Twin Dragon

Not to be confused with Draconism.

The Twin Dragon belief is a religion that may or may not originate from the Aurlûnor Velande, with it's actual origins being unclear. The core philosophical nature of the Twin Dragon is of universal order, harmony, and certain senses of legalism. The ideal stems from the concept that everything follows a certain natural order, and such natural order is to be obeyed; else, it will lead to catastrophic results, which reflects negativity among it's peers.

Only the Aurlûnor Velande has the Twin Dragon faith as the official religion. Elsewhere, it makes a large minority in Ryzan, with former Tsar, Jacob Owl being of the faith, and multiple smaller pockets elsewhere across the world. It is also the official belief of Lucius von Savras of Andorn following his marriage to Velereth Sareariel Lelya-Earcala. As of the August 2021 Census, Twin Dragon made up 2.7% of the world population adhering to the faith.

The Twin Dragon Calendar can be found here.

History
''"As the God-Empress of her realm here, anyone in the Aurlûnor Velande must adhere to the Vale Mandate and of Twin Dragon. Else they face severe retribution, for attempting to throw the mortal realm of Celeia out of balance, while in the presence of the Celestial Matron." - Jack Stoneworks.''

It is unclear where Twin Dragon truly originated. According to scriptures that has been written, Twin Dragon apparently is far older than it is believed to be. Although Rathnir historians conclude that Twin Dragon is over 900 years old, scriptures usually date the faith back even further to over 14 billion years, years before the formation of the world that Celeia (the world) resides in. There is no estimate on who was the original founder of the faith, or who truly wrote the scriptures that are piled in the libraries of the temples, as even some scriptures are in unknown languages not belonging to the world, or not seen on either Rathnir, Eldham or Jagdas.

A proto version of the religion, supposedly first appeared in mentions of an old Almadorian Chronicle known as "Celestialism", spread around by a woman simply known as Vinimanis. According to records, she was a former priestess of the Almadorian Pantheon of the Goddess, Galariel, who would one day, see Galariel in her dreams, as what would become known as the Moon Dragon, Lyn, in her true form, and would hear "Prepare.". These strange wordings, lead to believe that soon, the ongoing warring states period would end through a divine leadership, and would see an end to the hundreds of years of chaos that fell out from the Kingdom of Almador, eventually restoring it into a balanced state. Although these records are quite vague, Sareariel does recall Lyn talking about this woman, and her impact on the eventual decline of the Almadorian Pantheon, and the rise of Celestialism in the region. Sareariel even remembers Celestialism in Dun being heavily practiced, hinting that Twin Dragon could of been adapted from this.

Upon descendance of Sareariel as the Celestial Matron, mentions of Sen and Lyn, as well as many other beings from her ascendency were mentioned, including meditation, as well as the systems of harmony, the Vale Mandate, the cultivation of ones soul, and the various elements of the universe. Philosophers in the Velande such as Gu Yong, an Aurlûnoren Human, would largely attribute this credit the successes of Sareariel's campaigns to the warlord states of the former Kingdom of Almador, using her supposed new found powers of divinity for benevolence. In one instance, a minor state known as Vallor, suffered from a terrible famine that struck their countryside. Their King, Hu Yuan, would ignore the pleas of his people, and would feed himself the entire stocks, locked up in his palace. Sareariel would use her magic to miraculously heal the crops, and they would grow ridiculously fast, and extremely healthy. As a result, the people would hail her as the Celestial Matron, and would see Hu Yuan deposed, easily conquering the region without a fight. There was also an instance in recent times where a tree-destroying cult known as the Kellerists, burnt down most of the forests in the Aurlûnor Velande, causing famine and hunger throughout Nir Province. Sareariel would use a special magic known as the "Divine Rift" to transform the swamp into a jungle, resulting in the sky becoming much clearer, and the surrounding region becoming more fertile for farming large quantities of rice.

