uncreated one which we call Sakrelith. Darkness reigned unchallenged as the tyrant of the void before creation, it’s terror spread through uncreation and filled Sakrelith’s heart with despair. Sakrelith screamed into the void “I have seen the Darkness and I banish it! May the light spread forth!”''

''As Sakrelith’s voice rippled through the eternal shadow it formed creation where before there was nothing. Sakrelith’s words coalesced into the sun which is called Theios, as well as the stars which gather in the sky. Sakrelith’s words settled among creation and molded a perfect world where sustenance was bountiful and daylight shone unceasingly, burning away all misery and pain. Yet the world was barren of truelife, so Sakrelith took earth and water together and created animals. He breathed life into them and spoke to them, saying “Spread forth and populate this world! For i know that you are good!”''

''Animals spread throughout the world from the highest mountains to the deepest oceans. Sakrelith was not satisfied with animals alone however, as they were but mere automatons who could not think for themselves. With great care Sakrelith molded the first sentient beings, who he blessed with the gifts of free will, intelligence and a divine spark. Sakrelith spoke and said to his creations “Rise my children and look upon creation! For this I have created for you to partake in and enjoy.”''

''The children of Sakrelith stepped into the world, gazing upon its majesty with wonder and awe. They proliferated from The Land of Genesis throughout the world, establishing communities together and living peacefully as Sakrelith watched over them as a parent watches over their child. Darkness saw creation and all that Sakrelith had done and was filled with envy and hatred and so worked to undermine the children of Sakrelith by imbuing them with greed and suffering.''

''Darkness saw that the children of Sakrelith were susceptible to corruption and whispered temptation into their hearts. Darkness turned all of Sakrelith’s children against him, so that they would speak to him, saying “Go! For we do not wish to have you in our presence, o’ Creator!” and Sakrelith responded, “I shall do as you say, for Darkness has infested you and I am unable to remain here without causing you all great suffering. But one day I promise to return, to enlighten and to show you the true path to prepare you for the end of days when the world shall return to the light that is paradise.”''

''The Great Creator looked upon his children once more and said to them “As you have accepted Darkness within you and have made it a part of you, light still exists within you and illuminates you. During the day I shall reign supreme and you will walk the earth, but as Theios dips below the horizon, Darkness shall reign and you shall rest as I do during the night.”''

''Without Sakrelith, his children were twisted further by the Darkness and Sakrelith was forgotten. The children of Sakrelith took for granted all that Sakrelith had given them and soon began to worship mere spirits. Sakrelith saw this and in his eternal mercy promised to send five teachers in his name who would enlighten his children and show them the path to salvation. They would be of divine essence and given mortal forms so that they may be partly divine and partly mortal.''

''When Darkness heard of Sakrelith’s promise he said “I will send among the mortals five manifestations which will cloud their judgement and keep them servile to me, terror of the void. They will be uncreation and will cause terror through many names and the mortals will fear me, for they are the children of Sakrelith and I will be their undoing.”''

''Darkness then released the first of his manifestations upon the mortals and he would call this manifestation Stonewrath, for his power would be great and his path of destruction unceasing. While appearing to be a mortal with nought but a leaf for clothing, Stonewrath was anything but mortal as he tore through the world, leaving a path of horror in his wake. Stonewrath’s fury was so great that Theios took notice and struck him down with such force that it split Stonewrath into two beings, both imbued with equal light and dark within them. These beings would be called Rhanfaes and Aenfys.''

-The Book of Creation, Divine Sakrelith

Salvation and sin
The Faithful believe that darkness is defined by light. Humans were created as beings of light, but darkness was adopted through the free will of all sentient beings. As darkness is simply defined as an absence of light

Which is why humanity needs purification. If the Creator was in the presence of unpure humans his presence would be like fire as his majesty and holyness would burn away darkness and evil. His presence is so powerful that all would feel eternal guilt and psychological torment unless they have been purified by him. That is why purification is important, for he wishes to be close to us but cannot as that would cause suffering.

Hell and Heaven are the same thing. They are simply the Creator's presence but experienced in different ways.

