The New Aspera

[Metrice]

The New Aspera

 

“We Aphrosi have endured many hardships, more than we should have been forced to see through. Yet here we stand, a shining example of Meranthe’s finest. Though, we have faltered in one aspect of our ways. Faith remains stagnated, brittle and fleeting from what it should have been. No longer the paramount of our society it had once been. But a shell, a piteous shadow decrepit and fading. Our Trinity has tasked me with seeing this particular disease abated. And so, the Asperan reformation begins.
 
Ad astra per aspera.”

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With the burning of the Vera Cruz district, and the loss of Old Aphros. Our people have been unable to honor their patrons. We have fallen from our faith, not by choice- but through the erosion of time's indifference.
 
We cannot fault ourselves; it is only natural that what is not practiced, is forgotten. Now, we will revitalize the dying embers of our faith. The passion once held for our Lord Warden will blaze anew. It will not be alone. Accompanied by the light of the Night Mother- and the guiding hand of wisdom, the New Aspera will thrive. A blessed Trinity. Athelios standing at the head, with Lord Enarr and Lady Gala as his right and left hands.
 
Some may disapprove, or push back against the change to the nature of our faith. This is to be expected with any grand shift. Despite the unrest that was sure to form, the detest possibly to manifest. The New Aspera was soon to be.  A new chapter was unfolding for the ever-enduring Aphrosi.
 

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The Trinity:

 
Lord Athelios:
The head of the New Aspera, the Twilight Warden, our Lord Athelios. With the Night Mother, and the Grand Scholar as his right and left hand; he stands paramount within our faith, the guiding force of the Trinity. His strength, his willingness to see the broken made whole. These are values we hope to embody. Our Lord Warden is ever faithful, never leaving our side even in the midst of chaotic incursions.
 
Even as we have lost our way. He remains, a guardian persisting; we should honor his stalwart vigilance. The Lord Warden has never faltered, never turned a blind eye or abandoned his faithful. We shall not do the same. 
 
Lord Enarr:
The guiding hand of wisdom, the right hand of our Lord Warden. Enarr is often considered king of the Pantheon, while this is respected within the New Aspera. It is not the order or reverence to be held. His position is recognized and honored; however, the Lord Warden stands paramount in all aspects of our faith. The importance of the Grand Scholar is invaluable despite this. Lord Enarr holds a foundational place within the Trinity.
 
His guidance falls to our Bastion, to gift them direction in battle. To hone their senses, to offer them alternatives previously unseen or labeled impossibility. It falls to our craftsman, our physicians and politicians. Nary an aspect of Aphrosian society is unaffected by his wisdom. The gilded light of his presence is an unyielding reminder of the continued faithfulness of our Trinity. They stand as our example, and we would do well to embody it.
 
Lady Gala:
Our Night Mother, the brilliant light of fate. Her touch resounds among the faithful, distant but ever present. A representation of her nature, the Heaven’s Gardener, the Seamstress of Fate. Whatever title one would bestow on her, the fair lady’s gaze remained. She stands the part of an observer, seldom offering her aid in any direct fashion. Fate is a fickle thing, cruel, unfeeling, harsh, and damning. This is what gives our lives meaning, stability, hope, and fulfillment. 
 
Without it, any accomplishment would feel hollow. The Night Mother saw this, her hand placed upon fate itself. Not interfering, but ensuring the unending span of reality flows towards its intended conclusion. Her faithful know well the purpose behind their lives. What they should accomplish and when, even the purpose behind their end. Much in this vein, do those that follow her light embody this spirit. The Galaen faithful standing as observers. Seldom act unless there was no other choice.
 

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Our Sects:

 
The Halls of Twilight:
The Halls of Twilight stand as the backbone of our faith. A shining testament to the values we seek to uphold within the New Aspera. This is our new path, the Ordinance shaped, reformed. In this invigorating rebirth we’ve found ourselves placed at the crossroads of grand change. There is no greater arbitrator for such change than our Lord Warden. And so, we honor him in these halls. 
 
His Twilight represented; masonry shaped in his honor. A new doctrine penned into permanence, the guiding voice of the Citadel’s Keeper. It has been dubbed, the Doctrine of Twilight. Now, it remains the duty of his faithful to continue on. To show Meranthe the path of our Lord Athelios. The path of Twilight.
 
The Scholastic Sanctuary:
In this sect, one would find themselves following the path of the scholarly. Those that would bathe themselves in the knowledge Meranthe had to offer. A representation of the estate, the inquisitive, the academically gifted and the intellectually blessed. They stand as the observers, the chroniclers and collectors. A doctrine their own was fabricated. The tome made for this quest for knowledge was dubbed the Scholar’s Voice.
 
Those that would catalog the events of the Aphrosi. To follow in the path of Lord Enarr, to embody his wisdom. Acting softly, without rash or haughty behavior. They embody the Pantheon’s king, the right hand of the Trinity. It is expected those of the Scholastic Sanctuary understand their purpose within the Twilight’s Orrery. They are the keepers, securing our history for decades to come. They honor us, on merit of their continued diligence.
 
