Zahavan Polytheism



Zahavan Polytheism is the broad term for the myriad beliefs and traditions held by Zahavans. Zahavan religion is practical and contractual, based on the principle of "I give that you might give". Religion depended on knowledge and the of prayer, ritual, and sacrifice, not on faith or dogma, although it was believed that those lacking in conviction would have a more difficult time in attaining divine favor.

In Zahavan polytheism the divine acted like humans and have human faults. The divine will interact with humans, sometimes even spawning children with them. Additionally at times certain gods would be opposed to others, and they would try to outdo each other. Many of the myths and legends regarding the divine are presented as historical events or fact in Zahavan culture and are deeply interwoven with Zahavan political and cultural history.

While the Zahavan religion has a structured priestly class and a set tradition based rules and doctrine it is largely a cult based religion where individuals are expected to go through introspection and determine which divine entities most resonate with their lives and worship them accordingly. The only exception to this being that of the Imperial cult, to which all Zahavans are expected to pay homage.

During the reign of Iskander Korthuphos II all the myths, legends, and other religious texts of Zahavan religion were compiled into the Epitoma Aiona or Book of the Heavens. This book contains not only the tales of the divine, their deeds, but also outlines on the specific guidelines to properly conduct rituals, prayers and other religious based services.

For ordinary Zahavans, religion is a part of daily life. Each home has a household shrine at which prayers and offerings to the family's chosen deities and ancestors are offered. Each community has shrines and sacred places such as springs and groves, plazas, or temples. The Zahavan calendar is structured around religious observances. Both men and women and in some cases even children all participate in a range of religious activities. Some religious rituals can only be conducted by men, while others can only be conducted by women.

Founding Myth and Divine Destiny
As stated in The Epitoma Aiona in the eons after the creation of the cosmos and the world the gods divided up the world each seeking to establish their own realm within the mortal plane, and each attempting to one up each other, and take more of the world for themselves.

Zahavan myth teaches that in the eons before the establishment of the Empire, the lands it now occupies were ruled by Mortarius, and his cult of daemons, beasts, and other creatures from the underworld. Mankind was enslaved and their souls used to sustain the realm of the underworld on the mortal plane of existence. Amongst this scene of goom and despair there was a mortal woman, named Karmia, whose beauty was so great that she caught the attention of the gods themselves. Mortarius took great delight in parading her before his brothers and sisters, taking particular delight in showing off his mortal prize to his greatest rival the god Areius.

Not all of the divine looked on mortals the same way, the goddess Mageia, daughter of Areius, whom had given mankind life and a soul, found Mortarius' wanton cruelty and deplorable treatment of humanity disgusting, and unbecoming of divine nature. She implored her father to do something. Areius, who shared his daughters views toward his brother decided to act, but could not openly confront his brother, less he risk starting a grand war between all the divines which could have catastrophic consequences for the entire cosmos. Instead Areius, with the help of his daughter managed to distract Mortarius long enough for allies to steal away his prize, the mortal woman Karmia.

Areius blessed Karmia with a child and hid the two away in the realm of his brother, Taktos where the child Zahavarius, meaning carrier of divine light was able to mature and grow strong. After many years in the realm of Taktos, Karmia told her son the true nature of his birth, and where he had come from. At nearly the same time, Mortarius had finally deduced whom had been behind the disappearance of his prized Karmia, and the clouds of war had begun to form in the divine realms.

While the gods could fight freely amongst themselves in the divine realms, they were limited to what they could do directly on the mortal plane, instead each god or goddess would have to rely on mortal beings or creatures to carry out their will, the coming conflict would not only determine who ruled the divine, but the mortal realms as well.

Zahavarius gathered a great army of men from across the world and with the help of Areius via special armor, and weapons led his army into the mortal realm of Mortarius, managing to vanquish the god of the underworlds forces freeing the people there. At the conclusion of his campaign Zahavarius declined an offer from Areius to join him in the divine realms, choosing instead to remain on the mortal realm and continue to protect, and guide mankind declaring that he and his descendants shall be the bulwark for humanity against the nefarious forces of darkness for all time. With his campaign finished, and mankind's freedom won, Zahavarius and what was left of his army settled down, forming the city state of Arcanium which would go on to become the empire that exists today.

