Authors: M.J Kreyzer
The appearance of the young warrior monk around 75 M.E, William Semprys, created a significant rift within the Durant community. His ideas were widely criticized by the Durant establishment, many of those critics being the same individuals who contributed to the compilation of
The Rune.
Semprys claimed that, while the vast majority of doctrines prescribed in
The Rune
were correct, there was still a good number that were the result of human distortion and design projected onto divine providence. Following his journey into the Marsecta Desert, William returned with the aptly named "First Epistle of William" which contained a series of laws that would alter the course of Duranism and ultimately split it into three separate religions: Duranism, Purism, and Semprianity.
Description
: The general whole of the Durant moral code is based upon
the Degrees of Reconciliation
as they're written in
the First Epistle of William
. Selflessness is the globe around which Duranism revolves. A major goal of Duranism (as defined in
The Rune
by Durant prophets) is to reach a universal definition of morality. That definition, as stated in the
Rune's
Second Book of Carthis,
is a genuine concern with the lives and well-being of others. So, in its most general sense, Duranism is centered primarily on the concepts of love, charity, and understanding, and places perfect selflessness as the highest level of righteousness that man can achieve.
While Duranism teaches selflessness, it promotes a higher law of living, these social issues being separate from the Durant definition of morality. Because morality in this sense is generally arbitrary, the concept of Social Morality and the actions that fall within its realm are defined largely by whether or not that particular action is physically or psychologically harmful to an individual. The Durant Gospel teaches sobriety, abstinence, and a moderation in all things. It also decries damaging societal dogmas that promote ignorance and a refusal to accept new, ostensibly controversial ideas.
The approach to Duranism is not a religious one. Durant disciples recognize and embrace the limited understanding of humanity and instead view their beliefs in a scientific manner. They believe that, while something might seem impossible or implausible, it does not necessarily entail its nonexistence. As is one of their primary examples, before the discovery of Furo it was believed by many that Durants were a "magical" race, and any attempt at explanation would be an exercise in futility.
Durants (or the most devout Durants) reject the idea of criticism. Instead, they promote cordial disagreement with the belief that an attitude such as this creates an environment more conducive to growth and progress. With that as a disclaimer, Durants hold firmly to their beliefs of walking a moral highroad while not condemning those who choose not to. They believe, though, that in order to prepare oneself for higher spiritual learning and self-mastery, its necessary to gain complete control over one's being and possess unwavering characteristics of temperance and self-control. This temperance and self-control is best achieved through meditation. The goal of this meditation is to achieve inner peace, this inner peace conjecturally leading to a perfect control of one's thoughts and actions. This inner peace, as many Durant scholars and priests will claim, is
the
most important thing for an individual to achieve, as inner peace is a necessary pretext to all the thoughts and actions that comprise a righteous and moral being.
Randism
History
: Randism is one of the world's oldest surviving organized religions. It's earliest beginnings stemmed from the philosophical ponderings of Ava Malyvyn, a member of a race that would serve as the precursors to the modern day Vampire. Circa 4000 Ae.E, the Autocthonids had become dispersed across Elvytica, Arctanica, and the shores of Marsecta. In eastern Elvytica, an area of the world where life was sparse, the group of Autocthonids that Malyvyn was a part of resorted to the drinking of blood to sustain themselves in times when food proved scarce. While this practice was considered barbaric by many members of the tribe, Malyvyn asserted that their preconceptions of 'holy' and 'barbaric' were the results of empathy and emotion, reactions which she described weaknesses which she predicted were "so powerful and so consuming that they would eventually obliterate and dismantle the fabric of reality.'
It was under Malyvyn's religious teachings, recorded in the religious text,
the Gotho Vysta,
that the earliest vampire settlements were predominantly theocratic, with their laws centered around the teachings of Malyvyn. From here, Randism would be reshaped and redefined as the world population grew larger and larger with Malyvyn's teachings become more diluted and distorted with each passing generation. Randism would eventually provide a framework for Dexterianism.
