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| Evolism | |
|---|---|
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| Religion | |
| Pronunciation | Ee-voh-lism. |
| Origins | Start of recorded history |
| Deities | |
| One unified Pantheon | |
Evolism as a Religion represents an organized faith that worships the Dark Gods, or Gods specifically from other Magic Realms that have come to Aloria or reached into Aloria to seek followers of their gospel. Evolist Gods all started out either as Demons or entities from different realms, meaning they all technically had an original alignment, though all have consumed so much power over the millennia that they have accumulated a bit of every dimensional alignment. The Evolist Gods are not interested in virtues or vices, rather they teach the faithful absolute truths about the world, and encourage the faithful to live as brutally honestly and self-serving as they can, as Evolism is about evolving into a higher being of self through Magic or transformation.
Origins
Evolism does not have a true point of origin, as some form of trans-dimensional divine worship has occurred in every cycle of life. It is commonly called "Demon Worship", on account of its close association, and as such, it can be extrapolated that in many civilizations, Evolism existed due to the existence of Demon worship therein. It is assumed that over the millennia, the Evolism pantheon has changed, notably because the Gods within it are also very competitive, with only loose loyalty to each other, even if they all preach the necessity for cohesion. The current iteration of Evolism more or less developed during the Allorn Empire where its rise and worship of the Evolist Gods coincided with the decline and collapse of the Empire. In the present day, Evolism is considered a minority religion world-wide, but it is the only religion that is present in every society. Evolists often hide their identity, as even though the Religion is not expressly illegal in many countries like Regalia, worshipers of Evolism are considered unpredictable and disloyal to any king or emperor, inspiring religious violence and mistrust towards them.
Core Beliefs
Central Message
The central message of Evolism is delightfully short and simple: the world sucks, and to be alive as mortals sucks, so you should use any (magical) means available to you to make your life easier and better, and to become a better version of yourself than what creation pitied you with. In essence, the followers must evolve, physical, mentally, and spiritually, by the cosmic truths taught by the Gods. There is no afterlife waiting for Evolists, they can choose to become Demons and continue to serve their Gods for eternity, or be snuffed out like a candle and fade into nothingness. Evolist Gods are brutally honest and sometimes a little sardonically sadistic. While most Gods of Alorian religions speak even-handedly and with neutral intent, the Evolist Gods are very good at expressing what they want, and are strictly no-nonsense and "love without the bullshit".
Duality of Expression
Evolism has two different sets of expression, one called the external crusade, and the other the internal mission. The external crusade goes something along the lines of "we will burn away the old world and create a new" - believers who want to destroy the world's design and functioning to create an evolist paradise along the lines of the truth expressions taught by the Gods. This in essence means to do away with other Religions, nation-states, government structures and societies in favor of a true-liberty focused Evolism society. The internal mission goes something along the lines of "the gifts of the Dark Gods are ours alone, and we should fiercely guard them" - believers who want to mostly keep to themselves, hold the same prideful beliefs about their religious superiority, but mostly believe antagonizing everyone is a bad idea, and a better world can be created on a small scale locally just fine. Players should choose between these two, in essence seeking to expand their religion, or to keep it very private. Also note, those who follow the external crusade are not ignorant to the cards stacked against them, in line with the wisdom and intellect of their gods, they seek to undermine the old world before replacing it, not charging in without a plan and just being a terrorist.
The Cosmic Truths
To simplify the reading on this page, this section will set out the core concepts of the Cosmic Truths of each Evolist God, the distilled message of what they preach. Each of these Cosmic Truths is accepted as absolute fact by the faithful, and used to guide their actions in day to day life.
- Gahan's absolute truth, is that Demons deserve and have just as much personhood as mortals, and that controlling them is a cruel tyranny.
- Onu's absolute truth, is that Magic is only a force for good, and that purism is a death-cult that must be made magical as punishment.
- Morrlond's absolute truth, is that he is the supreme overlord of the sea, and that the unknowns hide many dangers to respect.
