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Bascian Blasphemy

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The Bascian Blasphemy is a cult within the Faith of Nesreyrar that follows a darker interpretation of the faith. It exists in pockets within the Empire of Vericum and has about 53,000 believers. The only town within its domain is Phlius.

Gods

The Blasphemy believes that The Six are not, in fact, good gods. Just like The Ten, they have evil in mind and humans are but a piece of their plan, which is why they occasionally do good upon mortals. They have won a heavenly war against The Ten, and thus re-written history to make themselves appear as the good gods. The Ten are not divided because of weakness of character, but because they were scattered after their defeat.

According to the teachings of the Blasphemy, only three gods can be counted as allies of man:

  • Qomis is a trickster god who has no set agenda. While he is not a friend of man, he is also not an enemy. When his goals align with the goals of humans, he can be an ally.
  • Ecmera, unlike her interpretation in the Faith of Nesreyrar, is a goddess of contemplation and wisdom. Her wisdom is just so remote from human experience and so advanced that the mortal mind cannot comprehend it, resulting in confusion. If her lore could be understood, it could open the way for humans to raise themselves above their lowly standard in the hierarchy of beings. Studying the lore of Ecmera is a central aspect of the Bascian Blasphemy.
  • Aditos, like in the official view, is a god of honor and mercy, the only one who feels anything for humankind.


The worship of Qomis and Ecmera is, unsurprisingly, the reason the Bascian Blasphemy is outlawed in Vericum and its followers prosecuted.


Prophets

The original holy text of the Bascian Blasphemy is an undated and anonymous booklet criticizing the common faith and laying out the foundations of the new one. As such, it is the text and not a person that is the primary source of all Bascian wisdom.

Later prophets have become famous for their interpretations of the text and their own additions. The primary prophets, known to all followers, are:

  • Helisende Tochla (126 BV - 84 BV) - daughter of a merchant and by herself an experienced traveller, who expanded upon the Bascian text and added a wider perspective that clearly shows her contact with a wider array of people and other religions.
  • Waldev Caraccio (97 BV - 41 BV) - a paladin of Aditos who converted to the Blasphemy after being mortally wounded in battle. His recovery is said to have been a miracle and he understood in those weeks that only Aditos is on his side. He is known mostly for his practical contributions to the faith, such as how to pray properly, which holidays to observe, etc.
  • Ur Montorsi - a scholarly priest formelery of Iona who converted to the Blasphemy upon reading the Bascian text and immediately understanding the truth within it. He is the only one who was alive until recently (he died in 58 AV) and contributed many pamphlets and discussions to the faith, especially concerning the teachings of Ecmera.


Temples

Bascian Temples are similar in architecture to other temples of the local (Nesreyrar) faith. They do thend to be considerably smaller, though, both due to the lower number of gods worshipped and the limited financial means of the movement.

There is one additional room in those temples, built so that no sunlight ever shines into it and always kept in semi-darkness with illumination provided only by a few candles. In this room the believers can bring sacrifices - usually small animals - to placate the evil gods. Not everyone believes that this works at all, and even those who do are sure it works only partially and for a short time. But if you have an important event in your life, such as a marriage or a critical business, many choose to play it safe and offer the gods a sacrifice for looking the other way, just on that day.


Priests

(TODO)

Rules and Traditions

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