Celestial Cult

> "Celestial Eternal we grace the stars, children of Cestia and her will, we march ever onwards in devotion to our Gods and the traditions of old. May the flame never die and the hierarchy remain everlasting."
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 - Saint Odashen

A polytheistic faith with forty official gods, the Celestial Cult is an ancient syncretist faith originating from Cestia which maintained its worship base over the planets history. Marked as the predominant faith during the Fall of Cestia, the cult is known for its adherence to the Celestial hierarchy and an unmatched religious devotion to despotic rulers. Believing sole leaders to be divinely chosen by the Gods, the cult has a played a major role in maintaining the relevancy of despotism despite its gradual decline over Cestian history. Organized through a single church, the cult doesn't recognize any other forms of the faith and actively assimilates foreign faiths to expand its worship base. Over the centuries it has become increasingly fundamentalist with less integration of differing beliefs.

## Principles

Promoting principles and virtues which vary among the dieties, the Celestial Cult nonetheless has a standard set of beliefs and expectations of its followers.

1. Imperial Loyalty: Swearing alliegance to the faith or nation is synonymous as the God-Emperor reigns over both. To betray an oath to either is sacrilege and a slight against the Emperor.
2. Divine Patronage: Dedicating oneself to a deity is of paramount concern, our souls are endless wells of potential and can only reach their apex through divine patronage.
3. Conservation: To protect the faith and Empire is a duty which all followers must partake in. During both times of peace and war, conserving our society is of paramount concern.
4. Hierarchal Participation: The hierarchy must be respected and honored, all social classes must do their part and in turn ascend through loyal service.
5. Divinity of Women: Females are sacred creations of the pantheon and must be preserved just like the Empire itself. To protect them is an honor and divine cleanliness is expected in turn.
6. Mystic Enlightenment: Followers of the faith can conduct sanctioned seances and attempt to contact the divine. Through coordinated efforts, the cult can further its understanding of the divine.
7. Astrological Worship: The stars are a gateway into the Celestial realm and should not be forgotten, astrology and the understanding of horoscopes can help better understand divine intent.

## Dieties

Forty official dieties are worshipped by the cult with an additional two being partially worshipped by the cults followers. Distinct in their values and with the majority originating from Cestia, each diety plays a role within the greater religion and guides followers on specific lifepaths. Endorsing both gods of virtue and vice, the cult allows followers to choose their own path of worship and segregate the deities between the Luat and Dashii.

Known as deities of virtue and goodness, the Luat are the predominantly worshipped gods of the cult and embody values which benefit the greater empire. Focused around both personal and communal improvement, these dieties are favored by the God-Emperor and play a key role in creating specialist populaces. Thirty two of the cults gods fall within this group and host open temples across the nation for any and all to join their ever growing ranks.

Adversaries to the Luat and their values, the Dashii are deities which represent raw emotion and personal pursuit over the group. Believing that all souls have the power to decide their fate seperate from the community, followers of the Dashii indulge their desires and vices without hesitation. Representing values which are harmful to the empire, most Dashii are ostracized by the greater cult and host closed temples which can only be accessed through alternative means. Allowed to exist as villians within the cults mythology, most Dashii recieve little representation during official religious ceremonies.

Outside of the two pantheons exist the unendorsed gods known as Zaarnel and Qan which represent unlife and pirating respectively. Seen as forbidden deities, Zaarnel has existed since ancient Cestian history whereas Qan came from the conquered T'vans. No plans currently exist to induct them into the pantheon, the two gods being unofficially labeled as Oappii. Representing destructive behaviors which pose an immediate threat to the empire and cult, the Oappii have become an unofficial third pantheon representing gods of malice and death.

## Organization

Built from the top down with a strict ranking of clergy and servants of the faith, the cult is a complex web of institutions which all work to further the God-Emperors will. Treating the Emperor as the cults religious head and source of divine inspiration, all major decisions must be reviewed by him and passed before being executed. Underneath the Emperor rests the Imperial Chamber of Saints which handles the daily administrative duties of the cult and hosts national events to keep the faith interconnected. Having the last say in whether heresies should be divinely sanctioned, the Imperial Chamber can only be overruled by the Emperor in this regard if proof is found that the heresy poses a danger to the faith or Empire.

Underneath the main administrative heads is the regional and monarchal chambers of saints which govern specific territories or realms within the Empire religiously. Holding similar abilities on a reduced level compared to the main chamber, these smaller assemblies function as extensions of the Imperial Saints and their local monarchs. A similar structure is employed down to the individual temples which host religious councils that ensure their holy grounds are well maintained. Local celebrations are able to be hosted by each temple individually or joint efforts can be attained through petitioning the regional chamber of saints. An adherence to the churches hierarchy is enforced so as to prevent heresies from forming and anti-corruption campaigns are commonly employed by the Imperial chamber to remove unsuitable clergymen.

In the event of religious conflict between the monarchs and the Imperial head, the local rulers are favored legally and allowed within their rights to execute alterations to their own personal diety and beliefs; that is until such alterations are harmful to the empire. Practices and beliefs which harm the Emperors worshippers are subject to change and gives the Imperial head full legal rights to imprison or depose the heretical monarch. Throughout these engagements, the Imperial Chamber is excluded since the conflict is considered to be between two deities.

