Arkian

In life we are impure, but in The Watcher’s gaze we are seen anew.

Arkian is a Zolaen-Centric denomination of religion within The Three Corners of Civilization. It is based in the firmly held belief that Zol, and The Trinity by extension were created by The Watcher in The Door through The First Tongue. It views the Zolaen Gods as absolute in their power, and that all other forms of divinity are not truly holy.

It also views ancient people as sinful, most notably Humans. This sin is largely based around the idea that ancient people caused The Undoing. The defining characteristic of Arkian belief compared to other Zolaen-Centric belief is that the people of Zol are guilty of crimes so great and horrible, that the Zolaen Gods had to destroy the old world and birth it anew. Its scripture says the people of Zol must pay penance for the sins of their ancestors. It is why so much was lost, and why modern life is so dangerous and challenging. Only through overcoming the challenges of Zol, and following The Watcher’s guidance can one find forgiveness.

• The Zolaen Gods
• The Trinity as an extension of The Watcher’s power
• Atonement
• Overcoming adversity
• Purity
• The First Tongue
• Vizir

• The Zolaen Gods
  • The Watcher
  • The Night Empress
  • The Lifeweaver
  • Yanneran
  • Tellab, the Wise
  • Giriam
  • Ayamot
  • Ohlit
• Lesser Gods allied to the Zolaen Gods
  • Bethar
  • Ellyon and Aradon
• The Trinity

In regards to the Origin of Zol, Arkian scripture tells of The Watcher defeating Goh’zul, then speaking The First Tongue. Arkian belief states that by speaking it in that moment, The Watcher created The First Tongue. Though this power he bound the other Zolaen Gods and The Trinity.

Arkian scripture teaches that ancient society was advanced and holy. However, in its later years the people of Zol strayed from the Zolaen Gods.

Arkian belief dictates that the Zolaen Gods enacted The Undoing as punishment to the people of Zol for heinous crimes.

Arkian churches can manifest in one of two ways. The first being places of worship which are structured to worship all of the Zolaen Gods as a whole. These are called Octainiaries, after the eight gods. The second are places of worship structured to follow a specific member of the Zolaen Gods, called Moniaries. The latter still pay respect to the pantheon as a whole, but they focus on the specific teachings and domain of a singular god.

Churches may form as an individual organization, but often they are part of a larger collection of churches. Most commonly this is limited to the scope of a whole city, but sometimes they exceed that boundary.

Churches are headed either an Octavian Priest, or a Monian Priest based on the type of church. Churches with a wider network are headed by Zoltrum Octavian, or a Zoltrum Monian. Beneath an Octavian or Monian Priest there are usually High Priests, and Priests.

Modernist belief largely focuses on the idea of inherited sin, and being forgiven through devout worship to the Zolaen Gods. To a modernist, forgiveness is something that is easily obtained from The Watcher if it is sought out with honesty and humility. However, forgiveness is not held in perpetuity. One must live as a servant to the Zolaen Gods.

Fundamentalist belief is similar to modernist belief in the sense that it focuses on the idea of inherited sin. However, fundamentalist belief tends to view the sin as far more abhorrent. Fundamentalists see themselves as pure, and above the “scum” of those who are sinful.

Arkian worship is extremely widespread. It exists within most regions of The Three Corners. Most notably in the eastern kingdoms of Kapesh and The Free Cities of Alderun.

• The specific nature of the crimes committed by the final generations of ancient peoples are not known. Arkian scripture mentions things like fraternizing with Gods other than the Zolaen Gods, fraternizing with dark forces, attempting to surpass the Zolaen Gods, and other things of similar heretical nature.
• Sin is a widely debated topic within the scope of Arkian scripture. Though it it mostly associated with criminal activity, poor care of ones self/home/city, violence (that is unapproved by the church), wrath, promiscuity, over-indulgence, fraternization with Gods not approved by Arkian scripture, and things of the like.
• Arkian worship is very similar to Dorian worship, however they differ in the sense that Arkian belief focuses on the idea of inherited sin, and atonement. Arkian belief sees the modern world as an opportunity for atonement. Dorian belief instead focuses on the idea of the modern world being a second chance at life. The two churches were once a single denomination, but diverged long ago. This divergence occurred before razing events like the Beast Ire Plague, and possibly even The Dragon War. The true nature of this divergence has been lost to time, and is largely debated.

• The Temple of Doors, in the East of The Three Corners