The Blue Dawn

**The Blue Dawn** is the second largest religion in Blue, with 115,526,677 adherents, (or 24.33% of the population), as per recorded in the latest census. The Blue Dawn centralizes around worship of the Skymother, Khali Ama. Adherents to the religion are called Dawnists, or sometimes Acolytes.

## History

### Ancient History

The Blue Dawn likely evolved out of the animistic and polytheistic traditions of the Lazhan people, sometimes called Lazhan Polytheism which was host to a multitude of gods and goddesses, and likely involved nature and idol worship. Slowly, worship increasingly revolved around one deity, Khali Ama, who became the patron deity of the Azurial River Valley; thus, polytheism was effectively abolished. Prior to the invention of writing, religious beliefs were passed down through oral tradition and art. It should be noted that many Dawnist ritual and tradition predate the existence of the founding of the religion itself. In this sense, the founding of the Blue Dawn may be seen as the codification of many longstanding practices. Due to this, some religious scholars will often place the creation of the Blue Dawn as being earlier and more gradual than the traditional founding by Nilo Ama sometime in 4500 B.B.

Dawnist tradition holds that Nilo Ama, a local priestess and scholar who lived sometime from 4600-4500 B.B., founded the religion upon receiving divine revelation from Khali Ama. Thereafter, she and her initial followers wrote down the revelation she had received, which would eventually become the Osnovas, the central Dawnist manuscript. Shortly thereafter, she constructed a temple and consecrated the first Society of Acolytes. This event is typically placed as the beginning of The Blue Dawn as an organized institution. Then, it is said she wrote to all of the kings, counts and barons of the river valley, where all but one rejected or ignored her invitation. The one king, King Eshezalu, visited her and embraced the Blue Dawn. There, she relocated her Society southward to his capital, and expanded from there. It is said that thereafter Eshezalu's kingdom would expand northward into the valley, consolidating control of the southern portion in its entirety; significantly accelerating the spread of the Blue Dawn, with many more Societies being founded.

Eventually, the Nilo Ama perished. The priesthood then replaced her with a new Nilo Ama. From then on, the Blue Dawn established a policy of servental immortality, giving the Nilo Ama the ability to reincarnate into a new, youthful and nearly identical form as before. By 4300 B.B., it is said The Blue Dawn had consolidated control over the entire river valley, and soon thereafter became the de facto religion of the entire Lazhan civilization. From her on, the Blue Dawn began to centralize further and intertwine itself into society increasingly more and more.

### Early Dawnism

Upon The Blue Dawn's consolidation of Azurisar, they encountered their first schism, regarding how the institution should interact with and assimilate new converts and their various beliefs. The Alterare supported further assimilation of non-Lazhans and incorporating their beliefs into the religion. The Restorationists were opposed to this and supported a more culturally exclusive Blue Dawn. The Alterare eventually won out, and the Restorationists were exiled to Ashamanolag.

### Dawnism in the Balderlinian Age

Although Balderlane's fledgling Empire claimed religious freedom to all, many Dawnists still feared the worst, given Balderlane's Crestopolian origins. Nonetheless, in 28 AB, Balderlane invited Nilo Ama into his court, and invited many Dawnist scholars and academics into his capital city. He even allowed Dawnist temples to be constructed, although only in the capital city of Ravacuse, and under strict supervision from the state.

Tensions began to rise after Balderlane's death in 56 AB Zankiva 12, and religious tolerance gradually eroded under his subsequent successors. Many Dawnists feared persecution, and left Crestopolis back to Azurisar. Several Dawnist rebellions broke out, which were all put down, which only worsened tensions further.

### Northern vs Southern Dawnism

Following the destruction of the Blue Dawn in the Azurial River Valley, the religion was on the verge of irrelevance. Many small Dawnist communities survived abroad, but were weak and fragile. Its largest and most beautiful temples had all been destroyed or converted into Selenite temples, its religious leaders were executed or imprisoned, its followers persecuted or in exile into the wilderness; the Nilo Ama was nowhere to be seen, with many fearing she had been killed.

Following this, in 207 AB, King Gaminas III of Great Nunnshire began the Great Reconstitution, a systematic effort at revitalizing the Blue Dawn with Nunnshire as its central political and religious homeland. A multitude of great Temples were constructed, including the great Nunnshire Cathedral, religious texts preserved and distributed, a formal clergy re-established, and even the Nilo Ama was said to have returned to the Nunnshirean capital of Teaton. Efforts to rebuild the Blue Dawn were not just internal; Great Nunnshire had begun large-scale invasions of both Ishuui and Auuvsia, and significant efforts to convert the areas they had conquered, with varying success.

Following this, Nunnshire was virtually unopposed in its efforts within the weak and fragmented Blue Dawn, and had gained effective sole control of the religion, which had remained true for the next century or so. Over the next two centuries, the Blue Dawn would regain strength and zeal, especially growing increasingly powerful in Diorenus. The conquest and establishment of the First Quromatis sem K'Doninno by the Dawnist hero Quira would increasingly become a counterweight to Nunnshirean control of The Blue Dawn. Although the Blue Dawn never formally split into separate organizations, two subfactions within The Blue Dawn had emerged, The Northern Dawnists, based out of Nunnshire, and the Southern Dawnists, based out of the fledgling Quromatis sem K'Doninno.

