Azaelism (Pacifica)

Azaelism is a religion based on the texts written by Franco Oloto during his stay on Azalea Island, talking about the god Azaleo and the stories of His life. It's the official religion of the Axolotl Empire of Andrendia, where over 50 million people confess it, and is also present in many other countries across all of Pacifica.

Etymology

The name of the cult comes from the Azalea, flower typical in the island where the religion was founded and symbol of the religion. The believers of this religion are called the Azaelists.

The Religion is also called Cult of the Flower by the Axolians, older endemic religious group of the area of origin of Azaelism, Andrendia.

Beliefs

Azaelists believe in the texts written in the Book of Azaleas, religious book written by the religion's Messiah, Franco Oloto. The book talks about the stories of the life of the God of Flowering Azaleas, Azaleo. This stories range from the origin of the universe to little stories about happenings in the God's life. The book also talks about the life of the Ancient Azaelists on Azalea Island, before a mysterious disease wiped the civilization out.

The contents of the book originate from ancient inscryptions located in the ruins of Azalea Island.

Azaelism is based on collaboration between followers, helping the ones in need and doing good actions across one's life.

Azaleo is said to be a benevolent God which appeared after the origin on the universe and helped in the creation of Pacifica's nature and of the kindness present in living beings. The god then went to an higher plane of existance, leaving Pacifica in the position where Azalea Island is located, explaining the large presence of the Azalea flower on the island.

Azaelists believe that when they die, they are reborn as azalea flowers to then, when the flowers die, join Azaleo in his realm.

For Azaelists the end of the world will begin when the disease that wiped out the Ancient Azaelists will return.

History

The origins of Azaelism

Historians believe that Azaelism derived from the Vulcanbonian Cult, due to the inscryptions on Azalea Island being in a language extremely similiar to Ancient Vulcanbonian, which was used by Franco Oloto to translate the texts, and to various similiarities in Azaelist and Vulcanbonian religious stories. The original Azaelists, known as Proto-Azaelists, from what is written on the island, escaped the Vulcanbonian Kingdom's religious rule by sailing to Azalea Island, that was viewed as cursed by the Kingdom's cult due to impossibility to see the inside of the island due to the deep jungle present on it. The Proto-Azaelists then used the resources on the Island to build a small city, with a large temple said to be located in the position where Azaleo left Pacifica.

The end of the Proto-Azaelists

The Proto-Azaelists kept thriving for a while after 678, end of the Ancient Era of Andrendia, to then disappear due to a mysterious disease around 743. The myths of the Island being cursed were just enlarged by the Proto-Azaelists disappearance. After they escaped the island to never return, the Vulcanbonians started to spread legends of monsters living on the island, that caused the death of all the Proto-Azaelists. Even the Kingdom's autorities stopped anyone from sailing to the island, due to the fear of what was happening on it. With time the legend of monsters on the island evolved into a legend that the Azaelists all became crazy on the island and turned into monsters themselves.

The arrival of Franco Oloto

Over 800 years after the disappearance of the Proto-Azaelists, explorer Franco Oloto, discoverer of the Ancient Vulcanbonian ruins around Mount Vulcanbon, decided to be the first person to actually explore the island. In 1577, ignoring the warnings of the inhabitants of the peninsula that leads to Azalea Island, now known as Azalea Point, that still believed to the ancient legends, Franco paid a fisherman to get sailed to the island. He told the fisherman to get him back in 3 days. Arrived on the island, the explorer started finding the ruins of the ancient city that once existed on the island. On them, he found various inscryptions in the stone, in a language similiar to Ancient Vulcanbonian, language that he knew well. Thanks to his knowledge he decyphered and translated the texts and started writing them into his diary. Going deeper into the jungle he then found the temple. He was astonished by its beauty and started exploring it. He kept finding more inscryptions and kept translating them. Franco started to take shelter into the ruins of an house and there he kept translating the ancient texts. The 3 days passed and, probably, the fisherman arrived on the island to pick up the explorer and take him back to the mainland, but not finding him in the spot that they decided, to then leave without him, probably thinking he died. Meanwhile Franco kept exploring all of the ruins for weeks, translating everything he could and starting to fill entirely his diary. The informations about his journey to the island were just a few lines long, while the rest of the diary was filled with translations. A month passed and a now almost crazy Franco Oloto reached the shore. There, he started a fire to warn someone of his presence. The fisherman that first took him to the island saw the smoke and took him back to the mainland.

