Anchorite Triunism

Anchorite Triunism is the dominant religion of Oseros, a large geographical region in western Thendarr. It is also known as Oseran Triunism, due to being the dominant triunism in Oseros. It began as an offshoot of Qamasi Triunism, a sect that was largely followed in Renia and parts of eastern Qamin. Unlike Qamasi Triunism, which was a mostly docile faith, the Anchorite Triunism instilled feelings of fervor and zeal amongst a population frustrated and helpless against the chaos consuming Oseros after the Othrumnok Empire's fall. The name is derived from the Six Anchorites, great heroes of the early Black Days, as well as the founders of the sect. Even after the deaths of the Anchorites, their teachings would continue to spread, serving as a major influential force in the history of Oseros.

Deities
The prime and only deities of Anchorite Triunism are a triumvirate of gods collectively known as the Eternal Sanctimony. Each of the gods serves their own purpose and rules over different spheres of character and philosphy. Unlike other Triunes, the Anchorites believe the Times of Reprisal prophecy has already been fulfilled, and the Eternal Sanctimony has entered its New Age. The New Age is a period after the Times of Reprisal where the gods have left creation temporarily after one falls from grace. The Anchorites believe the fallen one as Veseros. It too also means the end to divine intervention.

Malvost
To those foreign to Oseran Triunism, Malvost is one of the few names they know of. He is the patron of much feared Valorous Host of the Grand Paladin Order, the army that crusades on the "heathens" and "infidels" of the outside world. In the Triune mythology, Malvost is the highest general of the afterlife, and when the final days come, it will be left to him to lead the angelic armies against the sin of the world. Malvost's spheres are of justice, bravery, loyalty, and endurance. He is overall the watcher of all who wish to stake their lives in warfare and combat, as long as it is in the name of the Triune. Rarely is he called Malvost, and rather he is styled as "He Who Upholds."

Malvost's appearence has changed numerous times depending on the era he was being depicted in. Consistently, however, he is a fully and heavily armored man with a winged helmet, whatever the helmet's type. The style of his armor often depends on the depicter, although is is always highly ornate. As of the past century, Malvost had began being depicted with horns on his helmet as well. Malvost's face is never shown. His weapons have varied, from ornate shields and flails to axes to massive greatswords.

Veseros
Said to once be the most divine and heavenly of the Council, Veseros spheres were over wisdom, knowledge, learning, art, and all other activities creative and scholarly. He was also the patron of noble blood, and was especially an important symbol to royalty. However, the infamous story of Veseros' fall remains as a testament to consequences of the mortal world's sin, as well as the dangers of pride, of both gods and kings. Despite this, Veseros is still venerated by the Triune, and is referred to as "He Who Was," referring to the great deity he once was. Veseros' fallen self, which is seldom spoke of by the people, for fear of cursing themselves, is "He Who Is."

Veseros appearence is that of a robed man, from which the robes have vastly differed from artist to artist. However, what is always distinguishable is the Seals of Veseros, a symbol depicting three rings linked together in shape of the . It is said these legendary seals where what gave the Eternal Sanctimony sovereignty over creation, with each belonging to one of the gods. Treasure seekers have sought the Ring of Veseros in vain, believing that when he was cast to sea his ring slipped and was lost somewhere in the mortal world. Veseros is usually styled with a girdle having a variety of tools and pens, with the  in one hand, and then a royal scepter in the other. In some appearances Veseros is adorned with a helmet, although mostly he is shown as a faceless bald man. His features are covered by some glow of light emanating from his head.

Antarius
Antarius, also known as the Allfather, and archaically the Sunfather, is the Triune deity of mercy, compassion, and kinship. He too promotes charity to those weaker than oneself and empathy to misguided servants of the Eternal Sanctimony. Antarius, however, is regarded as just as powerful as the other two, being accredited to the creation of the world and all good life in the Triune's mythos. Antarius is also the Lord of the Passed, and it is he who guides the spirits of those who have died that were devout to the Eternal Sanctimony and ferries them to the heavens. Antarius watches over marriages and serves as a guardian to all families. He is referred to as "He Who Protects."

