Religion in the New World

While many languages have died out in the New World, religions have largely stayed around. Sure, many have changed, or merged with others, but the believe systems in any given place in Brave Earth are wild and varied.

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Surviving Old World Religions

Most major old world religions exist somewhere still. No place is a monolith. Here are a few religions based on Old World Religions that actually have some lore behind them.

Aistorian Catholicism

Aistorian Catholicism is a crude patch put over the Abrahamic religions in an attempt to find unity among the religiously diverse Aistoria. While Aistorian Catholicism contains no new prophets, or does it supplant any of the main holy books, it does offer the Nova Doctrina (for now), a book of discussions, arguments and explanations made by holy men of different religions to bring answers to the new world they find themselves in.

  • The Aistorian Catholic Church is very tolerant of extremely different interpretations and sects.
    • It's important to note that this isn't the church being extremely progressive. It's pragmatic. The Aistorian Church has to make the remnants of various Abrahamic religions, as well as being tolerant of the non-Abrahamic populations.
    • Northern Aistoria has a bend of the church is a bit more Islamic influences and the South, while more closer straight Christianity, has had many religious elements added from Hindu holidays and traditions, much in the same way paganism influenced early Christianity.
    • This leads to things like Diwali being a holiday among southern Aistorian Catholics. Especially appropriate as Diwali is a festival already celebrated by multiple religions with different interpretations.
    • The Church might even be called different things in different parts of the Continent just to match the local beliefs.
    • Every religion in the region has its small sects that still exist who did not merge with the Church.
  • The forming of the Aistorian Catholic Church was a large powerplay by a number of influential religious figures at the time, taking advantage of a power vacuum. The Nova Doctrina is a good mix of legitimate conversations in Aistoria, but has many segments which were drafted specifically to force unity.
    • Powerful religious powers did it to gain influence with little concern over faith, while the war torn populace was open to accept any new idea that brought hope. This type of unity could only really happen in the aftermath of the Rending and The First Great War of Magic
    • Orso makes a great Satan for the church to (rightfully) vilify.
  • This is a post rapture world. The population was saved and put in a new garden for humanity to rebuild. But humanity can't get to heaven while The Devil stuff haunts the world all the way down in Orso Moldano.
    • Church radicals want to invade and destroy Orso Moldano, thinking this will bring an end to the End Times. Given that total war with a country across the globe would be difficult, costly, and provide few benefits even in victory, these radicals are strongly resisted, though sometimes small crusades head down there. Though like most crusades, the results are usually disastrous.

The Church, especially after The Great Reformation, is seen very positively by common people. For all it's many many faults, it takes care of people more than most nobility. Actual religiousness among the nobility varies, but everyone at least pays lip service to the Church. Even those with faith know to also look at the Vatican as much as a political player as it is a holy institution.

Neo-Gnosticism and Gnostic Cults

Those unsatisfied with the Aistorian Catholicism's answers find themselves looking through various apocrypha, new and old, to find beliefs that make sense to them. The idea that there are secret answers to this confusing world is compelling, leading to lots of small and very different religious sects.

This is especially popular among Aistorian nobility who have access to writings and ancient texts. Still, due to politics and the church, many are forced to hide their beliefs, leading to secret Gnostic Cults. While neo-gnosticism is seen as harmless, these small noble run cults have much darker reputations. Sometimes they may also lead to groups of more ambitious, dangerous individuals, like the ones who tried to summon their "True God" during The Lyse Incident.

Atheism

Atheism takes a slightly different form in Brave Earth. Where current Atheism rejects all of the supernatural, in the New Era, Atheism almost always refers to the literal definition, the lack of belief in a God. It might sometimes be used to mean someone is anti religion. A rational atheist in Brave Earth looks at magic and the soul as new scientific possibilities. Sinlen would be an example of a Aistorian rational atheist, especially before the events of Tower in the Sky. That said, even before that, Sinlen had astrally dove deep enough to feel the "Goddess of Magic". She considered it a possibility, perhaps making her a tad more agnostic.

New Religions

Magic and "Freyja" Worship

The Goddess of Magic, known by many names. Those who have dove deeply into the astral plane have sworn to feel a feminine presence. Many mages ascribe this being as a God and worship her. "Freyja" Worships (or whatever name is used in a region) tends to be pretty light as their are no books or teachings to draw from. Freyja is usually seen as an ambivalent God, where all things, good or bad, are going according to her plan.

Some non-mages might worship a magic goddess simply because it's more real than anything else someone can point to. There is no exact consistency between different sects, and it is closer to a folk religion.

