The Adrexic faith

Unlike most religions, and despite its relatively recent provenance, the Adrexic faith acknowledges no founder or holy messiah; indeed, though its myths speak of numerous famed figures in the form of parables, these antiheroes are considered not wise or mighty, nor worthy of worship, but at best, pitiable and at worst, despicable. The religion posits the existence of Adrexi, demons in the stars who occupy their immortal lives with the fates of mortals. It teaches that all the world's fate is forever being woven into a great and beautiful Tapestry, from the great lifeless mountain to the day-old buzzing gnat, but that Adrexi may take an interest in any part - small creatures can become great monsters under their influence, mountains might erupt with flames or plains dry into deserts. Most interesting of all to these beings, however, are the peoples of Zamora (Revenoth), which is why the most colourful threads are saved for the lives of those mortals who attract the attention of the weaver-demons.

When a mortal's fate falls under the influence of a particular Adrexi (though there are an unspecified number of the creatures, several are identified, with Nikuz, the demon of pride, Dal, the demon of greed, Vaz, the demon of vengeance, and Aroth, demon of magic, being the most well-known) the spinning wheel of their weave begins to pick up speed - most times it quickly run out of thread, but occasionally it instead begins to draw in threads from the fates of others, with the Adrexi weaving ever-more-elaborate patterns in the place of the bland symmetry that ran before it. The longer a life so-captured by a particular Adrexi continues, the more thread it draws in, until entire groups of people vanish into obscurity or are simply swallowed up by the technicolour brilliance of the singular soul - until, of course, the thread runs out, and the brilliant pattern ends all at once. This is why, in order to preserve the weave of all people in harmony, believers are encouraged not only to avoid the follies that might draw the attention of the Adrexi, but to distance themselves from those who display those traits also; great figures of the past are admonished in parable, while would-be heroes of the present are shunned. Only in societies, cultures, kingdoms and the like can such great patterns be woven without end - for the mortal individual, dire consequences ensue such an existence.

It was this emphasis on peaceful mundanity that both ensured the Adrexic faith would spread quickly among the hard-working Razenkathi, absorbed with the small deeds required for their survival while unable to spare time for religious rites, but also gave it little penetrative power with the Zami'ite clans, whose martial culture places heavy emphasis on individual heroism. To outsiders, it tends to assume an almost atheistic aspect due to its emphasis on inaction, but this is mistaken, for many Adrexians are far more zealous in their avoidance of follies than followers of other organised religions are proactive in worship. Additionally, rather than prescribing a uniform set of institutions, rites and ceremonies, the faith tends to instead meld with existing secular institutions in the Sunset Kingdoms in unique ways; in Tekitara for instance, where highly wealthy Chartered families are encouraged not to flaunt their wealth by Adrexic teachings, several festivals have arisen which combine a temporary permit for ostentation with nigh-mandatory acts of charity. Broadly-speaking then, though the faith hasn't necessarily brought about more equality within the Razenkathi societies, it has led to an emphasis on communalism distinct to the more corporatist or individualist attitudes prevalent in the east.

Due both to being little-known in the east during the Council of Qeotal and to the unique nature of its teachings and practices, there has been little talk of incorporating the Adrexic religion into the Unified Faith, and it is likely the largest organised religion outside of that umbrella (the only possible contender being Malcolite Sylvalans).