To be purified one must orient themselves away from the darkness and towards the great creator and work together with him to purify oneself. This is done through prayer, asceticism and striving to do good. If one orients themselves towards the creator he will work in one's heart and purify it slowly so that when he comes in his full glory one will not suffer.

If someone decides to do the opposite, turn their back to the creator and strive towards the darkness then his presence will be like an eternal fire and the guilt of one's actions will be like torture that eternally gnaws on one's mind. If one did not have the ability to choose during their life for whatever reason then they are given the choice after death.

After death and before the return of the creator people will have the ability to turn towards the creator and be purified after death. Many will still reject him however for their hearts have been to corrupted by darkness. The ones who are not pure enough to live in the presence of the creator but not dark enough to deserve torment will be able to choose a final death, a sleep so to speak. This choice is only offered to those who choose not to turn their backs on the darkness after death however.

The 4 Prophets
Sakrelism believes that the Creator likes to work through his creation and his children. Therefore he created and was incarnated into 4 great teachers to deliver the message of salvation as well as his word to the people. They all, in one way or another preached salvation along with preaching much other wisdom.

The Prophets had a divine nature and a human nature that was mixed. This divine nature was taken from the Creator directly, whilst the human nature was created. This was done so that they may bridge the gaps between humanity and the Creator.

Much of what they taught was later written down by the Prophets so that it may be passed on to each generation that would come after their death and ascension to the creator.

The 4 prophets are the following:

Temion, Fasherak (The Judge): The all wise prophet who taught man how to judge others fairly, how to keep a society civil and how to rule well. It is believed that he founded the kingdom of Sironia. He taught much on how we should approach the sovereign king of creation and all that is beyond it.

Inirion, Teranalak (The Smith): He taught man how to forge, create and invent and to build. Miners, craftsmen, artisans and even artists often venerate him greatly.

Asala, Saixhreak (The Mother): Asala taught man much about agriculture, domestication of animals, how all sentient beings are to be the stewards and caretaker of creation and nature, she also thaught man about medicine so that we may care for the sick and she taught much about the mercy of the Creator and his love.

Ataron, the Scholar: He taught man much about how to purify themselves, how we must approach the creator and how to gain salvation. It is said that after his death he became the aspect of the creator that transports the souls of the dead and pick out those who could be purified even in the afterlife (for such is the mercy of the Creator).

Terminology
Sanctum - A temple with a holy fire within it, it can also refer to the geographical area that a cleric rules over

Tabernacle - a small temple meant for prayers and small services. Only the minor blessings (partaking of blessed water for example) may be performed within a tabernacle but not the major blessings (such as marriage or conversion)

Cleric - Those who are a rank above priests in the clergy but below prophet-descendants. Clerics are elected by the priests of each eglisar

Prophet-descendant - The clergyman who is in charge of the faith in an entire nation. (S)he is elected from among the Clerics. The prophet-descendant's job is to protect and spread the faith within their domain as well as to represent the will of the holy council within their nation.

Symbols
There are two important symbols within the faith and a minor one. The Tree, the Fire and the moon.

The Tree symbolizes how we must be deeply rooted in our faith and steadfast in it.

The Fire represents the uncreated light of the Creator, as well as purification, warmth enlightenment and the fires of the unrepentant afterlife

The moon represents the eternal fight of the creator against the darkness and corruption that wishes to swallow the world for even when he rests he is keeping it at bay.

Prophet Brothers and Sisters
Those who have lived a life of great purification and have shown their undying devotion to the Creator are announced as Prophet Brothers and Sisters after their death in this world. They pray in the afterlife for the salvation of all and serve as examples for those who are still alive. The stories of their lives are popular to preach about as their lives show the ideal that all should strive for.

Organization
The faith is organized on a national level. Each nation that adopts the faith gets a prophet-descendant who rules over all matters of faith in the nation. Under the Prophet-descendant you have several Clerics. Each Cleric rules over an Eglisar. A certain geographic area is given to each cleric to rule over. The Clerics then appoint Priests who can serve in an Eglisar instead of the Cleric if the Cleric is unavailable for some reason.

