Kotimism

**Kotimism** is a religion based on the life and teachings of the half-orc warrior-prophet Kotimi Behr. It is Esterra's largest religion, with around 35% of Esterrians subscribing to Kotimism. its adherents, known as Kotimists, believe that Kotimi ascended into Greater Godhood after her triumph during the Torrid Terror and will return to Esterra during the Final Calamity to bring salvation to her followers.

## Beliefs

### The Apostles' Doctrines

The Apostles’ Doctrines are the most widely accepted statements of the articles of Kotimistic faith. Its points include:

* belief in the presence of an immortal soul within all mortals
* belief in the eternal planes of heaven and hell for all souls to spend eternity in
* the ascension fo Kotimi into the celestial planes
* Kotimi’s second coming, the Apocalypse and the salvation of the faithful

The central tenant of Kotimism is belief in Kotimi as god and the savior of all mortals from the Chaos. Kotimists believe that Kotimi, as the savior of mortals, has become a god more powerful than even the gods of the Greater Pantheon, and that her eventual second coming will wipe out all gods indifferent to mortal suffering.

### Vox Solaris

Before her days as a prophet, Kotimi was the leader of the Vox Solaris, the adventuring party known for traveling to the Chaos to defat the Sun and put an end to the Torrid Terror. The Vox Solaris actually started during the Torrid Terror in 359AE in Jonurian Point, employed by the city government officials to kill the aberrations attacking the city domes. Along with Kotimi as their leader, the members of Vox Solaris were:

* **Geldern Pitchtilt**, a male Halfling ranger and Kotimi Behr's best friend
* **Saul Paul Maul**, a male dwarf barbarian who eventually became the first high priest of the Church of Kotimi
* **Zol Andrer**, a female hobgoblin wizard and historian
* **Walril**, a half-elf gunslinger

### The Covenantal Papers

The Covenantal Papers refers to a long letter left behind by Kotimi Behr before her disappearance, urging all mortals to treat each other with reverence and love, so their their immortal soul can be granted salvation and spend eternity in the celestial planes. In the letter, she referenced certain practical ways that her followers can love their fellow mortals in what are now known as the Articles of Love:

1. Give their gold and silver to the needy and helpless without any suspicion or judgement
2. Help anyone who might be weeping or seeking help in public
3. donate their excess wealth to institutions that will benefit from the donation
4. Adopt and accept those that other members of society will not
5. Work towards understanding without judgement or hatred toward other mortals

A major point that Kotimists point out about the Covenantal Papers is that Kotimi indicates that she will one day come back to ensure that her followers are obeying her words, and that she will grant eternal peace to those who are her true followers.

### Eschatology

The end of all things, or broadly speaking, the end of all existence in the mortal planes, is a major point of study Kotimism. The major issues in Kotimistic eschatology are the Final Calamity, Salvation of the Saints, the Second Coming of Kotimi, the Resurrection of the Dead, the Overthrowing of the Pantheons, the Final Judgement, the end of the multiverse, and the Eternity of Peace.

Kotimists believe that the Second Coming of Kotimi will occur at the end of time, after the Tenth Calamity destroys a majority of the Chaos Platform. All who have died will be resurrect bodily from the Infernal Planes for the Final Judgement. Kotimi will fully establish the Eternity of Peace for all believing mortals in fulfillment of the prophecies of the Oracle Dhantiya.

#### Death and afterlife

Most Kotimists believe that Kotimi will overthrow the gods of the Greater Pantheon and open up the gates of the Celestial Planes so that the immortal souls of all her believers will be allowed to spend eternity there. They also believe that Kotimi, as the supreme god of the multiverse, will eventually judge all souls by virtue of their deeds on the mortal planes and either allow the soul inside heaven or cast them into eternal damnation.

## Practices

### Communal worship

Every first Sunday of each Block, Kotimists gather to their respective Church of Kotimism for a monthly service. During this service, the memoirs of Kotimi and her apostles are read, testimonies of current Kotimists are shared, sermons are preached, and occasional psalms and hymns are sung. Services can be varied for special events like The Ascension, the Ninth Block where Kotimists celebrate Kotimi’s supposed ascension into the Celestial Planes.

All of the monthly services include a free meal at the end, provided to all attendees of the services in accordance with Kotimi’s instructions to her followers to love fellow mortals regardless of whether or not they are a Kotimist. Many famous chefs have gotten their start in the restaurant business through a Kotimi Kitchen, and many of them still volunteer occasionally in the Kitchens despite owning their own restaurants. Because of this, many homeless and financially unstable people attend the monthly services to get the free food.