- Grimkin's absolute truth, is that the skill to deceive is good, and that Arkenborn are a glorious revel of existence for mortals.
- Intalos's absolute truth, is that knowledge is the key to everything, and that one must always keep consuming more information.
- Vyrmor's absolute truth, is that the Dragons are undeserving of their power, and that control over the world belongs with mortals.
- Savanax's absolute truth, is that community and devotion to ancestry are important, but that everyone must live in freedom.
- Lymora's absolute truth, is that blood holds power, and that monsters are beautiful, especially Marken who are holy.
- Aylina's absolute truth, is that hierarchies like capitalism and aristocracy are fake, and that power comes from might and speech.
- Ventra's absolute truth, is that nature was created arbitrarily and chaotically, and that a guiding hand should control it to function.
Gods and Goddesses
Evolism has one unified pantheon, and while some of the Gods may have rivalries or even outright fight, it is critically important for the faithful to worship all Gods of the pantheon, and take the Religion as a whole. While one can choose patronage to specific gods to worship them a bit more, this should never come at the expense of the other Gods, or cause one to outright neglect bringing offerings to the others. Evolism is an extending religion, meaning that over time, it can accrue more Gods.
Gahan, the Demon-Emperor
Gahan is the Demon-Emperor who rules all of the Demons who pledge themselves to Evolism and its Gods, and also indirectly all Abyss Demons due to his ascension to the empty seat of the Endless Yearn. Gahan was originally a Khama God who used immense power to transport the Dewamenet capital into the Abyss, turning all of its denizens into Abyss Demons, essentially invading the Abyss. Through trickery and conquest, he defeated all of the great Abyss entities, before finally usurping the throne of the Arch-Abyss, as it was weakened and distracted by the constant Void-Invasions on Aloria. Now Gahan is the patron God of all Demons who seek to live unbound, to be unaltered by the wishes of mortals, but to live by the laws of life.
Gahan's primary role in the pantheon is to preach about the benign nature of Demons who conform out of free will, and to lambast forced ownership as tyranny. His rituals are used by the faithful to transcend their souls in death to Demon hood if they so choose, and to become protectors of the faith and agents of their Gods' will on Aloria. It is important to note however, that Gahan is not endlessly patient and forgiving for Demons who continue to live by their base instincts, barely more respectable than mindless drones surrendered to their impulses. Demons who refuse to get on board with Gahan's plans are turned into fuel for those who do.
Onu, the Life-Giver
Onu is both the God of life and of Magic for the Evolist pantheon, a being of immense magical power that teaches and generally acts with benign interest towards mortals. There are endless stories of Onu using his Magic to breathe life into stillborn or blessing those born with ailments into good health. Similarly, he is seen as a teacher who provides those deprived of the means to learn Magic with all the access they need. A strong aspect of Onu's dogma is a revilement of death. Onu hates the very concept of death, and anyone who would inflict it on the followers, and his hatred for death extends itself especially onto the Death Gods of the Hollow, and the false un-life they deem gifts onto the mortals of Aloria.
Onu's hatred for the Death Gods extends itself onto purists, who he believes to be death-cult in all but name aligned with the Death Gods to do their bidding. To Onu, Magic can only ever be beneficial, being a force of vibrancy, of power, of life and good health. Inversely, purism's only real expression of ideology is to wish death on others, while being robbed of Magic is to Onu no better than being condemned to Undeath. Onu sees forced Magic infestation the only suitable punishment for purists. The only strong contention Onu does have about Magic, is that he believes Evolism followers should not use Magic to harm each other, only help them in times of need.
Morrlond, the Deep-Terror
Morrlond is the God of the sea and the terrifying unknown, a lord of deep darkness that inspires respect for the unknown and healthy fear for the unseen. He is the self-declared ruler of all oceans and seas, and demands that his followers slay those who do not kneel to his crown of the sea. He has a particular bone to pick with other aquatic gods like Vyrë, Xeradon, and Nyxil, who he at best considers interlopers on his domain. This inevitably results in his followers picking a fight with the Godborn of the seas, and building shrines near the coastlines to extend his reach, as it is believed that Morrlond can see through the empty sockets of sea-predator skulls aimed towards the waves.
