Path of Paragons

Introduction to The Path

The Path of the Paragons, better known as The Path to the faithful, is a polytheistic religion with a strong emphasis on ancestor worship. Good real world comparisons might be the Saints of Catholicism, or the Loa of Voudou religion. The values held by the religion are inspired heavily by the Warrior culture of the Imperium of Greater Xavax, as well as the culture of its founder Eoghan of the Ui Briuin family which is steeped in Irish Celtic traditions.

The faith arose within the Imperium of Greater Xavax on the East Continent in 9 I.C.Y. (Imperial Calendar Year) in the realm of Leibo, the Land of Heroes. The founder of the faith was a Lord of the realm of Leibo and Hero of the Imperium Eoghan Ui Briuin. Eoghan began to question the nature of things upon recieving reports the Xavaxian Hero Lord Uthred the Unstoppable's multiple appearances during the Second Great Battle of Leibo which occurred after his death a few months before. After devoting a year to studying the various religions of the East Continent and gathering tales regarding the appearances of Lord Uthred as they occurred Eoghan, with the help of his fellow knight Sir Barahir Ridder, began to piece together what he terms as the truth of this world. The official formation of the religion occured at a ceremony held at the Shrine of the Undying, a monument dedicated to Uthred and his famous unit the Shieldwall, in which he announced the The Path as a faith. The ceremony, witnessed by the Xerarch of the Imperium Selenia JeVondair and the Queen on Eponllyn Kira Coldwater, culminated in Eoghan invoking Uthred's name and the simultaneous eruption of each torch that represented Uthred's fallen soldiers from the Shieldwall in a glorious golden blaze.

The Faith

The Path of the Paragons holds to it a view that there is a hierarchy to all beings. That all came from The Font of Creation, which is the pure source of power and acting antithesis to the Void. There had never been a time in all of time when there had been pure nothingness, but that all that was had been confined to the pure source of power and beyond it was the void. From this Font of Creation came the Gods, and from the Gods came all else. Everything that was and everything that will be was formed from this power of creation itself and when it dies its spark of creation, that which mortals term as the soul, returns to the Font of Creation. There the soul is rended in what is like a great Maelstrom by the pure power of creation itself and stripped of any sense of self so that it might rejoin the source of all creation once more. Some souls are able to last longer within this Maelstrom than others, those that lived exceptional lives or preformed great deeds that live on in memory beyond them can retain their sense of self. This processes is known as cultivating their enech. By being able to withstand the Maelstrom for any amount of time allows the soul to be found by the Gods and drawn out of the Font to the God's realm. There they may act as an Exalted, and serve the God in their realm. Or they can be gifted a portion of the God's divine power and sent to the mortal world as a Paragon to act as an intermediary between the God and mortals.

Enech

Enech is a term that in its literal translation means face; but the concept it relates to one's presence within the world. By doing great deeds and preforming feats that live on through out the history of a people one can cultivate their enech. The stronger this presence is within the world of man the stronger the soul becomes as it moves beyond the mortal veil and into the Font of Creation. It should be noted that while one can cultivate their enech more easily with virtues such as Justice, Honor, Courage, Charity/Hospitality, Loyalty, and Fortitude as these are universally appealing to all peoples and can help one's deeds live on beyond death. These virtues are known collectively as The Higher Path. Still just as one can use those virtues to cultivate their enech so to can one cultivate their enech with evil actions such as Brutality, Greed, Envy, False Pride, Cowardice, and Treachery. Known as The Lower Path, this might yield the same result as the Higher Path but it is just as easy for it to backfire as the minds of mortals are fickle things, and rarely are people venerated for evil deeds.

Just as people have an enech that they cultivate in their lives so to do nations. It is the role of the priests of The Path of the Paragons to try and guide all nations and mortals along The Higher Path. Those nations and people that corrupt their enech and walk are reviled and condemned almost universally.

The Gods

Those who walk The Path do not hold to the idea that Gods take on the form of humans as some other religions espouse. This is seen as a form of arrogance that mortals carry in viewing that they are somehow special in the eyes of the Gods. Instead those who walk The Path acknowledge that the Gods are ancient primordial beings whose view is so vast that they have little time for the petty affairs of elf and men. While the number of the Gods isn't exactly known there have been a few that have been witnessed and acknowledged by those who walk The Path. Like The Tree of Life, which the elves of the north revere as Iniarbel, or Ora depending upon the faith is clearly one such primordial God. Also in her memoir The Ashes of Xavax Xerarch Selenia wrote of awaking in the presence of a Great Mountain that spoke in a voice that rumbled like a thousand thunders. There has also been shown to be The First Flame, which may or may not have taken the form of a Phoenix to appear in the dreams of some men. These are just some of the Gods recorded by the Path, and there are likely a myriad more that have yet to make themselves known to mortals.

One thing all Gods have in common is their ability to withstand the awesome power of creation and actively shape it as they will. As such anything born from the God's manipulation of the Font carries within it a spark of creation at its core. This is what animates it if the spark is strong, and allows it to exist in just its base aspect. In this way the world, the Sum, the Cosmos, and even the Bloodstars were all made by the Will of the Gods. To create and destroy is their purpose, and they have had eons to do this work.

