Nabalic Church / Kism Worship
History
Around 235AL, Artur Nabal undertook the task of compiling the various disparate writings from the vaguely intermixed religions of each Sovereign into a single cohesive dogma; The Foundation of Heavens.
This was the first unified scripture of the many religious subjugated under the Pardic Empire, and it included many original additions and edits to both Kism and Sovereign specific holy texts.
Raw quotes from the Sovereigns, accounts written by priests and stories specific to each Sovereign were compiled into the "Pillars" that supported the Foundation. Artur Nabal did not himself end up founding the church. The new faith's influence/popularity moved slowly and it was not until 20 years after his death that a formal church formed centered around his work and 'revelations' was founded.
Generalized Dogma
Kism, the God-Moon, is a supreme being that stays in the heavens to protect the earth from the Void, which, jealous of Kism’s creation, seeks to destroy it. Where or what this evil is is
often vague in writings and there’s a good deal of dogmatic debate on it. It doesn’t actually show up in many of the pillars really and only got expanded
on in supplementary materials made by religious scholars much later. Smaller primary intelligences, the kind used to make Constructs or become a Sourcerer are believed to be
spawn of the Void; charlatans and imposters of the actual Sovereigns.
Earth is a test, wherein humans must learn how to live properly, and if one did, then on death one's soul will be reborn in the Cosmic Garden to bask in the formless warpth
of Kism's true form. Kism is considered both a physical protector and the moon itself a portal to the garden.
To fail the test of earth is to have one's soul fade to nothing on death as the body decays. The practice of creamation upon death is supposed to help free the soul from the body, so that
just in case one didn't get in to the garden, they are not trapped in the hell of a rotting corpse.
The Foundation of Heavens also made the heretical nature of Thaumaturgy and Sourcery explicit, whereas prior it was never specifically prohibited iny any sovereign's Pillar
and was enforced due to cultural stigma from oppresion by the Pardic Empire, whome were the only ones with advanced magical practices.
Meanwhile Kism stays in the heavens above to defend from the threat of the Void, which, jealous of Kism’s creation, seeks to destroy it.
Where or what this evil is is often vague in writings and there’s a good deal of dogmatic debate on it. It doesn’t actually show up in many of the pillars really and only got expanded
on in supplementary materials made by religious scholars much later. Smaller primary intelligences, the kind used to make Constructs or become a Sourcerer are believed to be
charlatans/imposters of the actual Sovereigns.
The Pillars
They are named the Pillars as they are the "Pillars that support the Foundation".Each Pillar is the collection of the teachings on an individual Sovereign, with some thematic virtue(s) as a connecting throughline in the text.
More in depth information on the specific teachings of each Pillar will be in the codex articles for each Sovereign.
Sects
Nabalic Church
The original church, with dogma that is largely unchanged from the original writing of the Pillars. While still one of the largest denominations, it has been in decline as people have started to shift towards Reform Truth.
Church of the Unbroken Truth
This Church broke off from the Nabalic church due to disagreements over the editing of the original Pillar works. Unbroken Truth versions of The Pillars are much closer to the original pre-Nabal compiled texts. Their dogma also goes in line with the historical record that the Slaughter of the Sovereigns occurred after the Cataclysm.
Reform Truth/18th Pillar
A sect that broke off from the Unbroken Truth to include Algavitec as the 18th Sovereign. Tends to have parishes less focused on all the sovereigns as a whole and more towards one specific for each parish.
Urtu Lunasticism
Sect that believes that all of the sovereigns were wholly part of Kizm itself and just broken off aspects; they were not their own beings. More shamanistic sect that has few formalized institutions and who still practice minor Thaumaturgy for religious ritual. This Sect never “broke off” from any other, and is more of a fusion of teachings from the Nabalic Church and its descendent religions and the original practices of the Suda.
Mahetangra
Mahetangra holds that the world itself is the Cosmic Garden, there is nowhere that the soul to ascends to on death. Kism protects the earth, and humans were created to tend to and maintain the earth.
Cults
The church and all related sects are then further split into cults dedicated to each of the Sovereigns. Not everyone dedicates themself to a specific cult, but it is reasonably common.
A common right of passage may be dedicating oneself to a specific cult. To do so one would undergo deeper studies of their chose Sovereign's specific Pillar, and upon completion
undergo investiture to the cult and receive their stole. There are a wide variety of practicies individual to each cult, and even between geographic regions these may vary.
The greater faith has a complicated relationship with the cult of Ospra.