Temple of the Heavens

## Religion

The Scribes of the Sky are an organization of priests. warriors, and worshippers, led by Grand-Patriach Squimghraif IXVIII. They believe the Sky is Heaven, and within it dwells their God; Azure.

It is believed that back in the ancient days, the founders of the religion witnessed a great collapse of natural order, which caused many other tribes to flee. Those that remained became Ordu. Upon the discovery of the location of their homeland, the Ordu moved south and founded The Divine Mandate of Zaraphath.

## Deities

The Scribes believe their is but one, all powerful God, known as Azure, or the Sky Father. It is believed that he is the natural order, a balance of beauty and disgrace, good and evil, and that his order, whether harmful or helpful to his worshippers, must be obeyed. His children, the Son and the Daughter, are the same as him; simply differant sides of the same God. The Son, believed in physical incarnation to be the Sun itself, is a ball of light that shines down, protecting and guiding humanity. His light and warmth help our crops to grow, our people to see, and our lands to flourish. The Daughter, as the Moon, is seen as a nessescary evil. At night, in the absence of the sons protection, wild animals ravage crops, bandits steal, and the sky is unable to protect us. The vast majority of scribes of the sky worshippers choose only to worship the main religion, and see the Son and Daughter as different aspects of Azure himself.

## Sects/breakaways

The Guardians of the Sacred Moon (GSM) is a notable sect in Zaraphatian society. It is not openly evil, or against the Sky or Sun, but believes the idea of the moons evil is simply misguided, and that the daughter instead of harming humans, allows them to function without hinderance or influence from the Sky or Sun. It is percieved by most Zaraphathians to be misguided, but rarely seen as evil.

The Sons of the Sky are a male dominated terror group that have actively "declared war" on most of Zaraphath. Its members are unnotable, and while its tiny in size and its membership are fully anonymous and unknown, it still poses a threat through domestic terrorism, usually against women or against the Guardians of the Moons meetings.

The Dute'an Remnants are descendants of the tribals the Zaraphathians found when they arrived in Zaraphath for the first time, they are mostly a political order dedicated to the protection of nature and native villages, but their religious beliefs also differ in that they believe the Son and Daughter are seperate entities to Azure, making them the only known sect that is polytheistic. They are widely regarded in Zaraphathian society as lunatics and savages. While mostly peaceful, threatening places of worship (usually forests, mountains, etc significant to their ancient beliefs) can make them hostile.

## Membership

Any nation can become a member of the religion. The benefits include close relationships to other members, increased trade, diplomacy etc. The only individual capable of authorizing anyone to join is the Arch Patriarch.

The regional leader of the religion, is a High Bishop. The High Bishop is the leader of all religious matters in the region, and is only appointed personally by the Arch Patriarch. Only devout worshippers may be given this role, and they answer only to the Arch Patriarch and to Azure himself.

Bishops are lower level religious leaders. Bishops represent individual towns or villages and usually run and maintain a church, temple or other worship site.

## Sacred sites, animals and objects.

Sacred sites:

* The Hazemar Canal region

Hazemar is the second reclaimed province of Zaraphath. It, and the river beside Zaraphath itself, are the only known ways to access the nation by sea. In the first days of reclamation, before the settlers even reached the Fatherland, the settlers had to pass through this great canal. It is in a desert region, and has a high concentration of holy sites, known collectively as the Sacred Canal. It contains two temples, previously used to worship the Sky in the days of old, and an Oasis, believed to be the spring of life that allowed the original Zaraphathians to travel north safely.

* The Blue Cornflower

The Blue Cornflower is an incredibly common flower that grows abundantly, from Khayven to Zaraphath. Its vibrant colours are seen by scribes and worshippers to represent small pockets of the Fathers influence on earth, and they collect them. From their beauty, came the Ordu and Zaraphaths signature colours and flags. The destruction of a large number of these flowers is seen as a mortal sin, and while some more passive Zaraphathians believe the Father himself will punish the perpetrators in due time, many more militant Zaraphathians prefer to put them to the sword.

* The Holy City of Zaraphath

Zaraphath as a city is not a metropolis, but all around its local area are signs of past habitation. Holes, tracks, abandoned and ruined temples litter its countryside.