The Miracle of Axolia

Back on the mainland, Franco returned to his house and wrote everything he had written in his diary into a manuscript. With a crown made out of Azaleas he picked up on the island on his head, he went to the center of Axolia, capital of the Axolian Empire and started reading the manuscript to the people. Some were interested and intrigued by this new religion, but most thought that the once great explorer just became crazy. After some time some people even started attacking Franco and a large mass of people formed around the man. Then a weird and mysterious event happened while he was talking about Azaleo: a large light appeared in the sky over the city and he said that it was Azaleo communicating to them that Franco's words were the truth and to follow his religion. The event, from the known as the Miracle of Axolia, now attribuited to an unusual weather event, convinced the people to convert to Azaelism. Some days later, the people, to the surprise of Franco Oloto, now the Messiah of Azaelism, overthrew the Axolian Emperor, after he had condammed the happenings as heresy to the Cult of Axolotls. The people then crowned Franco as the new emperor. He then decided that the Axolian Empire's rule was over and that a new state would form under him. Named after his recently born son Andrea, the Axolotl Empire of Andrendia was founded. Franco said that the mention of Axolotls in the empire's name were to not disrespect the Axolian origins of the Empire, which many times he was convinced on protecting, following Azaleo's message of kindness.

The Spread of Azaelism after the foundation of Andrendia

After the Miracle of Axolia, Azaelism, now the national religion, was spread across Andrendia, from 1578 to 1604, by the Azaleo's Squadroon, a religious group founded by Franco Oloto to extend the presence of Azaelism in the new Empire. The Squadroon was divided in different divisions that went to different areas of the country.

The divisions had to follow a list of orders appointed by the Emperor:

• Converting the people who wanted to be converted to Azaelism
• Following the Azaelist beliefs of kindness
• Building religious buildings for further spreading of the religion and to celebreate it

The Squadroon mostly followed the orders but, a few times didn't. The Squadroon is remembered for the violent attacks on Axolians and other Non-Azaelists to force them into Azaelism, that culminated in 1604 with a massacre of Axolians that refused to convert to Azaelism by the hands of the Squadroon. The new empress Maria Oloto I, as the hereditary leader of the religion, outlawed the Squadroons and ended the violence to the Non-Azaelist population, signing a treaty with the Axolian religious leaders that made illegal any violence between Azaelists and Axolians.

Before the end of the Squadroon though, a group of members decided to spread Azaelism outside of the national borders, spreading it, not as succesfully as in Andrendia, across all of Northern Bailtem.

Azaelism during the "Dark Ages of the Andreian Era" and the Andreian Civil War

During the Dark Ages of the Andreian Era, Emperor Franco Oloto III caused, with his policies, more violence between Axolians and Azaelists, that then blew into the Andreian Civil War. After the end of the civil war, relations between the two religions were reestablished.

Modern Reforms and the Present

All emperors after the end of the civil war kept making more reforms to the religion, slowly bringing it to the point where it stands today. Most reforms were about the inner workings of the religion but the most recent emperors, all the way to the current Andrea Oloto VII, were concentrated onto relations with other cults and religions and acceptance of other groups as integral parts of the religion. The most recent reform by Andrea Oloto VII allows homosexual people to become bishops, after years of it not being accepted.

Structure

The religion has the Emperor of Andrendia as its leader, due to them being the descendant of Franco Oloto I, the Messiah of Azaelism. The only other religious figures of Azaelism are the Bishops, which operate the local Azaelist communites and officiate readings of the Book of Azaleas and events like weddings and funerals.