Pakdeen

Pākdeen, also known as Pākism, is a Arianian, monotheistic religion originating in the Talasi continent. Pākdeen is currently Practiced in the Imperial Confederation of the Karanids.
The Pākdeen god, Pākbagh (Pronounced /ˈpɑːk bæq/), demanded that all must become as pure as him to rid the world of Drūj (Evil). 
Their goal is to make the world as pure as the Pākbagh, sometimes with force if necessary. 
The Pākdeen believe that the most righteous thing is good deeds. The Pākbagh says that the only path to Behesht (Heaven) is through good deeds and actions, helping make the world pure. 
== History ==
Pākdeen is the descendant religion of Sunism.
=== The Sunism Era ===
==== The Beginnings ====
Since the War of the Comet, records of the origins of Sunism became lost to time. The only record we have of it's origins are those told by it's followers and it's prophet, who appears to withstand the passage of time. 
According to them, the religion began with revelations send by the Pākbagh's light, who was originally interpreted as being the sun itself, to the religion's prophet xNinjacraft. 
Those revelations not only made him immortal, so that he could spread the message of "the sun", but the revelations themselves burnt their eyes into an orange colour, bringing him the name "Orange Eyes". He documented those revelations into the religion's holy book, the "Book of The Sun".
Preaching near the Morikomi Mountains, the religion began to gain followers and notoriety, to the point of being invited to join the Morikomi Shamanism umbrella, with it's prophet becoming one of it's shamans.
==== War of the Comet ====
All was well for a long time, and the religion spread far on Eldham. Things started to change with the announcement of the imminent coming of Iristor and his comet. As the balances were disturbed and wars were emmerging, the very own light of the sun started to get overshadowed by the comet's, and that disturbed sunnists. However, one of the core concepts of sunnists is the praising of the passing moments, the changing, simbolized by the sunrises and sunsets. The prophet xNinjacraft guided them, saying that, just as all things pass through a process of metamorphisis, so did sunism. And he assured the religions followers that these moments of crisis were prophesized, as well as the freezing of the known worlds, and the taking of its worthy inhabitants to a new world. He assured that that moment of crisis was not only inevitable, but needed, for the beggining of a story is nothing more then an end.
=== The Pākdeen Era ===
==== The Path to Pākdeen ====
After the War of the Comet, The Sunists had been thrown into disarray. The war made their holy book be lost to time, and although the prophet was still alive, the toil of countless ages and the comet's overshadow of the sun's light hit his memory severally, with him having trouble preaching god's words. Because of this, the religion began to be misinterpreted and abused.
One fateful evening, after roaming around the new land for some time, Ninja had been given a message from god while praising the sunset. "Between the sunset and the sunrise, seek the messenger of the light". The prophet then started his journey, searching for this chosen land, with clear access to the sunset and the sunrise. After a long travel, he finally found it: a peninsula at the very tip of Norvinia, in a nation called Caranthea, with clear access to both sunset and sunrise on the horizon. He knew that was the place, since just by being there his head became clearer, as well as his path for purity. That place became the "lil' shack", a holy place to Pakdeen religion and the place that, unbeknownst to him, would lead to his meeting with the religion's next prophet.
==== The Meeting ====
After receiving the message, not even knowing if Caranthea was the chosen land, 0range Eyes began preaching around the area, spreading what he could remember from the religion, still rehabilitating from the transitioning process onto the new land. One night thought, Pākbagh appeared to him again, with the same message to "seek the messenger of the light". He knew his answer would be in Ahurane, Caranthea's capital, and right in the morning he started his trek throughout the thick Caranthean Mangroves.
Upon his arrival in Ahurane, 0range Eyes saw a Prophet preaching his religion outside of a temple. Ninja approached the Prophet, putting his hand on his shoulder. Upon touching the Prophet, 0range Eyes saw an angelic vision, as if the Prophet had wings, and everything came back to him. His memories, his holy book, his eternal mission to spread the message of god, who up to that point he saw as the sun, but only now understood that those lights were but a mere product of the true god, Pākbagh.
"Excuse me, How may I help you my friend?" Said the Prophet. Shocked back to reality, Ninja asked "What is your name?". 
"My name? Its Parwiz.".
==== The Enlightenment ====
Cutting back sometime. A young Parwiz was in The Jagged Peaks of Talasi, attempting to hike across. While there, he had noticed that the sun seemed to have been stagnant, as if it was frozen in place. Slowly, Parwiz approached the sun, there he noticed that it wasn't a sun, it was a ball of light floating mid air. Parwiz reached out to touch the ball. Once his fingers touched the light it popped, disappeared. Parwiz was quite disappointed, and with the disappointment, he as felt a tad drowsy. Over a minute the tad turned into a ton, and Parwiz fell into a deep slumber. In a field of flowers, Parwiz was awoken. "Am I dead?" Parwiz thought to himself, a reasonable thought seeing his current setting. After some strolling around the field, Parwiz found the same glowing ball of light. After touching it once more, this time it didn't break, instead taking the form of a golden apple. After some consideration, Parwiz took a bite. After biting the "Apple of Knowledge", Parwiz was enlightened with all the knowledge of the heavens.
After a few minutes, Parwiz woke up from his slumber, buried from the snow of the mountains. In his diary he began to write the Kitābpāk, ready to spread the message of god.
