by M. J Kreyzer
Description: Dexterians believe that there is no set path to salvation. They are neither polytheists or monotheists. There is a god, or gods, (it's considered a waste of energy debating the validity of either) but he/they don't have a set path to follow. According to the Dexterian gospel, based upon a loose interpretation of the Gotho Vysta, the path to salvation is discovering one's own moral code and not deterring from it. The 'Self' as Dexterianism calls it, is the most important entity in any reality. (This idea of 'any reality' would eventually arise following the discovery of Furo and the subsequent discovery of parallel dimensions.) While it focuses on science and nature, Dexterianism emphasizes the basic nature of all things, both living and inanimate. Man's basic nature is viewed not as something to be rejected or repulsed, but rather something sacred that should be embraced. Dexterians believe that the nature of man is a gift of God, and find the concept of rejecting it not only illogical, but iconoclastic. Dexterians live free lifestyles and life with the mindset that everything happens for a reason. Should they feel the urge or drive to do something, that is considered to be divine inspiration.
Dexterianism is particularly prone to zealotry while many people, finding the idea of both religion and free living irresistibly appealing, claim Dexterianism without understanding its core, predominantly spiritual principles. It is in a scenario such as this where the more controversial aspects of Dexterianism arise. By many other faiths, Dexterianism is considered to be the blatant and heretical justification of sin and transgression, while orthodox Dexterians will dispute this. True Dexterian disciples recognize the this dilemma within their faith and address it regularly. (It is openly rebuked at the Convent, an annual gathering of Dexterian officials responsible for revising and reissuing doctrine aimed at keeping the religion modern and relevant.)
There is a being that Dexterians believe to be the anti-God, or a being that plants temptations and urges within an individual under the guise of God. With this supreme evil in mind, Dexterians are careful to note the origins of the things that drive them satisfy a particular urge. Generally speaking, if an urge comes about as a result to any negative external force and is a product of anger or vengeance, it is considered to be unholy and not of God. This rule of thumb is used to decry any harmful actions towards another living thing.
Purism
History: During the early years of his ministry, William Semprys was considered a heretic by many members of the Durant faith. The acceptance of his two epistles by the Durant leadership and discipleship as well as their addition to The Rune was viewed as an abomination by a more radical and zealous portion of the Durant religion. A Durant bishop, a colleague of Semprys' and a fellow religious leader, Victor Sylvice, stood at the head of this opposition. Being such a high-level leader within the Durant faith and his own writings proving to be unworthy additions to The Rune, Sylvice considered the affirmation of Semprys' teachings a bias conspiracy driven by favoritism. After several hundred years, Semprys became revered by Durants as the world's greatest prophet and spiritual leader. Most even considered him to be a descendant of God himself as a description of this savior is given in the Missives of Leon, another book within The Rune. With William's teachings fueling contention, a divide began to grow between orthodox Durants and Sylvice's new Durant sect which he referred to as the 'Durant Purity'. With Sylvice directing their efforts, the Durant Purity began to redefine itself as a different religion entirely while still finding its basis in The Rune. It looked at William's acceptance as a leader of the Durant faith to be a fulfillment of a different prophecy, this one contained within the Book of Carthis. In it, it describes a malevolent being that, beneath the guise of righteousness, would deceive the world, bring about the destruction of the Durant race and thrust the world into a renewed era of darkness. Wishing to avoid their prophesied destruction at the hands of who they felt to be the anti-God, they renounced the Durant religion, considered it to have suffered apostasy and broke away. Having successfully broken away from the Duranism and having established themselves as their own religion, the newly coined Purists redefined their purpose as a church and denounced the Durant portions of The Rune that they felt to be evil or corrupt.
Purism ended up becoming a radical Durant offshoot, taking a more radical approach to the Durant theology and developing a law even more stringent than the Degrees of Reconciliation, which Purists believed to be the heretical screeds of a heretical man. This new moral code, referred to as The Praetors Way, not only demanded an even higher code of living, but revised the consequences and took them to their most extreme. Undeterred discipleship was required of those living the Purist faith, with consequences most often coming in any degree of violence.
With Victor Sylvice recognized as their prophet, the Purist movement became increasingly radical, creating a social environment conducive to religious bigotry and unfettered racism targeted at their 'apostate Durant Brethren. “The collective goal of the Purist faith quickly became the annihilation of the roots of evil that they believed would usher in the end of the world. It was Victor Sylvice who commanded that, in order to save their damned brethren, they would have to relieve them of their mortal forms. The root of all earthly evil, as Sylvice declared, was William Semprys.
In 492 M.E, a group of sixteen of some of the Havok's deadliest Durant assassins infiltrated Semprys' monastery in the Damidian highlands where only William and his son, Vergil, resided. After an explosive confrontation in what would become known as one of history's greatest Elemental battles, William and his son dispatched the attackers using both Elemental and swordplay. Having sustained several fatal wounds during the encounter, William Semprys died. Vergil Semprys assumed a temporary leadership position within the Durant Church. Still preaching peace, love and understanding, Vergil discouraged retaliation against the Purists. The death of William inflicted a wound too deep and his death created yet another divide within the Durant faith and ignited a war between the newly formed Semprans and the Purists.