Monic

The religion formed by the Kar texts found in the Mons mountain. This makes Monic the closest to "accurate" practiced religion, even if the fast majority of the Kar library remains untranslated and many of the translations are grossly inaccurate. There are few "Rosetta Stones" to help work out the Karric language, and most that do exist do not cover much of the language. A bigger chunk of progress was made in the short time after Zephan returned to Earth and Monic Monks pour over indecipherable texts, trying to find even small passages they can parse. Monic is the most common religion on the Ryaith continent.

  • Scifera is known as Saphra or Xifara, depending on the exact sect.
    • She is accurately identified as the Goddess deep in the Astral Plane.
  • The Kar are known as The First Men. The belief is that they became angry when God abandoned them and left them in heaven.
    • The whole story of Scifera making her first stab at a proto humanity on Mars is lost. They are mostly treated as angels.
  • Monic religion stresses a desire to become one with others and merge together. A lot of Buddhism and Gnosticism is thrown in there as "frog DNA" to fill in the massive gaps.
    • A lot of Neo-Gnostic cults use bits of Monic theory too.
    • Many Monic astral divers don't fear getting their souls crushed. Some see it as becoming one with everything... Technically correct?
  • The exact execution of all of this varies. Monic sects vary a lot and some are very militant.

Zephan's arrival and adoption of some of the more militant sects basically turned him into a Prophet. It's currently undecided how his defeat is viewed, but some Monic sects might switch to seeing "Saphra" as the enemy now, who sent her children to slay her first sun.

A lot of the world views the Mons as some weird cult getting pranked by some weird fake books. This is supported by the fact that so much of the religion is made up to link very disparate bits of translated text.

The Inevitable Path

Strength is the only path forward. You can either walk it, or watch others pass you by.

The philosophy of Alekander Orso, who he instilled into the inhabitants of Orso Moldano. A Randian Objectivist in the Old World, Alekander found himself, despite his lack of any kind of spiritual beliefs, blessed with magic. Avoiding force and adherrent to laissez-faire capitalism made no rational, objective sense in a world now defined by strength. The difference between physical coercion and economic coercion seemed non-existent to him (based). If the highest virtue was acting in his self interest, wouldn't it be shameful for him not to use violence to gain what he wants (very very not based)?

Rand was a fool for thinking force could be avoided. Force, and strength, were the only things that were real. All systems and societies inevitably end with the strong (however strength in that society is defined) subjugating the weak. It is The Inevitable Path humanity walks upon.

This leads into Orso Moldano's slave trade and their systems of conquest, where even a slave who kills their master can lay claim to their titles and holdings, assuming they can manage to survive the immediate power struggle afterward as they themselves now become a vulnerable target.

  • The real deep end of this is the corrupt, violent, sadist and perverse nobility of central Moldano.
  • Despite being a disgusting philosophy, all adherents are not evil sociopaths.
    • The Inevitable Path is much softer on the coasts, even if the slave trade is still real, Most people don't go deeper than the coasts and have little idea how rancid Moldano really is.
    • Believers in the Inevitable Path do not necessarily believe that it's good. The poor believe because they feel it. It is evident in the society they live in.
    • Those who run cities who enforce laws and try to create any degree of public good do so to consolidate strength. They know if they can't defend it, it will be taken.
    • Business men in places like Shiv might read Orso's writing like one would read The Art of War. Though Shivic Businessmen probably are sociopaths.
  • It sucks, and Objectivism sucks, but The Inevitable Path is not Objectivism, Orso is an awful Objectivist. Rand sucks but Orso sucks WAY WAY more.
    • I mean... he's right though. If you're actually trying to to be objective, force is the only thing that's real.
    • This isn't the generic "Libertarianism" of Brave Earth, this is more "Dark Enlightenment" style bullshit.
    • For example, Free City libertarianism sucks but is a bit more left than most old world Anarcho-Capitalism philosophies.

The very nature of The Inevitable Path means much of the culture of Orso Moldano isn't inherent to the philosophy. The nobility of Orso Moldano treat war and conquest a certain way with certain unspoken rules, but it is never a given that these rules are to be followed. To break social expectations and get away with it is seen as a sign of strength.

A lot of Orso's philosophy also involves staying in your lane. Know when to be the master, and know when to be the slave. Do not take more than you can hold, or else you become a target. Nor should a slave accept their lot if they think they are greater than their position.

Thankfully the nature of this philosophy means Orso Moldano is always fighting with itself and not spreading. People who follow The Inevitable Path outside of Orso Moldano are the exact type of people everyone hates to talk to at party.

Categories: World Building