Elualaxa

Elualaxa (lit. "Elua-adoration") was the ethnic religion of the Dark Elves, centred upon the worship of the supreme goddess Elua and the veneration of her firstborn daughter and chosen prophetess, Lusira.

Elualaxa can be split into two extremely distinct divisions; Eluascaga (lit. "Elua-corruption") and Eluavisha (lit. "Elua-obedience"). Both share a common basic theology, but could not be more different in their moral code.

## Theology

Elualaxians believed that Elua is the supreme deity, the origin of all things and the mother of all life. They believe Elua took a physical form in order to give birth to her firstborn daughter, Lusira, but her physical body soon disappeared. The ancient folk tales do not say exactly why this was the case, but subsequent Elualaxians wrote that they believed it was because a physical body was incapable of containing the essence of a deity, and the body disintegrated after its purpose was complete.

After becoming greatly saddened by the rapid onset of strife between her creations, Elua tasked her firstborn daughter Lusira with becoming her prophetess, ordering her to spread the teaching of Elua for the good of the world. Lusira corrected the course of her own children, the Dark Elves, but only found limited success amongst the other races before their arrogance and spiteful hatred compelled them to slay Lusira, overcoming her magical power with their sheer numbers.

## Eluascaga

> "*And when Our Lady's creation was finished, she told Her children: 'Go out into the world I have made for you, consume its fruits and enjoy its comforts, prosper and multiply, love each other and love Me'.*"
> ― Inscription on an Eluascagan shrine
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The form of the faith known as Eluascaga (lit. "Elua-corruption") was practiced by the Dark Elves for most of their existence, though it disappeared entirely during the campaign of genocide wrought by the Dragons in approximately 180BC. It should be noted that Eluascaga was not called Eluascaga by its adherents; they called their religion Elualaxa, and the name Eluascaga was applied by the later Eluavishans as a derogatory label for their heretical ancestors.

Eluascagans believed that Elua's teaching, communicated through Lusira, was that Elua desired for her creations to make good use of the life that was given to them, to enjoy the world she had created and to love one another. Eluascagans interpreted this to mean that they should above all have an interesting life rather than one following a particular moral code - subsequently, Eluascagans were notorious for their hedonistic indulgence and their near-total lack of restraint in all things.

The vast majority of Eluascagans believed that the commandment to love one another only applied to other followers of Elua, and had no moral qualms about committing horrific acts of sadism upon heathens if it furthered their goal of making good use of Elua's gift of life. Eluascagans therefore implicitly encouraged the Dark Elvish practice of raiding to take slaves, and the unspeakable harm which was inflicted upon those slaves; they had no care whatsoever for the well-being of heathens. The interpretation of "heathen" could also be loose, and many interpreted it to simply mean anyone who was not a Dark Elf, even if their lips professed loyalty to Elua, for they believed that only Dark Elves could be true Elualaxians.

Eluascagans believed that those who fulfilled Elua's will to make good use of their lives would be rewarded with constant and unparalleled ecstasy in heaven, whereas those who defied this will would be cast into the void, slowly dissipating until nothing of them remained. Some groups of Eluascagans believed that unworthy souls would instead be imprisoned within the rocks of the world, retaining their consciousness but unable to act, as an ironic punishment for their failure to act upon their lives when they had them.

Eluascaga was reviled by virtually all those who came into contact with it, and by their Eluavishan descendants, who perceived it as an abominable corruption (hence the name "Eluascaga") of the true word of Elua.

## Eluavisha

> "*Where there is a cry for help, I shall heed it.
> Where there is innocence assailed, I shall defend it.
> Where there is justice corrupted, I shall set it right.
> I seek neither glory nor fame, for my accursed flesh is undeserving of praise.
> I live only in the hope that I may receive the greatest blessing of all; to die for My Lady.*"
> ― The Vow of Obedience (short version)
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Eluavisha (lit. "Elua-obedience") was the form of the faith practiced by the survivors of the fiery genocide the Dragons carried out in 180BC. These survivors grouped together and called themselves the Sherahavi (lit. "remnants"). Whilst Eluavisha is closely associated with the Sherahavi and was the universal religion amongst them, they did not invent the religion; there are extremely sparse accounts of Dark Elves known as "repentants" before this time, whose moral code aligned with Eluavisha.

The Eluavishans believed that they themselves were the cause of the massacre of their race, and they deserved this fate for the atrocities they committed upon others. They re-evaluated the teachings of Elua and came to the conclusion that they had, as a race, continuously betrayed Elua's will from the very start - a process which had begun with the abominable heresy of Lusira, their creator, who had damned them with sinful natures. They were not the chosen of Elua as they previously believed, but were accursed, tainting their bloodline through their actions. They believed that the only way they could redeem themselves and purge their flesh of their self-inflicted curse was to disregard their own desires and sacrificed their own lives for the will of Elua. This certainly did not mean suicide, but rather dying as martyr for a glorious cause. There was no comprehensive list of which deaths were valid for cleansing oneself of the curse, but the two which they spoke of the most and saw as the most glorious and pious were dying to protect others from harm and dying in childbirth. The obsession that Eluavishans had with dying a warrior's death in the service of chivalry gave them a reputation for being fearless in the face of certain death, a reputation which they certainly lived up to during the War for the World.

The Eluavishans took it upon themselves to discipline their lives to the extreme in order to counteract their naturally strong sinful desires, adopting rigorous prayer rules and frequent periods of fasting. They also trained virtually all of their race in the ways of war, in the hope that every single one of them could die a warrior's death in defence of Elua's will.

If an Eluavishan redeemed their accursed flesh by paying the blood price of martyrdom, their sins would be washed away and they would enjoy an eternity of peace. Eluavishans did not promise the ecstasy and delight of the Eluascagan heaven, rather they simply believed they would attain peace and quiet and the removal of the burden of sin. Those who failed to redeem themselves would be in constant agony forever as a result of their curse - though some Eluavishans believed that these damned souls still had a chance of redemption if they guided others towards their own salvation.

### The Vow of Obedience

The short version of the Vow of Obedience has already appeared on this page, which was the version most commonly spoken by the Eluavishans. However, there was a significantly longer version which was spoken by the Sherahavi once they reached adulthood and swore themselves to become warriors of Elua. Eluavishans were typically expected to memorise the short version and be able to repeat it off by heart, but the full version was repeated line by line from a speaker who read from a text. The full version is as follows:

I pledge to repay the world for the crimes of my ancestors.

I pledge to give my body, heart and soul to My Lady.

Where there is a cry for help, I shall heed it.

Where there is innocence assailed, I shall defend it.

Where there is beauty degraded, I shall protect it.

Where there is holiness defiled, I shall preserve it.

Where there is justice corrupted, I shall set it right.

I shall be the shield of the helpless and the bane of the wicked.

No obstacle shall stand in the way of my duty.

I seek neither glory nor fame, for my accursed flesh is undeserving of praise.

I live only in the hope that I may receive the greatest blessing of all;

To die for My Lady.