Through the centuries, Purism was a small religion compared to Duranism, Randism and especially Dexterianism. It experienced new life under the religious freedom laws put in place by the Union in 230 M.I. and flourished at the advent of the Durant Relocation Act, though as a drastically more diluted version of medieval Purism. It became the preferred religion of the Commune, its laws permitting the only practice of Purism, Dexterianism, Agnosticism and Atheism. (These laws were unwritten, as and restrictions on thought or behavior were instead dictated by the contents of the Black List. It should also be noted that, at the height of the Commune where both Dexterianism and Purism were practiced, many consorted themselves to the practice of both, taking any combinations of elements while labeling themselves as members of only one of the two religions.)
Description: Purism is a radical offshoot of Duranism. Based off of the moral code, The Praetor's Way, a radical interpretation of Runic doctrine, it defines morality as absolute and has a complete disallowance for any digression from its writings. It says that any substance that influences behavior (even those containing excessive amounts of sugar) are strictly prohibited. Intimate relations are not allowed save for the sole purpose of repopulation. Clothing must cover all skin save for the hands and face. Disrespecting an elder is considered heinous and, in the most extreme scenarios, is punishable by dismemberment. Regular attendance of all church meetings is required, the punishment for absence depending on the amount and frequency of the absences. And while those are only several examples of the laws put in place by The Praetor's Way, it illustrates the general mindset of the Purist faith. It's an all or nothing religion, and those who are not completely devoted to the Purist gospel are considered to be followers or at the very least sympathizers of the anti-God.
The goal of Purism is selflessness, though it is not based around service or the concern of others. Rather, it’s giving up all care for oneself and having complete devotion to the Purist agenda. Its oriented towards the elimination of individual identity and
assimilating its members into a single, cohesive body working towards an identical goal.
Semprianity
History- Semprianity first developed in 492 M.E. as a result of the death of William Semprys. This death, they felt, fulfilled several of his prophecies stated in the Rune. While these prophecies were viewed to be too vague to draw any concrete conclusions, the founder of Semprianity, a Durant named Kylar Altyce, believed that William's death was a sign and he had transcended to Godhood. His death at the hands of the Purists, he felt, was the final step before William would once again became a God. Because William, they believed, was God laying the foundation for the future prosperity of Durants and humanity as a whole on Havok.
Kylar Altyce did not want to separate himself from the Durant religion, nor did any of his followers. However, they felt that the laws of Duranism prohibited the actions necessary to practice their religion and defend against the growing threat of the Purists. And as believers of Williams ascension to Godhood, Altyce and his followers were frowned upon by many members of the Durant orthodoxy and many called for their official exile.
Vergil Semprys, of course, would not have this, and while he was touched by Altyce's views and the views of his followers, he insisted that his father was merely a cog in the grander scale of things. And while they were generally disliked among the Durants, these new Semprans kept to the Durant theology and kept themselves free of anger towards members of mainstream Duranism.
As more and more Durants began dying as a result of Purist aggression, the role of the Semprans became clear: They were meant to violate the principles of peace and non-violence built so inherently into the Durant doctrine so that other members of the Durant faith wouldn't have to. As a result, the Semprans, led by Kylar Altyce, became tireless students of war.
Over the next several centuries leading up to the initial stages of the Relias Wars, the Semprans and the Purists involved themselves in all out warfare, one completely devoted to the complete annihilation of the other. Kylar Altyce would live to be over 1100 years old, the oldest known Durant living outside of an Alternate Time Field. He would die at the hands of Vladmir Frenz at the Battle of Korwood.
Semprianity would continue well into the Modern Industrial Epoch where their following gained more than just Durant followers. The Semprans, viewing Luke Semprys as the fulfillment of another prophecy within the Rune, believed him to be another God that would replace William as the caretaker of the universe and their champion against the devil, a man whom they believed to be Vladmir Frenz. The Semprans would become the primary fighting force during the Durant Relocation Act and the ensuing Durant Revolution, continuing to set aside Durant doctrines and keeping true to the principles that they had been founded upon: Give up their lives and salvation for the lives and salvation of others.
Eventually the Sempran discipleship dwindled and went nearly extinct as the majority of its members, devoted entirely to the survival of not only the Durants but of the Durant religion, fought the First Legionnaire and the Commune to their deaths, their core beliefs and unwavering sense of duty allowing them to do nothing less. The only Semprans to survive past the Battle of Olsgrad were those who were physically incapable of getting there. And following the death of Luke Semprys, what Semprans remained turned immediately to the Enforcers, joining their ranks and preparing to perform several tasks. The first was to protect the remnants of the Durant faith. The second was to avenge the death of the man they believed to be a god, and the third was to finish what Luke had been prophesied to do. And with his death, they believed that the destruction of the devil had been left entirely up to them and the fate of not only Havok, but of the heavens had fallen on their shoulders.
