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The Makerist Faith

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MarkZ:
Makerism


The Beginning

   Before the dawn of time, the Cosmos whirled in chaos and disorder. The heavens above shifted and spun relentlessly, and no life could prosper, it was truly an Abyss. Whatever divine beings wrought this havoc upon the Maker’s universe are gone now, for upon his awakening before conceivable time they were vanquished. Mayhaps he was simply slumbering, and so it was that without him Order could not reign, but no matter the cause, the effect was certain.The Universe halted, its heavenly bodies began to move in slow meandering patterns, the stars formed rigidly, and the Universe as we know it under the Maker was born.

   So it was that our Universe was forged, however our world had not yet been born. The bright balls of fire that once whisked wildly across the cosmos had halted, but no such world as our own yet existed. Not but slow meandering light, and darkness now existed. The Maker, now awakened, grew weary of this, and in his divine intelligence, required more. And so it was that he created our World. He took a near star, and examined its light. This he saw, would be the first of his elements: Fire. He clasped the star tight and quenched its flame, leaving only a dense mass behind, and thusly the second element, Earth, was born. He then began to sculpt that mass, he placed massive indents, large peaks, and flat plateaus. He filled those massive holes with a new element of his own ingenuity; he filled them with Water. These became our first oceans, his plateaus our first land masses, and his peaks our Mountains.

   His creation was not yet done, for what could he do with yet another floating mass. And so it was that he blew unto our world, and from his breath came the final element; Air. With this, he could now begin to design our world. He covered the lands in lush green plains, he dotted the landscape with lakes and rivers for he loved the beauty of the Water he created. He did many things with this most versatile of elements, he froze it and covered our mountains with it, and then with it he created clouds, a thick fog to forever shield him from our sight. He built this perfect world, but had noone to share its glory with. His lonesome tormented him, for he is a great being, and could not stand to be alone in such a wide cosmos.

The Gift of Life
   
   To soothe his lonesome, he created life on his World. He created all manner of beings in all shapes and sizes. His first creations were truly grotesque and attractive to look at, and so he made their domain the sea, where in its depths he would not have to see them. As he grew fond of creating living beings, he began to create the first creatures of the land. Large and still a bit grotesque, they were able to be looked upon with pride. And yet as he looked down upon his new creations, he felt something was missing. Though they could never come to him, there was such vast space above the earth, and such a beautiful sight to be seen when looking down, that he could not be the only one to know its glory. And so he gifted some of his creations with wings, and they could then soar through the air and see what he had done.

   And so it was that the Maker had created life, and his quiet absent world quickly became a bustling wilderness. Millenia passed by, and in that time he saw his creatures interact and was fascinated by it. He created new beings in new ways with new traits and each time saw and loved them even more. However as time passed, he began to grow tired of them. Their animosity, their simple instincts, and all at once he realized what he had done, he had created the very existence he himself wanted nothing to do with. It was chaos, with no order or control, just on a smaller scale. He was saddened, reminded of his days before, and knowing that each of his beings meant nothing if they were but walking mindless husks, no matter how great and terrible some may have been.

   He pondered, for what could have been another millennia, leaving his savage beings to wreak havoc on each other whilst he did. The earth in some places scorched, in some froze, in some became overgrown, in some flooded. It was the Makers absence in that time that formed the world as we know it, no longer a paradise. Unshielded, those places that were scorched became our deserts. Unloved, those places that were frozen became our Tundras. Unchecked, those places overgrown became our forests. Unguarded, those places that were flooded became our swamps. A fair bit of land maintained itself, and by sheer luck, we have our plains. But what, after so long would he place now within them?

The Divi and the Dawn of Man

   The Maker in his infinite wisdom, created children in his own image, beings of modest size, but beings of intelligence over savagery, He created mankind. However alone, man would not be able to survive such a world, and so to guide them, and to rule beneath him, the Maker created the Divi Filius, his four sons, that would aid man in mastering his domains. He created Vahgar, patron of the skies, to watch over man in its inception. He created Rhudan, patron of the Sea, to quell its rough waters and subdue its wild beasts, so man could tame it and master the sea for its own. He created Diath, patron of the land, to bring life and prosperity to the men that dwelled upon it, and he created Ortysis, patron of the abyss, warden to all those souls damned to its eternal depths for abusing the Makers many gifts, or for lacking gratitude for them. These divinities would take human form, and spread wide across the lands, leading men in the conception of civilization. It is under them that such primordial beasts as the Makers first creations were slain, and it is under them that society was born.

*It is here in scripture that the branches of Makerism find their divide. What follows below is not scripture, but a summary and brief look at what each branch believes.*

Orthodox Makerism

Those of the oldest practices, the Orthodox faith, believe fully in the divinity of the Divi Filius. In their eyes these immortal and ethereal lesser gods took human form, and led mankind out of the dark ages. They interbred with some of mankind, and gave rise to the Age of Heroes. In Orthodox mythology, the Divi often take a direct hand in the helping of their heroes, and are often responsible for the victory that Heroes find, and the failure that villains face. This continued practice of old traditional belief is a mark of pride that its followers hold dearly. The Orthodox faith is practiced widely in the northern regions, the taiga and some of the converted nordic sectors as it is closer to the old pagan faith. The Vaegirs, being the old descendents of the Northern Empire, hold their values close, and the divine right of the Tsar and his family to lead is an imperative part of their culture. However with such divinity, there are several other remarkable Boyars that are able to trace their lineage back far enough to also claim divine right to rule, the more powerful of them have at several points in history, usurped the throne.

