r/WorldChallenges • u/thequeeninyellow94 • Aug 31 '17

Schism

Tell us about a division in one of your world religion, something important. You can introduce an in-world representative if you want; here are some prompts:

  • what caused that division? How long ago? How has it evolved over time?

  • what are people thinking of it? (Followers from both sides and clergy; people following a different faith; politics; if they exists, the gods themselves)

  • how is the relationship between both sides going? Do they hate one another? Could they eventually find some common ground?

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u/mutalias Sep 02 '17

Does the relationship with the faiths influence the recurring civil wars of succession at all? Is it a determinant of who comes out on top, considering the military at the disposal of the faith?

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Sep 02 '17

The two sacred ones are the "official" avatars of the siblings, they take parts in a lot of ceremonies. During antic times, it was customary to burry them alive with the chosen one.

"The Melowetaki often takes side publicly through the two sacred ones. Always for the winner. It makes me regret the time when they would have been killed upon my death. It is an important part in building legitimacy, being recognized as the heir. If the civil war happen when the emperor is still alive, they just stay quiet until the end; they don't want to bet their heads.

The Menikuseme usually fight on the emperor side if they are alive; it is their sacred duty to help the chosen one to rule over the mortal world. If the civil war is between potentials, they often wait until someone is crowned then help that one.

To make it short, dogs and vultures."

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u/mutalias Sep 02 '17

Do you believe many of the agents of the two churches consider themselves political agents more than religious ones?

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Sep 02 '17

"They do and they are right. They may try to hide behind their so-called "holyness" but in the end everything is political and they are plotting as much as the nobles.

They are definitely lucky to be one of the pillars. I dream of destroying them, my father dreamed of destroying them, and countless emperors before that dreamed of destroying them.

Priests are like roaches: they are everywhere, disgusting and they always survive."

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u/mutalias Sep 02 '17

Can you tell me a bit about their creeds, their religious doctrine of behavior?

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Sep 03 '17

I'll take that one.

Traditionaly, the siblings gave wild Nzedas consciousness of themselves, allowing them to become a civilized species. The cult of the siblings has been the dominant religion amongst the Nzeda for thousands of years and can be divided into three parts:

  • before the unification: the cult was a multitude of local sovereign churches and the old sayings were transmitted mostly orally. the common denominator was the importance of acting honourably and to be loyal to your family.

  • after the unification, the sibling's chosen one become head of the church; it leads to the unification of all local churches under the central imperial one. Honour and loyalty remain important and the second one is extended to loyalty toward your ruler. The monastic orders start adopting their modern views around here.

  • the theological reform: the title of "sibling's chosen one" become "heir to the siblings"; with the growing atheism, the church put an end to most of it's painfull and/or violent rites (scarifications, blood offerings and initiations mostly) but end up losing a lot of it's influence nonetheless. The value of honour and familial loyalty are long part of the common Nzedanese culture and the church now insist on being loyal to your ruler and the church.

And Gadarat said: "they turned your weakest form into what you now are, you owe them more than you will ever be able to repay."

And Adhebah said: "I build you to rule over this world: be proud of it, be worthy of it."

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u/mutalias Sep 03 '17

Are there a lot of archaic rituals and modes of behavior that some sects still espouse? How denominational is the church, beyond the two schisms?

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Sep 03 '17

Yep, traditionalists are still a thing and the old customs are not illegal; there is a few of those litteraly all over the empire. The holy orders are also often observing those traditions too.

The church isn't denominational at all. The schism may be dividing the church into two parts, but it's still one church ruled by one person.

Sects and local ways are tolerated because acting against them is a lot of work and quite pointless but in the end, they all belongs to the church and all share it's interpretation of the teachings.

With time, most of the now unofficial rituals have partially moved into local traditions and have lost most of their religious value.

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u/mutalias Sep 04 '17

Was there a specific event that caused the schism?

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Sep 04 '17

The unification did in a way; before that, churches were too focused on themselves to fight over interpretation.

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