Belief and Philosophy
The Twin Dragon’s core principles surround the fact that the universe is bounded by balance, that the force of harmony is through the forces of both light and dark. The fact that the two must be together in order to make sure chaos does not erupt, is a fundamental aspect of the religion. There is no good or evil, as one side is not balanced with the other, and requires this harmony in order to keep the natural flow of the universe going. If either side is completely destroyed, the balance of the universe is threatened. Forgiveness for actions are often seen as a form of understanding and reason.

To understand greater order in the universe, one must advance their spirit through cultivating it through multiple different phases until their souls can transcend the plane they reside on. Each stage, one understands their role in the harmonious struggle in keeping the universe alive, balanced and healthy. When one's soul leaves the mortal plane, only the shell of the person remains, where they live the rest of their lives until they expire, and feel themselves become one with a plane known as the Vale.

Multiple deities are also featured within the belief. Though the dragons themselves are the most prevalent, the Celestial Matron plays a huge role as the one who maintains natural order and harmony in a respective plane, the Four Sages of the Vale, who are said to be the wisest beings who know many things from both the past and even the future, the Queen of Light and the King of Dark who rule over the planes of Lothranis and Momaganon who were said to have been lovers until they were split from each other and finally the Elemental Spirits, who guard temples and various settlements.The long standing rival to universal harmony in the Twin Dragon religion, are ancient beings known as the “Inharmonious Seekers” or “Wraiths” for short. These “Wraiths” seek to interrupt the harmonious flow of the universe, by causing either too much chaos or too much order in certain aspects. The “Wraiths” can be in any form, from abominations to even ordinary looking beings. These beings are described as uncivilized, horrific, ferocious, savage and wily, caring very little about manners, and are often seen as “irredeemable”. They are usually linked to the reason why Aurlûnorens use the phrase “barbarian” in the modern tongue.

However, this could very well be a paranoia that they have of the outside world, and experiencing different cultures. Entropy (or Huayin) for instance, is viewed as a Wraith due to her irredeemable attempts of bringing ultimate chaos, when the world was in a balanced state of both Light and Dark. Another example was King Hireon, and his causes of the Warring States period of Almador. But the fact that the Twin Dragon religion is not exclusive to just the Aurlûnor Velande, could very well mean that those that come to the conclusion that one can be “redeemed” if they convert.

The Philosophy's Elements follows the Five Elements of Fire, Water, Earth, Metal and Wood in addition to five others: Astral, Void, Soul, Light and Dark. Each element represents the spiritual harmony of the world around the plane that it inhabits, while the other five elements surround the physical plane and the Vale. It also is used as a way of meditation, and to harmonize the soul. To master the five elements of the mortal plane, is one of the requirements to become Aware of Vacuity, while mastering the five elements of Vale, is said to have been only achieved by those who become a Celestial Paragon, the highest form of cultivation in the universe. The lack of a Wind Element, indicates that the belief does not believe it to be a “true” element, as the mortal plane, and the inner body, breaths the elements, as it is a symbol of life.

Holidays and Rituals
The Twin Dragon religion partakes in an important ritual known as Dragon Day, which happens every June 20th and December 21st. This is a celebration of both dragons respectively. Dragon Day in June is celebrated with sun cakes, which are made out of peaches, with many things associated with warmth, gloom and the greatness of summer, while Dragon Day in December is celebrated with cool, soothing and calming themes of winter. Moon cakes are served, and many foods that are resembling winter.

Matron Day, in which the very day the Celestial Matron of Celeia descended is also celebrated. This day usually is quite grand, as many temples put up purple banners in her resemblance, and depicts arts to her, as well as the various loyal worshipers of the faith. Heroes, sages, and the like are depicted in statues. Some minor, some major. In addition, the Velereth gives away parts of her personal belongings to the common folk as well as food as a symbol of benevolence, and balance.

A major holiday is the New Years celebration, in which every 12th of February, a new year is declared, and is a massive celebration. All over, flying lanterns and varying other semblances of festivities are seen. Performances are seen in various forms, such as levitation, fire-breathing, or other forms of talents that always seem to bring something new to the table.

