Arsæti

Arsæti (Umbræ: "Virtue") is the religion of the Umbræ people. It is a polytheist religion centered around three key goddesses: Andræda, Dikasynita, and Voi - collectively known as the Triumvirate. Arsæti is an organized religion centered around the Temple of the Crescent Moon, the dominate sect of Arsæti and the seat of the Vidita; the leader of the temple and spiritual head of Arsæti as a whole. The Arsæti faith is composed of multiple sects with varying sets of beliefs yet are all still in communion with the Viditacy. The Temple of the Crescent Moon is divided into multiple dioceses that roughly correspond to historical provinces of the now-defunct Drow Empire. These dioceses are overseen by a bishopess, and are comprised of smaller parishes that makes up the individual settlements within the diocese. The individual parishes are in turn led by a deaconess, who likewise oversees the individual temples in her particular settlement which are in turn lead by priestess.

Arsæti teaches that the Umbræ are the children of the Triumvirate, born under a midnight sky. According to the Arsæti creation myth each goddess bore a single Umbræ child with each child being of a different sex. To Andræda was born a male, hardy and strong; to Dikasynita was born a hermaphrodite, wise and fair; to Voi was born a female, beautiful and intelligent. When the children were born the great serpent Malkom attempted to swallow them whole, but was driven off by the goddesses who took the form of a wolf, a hawk, and a fox respectively. Andræda and Dikasynita gave chase, while Voi stood guard to defend their children. The goddesses captured Malkom and devoured him, although his soul escaped and vowed to return to consume the Triumvirs and their children. Tradition states that thunderstorms are the goddesses doing battle with Malkom as he attempts to eat the world and fill his never-ending hunger. The Son of Andræda and the Daughter of Voi copulated, and the daughter gave birth to 10,000 children who would become the ancestors of the Umbræ. The Spawn of Dikasynita was sterile however and could not conceive children with either the Son or the Daughter despite having both genitals. Pitying the Spawn, Dikasynita took of the Son and Daughter's children and made them hermaphrodites as well so that the Spawn might have children of it's own. The Son, Spawn, and Daughter however had too many children and could not name them all so they struck down their own names so that they might be closer to their children, and to this day are only known as the Son, the Spawn, and the Daughter. They encouraged the Umbræ to create their own names as they saw fit, and promised to reveal their given names in the time when all their children joined them in the afterlife.

All three goddesses are considered equal in power and authority, beautiful, infallible, wise, caring, and merciful. Andræda is said to be the goddess of valor, daylight, masculinity, warfare, pride, summer, and strength. Dikasynita is the goddess of justice, mercy, humility, winter, altruism, hard work, loyalty, twilight, and knowledge. Voi is goddess of life, love, pleasure, femininity, spring, autumn, family, beauty, art, and moonlight. They are said to have placed the Umbræ on Terra as the heavens were too frequently attacked by Malkom and it was not safe there, but also so that they may strengthen the power of their souls by living virtuous lives and thereby become purified and immune to Malkom's hunger. The Triumvirs taught their children to respect the deities of other races such as humans, but not to embrace them for only the Triumvirate could be the deities of the Umbræ as they had been born from their blood and so were one with them. The Triumvirs are currently said to be standing vigilantly on guard over all of Terra to protect it from Malkom, and that when he is finally vanquished once and for all that they will return the Umbræ to the heavens to live for eternity in peace and happiness away from the hardship of mortality. Umbræ that die before then may find themselves among the Triumvirate, fighting alongside them against Malkom and his agents.

Followers of Arsæti - referred to simply as Phistol ("Faithful") - are encouraged to kind, generous, and loving to one another. They are taught that the world is ugly and cruel and they must bring beauty and mercy to it throughout their lives through any means no matter how small. They are also encouraged to accept reason and logic, and as a result Arsæti has had a profound influence on the culture and sciences of Umbræ society. Arsæti are taught to embrace the Five Virtues: Courage, Rationality, Humility, Honesty, Compassion, and Love; and to reject the Five Sins: Ignorance, Cowardice, Hatred, Infidelity, and Idleness. They are taught to experience the good things in life but not to succumb to the temptation of excess, to embrace joy with moderation. Phistol temples regularly perform works of charity to the poor and the sick while members are often taught to fight cruelty, evil, and tyranny wherever they are found by whatever means sometimes even to the degree of outright violence, justified as being in the defense of others. The Arsæti faith teaches that selfishness is the root of all sins, and that it is a blight on the world that must be extinguished. The Temple of the Crescent Moon states that selfishness is the work and influence of Malkom's agents, who wish to divide the Umbræ and force them to abandon the Triumvirate and leave Terra subject to his gaping maw.

Important symbols of the Arsæti religion include the Wolf, the Hawk, and the Fox which represent the goddesses Andræda, Dikasynita, and Voi respectively. The most common symbol is the crescent moon which represents both the birth of the Umbræ under the midnight sky and the moon as a gateway to the celestial plane where the goddesses and the hallowed dead reside. Arsæti also teaches that sinners are snatched from the heavens upon death and eaten by Malkom to feed his power, as the Triumvirs cannot protect corrupted souls. Upon death an Umbræ must undergo an extensive investigation into their virtuous nature through a process of beatification. If successful, they become a venerated Saint and are declared 'purified' and safe in the heavens in the company of the Triumvirs. If unsuccessful they are condemned as 'corrupted' and victims of Malkom's hunger. Umbræ take great pride in having their ancestors venerated and shame in having them condemned. The Temple of the Crescent Moon undergoes hundreds of thousands of processions for beatification a year, with some taking several years before being confirmed or denied by Her Holiness the Vidita. The process initially begins with a local priestess, and then travels up the chain of command to the deaconess, then the bishopess, and lastly the Vidita during which at any point it can be rejected and the ancestor condemned. Public repentance of sins before a temple altar with several witnesses including the temple's priestess is considered the only method by which a sinful individual may be saved from their sinful lives, thought if proven to be insincere it can be rejected as proper salvation.