Description: Semprianity has the same core principles as Durants. They differ in only a few places. The first is the devotion to non-violence. Semprans believe that its their role to give up their own salvation and their lives if needs be for the lives and salvation of others. Another difference is their view of William Semprys. While Durants believe him to be merely a prophet, Semprans believe him to have ascended to Godhood.
Major Events
The Durant Relocation Act
Signed into law in the year 251 M.I, the Durant Relocation Act (D.R.A)
The Durant Revolution (The Crusades)
Following the fall of the Union, those who had been members of the then dissolved Union forces integrated into the new society with difficulty. While the Commune's new constitution contained many of the elements that defined the Union, public opinion began to turn away from the rights that comprised the most basic human privileges allowed them by the constitution. While the individual ownership of weapons was made illegal and freedom of press was eliminated (though not through legislation), it wasn't until the abolition of the freedom of religion that public discontent began to arise among many of the world's devoutly religious population. This discontent, however, was unmatched by the backlash experienced by members of the Durant faith who, up until that point, had remained relatively passive when dealing with political matters. In 251 M.I, The Commune's decision to illegalize religion while promoting atheism and permitting agnosticism, was the action that was catalyst in the Durants' mobilization against the Commune, the International Army and the First Legionnaire. Led by Luke Semprys (with Peter Scarsborough having experienced a tide of health issues) the Durants and a multitude of Union loyalists and religious sympathizers formed an alliance. This alliance, taking a titular cue from the population of desert dwelling Durants based out of Brysdal, came to be known as the Darks.
Over the course of the eight year war, the Darks (as well as their counterpart, the Enforcers) experienced a series of brutal and staggering setbacks, culminating in the near extinction of the Durant race ending with their defeat at Olsgrad Canyon in 259 M.I. It was at this point, the historical end of the Durant Revolution, that the Enforcers dissolved their ties with the Darks and established their own leadership, maintaining a stagnating though effective fighting force as the Dark alliance sunk closer and closer to non-existence.
The Energy Crisis
In the year 245 M.I, prices of fossil fuels skyrocketed due to their booming scarcity. While Nuclear power was considered by few to be a not only efficient but necessary alternative, its perceived danger proved to be its ultimate demise. While many alternatives to fossil fuels had become somewhat known, Syrvo Enterprises assimilated these fledgling startups before eliminating them, continuing to serve its own interests as it had a large, little known stake in oil production. With its controlling interests within the worldwide oil industry, Syrvo (beneath the knowledge of the Union) colluded with a series of smaller oil companies to cause energy prices to explode. This would have a ripple effect throughout the world economy which would drive the world towards a critical mass that, as predicted, would end in a world war.
Unanticipated by the conspiracy's mastermind, Marcus Lynch (real name Henry Fawkes, the enigmatic and unknown owner of Syrvo), was the discovery of Furo. Originally, the world's energy supply would be the method through which the warring, greed-driven states would be reunited under the newly established United Commune. The discovery of Furo, however, came as a godsend and accelerated Lynch's plan, filling in gaps that could have ultimately made his coup impossible. With a new, proven alternative to fossil fuels, Lynch ordered the world's major oil supply and wells destroyed. This act would be blamed on the terrorist activities of the Dakuya (who also proved instrumental in Lynch's takeover). It was at this point that oil became the most valuable commodity in the world, and the economy ground to a halt, resulting in a severe depression that would only worsen. The world's unemployment rate would reach its peak at 52% with nine out of every ten families living in poverty while seven out of those nine families would dwell in extreme poverty.
With international relations heavily strained and the world population becoming increasingly desperate, the unveiling of Furo and its unrivaled power potential was more than welcome. With oil and fossil fuel
s being as scarce as they were, Syrvo took advantage of its sole proprietorship of Furo technology and labeled it a 'budding technology' and insisted that, while it was more accessible than fossil fuels, it was still an incredibly scarce commodity. (Syrvo kept the public ignorant of what Furo actually was, knowing well the effect it would have if they were aware how common it actually was.) Wells of raw Furo were 'discovered' in different states and it was these discoveries that sparked contention that would result in the world war and the consequential fall of the Union. Marcus Lynch would then use a new power alternative, Furo, to reunite the world, cement him as their unwavering leader and firmly establish the United Commune.
The Eastern Migration
Towards the end of the 13th Century, humans found themselves at a stark disadvantage. Faced with the insurmountable odds of five superior races and the constant pressure of the Arctanican Empire, it became clear that survival would become increasingly difficult as technology advanced, and with both Werewolves and Vampires establishing a greater presence in Brún , their time was running short. With this dire situation in clear perspective, an experienced sailor named Daniel Valentine set off with a group of the colony's best men to find a new land to settle.