The existence of two Dawnist theocracies at once was contradictory to many, and an issue that would surely need to be reconciled.

## Theology and Worldview

The Blue Dawn is well-known for its legalistic theological tradition. The fundamentals of Blue Dawn theology is discussed in **The Osnovas,** a culmination of the first writings of Nilo Ama, as was revealed to her by Khali Ama, in addition to subsequent additions. There is great contention within the Blue Dawn as to if various certain writings should be canonized into the Osnovas or not, and has led to various splinters (such as the BDLT) within the Blue Dawn.

### Doctrine

Dawnists believe that Khali Ama is the highest and most powerful God over all Flairia. They believe in Fractalism; which means they base their founding mythology off of The Myth of the Fracture, as well as Selenism. Like Selenism, they also believe in the Testament of Myradesiz, which establishes the founding origin of the Blue people.

### Prayer and Meditation

Due to Khali Ama's association with the sky, sometimes being called the Skymother, prayer and ritual is heavily focused around observing the sky. Those active in prayer are expected to look up towards the sky whenever they pray. All major Dawnist temples come with extensive glass domes and sky lights to signify this practice.

### Restrictions

Dawnist acolytes are tasked with several restrictions in order to maintain an ideal life. There is a common misconception that Dawnists explicitly prohibit interaction with snow and fire. This isn't true, The Blue Dawn states that the wealthy should not interact with such. However, all Dawnists are banned from maps, which they view as disgracing Khali Ama's creation.

## Metaphysics and Cosmology

Much of the fundamentals of Lazhan metaphysics and other assorted topics originate with the Blue Dawn.

### Hierarchy

The Blue Dawn emphasizes that all living beings are either bounded by causality whether it be partially or completely, or exempt from it entirely. Unlike Selenism, the Blue Dawn holds a far more rigid hierarchy in categorizing and classifying the various supernatural beings within the religious mythology.

### Cosmology

The Blue Dawn maintains that there are two distinct realms, the Causal Realm and Noncausal Realm. The present universe, as well as all tangible existence known to mankind, lies within the Causal realm, meaning it is governed by a set of laws and principles that rely on cause-and-effect. The Noncausal Realm is not bound by any laws of reality whatsoever, and is said to be where Khali Ama and her descendants live. Dawnist depictions of the Noncausal Realm portray it as a grandiose and mystical place, its oddities and alien-like existence making it incomprehensible to humanity, and impossible to truly visualize and understand.

## Mysticism and Scholasticism

The Blue Dawn holds a very strong mystic tradition; where study of the mystical and supernatural can be somewhat achieved through prayer, meditation, reading and dedication toward the Blue Dawn. In tandem with this, The Blue Dawn indeed holds a strong tradition of monasticism as well, where monks may live in Temples together with the shared goal of piety, devotion and understanding to Khali Ama and her creation.

## Structure

The Blue Dawn does not possess a sole seat of governance or headquarters. Rather, five cities routinely share hosting the seat of Nilo Ama and The Blue Dawn, although de jure all five cities are to be equal, the city of Azurial, due to its seat as the political and cultural capital of the Isles, is the largest and receives the most amount of time. The other four cities are: Teaton, Ilágos, Yveluis, and Yfâshalan respectively.

### **Perivolas**

Perivolas are the largest subdivision for clergy within the structure of The Blue Dawn. There are 73 perivolas throughout Blue, each led by a member of the Domaito respectively.

### The Nilo Ama and the Domaito

Nilo Ama is eternally the spiritual leader of The Blue Dawn, as explicitly noted in The Osnovas. How to address the obvious contradiction concerning human mortality has been one of the most important discussions within Dawnist theology, with multiple schools of thought arising. The current and longest-lasting policy is that of servental immortality.

The office of the Nilo Ama has been in conflict with the Domaito since its foundation in 12th century BB, with the power dynamics between the two fluctuating. After its founding, the domaito established itself as the authoritative institution within The Blue Dawn, relegating the Nilo Ama to a mostly ceremonial role.

### Episkolas

Episkolas are the next level below the Domaito. There are no set amount of Episkolas, but there are currently 1,127 Episkolas within Blue, each managing a cathedral. Episkolas are almost always former Dianos who were promoted at the behest of the Domaito, but not always. Episkolas serve a lifelong term, but can be removed by the Domaito at any time deemed necessary.

### **Dianos**

Dianos are the lowest level within the Blue Dawn's hierarchy. Dianos serve a multitude of roles, whether it be simply managing a smaller congregation or place of worship than a Episkolas, an assistant to an Episkolas, or any other position within the Blue Dawn, or whatever bureaucratic position necessary for the function of the Blue Dawn. Nonetheless, Dianos are still expected to have years of theological training and experience before being ordained by the Domaito.

## Politics

The Blue Dawn has often significantly influenced the politics of Blue as a whole. The Blue Dawn once existed as a theocracy in Eastern Diorenus, and was a major rival to The Fifth Azurite Empire. The Blue Dawn was eventually conquered and subjugated by The United Blue Republic (UBR for short). This led to The Blue Dawn (The religion) having notably terrible relations with the UBR, and often rising up in insurgencies against the government. The UBR in return often treated The Blue Dawn with contempt and often intruded on their religious rights. Relations eventually healed later on with the Cerulean Sultanate, which itself was based out of Diorenus, and the first and second Azure Empires.