Vaena Askari
Lady Cadalthor
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To codify a religious institution that's of great importance to the Eldorai and has appeared in or been referenced in several threads.
- Image Credit: Here. Priestess by by Avvart on Deviantart.
- Role: Church.
- Links: Eldorai, Kaeshana, Grand Cathedral of Ashira.
GENERAL INFORMATION
- Group Name: Holy Church of the Great Goddess Ashira. Or simply Church of Ashira.
- Classification: Church
- Headquarters: New Santaissa, Tygara.
- Loyalties: Star Queen of the Eldorai, Eldorai Matriarchy.
- Group Sigil: The Ashiran symbol is a triangle facing up, supported by three pillars. The cults dedicated to the other deities of the Eldorai Pantheon use their own logos.
- Description: The Church of Ashira is the most important religious institution in Eldorai society. It functions as a state church and is thus closely connected to the Eldorai monarchy. The Eldorai are polytheistic, and citizens are allowed to believe in whomever they wish. However, all Gods and Goddesses are subordinate to the chief of the pantheon, Ashira the Great Goddess.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
- Hierarchy: The Church is organised like a pyramid. At the stop stands the Star Queen, who is simultaneously High Priestess. She is supported by a Grand Chaplain. Then come the Cennobites, who can be equated to bishops and administrate large dioceses and oversee the activities of all clerics beneath them. An Abbess oversees a convent and all ecclesiastical activities within her immediate area. Beneath her are Cannonesses and Deaconesses. Finally, a Priestess runs a small parish. Novice sisters perform menial tasks for the clerics. Moreover, there's obviously the vast community of laypeople.
- Membership: The Church claims all Eldorai as members. This is obviously very unrealistic. After all, there are many Eldorai who either don't believe in Ashira, live in areas where the Church is not present or believe in Ashira, but disagree with official doctrine. On a more serious level, in principle the Church is open to all Eldorai and is willing to accept foreign converts. Understandably, only a few convert. Those who embrace the faith undergo an initiation ceremony where they pledge themselves to Ashira and the Queen. However, only female Eldorai are able to become clerics.
- Valora – Goddess of War and Honour.
- Tyth – Goddess of the Oceans and Water.
- Ardarvia – Goddess of Law, Order and Justice.
- Liorre – Goddess of Craft and Trade.
- Ferrano – God of Agriculture and Fertility.
- Kyran – God of Nature and Animals
- Illyria – Goddess of the Underworld and Death.
However, Illyria grew envious of Ashira's place and rebelled against the forces of light. To mock Ashira, she spawned demonic creatures. Illyria and Ashira are believed to have fought in an epic battle, at the end of which Illyria managed to wound but not kill Ashira. As punishment, Illyria and her followers were banished into the abyss beneath the earth. Meanwhile, Ashira ascended to the heavens. One day she is expected to return and lead her people to glory. Since Illyria turned on the queen of heaven and spawned demonic creatures, she's an object of fear and revulsion instead of worship. Those who transgress go to hell and suffer horrible punishment. By contrast, heaven is seen as a paradise for the faithful.
Originally, Eldorai theology only took Eldorai and Kar'zun into account since Kaeshana was isolated from the rest of the Galaxy. However, eventually they needed to explain the existence of other races such as humans when they came into contact with them. Traditionalists believe that only Eldorai are the children of Ashira, whereas the other, 'lesser' races were merely soulless abominations spawned by demons. In recent times, this doctrine has been largely abandoned and is no longer supported by the official Church line, though old notions die hard. The Star Queen is regarded as Ashira's viceroy on earth, and thus obedience to her is a religious mandate...even though the present queen has introduced many 'innovations' conservative Ashirans disagree with. Church doctrine emphasies loyalty, compassion, charity and service to the community.
- Curios: Members receive a copy of the Book of Light and a ring with Ashiran symbols engraved in it. In terms of attire, clerics tend to wear white or a pale blue, with a preference for the former. Colour and size of the trim varies depending on the seniority of the cleric.
- Goals: To uphold and propgate the faith, convert the heathens and strengthen the Eldorai Matriarchy.