Marriage
A Twin Dragon Marriage is usually celebrated depending on ranks of society. The lower class marriages are usually cheaply celebrated with a few instruments, claps, and throwing of flowers, as well as some dances. Within the middle class it depends on where you look, with some of them being more grander than others, and are usually celebrated at a shrine of one of the gods that they are dedicating the wedding to, or an auspicious spot. Upper classes are usually more private, with their celebrations having much better access to entertainers and instruments, while the Imperial family shows it all off on the streets, going to the Temple of the Divines, and then out toward an auspicious location, which would be converted into a beautiful marriage platform, and a statue dedicated to the Gods of their choosing as their witness.

The wedding consists of vows between the two partners, in which they place a flower of a different color in each others heads, and exchange a jade ring (depending on how rich the person is). Sometimes it's a bit more with flower crowns and such. The two must then bow to their respective God, and when the Priest or Priestess officially unionizes them, they may kiss, or whatever equivalent.

Opposition of a wedding is only allowed if there is a good enough reason. It is usually considered extremely disrespectful if their reason is not valid enough, and have lack of evidence to back up their claim, and can usually lead to expulsion of the guest from the wedding, but it is not against the law. An Imperial Wedding opposition is not allowed by anyone except by the heiress of the dynasty, and it is considered a capital offense to oppose the Velereth's wedding, with punishment up to execution should the opposition be deemed extremely disrespectful toward the Velereth and her partner.

Polygamy is allowed in the Twin Dragon religion, and it is often practiced by upper classes. In the Imperial family, the Imperial Harem is known as the Dragon Harem, and all future husbands or wives are called Dragon Husbands or Dragon Wives. The type of male or female that is married into this harem are of a varying range, some being lowly peasants the Velereth found attractive, or upper nobles that are usually married into the harem for stronger relations. Often, the treatment of the harem depends on how the Velereth wants to treat them, with some not allowed to leave the palace grounds without an armed escort or permission from the Velereth to having much freedoms, being allowed to head back to their home or anything they wish, as long as they visit the Velereth often. Should the partner be of a foreign family, or have ranks of nobility in that country, an arrangement is made, and is agreed upon.

It is required that every noble household have a person of the opposite sex as their first spouse, who would be treated as the primary consort of their family. These first marriages are not considered apart of the harem, and are the ones who sit next to them, and have more of a voice and say of what to do in the life of the family. As for the Velereth, she does not have to abide by this law, however, it is seen as going with the Will of the Vale, which is to have a male partner as a primary.

Astronomy
According to the Twin Dragon religion, each world is known as a plane. The Vale, or space, is the primary plane, in which all other planes exist. The Vale also has a series of streams that flow through it like strands of milk, which are also known as “Solar Systems”. In these streams, they contain multiple planes that form with their host set of Guardian Dragons that protect the planes that surround them. In this case, this solar system has three planes.

The first is Naicador, or Paxia, the second is Talandor, or Dagon, and the third is Celeia, or Rathnir, Jagdas and Eldham. Out of the three, Celeia is the largest, and the most populated, with the most development. Naicador is seen as a large asteroid belt that surrounds Sen, or the Sun, and was said to have been a world at one point, before a Celestial Demon by the name of Huayin, destroyed it, and the world becoming tainted by disharmony. Talandor is a world which is similar to Celeia, with it’s many factions, but the Celestial Matron of this world is said to be quite hidden and secluded.

Celeia
Celeia or the "Blue Marble Plane" is the primary realm of which all mortals of Rathnir and Jagdas reside. As it is the one of the few realms that are the most populated, Celeia is regarded as a "home plane" to many of the Celestialkin, despite their origins claiming they are not from this realm.

