Tweneith Faith

The Tweneith Faith, often simply referred to as **the Tweneith**, is the religious belief of the Aldesti people of the Camarite Empire. It is the official religion of the Empire and the religion of the royal family, the Aeranthyens. Most followers of the Tweneith Faith reside in the Imperial Lands of the empire.

## The Lion and the Wolf

Members of the Tweneith worship the **Lion** and the **Wolf**, twin deities who command different aspects of existence. The Lion and the Wolf are also sometimes called the Sun and the Moon, or the Light and the Dark. Believers are to choose one of the two deities to worship, as both are equal and none is less than the other. The Lion has more patrons than the Wolf, however, as some of the less educated believe that the Wolf represents evil.

**The Lion:** The Lion represents revelation, birth, justice and chasteness. In Tweneith canon, the Lion's teachings have to do with the balance between mercy and justice, truth and lies and consequence and inaction. The Lion has—according to the religious texts of the Lemniscate—walked the earth a "thousand thousand" times, doled out a "thousand thousand" punishments and brought out a "thousand thousand" revelations. The Lion is not believed to be morally impeachable, but instead morally consistent. He resides in the "breath between truths and the regret following lies" according to the Lemniscate, and his physical form lives in the Castle of Shanah in the stars high above.

The Lion is the father of a great many lower gods and metaphysical beings, including **Hyrontha, Pylla and Baelithar**, the defenders of the Lion's true form, which has been said to send men who sight it to "madness and despair." It is forbidden to make any physical iterations of the Lion's true form.

**The Wolf:** The Wolf represents freedom. While the Lion represents birth, the Wolf represents death. While the Lion represents giving, the Wolf represents taking. The Wolf is the father of **the Reaper,** who collects the souls of the dead and ferries them across the Sea of Souls towards judgement. Some of lesser mind call the Wolf and his patrons 'devils' and 'shadowfriends'. The Wolf is calm, collected and level headed, not evil as is commonly believed, according to Canon, in contrast with his twin brother the Lion, who is louder and more extravagant and flamboyant. The Wolf's physical form resides beneath the earth, according to Tweneith Canon.

## Organization

### Training

The Tweneith Faith has great centers of religious training scattered across the empire, with the largest number of them being in the Imperial Lands. The most well known of them is the Six Shrines, the center of the Tweneith.

### Priests

The male and female worshippers who choose to serve the Twins as a life path are called sols and solas, respectively. Both sols and solas wear different colour robes depending on which Twin they serve. Those sols and solas who are followers of the Lion wear white robes, while those who follow the Wolf wear black robes. These priests are known to serve as governors or governesses in noble households, as well as tutors. For example, Sola Marcela serves House Nasz and Sol Eumon serves the royal family. Sols and solas officiate marriages, lead funeral services and perform other holy services.

Sols and solas are stationed in specific cities, towns and villages by the authority in the Six Shrines. A sol or a sola who leads all of the sols/solas in a given city, village, town or region is given the title of solemet. Princess Aris Aeranthyen was the Solemet of Flanders.

### The Tenebrae

The tenebrae are an order pledged to the Wolf that are only seen at funerals. They appear during the main ceremony, when prayers are being said by the mourners for the deceased to "have safe passage" and "be judged fairly" by the Twins. The tenebrae wear red and black robes and have their eyes gouged out when they join the order. Tenebrae are taught incantations deemed too 'dark' for regular sols and solas. These incantations are meant to ward off the Reaper when he comes to collect the soul of deceased during a funeral.

From Bloodstained Blue:

>     *There were tenebrae amongst their ranks as well, men cloaked in robes of red and black, ringing bells and muttering, “Thou art unperceiving, thou hast taken only that which belongeth to thee …” The tenebrae did not need veils, for they had no eyes.*
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### The Godseye

The Godseye is the head of the Tweneith Faith and is also known as the voice of the Twins' on earth. All sols and solas are able to vote for a Godseye, but the only ones eligible to run for Godseye are those whose names the previous Godseye has written down, as it is believed that those names were given by divine wisdom from the Twins. A Godseye serves until death, and so prior to their death they must write a list of no less than five names as potential successors. The Godseye lives and works mainly from the Six Shrines, though they are also known to work from the Godshrine of Liathaine in Lohsthar.

### Six Shrines

The Six Shrines is the center of the Tweneith Faith and the believed birthplace of the Lion and the Wolf. The Godseye lives and works in the Six Shrines, and many potential sols and solas are trained there.

### Army of the Faithful

The Tweneith Faith—or, specifically the Holy Godseye—commands an army some 40,000 strong. The Army of the Faithful are stationed all around the empire and even in some foreign lands as protectors and defenders of Tweneith holy sites. The Faithful Army are very well trained. The Godseye also controls a large naval force.

## Practices

### Priveleges

The Tweneith holds the most rights of any religion in the empire. It has the right to maintain its own military orders, the right to condemn its own members and the right to have their vast stores of wealth and properties exempt from taxation by the crown. The Aeranthyens uphold the priveleges the Tweneith faith have. The Holy Godseye also has to be present to crown a new Emperor/Empress or royal consort.

### Practiced In

The Tweneith Faith is practiced throughout the Camarite Empire, but most predominantly in the Imperial Lands. Six out of the empire's nine principal houses officially follow the Tweneith faith, including the Nasz all the way in Northland.

### Worship

Religious worship is done in whitestone buildings known as shrines, or godshrines if they are larger. Each godshrine is split into two, one half for the Wolf and one half for the Lion. Funerals are held in the Wolf's face of the shrine while weddings and other ceremonies are held in the Lion's face of the shrine. Prayer on the first and fifth days of the week, though some of the more pious can visit the shrine daily. Hymns and songs are sung during prayer. The Tweneith's main holy book is the Lemniscate.

### Marriage Customs

Weddings take place in a godshrine. The ceremony is presided over by a sol and involves prayers, singing of holy hymns and dancing. Unlike forfunerals, veils are not worn at weddings, as it is the dominion of the Lion and a time to be "seen." Tweneith weddings also have the new couple slitting their wrists and letting their blood flow into a cauldron of boiling water. They are both expected to drink this water later in the ceremony, once it has cooled down, to cement their union in blood.

### Funerals

From Bloodstained Blue:

> *The Aldesti people of the empire’s Imperial Lands held great honourings in towering, extravagant halls, with the deceased’s face painted upon a casket of wood or iron, where dozens and perhaps even hundreds gathered to bear witness. Passages were read from the Aldesti holy book of the Tweneith Faith, scripture regarding passing on and grief. The casket would be opened, holy oil set upon the corpse’s forehead, and then all would rise to prayer, foremost the kin of the deceased. It was believed that this was when the Reaper, the god of death and the fi rst son of the Wolf, would arrive. The tenebrae would chant incantations to ward the shrine from the Reaper. to protect others from the Reaper’s dark gaze. He was known to desire that which was not his.*
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