A Question of Race

I'm going to speak as plainly as possible here to avoid confusion on this "delicate" matter.

Here are a few things to keep in mind if you want to be in good standing with the Church:

The Church will be treating the races differently. This is due to our interpretation of the in-game lore which states that it is seen as the DUTY of the blood heirs of Auros to spread His light and teachings. This is why we will be asking that those who choose to play Auran humans to participate in the mainstream religion in a much more strict sense then those who choose to play other races.

The mainstream religion for the Kingdom is a pagan one. We recognize the fact that there are several gods out there, and we will allow you all to worship more then one if you choose. I hope to even allow members of the community to approach us with their own ideas for gods to add to the pantheon someday soon. This will allow us to cater to creative individuals, and let you participate in the Church. We will certainly not accept all ideas, we don't want too many gods, and you need to come up with a fairly detailed, well-thought out description. It is also NECESSARY for Aurans to place Auros as the "top god" in the pantheon...worship of gods we don't recognize, or we recognize as evil will be heretical. So, for instance, worship of Melek will make you a heretic.

You should also keep in mind the manner in which you worship your god. Whereas prayer, preaching, and singing hymns is perfectly acceptable, living sacrifice is not. Gods other then Auros will be referred to as "lesser gods" as well.
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The other races do not need to place Auros at the top of their Pantheon. However, they still need to recognize that He is the Father of the Auran race, the head of the Patheon for the mainstream religion, and they need to show that they are living "good" lives...or at least that they aren't evil. This means trying to keep your in-game alignment above an "evil" rating, and worshipping one of the good, or neutral gods. Being an atheist is not an acceptable choice for races other then Aurans because it denies the exsistance of Auros. You do not need to worship Him, but you need to recognize His exsistance.

An example of a neutral god is Theia, who is viewed in many different ways including, Theia as a warlike conqueror, as a huntress, and as a bringer of nature's plenty. If a commander wished to ask Theia for strength before a battle, that would be acceptable. If a hunter stopped at a shrine to Theia before going out to hunt - again no problem. If a farmer prayed to Theia before the harvest season, more power to him. But if any of these people said or implied Theia was a more powerful, better, or superior god to Auros - they would be guilty of Blasphemy.



**A couple of things to note**
While the Goddess who created the world is certainly worthy of our praise and admiration...worship of Her is going to be discouraged due to the fact that She's dead. It's not heretical to worship Her, it's just kind of sad and pointless. Besides, many of the lessons that can be learned from Her are found in the teachings of Auros.

Remember! This is only if you want to be in good standing with the Church. If you don't care, then just ignore us, and we'll leave you well enough alone - for the most part.

The Church of Auros is soon to be headed by the King, and he's not about to stand idly by while someone disrespects his religion...its not only personal, it's basically his job. Though I'm sure he'll let his Clergy handle it, he won't interfere on the behalf of a Heretic, unless we get too zealous. Those of you who have leadership positions need to be particularly mindful of the political consequences. You're speaking for more then just yourself. I'm BEGGING with you when I say, do not grapple with us - we will not back down, we will come out on top, and the consequences will not be pretty for your clan.

-If you have any technical, non-debateable questions...in other words, if you genuinely want to know more and aren't looking to pick a fight...you may ask them here. Free of consequence, in-character or OOC - we'll do our best to answer them.

One more thing: Each Bishop is unique in that he'll have a slightly different way of handling his diocese then the next. So when someone responds to your question, take note of which clan he's from.

I encourage all Bishops to respond to questions however - as members of your own diocese may have similar questions.

As there is no Archbishop - the Auran Friars are the ones who will be looking after the Royal Demense for now...so I encourage them to respond to questions as well. (Remember, you still answer to the Council, so don't let it go to your heads.)

Someone was kind enough to point out that not everyone is able to post in these forums...so - if you have a question, send PMs to the Bishop of your Diocese, and that Bishop will either post them here and answer them, or they'll answer them privately if they feel they're inappropriate.

If you're from the Royal Demense, or from a clan which doesn't have a Bishop - you can send them to any Bishop, or send them to the Friars, either Valic Fortan or Advocate.