Morrlond is also in ways, a wisdom God who differs from Inth's endless hunger for more information regardless of the practical application, in being wise about the unknown. Evolist worshipers by nature of the persuasion towards vanity or pride by their religion, might be inclined to fear nothing, and hold their own skills and qualities in high regard. Morrlond teaches his followers that any unknown things and unseen places hide dangers that can consume even Gods, and that no mortal or Demon follower of Evolism is above being taken down by a more powerful foe. In essence, Morrlond preaches the idiom of pride comes before the fall, and how the faithful should always remain sober about their abilities and means, not to be defeated, but to be inspired to grow and learn to overcome.
Grimkin, the Velvet Sire
Grimkin is a subversive and manipulative trickster-god of Evolism who delights and relishes in plots and schemes with dark humor and sinister intent. It is not outwardly malicious, but its sweet-cloaked desire for subterfuge inevitably gets some people hurt, preferably those outside of the faith, and so many faithful pray for its attention elsewhere. Grimkin isn't all avoidance and fear-worship however, another major aspect of its dogma, is its obsession with Arkenborn. Grimkin loves all Arkenborn, and is so fond of Arkenborn, that it encourages any worshiper who is able to seek out Arken to produce more Arkenborn. To Grimkin, Arkenborn are the highest possible mortal expression of life on Aloria, and one the worshipers of the faith should see as a great blessing.
Furthermore, Grimkin wishes for the followers to gather Arkenborn, to protect them from oppressive forces, and to recruit them into the faith but also the proverbial armies of Evolism. In Grimkin's dogma, Arkenborn armies if they formed would be utterly unstoppable, and Evolism can finally stake a claim in the world to create nation-states for Evolism. Grimkin is not overly interested in the actual running of such nations, leaving that to the Scornblood, its primary goal is to create a sovereign place for Evolists not to be prosecuted, and to just witness the glory of Arkenborn armies grinding the mundane and magic armies of the world to dust in the name of the Gods.
Intalos, the Thousand Eyes
Intalos is an enigmatic figure who nonetheless has an extremely simple and well understood desire, to consume endless information. Intalos was once a pathetic weak Dictat Demon, who somehow stumbled upon the truths of Elderlaw, and in consuming them, became something much greater. Intalos broke free from the Dictat and started endlessly consuming information, growing in power and desire, the more they consumed the more they hungered. Intalos now has many names in different cultures: Inth, the Thousand eye God, The Worm-God, and more, as they have consumed many Gods belonging to Alorian faiths, and many more truths and untruths of every society.
As such, Intalos demands that the faithful provide them with information, to whisper secrets to them, to burn scrolls of knowledge on their altars, and to provide to always deliver more. In return, Intalos promises a wealth of knowledge. Many are in awe at their Wellspring of Knowledge, for all the millennias worth of information it holds. Many spend a lifetime seeking to please Intalos just to be able to catch a glimpse of truth, while others urge caution that some truths should remain hidden, and others yet inspire insanity. While most Evolism Gods are very benign to their followers, Evolists always urge caution around Intalos, as their hunger cannot differentiate friend from foe, and the unwitting can quickly become the never-known, as Intalos consumes every memory of their existence.
Vyrmor, the Scale Unforged
Vyrmor is a very recently created God, who came into being when the dark-personality alternate of the Draconism God Triton, abandoned the Evolist Pantheon and re-entered the mortal world. In his departure, the world learned a cosmic truth, that a Dark Dragon must always reign in the Abyss, while Dragons reign in the mortal world. Vyrmor was born from the hate and disdain for the Dragons of Aloria over their hoarding of Elderlaw, and control over the basic functions of the world. To Vyrmor, weather or the creation of life should not be hoarded by Dragons, but be the common good of all people in the world, so that they can decide their own destiny.