Hexerius
Hexerius is the god of war, and conquest, Heroism, and Self-Sacrifice, and is the Son of the god Caphan and goddess Notos. Hexerius is second in importance only to Areius, and is the most prominent of the military gods in the religion of the Imperial army. Many of the festivals and celebrations honoring Hexerius occur in March and October, which typically marked the beginning and end of military campaign seasons. Hexerius is believe to represent military power as a way to secure peace.

The sacred animals of Hexerius are the wolf, the bear, and the Caracara. Each of these animals are said to embody the traits of Hexerius, and serve as he servants or messengers on earth. Acceptable sacrificial animals include pigs, rams, oxen or bulls. It is customary even today that before any military operation is undertaken an offering to Hexerius is made, in hopes of gaining his favor and thus ensuring victory.

Hexerius is typically depicted as a bearded mature man, often clad in armor but also depicted semi-nude, or nude with a shield and spear or sword and helmet. The sword of Hexerius is kept in the temple to Hexerius, the Sanctorium Divinatum on the grounds of the Sanctorus Basileius in Arcanium. The sword is said to tremble or shake if war or an attack against the Imperium is imminent.

Heroic Cults
Heroic Cults are cults dedicated to mortal-born heroes from the annals of Zahavan mythology. These heroes, such as Zahavarius, are said to have accomplished great, impossible, and heroic feats of strength and cunning to overcome obstacles and opponents, sometimes aided or opposed by deities. Hero myths play a large role in the foundations of Zahavan literature through epic poems, stories and even plays about the heros feats or, in more modern times adaptations based on these myths. Throughout history tyrants, kings and even emperors would model themselves after or claim descent from heroes to legitimize themselves in the eyes of the locals a practice which continues today.

Household Cults
The Epitoma Aiona

Ancestor Worship
Ancestor Worship, sometimes called the Family cult is considered one of the most sacred aspects of Zahavan religion. Zahavans believe that proper reverence and worship of ones Ancestors is vital to the continued success and well being of the family or clan. Traditionally a family adopts the mothers family ancestors as their own after marriage, as it is from females that all things are ultimately given life and from which they are nurtured and cared for.

Ancestor worship includes the recitation of family prayers, burning of candles or herbs, and the giving of offerings. Only in times of great distress would an act of sacrifice be used in a ritual for the ancestors. Secretive family rituals are also conducted in worshiping of the Ancestors. It is considered cruical for these rituals to remain secret as the Ancestors may become offended if the rituals are shared with outsiders. The notable exception to this practice is the worship of the Imperial family, the implication being that all citizens of the Empire are considered children of the Emperor or Empress.

Temples and Shrines
Public religious ceremonies take place both outdoors, and within temple buildings themselves. Some ceremonies are a procession, which may start, visit, or stop at a temple or shrine where an artifact, or offering may be deposited. All temples have an open air plaza, on the ground level with an altar dedicated for use in sacrificial offerings. Within the temple may be statues, mosaics and paintings or effigies that portray the cult image of the deity to whom the temple was dedicated, and often a smaller altar for incense or libations as well as an area for prayer, seating for observance of public ceremonies, and quarters for the acolytes whose job it was to maintain the temple and its grounds.

Many temples are elaborately built made of fine marble, adorned with bronze and marble statues, gold and silver chalices and urns, while acolytes burn a number of herbs and oils to give the interior a pleasant smell. Outside the temples are often elaborate gardens with various trees and flowers, additional statues and water features. Noted exceptions to this include temples or shrines dedicated to gods who work in the underworld or that deal with violence such as the god of war, whose temples and shrines are very austere in comparison. All temples and shrines posses at least one statue, or painting, mosaic in the likeness of the deity to which they are dedicated and bearing the deities name on it, this is due to the fact that Zahavans believe a divine being, or even a mortals soul has the potential to reside within any imagery that bears their resemblance and name upon it.

Many temples are said to be built on the sites where a great act was performed by the diety the temple is dedicated to, while shrines are often built by generals, or wealthy individuals as symbols of the fulfillment of a vow made in exchange for a victory or other personal gain. Each household in Zahava has its own, small scale family shrine which is dedicated to the families chosen deity. These can range from elaborate plazas, to simple carvings of the family deity placed upon a mantle.

