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Old Religion, Ilecrecism/Ilecrest (9000 BC) (11,000 years ago) - A polytheistic religion that believes in multiple deities for every element and affinity.
The Ilecrestic history traces back hundreds of millennia ago, however the earliest recordings of the religion date back to 9000 BC. Followers of this religion believe that it is through divine power that the earth flourishes the way it does. It is said that in turn for believing in said deities, magic is given to both the land and their followers. How exactly this system of belief came to be is unknown. Much of their knowledge surrounding it came from stories passed down through the ages along with written texts of supposed events that transpired. The central idea around their belief revolves around creationism and how divine magic formed the world and all its components. When the earth was formed, it was a barren land that could not sustain any life. And as mentioned through different written accounts, it was when the earth’s core erupted and the stars fell that the deities began to emerge and paint the landscape, giving birth to the first walks of life which created the world as they know it today.
Based on past accounts of the religion, there was one power that had ultimately been valued less amongst the rest. Before there was life and the souls made to inhabit them, there was the entity, Love. Texts from across different regions at the time had recognized the element in different lights. To some, she was recognized as a fertility goddess, to others she was known to be the dawnbringer of calamity being given names such as blight bringer or the catalyst while others simply had viewed her as a depraved being. Though it was her most widely known name which people had recognized. They had referred to her as Amurtine and Vescipi. Unlike the flora and fauna of the world, when Amurtine brought people, she had given them a conscious. The consequences that resulted from it were the thoughts and emotions of those who were filled with desire, jealousy, and hatred. It had not taken long before conflict erupted between both the people and the gods.
The gods were known to have looked down on Amurtine and her abilities. To them, she was existing without purpose. They were never able to see eye to eye; they could never understand why she had plagued their earth with people. When provoked with the question as to why, Amurtine would respond in defiance and defend her creations.
Time passed, and the people grew in numbers. The lands they claimed and the settlements they had made had eaten away at what the gods had cultivated all these centuries. It had weakened them to a state as they were subjected to watching Amurtine grow in strength as her creations prospered and consumed the lands. But Amurtine was a sympathetic god. Fully aware of the harms she had brought on with its detrimental effects, she had attempted to remedy the situation and appease her kin. She had introduced new life, descendants of their own with bodies that contrast to their typically ethereal forms. What had spawned was the first adynum (Blue Bloods) and Dragons who were brought into this world with the intent to mend the lands and revive it, so long as they were able to borrow power from the gods. Initially, they were overjoyed with Amurtine’s proposal. The gods were led to believe that these descendants were made for the purpose of solely working for them and worshipping them. But just as Amurtine had done for the humans, she had done so for the Blue Bloods and Dragons as well. Many were dedicated to giving back to them, while others had gone away to lead their own paths. Paths which had never been part of the gods’ plans. When approached with their discontentment, Amurtine had refused to take any further action. The goddess had strongly believed that there was no purpose in cultivating such a world without bringing those whom they could share it with.
As tensions grew between the gods and Amurtine, they had agreed to overpower her for the sake of preserving what was left of their own creations.
In the process, Amurtine had lost control of her own power and had become dangerously unstable. Her once amicable nature had quickly been overcome with hatred as she had consumed the gods in her frenzy. For the next century she let hate be her guide. She brought calamity down unto her own creations, blaming them for her shortcomings and the loss of her kin.
Despite the death of the gods, their magic continued to flow through their next of kin. Those that were most faithful to them had been bestowed with the purist form of their magic. They had become the true successors of the gods and through their efforts were able to bring an end to Amurtine’s destruction. In those 100 years of chaos, Amurtine had lost herself. What came from it was a spur of new elements, acclimations of her own conscious taking form after having separated from her. They came to be known as Satenka, Somnis, and Vanesce while Amurtine had been denounced and renamed after the yellow serpent Vescipi.
Currently, followers of the religion pay their respects to the successors/new gods that descended from the old ones. They believed that their magic came from said divinities and that they could at any time take it away from them if they pleased, just as they attempted to do so with Amurtine.