Twin Dragon sources usually describe Celeia as a plane of where the divines are the most active on, with much of their presence residing in the various idols that are in the land. Even though they are considered heretical, an practitioner who are not binded by theocratic law will usually regard them as "Demi-Divines", or children of the divines that are not necessarily as powerful as the Divines themselves, but have an active presence. Celeia is also described as a "plane of many warring factions of different peoples", but regarded this warring as "balanced" with the climate.

Celeia is guarded by Sen and Lyn, who act as protectors against calamities, usually fighting them.

The Vale
The Vale is the primary plane beyond the others, in which spirits go to when they die or simply had not yet found a world to be born in yet. When one is in this realm, the laws of nature or physics do not behave normally, causing things such as a light-year length dragon or an extremely small creature to exist. Strange plants, vibrant colors, some of which do not exist in the realm of mortals would see, and other sorts, exist. It is often described as a peaceful place, and is considered the most balanced plane in existence. No one knows where the Vale comes from, and usually, Twin Dragon sources state it was always existing.

Lothranis
Lothranis exists as the realm of light, where everything positive and peaceful resides, with a small center of darkness that exists as a form of balance that maintains the realm's balance.

Momaganon
Momaganon is where everything negative and chaotic resides, with a small center of lightness that exists as a form of balance to maintain the realm's own balance as well.

Deities
There are two sets of beings, the first ones are known as the Plane Sculptors, and the second are known as the Plane Guardians. The Plane Sculptors are what the name suggest, the original beings that had created the Vale, Celeia and various other forms of life, as well as the elements, and the universe in general. The Plane Guardians are the ones who were chosen by the Plane Sculptors, and are blessed by the powers of the Vale to defend and keep the harmonious balance of the universe. The Plane Sculptors are long deceased, as they were said to have sacrificed themselves in the process of creating these planes.

The Guardian Dragons
The Guardian Dragons, or the Twin Dragons, are the core gods that defend the life that is within the stream that Celeia, Naicador and Talandor. The Dragons are often believed to take the form of a star and a moon that surrounds a world, but at the same time, they are often seen cycling around said things. Two dragons in the local stream known as Sen and Lyn, are the guardian dragons of these three worlds, as well as their respective stars and moons. Sen is portrayed as a Sun Dragon with the color red, and Lyn is often portrayed as a Moon Dragon with the color blue. Since the star is seen as yellow from Celeia, the mortal planes often portray Sen as yellow on clothes and patterns, which is why yellow, red and blue are seen as colors of luxury, and are often expensive and worn by the middle class or above.



The Celestial Matron
The Celestial Matron or the Matron, is a being that is portrayed as a female figure that is said to be similar to a “Plane Mother” or sorts. Originally, the Celestial Matron’s purpose was to harmonize the world, and ensure that no violent conflicts happen ever again. But, as time went on, these Matrons would start establishing their own empires, and used it for their own benefits, some for better and worse. The Celestial Matron is seen as a living deity, and the empires that she establishes, have them worshiping her directly from the palace through a philosophy known as the Vale Mandate, in which, if one can bring balance to a decaying empire or state, and establish themselves well and legitimate, they are the true Celestial Matron.

As of current, there are three known Celestial Matrons, with one being active and confirmed, which is the current Velereth of the Aurlûnor Velande, Sareariel Leyla-Earcala. The Matron of Naicador, Pahtanel, is deceased, mentioned in the scripture known as "The Destruction of Naicador", while the one of Talandor known as Linyenwiel, is alive, but her current status is unknown. Mentions of Linyenwiel is seen in the scripture known as "Linyenwiel's Ascent", which gives an expressed detailed information according to Sareariel about her. Multiple other Celestial Matrons are mentioned in scriptures on their rises and falls, and the mistakes that they had made while attempting to achieve the Vale Mandate.

The Celestial Matron is portrayed as a hermaphrodite, meaning she has both male and female body party, which is portrayed even in art. The Hermaphrodite part of the Matron symbolizes duality of both the male and female gender, and is sometimes, the matron is seen as the goddess of all living beings.