### Community service

Every other Sunday other than the first of each Block is dedicated toward community service for all Kotimists. Typically, each church divides their followers into smaller groups, and sends the groups to focus on specific societal topics such as orphanages, senior centers, and hospitals. In many cases, the church members themselves have built community infrastructure on behalf of city officials, as in the case of the Paul Maul Mall in Jonurian Point and the Kotimi Behr Community Center in New Cresdale.

### Restoration Days

On the last Sunday of each Block, every Kotimist cleric gathers to their nearest Kotimist church to participate in an all-day event where the clerics do nothing but heal those who come to the churches. This day, known as Restoration Day, are open to all Esterrans, but the clerics have a hard cutoff time from 5:00am to 12:00am. Despite the clerics working tirelessly during those times, may residents are turned away by the end of the day.

## History

### Early Kotimism

#### Pre-Apostolic Age

Kotimism arguably first started even before Kotimi Behr’s disappearance. The first Kotimists originated after the First Resurrection, when Kotimi reportedly resurrected Saul Paul Maul’s daughter Breenera Maul after she died from a sudden reemergence of the Black Bend. Saul Paul Maul and all of his immediate family, as well as Geldern Pitchtilt who was in attendance during the event, became the first Kotimists after seeing Breenera come back to life.

#### Apostolic Age

Kotimism developed during 434AE, a few Blocks after Kotimi’s disappearance and supposed ascension. An early Kotimistic community was founded in Behrington, under the leadership of Saul Paul Maul, who became Kotimism’s first high priest.

Early Kotimism caused friction with believers of the Greater Pantheon, namely the Cult of Identity and the New Church of Order. in 461AE, Saul Paul Maul met with Patoris Greengift, the male wood elf leader of the Church of Order, and Merikia, the male satyr leader of the Cult of Identity at the pastoral village of Ortirae for a proposed peace talk. Unfortunately, the results of the Ortirae Summit were the opposite of a peace talk, with Paul Maul declaring both the Church of Order and the Cult of Identity enemies of Kotimism unless they abandon their ego.

#### Spread and acceptance in New Cresdale

Paul Maul, Pitchtilt, Andrer, and Walril, now known collectively as the **Apostles**, began to preach the doctrines of Kotimism throughout western and central Esterra, focusing on the major coastal cities around the Sandison Bay. Some of these coastal cities, including Tewado, Southstar, and Khaba, declared Kotimism to be the official city religion after their visit from the Apostles. Their declaration of faith was later solidified into a political allegiance through the Edict of Faith in 511AE.

In 512AE, a group of young missionaries from Southstar and Khaba, known collectively as the **New Apostles**, traveled to New Cresdale to spread the message of Kotimism. Led by the Loxodon cleric **Sveton** and the human ranger **Izul Fogmourn**, the New Apostles established a small Kotimi Kitchen in the Stig District, one of the poorest and most underdeveloped districts in New Cresdale. At this point, Kotimism was still a very minority belief in New Cresdale, partly because Marcus Portner, descendent of Alice Portner and then mayor of New Cresdale, actively opposed its spread. However, Marcus was heavily involved in the development of the Portner Luxury Shopping Center in the Lapis District during 512AE, allowing the Stig Kotimi Kitchens to develop without much issue. By the time Marcus was murdered by an unknown assailant in 518AE, Kotimism had spread throughout New Cresdale by word of mouth. Marcus Portner’s elected successor, female halfling **Rizira Goldeye**, was a member of Kotimist Church in Stig, further spreading Kotimism’s influence throughout New Cresdale. Although the New Cresdale Council vetoed the notion to make Kotimism New Cresdale’s official religion many times, its influence is strong enough to be considered the unofficial city religion.

#### The Demon Invasion

When the legion of infernal demons invaded the Chaos Platform through the Rip, many Kotimist churches sent out their warriors and spell casters to help defeat the demons and protect the powerless. A majority of Kotimist adventurers were sent help the Infernal Fury defeat the demons at the Gnashing Spires, leaving the Kotimist churches essentially defenseless. This backfired against the Kotimists in 652AE, when a group of Nalfeshnees attacked the Behrington Church of Kotimi and killed all of the church elders and leaders except for the halfling paladin Ryos Commonhand, who was banished to the Chaos plane by the human cleric Kotimer before the demons attacked.

The loss of a majority of their elders and leaders during the Demon Invasion was a significant setback to Kotimism, and its popularity fell rapidly in the coastal cities. However, after the Rip had been sealed and the Infernal Fury returned from the Gnashing Spires, news spread that Kotimist adventurers also helped the Infernal Fury in defeating the demons and ending the Demon Invasion. This news, along with Commonhand’s successful marketing campaign to revive Kotimism’s popularity throughout the Sandison Bay area, helped Kotimism bounce back from complete decline.

