Kyldor: Religion
Welcome back to Nefarious Knowledge. This week we resume talking about Kyldor, the Immortal Empire whose name just won’t stop cropping up in our various articles. In the previous article about Kyldor, we discussed the various geographic regions which it is comprised of. If you missed it, you might want to go back, or else you’ll fall behind the rest of the class. Today’s article is all about the faith and religion of the people of Kyldor, something that is arguably the very fundament on which all of Kyldor is built.
The Origin
Unlike most religions, the Kyldoran faith isn’t terribly concerned with how the world came into being. To most Kyldorans, the details of the world prior to the founding of Kyldor aren’t particularly important, and all they really know or care to know is that the world was a dark place full of terrible evils and horrors and generally not suitable for life as we know it. It was, according to their theologians, a world ruled by the demons and dragons that are now nothing but myth and legend (if, indeed, they were ever more than that), where humans, dwarves, and gnomes were nothing but slaves, food, and playthings to these horrific entities. Whether or not there is any truth to these tales is, of course, unknown, but they do serve to establish that, at least as far as Kyldorans are concerned, the world didn’t truly emerge from the darkness and chaos of oblivion until around the time when Kyldor is said to have first been founded.
According to legend, during this pre-civilization time when men were as sheep and terrible creatures roamed the land, the area surrounding what is now the city of Kyldor was ruled by the terrible despot Haagalpha. Stories differ on whether Haagalpha was a demon, a dragon, or giant, though the most likely of the three is that he was some kind of giant, as, of the three, they are the only ones that we can be certain even exist. Whatever the case, the legends all agree that Haagalpha was a terrible and vindictive ruler, and that he took great pleasure in the suffering of those he ruled over. He demanded great tributes of food that left the farmers starving, and worked thousands of slaves to death on grandiose temples and statues paying homage to him.
From time to time the people would attempt to fight back, but Haagalpha’s might was incredible, and he had vast armies of enforcers (whose nature varies depending on whether Haagalpha is a dragon, demon, or giant), and all rebellions were quickly and brutally put down. It was in the aftermath of one such rebellion that an ex-slave named Jonon escaped into the Kralonar mountain range. He had no food or water when he escaped, and little knowledge of the region’s incredibly inhospitable terrain. According to legend, after wandering for thirty-three days over the rocky, desolate region, Jonon reached the peak of Mt Votinir (the exact location of this mountain is a subject of much debate amongst religious scholars in Kyldor).
Drained of all his energy and despairing that even if he could find his way off the mountain, the only fate that awaited him was a slow death at the hands of some inhuman master, Jonon collapsed, unable and unwilling to go on. It was then that the clouds parted, and a ray of pure, brilliant light came down from the heavens, surrounding Jonon. And a voice echoed all around him, powerful and frightening, but at the same time musical and soothing. And, according to the legend, the voice told Jonon not to give up hope, but to return to his people and lead them in a rebellion. And Jonon replied that he could not, for the rebellion was doomed to fail, and if he were going to die he would rather die here. The voice told him not to worry, that he was being watched over, and that the rebellion would succeed. But still Jonon was not convinced. And so the voice sent down a powerful magical sword, which it told Jonon would protect him in battle, and aid him in the fight against Haagalpha’s armies.
And so Jonon returned to the realm of Haagalpha, magical sword in hand, and began raising another rebellion against the tyrant. The legends don’t record much of the details of the rebellion, but as the fighting wore on it became more and more desperate for Jonon’s forces, and they began to lose heart. Jonon had told them of his revelation on the mountaintop, but the mysterious voice had made no appearance in the months since then. As Haagalpha marshaled his forces for a final strike at Jonon’s position, however, just as it seemed that the end was inevitable, the clouds parted once again and a radiant winged figure descended from the sky, a sword of pure lightning held in one hand, a shield of pure light in the other. And following this figure was a whole host of heavenly warriors, who descended and joined the battle on the side of Jonon against the tyrant’s forces, and Haagalpha was slain and his cronies scattered, and the people were saved.
