#Unless you guys have WRITING you wanna show off that's in your WIP bin?~

[ezra-iolite]

WIP Game

Rules: Write the latest line from your wip (or post where you last left off in your art) and tag as many people as there are words in the line. Make a new post, don’t reblog.

@hyraxas You son of a- DO YOU REALIZE HOW MANY DRAFTS/WIPs I HAVE!?! 😭 And the fact that I'm a LENGTHY WRITER DOESN'T HELP!!!

=w=' Don't say I didn't warn you.... Also I should be sleeping but I fancied doing this to help me get sleepy again. XD

Pirateformers Joka Ardhi Lore: The Evenstar Church

(Before I begin, just as a quick note, IT'S NOT CALLED THE SAVANNAH KINGDOM ANYMORE!! ASYA NOW COMES FROM JOKA ARDHI!!! ;3; I changed it cause it sounded racist... which actually works out in terms of world building and adding that extra bit of realism to the world and its cultural majority (i.e, Primus and its not so perfect ways). So just to be clear.... In the Pirateformers AU, most noble born or educated Primus natives, and most of the northern hemisphere, call the southern kingdom Asya is from The Savannah.... But the locals and those who actually know about the kingdom itself call it by its TRUE native name.... Joka Ardhi, the Dragon Lands. THAT is what I will be referring to from now on, whenever I mention Asya's homeland.)

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Asya's religion has mainly two names, its native Jokani name and either one of the two versions translated into Primus's native Common tongue. Each refer to the same faith that was properly organized into a widespread "culture and function based" religion by High Priestess Zahara, Asya's great, great grandmother and the second queen consort of Alunnui's reestablished Dragon Monarchy.

Established to help create traditions and comfort within the culture of the desert kingdom, this religious faith is more locally known as Nyotaism (Neo-Tah-Zim), which roughly translates to "Starism", a name very much on the nose in terms of its meaning.

When translated in Common or the language of Primus, it is more globally known as either The Astral Faith or the Evenstar Church, the latter being more referred to when it is translated into the Common tongue by the Jokani themselves.

A massive majority of the Jokani folk follow this religion, hence why Asya will often swear "by the stars" or "by the Evenstar" when she is frustrated or emotional. This is even more heavily impacted by the fact that a Jokani queen, be they the consort of the Dragon Lord or a female heir apparent that ascended to the throne to become Dragon Queen, are vowed upon their coronation to lead the church as its spokesperson or the face of the church, purely due to cultural tradition and how both practical and vital Nyotaism is to those who live both within the cities and as nomadic Dunefarers, where the wasteland of sand between each city constantly shift and the nights are cold and visible only under the dim starlight.

A Jokani queen becoming the face and voice of the church (but NOT a priestess or a church leader) is also due to Queen Consort Zahara, the platonically married wife to Alunnui's grandson, Dragon Lord Mzuri, being its founder, when she chose to change her title permanently to High Priestess of the Evenstar Church.... For she was the one who established the general faith towards the stars and made it into an openly practiced religion amongst the Jokani, one that soon became the backbone of organizational aid to the Dragon Lord's court and has since grown into a means of comfort and festivities for the kingdom, but never to be a power above the law and word of the crown, as written by Zahara's vow.

The diadem she wore has since been reshaped to bear a star ruby on its brow in her honour, and thus it became tradition for those who inherit the same crown to bear her responsibility, not as High Priestess but as the main practitioner and host for the church's traditions.

As many Nyota or Star priests will often preach in their sermons, "For it was the stars that guided the first humans here, lost and without roots to their old ways; It was the stars that witnessed their betrayal to the dragon natives that had welcomed them and asked only for respect to their laws. And in that war a hybrid child born of their secret union swore to those same stars, to his fallen forefathers amongst them, that he would take back what was stolen by the mortal deceivers, to pay for the bloodshed they caused. Those we call family and loved ones who have fallen since the sands were stained red are now above us, watching over us, guiding our way home and to our fates. Never are we lost, for the night will always hold open the path."

And (as a little something in terms of a placeholder/inspiration source for future art), upon the tapestry that adorns the walls of the royal palace lies the royal house emblem... a symbol of the church, the crown and the kingdom's ancestors represented by the three most important gods of the Evenstar Church's pantheon.... Ma'mwezi the Shifter Moon goddess; Usiku the Dragon Elder god, and of course the patron god of all Jokani and travelers, the Evenstar, who is often worn as a symbol of the faith through an eight-point star necklace. And upon the cloak of every royal guard, the pin and necklace of every royal born to the Ruby Lineage of Alunnui, each shall bear this emblem... the symbol of the House of the Dragon Monarchy.

(Legit just found this image on Etsy, it's just a placeholder picture until I can draw the emblem itself later on)

...... Like I said, I'm a lengthy writer. ¬3¬ And this is just a rough draft, as I'm still working out the pantheon and how to best describe who or what the Evenstar is~ In short, it's literally the North Star or the first star that appears at dusk, and it's viewed as like the head of the pantheon, like Zeus or Odin in a way, but it's not the only star based god of the Evenstar Church~

I hope you enjoyed my work so far! Let me know what you think!