### Kotimism in the Post-Two Era

#### Commonhand Era

After the end of the Second Calamity, Ryos Commonhand succeeded Paul Maul as the second high priest of Kotimism, bringing with him an era of economic prosperity for all Kotimist churches. Under Commonhand, the Behrington Publishing Press published the Kotimi Papers, a collection of Kotimi’s alleged sermons, and Through the Spires of Splendor, a nonfiction work about the Kotimists who accompanied the Infernal Fury during the Demon Invasion. Both books were bestsellers all throughout Esterra, with Through the Spires of Splendor being a surprise runaway hit in Edinthorpe.

With the success of the Behrington Publishing Press, Commonhand also oversaw the development of the Zol Andrer Grand Library of Behrington in 677AE, which became the second largest library in Esterra, after the Hollecryn National Library in Edinthorpe. Unlike the Hollecryn Library, the Zol Andrer Library was free for all Esterrans regardless of residency, with library cards issued to anyone who lived in Behrington. Commonhand introduced many community programs and extracurricular activities for children through the Zol Andrer Library, with later reforms introduced by the Head Librarian Helina Calimpears to make the programs and activities more secular for the children.

#### Lofoti Era

Ryos Commonhand passed away on the 7th of the Fifth Block in 684AE, after a tarrasque destroyed the hotel he was staying in during his vacation at the Berninger Plains. His successor as High Priest, a gnome cleric named **Xalben Lofoti**, was formerly the financial advisor for Behrington before he was elected as High Priest. Under his direction, the Kotimist Church entered a political partnership with Bullion City, and a new Church was established in the city in 686AE. The main treasury for the Kotimist Church was also moved to Bullion City in 688AE.

In 696AE, partly in response to a descendant of the Neo-Eonirianism cult leader Alara Eoniras causing unrest in Jonurian Point and New Cresdale, Lofoti issued the Soul-Assurances, shortened to Soulances, which were small silver coins available for purchase in any Kotimist church to guarantee that the soul of the owner of the coin was going to be saved by Kotimi during the Final Judgement and go to the Eternity of Peace in the celestial planes. Despite many church elders and thinkers questioning the legitimacy of the Soulances, the coins were an instant bestseller in all of the Kotimist churches.

##### Levi Martin and the 131 Grievances

In 739AE, Levi Martin, a human priest and philosopher of the Kotimist church in Hirbec, traveled to the main Kotimist treasury in Bullion City and nailed to the treasury's front door a list of 131 reasons why Soulances were not in accordance to Kotimi Behr's teachings and why Lofoti was not fit to remain the High Priest. Martin and their 131 Grievances instantly sent waves of unrest among the believers of the major cities, with many believers agreeing with Martin about the Soulances and Lofoti. Several pastors tasked with selling Soulances were occasionally attacked by angry mobs after the 131 Grievances were published by the New Cresdale Times, leading to one death of a Jonurian Point pastor in 749AE. Lofoti blamed the death of the pastor on Levi Martin for inciting the mob into violence. He sent Kotimist paladins after the pastor, who had gone into hiding in New Cresdale, and had him executed upon sight with a Destructive Wave on the 13th of the Fourth Block in 750AE. Instead of killing the unrest with him, however, Levi Martin's death only caused more unrest and destruction upon the Kotimist churches, especially to the church and treasury located in Bullion City. Levi Martin was hailed as a martyr, and testimonies from believers swearing that they saw a resurrected Martin floating around the streets of New Cresdale only strengthed his popularity among Kotimists. On the 23rd of the Seventh Block in 750AE, an unidentified spellcaster launched a series of fireballs at the Kotimist Church and Treasury in Bullion City, along with the Lofoti residence near the treasury where Lofoti and his husband were staying. The ensuing fire left no survivors.

#### Walril Era

After Lofoti's death, the surviving deacons of the Church elected to have Naynen Walril, great granddaughter of Kotimi Behr's friend Walril, as the next High Priest of Kotimism. Walril was officially sworn in as the fourth High Priest of Kotimism on the 9th of the Ninth Block in 750AE. Under Walril, the practice of selling and purchasing Soulances were outlawed and declared blasphemous to the Kotimist church. The church and treasury in Bullion City were rebuilt to a more modest design, and more community centers and public infrastructure were built from the excess money made from melting the silver from the Soulance coins. Walril accomplished a variety of popular reforms during her first 30 days as High Priest. Unfortunately, she choked on a walnut and suffocated to death in her home on the 12th of the Tenth Block in 750AE.

#### Thaleth Era

After discovering Walril's death in her home, the deacons quickly moved to elect the elder deacon, the high elf Beiro Thaleth, as the fifth High Priest in 750AE. Thaleth banned all walnuts and other choke-able legumes and nuts from all Kotimist churches, and established the 13th of the Fourth Block as Levi Martin Day.