Each Prophet-descendant along with a Cleric (or several, or none depending on what they chose) journey to the Holy Peninsula for great council from time to time to descide matters of the faith that are of importance. The issues are debated on then voted on until a majority agrees or disagrees.

Sanctums
A Sanctum is the primary place of worship for Sakrelists. The designs of Sanctums have differed throughout the ages but have kept a few constant rules.

There is always a holy fire in the sanctum, kept behind a "Thirikther" or "picture wall". These are often highly decorated with elaborate art. Behind this wall only members of the clergy may enter during specific ceremonies such as the blessing of the ashes (a conversion cermony) or during the sacrifice of the prayers (a smaller cermony where prayerblocks are put into the holy fire).

Sanctums also must contain at least one blessed fire. This fire is open to the public and all may take from the ashes and put wood in them to help fuel them. If a temple contains a blessed fire but no holy fire then it is a tabernacle, also known as a "prayer house". People may come to pray but no worship services will be conducted.

Holy Places
Within the faith there are many different holy places that one may visit to come closer to the creator and his prophets, below are a few of them.

The Sanctum of the Judge
A sanctum made of marble with a golden dome on top of a hill in Azethvir. The Sanctum houses the tomb of the prophet Temion which makes it a pilgrimage site for many pilgrims as well as giving the Sanctum of Sironia a distinguished position.

The Sanctum of the Scholar
The Sanctum of the scholar is the largest sakrelic sanctum and possibly the largest temple in all of Rathnir. The Sanctum is dedicated to Lumaire's patron prophet, Ataron the scholar (who's body they received not long after their conversion) as he encapsulates the values that Lumaire stands on. The Sanctum in Lumaire is a great temple fit for the prophet and one of the stops on the "great pilgrimage" (The Sanctum of the Judge being the other stop at this moment).

The Three Miracles of Azethvir
November 29th, 2020.

Sakrelists from all over the world gathered in Azethvir, the capital of Sironia, for a religious ceremony and a sakrelism sacrifice. Unfortunately for the Sakrelists gathered at Azethvir, chaos erupted as multiple non-sakrelists targeted the ceremony. Most notably, Crebrus_22 attacked the gathering, striking and gravely injuring multiple Sakrelists. Fortunately for the Sakrelists, the Sironian Guard, comprised of BladeofJae and FrozenCoati, was soon summoned under the improvised leadership of Sironian Lord Chancellor of the Exchequer Mr_Krakowsky. With the additional help from foreign warriors present at the ceremony, namely MasonMFS, Wildshadows, Waferknight, and TheRealJay2, these bandits were driven away.

As peace returned to the sanctum, the Sakrelists gathered around the central fire at the Sanctum of the Judge. The Sakrelith soon announced its presence by extinguishing the central flame, to the reverement and shock of all the Sakrelists present at the ceremony. After realizing that Sakrelith himself was among them at the Sanctum, the Sakrelists prayed louder and louder. As the religious fervor grew amongst the believers at the ceremony, the Archon of Sironia, TheLastSven, was elevated to the dome of the Sanctum.

At the top of the dome, the first miracle took place. TheLastSven was gifted a golden block and leather from Sakrelith himself; a sign of prosperity and protection for Sakrelists. Before the Archon could react, a strong force from the Sakrelith pushed him off the roof and into the heavens.

The second miracle took place as the Sakrelith himself resurrected TheLastSven. The Archon reappeared at the Sanctum of the Judge, presenting the gifts that had been bestowed upon him by the Sakrelith. It is said that this day, he truly earned the title of the "Prophet-Descendent".

The third and final miracle took place soon after inside the Sanctum. As the Sakreliths prayed for the flame to be reignited, a bedrock monolith appeared at the spot the fire had been extinguished; a sign of the unshakable and omnipotent faith of Sakrelists. And before the Sakrelists could react to the bedrock gift, a pillar of fire shot up into the sky from the rock, a clear depiction of the flame that Sakrelists revered all across Rathnir. It is said that amongst these miracles, a blaze-rod and bedrock block was gifted to the Sakrelists. The Archon of Sironia declared the blaze-rod and bedrock as sacred items of the faith, to serve as a spiritual representation of the pillar of fire and bedrock monolith to carry around the world.