Core Makerism

In the faith of the central Makerists, Core makerism practiced widely in swadia, the Divi Filius are seen as powerful immortal beings that were created for the purpose of guiding mankind out of the dark age. They began the first civilizations and once again, interbred with mankind, however when their job was fulfilled they were taken back up to the Makers side. In Core Makerism the Divi are worshiped and revered as powerful divinities, however once they were taken from this world they no longer were able to influence it. In Core Mythology the divi are regarded as paragons of their domain, and their children and ancestors show incredible talent in their respective Divi’s domain. They are, as those with divine blood, stronger, smarter, and simply a higher quality of being than normal humans, however the Divi are not directly involved with their heroes. Many of these tales focus on the divinity within the blood of the heroes, and though these tasks are completed by them alone (or with mortal company), their greatness is attributed to their blood. This is a very important aspect in the Monarchy as it is the Divi blood that supports the divine right of kings to rule over man.

Revisionist Makerism

In the faith of the southern Makerists, the revisionists, widely practiced in the Rhodok confederacy, the Divi Filius are seen as powerful beings of divine creation, however they are seen as mortal. It is believed that, though with greater lifespan and greater ability than normal men, the Divi were created, lived, and died on earth. They were made as the first line of Rulers for men, to lead them from the dark ages and begin the civilizations of the world, however they were mortal, and it is their children that continued their legacy. This change is imperative and was a large influence during the swift revolution that recently shook the south of calradia. Seeing as the Divi were, though important and still revered, not necessarily divine beings, the divine right of kings was questioned. Though all things are indeed the will of the Maker, the Revisionists focus more on the Gifts of Man. The Maker created these fragile but intelligent beings to watch them prosper, and thusly Revisionists prefer to focus on merit, ability, and talent, rather than simply blood. The nobility still maintain their political control, as it is the Makers will that some men are born to lead and some to follow, but at the level of the monarchy, their power was shaken with this development. Myths of the Revisionist church focus highly on the merit and talent of mortal men, aided by the gifts their Divi ancestors passed down to them. You will find little in the realm of the supernatural in these myths, but rather they are filled with ingenuity, witty decision making, martial prowess, and occasionally, a bit of luck with the help of the Maker.

The Age of Heroes

Following the departure of the Divi, the tribes and petty kingdoms that made up Calradia at this time faced incredible hardships. Many of the old titanous creatures of the days before man had been slain and destroyed by the work of the Divi and the Makers guidance, however mankind now had to prove itself as worthy of the Makers continued care. Many horrible creatures still roamed the lands, and it was the duty of mankind, led by the many children of the Divi, known as the Liberi Deo, or the Liberi for short, began the effort to preserve mankind, and to rise above the rest of the Makers creations to prove its worth. The tales told here are our foundation, the very pinnacle of mankind, and the reason we are here today. The Maker is merciful, but just, and does not give unto those who are not worthy of giving.

*Past this point is where the bulk of the faith’s scriptures are found.*

The tales of the Liberi, the Children of Gods (the name was pinned in the earliest stages of the faith, now the orthodoxy, but only to them are they actually considered children of gods.), or more often referred to simply as the “Heroes'' are found past this point. These tales differ for each branch, some have the same tale told different ways in accordance to belief, but all are made as lessons and it is here that the basis of human morality is found and justified.
This is where the community enters the picture, I have lain the groundwork, but it is up to those of us who want to be involved in the roleplay to fill the rest. There will be a section of the forums dedicated to religions, and there will (soon) be the ability for any player to write up a moral story of any branch, and submit it to be reviewed. If found fitting, and in accordance with the lore, it will be accepted as canon, and this is how heroes and those revered as saints are made. I myself will of course contribute to start things off, but this is more or less how we will, for once, have a religion that has depth, purpose, and meaning. Now rather than empty speeches about penance and sin and vague descriptions of god during sermons, each one can be dedicated to a specific tale, divi, or period of human history. I think this will really help religious roleplay in the community take off, and I hope everyone agrees.

***Side note, everything above this note, and below, may be familiar, and thats because it is what was used for CRP4. From my perspective in 4, more people tended to use this religion in roleplay than did with older versions, and so i figured we could try it again. Everything below is sort of a TLDR/timeline of how Makerists see the world, then a short paragraph detailing why i felt it might be better this way***

-Vahgar(Sky), Rhudan(Sea), Diath(Land), Ortysis(Underworld/Abyss)
-Dieties help man fend off titanous primordial beasts(Split happens here, in some they are gods, some divine entities, some Mortal but powerful men)
-Go back to Maker , leave men to their own devices, but had many children whilst they were on earth and started bloodlines of heroes
-Age of heroes
-Heroic age is where heroes with mortal men following them slay the rest of the primordial beasts of the world, the lesser ones like dragons, hydras, cyclops, giant boars, and other monsters
-tales from here form morality, right and wrong, similar to greek myth, they all have a lesson (most)
-The last of the heroes, Liberi Deo - means children of god, became the founder of the Empire. -Human history starts here. The current date is based on the founding of the Calradic Empire.
-Human history happens.
   For everyone who is reading this; Yes the origin story of makerism is rather short, I believe the older one wasn't much longer to be fair, but that's the point. It's easily read. The difference between my new one and his old one is that there is INFINITE room to expand and really create a faith. The heroic age is vast and literally brings us from the stone age (with the divi) all the way to the empire. There will be plenty of stories filling the gaps, some written and some passed by oral tradition. So now in a sermon instead of “Be good, praise the Maker, burn heretics” The priests can be orators and tell tales of valour, love, might, greed, and each will have a moral that they can explain to the audience. Think of it like ancient greek mythology mixed with christianity. People can now attend mass and not be bored as fuck, it can last an hour instead of five minutes. Just opens a plethora of new roleplay for the church. And of course they can STILL do the same praising of the maker they like to do, this just gives more options
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