Juseppeism

Juseppeism is one of the prominent religions of the Arcadian Realm of Astana.

The faith centres around the idea that the Carvaian citizen Juseppe, famous for being able to obtain even the most obscure of items and materials in Rathnir, is merely the mortal form of the great god Juseppe, giver of boons, lover of nature, and traverser of the "Great River of Needs". It is believed the spirit of this god separated its physical form, delivering it to the Astanan Citizens as a gift, quite like the artefacts other deities give their chosen people.

### **The Beginnings of Juseppeism**

Juseppeism began when the Astanan Citizen of Juseppe was able to retrieve items, seemingly without limit, that the various townsfolk of Astana required. Conduits, Netherite, obscure texts, his powers of procurement seemed limitless. This, along with his entuned love for all that is natural and beautiful, various scholars of Astana went to the Carvay University, scouring the ancient texts for any reason for why this seemingly mortal man had godly powers of acquisition.

It was discovered that, in Carvay's ancient past, there was a deity that would grant boons to the people of the region now known as Astana, in return for items of great value to the daily lives of the Astanans, this deity would grant resources a-plenty, rare and wonderous materials that could be used for legendary projects.

The ancient texts also mentioned this deity went dormant, but promised to one day gift his "mortal shell" to the people of the Astanan region, and that they should continue to praise him and his mortal shell once again, to bring prosperity back to the region.

And so the religion began anew in modern times, and Juseppeism obtained its first Juseippels.

### **The Main Tenets of Juseppeism**

#### The Great River of Plenty

The River of Plenty is an ethereal stream that runs through the heart of heavenly planes. This River is what gives mortals luck within Rathnir. Whenever a rare item is found whilst fishing, a store of rare materials is discovered by chance, ancient debris is found during Nether expeditions, this is caused by a small drop of the River of Plenty spilling from the heavens and landing on the spot in which the great boon of luck occurred. As water is drawn to water, this also explains why so many rare and wonderful items can be found by the humble fishermen of Rathnir, pockets of the River of Plenty being washed down the rivers and shorelines across the lands! In fact there are some Juseippels who believe that the various luck potions of Rathnir are actually potions with the properties to draw small parts of the Great River of Plenty into the spirit of the drinker through magical means.

Juseppe's spirit is able to traverse this river with great ease, consistently and intentionally scooping up specific segments of the river, and gifting it to his Juseippels!

#### The Spirit and the Mortal

As dictated through the ancient texts, Juseppe is believed to be in two major forms. His mortal shell, and his spiritual form, cleaved from one another intentionally many moons ago.

##### The Mortal Shell

The Carvay Citizen of Juseppe is a wonderous being, with the innate ability to acquire almost any item in which your heart desires, if given enough time. The perfect resource gatherer, the most heartwarming of friends, it is clear to all Juseippels that this is the true mortal shell of Juseppe! As his spirit is still in the Heavens, the mortal shell of Juseppe has none of the deity's holy memories. Indeed, this mortal shell of Juseppe actually denies he is a god at all, just a really good resource gatherer. However, all true Juseippels of the faith believe that this is just a way for the Spirit of Juseppe to test their faith!

##### The Spirit

The spirit of Juseppe still traverses the Great River of Plenty to this day, using its ethereal powers to ensure the lands of Astana, and all of Carvay, are gifted with great fortune. The Juseippels of Juseppe are convinced that this spirit's continual gifts from the Great River of Plenty is the reason that, against all odds, the Country of Carvay has not only survived several major political and Unholy incidents, but indeed thrived, with her gold mines never depleting, and its fish opulent shorelines are filled to the brim with rare and wonderous items of power.

#### The Night of Faith

The Night of Faith is a particular event where followers of every social class gather to listen the preaching of the mortal shell of Juseppe himself: here, he always explains that he's never been a holy being, that he's not a deity or the messiah and that people should not worship him as such; but the loyal Juseippels continue to believe that he's just testing their faith and will not allow him to change their minds, praising him louder and louder as he speaks.

After sometime, the mortal shell of Juseppe accepts the preaching of the Juseippels, joining in the celebrations. It is still debated by scholars if this is due to the spirit of Juseppe linking with his shell momentarily, filling him with understanding of his Juseippels for but a fleeting moment, or if Juseppe simply gives in out of exhaustion.

### **The Holy Sites of Juseppeism**

#### The World Tree of Astana

Whilst the growing world tree is officially a place where the great forces of mother nature have reached her verdant tendrils into the mortal world, the mortal shell of Juseppe seems drawn to the beautiful structure. As such, followers of Juseppeism tend to also worship nature in its entirety, much to the delight of the local tree spirit Spriggan. Some Juseippels see the world tree as a testament to how the Great River of Plenty is a boon to all natural things, not just the mortals of Rathnir. Indeed, there are even some Juseippels that believe the world tree is spiritually watered by the Great River of Plentry itself.