Devout Arbourism

Devout Arbourism is a socio-political and religiously-pluralistic ideology in which the internal sections of Taravoran governance are controlled by five different religious factions, together they form the Cultisect court with the Cultivar leading as "First among equals." It was developed by the provisional Arbourist administration in response to the destruction of the Taravoran Capital, Ara and the swift collapse of the Aran-centred administration thereafter.
Its progressive philosophy stems from ideals of religious freedoms and decentralisation that were prevalent during the political movement of 'Arbourism' after the Aran Tree fire.
== Etymology and symbolism ==
The name for 'Devout Arbourism' originates from the popular political movement in Taravor at the time, Arbourism. Arbourism was the belief that Taravor needs to be united after the immense destruction of the capital and that rebuilding society peacefully was vital. Hence the word 'ar·bor·ist' which means tree surgeon. The adjective devout was chosen to due to show the diversity of faith now ruling Taravor and how Taravor had become more spiritual with the rootworld.
The flag is comprised of the Carithian symbols for the word 'Taravor' -or garden as a more direct translation- and a white silhouette of the Taravor emblem rotated 45° clockwise with 5 coloured stars: this directly mirrors the layout of the Cultisect court constructed inside of the Scorched Aran Tree, with each star representing one of the Five Minor Faiths' chairs. 
== History ==
Since Iristor's comet, the Aran Tree and the prosperous city inside it defined the region of Taravor. It's unmatched influence and growth was largely thanks to the theocratic society built in the tree, in Ara, people devoted their life, home and their faith into the Aran Tree. This created a culture of unity which unfortunately lead to many atrocities such as the flattening of the nearby Neverwinter and the harpy genocide. When jeremydw was appointed Cultivar, he had grander visions for Ara. A nation united in faith. 
=== Formation of Taravor ===
In 14VE, the Gardens of Taravor was officially formed by the Capital Ara, and the neighbouring 'branches' of Arkadia, Cyathus and Neverwinter. The new theocratic government implemented strict nation-wide laws preventing the public worship or discussion of non-Grand Tree faiths. These laws however were rarely enforced beyond the Aran city, this was made clear by the Cyathus very public patronage of the Saffronis Faith. However, the "extremist" Cult of ⊙ঌ was seen as a threat due to their anti-Aran sentiment due to many members of the Cult being local harpies who had been subjected to Aran-ordained genocide just a century ago, and jeremydw implemented a complete ban for all activity associated with the Cult of ⊙ঌ. As time passed, new faiths emerged in secret, such as the Button Cyadoxy or the Grand Moth faith. There was also the issue of jeremydw's age getting higher and mental state getting worse coupled with the recent vassalisation of the nearby Kaisenivir, the political climate in Taravor was ready for change. 
=== Scorched faith ===
Scorched Aran Tree, Cyathus-Ara 
It burnt for 10 days. Anarchy ensued long after. Giant pultruding basalt spikes formed around the Scorched Tree almost to deter away onlookers. The Taravoran capital was burning, and with it the Grand Tree faith. 
Almost all of the interior of the city of Ara had been destroyed, however a small residential section had survived, untouched. It's unclear who lit ablaze Ara, some historians think it was an act of god, however public opinion shifted negatively towards their Cultivar, their 'protector' who had failed and had rumoured to have fled to the nearby town of Arkadia. The consensus was that he was guilty and that justice must be served. 
=== Arbourism ===
Quickly, a new provisional government was formed and lead by the interim Cultivar DiiZCow, who lead Cyathus and the Saffronis faith at the time along with the three other faiths (Grand Moth Faith, Button Cyadoxy and Dreams of Ravaren). It was at this time the movement of 'Arbourism' had become extremely popular, it was the belief of the necessity of needing to unite after the Great Tree fire and to rebuild society with fairer values and beliefs. The word 'Arborist' is to be a tree surgeon, which is what Arbourists sought out to be, to tear down the oppressive pillars of the Aran theocracy and heal Taravor, however there were still debates on how to govern from the ashes of the tree but one thing was certain, that Taravor would never unite in one faith again. 