It is believed that one day Vescipi will escape her cage and consume the world again through the hate that had burned through her being once before. Vanesce and her followers are said to have been guarding Vescipi’s cage for thousands of years and for as long as anyone can remember. Yet no one has seen the cage and neither the Empire that supposedly guards it. In fact, there has never been a single record in history regarding its whereabouts or whether it even exists.
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Ilecrestic Beliefs
Successors/Descendants: The Dragons and Adynum who the old gods powers inhabit. Many receive prayers and respects from the followers.
Enemies of the Faith: Amurtine’s creatures and those who take from the Earth and don’t give back, people who indulge in creations of their own as well as those who engage in hedonism.
What happens when they die?
No ghosts or souls are left behind unless human. Dragons and Adynum who follow the faith turn into a divine energy after death that is returned to the earth and stored in predominantly crystals that are found beneath the earth’s surface. Their magic, even after death, helps give back to the earth and allows it to thrive. It is believed that upon death for those who don’t follow the faith will be thrown into Vescipi’s cage where they are to be consumed by her rather than continuing earth’s cycle.
Vanesce’s 18 virgins (similar to the Roman Vestal Virgins)
Virgin adynum who were pure in blood and treated like goddesses amongst their people. Half of them resided in Atlantis until the war. New ones were appointed afterwards in Vaaken’s Kingdom where the full 18 would later reside. They spent their days in luxury however and were forbidden to leave the palace. If one wished to speak to a god of their element, they would have to approach one of these women with an offering in hand. They were oracles who could pass along words from their gods to those they deemed righteous. When they were not working as oracles, they were constantly fortifying the earth, their people, and sending their prayers and magic to Vanesce to keep Vescipe at bay. Those who fall from grace or leave the palace grounds would be drowned in one of the holy springs.
Religious Figures
Like priests and priestesses of other religious beliefs, they played a much similar role. However, many of them would reside in the King’s palace or something similar. There were sanctuaries in the palaces that were dedicated to the religion and its followers. Shrines were frequently seen throughout the empire/kingdoms where they often paid visits. They were highly respected among the people and treated as though they themselves were royalty.
**Followers of this religion pay respect to their gods through visits to their shrines. (They typically offer crystals, coins, incense, and herbs). They are expected to give back to the Earth and remain modest in their lifestyles, abstaining from any extramarital affairs and unchaste behavior.
Holy Sites
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Vanesce’s Realm - Where Vescipi was caged thus ending the 100-year rampage.
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Atlantis - Said to have been built on the grounds where the first adynum (Blue Bloods) were born.
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Mount Granget - Where Vescipi’s colossus had been locked away. Its whereabout is unknown.
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Astriiga - The main city in the empire of Vaaken where the 18 virgins currently reside.
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Cashur’s Cave - An underwater cave found in Atlantean waters where the largest reserve of magical crystals can be found.
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Elemental Temples - Aside of the many smaller shrines, there are ones for each element that are tucked away around the earth that one must make a pilgrimage to at least once in their lifetime. Very few have an idea of their locations.
Amurtine’s Creatures
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Vescipane, the yellow serpent. The origin of where Amurtine got her name, Vescipi. It was one of her creations that wreaked havoc alongside her during her century long rampage. Natural disasters followed in its wake.
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Raskier, an umbral dragon who was corrupted by Amurtine. He destroyed entire civilizations by shrouding them in a permanent darkness until they were driven to insanity and starved.
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Granget, a colossus made of molten lava born from a volcano during the last 10 years of her rampage. It would cause volcanoes to surface/erupt whenever it came near.
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Lesani, a six-legged creature the size of a mountain that resided in the ocean depths, causing tsunamis and severe flooding across the globe.
Religious Ranks
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Shared among three cultures is the name of the clergy and the leaders of the clergy.
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The leaders are called Maiorum with the highest rank being Mos Maiorum, ‘way of the elders’.
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The clergy is called the areopagus, ‘aristocratic assembly’.
Atlantis Ranks
Due to Atlantis’ pull away from the worship of the gods as their source, their religious institution is less centralized with each elemental house of prayer having their own order and duties. Even among each house, there is a ranking among the clergy with slight flexibility and equalization of power based on the person’s power in the house and reputation. Additionally, these houses of prayers took more community like duties from handling administrative affairs to certain resource research. Amongst the three cultures, Atlantis has the most titles and ranks due to their mixing and less emphasis on state and religious affairs.
