04-03-2026, 09:48 PM
The Church of Aspera: The officially-recognized church of Aphros, encompassing the Ordinance.
The Ordinance: The primary sect of the Athelite faith, encompassing everything that follows.
The Doctrine of Twilight: The five pillars of the Athelite faith, encompassing the guiding principles of Aphrosi society.
The Doctrine of Twilight: The five pillars of the Athelite faith, encompassing the guiding principles of Aphrosi society.
The Doctrine of Twilight
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To follow the Lord Warden is to understand—not the way things could be, not the way we want them
to be, but the indisputable fact of how they now are. The ugliest truths, the most despicable realities.
Understand these, and face them head on. This world is, of course, an ugly place. All of us know
this well. That's why it's up to us to change it. To be of His colours is to swear;
I will learn,
I will adapt,
I will overcome.
We will falter, but we will never fall. That is our nature, as Aphrosi.
The Self
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The first pillar of the Athelite faith. Look inwards and ponder: who am I? Who must I become?
The Question
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The second pillar of the Athelite faith. Look inwards and ponder: what is the value of my life? What is the value of another's?
The Civilization
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The third pillar of the Athelite faith. Look outwards and ponder: who are my fellows? What can we achieve?
The World
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The fourth pillar of the Athelite faith. Look outwards and ponder: who are my enemies? Why must we be enemies?
The Beyond
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The fifth pillar of the Athelite faith. Look inwards and ponder: when my time is come, and all is said and done—who have I been?
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Rites
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Rites performed by the Asperan Church vary wildly, as effectively all activities of Aphros are,
in some way, managed by the Church. Anything from meditation, to weddings, to sermons, to
baptisms and prayers, are all overseen by, or in adherence to, the Aspera. Reverendo usually
oversee such occasions, but the Cardinal or Pontifice are likely to attend and participate as well.
More esoteric traditions include holytech augmentation—the sanctioned use of blessed
prosthesis or other augmentations to return or replace weaker flesh, all for better pursuit of
the Lord Warden's teachings.
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Ranks
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Pontifice
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The defacto leader of the Asperan church. Any major decisions, practices, or changes
relevant to the Church or Aphros at large come across their desk.
Cardinal
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The advisor to the Pontifice, who also doubles as Chief Curator for His Holy Reliquary.
A taxing position, as it also usually falls to the Cardinal to carry out recruitment duties.
Vigario
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The head researcher of the Aspera, responsible for any and all artificery projects. They hold
the permissions to hire outside artificers, referred to as ''Artese'', to be protected by
the Church and given access to its materials and the Aspera workplace until their commissioned
work has been completed.
Reverendo
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A Priest or Priestess of the Ordinance. They bear the majority of common responsibilities,
such as facilitation of rites like weddings, baptisms, blessings, and so forth. They may also
host sermons, with permission from the Cardinal or Pontifice.
Leigo
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Initiates of the faith with no particular responsibilities. They are encouraged to hone themselves,
and seek out learning opportunities to further their pursuit of understanding the Lord Warden's
teachings.
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The Holy Reliquary of the Asperan Church
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His Holy Reliquary is what has become of the Inquisition. The Reliquary is dedicated to several things,
not the least of which being the preservation, documentation, propagation, and protection of
Athelite relics, history, and ideals. Individuals in the Reliquary are placed into one of two groups.
The first are the Antiquarians, tasked with such things as recording historical moments,
documenting previous and current religious, military, civilian, and governmental leaders;
or in other words, general lorekeeping.
Individuals of the latter branch, however, are referred to as "Inquisitors", to honour the previous
form the organization had taken. They are tasked with the rightful reclamation of anything produced
by the Holy City of religious significance, be that by peace or by force. Items under their inspection
are typically relics of old Aphros, but anything of importance to the faith can and will be retrieved
by their hands.
The last duty of all individuals of the Reliquary is to keep the faith. Choice individuals of
the organization, such as the Chief Curator, have sway within the Bastion—and all members
of the Reliquary, just like the Church proper, are tasked with spreading His teachings to the
general populace.
The Holy Reliquary of the Asperan Church
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His Holy Reliquary is what has become of the Inquisition. The Reliquary is dedicated to several things,
not the least of which being the preservation, documentation, propagation, and protection of
Athelite relics, history, and ideals. Individuals in the Reliquary are placed into one of two groups.
The first are the Antiquarians, tasked with such things as recording historical moments,
documenting previous and current religious, military, civilian, and governmental leaders;
or in other words, general lorekeeping.
Individuals of the latter branch, however, are referred to as "Inquisitors", to honour the previous
form the organization had taken. They are tasked with the rightful reclamation of anything produced
by the Holy City of religious significance, be that by peace or by force. Items under their inspection
are typically relics of old Aphros, but anything of importance to the faith can and will be retrieved
by their hands.
The last duty of all individuals of the Reliquary is to keep the faith. Choice individuals of
the organization, such as the Chief Curator, have sway within the Bastion—and all members
of the Reliquary, just like the Church proper, are tasked with spreading His teachings to the
general populace.
The Holy Reliquary has a separate Guild post.
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The Church guild can be accessed by asking Autumn Ainsworth, or any individual of "Priest" rank in Faith or higher, for recruitment services and a baptism. This guild requires being a citizen of Atheleon, of the Athelite faith, and is considered an "extension" of Aphros as a nation, but it does have its own guild.
![[Image: Drawing-48-sketchpad-4.png]](https://i.ibb.co/MDHbzrqH/Drawing-48-sketchpad-4.png)

