Religion in Saxum

"And The Divine rained down Rocks from the Heavens so that their children would have a home to call their own, and they would work and tame that land" - Unknown

The Creation Story

In the beginning, The Divine took the emptiness of the cosmos and filled it with all things good and divine. Seated upon a celestial throne, The Divine contemplated all its creations and pondered upon their solitary state, with no counterpart to share in the wonder and magnificence of all things. For all things had companions, from the stars to the lowliest creatures. Now that the cosmos had been filled, The Divine rested in their labours and sought to reshape themselves, to create a companion of equal understanding and power, so that all The Divine's works would be admired and comprehended. The Divine split in two, and all the cosmos recoiled in adjustment, marked for eternity.

From its very essence, a brilliant radiance erupted, engulfing the cosmic void. Slowly, The Divine's light coalesced into a reflection of The Divine's essence.

The Symbol of The Divine and the Profane. The Profane is a mirror image of The Divine and is depicted as an inverted copy of The Divine. Sometimes just the top half is depicted, sometimes without the square. This however is the complete symbol.

This reflection emerged with a distinct aura. In all things The Divine, the reflection was its opposite. In all things good, the reflection was evil; in all things where The Divine had created, the reflection was destruction. For The Divine did not need a duplicate; The Divine demanded a test of all of its creations to prove themselves worthy of a place alongside The Divine.

And so, the Profane came to be, a cosmic test for all creation to prove their devotion to The Divine. The Divine and the Profane roamed the celestial realms, shaping and moulding the universe. The Profane's destruction and corruption pushed the boundaries of creation, while The Divine's guidance brought order and structure. And so, the universe was granted free will, a roiling ocean of chaos testing the resolve of all creation. All things truly Divine must pursue devotion in the face of destruction and the Profane.

The Divine Church of Saxum

All of Saxum worships The Divine in various forms and practices, and although the myriad of belief systems have existed throughout time, they have all held The Divine above all things. Over time, the various practices have been absorbed by rising cultures, dominant civilisations, and various orthodoxies. Towards the end of The Golden Empire, the last great empire, The Church, as it was known then, seeing the approaching downfall, sought to preserve itself and separated from the state in what became known as The Great Schism.

Whilst the old church did manage to outlast The Golden Empire, it was only prolonging the inevitable. The old church's influence rapidly retreated back to the home of the now fallen Golden Empire, in what is today known as Goldrock, managing to adapt and survive but as a shadow of its former glory.

With the passing of time and the formation of the United States of Saxum, the Federal government formed a new overarching religious body, The Divine Church of Saxum, to govern the state's religious practices, guide them to a singular purpose, and unified direction. This was before the First Amendment, in the Bill of Rights, forbidding the government from setting up a religious body. Initially, states resisted joining The Divine Church, but the benefits of joining this body quickly outweighed the drawbacks of not having a say at all. Thus, all the heads of faith in Saxum bought into the new agenda.

As with any lobby group, the state religious leaders all push their own faiths, practices, and agendas, vying for influence and the chance to define worship in The Divine as they see it across all of Saxum. The result is a collective council of religious leaders from across Saxum, known as 'The Grand Choir', which holds immense influence and power amongst their faithful. However, it has also resulted in the slow but steady erosion of smaller local cultural practices.

To house this religious gathering, the Federal Government granted the construction of a place of worship, visible for miles around Fortune City. 'The Basilica of The Divine Church of Saxum' was created, catering to all the administrative needs required for distributing the faith and managing the devout.

The Basilica of The Divine Church of Saxum aka ‘The Gate’

The Basilica of The Divine Church of Saxum, or more informally known as ‘The Gate’, rises up from the administrative buildings of Fortune City as two towers reaching to points in the sky. Across the space, pennants and offerings hang from chains forming what resembles a large portcullis, commonly known as The Gate. Positioned so the sun rises and falls between the two towers, it is a place of worship, pilgrimage, and access to The Divine.

It is believed that through this Gate, the soul travels to the cosmos to join The Divine amongst the stars. Many offerings and petitions, donations and supplications litter the base of the towers, with the truly desperate and vulnerable seeking to pass through the chains in the hope of healing or a place amongst the stars before their inevitable demise.

The Grand Choir

The Grand Choir is the governing body that dictates religious practice across all of Saxum. It consists of 301 members, made up as follows:

• 1 Conductor: The head of the Choir, who cannot cast a vote but directs the flow of meetings.
• 60 Appointed Members: These are appointed by the Federal Government, and as it currently stands, are predominantly residents of Fortune City.
• 240 Elected Members: These are put forward and voted for by the appointed members. Ideally, there would be 80 members for each state, but this has never been the case.

Any member of the Choir can cast another's vote on their behalf. This, in theory, is to ensure that everyone gets a say in unforeseen circumstances where they cannot attend meetings. However, in practice, this has led to bodies, particularly The Divine Church of Goldrock, holding the power of several votes to use as their own. Although never proven, there are constant rumours of shady backroom dealings to secure votes, but this would be unbecoming of a member of the Choir...

Fortune City

Fortune City is a (sometimes violent) mix of all religious views, with many religious practitioners heading to the capital to share their view of the world and hopefully convert others to their 'proper way of worship'. As a result, the capital has many places of worship, all in competition with each other, offering different takes on religion. Places run by those born in Fortune City might take influence from different religions, whereas places run by those from the great states will be more heavily influenced, if not exactly the same, as the religions from their home states.

The best example of this is the churches and missionaries connected to Goldrock's Church of The Divine, who view these places as firmly theirs despite residing outside of Goldrock.

The Wanderers have their own places of worship, but true to their nature, they can be hard to find for those not in the know. These places might be a cellar or back room of a tavern, or even a coffee house where Wanderers can sit in silent prayer whilst the city folk sit next to them, totally oblivious.

It is from the citizens of Fortune City that the government appoints the majority of its 60 seats on The Grand Choir. Obviously, the Wanderers could, in theory, sit on The Grand Choir; however, this would require registering as a citizen, and most Wanderers prefer the government not to know about their existence.

Religious Practices of the States

Not only do the individual states have their own religious practices, so too do the Wanderers of Saxum. More information can be found here:

• Religion in Goldrock
• Religion in Tamarillo
• Religion in Wheatstan
• Religion of The Wanderers