The Sages
The Vale is home to the Four Sages of the Universe, which are said to be the greatest minds in the universe. They were created from the very minds of the creators of the Vale, and had since devoted their life into serving regular people knowledge of the greater universe, and answer whatever questions that may corner them. The Sages play a vital part namely in Libraries or Academies, as they are said to possess the bodies of the hosts of Librarians, Scholars or Teachers to help teach people the ways and mandates of the Twin Dragon religion. They are not regularly worshiped, as they do not wish for any offerings, but rather, wish to teach valuable lessons to those who make mistakes. But even the Sages know that they make mistakes, and sometimes, their words are incorrect and inaccurate, and they will often refresh themselves as such. They are said to never get angry, and are often quite patient, even with the most ridiculous of questions. They are genderless, though many statues depict them as older female or male elves depending on what city.

Queen Lothra and King Momag
These two figures are the Queen of Lothranis and the King of Momaganon, and for their namesakes, is what the realms are named after. Queen Lothra is the aspect of Light, while King Momag is the aspect of Dark. During the early years of the Vale's existence, the two were lovers. But due to their not being able to connect with one another, they could not be together. They would however, come to an agreement, that every hundred years, they would flip a coin, and if the coin was flipped to their favor, they were allowed to perform one aspect of their respective counterpart, which could be either catastrophe or a blessing. This does not only affect the world, but it affects people as well, for one can be born as a hero of the times, and make their country prosper, or a be born as a vicious tyrant, or incompetent ruler, and cause the collapse of their empire or nation. This is to help create balance, to ensure no one gains too much power.

Despite their apparent affiliations, King Momag is seen as a rather fair ruler toward his people with a relaxed way of ruler-ship, while Queen Lothra is more strict and authoritarian, with punishments usually being extreme if they disturb the light.

The Elemental Spirits
On Celeia there exists five elemental spirits, each being a different animal, that constantly shifts every single year: The Falcon, the Turtle, the Serpent, the Fox, and the Pig. In addition, there are five additional elemental spirits that are exclusively of Vale Elements: the Phoenix, the Dragon, the Qivar, the Nalas and the Xasara. Each of these spirits exist around the temple to protect it from dangers and keep it in consistency with the environment. All temples in every city have the same spirit as the city it is dedicated to, with the exception of Lhûmar which is protected by all the spirits. These spirits do not require worship, nor do they require offerings, as the spirits themselves, are said to be the ones nurturing the world, and require no thanks, nor any sort of gratitude, as they are doing it from the grace of their heart due to their love for mortal kind, and it's interest in development. These spirits are never portrayed as malevolent, and are only aggressive if one provokes it through vandalization of a temple, or something under their protection.

Every person who is born in a certain year, is dedicated to a different spirit. Since 0 of the Calendar, the elements started at their default positions of Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, Wood, Astral, Void, Soul, Light and Dark, but in the year 4, they would shift forward by one. The year 930, in which the server begun in the Twin Dragon calendar, was the year of Light.

Huayin, the 74th Demon Warlord
The number itself affiliates with the 74th Demon Warlord of Momaganon, Huayin. In the world of Celeia, she is known as simply "Entropy". Her ambitions were so extreme, that she even King Momag himself, banished her from Momaganon, and started her own rampage across countless different planes. She is responsible for the destruction of Paxia, and the ravagings that she had done throughout the world until being ultimately destroyed by Athaz and his allies.

She is depicted as a woman who appears almost human, like her depiction in Stoneworks. However, her true form is that of a large lizard with black scales and purple backs, similar to an Ender Dragon, except for the fact it is bipedal. Her armies are numerous, and are said that she has an alliance with the Wraiths to cause as much Chaos as possible. Even though she's gone, her followers remain hidden. No one knows who or where, but they still exist... The Celestial Matron has an essence of her store inside of an orb, which she communicates with. Although, this is a far weaker form of the once great warlord.

