Church of Aemara
The Church of Aemara is the dominant religion in Acaes. They worship as single deity who created the universe and everything in it, including humanity. This deity, called Aedifex, revealed the truth of his gospel to the Holy Prophetess Aemara. Aemara was then taught the secrets of powerful healing magic as well as being given the Stanso Staff, an artifact of powerful magical powers. She began to convert the population of what would eventually become Acaes, and the gospel she had been given by Aedifex was written down in the Lexis Mecastor, the holy writings of Aemarism.
It eventually took over the region, choking out the native pagan faiths. The Church flourished, despite Acaes’s close location to Mordazon Paganism’s holiest site, the Strand of the Ancients. One of the fundamental traits of Aemarism is the separation between genders. Aemarist dogma is that women are inherently creators and closer to Aedifex, while men are naturally destroyers and animalistic and must be tamed by their wives. It is also specific as to what is owed to members of each gender. Stated in the words of the Lexis Mecastor “For behold, unto men are given the lands and the seas, and the spade and net to work them. But unto women are owed the yields thereof, to use with prudence and wisdom to ensure the well being of their children.” According to Aemari religious tradition only men can own land and ships, but only women can handle money and goods. This leads to an interesting dichotomy, where marriages are arranged according to the groom’s holdings and the bride’s wealth and therefore have to work in tandem to accomplish anything. Labor is also gender specific:
“And unto wives are assigned the duties of the cradle and the hearth and the scroll and the money pouch. But unto husbands are assigned the labors of without the home. A man is to be a seaman, a plowman, an oreman, a pikeman. Men are to lead other men in these pursuits.”
The only place where labor is truly gender neutral is the labors of craftsmen and artisans (jewlers, blacksmiths, potters , masons, weavers,etc.). Due to the split in gender professed by the Aemarists, only women are allowed to be priests. And only specially ordained female priests are allowed to use magic, and even then only to heal in the manner exemplified by Aemara.
Noble titles are only held by men, as they represent the lands that they hold, whereas only women can inherit wealth. Only the chosen son of a noble family will receive land as inheritance, while all daughters will inherit an equal portion of the family fortune from their mother. Sons unchosen by there parents to receive inheritance will often serve in the military or as mercenaries or merchants abroad. Aemarism is reflected in the symbolism of the flag of Acaes in which the symbol of the eight pointed Star of Jesii is mad of the iron square and the gold square, and a stylized depiction of the Stanso Staff. The High Priestess or Great Mother, of the Church is considered the heir of Aemara and the chosen vessel of Aedifex. She serves as an adviser to the Triumvirate Council, as well as being the nation’s primary ecclesiastical leader. The Church is headquartered in the walled off section of Cerredell called the Holy City, specifically from the Grand Temple, an eight sided step pyramid with columns and arches and a domed top, with a tower at every corner. It is the largest and most beautiful building in all of Acaes.
It eventually took over the region, choking out the native pagan faiths. The Church flourished, despite Acaes’s close location to Mordazon Paganism’s holiest site, the Strand of the Ancients. One of the fundamental traits of Aemarism is the separation between genders. Aemarist dogma is that women are inherently creators and closer to Aedifex, while men are naturally destroyers and animalistic and must be tamed by their wives. It is also specific as to what is owed to members of each gender. Stated in the words of the Lexis Mecastor “For behold, unto men are given the lands and the seas, and the spade and net to work them. But unto women are owed the yields thereof, to use with prudence and wisdom to ensure the well being of their children.” According to Aemari religious tradition only men can own land and ships, but only women can handle money and goods. This leads to an interesting dichotomy, where marriages are arranged according to the groom’s holdings and the bride’s wealth and therefore have to work in tandem to accomplish anything. Labor is also gender specific:
“And unto wives are assigned the duties of the cradle and the hearth and the scroll and the money pouch. But unto husbands are assigned the labors of without the home. A man is to be a seaman, a plowman, an oreman, a pikeman. Men are to lead other men in these pursuits.”
The only place where labor is truly gender neutral is the labors of craftsmen and artisans (jewlers, blacksmiths, potters , masons, weavers,etc.). Due to the split in gender professed by the Aemarists, only women are allowed to be priests. And only specially ordained female priests are allowed to use magic, and even then only to heal in the manner exemplified by Aemara.
Noble titles are only held by men, as they represent the lands that they hold, whereas only women can inherit wealth. Only the chosen son of a noble family will receive land as inheritance, while all daughters will inherit an equal portion of the family fortune from their mother. Sons unchosen by there parents to receive inheritance will often serve in the military or as mercenaries or merchants abroad. Aemarism is reflected in the symbolism of the flag of Acaes in which the symbol of the eight pointed Star of Jesii is mad of the iron square and the gold square, and a stylized depiction of the Stanso Staff. The High Priestess or Great Mother, of the Church is considered the heir of Aemara and the chosen vessel of Aedifex. She serves as an adviser to the Triumvirate Council, as well as being the nation’s primary ecclesiastical leader. The Church is headquartered in the walled off section of Cerredell called the Holy City, specifically from the Grand Temple, an eight sided step pyramid with columns and arches and a domed top, with a tower at every corner. It is the largest and most beautiful building in all of Acaes.