Antarius is regarded by outsiders for his strangeness, although his likeness is normal to those of Oseros. He is depicted as an elderly man with a flowing beard from his chin, however he has no facial features. Instead his blank face only possesses three eyes in a triangle, one being closed, representing that he is willing to forget the sins of ones past as long as they repent faithfully. He has been depicted in a variety of clothing, from ornate robes, to nobleman's clothing, to varying suits of armor. From his back is a radiant ball of light, akin to the sun. At Antarius' feet are often stylized small figures, representing the mortals of the world, throwing up their hands in worship.

Six Anchorites
The Six Anchorites in Anchorite Triunism as viewed as gods themselves, second to only under the Eternal Sanctimony, except for Echidaeus, who is believed to have scorned the gods and lost his place as their chosen, becoming a mere mortal among the rest. It is believed Alarin himeslf rose to replace Veseros in the Sanctimony upon his sacrifice. The Diphorian Triune venerates the Six Anchorites, including Echidaeus, but do not see them as any higher than mortal men. They also do not believe Alarin replaced Veseros, citing various scriptures.

For more on the Six Anchorites, see this page.

Mythos
Much of the Triune's stories are from the , which was based on the  but included a variety of new teachings and revisions done by the Six Anchorites.

Creation of the World
The world is believed to have been created by Antarius. Creation cannot come from nothing, and Antarius spent much of his own self in the creation of the universe, leaving him decrepit and weak.

The Times of Reprisal
The Times of Reprisal prophecy was an interpretation by  of the first half of the much older scripure, . This first half was seen as the Fall of Heaven, where a new age of gods would rise from a great tragedy. With a new era of gods, a new Triune would come forth and become the one and true faith amongst all the false sects, known as the True Adherents. The Anchorite Triunists, as well a the Diphorian Triunists, believe that the prophecy has already been fulfilled and they now live in the New Age of the Eternal Sanctimony. Both also claim to be the True Adherents. Other Triunes, however, do not believe the prophecy has been fulfilled, and the end times has yet to come. The greatest argument against the Times of Reprisal's completion is the idea that the End of Times would happen shortly after, however it has been many centuries since the prophecy was believed to have been fulfilled.

The story tells that Veseros had become disgusted with the sin that was engulfing the mortal world, particularly the Othrumnok EMpire. Many of the mortal races had too turned away from the Eternal Sanctimony, and instead worshipped heathen, false idols. What truly had brought Veseros over the edge was the twisted mockery the mortals had made from his gift, blackcasting. The exact origins of blackcasting are unknown, but the Triune believes it was the result of a sinful being attempting to use Veseros' gift.

Veseros' despair at what he percieved as the failure of creation caused him to become disillusioned. He had even proposed to his compatriots that the mortal races must be punished in great cataclysm. Antarius and Malvost ardently disagreed, and Veseros became distant, believing that they where fools clouded by their pride, unable to see the corruption unfolding before them. However, it was only Veseros who was blinded by his emotion. Veseros' brothers noticed something was wrong, but never anticipated how far his descent would be.

Veseros ambushed and attacked Antarius while he sat alone in his angelic gardens. Malvost, however, intervened and allowed Antarius to escape. However, Antarius was direly wounded by Veseros, meaning a fragment of creation would die as well. This resulted in a great cataclysm on the moon, which was once a lush world with sparkling oceans, and now today only a charred volcanic wasteland. Malvost and Veseros became locked in combat, but Veseros escaped and brought himself into hiding in the deep shadows of existance for many years.

Antarius would not recover from his wounds and slipped in a deep, death-like slumber. It is believed he will only wake up when the End of Times begin. This was such a great cataclysm to creation that it warped and destroyed much of it, spawning the dark, hellish realm known by the Triune as the Lightless Inferno. From the Lightless Inferno spawned hateful beasts known as demons, whom Veseros rallied and lead to war on Eternity. This was paralleled with the Great Storms, a series of massive, global tempests that occured shortly before the arrival of the Demons in Oseros.