The Celestial Orrery:
The New Aspera’s most enigmatic would find this sect to be right at home. The Celestial Orrery follows an esoteric path, one seldom understood in its entirety. Often misjudged, or detested simply by merit of ignorance. Those that dedicate themselves to its teachings; to the mysteries within the Heaven’s Sequence, are awakened to the wonders of Galaen splendor.
 
They find themselves dedicated to a task, one afforded to them by the heavens gleaming above. Whether by means of Celestial Divination, or perhaps Spiritual Dedication. One will eventually be gifted a purpose, a trail to follow till its end. Fate revealed its whispers to those that would listen, opening pathways once an impassable dream. Now made manifest, one can find their reason to be. Then, they can enclose themselves within it.
 
 

Our Rites:

 
Sermons:
Sermons vary greatly depending on which sect is undertaking them. This is to be honored and respected. Guiding principles regarding each of the Trinity’s faiths are taught by their respective leaders. Despite this, they may intersect. When this is the case, it is expected that a leader of each sect is present.
 
This allows for proper delegation of roles, in addition to expertise nuanced to each of the sects. While the leaders of the Trinity are not expected to know each sect intimately, it is expected they prepare for such eventualities.
 
Rituals and Practices:
The practices of the Trinity shift between who has decided to undertake them.  Though, a common theme remains throughout all the Aphrosian faiths. That of unity, of continued prosperity, and the faithful souls who can see it through. These themes of encouragement, of purpose and meaning, serve to offer comfort within the bleakest of times. Hope, in the hopeless hours.
 
It is up to us, the dedicated of the New Aspera to ensure this message persists. This continues into rituals. Much like sermons, they follow differing nuances, but the general theme remains the same. To uphold the Trinity, to teach its understanding and purpose. That is what we embody.
 
Grand Rites of the Trinity:
Here we have great differences. Unlike the prior examples, grand rites do not follow the same commonality. Often, they will take drastically differing paths depending on which aspect of the Trinity one is representing. For the Halls of Twilight, one could expect a grand ritual that embodied the unwavering spirit of the Aphrosi. One that would embolden them before a conflict. In addition, one could expect rituals of cleansing. To purify the broken or downtrodden, that is the Path of Twilight.
 
For the Celestial Orrery, one could expect a grand ritual to be something enigmatic. Something obscure and curious. Perhaps a dance to inspire spirits lost to time, a song to enable a chorus of memory. Perhaps the forging of a gift, or the radiance of the Night Mother’s teachings. Perhaps prophecy, benevolent or malevolent in nature. Warding against times to come, or securing a path ahead to harden wavering souls.
 
Lastly, the Scholastic Sanctuary. The grand rituals of their sect take on many differing natures of their own. Some mirroring that of the Halls of Twilight, some mirroring the more practical of the Celestial Orrery. Others fall towards the sea; while distant from the Aphrosi the Grand Scholar guides sailors in their times of crisis. Being the most nuanced of the three in this aspect, one can expect sermons of this nature to take on any of these paths. Enigmatic, practical, or purifying, Lord Enarr oversees them all.
 
Leadership:
There are four positions within this aspect of our faith. The Pontifice, who heads the New Aspera. The Starseer, who heads the Celestial Orrery. And that of the Orator, who heads the Scholastic Sanctuary. There is also that of the Radiant of the Trinity. Able to serve in any such role, but reserved as a guiding hand of the Trinity’s faithful.
 
It is with their unity that the New Aspera will thrive.

[Metrice]

What lies at the Dream’s End.

 

“No more. No longer will this be perpetuated. I’ve lived in service, I’ve followed your tenets, promoted and emboldened your faith. For what? What have you given us in return?”

 
Depictions of Enarr about the whole of Gloomlight seemed to fade immediately. Every statue, every connected portion of their respective sect. It was as if it never existed, wiped clean unbeknownst to all. The temple and surrounding grounds reshaped in mere moments. Every remnant, every vestige, every minute possibility of the Grand Scholar's likeness seemingly evaporated. Now only a memory within the hearts of the people, whether it was a beloved or distasteful one differed from individual to individual.

The long-lasting New Aspera no longer held prominence. Their tenets altered, and the faith dissolved. What remained was of Athelian understanding alone. The Galaen sect was permitted to worship as they saw fit, yet such practices were no longer uplifted. Not discouraged, but clearly not the focus of the clergy.

 “Shed nary a tear for the gasping silence of a dying light. For from the ashes of lost aspirations, a new life may grow. Uplifted by the vestiges of what came before. I trust in the lives to come, in their voices, their chorus to be.”

Previous works were vaulted, left to be studied for edification's sake; but nothing more. A chapter surpassed, replaced with the tale to come. It was an honorable end, a rightful departure for the standing faith. Fractured Radiance was of no value, not with the coming tides of Atrellya’s hateful campaign. The time for change was nigh, and now the path was unhindered. Paved, cleared, and prepared for the next generation.

 “It is time I pass the torch, to gift the mantle onwards. As I step aside, my absence will allow the growth of another. A new light within a forgotten dream.”

And so what had been fell to obscurity. A chapter carved within Aphrosian history to be buried. Lost within the stalwart influence of the Grand Republic.