Vyrmor's essence is thus to rage against the cosmic forces that be, and to usurp the jealously hoarded powers of the Dragons and make them a common good of the faithful. Vyrmor wants the faithful to tame their own Draconets, to slay Archon and usurp their powers, and to lay claim to the many Dragon sites across the world, disable their defenses, and force the Soulcores to yield to reprogramming. Vyrmor blesses the faithful with Ashfather Unicores, Leytech touched by the dimensions to be invisible to the forces of the Leyline network, and to aid the faithful in understanding their birthright when assailing the might of Elderlaw. While the Dragons express no strong hostility to Vyrmor, Draconists in particular consider him a paramount threat, and his Ashfather Unicores to be blasphemy.
Savanax, the Eldertide Dream
Savanax is a God from a long lost Religion, who withered for millennia, barely clinging to existence through the dreams of mortals as so many lost Gods do. In dreams, Savanax appealed to the longing of mortals, siring unfathomable beasts and monsters, until he entered the most powerful dreams of all, Daiana the Ancestor Dragon. In her dreams, Savanax produced a weave of Elderlaw Magic that not only restored him to existence, but made him a lord and master of all dreams and dreamers, to seamlessly and at will transition between dreamers, to control the reality both within and without, and to take his place as one of the Evolist Gods as he imposed himself on the dreams of even these Gods from beyond.
Savanax is now a God of connections, community, and family. Through his lordship over dreams, Savanax connects the dreamscapes of all worshipers together so they can transition between them and experience the minds of each other, albeit allowing all of them one doorway into a private dreamscape that only they can open. Savanax preaches the value in found family, often because Evolism converts face rejection from their biological family, but also because Evolist societies tend to be more politically unstable. Savanax teaches the faithful to respect their elders and ancestors, but to also seek to live in the same freedom that they share in their dream-world.
Lymora, the Mother Covenant
Lymora is an ancient being, a God-like entity before Gods, one of the so-called Primeval. She has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, and her words and sight is incomprehensible to behold for mortals who seek to remain sane. It is through her cursed blood that she speaks to the faithful, her temples holding chalices with the ichor of the primeval that induce strong visions of her will in any who consume it. Repeat consumption of the ichor invokes physical transformations into beasts of all manner, some temporary, but many also permanent as her most loyal and fervent servants are Marken in body and soul. Lymora's desire is to see the followers unleash the beast within, to reach a deeper psyche and become fully in tune with whatever is repressed deep inside.
Monsters are her children, but her special favor goes to the Marken who call her Wolf-mother, even if they are not expressly Howl Marken. To worshipers of Lymora, being a Marken is a glorious thing that reserves them a place as her chosen favored, and protectors of the faith and Evolist society. Marken in Evolism are recruited as temple wardens and the personal bodyguards of the priests, using the blessings of the Wolf-Mother to gain perfect control of their Markenism, and even to be able to speak normally when transformed. The faithful frequently host tournaments in Lymora's name, believing her to show favor on the strongest victors, and for the blood spilt to be collected into the chalices of her ichor to be transformed into that nectar of the oracles.
Aylina, the Scorned Blood
Aylina is the Goddess of collective power, leadership, but also of the all to frequently apparent hypocrisy of leaders, especially amongst the Gods. Aylina is a refraction of the Rejection Arken, and was originally a member of the sub-cult faith the Broken Gods, before she convinced the others within the pantheon to join with Evolism to actually be able to enact their goals successfully. Aylina's motto is functionally: "the weak should fear the strong," but her use of it is not in line with the common understanding that the weak masses should fear their strong leaders, quite the contrary, Aylina believes that those in power are few, and their reason for leading typically flimsy, so they should fear the collective. Power comes through the means to enforce it, or the speech to convince it, not arbitrary law or paper.
