Feleran Azraelism

UNOFFICIAL | PENDING REVIEW Whereas Valmasia pursues progress, Felera boasts a deep-rooted desire for preservation of all things, going as far back as the country’s mythological creation story. As such, the Feleran version of Azraelism has a few very key differences from traditional, mainstream Azraelism. The most major instance of this is that most Felerans tend to ignore the teaching that death merely serves as a gateway to something greater. Felera, in its one-track pursuit of preservation, prefers to avoid death outright. Azrael will free the world from the bane of mortality someday, but until then, it is the duty of His devout followers to preserve what they can. Feleran Azraelites acknowledge that the world is imperfect, but they do not view it as their duty to fix it, seeing that attempts to “fix” a broken world will invariably always go wrong. Instead, they opt to keep things in stasis until the return of Azrael, the one being who can truly fix Eternia.

Priests and Priestesses
Considered a noble class of Feleran society, all priests and priestesses of Feleran Azraelism must be ice magi. This is partly so that every ordained Feleran is capable of performing the rites and rituals disclosed below, but in a more general sense exists as a carry-over from the country's full conversion to worship of Azrael. In Feleran mythology, the country was saved by a massive blizzard that froze the decaying land. As tribute to the Hero of Winter, Bhaldraithe, all devotees practice ice magic in order to honor the angel's sacrifice.

The priests and priestesses of Felera typically dress in fine, custom-tailored white robes made from the finest wool and fleece available, and many choose to accentuate their outfits with light blue trim and accessories. Each one is expected to know not only the teachings of Azrael, but the teachings of as many other religions as possible as well, in order to better debate and convert people who have yet to accept Azrael. Due to the extensive amounts of knowledge fledgling priests and priestesses need to learn, they are placed under the tutelage of a more senior member of the Church for as long as this senior member sees fit. During this period, the new priest or priestess acts as something of an assistant to their mentor, but is also expected to operate in the full capacity of their role on a limited basis so they do not become too dependent.

The Feleran Church generally avoids ranks in favor of viewing its highly-trained members as all suitably qualified to make decisions, the only exceptions being fledglings still in training and matters in which a “senior” member of the Church must be called upon. In these situations, “senior” merely refers to anyone who has been ordained longer than the other involved priest or priestess. Additionally, the Church is headed by one priest or priestess with the title of Pontiff, who provides direction for the Church as a whole and consults with the Ice Queen on matters of import. New Pontiffs are typically chosen via a large-scale vote among the Church, as has been the tradition once it became apparent in the early days of the religion that the most senior member of the Church becoming Pontiff by default was only a recipe for constant assassination attempts. The Pontiff has full control over how the Church is operated and has no official council, though the deep-rooted sense of unity among the priesthood results in many Pontiffs establishing an unofficial cabinet of advisors. In the past, Pontiffs were always Oscuri. This is no longer an official requirement, but it is still widely seen as an unwritten rule.

Other than handling general matters of everyday faith and training newer members of the priesthood, priests and priestesses are in charge of three important facets of Feleran culture: marriages, funerals, and conversions.

Feleran Marriages
Felera in general places a great deal of importance on family and reproduction. Felerans are expected to marry before reproducing, and and are encouraged to raise a minimum of two children to keep a steady population. Due to Felera’s strict anti-degeneracy laws, marriage is seen as a permanent agreement very hard to undo, and thus a great deal of import is placed on wedding ceremonies.

In the past, wedding rings were crafted out of permanent, magical ice, hand-crafted by the priest in charge of the wedding ceremony. The rings were to be worn at all times, and the ice burn left behind when they are not worn was a highly noticeable way to identify adulterers and punish them accordingly based on Felera’s strict anti-degeneracy laws. This practice fell out of style, but even to this day is considered the staple of a “by-the-book” Feleran marriage.

Modern marriages in Felera still incorporate ice magic, albeit in a less severe fashion that still signifies the unique importance of the occasion. During the ceremony, the two people due to be wed let some of their blood into a pair of small, special cups specifically created to be used for only one ceremony. The priest in charge creates two permanently frozen teardrop-shaped pendants, freezing the drawn blood in each of them, and presents them to the married couple. Once the necklaces are worn, the couple is considered bound together for eternity, like notes to a song, carrying a small amount of their other half’s blood around their neck at all times. Many Felerans opt to wear rings as well in observation of the old tradition, but these are merely symbolic and not mandatory, nor are they made of ice.

