The Cult of Archangels

[Custodi]

The Cult of Archangels
United in Spirit

Overview

The Cult of Archangels is a religious movement originating on Planet Crete and having its followers all over the Corsair space. Unlike many other faiths of Sirius, the Cult is not a unified religion but rather a set of beliefs that many Corsairs and followers of the Archangels consider a major part of their cultural heritage. Also unlike other Sirian faiths, the Cult's belief is polytheistic in nature and, according to some sociologists, closely related to ancient polytheistic religions of Earth's Greece, Rome and India.

The origin of the Cult of Archangels is unclear. It is suspected that this religious movement started in an almost completely isolated community on Crete. The fact is, however, despite the rather lacklustre approach towards religion among the Corsairs, the Cult's faith managed to spread throughout the Corsair controlled space, the southern Omicrons and, albeit sparsely, the Houses as well.

This might be because of the limited rituals and dogmas involved in its practices as well as almost universal approach towards faith which relies heavily on the follower's own interpretations of the holy texts and passages. Indeed, many Corsairs following the Cult treat the deities as little more than a foundation for spiritual courage and their mythology to be simply symbollic. The Cult is not in any way structured and in many places on Crete one can find various branches and orders with varying levels of devotion to the Cult's teachings.

Mythology

Much like other parts of the Cult's belief, the mythology is not strictly agreed upon. However certain aspects of it are similar across all belief groups. According to the Monastery mythology, the Archangels were deities descended upon Crete to guide the Corsairs in their initial settlement efforts. Some religious text say the Archangels will return again in the time of need.

The Archangels themselves are three religious deities represented as female angels. Each of them patrons a specific social group within the Corsair society and a particular region of space. Additionally, in cases of groups which adopt the Hedron morality model, each represents two of the Hedron's aspects.

The depictions of the goddesses have changed drastically over the years.

Historically however, those interpretations might have been different. Indeed certain old sources collected by the Alexandrians suggest that original belief of the Cult didn't at all involve Archangels and instead the deities assumed other forms. One of the earliest sculptures dedicated to the Cult indeed represent the deities as what is generally interpreted as a Cleric, Warrior and Thief. Other Corsair historians suggest the earliest perception of the deities was influenced by the nomad Artifacts found in abundance on Crete.

Asha ("The Archangel of Hope")
The angel Asha is said to be the most powerful of the trinity of the Archangels. To her is devoted a poem known as Asha's Prophecy, which many consider to be the holiest of the Cult's texts and interpret it in many ways. She patrons the common Corsairs, the ones building the foundation of the Cretan society. The Omicron systems are under her patronage and her symbol is an eleven-pointed star known as the Hendecagram. Asha represents the top and bottom aspects of the Hedron - unity and hope.

Varda ("The Battle Seraph")
Varda is the patron of Corsair pirates and the Cretan military. The most common depiction of Varda is that derived from a collection of Cult's sacred texts known as the Prayerbook wherein she is presented as a red-haired angel with burning eyes carrying her attribute - a whip-like flexible sword known as the Maya. Varda patrons the Omega systems and represents the northern and southern aspects of the Hedron - battle and duty.

Caïssa ("The Spirit of Luck")
Archangel Caïssa is the patron of the upper echelons of the Corsair society - tacticians, leaders, scientists and intellectuals. She is most often depicted as a slender, dark-haired woman carrying a tome or a chessboard. She is considered the patron of the Sigmas and represents the eastern and western aspects of the Hedron - reason and alliance.

Hedron

The Hedron is a special part of the Cult's morality model in that it represents six of the universal moral values which should be respected by every member of the Corsair society. The name "Hedron" itself comes from one of the first representations of this model, a small sculpture on display in one of the temples in the equatorial city Cayambe. That sculpture has the appearance of a cube tipped on one of it's vertices and names of the Hedron's aspects written near each of the vertices in Latin, Greek and Spanish.

Unity
Unity, as the top aspect of the Hedron is considered the most important, being the light and the reminder. Unity means no Corsair should do anything to fracture or divide the Cretan society and instead should strive towards a greater integration of the Cretan people as the greatest strength of the people lies in the collective.

Duty
As one of the middle aspects, Duty represents the obedience and respect towards those higher up - be it leaders, generals or parents. It also reminds that those higher got there through hard work towards the betterment of the Corsair society.

Reason
Following Reason requires careful consideration of every situation and prohibits careless or foolish actions. Sometimes improvisation is required, however if possible all decisions should be planned and examined before undertaking them.

Battle
The aspect of Battle reminds that life is a constant struggle for survival. One can never give up and settle down and must instead fight against those who want evil for them.

Alliance
A society cannot ever survive on its own. Alliance reminds that people got where they are through constant cooperation and communication with others, outside their own social circle. All guests and allies of Crete should be treated with respect they deserve and be aided if necessary.

Hope
Hope is the bottom aspect, the very foundation. Without hope, vision and belief, the Corsair forefathers wouldn't manage to survive in the harsh environments of Crete. Hope reminds that everyone needs to remember about and believe in the future.

Branches

As noted previously, the Cult in general is a mostly individualist movement, however over the course of centuries several specific branches within it started to crystallise and thrive. The organised branches exist mostly in the northern Crete, on the continent of Attica.

Monastery of the Archangels
Concentrated and headquartered in the Custodi capital of Heraklion, the Monastery is mostly focused around providing social services to the Custodian population. Led by the charismatic Custodi Justiciar Valencia Chryseis, the Monastery is likely the largest, most organised and most devoted branch of the Cult.

The Order of Alexandria
While considered a part of the Cult, the Order of Alexandria became renowned among the Corsair society as meticulous archivists. The goal of the Alexandrians is to collect and preserve as much of the human history as possible and as such they maintain one of the largest paper libraries in Sirius. Their community in the Attican city of Alexandria, where one can come to learn skills such as cursive and calligraphy as well as solving mathematical problems without the use of a console, also houses a server collecting digital data on human history and evolution.