=== Faith devolution ===
Swiftly after the collapse of Ara, the Cult of ⊙ঌ had taken over the Aran-run military guild and people were worried that an inevitable ⊙ঌ takeover was upon Taravor. So the provisional government negotiated a deal in which each Minor faith would hold a 'Faith Sector' which would be in charge of a sector of Taravor (millitary, production etc.). This devolving and decentralization of governance would remain critical in perpetually creating a balance of power and reliance between the now Five Minor faiths. And thus the Cultisect court was officially formed, with each leader of the Five Minor faiths deemed a 'Cultisect' of their respective faith sector. Finnaly, the Devout Arbourist Administration was formed, and Geralt-Jaimes Tauralea (S1rGerald) along side his sister Striva-Miralei (StregaStrooga) -patrons of the Button Cyadoxy- were anointed Cultivars of Taravor.
=== jeremydw's trial ===
The purpose of the Cultisect court was to be a judicial body in the now planned trial of jeremydw, after his capture in the frontier town of Helmfirth. The physical courtroom was to be constructed inside of the scorched tree to symbolise the rebuilding of a nation, with each chair intimately designed for that faith.
Whether jeremydw actually burnt down the tree was practically irrelevant in the eyes of the new Devout Arbourist administration, the people were angry and desperately needed closure and justice. Especially, Aran migrants who had lost their home, their family and their faith all in one consuming flame. It was in the administrations best interest to publicise the trial as much as possible, as morale was ever decreasing with rampant famines across Taravor.
The trial was a short one, with jeremydw pleading not guilty and then later admitting to the whole plot. Nonetheless, he was condemned the rootprison inside of the tree. The obvious punishment was of course death however Striva-Miralei argued against this. "Why waste such a good statesman?", besides the evidence was not exemplary enough and Taravor could use jeremydw in the future if needed as jeremydw would be trapped between the boundary of the rootworld and the world of man, forever stuck. Most agreed that it was a fitting punishment. Some question if he was guilty at all, although they would never dare to say that out loud.
After the trial, Kaisenivir illegally seceded from Taravor. This has sparked many questions on whether Taravor's own instability had caused this or whether something more nefarious was present. 
=== Rootborn Calendar ===
After the "success" of the trial, it was clear that Taravor needed to get itself organised, so the new government devised the 'Rootborn Calendar', a national census across Taravor.The results showed something unprecedented. Most of Taravor was atheist. This made sense in a way, after the utter destruction of the Aran Tree and consequentially the Grand Tree faith people had lost faith, however this faith was not rekindled by the new administration. This also explained the inactivity that the faith sectors faced. Geralt-Jaimes Tauralea proposed a solution, secularisation of the faith sectors and the Cultisects instead electorally chosen. The faith sectors would still have the same structure but merit instead of faith or devotion would be considered. This radical proposal would redefine what Devout Arbourism was and Striva-Miralei was adamantly against it, wanting to keep the traditional values of the faiths and was afraid that this would lead to eventual centralization into a government resembling the Aran theocratic administration, the very thing they swore to never bring back. 
As of now, no reforms have been made regarding the Cultisects being elected or not. The debate still continues as one side wishes to change what it means to be "devout" yet the other challenges the Arbourist principles that lay the groundwork for the new governance. 
== Theory ==
The system of Devout Arbourism is built from layers of the old traditions and ideas of governance prior to the Grand Tree fire yet it still incorporates the ideals of decentralization and religious freedoms for Taravor.
This is clear in the way the administration works: with the Branch leaders (Mayors) appointing a number of tribunes depending on the importance or development of the town. This tribunal system was originally created in Cyathus however after the creation of Taravor the Aran government implemented this on a nation wide scale. The new Arbourist administration decided to keep this as to not to annoy the shaky aristocracy of town leaders who were vital if the new government was to succeed.
The tribunal is in parallel to the revolutionary 'Faith Sectors' lead by each religion from the Five Minor faiths and their respective Cultisect loyal to the Cultivar. With the Cult of ⊙ঌ taking over the prior Aran military guild after the fire, it made sense to devolve the sectors of governance to the now-named Five Minor faiths: The Cult of ⊙ঌ, Button Cyadoxy, Saffronis' Society, Grand Moth Faith, Dreams of Ravaren. This was to completely avoid the chance of a monotheocratic takeover of Taravor as each faith sector would keep each other in equilibrium, with each faction wanting to maintain the delicate balance of power and influence in Taravor.
The head of the Cultisects is the Cultivar, appointed among the Cultisects to cultivate and keep the faith sectors in check. Originally, the term 'Cultivar' was the term for the head of the Taravor under the Aran governance however the name was kept to keep continuity with the people of Taravor for their leader.