Key Holidays

 * January 1: Celebration of the New Sun, giving thanks to the Genus Areium for their continued protection and guidance to the Empire
 * January 13: Celebration of the Union of Arcanium and Nazrah officially creating the empire
 * February 11-22: Commemoration of ancestors and the dead among families
 * March 19: Celebration to the gods and servants of the Underworld
 * April 29: Date of purification of the Empire, day of forgiveness
 * May 20th: Celebration of those who have died defending or in service of the Empire
 * June 5th: Believed to be the date Zahavarius defeated the cults of Mortarius and established the city of Arcanium.
 * June 7th: Believed to be the date when Mageiaus gave birth to Humanity
 * July: 25th: Celebration of past Emperors and of the Empire
 * August 28th: Day of mourning to remember those lost to the great plague
 * September 22–28: Festival celebrating the victory of the Empire over the Azari
 * October 19: Rememberance of assassination of Emperor Vopiscus Metilius, starting the Civil war between Imperial loyalists and those of the Eclectus faction
 * November 2-8 On these dates new members of the Pesedjet, the Zahavan senate are elected
 * November 5th: Festival of Love celebrating the union of Areius and the mortal woman Karmia
 * November 12th: Celebration of the Imperial Armed Forces
 * December 2nd: Believed to be the day Ecarus and Abedia created the divine kingdom and gave life to their children
 * December 16-27: Celebration to all major gods and goddesses

Sanctorus Sanguis
Sanctorus Sanguis (lit: Divine Blood) is the belief that the Emperor or Empress of the Empire is of Divine descent. Zahavan's believe and Imperial law states, that for a ruler's claim to the throne to be legitimate they must be declared to posses Sanctorus Sanguis. The belief stems from the story that the founder of the Kingdom of Zahva, Zahavarius was the offspring of Areius, ruler of all the divines.

At birth all potential heirs to the throne are examined by the chief priests who, through prayer and ritual will determine if the child does in fact share divine lineage or not.

Jus Aetherius
Jus Aetherius (To make Heavenly) is the practice by which the Emperor/Empress or the chief priests of the Zahavan temple declare an individual to be divine, it is typically an honor afforded to persons posthumously although historically the honor has been given to living persons throughout history. Usually to military commanders, or soldiers for extraordinary acts of valor and courage.

Sacrifice
According to the Epitoma Aiona Sacrifice reinforced the powers and attributes of divine beings, and inclined them to render benefits in return. Sacrifices to household deities might include offering in season fruits and wine, food dropped to the floor during a family meal, or the pouring of water or scented oils at the base of the household altar. To ward off malicious entities a midnight offering of water, and honey with bread may be offered.

Animal Sacrifice
Animal Sacrifice is considered to be the most potent offering to the divine. Typically domesticated animals would be use, such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs. Sacrificial animals come from a special stock, cared for by the priests. Prior to sacrifice the animal would be inspected, cleansed, purified by prayer and anointed with oils, and adorned with the proper regalia. In order for a sacrifice to be deemed acceptable the animal must remain calm and be dispatched quickly and cleanly, failure to meet those conditions was considered a great insult to the divine and would result in a minimum of thirty days of purification and the community asking the divines for forgiveness.

Sacrifices to the gods of the divine kingdom would be done in daylight, in public and the sex of the animal would match the gender of the god or goddess the sacrifice was to. At the conclusion of a successful sacrifice a great banquet would be held, with some form of iconography of the chosen deity taking the place of honor at the banquet table. After the innards of the sacrifice were deemed pure they would be specially seasoned with blessed oils, spices and herbs and perhaps some wine and cooked. Once cooked the innards would be placed in a special altar which would be placed in front of the deity's iconography and burned in a ceremonial fire, this was believed to be the divine consuming the offering. The rest of the meat from the sacrifice would be shared among those in attendance as part of the communal meal.

Sacrifices to the gods of the underworld or to the dead would be done at night, in more private rituals, with no banquet to follow. Generally these sacrifices would be burned upon specially constructed pyres and as the sacrifice burned a series of prayers and rhythmic chants, would be recited while an artifact, symbol, or other representation of the deity the offering was for is processed around the pyre until the fire goes out.

Sacrifices to the heros and others whom had been deified would be conducted during the day, or night, depending on which realm the hero served and would have animals that were pregnant. These sacrifices would be accompanied with song, typically made up of verses that retold the heros life story and their honorable deeds and greatest accomplishments. These songs would typically be accompanied with rhythmic chants and prayer as well the burning of candles or torches.

Sacrifices may be done both at times of great thanks, or as an expiation of a sacrilege or potential sacrilege in order to avoid divine retribution. A sacrifice may also be offered as a form of advanced payment, in order to curry more favor with the divine before a monumental event or to preemptively seek forgiveness to an offense. Sacrifice may also be done as a means to gain divine consideration and accompany a vow so as to avoid the inconvenient delays of a journey, or encounters with banditry, piracy and shipwreck, with due gratitude to be rendered on safe arrival or return. During times of great crisis the Ecclasiarchy may direct all citizens of the empire to move in processions from one temple or shrine to another stopping to supplicate the divine.

