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A Quest of Queens—Lore

Schism of the One God

The Church of the One God worships the One God Avestar, who the Church believes rules over all earthly and heavenly existence. According to the Church, Avestar was pre-existent in the cosmos, sleeping and unaware, and when he awakened, his very thoughts ignited a fire into the void out of nothingness. This fire was called Mushtarie, the Mother of Creation. Mushtarie bore him twenty daughters, whom Avestar called the Shieldmaidens, and these goddesses shaped the world out of the cold rock that was eternity, floating lifelessly within the emptiness of the void.

Avestarian theology holds that Avestar possesses two aspects—Abraxis and Avestar—and that each aspect can be appealed to separately. Abraxis is the Merciful God, the Bowed God, the God of Sacrifice; his energy is the ethereal energy of healing, spiritual renewal, and forgiveness. Avestar is the God of Justice, the Avenging God, the God of Zeal; his energy is the elemental passion of life, love, and earthly experience. At the head of the Church of Avestar are two High Priests, who oversee the Order of Abraxis and the Order of Avestar.

Of the Schism

When Lord Gazreth broke the Lords' Alliance, the Prince Regent's rebels convinced the Archpriests in the Lower Hierarchate to question the legitimacy of the Decree of the One God. The Archpriests appealed to the clergy of the Lower Hierarchate, until the entire Church was engaged in fierce debate. The Hierarchs called the Lords together for consensus, but none could be reached, and so Gazreth enjoined the Church to excommunicate the rival Lords for their treachery against his Decree. The Hierarchate was unable to come to a consensus, with the Order of Abraxis opposing the Decree, and the Order of Avestar supporting it, and so the clergy was forced to choose sides. With the Church divided, the High Priest of Avestar joined Gazreth, while the High Priestess of Abraxis joined the rebelling Lords.

This schism effectively dissolved the Church of the One God. The High Priest of Avestar re-established the Church of the One God in the Hierarchate of Avestar, banning worship of Abraxis in its halls. The clerics of Abraxis were then hunted and exterminated for their heresy.

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