Bvarai (Pacifica)

Bvarai is a religion widely practiced by Indavrals, including their diaspora. With an estimated over 200 million practitioners, it is one of the largest non-abrahamic religions on Pacifica. It is a nontheistic religion which is based primarily on maintaining "Balance" within oneself and within the universe. Bvarai's nature allows it to coexist with other religions, making it common that Indavral diaspora syncretize it with local faiths and practices.

In Bvarai thought, the universe is in a constant state of flux between the Faikvar and the Sêlakvar, the "Violent evil" and the "Complacent evil." Bvarca, "Goodness in Balance," can only be achieved by moderating the two evils so that they are completely canceled out, thus achieving true goodness. The ostensible goal of Bvarai is to achieve "Sunranta Bvarca," or "Universal Goodness in Balance." by evening out Faikvar and Sêlakvar across the entirety of existence, therefore achieving a perfect reality that cannot be broken.

History

The practices of Bvarai seem to originate primarily below the Bivbi. When the Indavral tribes conquered them, they mixed the Bivral thought with the Indavral legends, forming the earliest forms of Bvarai. Bvarai was a generally decentralized faith at the time, and lacked some of the elements of nontheism, with some modern Sunbvarakoi being deified. Early Bvarai was less individualistic in the pursuit of Bvarca, and was more focused on the following of community attikai- priests, and especially Bvarakoi- those who had theoretically attained Bvarca.

When the Triangular Empire was formed, the three Emperors of Ikarn, Ranaras and Narus were originally considered to be the descendants of Sunbvarakoi, giving them inherent roles to help achieve Sunranta Bvarca. This was part of the way that the original Emperors maintained their legitimacy.

Ivaraadian Controversy

The largest doctrinal change in Bvarai came during the 1100s, during the Ivaraadian Controversy, where the small Indavral state of Ivaraad opposed Narus on a trade issue, and the Narussian Emperor responded by invasion that was resisted by Tzaran and to an extent other Indavral forces due to it being illegitimate. This usage of Faikvar was against Bvarai doctrine, and weakened all of the Triangular leaders' claim that by being descendants of Sunbvarakoi they had legitimacy in achieving Sunranta Bvarca. This led to the ruling by a council of Bvarakoi of several important factors to modern Bvarai doctrine, including:

• No achiever of Bvarca is a god.
• The Achievement of Bvarca is not hereditary.
• No secular ruler holds authority over Bvarai, as the Temptation of Evil related using Bvarai for state governance is too great.
• No attik may own land for the same reason.

This convention established the modern Bvarai doctrines of total separation from statehood and nontheism, both of which are conspired crucial to Bvarai identity. It also paved the way for the eventual institution of the Grand Bvarai Church.

The Malreo Assembly

The Malreo Assembly, occurring June of 1504 in the city of Malreo in the province of Past was convened by the most prolific Attiks and Bvarakoi of the time, hailing all the way from modern Losavra and even Nölvra to convene, bringing documents recording the history of prominent Bvarakoi and all of the compiled doctrines of Bvarai. Over the next 5 years, the assembly repeatedly convened to compile all of these works into one document; known as the Vbara. The Vbara was widely accepted by the Indavral community, and copies of it slowly disseminated across the population. With the widespread adoption of the printing press in the 1530s, the Vbara spread rapidly across the population of the Triangular Empire, and was considered the principle text of the study of Bvarai, becoming an important text in all Triangular schools of thought.

Grand Bvarai Church

In 1625, after the end of the War of the Two Coalitions, many Attiks of the conquered Tzarans complained that they and their people were not being treated in accordance to Bvarai teachings, and were being severely oppressed by their Triangular conquerors. However, due to the nature of Triangular governance, the secular rulers had significant power over the Attiks and even Bvarakoi, and many Attiks refused to testify against their emperors. The many prominent attiks, particularly those of Pastralan or Losavral origin, therefore met in Malreo once more, and by 1632 negotiated the existence of the Grand Bvarai Church, which directly controlled most of the city. Almost all prominent Bvarai Sanctums and Attikřei were sold to the Grand Bvarai Church, and so the majority of the most prominent Attiks and Bvarakoi responded directly to the Spiritual Authority rather than to local secular leaders. The Emperors were willing to negotiate the existence of the Grand Bvarai Church due to falling levels of Bvarai legitimacy at the time, and they saw it as a powerful countermeasure against the encroachment of particularly Alman Abrahamic faiths into the Triangular Empire, which they viewed as despotic and heretical.

