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The '''Day of Eternal Starlight''' is a religious movement centering around the belief that stars and constellations are formed from the souls of particularly good [[hero-gods]] and their followers. Exaltation of one's soul into a star upon death is the highest goal in life to Starlighters, as adherents to the faith are known. When the stars have reached such a number that the world is permanently bathed in their glow, the eponymous Day of Eternal Starlight, followers of the religion believe a rapture-like end of the world will occur, bringing about a state of peaceful tranquility. | The '''Day of Eternal Starlight''' is a religious movement centering around the belief that stars and constellations are formed from the souls of particularly good [[hero-god|hero-gods]] and their followers. Exaltation of one's soul into a star upon death is the highest goal in life to Starlighters, as adherents to the faith are known. When the stars have reached such a number that the world is permanently bathed in their glow, the eponymous Day of Eternal Starlight, followers of the religion believe a rapture-like end of the world will occur, bringing about a state of peaceful tranquility. | ||
Most Starlighters live in the rural regions of central [[Hellea]], particularly along the [[Greenwall]], in the [[Charados River|Charados River Basin]], and in the forested borderlands between [[Halakros]] and [[Metrya]]. [[Ephardia]], Halakros, Metrya, and [[Iaramnae]] all have small but significant populations of Starlighters. | Most Starlighters live in the rural regions of central [[Hellea]], particularly along the [[Greenwall]], in the [[Charados River|Charados River Basin]], and in the forested borderlands between [[Halakros]] and [[Metrya]]. [[Ephardia]], Halakros, Metrya, and [[Iaramnae]] all have small but significant populations of Starlighters. | ||
Revision as of 09:29, 25 January 2024
The Day of Eternal Starlight is a religious movement centering around the belief that stars and constellations are formed from the souls of particularly good hero-gods and their followers. Exaltation of one's soul into a star upon death is the highest goal in life to Starlighters, as adherents to the faith are known. When the stars have reached such a number that the world is permanently bathed in their glow, the eponymous Day of Eternal Starlight, followers of the religion believe a rapture-like end of the world will occur, bringing about a state of peaceful tranquility.
Most Starlighters live in the rural regions of central Hellea, particularly along the Greenwall, in the Charados River Basin, and in the forested borderlands between Halakros and Metrya. Ephardia, Halakros, Metrya, and Iaramnae all have small but significant populations of Starlighters.
Edicts and anathema
- Edicts
- Follow the tenets of good hero-gods, encourage the development of new hero-gods and their saints
- Anathema
- Follow the tenets of evil or non-good hero-gods
Beliefs
The Day of Eternal Starlight is fundamentally an evolution of the Hellean conception of hero-gods, and Starlighters share all the commonly-held beliefs about how hero-gods arise. The faith differs from the widespread form of hero-god worship in two primary ways. First, Starlighters only see truly heroic, or good, hero-gods as worthy of worship - while they recognize evil hero-gods to possess minor divinity, they strictly abhor their veneration. Second, rather than the typical Hellean belief that the souls of hero-gods join the ranks of mortal souls upon death, indistinguishable from the others, Starlighters believe that the souls of these mortal divinities are judged separately by Psais. If a hero-god was especially virtuous, Psais elevates them into the heavens, forming their soul into a star or even an entire constellation. The most exemplary of a hero-god's followers are sometimes even believed to be given the same privilege, though this is thought to be quite a rare occurrence.
In Starlighter theology, these souls are placed into the sky to watch and guide those in the mortal realm in how to attain the same fate in the afterlife, in order to slowly grow the number of stars in the night. When their light or wisdom (Starlighters generally use the two terms interchangeably) finally reaches such a greatness that the night ceases to be dark, Starlighters believe the Day of Eternal Starlight will begin as the world becomes permanently illuminated. This rapture-like event will bring about an era of peace and tranquility as all evil and doubt is stripped away by the light. Different sects of Starlighers disagree as to some of the details after this point, with some believing that all will be allowed to transform into stars and others that they will remain in the mortal realm but in an enlightened state.
The subjects of Starlighter worship are eclectic. Veneration of hero-gods, Psais, and the stars and constellations themselves are all common, often to varying degrees depending on the worshiper's community and personal ideals. To most Starlighters, however, hero-gods and stars are inseparable concepts, and the reverence of one is necessarily the reverence of another.
Followers
Most followers of the Day of Eternal Starlight can be found in the rural regions of central Hellea. Significant populations of the faithful live in small communities around the eastern side of the Greenwall, along the Charados River and its tributaries, and in the heavily forested lands that lie between Halakros and Metrya. Despite this geographically large area, Starlighters are relatively few in number; the religion has almost no presence in the cities and more densely populated parts of Hellea.
Starlighters and their beliefs are tolerated by most others in Hellea, though they are sometimes regarded by non-believers as a curiosity. As their views are the result of further developing the widely-shared concept of hero-godhood, they have had little trouble in gaining acceptance.