Veseros achieved victory over Malvost and chained him to the Black Peaks. Malvost's struggle resulted in the numerous eruptions that occurred during this time. There, he invaded the world, beginning with an assault on the Othrumnok Empire. The demons would eventually reach Renia, were the Six Anchorites played a pivotal role in halting their advance into Oseros.

Alarin would be captured by demonic forces and killed in display in the city of. However, Alarin's sacrifice unchained Malvost, which was marked by the cesation of the eruptions. There, Malvost battled Veseros, where he drove a sword through his heart and plunged him into the Golden Ocean, now known as the Great Tomb Sea.

With the fall of Veseros, the demons where left directionless and leaderless. Many would remain in Oseros, however, and would continue to cause havoc for the next few centuries. With the death of Veseros, so dissapeared his gift upon the world, spellweaving. Although victory was won, all that was left was the sick reminder of mortal sin, blackcasting.

Alarin's great sacrifice would bring him to the heavens, where he took his place among the Eternal Sanctimony. However, he did not remain there long, as Alarin and Malvost left the universe for unknown reasons. It is believed that only great displays of faith will return them to creation. It is believed that if this is not done before the End of Times, all creation will fall.

The End of Times
The End of Times is the second half of the  which describes another series of events that will occur after the Times of Reprisal. The one followed by the Anchorites, however, is a revision of the . The could only see sparse visions and could not fully detail the prophecy. After the events of what the Anchorites believed was the Fall of Heaven, was able to complete the scripture, including the name of the god who had fallen, Veseros.

The Anchorites believe that one day Veseros will be rejuvenated, as the world will descend into hubris again, and he will feed on the sin. His demonspawn armies will be at their greatest capacity and the Lightless Inferno will flood into both Heaven and the mortal plane, blanketing all of creation in twisted darkness. Malvost will lead the armies of the high heavens against Veseros, and the victor is unclear. Either Veseros will destroy all creation, or the battle between Veseros and Malvost will. Regardless, creation will end, Malvost will live by victory or escape, and the last devout souls will be gathered to the heavens by Antarius, before he himself passes away from so much devastation in a short time. From his holy essence however will spawn two radiant golden orbs, that will become two new gods to form a new triumvirate. Creation will be reborn under a new dawn, or Veseros will slay the gods and rule in his sick mockery of creation for eternity.

Afterlife
The Triune do not have a realm of damnation as opposed to other religions. Instead, they believe that those who die without giving themselves to the Triune are simply confined to an eternal sleep, never being able to awake again. This is of no means a punishment, but rather Antarius cannot reach out to the spirits of those who have not accepted him and his brothers. As a result, he cannot ferry spirits into the heavens who do not accept him, and these derelict spirits remain in a limbo of melancholy and terror for eternity. All sinners, heretics, and blackcasters condemn themselves to this fate, unless they are able to repent and find the embrace of Antarius.

However, since the Times of Reprisal, those who are plunged into the deathly slumber no longer remain in the void. Now, they are pulled in to the Lightless Inferno, a cacophany of screaming souls. There, these lost ones work in eternal servitude of the demons to resurrect Veseros.

Crusades
The adherents of the Anchorite's gospel believe it is their duty to spread the word of the Anchorites to the entire world. Only the cries of a million repenting souls will be heard by the Sanctimony, who will then return upon seeing the redemption of their creation.

To accomplish this, the Triune has often declared Crusades, campaigns on often heretical or pagan territories in the name of spreading the Triune. However, there can always be ulterior motives to the declaration of a Crusade, but those are for the Vicarant to know.

Crusading is seen in the eyes of the Triune as a great honor, and to return from a Crusade can shower a lowly levy with accolades in his home town. However, to the more keen nobility, Crusades are often seen as burdens, or potential political tools, rather than any religious glory.