in 1638, the first Sunattik, leader of the Spiritual Authortiy, Dâka I, was elected, and he reigned from Axaltra's Sanctum in Malreo, which became the de-facto capital of the Spiritual Authority. In that same year, Dâka established the Sêra Ipera, the Holy Army of the Spiritual Authority, which was authorized to defend the lands that they held.

The Father States

After the end of the Triangular Empire, the Father States which had risen into power used Bvarai as a method of control. Attiks who disagreed with the governments were often publicly executed or at the very least dismissed. The Father States heavily influenced who was considered to have reached Bvarca, and so the Bvarakoi of the time seemed to be in line with the Father States. In addition, the Christian faith was used as one of the excuses for annexing the Stoinian Exclaves near their territory, as well as for the later invasions of Cadiz.

However, the Grand Bvarai Church, despite being in Past, remained fiercely independent. The first leaders of the Father States posited that the Malreo assembly was false, and that secular leaders should have control over the Attiks once again. The Sêra Ipera clashed with the militaries of the Father States in many places, including Malreo, and in many places suceeded in taking over the Sanctum or Attikřei, but were stopped at Axaltra's Sanctum, and were pushed out of Malreo entirely by both civilian and Sêran attacks, and the Father States were forced to recognize the Grand Bvarai Church as a separate entity, as well as walk back their statements about the Malreo Assembly, which was wildly unpopular at the time. The Grand Bvarai Church's independence was a major blow to the legitimacy of the decisions made by the Father States, especially the legitimacy of the Bvarakoi, none of which were canonized by the Grand Bvarai Church, and the invasions of Christian territories, as proselytizing by force was against doctrine.

The Great Incursion and the Great War

During the Great Incursion, the Grand Bvarai Church played a role in aiding the revolutionary forces sent by the exiled nobles of the Triangular Empire, mostly with spies and intelligence. The Sunattik at the time, Saaura III, was publicly neutral to the Father States, but internally, she and the Spiritual Authority did not recognize the Father States as legitimate, and were eager to see the return of the nobility to Indavra. This would continue into the Great War, where the Spiritual Authority would aid the Allies with intelligence and internal sabotage, and would eventually actively help during the Great Revolution, with members of the Sêra Ipera as well as civilians organized by the Spiritual Authority.

In the aftermath of the Great War, the Grand Bvarai Church recognized the sovereignty of all four new states: Ikaranara, Losavra, Past and Nölvra, but gained special commitments with all of them that ensured functional independence in all areas they owned.

Practices and beliefs

Faikvar and Sêlakvar

The primary practice of Bvarai is to equalize the amount of Faikvar and Sêlakvar in oneself, with the goal of ultimate elimination of both. While they are generally translated literally as "Violent evil" and "Complacent evil," a more accurate translation would be "Active sin and inactive sin." Faikvar is not inherently related to violence- excessive lust is considered Faikvar regardless of any violence involved. The primary difference between the two is that Faikvar is sin through extreme action, while Sêlakvar is sin through extreme inaction. Utilizing the example of lust, complete celibacy would be considered Sêlakvar, because it is extreme in the other direction.

In general, there are considered to be two primary ways to cancel out an evil. The first, "Ancas" or "Absorption", is to cancel out an evil with an evil of the same type, poised in the opposite direction. An example of this is war- when attacked, one responds to such Faikvar with their own, and thus cancels out the initial sin with force. This method is considered riskier, and is to be avoided if possible, and there are many situations- such as with addiction, or crime- when it is expressly forbidden by Bvarai doctrine to use this type of cancellation- However, in the situations it is used in, it is much easier to perform than the second method.

The second method is "Takâras," "Opposition." To cancel out an evil, one performs an action that leans towards the other type. For instance, if someone is addicted to something, an attik may prescribe a period of complete abstinence from that thing, cancelling out the Faikvar with Sêlakvar.

