Church of Soacism

**Just a note: None of the beliefs expressed in this faith, are not at all related to my own :)**

**The Church of Soacism**, otherwise known as **Soacism** is the primary Lettonian religion, in which 90.2% of Lettonians claim to subscribe to. Soacism is a polytheistic religion which dates back thousands of years, and forms every core belief of the modern Lettonian nation, from politics, to social beliefs and so forth. The idea of Soacism, is that there are eight gods, which will be named later, and that followers of the faith should live their lives in the gods vision, using them as inspiration. The religion is only prevelant in Lettonia, and its former colonies of Tennemagma and Osrhoene.

## A Brief History of the Church

The Lettonians claim the heritage of their faith stretches all the way back to 2100 B.C when a group of Auximian shepherds in the mountains of western Eluthania (or modern day Eluthania for clarification) were visited by the eight gods, and were told to not be afraid, for they were there to bring salvation to them and their people.

> *"And so they spoke to the shepherds, 'Do not fear, do not be afraid, for we have come to bring salvation to you, those who need it the most'. The shepherds fled back to their home village to spread this wonderous news,"* -Book of Origines, 1:1
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It is unknown as all sources have been lost what faith or religions the Auximians followed before, but the religion spread by wildfire over the span of 300 years, before finally, the King converted and fell before the feet of the King of the Gods, and submitted to only rule in his image. From this point on, Soacism became the state religion, to which it still does to this day. The shepherds and their descendants became the first prophets of the faith, speaking the Gods will through their bodies and mouths, a practice still implemented today. The Gods would dictate to these prophets their history, and what they values and virtues they demanded the people live by.

Soacism however does not allow a person to only worship one of these gods, but all eight in equal measure, as all of them, minus the King of the Gods is equal in power, and each god can only help the follower achieve certain things.

The Auximians lived in relative isolation, as they had a staunch anti-foreigner sentiment, and often killed anyone who attempted to come into their lands. The Church blossomed and forged itself in their hearts for millennia, developing a staunch, almost cult-like following amongst the people who would fight and die for their faith and their religion. However, the greatest threat to their faith and their existence came in the 1200s when the Christian Eluthanians arrived and began trying to spread their monotheistic faith-called Christianity- to the Auximians. Few fell for their message, and hostility began to form between the two nations. The Eluthanians began attempting to conquer the Auximians in the early 1400s, but even their martial prowess couldn't hold back the tide of Eluthanian conquest, mostly due to technological limitations (the only firearms they ever acquired were from killed Eluthanian soldiers, and they used spears, swords and bows (though very advanced versions of these weapons). By the 1480s it was becoming apparent they could not resist for much longer.

> *"Neptune shall guide thee across the great seas to a new promised land for the faithful to settle, farm and grow as their own. This land shall be known as Lettonia (Eng: Promised Land of Fruit) and the Gods shall protect thou faithful in this treacherous land. Now thee shall flee across the seas to protect their livliehood and identities,"* -Book of Home 64:32
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The Auximians migrated to the northern coast, smashed through Eluthanian defenses, boarded the ships in the nearby port, fitting as many men, women and children onto the fleet of ten ships they captured, filling them to capacity before escaping into the night before the enemy could reach and capture them. The remaining Auximians who were unable to escape to the promised land would retreat into the mountains, fortify themselves against the incoming storm...

There they remain to this day, claiming independence, refusing to pay taxes to the Eluthanian government, and having never converted to Christianity.

The Voyagers were guided and escorted by Neptune, however when they reached the Southern Straits, a storm blew two of the ships off course, and they would land on the peninsula. They would later form the nation of Batavia. Those who maintained a strong sail would land in multiple points along the modern Pontus Euxinus in 1491.

They would establish their own new civilizations, and since they were so geographically distant, but would be naturally attracted to the idea of reunification. By 1520, they had all established over a dozen kingdoms and principalities and had met up, and were in a perpetual state of war with the natives and tribals of the land.

> *"So the Gods told the faithful to unite under one banner, the banner of the strongest, the banner of strength, the banner of Armavir, the banner of blood, and the banner of unity to force the unfaithful back to once they came,"* -Book of the New World 48:12
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In 1522, Lettonia, the Promised Land was unified under the Kingdom of Armavir. They began a god-issued campaign to purge the land of the infidels, the unholy, the unsacred, the savage unfaithful. The rest they say... is history.

## The Nine Deos/Gods

1. Mars the God of War

2. Venus, the Goddess of Love and Passion

3. Pax, the God of Peace

4. Khuthos, the God of the Sea and Earth

5. Plutus, the God of Wealth

6. Ceres, the Goddess of Food and Wine

7. Euphrosyne, the Goddess of Cheer, Joy and Mirth

8. Olios, the King of the Gods

9. Haumea, the Goddess of Fertility and Childbirth

## Core Tenants of the Faith

1. One shall forge their life around the words of the Gods, and shall have memorized the Oracles of the Divine to heart, every word, every phrase, every chapter etc.
2. One shall not live as they have forbidden (for example: homosexuality, betraying your gender as you were born with, as gender is seen is an inherently chosen by Haumea, and turning against it is seen as a betrayal of all the gods. Others include being sexually promiscuous, being an adulterer, murdering or killing unjustly in their name, stealing the bread of your neighbors, being jealous of your husband's wealth or wife, do not hoard or embrace greed).
3. One is to worship all gods not just one.
4. One is to treat their neighbors with honor, treat guests as thou friend.
5. Rejection of multi-culturalism, as the Gods chose Auximians/Lettonians to be their people and to live and rule them and them alone. Those who live as Christian are considered brothers and sisters, as are people of the Jewish faith and origin.
6. Do not demand separation of church and state, the two are divinely intertwined, as the Gods have chosen the Imperator/Imperatoria to rule in their image and light in this earthly realm.
7. One may pray wherever they see fit, the Gods will always answer, but one must not pray to benefit themselves, but rather the world.
8. One shall attend to the temple every Sunday for worship, and shall follow through the rules of the temple without fail. Those who do not attend without just cause are considered falling out of favor. If one is sick, a priest or priestess may visit and perform temple upon them if they cannot physically attend to the temple.
9. One shall only accept the Nine Gods in their hearts, and accepting any other deity in your heart, soul or mind is considered heresy and turning your back on the Gods.
10. One shall not force his faith upon the world, unless the Gods instruct them to, only those truly faithful can accept the Gods into their hearts.
11. One is to remain pure of heart and mind at all costs, and both men and women are to remain physically pure until they are married to a man or a woman.