Although there is no law against priests and priestesses pursuing marriage and families, many choose to avoid relationships, citing Azrael as their primary love. A curious practice among some incredibly devout priestesses in particular is wearing a frozen ring despite having no partner, to signify their bond to their Lord.

Feleran Funerals
When a person is clearly reaching the end of their natural lifespan or simply no longer desires to live, they are promptly scheduled for their own funeral and assigned a priest to oversee it. Many citizens do this willingly, as it is viewed as a momentous, glorious occasion. It is an all-day affair, in which the subject of the funeral, known as “the Honored,” spends the entire day surrounded by their friends and family in a location of their choosing, preferably one that brings them the most joy possible.

After a light, traditional Feleran breakfast, the Honored is free to converse with their guests as much as they please. Many people understandably use this as an opportunity to say goodbye, as well as make amends with anyone they may have had grievances with. In the afternoon, the Honored hears any number of eulogies that guests have prepared, followed by a last meal; this is typically the Honored’s favorite meal along with a drink of their choice.

The day is carefully structured and kept on a tight schedule by the ceremony’s priest, because the finale always occurs at sundown. The Honored quietly watches their last sundown to its completion, at which point the priest says a few parting words of their choosing, often concluding with the promise that everyone will be reunited in the future, and ushers the Honored into an ornate metal coffin bearing the Honored’s name, date of birth, date of “death,” and major life accomplishments. The coffin is filled with water and then the priest freezes it with their own ice magic. Rather than being buried, the coffin is stored in the nearest catacombs so that it can easily be retrieved and opened on the promised day of Azrael’s return and the final end of the curse of mortality.

Conversion
Similar to the Valmasian practice of tattooing converts to Azraelism, Feleran priests are in charge of placing a permanent mark on all converts. This task also requires ice magic, and is the third and final reason why only ice magi are fit for the priesthood. All converts are placed under the tutelage of the priest or priestess that persuaded them to become Azraelite, during which the convert is instructed in the teachings of Azrael and forced to renounce their prior religion.

When this mentorship period has ended, both teacher and student appear before a senior priest or priestess and the convert is interrogated on Azraelite faith, Feleran practices and culture, and whatever else the interrogator sees fit to ask. If the convert passes this test, they are accepted as an Azraelite and their mentor is given the honor of branding them with the mark of Azrael. This is typically placed beneath the collarbone on the right side, but can be placed anywhere if both the convert and the priest branding them discuss it. Salt is brushed onto the area in the shape of the mark of Azrael, and the priest uses ice magic to freeze over the mark, holding the ice in place for a few minutes to guarantee the ice burn leaves a permanent scar.

If the convert fails the interrogation, however, they are to be summarily executed by their mentor. Even in this scenario, the priest must use ice magic: sometimes failed converts are stuffed into a coffin and frozen if their mentor is more merciful and wishes to release them on the day of Azrael’s return, but more often than not they are quickly frozen and smashed.

Death and Necromancy
Although it is preferred to “preserve” people instead of letting them die, death is an unavoidable consequence of living in Kraus’ imperfect world. Perhaps a soldier is slain in battle. Perhaps someone is killed in a robbery. Perhaps someone just ends up dying before their scheduled funeral day. Any number of things that result in death can happen at any time, and for these situations, Feleran Azraelites still practice the holy art of necromancy.

Undead are permitted and expected to continue on with “living” in most cases. However, those with scheduled funerals are still expected to have their funeral ceremony due to not only the time and effort put into planning it, but also the belief that funerals are best done in the company of friends and family and the undead should not “outlive” those who planned to attend.

Critics of Feleran Azraelism have occasionally called attention to executions, particularly of failed converts, as being at odds with the Feleran belief of preservation and avoiding death until death no longer exists. This is why some priests opt to freeze their failed converts in coffins, but the vast majority of priests would respond that executed criminals and failed converts simply do not deserve Azrael’s gift, and thus are exempt from the Feleran drive for preservation. Such executed people are, as a consequence, never revived via necromancy.