Melodism

Melodism is the major religion of northern Iberia, the Vagi colonies, and the Autumn Islands. The religion was founded by the Prophet Titus and spread by Vagi colonists and missionaries around the world. Melodists worship the Holy Aura or Light, a universal force of energy that is stregthened by those who live righteous lives and also works to combat its evil opposite, the Shadow. Both the Shadow and Light have physical manifestations (angels and demons) that work to further the goals of both sides.

History
The forefathers of the Vagi race lived in a land (sources are unclear as to whether it was a country or city) called Caelus. The people of Caelus worshipped a pantheon of dark, sinister gods whose priests demanded regular human sacrifice of blood, limbs, and lives. A young man named Titus saw the disgusting nature of these rituals and fled from his homeland. He wandered in the forest for many years until he came upon a withered tree whispering to him. The tree transformed and revealed itself as the Ent, the angel of wisedom and knowledge. The Ent touched his branch to Titus's forhead and made him aware to the Holy Aura and the Shadow and how his race were dooming themselves to becoming's the Shadow's servants.

Titus returned to Caelus and began to seek those who lived righteous lives and did not truly believe in the dark gods of their corrupt priests. Titus gathered many people to him and his message but also attracted the attention of the authorities. They threw Titus in a dungeon where Titus received a vision from Abaddon, the demon of destruction and war. He mocked Titus, showing that while his work may have saved the souls of many in Caelus but in doing so, the Shadow was going to destroy all in Caelus in order to preserve the souls inside for its dark purposes. As the demon faded away, Titus's followers stormed the prison and set their prophet free.

At once, work began on building ships to escape the doomed land of Caelus. Titus's flock fled in the month of July in an event known as the Exodus and it is said that once Caelus was out of sight, the people in the ships could see the smoke and hear the screams coming from Caelus. Titus gave his flock the name "Vagi" meaning "those who wander" and for seven years they lived as nomads until receiving an omen in the form of a one-eyed whale, the angel of discovery. They followed the whale to a lush island and began building a new home called New Caelus on August 1, marking the Vagi new-year and the start of year 0AL (After Landfall).

In the year 75AL, Titus was on his deathbed and his final command was for the Vagi to venture forth, colonizing new lands and bringing the truth about the Holy Aura with them. And thus the Vagi began their mission of establishing new city-states and converting the pagans of the world to their religion. A new leader of the Church was selected from Titus's followers, a man named Julius. By 200, Bruma had converted to the faith; the Autumn Island tribes did so in 250, and most of Arvas had converted by the year 375. These new converts, however, decided they should run their own, local churches but after much debate, a system of clergial organization was established that gave Titus's heir limited power over the other churches but allowed them to retain some freedom.

The Aura
The Aura, or Light, is a benevolent force of universal energy. It is not described as sentient but does have some sort of will and agenda. To Melodists, the Aura is strengthened by good actions of charity, purity, kindness, and cleanliness. It is in constant struggle for control of the universe with its evil counterpart, the Shadow. The physical manifestations of the Aura are called Angels.

The Shadow
The enemy of the Holy Aura, the part of the universal that revels in destruction, hate, plague, and decay. Like the Aura, the Shadow is not sentient but has a dark purpose and uses its physical manifestations (Demons) to spread its evil.

The Angels
The Ent is the angel is wisdom, knowledge, and lore. He guides pious rulers and scholars in their pursuit for wise actions. He has several monasteries of monks dedicated to him and an order of warrior-scholars called the "Holy Order of Knights of The Ent" but most commonly are called knights of the mind or the Ent. He is commonly depicted as either a face carved in a magnificent oak or as a elderly man with a beard of moss and skin of bark.

The Whale is the angel of discovery, sailors, and commerce. He guides pious sailors to safe waters and pious merchants to fair and honest profit. He has few monasteries and no official military orders but many mercenaries who guard merchants claim to be doing it in the name of this angel. He is depicted as a one-eyed leviathan (great whale) and is believed to have guided Titus and the first Vagi to New Caelus.

The Lion is the angel of war, battle, and honor. He protects warriors who do battle with honor and piety and ensures that the "right" side wins every war. He has few monasteries but obviously a great deal of military orders of knights are dedicated to him. The most famous are the "Militia of The Lion" who are infamous for helping newly-converted Melodist rulers crush any pagan opposition. He appears as a golden lion with teeth of pure steel.

The Peacock is the angel of art, love, and ideas. He inspires the artist to praise nature and the Holy Aura, he makes sure the pious find love and remain pure, and he gives rulers moments of clarity in dark times. He has several monasteries where the monks produce religous art and study it rather than produce holy scripture and study that. He appears as a peacock with tail-feathers infused with colors no mortal has seen in nature.

