Temple of Kyogre

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Sn0wfa11
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Temple of Kyogre

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The Temple of Kyogre

(( More structure will be added for readability at some point in the near future!))

‘Temple’ can refer to any specific facility or the Temple, the organization as a whole.
Members are referred to as ‘worshippers of Kyogre’ or ‘Kyogreans’. The religion itself is often referred to as ‘Kyogreism’ - this is technically only an abbreviation, but nobody minds.

Like all religions, the beliefs of Kyogreism can be divided into a few categories. Here we’ll discuss first the cosmology of the religion, then its moral teachings, then its rituals.

Cosmology:

(( PLEASE NOTE: These are the BELIEFS of Kyogreans. This cosmology and origin story should not be assumed to necessarily be true.))

The Temple of Kyogre teaches that Arceus created the world. It does not state that he necessarily did so from nothing, and indeed the faith teaches that knowledge of the state of the world prior to creation is a bit beyond reasonable epistemic horizons. As one might expect this already somewhat reduces the amount of credit given to Arceus.
Following the creation of the world, Arceus created various aspects that would eventually become deities, out of curiosity, for the purpose of serving him, and for other reasons. One of these was Kyogre. All of the gods Arceus created began as primal, formless forces, and only developed characteristics from there. Kyogre himself, already associated with motion and activity, quickly associated himself with water, choosing to inhabit Earth’s then-developing seas- once they were anything close to inhabitable, that is. Kyogre quickly found the place a bit quiet for his liking however, and promptly requested from Arceus permission to mess with things and see what he could make.
Kyogre has many characteristics, much like water. The religion teaches that all life, and certainly humans, can learn from this- from the falling rain or the rushing river or the roiling sea or the tranquil pond. Change, force, thought, serenity. But in all things, Kyogre values action when appropriate- the fluidity of water, not the unyielding hardness of solids. Given this, he asked Arceus if he could create beings reflecting this. They would fill the seas, and over time, who knows what would happen to them, as they grew, shepherded by Kyogre and the new world.
...Arceus said no. He’d had enough trouble with the few beings he created, it seemed- Giratina’s defection did not help that- and was loath to create any more himself. Allowing one of his subordinates to do so was out of the question.

But Kyogre dreamed of life and light, of creations of all forms moving about the world and thinking and doing and feeling and being. Living. Kyogre dreamed of life, and, in defiance of Arceus’s orders, chose to bring it forth. His first creation was an early plant- a simple, delicate grass growing in the shallows of the sea and soaking up the sun.
Arceus would have none of this. The moment he knew, the plant was blasted into oblivion before Kyogre’s eyes. Arceus, defied, was furious, and Kyogre, in his defiance, escaped to the bottom of the sea to hide and gather his strength.
He knew he’d need a more subtle solution if he wished to truly bring about his vision. And thus, the Lord of the Seas created life on a much smaller scale. Hardy and microscopic, this new life went unnoticed by Arceus for millenia, while it slowly evolved. Over time, this life created the conditions needed for a flourishing ecosystem, clearing the air and changing the previously hostile, lethal world.
When Arceus realized what had been happening while he’d been distracted, and in secret, he was furious. He created Groudon, and Kyogre and Groudon fought for uncountably many years for domination of the Earth: Groudon, to destroy life, Kyogre, to protect it. Eventually, Kyogre succeeded enough to tire Groudon and Arceus’s appetite for destruction, and in the present, Groudon slumbers and Arceus ignores Earth.


History:

((While these historical events are largely true, this is from the Kyogrean perspective. Information may be left out or incomplete, most notably information making the foes of the religion look better. Groudon-worshippers, for example, would be aware of these events but likely find the Kyogrean side of the story wrong, and have their own side, with similar inconsistencies, etc. In short, while the events are not up for debate, mostly, interpretation of them and additional information very much is, and who and what one believes on this is a matter of disagreement between and within religions.))


