The Proxima

The Proxima is a holy book containing the keys to

enlightenment. The Proxima does not consist solely of prophecy and religious
teachings; it encompasses a wide variety of topics that are as applicable to
practical living as they are applicable to the afterlife—it is a religious text
for a practical people. The book details the creation of our world as well as
the deities that watch over us. Recorded on its pages are the secrets to salvation
and eternal reward. The Proximian faith derives its name from this holy book.

Followers of the
Proxima derive their teachings from. The book details the creation of our world
as well as the deities that watch over us. Recorded on its pages are the keys
to gaining enlightenment so that one might reach Elysium. Clerically, the religion is organized and operated through the Holy City Nova Carthago.

Sanctus Arduro governs life, creation, and salvation. He
is represented by a flaming phoenix in Proximian iconography.

Invictus Tenebros governs death, destruction, and
damnation. He is represented by a frozen dragon in Proximian iconography.

 **Creation and Teachings:**

The Proxima teaches us that when the faithful perish they are ferried from the
Prime Materia through the boundary of the Incorporeum.

Erebus is a plane of all things and no thing, nebulous
and timeless. It is indescribable in mortal words and beyond the boundary of
mortal perception. In Erebus, the souls of the departed will find whatever it
is they sought in life. Those who reach Erebus in death see only an aspect of
themselves; reality becomes that whichever was sought most in life—Erebus is
the weight and measure of an individual’s deeds, truest thoughts, and desires.

Elysium is the home of the gods; it is the holiest of
holies. Only a select few souls are considered worthy of entering this divine
plane of blissful eternity. It is here that the heroes of the Proxima
reside—those souls who have shown exceptional valor and achieved glory in
service to the faith. These souls are reincarnated into a perfect version of
themselves; they are granted the eternal reward of residing in perfect harmony
and fellowship among the gods.

Sanctus Arduro; the Divine Creator, met our Dread Father;
Invictus Tenebros in battle. These opposites could not defeat their counterpart
and their war raged on in the time before time; the sum of our worldly
existence no more than a single sword stroke in their cosmic duel. Their battle
on the plane of Erebus was so mighty and fierce that where they fought the
principles of our world was created. The Dread Father assaulted our Divine
Creator with chaos, and Sanctus Arduro countered him with order. Sanctus Arduro
battled the darkness of Invictus Tenrbros with his light.  For war, there was peace. With plague came
fertility and with famine there existed harvest. When life was brought into the
world death soon followed. It continued on in this way; with every act of
creation there corresponded an act of destruction in a seemingly infinite,
ceaseless contest of divine wills. The ground upon which we walk was formed in
this primordial clash.

It is not known if the war was ended due to weariness or
boredom, all that is known is that there came an end to their celestial
struggle. Sanctus Arduro granted us life while Invictus Tenebros granted us
sleep eternal. With the gift of light which allows us to work the fields, we
have been given the gift of darkness to sleep and rest.

Sanctus Arduro took the form of the sun so that he might
watch over us in the day. Invictus Tenebrous took the form of the moon so that
he might gaze down upon in the still of night. The war and peace of our divine
fathers are the reason that the Proxima teaches balance. There is a place and a
reason for everything in the great circle of life and death—every tragedy
serves a purpose and for every hardship there is a respite. All things have
their counterpart and to know one is to understand the other. Achieving balance
is to achieve enlightenment.

**The 12 Tenets:**

These tenets are the key to achieving balance and thus
gaining the opportunity to walk within the halls of Elysium. Each tenet is
paired with its antithesis to represent the duality of our fathers. Each has
value. Together they lead to enlightenment, alone they lead astray.

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*Sanctus Arduro teaches us: A scarlet sky heralds a rising*
sun, and as the light of fire warms the soul so does life begin with open eyes, striving for perfection; vibrant and virtuous. The worthy rise above to see the
path to perfection is illuminated, let the light be your guide.

*Invictus Tenebrous teaches us: When darkness falls ice*
entombs the mortal coil in death's cold blanket, bringing on sleep eternal a body rests in death as a lake rests in winter; placid and lifeless. The weak return to the earth, giving back to existence as the souls of the unworthy
drift forever unto the void.

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*Order creates discipline, beware of strife.*

*Change brings strength, do not allow yourself to stagnate.*

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*Without peace, conflict is purposeless and exhausting, a tired body does not breed strength.*

*Indolence breeds weakness, from struggle there arises conflict, through*
conflict make yourself stronger.

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*The application of wisdom is power, know your enemy and*
know yourself.

*Fear can consume, break the enemy's resistance without fighting.*

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*For every time, there is a season; you reap what you sew.*

*Starvation fortifies the will, to go without is to know true strength.*

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*From seeds a nation is sewn, therefor multiply.*

*The feeble succumb to disease, the strong become immune.*