The Hearth is the angel of the harvest, mothers, and babies. He is the guardian of the home and friend to all children. He has few monasteries or military orders but almost all peasants have symbols of him in their homes. He is depicted as a man made of fire and ember.

The Demons
Beelzebub is the demon of hysteria, panic, decay, and ignorance. He is the enemy of the Ent and works to turn civilized men into savages. He is depicted as a giant fly with blood-red eyes.

Astaroth is the demon of plague, storms and blindness. He is the enemy of the Whale and is depicted as a sea serpent.

Abaddon is the demon of destruction, slaughter, and sadism. He is the enemy of the Lion and incites bloodlust among those who fight for evil causes. He is depicted as a menacing horseman with black armor and a mace.

Shabalbor is the demoness of lust, incest, and rape. She is the enemy of the Peacock and is responsible for the depraved and incestual. She is depicted as a women draped in blood-colored robes. with a mouth of barbs.

Perdine is the demon of famine, crime, and murder. He is the enemy of the Hearth and is the cause of sudden infant death and a lack of food for families. He is depicted as a lowly, goblin-like creature and is most often considered the lowest-ranked of all demons.

Practices
Melodism is the official religion of the state of the Kingdom of Arvas, Autumn Islands, and every Vagi colony and most laws of these governments are influenced by the religion. Each region has their own church organization that is only loosely associated  with other churches but they all work together to convert new regions and establish new churches. The religion is against obvious social taboos but also scorns homosexuality, polygamy, and engaging in too many mortal pleasures.

The churches of each region and people each have their own scriptures which they consider holy and the saints who wrote them. It was once the duty of the High Listener of New Caelus to monitor what literature was canonized but there are far too many church organizations across too many kingdoms for Titus's heirs to effectively sift through. The writings approved by Titus himself and his immediate successors are known as the "High Collection" and are universal among all churches, despite location. Churches who do not accept the High Collection are no longer considered Melodist by the church leaders around the world. The group of writings approved by councils of Listeners apart of local church organizations are called "Low Collections" and are not accepted by all of the churches of Melodism. For example, the Arvans accept the Book of Saint VIktor as apart of their collection and therefore, it is universally accepted among all churches and monasteries in Arvas as holy text. In the Autumn Islands, however, the Book of Saint Viktor has not been accepted and will not be unless the Listeners of the islands meet to canonize Saint Viktor and sanction his writings as holy.

The center of religious life in Melodist communites is the Sanctuary, a structure which sits upon land that has been exorcised and blessed by the High Listeners of New Caelus, Argento, Instituo, or the Kingdom of Arvas. This is considered a holy place where demons and mortal evil may not pass. The clergy here are the "Listeners" whose daily function is to hear (hence the term) the crises of the people and advise them on what to in accordance with holy scripture and law. During religious holiday, the sanctuary becomes a gathering place for dozens and the Listeners give public sermons.

Monasteries are locations where men have pledged themselves to live only for the Light and become celibate, often-silent monks. Each monastery is dedicated to one of the angels of the Holy Aura and they spend their time reproducing/preserving religion text (art for monasteries of The Peacock) and living pure lives free of any evil from the Shadow. Monasteries are supported by rulers who give land to the monks and allow peasants to farm this land tax-free so long as they put the food and supply needs of the monks first.

High Collection
The High Collection is the collective religious text that was approved directly by the Prophet Titus, his successor Julius, or his successor: Gaius. It is universal to all Melodists, to reject it would be to break-off from Melodism.

1. Holy Voice of Titus

2. The Age of Dawn

3. The Exodus (Saint Julius)

4. The Book of Saint Julius

5. The Book of Saint Gaius

6. The Book of Saint Camilla

Low Collection of Arvas
The Low Collection of Arvas are all the books approved by a council of Arvan Listeners but not used in other churches. Arvan social and military honor was a big factor in many of the text.

1. Book of Law (Saint Viktor)

2. Book of Holy Combat (Saint Steffan)

3. Book of Harvest (Saint Vincent)

Low Collection of the Ukars
1. Book of Saint Yuri

Knighthood and Military Orders
Knighthood in the eyes of Melodist churches is considered the ultimate allegiance to the Holy Aura and the king who has so obviously been chosen by the Holy Aura to rule. The concept of the knight, however, was around much longer as a simple feudal warrior and as such, there are many non-Melodist knights in places without or partial Melodism populations.

Many Melodist knights have organized themselves into military orders sanctioned by a High Listener as a military representative of the religion. These orders are dedicated to certain angels, much like monasteries, and are devoted to specifics tasks. The Holy Militia of The Lion, for example, joins the military campaigns of fledgling Melodist nobles in non-Melodist nations in an attempt to place a Melodist in power and further the reach of the religion.