The Paragons and The Exalted

The next rung within the celestial hierarchy are the special souls pulled from the Font of Creation by the Gods to serve them; these souls are known as The Paragons and The Exalted. As mentioned before these are the souls of living beings who, through cultivating their enech, are able to maintain their sense of self within the violent maelstrom of power that is the Font of Creation. While individual mortal beings are like lone ants moving upon the floor to the Gods, the longer they are able to linger the higher a chance the Gods might take note of them. In being able to withstand such power these souls also prove that they are worthy of the Gods' notice and attention, thus they are retrieved from the Font and brought to the home realm of the God that claimed them. It is possible then for the Gods to reshape these souls to forms that suit them better, while the personality and mind of the soul would linger their body can be remolded to please the God in question. This is once again exhibited in the recounting of the Xerarch Selenia after being restored to life by the power of the God that removed her from the Font at the behest of the Paragon Uthred the Unstoppable.

Now what is it that differentiates a Paragon from an Exalted? In truth they are both closely related in terms of their place among the Gods, and each are worthy of reverence among the faithful. The Exalted though remain with the God that had called them and retrieved them from the Font. They are also noted to keep watch over the Font for potential souls that prove strong enough to withstand its power. In that same fashion they are also the ones who, with the assistance of their God, bring those strong souls from the Font to the God's realm.

Meanwhile the Paragons are restored to the forms that they had in life and gifted with a portion of the God's own power before being sent back to the mortal world. Here they act on their God's behalf, sometimes as messengers, sometimes as protectors, and sometimes as the bringers of miracles or calamities. Having retained their personalities and minds it is quite common to see a Paragon acting within the realms they knew in life. Much like how the Paragon Uthred Mormont has appeared in the defense of the Imperium sporadically after his death. It is important to note that while all Paragons are Exalted, not all Exalted are Paragons. In fact it is quite possible for a Paragon to lose their status as they are recalled to the Gods' side so that a different agent of their will might be sent. This is often determined by the faith of mortals and the reverence shown to the Paragon's legacy as it gives them greater power and relevance to the people, and thus makes them better intermediaries for the Gods.

Mortals

The final rung on the hierarchy are the mortals and living beings. In all forms these mortal beings are gifted with a greater spark of creation that animates them and allows them to experience life. Upon their deaths this spark naturally returns from whence it came and barring the intervention of the Gods it will eventually become one with the power of creation once more. Still living beings do have a talent unique to them and that is the subconscious ability to draw upon the Font of Creation. This being a gift of the Gods that made them, is what allows all living things to reproduce. As the process of creating life requires the new life to have its own individual spark as well to form its soul.

Those That Walk The Path

Much like how there is a hierarchy for all things in existence, so to does the church recognize a hierarchy in its ranks. While Eoghan Ui Briuin is considered the first prophet of the religion there is no actual rank as such recognized within the church itself. Instead the church is broken down into three levels, The Saoithe, The Journeyman Priests, and the Laity. In the same manor as most religious organizations the further up one moves the more responsibilities in relation to The Path one has.

The Saoithe

The term Saoithe, or Saoi in the individual case, means Wise Ones and is the term used by the Elders who follow The Path. Each Saoi is responsible for the upkeep and spreading of the legend of Paragon that they follow. To become one of the Saoi a Journeyman Priest must first find proof of an Paragon acting on behalf of any people. When they have collected evidence of at least three miracles witnessed by reputable sources they may then bring proof of their findings to a temple of the faith and call for a conference of the current sitting Saoithe. At the conference the priest will present their findings to the Saoithe and when finished the elders are to confer among themselves to determine the validity of the miracles presented and the story told. If the Saoithe deem the miracles to be true then the priest is raised to the rank of Saoi of the newly discovered Paragon. In this way each Saoi is the authority of the Paragon they represent as they were the ones to go out and collect their story of the Paragons and to document their miracles. The Saoithe are also responsible for maintenance of the Temples and are to constantly travel between them so as to see to their upkeep, and preach the stories and lessons of their chosen Paragon.

The Journeyman Priest

These are the common priests that walk The Path and preach the faith to the people. It is the duty of all priests from the Journeyman to the Saoithe to collect the stories of the great people of all cultures so as to preserve them. By collecting these stories and sharing them with the laity the Journeyman Priests ensure that those souls will survive longer within the Maelstrom, and in turn become Exalted. Should they, in their travels come to find stories of an Exalted appearing within the mortal world they are then tasked with recording their deeds. Should the Exalted in question preform at least three separate miracles witnessed by other nobles than the priest in question might call for a conference of the Saoithe. It is also the duty of the Journeyman Priests to tend to the shrines of The Path whenever they come upon one.

All Priests who walk The Path are responsible for spreading the faith, and helping to cultivate the enech of the faithful by guiding them on The Higher Path. This is often done by drawing on the stories of the heroes, heroines, and great men and women of the past to act as a foil for the present. In this same way they are to do their utmost in guiding the enech of nations as well in the hopes of keeping them from falling to The Lower Path.

The Laity

The most populated grouping within the hierarchy of the faithful are those who follow the religion. The ranks that fill the laity go from as high as the rulers of nations to the smallfolk tucked away in their little hamlets. By and large the laity have likely the most important role of all, for it is in their following of the faith and worship that the Exalted and the Paragons may gain salvation at the sides of the Gods in the afterlife. For as their stories are told and remembered their enech will remain strong, and if their enech remains strong than they will be able to survive within the maelstrom long enough to be recovered from the Font of Creation. It is also by and large the laity that manage to determine who becomes a Paragon of the people. For the Gods send to the mortal world intermediaries that resonate with the people. Should a Paragon's story fall away and the reverence paid cease then the Paragon might be recalled to serve as an Exalted while a new one is sent out to the mortal world.

((To be continued))