Acts of the Saints
The Acts of the Saints (Hlenderian: ܟܫܕܽ ܝܠܟܶܥܟܬܾ translit. "Kasdu Yalkakati", literally "Saint-Tales") is the most widely known book of scripture in the Hlenderian religion. Compiled in stages over the course of the 16th century, Acts of the Saints records oral traditions of saints, heroes, and holy-men known among the three peoples of Hlenderia. Unique among Hlenderian scripture, Acts depicts Vrotri, Kwari, and Mūni figures together and is accepted by most practitioners of the national faith, in contrast to older works which were specific to each ethnic group and venerated only in certain parts of the country.
Acts was commissioned by wealthy scions of the early Hlenderian nationalist movement, and written by a panel of religious leaders. Most scholars believe that the intention of the commissioners was to create a unified religious document that could aid in the creation of a pan-Hlenderian identity. The book contains thirty stories of varying length depicting the lives and missions of already-venerated Hlenderian ancestor-saints, ten for each of the country's three ethnic groups. In determining the stories to be included, the authorial panel picked the most widely venerated saint cults from across the island.
The collection of accounts take place over a period of at least 1500 years. The oldest oral tradition, "Saint Chobal Rides the Orca", is a Mūni story believed to have originated in the 1st century BCE. The most recent, "Saint Addi-mor's Great Realization", is a syncretic Vrotri story combining aspects of Ademarism and local religion, and was only a century old when Acts was recorded. Twenty-four of the tales included in Acts take place in what is modern Hlenderia; the other six take place in what is now Joralesia, and are important for religious scholars as they preserve a record of life on Hayaneste before colonization.
Hlenderia's national motto, "Many houses, all alike in dignity", is derived from Acts' most famous story, "Ramis and Yulveni's Love". This story, which opens with the line "Two houses, both alike in dignity", depicts two teens from feuding families who fall in love. After their accidental deaths, their families are reconciled. This tale is a local variation of the "star-crossed lovers" folklore theme, common across Urth.