Aylina guides the faithful to be critical of the power structures that determines who is a leader in any given society. To her, the only people worthy of being leaders, are those with the charisma, skill, and drive, to actually do something with their position. Pieces of paper, claims of lineage, or worse, divine right to rule, are all cheap excuses to justify putting weak, selfish people into positions of authority. This includes the (non Evolist) Gods, who Aylina preaches are selfish and capricious to the point of uselessness. The Gods are incentivized to not give concrete, useful answers, but to play both sides and do whatever will earn them the largest number of followers.
Ventra, The Imposed Will
Ventra is the quintessential nature Goddess of Evolism, who demands that the faithful control nature to suit their whims and needs. Ventra is a timeless being that was once a greater entity from the Hollow called the Huntress, but broke free from the Malefica's control and joined the Evolist Pantheon. While Ventra's original purpose was an aspect of death as the Hunter, including ending the (un)lives of Undead who had served their purpose, her time in Aloria, and with the Evolist Gods, changed her perspective on things. Ventra is now the Goddess who champions a mastery over nature, declaring that the Dragons have made the world arbitrary, and pointless, and that magic should be used to amend this. She also considers Undead to be a perverted product of this world.
Ventra is prayed to by Evolists who create magically altered and controlled beasts to protect their homeland, or by farmers using magic to increase the bounty of their crops. While her teachings are mostly associated with the magical corruption of nature by non-evolists, the message she actually imparts to her followers is that nature should only be changed if that change suits your needs. Adding extra limbs and eyes to a dog for the fun of it is not being useful, but creating vicious chimera-beasts to unleash upon your home, who will kill anyone not protected by your sigil, is actually a useful and proactive thing to do. And on the side, she and her followers still hunt Undead.
Priesthood
The Evolist Priesthood is practically de-centralized, focusing on a mentor-student relationship for the training of new priests, but is strictly and violently maintained by the collective based on a few rules. Evolists Priests are called "Numerans," but they do not have any formal prefix or title before their names when directly referred to. The Priesthood is referred to as "The Five Thousand," on account of it, at any given time, only containing exactly five thousand trained and living Priests. Each Numeran is trained by a mentor, who passes on their number and title when they retire and or die (and ascend to Demon-hood). Numerans who perish without having trained a successor, usually have the closest in number train a new one to take their place. The maintenance of this hierarchy is incredibly important to the members of the faith, because it creates a demand that any priest trained must be someone who is absolutely worthy of it, and any acting priest who fails to live up to the standards is usually strong armed into an early retirement.
Numerans manage rites typical to the faith, such as the summoning of Demons, assisting with the ascension of Evolists into Demonhood, or the blood rites of Lymora. It is common for Numerans to adopt the visuals of the Priesthoods of the dominant religion in their area, to mock or deride them. For example, a Numeran in Regalia might wear iconography of closed or blinded eyes. Numerans act as guiding figures for Evolists, but strictly do not have the end-all-be-all authority that Priests of other religions might have on matters of faith. The Evolist Gods' demand to question, consider, and think for oneself, extends to their priesthood also, and for that reason a Numeran is more likely to guide you to say what you really want, rather than tell you what they think you should want. Since each Numeran is expected to have a Number, and some manner of title to go with it, we encourage Player Numerans to pick any number they would like between 1000-5000, coordinating with other players so there is no overlap (which should be impossible, but just in case). Having a lower number does not mean a Numeran has more seniority or importance than one with a higher number, typically the only things the Numbers indicate is proximity to Rokhavaal, or the Dread Empire. The sub one thousand numbers are reserved for Numerans within Rokhavaal, which is so far from Regalia it is impractical to claim these.
Expanded Lore
The Expanded Lore section contains additional contextual information about the Evolist faith. This section is not necessary to read to get a good understanding of the lore, just the background information.
