Dorian

Beauty can only be seen within The Watcher’s Vision

Dorian 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 view The Undoing as a sort of salvation. There are many interpretations of the cause of the event. Regardless of personal belief Dorian worship sees the The Awakening as a second chance for Zol granted by the Zolaen Gods. The defining characteristic of Dorian belief is the focus on perfection in the eyes of The Watcher, or more accurately the Church’s interpretation of The Watcher’s vision.

• Perfection
• Striving for a better world
• The Watcher’s vision for a second world
• Forgiveness through The Awakening
• The Trinity

• 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, Dorian 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.

Dorian scripture teaches that ancient society was advanced and holy. However, it is thought that some darkness overtook the world in the later ages, which eventually lead to The Undoing. The specific nature of this darkness varies widely across various Dorian churches, and individual interpretation.

As a whole, Dorian belief does not agree much on the exact nature of what caused The Undoing. Though this has not caused too much discourse within the denomination because much of Dorian belief focuses on the idea that The Awakening was a salvation for the people of Zol. Though the main belief’s within Dorian worship regarding the cause of The Undoing are:

• Some great sin was carried out by all, or most of ancient civilization that caused the Zolaen Gods to destroy the old world.
• Some great sin was carried out ancient Humans that caused the Zolaen Gods to destroy the old world. This belief is largely what is accepted within the Dorian churches of Gethsemane.
• An imbalance within The Trinity caused The Undoing, but the Zolaen Gods saved the people of Zol. This theory is particularly known for having many specific interpretations, and being particularly vague.
• Some dark force such as The Anti-Trinity or The Shroud of the Void attacked Zol, and caused The Undoing. However, the Zolaen Gods saved the people of Zol.

Dorian 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 betterment, and rediscovery of the world. By making Zol a better place, and comprehending it, one takes strides towards The Watcher’s true vision of Zol.

Fundamentalist belief largely focuses on the ideas of perfection, and living the correct way. This manifests as doing everything in ones power to excel at the things one dedicates themselves to, and present themselves as exemplary in the eyes of their peers, and The Watcher. In doing so, they become a piece of The Watcher’s great plan for Zol. Fundamentalist belief is also directed outwards. Fundamental Dorians often cast judgement on others, especially those who live sinful lives, or worship other gods.

• Dorian worship is extremely widespread. It exists within most regions of The Three Corners. Most notably in the western kingdoms of Gethsemane and Laenwalde.

• 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.
• Theologians and sociologist believe that in the coming centauries, more branches of Zolaen-Centric belief will break off Dorian worship due to differences in beliefs regarding the cause of The Undoing.

• The Church of The Watcher, in the West of The Three Corners