MEMBERS
Priestess Eileithya Saedaris
Star Queen Anya Venari, High Priestess of Ashira.
Vaena Askari, laywoman and important sponsor as head of House Cadalthor.
Elayne Saedaris, devout believer, Angelii.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Religion has long been a powerful force in various sentient societies. It can bring people together…but just as easily tear them apart, doing both good and causing destruction through religious wars. While secularism predominates in this day and age, religious groups such as the Primeval and the Moross Crusade have left their mark on the galaxy. Whether Jedi and Sith can be classified as religions is another question entirely.
Eldorai society is steeped in religion. While atheism has been on the rise since the Exodus, many Eldorai still venerate the deities of their foremothers, though their fervour obviously varies. Eldorai religion accepts the existence of various goddesses and gods, but postulates that the Great Goddess Ashira stands above all, for she is the heavenly mother of the Eldorai people. The Star Queen rules in her name and is not merely a secular ruler, but also the Goddess’ viceroy, which in theory makes rebellion against her an act of heresy. Unsurprisingly, this has made the Holy Church of the Great Goddess Ashira a powerful institution in Eldorai politics and social life. Indeed, the Star Queen is the High Priestess of Ashira, which emphasises that the Ashiran cult enjoys pre-eminence over all the other churches dedicated to venerating the other deities that belong to the Eldorai Pantheon. Needless to say this has caused its share of jealousy. Power struggles and intrigues in the temples can be as cutthroat as those in the royal palace.
The origins of the church are difficult to discern. So much time has passed and many of the stories have been embellished or twisted by myths. What is known is that the first Star Queen, Tassaria, entered into an alliance with the cult of Ashira. In that time the institution of Star Queen was new and though the new ruler claimed dominion over all the Eldorai, royal authority was fragile. Indeed, in many provinces local leaders only paid lip service, while others openly refused to bow. It would take centuries before the Eldorai Matriarchy became a unitary, centralised state. The church was a useful way to spread royal authority. At the same time many high-ranking clerics jealously guarded their privileges. In some cases, this led to conflict when clerics mustered their own militias. But over time the church became an arm of the state.
It also performed an important social role by providing charity, education and so on. Even today, many Eldorai receive their education in faith schools controlled by the church, though the number of secular schools is on the rise. It was Queen Anais I. who solidified the alliance between throne and altar, transforming the largely secular office of queen into a theocratic one. The consequences can be felt to this day and have been both positive and negative. While the Eldorai state’s theocratic nature has given it a great deal of stability and longevity, despite internal strife, wars with foreign invaders and so on, it has come at the price of an often stifling conformism, religious purges and intolerance.
The church persecuted those who questioned its dominant role among the Eldorai cults or preached a message that contradicted its own. One of its first prominent victim was the prophetess Arryn, who was denounced as a heretic at the Council of Nicea during Tassaria’s reign. Her crime was to proclaim that the true nature of Ashira was not wholly divine, but also infused with the spirit of a mortal woman. Arryn was executed and her followers were branded as Dashdae Eldorai – Dark Eldorai. Similarly, Illyrians were persecuted because in Eldorai mythology the Death Goddess Illyria is seen as the incarnation of evil for rebelling against the Goddess. This made it common for revolutionary groups and terrorists to pledge themselves to her. One example are the Martyrs of Illyria. One of their modern leaders, a radical firebrand who named herself after Arryn, achieved infamy for kidnapping and brutally murdering an Ashiran cleric after being radicalised in prison.
Persecution intensified as Kaeshana was pulled into a foreign galaxy that was unknown and scary to many Eldorai. Among the victims was a scientist called Galliena Gallia, who was imprisoned in an Angelii ghost prison after proclaiming the heretical belief that planets other than Kaeshana held intelligent life. She ended up being burnt at the stake. Centuries later the renowned biologist Charae Dawai was locked up for claiming that humans and Eldorai shared common traits. The dreaded Investigators of Ashira’s Truth were not only used to persecute religious dissidents, but also crack down on political opponents and blue blooded rivals of whichever dynasty happened to be in power at the moment.
