Puritonism

Puritonism is the polytheistic religion of Imperyea featured in EngelReise. Puritonists believe in six gods, all of whom take the form of sacred land rather than human form (although many choose to nevertheless depict the gods as human). Puritonists, in their most base fundamentals, concern themselves with raising stability in society as a matter of the utmost importance, stressing that even the most dooming of situations can be overcome by steering society gently in a straight direction, avoiding both radical progression and regression for the sake of a more stable community. Additionally, it is suggested that a Puritonist mother will give birth to the Perfectly Honorable One—a teacher who will bring forth eternal world peace by delivering objectively correct wisdom to the world. Despite the core fundamentals of Puritonism stressing stability and world peace, the Krucif-Imperyean Peninsula Dispute has birthed a very militarist and jingoist mindset into the many Puritonists who see the Krucifixan Peninsula as rightfully their own.

## Fundamentals

### Deities

*"It is popular belief that if the moon decides to be full and the stars are showing during one of these festivals, that celebrating with us from beyond is our respective island's god."* *―Tomako Angel, EngelReise - Chapter 19*

Seldom are the gods of Imperyea called by a name—primarily due to the gods not revealing any canon names—instead they are addressed by the island/land they embody (ex. 'God of Kushyrin'). In Puritonist canon, the gods are equal in status, and none of the six could be considered a creator god, thus the key goal of maintaining a stable society begins with the gods themselves, who maturely share the powers of the universe and therefore maintain stability. While it is suggested that the gods have the free power to do whatever they want, even the most faithful of Puritonists are convinced that they have no interest in intervening much into the everyday affairs of mortals; it is common belief, however, that those who are rich in honor are more likely candidates for beneficial intervention.

All five islands of Imperyea (Kushyrin, Dayaking, Craykon, Hippinshu, and Cheyprin) have their own respective god, with the sixth god, controversially, embodying the peninsula Imperyeans know as Bahkon, alternatively called 'The Peninsula,' or more internationally known as the 'Krucifixan Peninsula.' Over the course of many centuries, the once divided Imperyean people found a uniting cause in Puritonism, and thus united the five Imperyean islands into one Imperyean, Puritonist nation. Missing from this union of lands was Bahkon, a formerly unoccupied peninsula now settled by Krucifixan nomads. Although not settled first, Imperyeans contended that the peninsula nevertheless was embodied by the God of Bahkon, and therefore legitimate land of the Imperyean people. The placement of the peninsula into the Kingdom of Krucifix would communicate to the Imperyean people that the Krucifixans were holding one of the six gods hostage, many going so far as to believe that the birth of the Perfectly Honorable One would be contingent on Imperyea taking the peninsula from Krucifix. This conflict would result in the Krucif-Imperyean Wars, a seemingly endless series of Imperyean invasions of Krucifix, most of which would end with Imperyea failing to gain solid control of the coasts.

Although irrelevant to Puritonist scripture and belief, the dispute with Krucifix would go on for so long that many of the Puritonist faith would see the purpose of their entire existence dedicated to saving the God of Bahkon from the Krucifixans.

### Pot of Honor

*"In your Puriton faith, each Imperyean has a spiritual pot of honor—a second currency put alongside your actual currency that you fill with honorable acts."* *―Kim Young, EngelReise - Chapter 33*

A key feature of the Puritonist theology is the belief in a pot of honor, a spiritual karmic currency that all Puritonists deal with, gained or spent in a number of vague ways. In practice, the weight of one's pot of honor was subjective due to it being spiritually owned, meaning one could establish the honor payout of a good deed to be very high, very low, or even not at all. Despite one's pot of honor being something self-rewarded, a community would often have their own opinion on how full one's pot of honor is, therefore, one who believes they have a rich pot of honor may yet be judged as having a lacking pot of honor by their peers.