Spiritual veil

In addition to Faikvar and Sêlakvar in oneself, practitioners of Bvarai believe in the "Spiritual veil," the idea that the entire universe has a collective energy that leans in one direction. The seasons are considered to cause shifts in this, as well as the general miasma of the collective population, including animals, plants and humans. Summer is considered the height of Faikvar and winter is the height of Sêlakvar. This has led to celebrations on the summer and winter solstices, aimed at helping the world counterbalance. The winter festival is a festival full of celebration and jubilation, and the summer festival is a day of strict fasting and abstinence. Small days of certain worships may be assigned by the Grand Bvarai Church or local churches.

In the idea of the spiritual veil, the universe will act somewhat to correct itself in balance. If the human population is too high, for instance, infertile people or homosexuals may be born at a greater rate. if there are too many trees, a forest fire may start. However, the universe is imperfect, and has no bearing on the free will of humans, although it can affect the circumstances of their birth.

Lonas e Kvarai (Temptation of Evils)

The "Temptation of Evils" is the idea that humans specifically are always inclined to lean away from Bvarca, committing sin. Therefore, the natural state of a human is not Bvarca, and so Bvarca must be earned by extensive study and discipline. Additionally, a person is inclined to different evils by their nature. In general, it is believed that men trend towards Faikvar, while women trend towards Sêlakvar, although it varies by individual. The greatest sin in Bvarai, "Sloth," is to not fight against one's innate Lonas e Kvarai.

Sunranta Bvarca

It is debated among scholars of Bvarai exactly what Sunranta Bvarca would look like, and also whether it is strictly possible to achieve. The universally agreed points, as per the Vbara, is that "the world will be at peace- no government will have the willingness or need to start a war, there will be no hunger or thirst as there will be no gluttons. The entire purpose of the universe will be aligned, and no human shall die before the pinnacle of their potential." Some have interpreted Sunranta Bvarca to also include a complete eradication of classes, particularly among left-wing groups. Others have also considered it as the world being able to be sustained purely by spiritual energy rather than physical. Many scholars, particularly in the modern day, have also debated whether Sunranta Bvarca is achievable, especially without converting the entire human population to Bvarai- the idea being that the world is supposed to trend towards perfection, but may never actually meet it due to human nature.

Posturing

The concept of Posturing is the idea of acting in a specific manner to affect the Spiritual Veil to aid in large-scale, mass events of equalization. In general, there are three main forms of posturing- Base Posturing, Warlike Posturing, and Idle Posturing.

Base Posturing is essentially normal. No specific recommendations are made in terms of actions, outside of standard Bvarai doctrine.

Warlike posturing is the posturing made during times of conflict. Humor is cut down, people are to spend more time outdoors if it is safe, and speech becomes much more formal. Indavral militaries generally always operate on warlike posturing, even during times of peace.

Idle Posturing is recommended rarely, but generally in times of natural disaster, like floods and storms. Speaking is kept to a minimum, as well as eating- a specific fast may even be announced. People are to stay indoors for as much of the day as they can, and are to avoid engaging in acts of violence at all costs.

Sects

Grand Bvarai Church

The largest singular Bvarai organization is the Grand Bvarai Church, with its main Sanctum, Axaltra's Sanctum in Malreo in Past. The vast majority of practitioners of Bvarai practice under it, and it is widely considered to be the main authority on modern Bvarai policy. The Grand Bvarai Church's doctrine is generally seen as medium in its levels of conservatism, and it is not very fanatic, as proselytizing is not required in Bvarai doctrine, even if it is encouraged.

Antireformists

The Antireformists are most common in southern Losavra, but they exist all over the Indavral sphere, and are the second largest denomination of Bvarai practitioners, around 8%. The Antireformists agree with the Malreo Assembly, but reject the institution of the Spiritual Authority and any reforms made thereafter. The Antireformists are more radical, and call for mandatory proselytizing- including by force- as well as viewing the world as being in a perpetual state of spiritual Faikvar, which must be countered through Ancas, leading to Antireformist militia like the Bvarai Benêr.