The Holy Order of The Way of Peace

Introduction

The Holy Order of The Way of Peace (Way of Peace for short) is the State Faith of the Empire of Khallayne and (until Empress Diane issued the Proclamation of Religious Freedom) the only legal faith in the Empire. The Purifiers (followers of The Way of Peace) obey the presepts set forth by The Prophet (a man so holy, his name is said only in prayer and never written down) in, The Way of Peace: As Ordained by Yellow Heaven.

There are also a serries of prayer and hymn books written by Empress Angelia (also known as Angelia the Beloved) called The Glorious Books of Song and Prayer: The Means in Which to Honor Yellow Heaven.

Beliefs and Practises

The Way of Peace teaches that each soul in the universe is reincarnated from another being in an endless cycle of lives bound by all the positive and negative energies accumulated during the previous lifetime. In order to escape this eternal cycle a true Purifier will preform rituals and prayers before Holy Icons of the Gods as proscribed by the Way of Peace. These rituals and the lifestyle set out by Way of Peace doctorine is believed to lead to Total Purification which allows for escape from Reincarnation and allows for one to Ascend to Yellow Heaven and become a God. One of the jobs of the Holy Order is to investigate and discover those who have become Gods in Yellow Heaven and honor them appropriatly.

Hierarchy

Until the Empress Diane I issued her Proclamation of Religious Freedom, the Empire of Khallayne held only One State Faith and One Legal Faith, all others were banned and if caught practicing beliefs that went from the legal Way of Peace were subject to exile, or during the reigns of Cameron V and Giusecchio III public burning. The Emperor or Empress used to be the Offical Head of the State Faith but Empress Diane has given all authority to the Holy Praetor to manage the future of The Way of Peace in an Empire which is now entering into an era of tolerance and religious competition.

Holy Praetor- Absolute Head of The Holy Order

Cuzzuos- Men and women who run the Temples in each Imperial Province

Bishi- Men and women who run city based districts of Temples

High Priests/Priestesses- Run Individual Temples

Priests/Priestesses- Men and women who have devoted their lives to attaining Purification

Acolytes- Students studying for the Priesthood

Gods

There are 65,000 Gods offically recognized by the Holy Order of The Way of Peace, but the main Pantheon of Gods worshiped are the following 6.

Armuna The Emperor of the Six Heavens and Creator of the Universe, his powers are considered absolute but despite this the worship of Armuna is popular only among members of the royal family.

Mislaxia The Empress of the Six Heavens and Patron of Hope, her focus is on spreading hope in the world through the power of healing and curing illness. She is the second most invoke of the gods and her priesthood is the largest

The Prophet The most invoked God in the Pantheon, the Prophet is the Founder of the Way of Peace and is considered the God of All-Knowledge that is Knowable, save for the Future. The Prophet's name is considered so holy it can only be spoken in prayer and is never written down.

Branchala The Lord of the Arts and Divine Inspiration, He is considered one of the more colorful gods as he is portraied as having three heads, 12 arms each holding an object relating to art, and yellow skin.

Ia The Lady Justice, She is the Keeper of Justice and Protector of the Innocent. She is also a Goddess of Truth and has always been popular with the masses, especially prisoners.

Hiccia The Witch-Goddess, she is the source of all pure magic in the world, it is believed that all Wizards loyal to the Empire derive their power from this goddess. She has Three faces that represent the three facets of time and life.

The Million Hells

Even though The Way of Peace teaches in endless reincarnation in this Univserse it is believed that there are those who have commited such horrific acts in this world that no amount of karmatic payment could make up for it... In this reality.

So the Holy Order teaches that for such evil souls (Hitler and Stalin are good examples) they are condemned by Yellow Heaven to the Million Hells, a twisted Anti-verse where suffering is eternal for all the creatures born there. The Million Hells are also believed to be the birth place of all demons and negative energy but it is by the grace of Yellow Heaven that the darkness of the Million Hells doesn't leak into this universe. Of course this will be explained in more detail later.

The Six Heavens

It is believed that there are six cycles of the Universe and each cycle is under the rule of a different color of heaven.

White Heaven- Rules over the rebirth and beginning of each new Universe, a time of forging and building in which both positive and negative energy is used for balance.

Yellow Heaven- Rules over the time of discovery, when the first peoples walk and explore the reality that they have been given. During this time the discovery of the Way of Peace is always made and the path to Godhood opens.

Orange Heaven- Rules over the time in which 2/3rds of the Universe has converted to the Way of Peace and has embraced the One True Faith. New Gods emerge in Heaven almost daily.

Red Heaven- When all but the few absolute corrupted have found Purification and have Ascended to Heaven as Gods.

Blue Heaven- The fell and corrupt take the universe for themselves, negative energy corrupts creation and mocks the glory of Heaven.

Black Heaven- When the Gods destroy the Universe and all of the fell things within. The bits of matter left are cleansed and used to make the Universe agian and new souls are forged.

Current Holy Praetor

Her Grace Holy Praetor Yvette ua’Moi Pytho, The Left Hand of the Empress, Speaker of the Faith, Guardian of Yellow Heaven