Over 400 years ago, the first missionaries of the Church of Arceus arrived in Hoenn. While they’d been moderately successful in proselytizing in some places, and horribly unsuccessful in others, such as Johto, which categorically rejected the faith of the outsiders, Hoenn was an unusual case. The Hoennese, culturally influenced by nearby Johto and Kanto, were less than eager to hop on the bandwagon of a foreign faith. At the same time, their similarities to the culture of their neighbors left a desire in their culture and people to emphasize their differences as well. Hoenn did not wish to see itself culturally imperialized as merely an outpost of Johto- and the ruling class encouraged what differences and nationalism they could so as to ensure their own power over the elite of their neighbors. In the event of war, after all, a peasantry comfortable with Johtonese culture was one more likely to be comfortable with Johtonese rule.
As such, a unique sort of syncretism arose. Hoenn had long been polytheistic, like many early cultures, with a pantheon of gods. The most notable of these were Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza, all of whom had a healthy following stretching back to the stone age- ruins of temples from that period can be found to this day. One of the chief benefits of polytheism is the unusual sort of tolerance it enforces- when you believe your neighbor’s god exists, you might judge him or her for worshipping a god other than yours, but you won’t discount the validity of his or her cosmology or system of belief. This is far from outright ecumenism, but it is one more reason why polytheists are on the whole unlikely to convert to monotheism, let alone when it is pushed by foreigners.
Johtonese pressure had, for centuries, been influencing Hoenn, to the point where the older pantheon was rejected by a sizable and growing portion of the population in favor of worship of Ho-oh and Lugia, among others. Hoenn was divided between those who followed the old ways adamantly, and those who rejected them in favor of Johtonese beliefs. A large subset of the population from both sides wished simply that Lugia and Ho-oh could be incorporated into the pantheon of respected gods, and that the worshippers of Lugia and Ho-oh would similarly respect the validity and existence of the other gods. In short, they wished for the traditional Hoennese polytheistic traditions to be acknowledge the new religions and for the new religions in turn to not claim that the old gods of Hoenn were lies. However, those who wished for such a compromise found themselves up against reactionary elements in their own faith, and once swords are drawn, it’s nearly impossible to remain in the middle of any conflict.
This divided, unstable Hoenn, suffering from smoldering religious tension for years, exploded into conflict on 8 Spring, 528 when a little-known but extremely zealous group of Ho-oh worshippers set a devout Kyogrean settlement ablaze, in an event later known as the Night of the Burning Ocean. This would not have been such an issue were it not for the fact that this particular settlement was a fishing village built atop logs in the middle of the sea. There was only one survivor of the razing of the settlement, a young boy by the name of Martin who escaped thanks to his grandfather’s timely decision to shove him in a canoe and send him out to see. Martin, in turn, was discovered by a group of itinerant Rayquazan monks, members of the Order of the Splitting Sky. Devoted to preserving balance in the world- bringing peace, educating the poor, and keeping minds as open as the sky above, the Order was well-respected throughout Hoenn- not only by Rayquazans, but by worshippers of Kyogre and Groudon as well. This specific group of members of the Order raised young Martin- and while they taught him their beliefs, they made sure, out of respect for his community, to teach him those he would’ve learned in his village as well.
Meanwhile, Hoenn had devolved into all out war over this. The Kyogrean faction in Hoenn was furious and immediately attacked the believers of Ho-oh, moderates included, on all levels, from local mobs to war between rulers. Quickly, believers in Lugia, feeling threatened, allied with the Ho-oh faction, and for similar reasons the old traditions fell in alongside the Kyogreans. The numbers of Ho-oh and Lugia worshippers in Hoenn alone were insufficient to fight off the furious Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza worshippers. However, the latter three fell victim to internal tensions, and they could not cooperate enough to take advantage of their superior numbers. The conflict raged on, and on, and on, with stalemates broken only by interludes of greater brutality.
When Martin came of age, he united two of the larger Kyogrean and Rayquazan factions together, and attempted to broker a peace with the Ho-oh and Lugia worshippers in his part of Hoenn, hoping he could, from there, extend it across the region. While he successfully negotiated a peace, the Groudon faction and the Ho-oh faction opposed it, and the dynamic of the war shifted. Martin nonetheless preserved unity as the leader of the Kyogre-Rayquaza-Lugia coalition, and so this time, the war didn’t drag on. Though it was violent and painful, Martin’s side won.
Most notably, after the war, Martin personally gave mercy to his opponents, and ordered his supporters not to harm them. With many Kyogreans behind him, he built a (then) modern Temple of Kyogre and created a monastic order like the one he’d been raised by. Martin’s temple ministered to the poor and sent missionaries across the land, and in time, it became an institution in the previously unorganized Kyogrean faith. After his death, this trend of institutionalization continued, and a modern, organized religion was formed. Nearly all Kyogreans joined- in some places in Hoenn, there are still “Independent Kyogreans” who follow only the old tradition, but they’re a tiny minority.

Views:

Kyogreism believes above all that life is holy and divine. Creation, life, and beauty are good. The protection of these is paramount. Water, as the source and one of the critical components of all life, is a symbol of these things.

Because of this belief, many Kyogreans are vegetarians. Another great many eat fish but no meat from the land (because fish was more from Kyogre, goes the belief- in reality, it’s also in large part due to the fact that many Kyogreans lived in fishing regions).

As a religion founded by a man raised by celibate monks he was unrelated to, Kyogreism teaches that family- which, as a vessel for life, it finds VERY important- can be unorthodox. Family can mean enormous extended family, or single-parent households, or community parenting; friendship or adoption or foster parenting- anything, so long as it works and is compassionate, is acceptable. However, Kyogrean teachings do certainly emphasize the value of having and raising children.