Prayers, Oaths and Vows
All rituals, festivals, sacrifices, and other religious events required an accompanying prayer to be effective. Public prayers are offered loudly and clearly by a priest on behalf of the community. Prayer alone is believed to hold independent power with the gods, and thus prayer is considered the single most potent religious action, and knowledge of the correct verbal formulas the key to efficacy. Even prayer by an individual done privately was emulative, a recitation rather than a personal expression, though the specific passage or phrase selected by the individual would be for a particular personal purpose or occasion.

Public religious ritual had to be enacted by specialists and professionals faultlessly; a mistake might require that the action, or even the entire festival, be repeated from the start or in some cases considered a failure and cancelled. The latter would often result in severe punishment for the Ecclesiarchy involved.

Vows are usually a promise made to a deity, usually an offer of sacrifices or a votive offering in exchange for benefits received.

Afterlife and Funerals
Zahavans believe that where your soul goes in the afterlife is directly tied to your actions and choices made during your lifetime. Upon death all souls are transported to the Terrenum Mortarium where the god of the Underworld, Mortarius judges the souls and then sorts them into the different regions of his realm.

Terrenum Mortarium
Terrenum Mortarium, (lit Realm of Moratrius) is the realm where Mortarius, god of the underworld reigns. The Terrenum Mortarium is broken up into four distinct sub regions each with a specific overall theme and specific criteria met for the souls residing in them

The first, the Abyss of Barbarus is the area of the underworld dedicated to those who did not live a good moral life. Criminals, cowards, traitors, and those who committed other dishonorable acts in life are cast here by Mortarius, where they will be tortured for all eternity by the twins Tamar and Tarath for their sins in life. To further torment the souls trapped in Barbarus in between the acts of horror and brutality they are forced to endure they shall be able to gaze upon the Hall of tranquillitas, and see what eternity could have awaited them had they not made the dishonorable choices they did in life.

The second region of Terrenum Mortarium is the plain of Runia, here souls of the apathetic, lazy, unmotivated will wander endlessly, haunted by visions of what their lives could have been, and of their missed opportunities and failures.

The third and most dreaded plane is the eye of terror, here the apparitions of Mortarius roam the immaterium freely, souls sent here must run for the lives lest they be devoured by the demonic fiends that roam the plane, to have ones soul destroyed is considered the worst possible fate a Zahavan can have, having ones soul lost to the immaterium is to lose the ability of ever achieving repentance for ones transgressions, and is believed to bestow bad omens upon ones family.

The last region of the Terrenum Mortarium is the Hall of tranquillitas, here souls who led a good life, were honorable, and who accomplished their duties to family, state, and to the gods will reside. In tranquillitas food, drink, and festivities are endless there is no suffering or conflict and souls will enjoy the company of their loved ones and live a life of luxury.

Villa Mageiaus
In death not all souls are transported immediately to the Terrenum Mortarium, some those who have unfinished work, or whom died young or unexpectedly go to the Villa Mageiaus. Here souls await transport to Terrenum Mortarium and final judgement, or in the case of infants who have died they are cared for by acolytes of the goddess Mageiaus, whom gave birth to all Humanity.

Other souls in the Villa Mageiaus are believed to have unfinished business, such as those who were murdered, mothers who died in childbirth and have not yet seen their children, the last group of Souls who reside in the Villa Mageiaus are those whom have lived mostly honorable lives but must first atone for sins minor enough to not warrant eternity in Barbarus or the plain of Runia but severe enough to not warrant immediate entry into Hall of tranquillitas, such as a habitual liar

Genus Areium
The Genus Areium, (lit Family of Areius) is the seperate afterlife reserved for those individuals who have been through the process of Jus Aetherius, or deification. Zahavans believe those whom have Sanctorus Sanguis or whom have been through Jus Aetherius do not posses mortal souls, and are themselves divine beings. Thusly when these people die they are believed to instead join the god king Areius in the kingdom of the divines where they will be rewarded and live in grandeur and luxury that far surpasses that found in the Hall of tranquillitas. Those souls who reside in the Genus Areium are also presumed to watch over and protect the empire, ensuring its existence for all eternity.