==== The Era of Parwiz ====
Coming back to current time, after Parwiz and xNinja's odd encounter, the two dove into a deep conversation about god and religion. The Prophet of the sun told Parwiz that god had sent him to find Parwiz and that he knows that Parwiz is the prophet of God, he claimed that he was a prophet as well.
At first Parwiz Brushed off the man, thinking it was just some mad lunatic. However late that night while he was sleeping, he received a vision from god telling him to find that man, that he is also a prophet.
Parwiz rushed out of bed and went out to find The Prophet of the Sun. After much searching he found him in the shack past the southern mangrove.
"I was wrong, we must work together my friend.".
== Prayer ==
=== Pre-prayer cleansing ===
All Pākdeen must cleanse themselves before prayer.
Pre ritual cleansing is done by washing the feet. It is believed that, like cold air, sins fall to the bottom of the body while good deeds float, and so the Pākdeen wash their feet before prayer to clear any impurities.
Most Mehrkhānehs have water at their entrance, removing the need to wash your feet at home before going to the temple.
=== Praying ===
The Pākdeen pray once a day when the sun is at its highest. Their house of prayer is called a Mehrkhāneh, which translates into "House of sun".
The head of prayer, better known as the Māhghad, stands in the center of the Mehrkhāneh, reading from a Kitābpāk. Everyone stands in a circle around the Māhghad with their head's down, standing silently as he recites the prayer verses from the Kitābpāk. Once the verses have been spoken everyone can silently make their own requests to the Pure lord as he is now listening.
Once the faithful are done praying, they will simply raise their heads and go about their day.
A notable thing is that during times of danger or war one must not pray, instead focusing their efforts to eliminate any threat.
=== Māhghads ===
A Māhghad is a leader of prayer in the Pākdeen religion. To become a Māhghad one must be have the Kitābpāk memorised and must be initiated by another Māhghad in a Ziyādoosh ceremony. A Māhghad must tend to the Mehrkhāneh and lead prayer daily.
== Ceremonies ==
=== Vahiyān Pāk ===
Vahiyān Pāk is the ceremony used to convert to Pākdeen. The ceremony is performed at mid night. The one converting will sit in the center of the Mehrkhāneh. The Māhghad with spray the one converting with holy water, chanting the Vahiyān Pāk prayer. After the water on the converted's skin dries he will have converted to Pākdeen.
=== Ziyādoosh ===
The Ziyādoosh is the ceremony used to become a Māhghad. The Future Māhghad will stand in the center of the Mehrkhāneh as the active Māhghad reads the Ziyādoosh prayer from a Kitābpāk. Finally the Māhghad must stand and wait until Mid Day where he is, unless it is already Mid Day where his conversion will be complete. The future Māhghad must have the entire Kitābpāk memorised.
== Practices ==
== Beliefs ==
=== Pākbagh ===
The Pākbagh, portrayed in the symbol of Pākdeen, is the god of the religion. 
The Pākbagh is an unseen, unheard entity, only portrayed in drawings made from the description of the Prophet, as he refuses to show what the Pākbagh truly looks like, lest his followers worship the image as an idol.
As it can be seen in the name of Pākbagh, he is the god of Purity, Knowledge, and of the Heavens and the Earths.
=== Drujpād ===
Drujpād is the opposite of Pākbagh . He causes all evil in the world, wreaking death havoc and destruction through those who do bad acts. Drujpād wishes to turn the world into a unlivable hellscape where all are being tortured for eternity. He was created by the Pākbagh to help create the world, however after seeing how much greater the creations of the Pākbagh were, he was filled with jealousy. One fateful day, the Drujpād decided to bring darkness to the world. He attacked the world, creating the night, the darkness and death. 
=== Creation of the Yahān ===
The Yahān, is the belief that all of the worlds are one, part of one large world, the Yahān.
In the Pākbagh's creation of the Yahān, he created the world perfectly pure and in his image. In the world he made large plains, fields of flowers, fruits and trees. He created animals to inhabit, like dogs and cows.
Once he had created the perfect domain, he made humans.
After the creation of the Yahān, the Drujpād saw the creation of the Pākbagh and watched with envy. Angered that he is only capable of destruction, he attacked the Yahān.
The Drujpād's attacks made wolves, hunger, disease, mountains, and his magnum opus, death.
== Holy scripture ==
=== Kitābpāk ===
The Kitābpāk is the Pākdeen holy book. It was written by the prophet Parwiz when he ascended to the top of the Jagged Peaks of Talasi and was enlightened by Pākbagh. It is written in Āryāvāk and followers of Pākdeen believe that it carries the pure, unaltered word of god.
== Mehrkhāneh ==
File:Mehrkhaneh Face.png.png|Mehrkhaneh Face
File:Mehrkhaneh entrance.png.png|Mehrkhaneh entrance
File:Mehrkhaneh Floor.png.png|Mehrkhaneh floor
File:Mehrkhaneh-roof.png|Mehrkhaneh roof
The Mehrkhāneh is a small, dome-like structure where the Pākdeen pray. It consists of a domed roof, a circular floor and many extra things to help with praying
At the entrance, there is a pool of water which people must walk over. This cleans the person's feet, purifying them. The floor consists of a circle of water with a quartz pillar in the center. Surrounded by the center is multiple pillars on the floor showing where the people praying should stand. The roof is dome like with a hole in the center. The hole shows when the sun is at high noon, indicating that it is time to pray.
There is no standardization on how they should be built and it is not necessary for it to be in quartz, it should simply meet the previously mentioned requirements along with not having any lights inside.
Category:Religions
Category:Lore