The angelic figure, who identified himself as Kyldion, became the ruler and protector of the people, for though Haagalpha was destroyed he was but one of many terrible and inhuman rulers. And Kyldion ruled the people well for a very long time, and protected them from the forces of the outside world. He taught his people many things, and many principles, which make up the tenets of the Kyldoran religion. One day, however, Kyldion departed, appointing one of Jonon’s descendants, Lerona, as steward of the kingdom, a title now known as “First Lord.” According to the legend, as Kyldion departed he told his people that they must go forth into the world and spread his teachings, and that one day he would return to guide them into glory.
In the time since then, Kyldor has continued to be ruled by the first lords, who are supposed to have at least limited contact with Kyldion and the ability to interpret his wishes. One of the major goals of the empire is to spread the worship of Kyldion and the adherence to his tenets across the globe, uniting all peoples of the world under his banner and protection. As for what happened to the terrible creatures who ruled the world in this creation myth, that is left entirely to speculation.
Those not belonging to Kyldor’s faith typically assume that the entire tale is a falsehood, concocted by some first lord or another to secure his claim to power. Some scholars in Kyldor believe that these beasts were wiped out or destroyed by Kyldion or others like him, while others believe that they were banished or sealed away in some sort of pact with the heavenly forces to leave the world of men forever. A small but growing movement of religious scholars is convinced that someday these menaces will return to wreak havoc on the world, and that this was the time that Kyldion foretold as he departed.
The Orders
Though all Kyldorans worship Kyldion, not all do so in precisely the same way. Despite being a monotheistic nation, a casual study of Kyldor will reveal that it is highly lacking in a centralized religious movement (though some would argue that the imperial government is just such an organized religious hierarchy), and that the Kyldoran faith is instead riddled with literally thousands of small cults. Each of these cults worships Kyldion, but each one chooses to focus on a different “aspect” of this mythological figure, and so the nature of their worship varies wildly from one group to another.
Each order has its own name, usually along the lines of “Order of the Compassionate Countenance” or “Order of the Wrathful Gaze.” Most orders are small enough that they operate entirely out of a single church, though there are a handful of exceptionally popular orders which span the nation, such as the Order of the All-Knowing Mind, the Order of the Merciful Blade, and the Order of the Savior. In some rare cases a single church might be home to two or more religious orders, something which always results in lengthy religious debate and occasionally in something less friendly.
The fact that these orders are all different in some way or other from each other and the fact that most of them retain a number of “mysteries” (teachings and rituals that are shared only with trusted members of the order) allows a large amount of secrecy about the true nature of any given order. Though nearly all of the orders are perfectly within the realm of the Kyldoran religion, some of the orders are merely fronts for far more sinister groups, such as vampire covens, cults to dark gods or mythical demons, and others who cannot afford to have their true purpose known. In some cases, the true nature of the order is known to all who enter it. In other cases, only those at the heart of the order have any idea what the true significance of their teachings and rituals are, while the majority of the order remains blissfully unaware that they are committing heresy.
The Immortal Empire is well aware that some of these orders are hiding dark and terrible secrets. Though the simplest solution would be to disband the orders and impose a strict religious rule from the throne, it is an important tenet of Kyldoran faith that people be allowed to worship Kyldion in their own way. Instead, the first lords long ago commissioned The Order of the Cleansing Hand, a group of loyal and proven knights, paladins, and clerics who report directly to the first lord and whose task it is to root out such vile heresies wherever they may lie and keep the empire clean of their taint. Members of the Order of the Cleansing Hand have the authority to interrogate any person suspected of heresy, and if the doctrine that they espouse does not match the (admittedly very broad) guidelines for what a worshipper of Kyldion must believe according to the empire, the person is charged of heresy and, almost always, executed. Because many of these dark cultists never intended to be worshippers of Kyldion, however, and are simply using the order as a mask to hide their true nature, most heretics are perfectly willing to lie under such interrogation. For this reason, members of the Cleansing Hand often infiltrate suspicious orders, cleansing those they find wanting with fire and blood.