The Doctrine of Hell & Earth

With our sins, we might come to know where we will dwell in the end. For all that is left to us is the earth we are shorn from, and the perdition that we are bound to. But in thine bleakness born of sin, we eke out light. Live not for the Devils' strengths, but rather the emptiness they retreat from.

— An Opening Common in Doctrine Sermons

To a mortal, the world of Kerine and Metiria is filled with uncertainty; chaotic yet orderly, peaceful yet violent, defined yet novel. But, above all else, the world is ever in flux. Mortality craves order in one sense or another whether its the subjugation of wild nature, the conquest of ideologies, or bringing peace to those around them. This dogma can be seen in the earliest histories of Metiria with The Great Tirian Unification and The Gil'Duan (The Exodus of Metiria), and Kerine in The Cabali War and The Invention of Arcane Magic (The Arcallium). As such, mortals will always try to wrest control from forces they know nothing of in hopes that they can understand more of their own existence.

Naturally, thoughts of the afterlife, creation, and the beings responsible for them are thought of, debated about, and believed. Thus, in earliest recorded history around the time of The Great Tirian Unification, scholars and philosophers began to write The Doctrine of Hell & Earth.

Origin of the Doctrine, The Devren Epic

In ancient Metiria, mortal life seemingly came into existence and developed on their own. No outside beings reached down to raise life from the sands of the island continent that have been noted or recorded. However, as if born of mortal desires and ambitions, The Devils of the Braumfaturas (or Hells) made themselves known. Emissaries of three of the five Braumfaturas made themselves known: Thendri, Gennicks, and Halthyr. Not only did these emissaries promise to aid those willing to deal with them, often at great personal cost, but they were also gracious enough to show the mortals of Metiria the destination of the souls of their ancestors before them. There, within the Braumfaturas they call their domain, powerful devils showed mortality that their souls, no matter how their lives were lived, ended up somewhere within their darkened domains.

However, stories tell of a mortal that wished to journey each of the Braumfaturas. A magristrate known as Lira Devren, after presiding a lifetime over her people in her position simply could not believe that the brothers and sisters of her town could all be bound for one of the Braumfaturas. In order to bring herself and her people comfort and in hopes of easing their minds, Lira wished to delve into the hells themselves to find each soul that passed on from the town she watched over. While the Qaitans, or rulers, of the Braumfaturas of Thendri, Gennicks, and Halthyr were amicable towards the journey so long as she pay accordingly, the rulers of deepest layers Vantis and Saer were vile and shrewd. In time, however, each Qaitan agreed on a single deal.

Lira's soul was too valuable to let slip away, especially into the clutches of another Qaitan. Thus, it was agreed that Lira will be allowed to enter Thendri, the uppermost Braumfatura to begin her journey. She was given a tenday to journey from the surface of Thendri to the deepest parts of Saer, tallying the souls of her people as she traveled. Should she perish in any way, or if she failed to reach the deepest crevice of Saer at the end of the tenday, her soul is forfeit to whichever Braumfatura she spent her last moments in. The deal was struck, and Lira was cast into Thendri.

The temptations bargained by the devils were difficult to refuse, but in the end Lira was able to journey through each Braumfatura with time to spare. While the Qaitan were frustrated that Lira had not perished, nothing compared to her anger in finding that some of her people could not be found. Swearing she had searched every corner of the darkened hells, fury turned to joy as she laughed in in the faces of each Qaitan, proclaiming that they do not hold dominion over everyone's souls.

Leave it to my people to have me trek through the hells, only to find they've found someplace better. Their defiance humbles all of us, wherever they might be...

— Lira Devren, The Darkened Explorer

While the Qaitan of Thendri, Gennicks, and Halthyr took this revelation as a challenge in corruption and a jest by the magristrate, expressing their continued desire in dealing with mortal kind, the Qaitan of Vantis and Saer were bitter and jealous, refusing to speak to mortals from that moment on.

Upon return, Lira wrote of her journey. She wrote of the souls she spoke to, why they were sent there, and how they live as immortal souls. Her accounts were collected into a single document titled The Doctrine of Hell & Earth, a scroll believed to still smell of brimstone, covering material much different than the tomes used today to preach the doctrine. From her accounts, scholars and philosophers wrote cultural practices by which perhaps one could avoid residing in one of the Braumfaturas. While the location of a soul if not sent into the hells remained unknown, the general teachings that were adapted from Lira's telling of her journey were still widely believed and followed.

Contents of the Modern Doctrine

The Doctrine of Hell & Earth, in modern times, now discusses practices, beliefs, and other methods of avoiding oneself from finding themselves in one of the five Braumfaturas when they pass on. These beliefs were generally accepted by the people of Metiria, a belief that they brought with them to Kerine where the teachings remained consistent. Generally, the teachings are as follows.

1. Ambition must be maintained. Whether driven by good or driven by evil, ambition can consume one's soul all the same. A grasping arm is easily severed. Allow ambition to serve you, and deny it your servitude.
2. Greed in all forms is a vile sin. The world is vast, enough for all life if given the chance. To take more is to deny from another. There is a fine line between provision and greed that is too often crossed.
3. Hate without purpose has no place in one's soul. It weighs heavy, dragging one down. Hate burns one's soul, giving way to means of coping to cool the wound. The scar it leaves behind is torment, a mark that can never heal.
4. Change and stagnation are one in the same. It is only natural to change your body, thoughts, and actions. The fixation of change, constant change, derives a twisting stagnation a soul consumes itself.
5. Envy burns brighter than the sun itself. One's soul, the kindling. It raises you higher and higher until there is nothing left, leaving the husk of your soul to fall into the deepest pits. Do not be fooled by its good intentions.

Each of the major sections of the Doctrine revolve around one of these five tenants. These usually encompass stories, often directly related to those experienced by Lira Devren on her journey.

Krenian Adaptation of the Doctrine

While the Doctrine in itself was mostly accepted by the people of Kerine willing to learn, there was a consequence of this belief being brought into Kerine. The afterlife is a topic of contention for the people of Kerine long before the Doctrine ever made it to their shores. Resurrection magic rarely works, and if it does it only works as a part of a very expensive ritual known as the Tril’Saphar or Tranquil Voyage that takes place far off the coast of Kerine. It was long believed that the Lua, powerful spirits of Kerine that hold dominion over natural and fabricated forces, held courts for souls that perished within their domain. However, that has yet to be determined.

As a result, a plethora of cults have begun to sprout across Kerine. All hold certain tenants of the Doctrine higher than others, but all have different interpretations of higher powers and final destinations for souls when one passes on. Occasionally these cults clash with one another, but for the most part they exist alongside each other. In modern times, however, there have been reports of more antagonistic cults rising in the corners of Kerine that have been causing problems for the people living there. Devotees of the Doctrine have been looking into it, keeping any discoveries from the general public.