- Intent: To document a schism in the faith of the Cosmic Balance due to RP events.
- Image Credit: I made it myself.
- Canon: Cosmic Balance
- Permissions: N/A
- Links:
Petyr Thorpe
Natasi Fortan
- Religion Name: Church of Enlightened Balance
- Religion Type: Other. The Church of Enlightened Balance split off from the main Cosmic Balance faith to make allowances for the benign influence of the Force in the Balance.
- Influence: Interplanetary
- Influence Area: Primarily centered on Dosuun, others on other current and some former First Order worlds have also adopted it. It is primarily seen on worlds where the Cosmic Balance became prevalent due to the influence of Natasi Fortan.
- Symbol: The icon of the Church of Enlightened Balance (see above) is heavily inspired by the Cosmic Balance’s icon, and like its predecessor religion, is often found on tokens and jewelry of its practitioners. It is a field, half black and half white, with spots of black in the field of white, and spots of white in the field of black. A stylized golden starburst pattern, a new addition, is in the center, signifying the presence of the Force and that it is part of the balance, rather than anathema to it.
- Description: The religion is based on the concept that every good or bad thing has an equal and opposite reaction somewhere else; its adherents take comfort in times of trouble with the knowledge that their suffering is resulting in benefits elsewhere; conversely, believers are grounded and remain humble in moments of triumph knowing that elsewhere in the galaxy someone is paying the price.
- Founder: Archzanazi and Grand Prophet Petyr Thorpe. Originally of Salis D’aar, Bakura, Thorpe became the Archzanazi of Avalonia’s church of the Cosmic Balance and personal confessor to Natasi Fortan and her family. He is in his early fifties.
- Membership: All are welcome to join and observe the tenets of the faith, although, as with most religions, there is a high correlation between having parents of the faith and being of the faith themselves. Being adopted into the clergy requires certain steps and rituals that fall within the Enlightened Balance’s version of the Rule of the Feather and Bowl. Acolytes wishing to join are paired by age at the temple where they join and put to a battery of tests; depending on the aptitude displayed during these tests, Acolytes of the Bowl become scholars, temple attendants and administrators, while Acolytes of the Feather become preachers, missionaries, and inquisitors.
- Sacred: Fulcrum Reexamined, a revised, updated, and annotated version of Dif Istuvi’s Fulcrum.
- Dogma: The Enlightened Balance recognized most of the original tenets of the original faith, primarily that the galaxy will always find balance. For each boon to one, another will suffer a loss. For one beset by tragedy, another achieves triumph. The circular nature of the galaxy and the Balance ensures that everyone will take their goods and bads in turn, and thus that the galaxy will remain in balance. The Enlightened Balance’s main departure from the original faith is in its view of the Force; where Equilibrates viewed it as an unfair advantage, causing undue compensating misfortune in the galaxy, Enlightened Equilibrates take a more rounded view. They recognize that the Force is a tool of the balance rather than an opponent to it. Additionally, the religion places some belief in the possibility of an afterlife, though it places most of its emphasis on being mindful of actions and consequences rather than trying to coerce good behavior out of believers through the threat of hellfire in the afterlife.
- Reputation: Generally well-known among the First Order owing to its predecessor religion’s popularity in current and former First Order territory, it is also known among Equilibrate enclaves through the galaxy which may view the religion with some degree of skepticism depending on how strongly held are their beliefs on whether the Force is inherently unbalanced. It is likely not well-known outside these areas.
MEMBERS
Petyr Thorpe, Archzanazi and Grand Prophet
Natasi Fortan
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Church of the Enlightened Balance came about following the miraculous resurrection of Natasi Fortan during the First Order’s Remembrance Week in 862 ABY. The most senior surviving member of the Cosmic Balance in the First Order, Petyr Thorpe, faced a crisis of confidence when confronted with the return of Natasi Fortan with tales of an afterlife and a newfound sensitivity to the Force -- two things which, in the tradition of the Cosmic Balance, were deeply problematic. Thorpe took a sabbatical and retreated into the wilderness, where he studied, meditated, prayed, and consulted with religious scholars. The result of this time away was an annotated version of Fulcrum. Thorpe’s revised version formed the basis of a new faith, causing a schism in the Cosmic Balance faith, and he became the head of this new church. Given that the First Order’s Supreme Leader, Natasi Fortan, is well-known as an adherent to the faith, it is considered by many to be the unofficial state religion of the First Order.
Although the Sacking of Dosuun and Natasi Fortan’s death and apparent resurrection were catalysts for the foundation of the new church, they are mentioned only briefly in Fulcrum Reexamined and do not form a part of the Church’s teaching.