Kyogreism is particularly harsh on drugs and alcohol. Any recreational drug use, including alcohol, is strictly prohibited. Kyogreans believe that the mind and body are gifts from Kyogre, and that because drugs alter both, they constitute flagrant disrespect for those gifts. As is true in many religions, not all Kyogre worshippers are actually devote enough to follow this in practice, but a majority pay lip service to it and a plurality completely follow it.

Some Kyogreans are pacifists, but the vast majority take after Martin’s example directly and believe in just war where necessary. Unnecessary death is unacceptable to all- civilian deaths must be avoided in war, and in justice, the death penalty is absolutely out of the question to Kyogreans.

As for the afterlife, Kyogreans believe that those who live worthy lives have the opportunity to spend an eternity with Kyogre and all good souls in a wonderful, watery heaven, or be reincarnated to help more souls on Earth. Souls that were not good enough in life will be reincarnated for another chance. Truly awful souls are sent to a special, fiery hell with Groudon, but even this is only a temporary learning experience.

A ‘good life’ consists of kindness to humans and pixelmon, respect for the value of life and protection and creation of it, and moral behavior. Forgiveness is important in Kyogrean tradition, and Kyogreans will often invoke St. Martin’s example of mercy after the war as a reminder/example of this.

Denominations:

Kyogreans standard believe the above- some are more devout, some less, and flexibility exists where mentioned above. Beyond that, plenty of people are nominally Kyogrean but believe or practice less, as is true with many religions. That said, for formal alternate denominations there also exist Independent Kyogreans as a tiny minority in Hoenn who follow the older traditions. They tend to practice a variety of things from ancient tradition, and usually are somewhat isolated. Mostly, they live in Hoenn, and they are not widespread in other regions like mainstream Kyogreans are.

Interfaith Relations:

Those who worship Kyogre tend to politely disagree, to put it mildly, with Groudon worship, for the reasons given in the Cosmology and Beliefs section. Some are outright hostile to the religion. That said, given Hoenn is split between both, this hostility is usually not aggressive. For many, especially between friends, it would usually be relegated to jokes and possible periodic arguments at tense moments when it comes up. More zealotry tends to be found among those who didn’t need to interact with their Groudon-worshipping counterparts as much. This mostly means those from cities in Hoenn that are almost exclusively Kyogrean, such as coastal areas. Slateport, Fortree, and Dewford, for example, are more Kyogrean areas. Lilycove is to some degree, but is sufficiently cosmopolitan to mitigate this. For the analogous predominantly Groudon-worshipping areas, see the Groudon lore ((which is coming soon)).

However, many of even the most polite of Kyogreans do harbor distaste for Groudon himself, obviously, if not his worshippers.

Relations with Ho-oh worshippers are even more strained, for the historical reasons above, and considering the fact that relations between Ho-oh and Kyogre worshippers were not and are not now as common as between Kyogre and Groudon followers, meaning there are fewer relations mitigating distaste and even hate.


Form of Worship:


Kyogrean temples are all different, but generally near water features where possible and designed of stone. They are meant to look simple but beautiful. Within them, again where possible, are sacred pools of water.

Words are considered particularly important in Kyogreism, and the reading of the Canon is an important part of both regular services and holidays.

Kyogrean priests exist as teachers, and spend much of their time teaching not only religion, but helping with the ordinary education of children. The pursuit of knowledge is considered important, so many Kyogrean priests spend their time as scholars as well. Kyogrean priests are not celibate, though some choose to be. As a whole, their purpose is to live their lives in line with the principles of their faith and better the world. An entire order of monks, for example, exists to produce art.

The services of a priest are recommended for marriages, funerals, and other rites, but the leadership of a priest is not required by any means for services, and indeed, Kyogrean worship is not at all limited to priest-led weekly service. In places with enough Kyogreans to have such services, Kyogreans also usually have a combination of small prayer groups, as well as prayer in families and/or alone. In areas without a priest, these forms are even more emphasized of course. For all Kyogreans, however, they are important.

Finally, charity and volunteering are integrated into Kyogrean religious communities- groups not only believe they should engage in charity but do so together. The Temple donates a sizable amount of its money every year to charities, orphanages, and aid of all kinds, while Kyogreans assist and volunteer.



Scripture:

The holy writings of the Kyogrean religion are known as the Canon of Kyogre. It is composed of 28 books. Some of the most important are Valor, which tells much of the history of the aforementioned wars, Rage, which tells of Arceus’s response to Kyogre’s creation of life, and Acuity, which speaks of a bright future.
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