There were also times of intense conflict between the Ashiran church and the other cults – or the church and the throne. A good example is the fate of Thomina Beckat. The high-ranking Ashiran cleric was slain by a group of Angelii, after Maerys II demanded that someone ‘rid her of this tumultuous priestess’. Noble families often vied to place their ‘spare’ daughters in influential church posts. The rivalry between the Ashirans and the clerics of Ardarvia, Goddess of Law and Justice, was particularly fierce because the latter controlled the religious courts and had the power to investigate the other cults for signs of corruption and sedition. Though less intense than in the past, there’s still bad blood between both groups.
The church underwent profound changes in modern times. Partly this was because nobles and clerics realised that persecution was not the best way to stamp out heresy, though many continued to cling to the old ways. As Kaeshana opened up to the galaxy and got into contact with outsiders who, unlike most of the previous visitors, did not mean harm, it became clear that the Eldorai were not alone in the galaxy and could not afford to act as if they were. Several reforms were implemented after the ascension of Tirathana VII (born as Anya Venari) to the throne.
Not all these were popular, but today burning heretics at the stake is a thing of the past. Reluctantly, the Church has allowed members of other faiths to live freely and build places of worship. The Exodus – and later the fall of Kaeshana to the First Order – was a traumatic experience for the church. Officially Kaeshana is still considered sacred ground that must be liberated. At the same time, the church has begun to reach out to the Tygaran natives, seeking to convert and uplift them. Its missionaries are especially active in the territory of the Xioquo, who are an Eldorai-Firemane protectorate after being liberated from genocidal darkside rulers.
It is still a matter of controversy in the church whether natives can be ordained as clerics. A few progressive clerics have demanded that men be allowed to become priests, but they’re a minority. In line with its charitable functions, the ecclesia employs a substantial cadre of healers. These can be broadly compared to Jedi or Ithorian healers and minister to the sick and the wounded, using the powers granted to them by the Goddess to help those in need. In recent times, Ashiran healers have also been dispatched beyond the Matriarchy’s borders to help non-Eldorai.
For instance, Ashiran healers were deployed to Coruscant to aid the humanitarian efforts spearheaded by the Galactic Alliance and various private companies. The church maintains a network of orphanages and many of the orphans in its care rise up to hold prominent positions inside the church. To this day, Ashiran clerics are assigned to Eldorai military, especially the Angelii. There they serve as chaplains, healers and morale officers. Archaic rules prohibit clerics from spilling blood, so they use maces and mauls rather than sword. Particularly pragmatic clerics have taken advantage of a loophole by carrying guns…because technically blasters don’t spill blood because the laser bolt cauterises a wound!
Relations with followers of Arryn and Illyrians continue to be very problematic, to say the least. The Forsaken, as those Eldorai left behind on Kaeshana were called, were dominated by Dashdae Eldorai. Several of these groups entered into a shaky alliance with the Matriarchy when Firemane, the GA and the Tygaran Alliance returned to Kaeshana to carry out what started as a humanitarian mission and what ended as a battle with the First Order. However, the united front suffered a significant blow when the battle ended in defeat. Many Dashdae Eldorai groups still pursue an underground campaign against the church, while also being opposed to the First Order’s occupation of Kaeshana.
The culture war within the church has manifested itself in two rival sects that both strive for influence: the Children of Ashira and Shining Path. The Children take a radical inclusive stance towards egalitarian religion. In what could be called aReformation, they support the abolition of ecclesiastical titles and a return to the teachings of the scriptures. Every Eldorai should be given the chance to find their own path to the Goddess. Shining Path, on the other hand, is fiercely traditionalist and reactionary, supporting a very strict interpretation of Eldorai law, with all the racism, bigotry and misandry that implies. The Orthodox stand somewhere in the middle, and seek to merge the old with the new, without radical change or repression. They uphold the values of enlightened despotism, toleration of religious minorities and integration, supporting the Queen. As the Eldorai have taken to the stars in massive colony ships, it is likely that the church will fracture further, creating a more diverse religious, social and political environment.