Monarchs which rule underneath the Emperor are treated as Gods in their own rights and are seen as reincarnations of various deities within the cult. Believing there to be a limited number of deities capable of ruling at one time, the cult believes that reality itself will begin to fall into disarray as the divine and material binds into one. Serving as the God-Emperors loyal servants, the Empires monarchs are second only to the Emperor himself in divine importance and hold similar hierarchal capabilities as their ruler on a regional level.

## Celestial Hierarchy

A religiously sanctioned form of stratification, the Celestial Hierarchy was created soon after the Empires founding and is a means to organize society among lines of both religious and political devotion. Granting rights and privileges to those which ascend the hierarchy, the system allows for fluid movement with followers rising and falling throughout their lives.

* Celestial: The living embodiment of their chosen deity, Celestials are only bound by religious law with how to operate their respective nations, them having to respect the religious hierarchy of the Cult with the God-Emperor at the top; this usually translates into also following Imperial law as a show of respect to the Emperor.

* Saint: Chosen by an avatar of the Celestial Gods, a Saint is an eternal servant of the Gods will alone and is no longer bound by Imperial law. Serving as personal chamberlains and administrators for their patron avatar, a Saint is forever remembered within the Celestial Cult and is the highest position a mortal may attain.

* Gentry: Renown for their favor with the Gods, this is the highest rank a normal Cestian may ascend to and is on par with citizenship in a normal nation. One can only fall from here.

* Serf: Most of the populace is born into this class, Serfs being servants of the righteous and still in need of proving their devotion to the Gods. Once they have accomplished a great work or proven their devotion, they ascend to gentry.

* Slave: Lowest on the hierarchy, slavery in the Celestial Cult is reserved for heathens and criminals which have yet to work off their penitence to the Gods. Once considered cleansed of their transgressions, they ascend to serfdom.

## Heresies

Persisting for centuries, the Celestial Cult has developed heresies over the course of its Imperial dominion with minor faiths and sects cropping up over its worship base. Recognizing only the God-Emperors interpretation of the faith, the Celestial Cult refuses to endorse any alternative schools of thought. Actively suppressing these splinter groups, the Cult works to reduce their influence over their worshippers and restore unanimity in the one true interpretation.

* Ceynth Heresy: Monotheists which believe in the God-Emperors divinity, the Ceynth Heresy is an organized denomination which believes in the 40 Celestial Gods and their importance within the faith. Similar structurally and scripturally, the Ceynth differs from the main cult in that they believe the 40 gods to be in slumber with only one capable of being active at once. The God-Emperor stands as the guardian of the sleeping gods while their local monarch is the only active one which can influence their life. Directing their worship and attention to the only active diety, the Heresy believes the God-Emperor to be the creator God and one which is given worship through their adoration of the active diety. Considerably more agreeable compared to other heretical groups, the Ceynth are one of the few splinter groups which are seen as simply misguided and can actively partake in society without issue.

* Vuln Sect: Followers of the Dashii and their mythology, the Vuln Sect is a secret society of cultists which want to bring about Dashii ascension within the Celestial faith. Rejecting the communal virtues of the Luat as vices, they instead adore the personal freedoms and liberations offered by the Dashii and believe selfish pursuits to be the key to a good life. Indulging their desires and wants, the Vuln are made up of emotional and artistic worshippers which desire to break down the Celestial hierarchy and lead lives of self improvement free of societal responsibilities. Seen as hedonists and anarchists, known Vulnists are actively hunted by the faith for their destructive beliefs.

* Wattai Church: A female dominated sect dedicated to the divinity of women, the Wattai Church is a small denomination which holds sway over mostly rural communities and underdeveloped worlds. Believing that women should rule the nation and faith since they are closer to the divine; the Wattai treat men as valuable guardians which deserve ample recognition for their strength and wisdom. Stating that the God-Emperor could be a man or a woman, they denounce divine polygomy and cite the mythology of Hashik as a prime example of female leadership. Allowing men to hold lower offices of power, the Wattai is seen as a perversion of the faith which discredits the divine importance of men, it being outlawed throughout the Cult.

* Aitii Congregation: The first heretical sect and the cults greatest rival, the Aitii Congregation is a sizable minority of the faith which rejects the God-Emperors divinity and the holy stature of the saints. Believing all mortals to be servants of the deities, the Aitii rejects the Empires divine purpose and instead opt for a theocratic haven for which the cults followers may call home. Led by a faithful servant of the gods, the Aitii recognizes the weakness of mortalkind and believes all servants are subject to the Gods wrath regardless of stature. Organized in a looser capacity compared to the cult, the Aitii organizes itself into secret societies to avoid persecution and follows the scripture of the Celestial Prophet that leads their faith. Awaiting the Empires prophesized collapse, the Aitii are seen as a doomsday cult and antagonists towards religious unity.

## Trivia

The Celestial Cult is based off of the ancient Roman and Greek Pantheons; taking inspiration from them and their mythology. Its heresises on the other hand share similarities to the Gnostic faiths, Catholicism and the Minoans.