This chart shows the chain of command generally in their house of worship.
Chaodios - The head/leader of the house of prayer. They make all final decisions in house affairs and interpret the will of the elders. Only Chaodios and their successor can have the title of Maiorum with the current leader as Mos Maiorum.
Trikymia - In this rank of clergy, they have the power to execute the will of the maiorum and have the authority to carry out rituals. The Trikymia would be considered the council to the chaodios. They are considered part of the areopagus.
Kathreftis - All members of this rank have the potential to rise to Trikymia and are usually clergy in training. They make the last true boundary of religious affairs court. Through the Kathreftis, the Vaskas and Lazulum report and filter requests and matters. The Kathreftis are part of the areopagus.
Lazulum - Not considered part of the clergy but are workers to the house of prayer. They handle internal affairs such as maintenance and upkeep. While they share no religious duties, they are required to study the doctrine and respect the house. Due to their dealings personally with areopagus, they are sworn to secrecy in private matters in the house.
Vaskas - Not considered part of the clergy. These are affiliates that handle outside affairs and carry the name of the house. While considered the same ranking as the Lazulum, they do not reside in the house of prayer and usually do errands for the house. They are not required to study the doctrine but must respect the clergy.
Vaaken Ranks
Due to this culture’s strict adherence to the worship of the gods and their prevalence to the mundane life, their clergy is highly rigid and centralized. The clergy is also the state.
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This chart shows the chain of command of the clergy/state culture of Vaaken.
Archon - A chosen member from the coriphion to be the ‘head’ of state. While all coriphions hold equal standing, as the Archon, their authority is public and overreaching. Archons are to represent the state and the clergy as the voice. Once the archon is chosen, their seat in the coriphion is vacant and not replaced to represent their acknowledgement of the other coriphion. They hold the title mos maiorum.
Coriphion - Made up of the best clergy of each representing element and their successor. They handle all affairs of state and faith collectively. Each element must be represented. All coriphions of the same generation of the archon ascend and descend their seat at the same time. Should a coriphion of an element cannot hold seat, it will remain vacant while the successor carries on the training and management of the element’s lophios until the next ascension of the next generation. They hold the title of maiorum.
Lophios - The collective clergy under an element. They learn and partake in religious duties as well as training. Lophios are to eventually interact with other lophios and potentially form a collective as the next generation of coriphion. They hold title of maiorum.
Analysi - Not part of the clergy but the assembly of regional representatives. They will advise and inform the maiorum of affairs. They hold title of areopagus.
Caëlion/Halcyon Ranks
Disclaimer: This section represents the original ranking system in place for Halcyon (formerly known as Caëlion) prior to its first fall in 1000 B.C. That being said, those who come from this place in time will be aware of these systems and may even try to incorporate it into whatever faction they are now part of. Modern Halcyon is without a formal ranking system for religion but rather for the state instead. Meanwhile these Maiorum ranks have carried on to the faction of Ilecrest without the aeropagus.
This culture’s clergy exists separately from the state but greatly influences matters. While they adopt the same titles of maiorum and areopagus, the religious collective is known as the magisterium. All are required to learn the doctrine headed by the leaders. Elemental representation may be uneven and only bluebloods that have met the requirements of magisterium can enter these ranks.
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This chart shows the chain of command for the magisterium.
Asteri - The elders and heads of the magisterium. They are the most respected and influential members in knowledge and power of their specialty. They will often head sermons and represent/address issues. They hold the title of maiorum.
Perios - Fully fledged members of the magisterium. While they do not hold the power of the Asteri, they are considered equal brethren. They support and may lead the church but often are developing their specialty and/or projects for the magisterium’s development. They are also in charge of the kathreftis’ care. They hold the title of maiorum but it is not often used to address them.
Kathreftis - New or developing members of the magisterium. They train in and carry out religious duties and studies. They do not hold any further titles.
The Areopagus is considered the council.