Astraea, the 264th Light Crusader
The number itself is affiliated with the 264th legion of Lothranis' greatest soldiers known as Astraea. At one point, she was the leading general in the realm of light, where she would stamp out any inharmony that would attack their realm that would emerge from the center of the plane, which is full of darkness as per the agreement between Lothra and Momag. However one battle known as the Battle of the Scarred Badlands, where she would massacre a town that developed in the region by Demons, who were unarmed, due to her endless crusade against darkness. Her massacre fueled her bloodlust, as she would be relinquished by Queen Lothra, and become banished. Since, she had blended in with another religion of Light, and pledge to bring an end to all Chaos, regardless what the cause. But her maddening end goal is infact, to strike at time itself, and end everything, so that Chaos may never again reign.

She is depicted as an angelic person, with perfect skin, a sweet voice and a beautiful look to her. But, she is well known for being strict and strongly anti-deviant. Her madness to end time, makes her an extremely unbalanced and inharmonious figure, thus, controversial to the Temple. itself. Some followers may depict her as Solaris of the Soleanna faith (even though Solaris is male). Her army of zealous followers who will do anything to slay "evil", are much more of a louder majority, and are often seen everywhere whenever "evil" is. She is a strong ally of the Wraiths, and may as well be working together with Huayin to bring endless destruction to the world. Her true form is a Roc.

The Vale Mandate
With all faiths, there is always an end, including the end of discord, the end of inharmony, and the eventual end of the Wraiths. The Celestial Matron's purpose is to achieve something known as the Vale Mandate, where absolute balance is achieved, and both light and dark, chaos and order, are perfectly balanced together into a utopic universe, in which duality is the norm, and beings live in a peace. It is said, that once the Vale Mandate is in order, the Celestial Matron ascends to the highest form, one that is even higher than immortality, the Dragons themselves, and the universe, becoming a dragon herself, and becomes the universe itself, to ensure that never again, the universe becomes unbalanced, and an an usual permanent peace is established.

Out of all Celestial Matrons, only one, Ormiel Xiang-Holwea, was close to establishing a galatic-wide Vale Mandate, and achieve true balance, until her sudden assassination by one of her own concubines, who was a devout servant of Huayin, despite her sticking together with Ormiel throughout the journey.

However, the Vale Mandate is not truly understood, as it is a goal that no one has ever truly achieved. Some theologians argue that the Vale Mandate is only used to strengthen the legitimacy of the Celestial Matron, and that it only applies to her empire, and hers alone, and completely disregards the outside world. Most Matrons however, would seem to have their own points of view. Sareariel for instance, views the Vale Mandate as a binding code of law, which every being must follow. But unlike most other codes of law, the Vale Mandate is not in written word, but through a universal telepathic form of remembrance, directly linking from the Celestial Matron's mind, and permanently implanted in all beings, which explains the existence of different faiths such as Soleannen or Lux, and the fact that beings such as Entropy or Athaz exist.

The Grand Temple
The Grand Temple is the political and institutional side of the Twin Dragon faith. The Grand Temple functions to maintain and function temples, shrines and monestaries throughout Rathnir, Eldham and Jagdas. The Grand Temple acts as an independent entity from it's primary host, the Aurlûnor Velande. The head of the Temple is the Celestial Matron, who oversees everything.

Orders of the Temple
Multiple orders exist in the Twin Dragon religion to help keep harmony in the world, and pledges to whichever deity they prefer to enforce balance in the world should need be

Guojiang Harmonizers
The Guojiang Harmonizers are a religious order based in Syltör that is made around the religion of Twin Dragon. They have sworn to serve the Celestial Matron, acting under the laws mandated both by the Grand Temple, the Twin Dragon governing body, and their own. They act out of their Fortress-Monasteries, of which there is currently only one of, Astrakane. They believe of the need of balance between light and darkness, and between Chaos and Order. For now, they strive to bring order to the world, as they see it is dipping dangerously into chaos. The Guojiang Harmonizers also dedicate themselves in the pursuit of honor, as they believe honor is a balance between Chaos and Order.