The Broken Gods
Aylina, Lymora, and Savanax were not part of Evolism originally, and they only joined in 315 AC due to the machinations of Aylina. The Trio originally comprised a micro pantheon called the "Broken Gods" who reflected wounded, "damaged" Gods that preached a better world for their suffering followers. While Aylina was the weakest of the two by far, she was the most ambitious and clear of mind, where Lymora was consumed by her madness, and Savanax was relatively content with his position in the realm of dreams. Aylina perceived that they would not be able to make the change upon the world with the influence they had, but being a small pantheon, they also had little hopes of expanding. With all other faiths being an impossible target for various reasons, be it practical or ideological, Aylina identified Evolism as their best chance. Fortunately for the trio, Lymora's status as a Primeval afforded her the power to do, functionally, whatever she pleased. Using this, Aylina, Savanax, and Lymora essentially brute-forced their way into the negotiating table with the Evolist Pantheon, which has always been "welcoming" of Gods joining in to the cause. In doing so, the Pantheon, and the three Gods themselves, were re-ordered, albeit subtly. After their arrival, the Broken Gods all had their goals and desires altered somewhat, and in return, the Evolist Pantheon was changed: where before it was less unified in a singular purpose, the new collective had a much more cohesive goal.
Evolism in Regalia
When discussing a religion that is somewhat controversial from the perspective of the Regalian Empire, the question inevitably arises, "can one play an Evolist that is loyal to the Regalian Empire?". The short answer is emphatically yes, but the answer comes with a few ifs and buts. Primarily, Evolists can be loyal to the Emperor and the Imperial family who use a combination of might and wit in speech to express their influence, royal prerogative is not based on ancient paperwork alone, but by right of conquest and intrigue. That being said, the civil government underneath it, the ministers, the assembly, and the bureaucracy, are all products of the kinds of social construct that Aylina abhors. In this, it is important to state that while it is totally valid to engage in a campaign of terrorism to try and buckle the Regalian state (without directly attacking the Crown), this is considered less practical, and a more utilitarian way of going about it, would be to supplant government entities with Evolists in hiding, or to outright convert them. Evolism has historically been good at converting those who have ambition for power, after all, this is how the Allorn Empire was slowly cracked from within, by having the ruling princes convert to Evolism one by one.
Secondly, the matter of crypto-faith does come up, the idea that perhaps, some Evolists are better at doing the will of their Gods, if society at large does not know they are Evolists. Crypto-faith means to pretend to be of one faith, while secretly being of another, a fact that is quite common in Regalia where those with ambitions pretend to be Unionists because being a Unionist is just easier in politics. There are certainly Evolists who believe that hiding the faith from the public is weak, though from the perspective of others, it's just more practical to work on the goals espoused by the Cosmic Truths, than to have to fight religious zealots and Lothar Knights every day. Having to spend time defending one's self, takes away from the time one has to bring about a better world for one's self. There is also the compounding problem that Draconism worshipers are pretty hostile to Evolists, and being public endears a certain risk for ill health and death, unless one has the charisma and way with words to maneuver such conflicts.
All in all, Evolism does not demand its faithful hate the Regalian Empire, or the city they live in. Regalia is like a clay tablet that allows its citizens to impress upon it the changes they want, so long as they have the force, will, and wit to do so. It is very possible to be an Evolist in Regalia that does not want to overthrow the state if you as a player do not want to do that. It is perfectly valid to also be a violent thug that engages in state-terror, it's just a little less practical.
Trivia
- Iorwerth was once an Evolist God imprisoned by the clutches of the Malefica. Through the intervention of the mortal Emil and their allies in Regalia, Iorwerth was freed from the Malefica, and ascended to the Draconism Pantheon as the bearer of Gaia's Dragon Soul.
- The Evolist Priesthood is inevitably purged during a Void Invasion, leading to a new class of priesthood to be established on the next civilization cycle. The current cycle of priesthood was founded by the Calculus Arken.
- Evolism is thought of as a child-sacrificing death-orgy religion, and while there certainly are Evolists who do that, the actual religion is surprisingly sober and pragmatic. The religion is one of the most propagandized against belief sets in the world.
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