Olde Faythe

The olde faythe has been around for as long as people can remember. The religion was very common along the western coast of Amestria in ancient times, but the fall of Exodia triggered the inevitable birth of the Holy Cardinal Pontificate which precluded and replaced the olde faythe almost everywhere. In the olde faythe heaven is considered the singular seat of divinity, which makes the religion semi-monotheistic. There are also gods, servants of heaven which are occasionally sent down to Amestria to perform the will of heaven. The interpretation of heaven has always been disputed among believers, and has resulted in countless different interpretations known as faythes.

Beliefs and Practices

The core beliefs and practices of the olde faythe are mostly uniform and simple across all believers, but the fundamental interpretation of heaven and the afterlife is divided into faythes. An important note is that gods are simply referred to as 'gods' and not 'the gods' since they don't hold divine power and are just messengers of heaven.

• Gods are portrayed as messengers of heaven and symbolize heaven's will.
• No gods are named, as there is no association between the aspects of reality and a specific god.
• All true power is held by heaven, gods simply try to carry out heaven's will.

Holy Aura

It is believed that heaven engulfs all of those who reside within it in a holy aura. The holy aura's effects have been interpreted differently over the millennia, but in most cases it relates to gaining characteristics commonly associated with gods. The gods themselves reside in heaven, and are nurtured by the holy aura. When they descend from heaven to carry out the divine will, it is believed they cannot stay long lest they lose their power and become weakened through the absence of heaven's aura. For most people the holy aura relates to the afterlife, where they are promised eternal life and of course the holy aura.

The Faythes

There used to be an innumerable number of different faythes in ancient times, but after the fall of Exodia only the most prevalent faythes survived. Today there are only two major faythes which still exist, the celestial faythe and the regal faythe.

Celestial Faythe

This faythe believes that heaven completely surrounds Amestria, being represented by the night sky. The sun is considered the center of heaven with the holy aura's light emanating from it. The stars in the sky are believed to be the gods who reside in heaven, exuding the light of the holy aura. Amestria is considered impure and absent of heaven's aura and in need of guidance by heaven. (Other non-luminous objects in the sky are treated the same way.) When people die, it is believed their soul travels to heaven. If they were a particularly benevolent person their soul might even emit the light of the holy aura over Amestria as a new star for all to see. This faythe is quickly declining in modern times, most likely due to pressure from the Pontificate and recent discoveries in astronomy.

Regal Faythe

The regal faythe believes that heaven is an intangible plane of existence that can only be reached as a body-less soul or as a god. The body is considered impure and of a physical nature, making it unsuitable for entry into heaven. Heaven itself is rumored to be realm of pure golden light and eternal bliss, a utopia reserved only for gods and souls who were benevolent to others while alive. Benevolence is very important here, as it signifies the emulation of godliness. For those less fortunate there is the Great Dark, a plane of existence that is nothing but eternal darkness reserved for those who committed vile acts during life. For people who were neither benevolent nor vile, they are believed to be immediately reborn on Amestria after a period of aimless wandering absent of heaven's guidance. Most non-believers are believed to fit into this neutral category.

Heavenly Union

Believers practice what is known as a heavenly union between two people. Contrary to most among the Pontificate, marriage is not the same thing and is of legal intent rather then union's heavenly intent. A heavenly union is only formed when the couple kisses each other under the night sky during a full moon when it is highest in the sky. The full moon represents both parts of a union, while a partial moon represents only one side of a union. The moon itself does not signify heaven's will but rather the light reflecting off of it, which is projected from heaven. Joined couples may only break the union during a new moon, a sign of new beginnings. In pre-exodian times it was not possible to break a union, and a new moon instead signified the absence of heaven's guidance thus believers would not separate in it's presence. This changed with the Exodian era, which slowly molded the belief into a more flexible one. A couple joined by heavenly union are not allowed to have affairs with anyone else, as it is considered impure to do so.

Religious Symbolism

The olde faythe is not a faith known for it's variety of artistic portrayal, mainly because the golden era of artistic portrayal for the olde faythe would have been the Exodian Era. There are no surviving religious works of art from the Exodian Era, only fragments of information passed down by written relics. All currently existing artistic portrayals originate from the early Post Exodian Era, by which point the Pontificate had already established itself as the dominant religion among humanity. Most paintings of the celestial faythe depict heaven as the night sky, with gods and souls being portrayed as people with white auras resting in the night sky. Paintings of the regal faythe usually depict heaven as a golden chromatic backdrop with immaculate buildings and beautiful people in the foreground. Other faythes are likely to depict heaven and the gods and souls residing there differently. In general, there are more depictions of gods then of heaven itself, and gods are the direct messengers of heaven and symbolize it's will.

Worship

The only way to worship heaven is to be virtuous in life, as this is a tenant of godliness. Otherwise the matter of worship mainly comes down to whether the person believes in heaven's divinity or not.

History

No one knows the exact origins of the olde faythe, as it existed long before recorded history. Modern scholars have theorized that it is actually a branch of a much older aesiri belief system which existed over ten thousand years ago. The core beliefs line up with a very popular myth referred to as The Primordial Age, of which originated from the ancient aesiri faith mentioned. During the rise of Exodia, believers became very lazy in the faith's practice, possibly discarding it entirely in favor of the Exodian ideologies present at the time. After the fall of Exodia, believers became more resolute in their adherence to the faith but were very likely to turn to the Pontificate. Today, most believers are firm in faith, standing against the magnetism of other religions.