Feilism

Feilism is a Salvatic religion practiced by the Feiliites. It is the first of the Salvatic religions and was the state religion of Veilmar. It is centred around Marasland on the holy city of Julshof where the religious figurehead and worldly personification of the goddess of humankind, Iuliana Adriana, resided. It is a polytheistic religion mainly focused on worshiping the goddess of humankind, though various cults exist for the other gods and many religious holidays celebrate the other gods, namely the Heavenly Mother.

The name comes from the name of the Heavenly Mother, Feili (from Proto-Germanic: \*failijaz and Old Dutch: \*fēli). The holy works are written in German and German is considered to be a language only to be used in religious setting, as any other settings would be "blasphemy".

## Seven Holy Virtues of Feilism

### Aufgeschlossenheit

Aufgeschlossenheit (Open-mindedness) is described as: "[t]he respect and love for all souls around you. All souls are created equal and a soul can only be corrupted if events have caused it to." All people "have free will and nothing can excuse wickedness" and must therefore "always keep an open mind when dealing with your fellow man and accept everybody for who they are in their hearts as you would want them to accept you for who you are." All human souls are equal considered under Julia, the goddess of humanity.

### Freundlichkeit

Freundlichkeit (Friendliness) is described as the act of performing "good works". Through good works people "shall receive the grace of [their] Goddess Julia. Julia helps those who help themselves. When you deserve Julia's love, you no longer need it, for the greatest good is caring for others." It is never specified what exactly these "good works" entail, but most followers interpret it as referring to helping others when able to and giving to charity if you can afford it (usually around 10% of ones income).

### Glaube

Glaube (Faith) is described as: "[f]aith in your Goddess Julia, she is your one God and you can achieve anything through Her. She is with you no matter what happens and She will help you out when you need it, as long as you have faith. Those with faith regardless of circumstance will be rewarded in the World to Come. Those who spread the faith to the Unknowing will be regarded as saviours." Heresy is generally considered to not only be a failure to have faith, but to actively work against it, making heretics enemies of Feiliites - significantly more so than heathens.

### Harmonie

Harmonie (Harmony) is described as coexistence between humankind and the natural world. "Those who manage to live in harmony with their surroundings have achieved true inner peace." According to this virtue, one must "[t]reat nature and animals with respect, for though the souls of nature are lesser to the soul of man, a soul is a soul. Treat the world around you with dignity and strive to give back to nature what you take from it in some way. Attempt to live in harmony with your fellow man where possible and always choose peace over violence."

### Rationalität

Rationalität (Rationality) is described as a way of strict critical thinking, objectiveness and empiricism. Followers "will not act on impulses, but consider all [their] actions carefully and rationally." Emphasis is put on not letting ones emotion getting the best of them, "for those that are stronger than their emotions receive the grace of the Goddess."

### Sorgfalt

Sorgfalt (Diligence) is described as: "Setting goals for yourself, for idle hands are the workshop of the voices from Tallerqual. Outdo yourself whenever you can and be proud of your achievements, but do not belittle others for them. Those who strive to be the best person they can be by working hard and providing for others are regarded as the greatest souls in the World to Come."

### Wohltätigkeit

Wohltätigkeit (Charity) is described as: "act[ing] out of altruism; you will not behave in a selfish manner. The greatest joy in life is to be good, to care for others. Those who care for others will receive the greatest care in the World to Come. This does not mean sacrificing oneself."

## Traditions

### Eierfest

The Eierfest (Festival of Eggs) is a celebration of life as a whole where the goddess of animals is celebrated. During the event, every child collects as many eggs as they can within a week. The family of the child who collects most eggs will be given an elaborate feast of fish and meat provided by the local church. All eggs collected will be thrown through town at attendees. All chickens born from this event will be kept around for more eggs until the next Eierfest where they will be killed and eaten.

### Himmelfest

The Himmelfest (Festival of Heaven) is a celebration of creation where the Heavenly Mother is celebrated. During this event, people compete to build extremely tall structures. The local church then decides to keep the structure they deem prettiest and will break down the other structures. From the remaining structure, daring individuals will attempt to jump and safely land using only a water bucket. Those who survive the event will be rewarded by the church.

### Liebesfest

The Liebesfest (Festival of Love) is a three-day celebration of love. On the first day, familial love is celebrated. People are encouraged to spend time with their families inside of their homes. On the second day, platonic love is celebrated. People are encouraged to spend time with their friends outside in town. On the third day, romantic love is celebrated. People are encouraged to go out of town walls and experience true nature together with the person(s) closest to them. In general, couples who do not return before midnight are teased by their friends for a day, as they are assumed to have "listened to the call of nature" on that night.

### Seelennacht

The Seelennacht (Night of Souls) is a celebration of the arrival of the goddess of humankind. It is said that on the day before the original Seelennacht a bright purple hue on the clouds could be seen for miles around, inspiring daring villagers to travel to the origin of the celestial phenomenon. As night fell, the hue became brighter and steam rose from the many rivers and lakes of the Marasland. From the water rose the goddess of humankind, personified as Iuliana Adriana. She would instruct the villagers to build a new city on the waters where she was born. The supposed city described in the folklore matches with early descriptions of the city of Julshof. The Seelennacht is now a yearly event where all believers are to make a pilgrimage to Julshof where they can speak with Iuliana Adriana directly about their lives and what issues they have. Afterwards, all attendees will enjoy the waters of the Marasland together.