Difference between revisions of "Peteran Alexandrianism"

Revision as of 15:43, 12 November 2009

The Petaran Heresy is the hetrodoxy followed by the people of the Petran Empire, as well as the barbarians of The Ulan. This practice revolves around the Testimonal of Sayid, a controversial document penned by Sayid ibn Maimun, who is branded in mainland's Canon of Orthodoxy as the Great Betrayal. However, this religion's heavy divergence owes as much to the influence pre-Alexandrian spiritual norms as it does to its controversial founder.

Pre-Alexandrian Beliefs

The most widely accepted history of the Peteran people is that they were originally refugees who refused to bow down the the Demi-Pantheon, the pre-Alexandrian Deities. The Peterans in Alexandria's time retained from this history a fierce and reflexive mistrust of divine magic. While they did pay passing reverence to a vaguely defined monotheistic godhead, this worship was not concerned with morality and mortal concerns. In fact, there was little formal or institutional about pre-Alexandiran religious practice, and thus Petera had little to no divine magic until they "accepted" Alexandria.

Testimonial of Sayid

With the arrival of Alexandria and the assumption of the Omnity, the Peteran religious beliefs changed considerably, but not fundamentally. Sayid ibn Maimun, who was both a close mentor and confidant of Alexandria and the emperor of Petera, penned a Testimonal of his experiences that spelled out a religious practice that tied in heavily with Peteran tradition. In it, he describes Alexandria's crusade as a condemnation of the corrupt and lamentable Demi-Pantheon and a triumph of the Peteran godhead. Alexandria herself is painted as a champion of humanity who destroys the Demi-Pantheon and returns the divine power to mortal hands. This interpretation led the way to the re-introduction and legitimization of divine magic among the Peterans.

The Peteran variant of Alexandrianism is highly nationalistic/ethnocentric, and folk belief tells that Alexandria was as a Petaran child lost in a shipwreck on the shores of the mainland, where she lived in some form of misery until her late-life adoption. The theology surrounding such beliefs is generally that it was necessary for a Peteran to learn the ways of the usurper-demigods in order to finally slay them. (Unlike Alexandrian Orthodoxy, the Peteran Heresy sees little difference between the demi-pantheon and the Dark Lord).

Testimonal of Mikos

Though few in the mainland study Peteran religion in enough detail to make such a distinction, the "Peteran Heresy" actually consists of two distinct faiths, one followed by the Peterans and one followed by the tribes of the Ulan. Those of the Ulan follow a substantially different faith, referred to in Petera as "Zupanism," that evolved from the teachings of Mikos Lygit.