Jackal Among Snakes

Epilogue 2.4: Philosophy and Theology

As life became about more than merely survival, the minds of the people gradually drifted toward the questions that have plagued them for all eternity. Life, and its infinite mysteries, remained unanswered. The reason for being, especially after enduring the destruction of the Last Calamity, felt more pertinent for people than ever.

Those questions created thousands of answers, each with their own philosophies toward life and their own explanations of the machinations of the world. This was, in most circumstances, largely harmless. People of different cultures propagated the gods that they had worshipped before the Calamity. Some took the mantles of their dead gods, such as the Veidimen with Veid. These ideas took root, creating regional, religious, and cultural divides in the nation that before had been united behind a national identity.

In this arena, however, the Blackgard Union and the imperial court gave only silence. Traditions and cultures, provided they didn’t breach the law of the land itself, were not curtailed. By example, the way of the elves of the Bloodwoods propagated to a large number of citizens as they spread from their forest to the rest of the land. More often than not, this was without incident. That changed as time marched on.

Their blind eye toward matters of faith and philosophy could perhaps be considered the biggest failing of the imperial court. As with most truths, only one can generally prevail, and conflict brewed because of their policy of non-interference. A time of war where soldiers were sent overseas proved to be the ignition for an explosion, internally.

I shall try to remain unbiased in my interpretation of these faiths and their founders, some of which persist today. I shall note, however, that I consider myself an adherent of the Word of Law, which has since become the de facto state philosophy, and claim no personal faith.

Divine Imperialism

The philosophy of the Cult of Divine Imperialism can be gleaned from its title alone. It is unique from several other faiths in this section because it was an idea that permeated the populace long before it was formally founded, and there was no individual prophet who came to preach its dictates. Rather, a council of adherents created a formal structure not long after the war in the Great Chu began.

Their canon preaches the notion that Argrave is a being from a higher world who was sent to this realm as its savior after studying and mastering it in isolated study. Once there, the fairest and most intelligent maiden of the age, Anneliese, was offered to him as tribute by the world itself to continue his divine bloodline. The imperial family, thus, are the descendants of higher beings, and must be accorded absolute respect and worship.

It proved a stabilizing aspect of the nation, but as its formal structure and missionaries spread the faith, overtures from the government came to combat its ideas. Followers were often radical, proposing acts of extreme violence against the Great Chu and further assaulting people that questioned the actions of the imperial court. Dealing with these people was an incredibly delicate act of diplomacy, because suggesting that the imperial family was as human as everyone else put into question their right to rule to begin with.

Even a direct announcement from Argrave that he was not divine proved to be insufficient to totally destroy the cult. It persisted, some insisting that one of their emperor’s mandates was that he could not reveal himself as divinity under any circumstances. They did heed his second request, however, which promoted pacifism toward nonbelievers.

The cult has dwindled drastically in succeeding decades, but still persists as a formal institution to this day.

Arcanism

Founded by Leopold Dandalan

of the city of Relize and a B-rank spellcaster, Leopold survived the Last Calamity and achieved A-rank not long after, eventually rising to achieve S-rank. Already at an advanced age by the time he achieved this, the force of magic revitalized his flesh, returning him to a younger appearance. Some have suggested that the

during its course. His newborn son and wife were among those claimed. After, the city of Relize and all of its institutions effectively ceased to exist. Everything that he earned had been shattered—his empire of commerce, his

faith in 4AC. To him, magic had gone beyond a tool. It was truth. It

In his Book of the Arcane, his descriptions of what waited beyond the barrier and his dictates for all those who seek to reach it eventually became creed for his followers. They refused the title of

what remained of his family and rebuild it in a particularly valuable stretch of land in

into a notion of stratification. The imperial court relied on the Arcanists to educate all those with magical talent, but in so doing, created a generation of young

reaction to magic, deeming them having been rejected by their divine force. Leopold never promoted either practice directly, encouraging ‘adherence to the law of the land.’ He never took direct action or gave direct

not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report

and considering most were adept spellcasters,

Leopold, practically forced pacifistic reformations in the taught creed of the Arcanists by law. This caused wide-scale protests, damaged the economy a great deal, and nearly resulted in

among spellcasters of the modern age, with noted influence still persisting in education simply because the taught values of their faith encourage teaching magic to all. Both learning and teaching magics are considered acts of

Suns’ Creed

Founded by Lucien Lahart

world bound together in a network by the power of two beings. He claimed these beings to be the two suns that existed before their dramatic transformation that occurred shortly before the advent of the Last Calamity. From them, he received the

action they take, from their first breath to their last, is being judged by them. When the time comes for death, the suns decide the worth of their life. Their soul is then shattered and projected

fundamental values are unproblematic. It promotes the notion of being as the suns are—protective of those in your community, totally generous toward all others, warm, and life-giving. Its priesthood follow this well, working for welfare in the region in

at worst. This antagonism was manageable at first, and Lucien’s insistence on pacifism earned him vast support. When Lucien was murdered, however, he ceased to be

Lunar Dragon Worship

by an unnamed lunar

a dragon’s body, and attempting to transcribe either would draw ire from those I would rather remain unprovoked. They believe the lunar dragons to be divine emissaries, given power by their god the moon to see all that takes place in the world. In their communications

worshipper provoked tremendous backlash. Since then, they were branded with the derogative ‘lunatics,’ and driven out from most organized society. Lorena, technical leader of the lunar dragons, has personally denounced

exist that muddy the truth of the matter, I will refrain from attempting to summarize it further than I have.