Joachimism

"Even in death, we serve."

The Colony of Novae\_Spei

Joachimism is the belief in the god Joachim, and the saints who served him in his lifetime on the mortal plain. Joachim is believed to have been an old ruler of the Donslanites, named at that time Cresvlitsin. They adopted the name Donslanites, due to their current home's name, Donslau.

## History

### His life as a mortal

Joachim was born long ago, a prince within a bustling kingdom. His father took good care of him, giving him a good education, as the heir to the throne. His young years are shrouded in mystery. What is known, however, is how it all ended.

#### An haven, breached by terror

Even if his early years are unknown, it is unknown how he came to lead the Cresvlitsin. The Kingdom begun to crumble under his fathers leadership, and soon a revolution begun. To save himself and his son, Joachim's father ran away, taking everything he could, and everyone who wished to come. They continued to travel for a long amount of time, but this pilgrimage will turn to tragedy.

#### His Death, and the Heir's Rise

The men were passing through a village, when out of nowhere they were attacked. The father didn't manage to survive, being struck through the heart, dying instantly. The young Joachim, now king, had to lead his men to greener pastures to settle and so he will.

#### A new land, and a new future

He will soon arrive on an empty plain, right between 2 rivers, and settle there, the small town of Cresvlits. From there, the nation of Voievodat Cresvlitsae will be birthed as the home of the Cresvlits. During his time as leader, he would build the new town into a metropolis, the center of their continent. The Voievodat would go to become one of the most active nations in the world. Nevertheless, this golden age will have to end, yet the end it received was a bloody one.

#### Joachim's Grim End

In the early hours of a fateful day, he would be found dead, having been assasinated. This event would spark a civil war, which would end up with the Old King taking power, and creating the Kingdom of Cresvlits. He would, however, have to dissolve the nation, due to countless crises. In the end, the count of Donslau, Levius Segrov, would take his men, his riches and leave for the place where Donslau rests now.

## The Prophecy

The Prophecy says that, after his death, Joachim went above the clouds, to create his own empire there. Every Donslanite, after a life of hard work, goes there, to live between the clouds, led by Joachim. Everything a Cresvlitsin or Donslanite does, is seen by Joachim, guided by him. He sees all from his Empire beyond the clouds. He is considered the Father of all Cresvlitsin/Donslanites. The Commemorandum says that he will always be there, guiding the merry men who listen to him, to prosperity and everlasting life. And all the Donslanites work towards that goal.

## Core Beliefs

### Comradery, Brotherhood

A basic belief in all things Donslanite, is a deep brotherhood between all Donslanites. Where one fails, another comes to fix it. One's shortcomings are complemented by another's abilities. This also shows a high level of equality between Joachim's Sons. He, who helps you, is no less than he, who feeds you.

### Devotion, Loyalty

The Donslanites are highly loyal people, however, loyal to their own, and their land. They have a high devotion to the state, and to the people. They believe the state to be the Mother of all, and Joachim to be the Father. The State guides them on the right path. Interestingly, this state, has always been one person, or a small group of people. They would give everything, in the name of Donslau and of the Donslanites. Even their lives.

### Zealousness

It isn't unknown that the Donslanites are willing to die for what they believe. For what they are, and for what they protect. This is the belief from where the famous saying ***"Even in Death, we serve."*** originates. If taken literally, this means that they are gonna serve even in Death, not mattering what happens to them. If Joachimism is considered, this saying has a new translation. It's that of: If a Donslanite dies, he would serve beyond Death, beyond the clouds, in The Father's eternal Empire.

## Representation and Localization

### The Donslanites

Joachimist is a Donslanite religion, and as such, any place that has to deal with Donslau, also has some influence from Joachimism. The heartland of Joachimism is the Province of Donslau.

### The Colony of Novae Spei

During a trip within Donslau, Nether Palemos, found the religion and converted. Impressed by it's teachings, he would go on to convert most of the colony to Joachimism, most notably Nabil Manneh.

## The *"Order du Joachim"*

With an inception with a new religion, there must be those who uphold it and propagate it across the lands. This was one of the main issues of Joachimism in its early years.

In an interesting turn of events, the Donslanite Armed Forces, the territorial army of the Province of Donslau, have decided to take this burden upon themselves. This made general imalex7, Prime-Archon, or Primarch, and the soldiers became knights. Another unique thing about this, is that all the knights are priests within the religion, effectively making the Order, an army of battle priests. The *"Order du Joachim"*, as such, had become the standing army of Donslau, being mobilized at all times. During the down time, when there are no wars/fights to fight in, the knights either train, or proselytize, doing the duties of a priest.

The Knights generally don't get their hands dirty, and as such, a militia force has been formed to fill in the empty roles left by the army, which the Order didn't fill. These empty holes, were mostly domestic and/or garrison duty.

## Saints

Since Joachimism is a monotheistic religion, there are no gods beside Joachim. However, there are persons of interest, considered saints.

Interestingly, no saints have been canonized yet, due to the new status of the religion.

## Sins

* The denial of Joachims word, constitutes as grave sin. This, however, only applies to ethnic Donslanites and not foreigners.
* The insulting of Joachims word, no matter the person, constitutes a grave sin.
* Betrayal, lying, stealing, and general fraud, are seen as petty sins.
* The attempt to kill, or the killing of a brother (fellow Joachimist, nationality and race not mattering) constitutes as a grave sin. If done in self-defense, the sin is forgiven.
* Denying Joachims word, while also insulting his word, makes one a heretic. Being a heretic constitutes in the gravest sin.
* Killing a man, woman, or child, without holy reason is considered heresy.

* Any grave sins, which are not assumed by the doer, and not forgiven by a priest, result in execution by hanging.
* Any petty sins, or normal sins, which are not assumed by the doer, and not forgiven by a priest, result in intensive heavy labor, or banishment.

### Footnotes

1. This is mostly a guideline for what constitutes a sin and what doesn't, the levels of it and how to deal with them. Since this is a guideline, it generally depends on the person/priest what is a sin or not, however in those cases, there will always be a hearing with higher authorities to decide if that constitutes a sin, its level, and what punishment is fit for it. Even so, in special cases, some of these guidelines can be ignored.
2. Since the above-mentioned sins are mostly guidelines, there enforcement is not mandatory, in special cases.
3. ***Heretics must be dealt with. To forgive is holy. We aren't holy. Joachim is holy. Our job is to simply bring the Heretics to Joachim, for only him can forgive.***

## References

1. ↑ The History ties to the history of the Donslanite people, found within Donslau.