Description:
Randism is based around the
Gotho Vysta
, the sacred Randist text containing the beliefs and moral code of the Randist discipleship. In Randism, science, physics, and the universe are God. God is still a conscious being, while he is everywhere and nowhere. The goal of Randists is to sever all weaknesses associated with the natural man. This goal is shared with Durants as is the act of daily meditation. The difference comes in what Durants and Randists meditate for. Durants meditate for inner peace, while Randists separate themselves from emotion, a human trait which they feel to be the catalyst to mortal weakness. They strive to become a harmonious component of the universe. With their focus on the elements and the physical nature of the universe, Randism shares characteristics with the primitive paganism found most commonly in humans and Highlanders. The ultimate goal of Randism is unity with the universe, and contributing to instead of harming it. It's believed that, after death, if one has not achieved perfect unity with the universe, (or God), their spirit must remain in limbo until complete unity can be achieved.
Randists believe that emotion is the root of all evil. Without emotion, as Ava Malyvyn concluded, it is possible for man to achieve a higher being having shrugged off such a debilitating and mentally crippling characteristic. According to Malyvyn, emotion is what fuels contention, irrational action, and war. She ultimately decided that, if emotion could be driven to extinction, then violence would become anachronistic. There were some who countered that the need for resources would inevitably drive any civilization to war, and emotion (or empathy) would be the only weapon capable of trumping an objective need for resources. Empathy, as they argued, would prove necessary to view another civilization as anything more than a barrier to survival. Malyvyn rejected these assertions, stating that violent conflict is an emotional response. Objective, emotionally-detached diplomacy would lead to the solution that yields the lowest cost. The solution with the lowest cost would be one based around rational, peaceful resolution. As the general consensus among Randists would eventually become, emotion leads to destruction, both on a global and personal level.
Dexterianism
History:
Following the martyrdom of William Semprys in 492 M.E. and the consequential Damidian War, a religious revolution took place. As Purists emerged amongst the Durant movement and Semprans appeared as a rebellion against religious corruption within the Durant faith, it became increasingly acceptable to challenge the status quo in a world that, until Semprys's death, had been predominantly theocratic. Dexterianism was established by Farell Payne in 495 M.E. Farell, having been an outcast of the Randist discipleship, presented his own interpretation of the Randist text, the
Gotha Vysta,
and gained an immediate following.
By the turn of the 6th century, Dexterian membership was in the thousands and the population continued to boom. (This boom would eventually lead to Dexterianism having one of the largest membership in the world.) Farell Payne, being a spiritual man, recognized how conducive his new religion was to immoral and sinful people who misinterpreted the Dexterian message. This misinterpretation, as Farell would claim, could be largely attributed to the inaccessibility of the
Gotha Vysta
, the basis for their religion. In response, Payne would spend decades abridging and revising the
Gotha Vysta
, transforming it into a simpler, more readily available work. Recognizing the impossibility of mass distribution of what he called
The Vystas
, Payne would enlist the help of some of the brightest minds of their time, including a budding philosopher and scientist named Carvello Corvice, to concoct a method for their mass distribution.
Farell Payne, however, would not live to see it happen. In 531, records detail Payne contracting an illness with symptoms congruent with that of throat cancer. By 532, Payne bordered death and swore that he would hang onto life until he saw Dexterianism's spread boom. His health took a turn for the worst and he would die later that year.
Under the leadership of Payne's illegitimate son, Walther Pardo, assumed leadership of the church and took it to heights that Farell Payne had only dreamt of. Under Pardo's leadership, Carvello Corvice gained access to the necessary resources he required to complete the construction of what would later be referred to as the Printing Mill. With Pardo directing, copies
of The Vysta
were printed and distributed in vast numbers while another perceived flaw presented itself. Pardo, feeling that his father hadn't gone far enough in making
the Gotha Vysta
more accessible to the general public, authored a newer, even shorter version
of The Vystas
, giving a basic synopsis for Dexterianism in a pamphlet that could be read within a half hour. With this new strategy combined with a missionary effort unmatched in history, Dexterianism became the primary religion of Eastern Arctanica and eventually Solara.
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.