The significance of the pot of honor comes into play mostly in prayer, community, and self-esteem. In prayer, one with a positive pot of honor has more right to ask the gods for favors, but one must make sure that their pot of honor is full enough to afford the prayer that they are requesting an answer for. In terms of community, a pot of honor, while rarely substituting for actual currency, is often called upon while requesting or fulfilling favors for people. It is generally agreeable that selfless acts of kindness—especially when sacrifice is involved—warrants a pot of honor bounty. It is also considered dishonorable to reject the requests of those who are rich in honor. Sinful acts, especially those that bring harm to others, is the easiest way of reducing one's pot of honor.

One who has a rich pot of honor tend to have the admiration of the religious community, are occasionally summoned for temple duties, are likely to have their requests granted by peers, and are treated as the 'ideal' Imperyean. Those who have a low or empty pot of honor tend to be unknown in the community, untrustworthy, greedy, or even suspicious to many. Those with a 'broken' pot of honor are those who have essentially been excommunicated by one or more Puritonist temples. Most with a broken pot of honor find themselves in this position due to crime, and thus find themselves imprisoned, conscripted, or even executed. Those who manage to stay with or rejoin a free Imperyean society find themselves 'ghosted' by the community, with merchants refusing them business, job opportunities blacklisting them, and consumers not wanting to buy their offerings. The usual resort for free Imperyeans with a broken pot is to travel far from home and try to start fresh with a distant and unfamiliar community.

### The Perfectly Honorable One

*"No one will fight in this new era the Perfectly Honorable One defines, for his or her teachings to mankind will have such power that the very thought of violent or simply hateful acts will have been expelled from our minds."* *―Tomako Angel, EngelReise - Chapter 33*

A major aspect of the Puritonist faith—especially for women—is the promise that one Imperyean woman will give birth to a boy or girl known as the Perfectly Honorable One. As the name implies, this person will have flawless honorable tendencies, and through their divine expertise in philosophy, they will become a teacher for humanity and put an end to the human cycle of violence and chaos; by the time the Perfectly Honorable One passes away, humanity will finally be educated enough to coexist and resolve all potential conflicts through his teachings. In the era of the Krucif-Imperyean Wars, the desire for coexistence and friendship is eclipsed by the desire to a crush the Krucifixan military and incorporate the peninsula into the Imperyean Empire, and so concentration on birthing the Perfectly Honorable One has become a nearly woman exclusive goal, despite men historically sharing heavily in this goal as well.

Togami Angel—mother of Tomako—was a highly motivated, very optimistic, aspiring mother who believed passionately in her destiny to be the one to give birth to the Perfectly Honorable One. Managing to finally have a child, Togami assumed with certainty that Tomako would reveal herself to be the Perfectly Honorable One and lead the world to peace; however, as Tomako advanced as a newborn, early signs emerged that would hint to Togami that Tomako may not be the Perfectly Honorable One, and yet she denied this. Only as Tomako developed early social capabilities did it indeed become clear to Togami that Tomako was not perfectly honorable, thus initiating a long period of depression, albeit with continuing love for her daughter.

Tomako, like her mother, would grow up infatuated by the prophecy of the Perfectly Honorable One. Not wanting Tomako to fall into the same overhyped disappointment that she faced, Togami tries to remind Tomako that her chances of birthing the Perfectly Honorable One are slim, but alas, Tomako rejects this, instead believing that there are prerequisites that must be met in order to birth him or her. As a growing adult, Tomako finds herself in a difficult position of wanting to give birth to the Perfectly Honorable One, but also struggling to find a husband due to her poor social skills.

### Afterlife

With the scattered Puritonist scriptures offering vague hints at best, there is no unified agreement on what comes after death. The united point of agreement is that the body contains a soul, and that the life of a soul is not bound to the mortal body forever. Debate comes from whether life continues on Suve after death, or if the soul ascends to a different world. Unable to reach a consensus on the matter, it has been unanimously accepted that the answer to this question will arrive with the Perfectly Honorable One. Either way, Puritonists do not consider this to be a topic of great importance, as so much of their beliefs center around maintaining a stable Imperyea.