Artinikism

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Artinikism is a religion based in the belief and worship of the Artiniki, or the good twelve, mainly followed in Central Arcturia. It is a polytheist religion as it believes in the existence of several gods. At its peak, there is an estimate of 60 million Artinikists on Urth in 1832. Currently, there are 1 million Artinikists on Urth.

Worshipers of the Artiniki are often called Artinikist while preachers of Artinikism are called Knights of the Artiniki. The Knights of the Artiniki are believed to be anointed by the Artiniki themselves through divine messages during hardship.

According to Artinikist belief, the Artiniki are split between the Kagotag or the High Gods and the Urutag or the Urthian gods. The Kagotag are believed to be the creators of Urth and all life in it. They are in charge of overseeing the balance of good and evil in the universe. After creating Urth and the 9 races, the Kagotag left for Ganobaga or the High Skies. There are six gods who are believed to be the Kagotag: Zudira, father of all the other gods and the creator of the Urth and the universe; Jurira, wife of Zudira and the creator of water and the sky; Hevulra, brother of Zudira and the god of fire and light; Marega, brother of Hevulra and Zudira and the god of water and darkness; Freraruno, son of Zudira and Jurira and the god of nature and life; lastly, Dirtemig, daughter of Zudira and Jurira and the goddess of death. It is believed that after the departure of the Kagotag, the Urutag descended from the heavens to guide the 9 races to enlightenment. The Urutag are the gods of guidance and enlightenment that are tasked to teach the 9 races the knowledge needed to ascend to Ganobaga. There are six gods who are believed to be the Urutag: Apoldir, the god of war and peace; Aphenus, wife of Apoldir and goddess of love and marriage; Mithendall, daughter of Apoldir and Aphenus and the goddess of wisdom, travels, and learning; Vultaesnir, husband of Mithendall and the god of craft and science; Hipludes, son of Mithendall and Vultaesnir and the god of hunting and fishing; lastly, Demerete, daughter of Mithendall and Vultaesnir and the goddess of agriculture. The Urutag are still believed to be guiding the 9 races to this day.

Besides the Artiniki, Artinikists believe in the existence of the Demotag, the evil gods. The Demotag are the unnamed evil gods that manipulate the 9 races into degenerating into mindless and heartless beings. Born from the accidental mixing of darkness and light, the Demotag influence the 9 races into participating in the destruction of the other races. They are also believed to be manipulating the weather and the earth into destroying the creations of the Artiniki. Along with the belief in the Artiniki and the Demotag, Artinikists also believe that the other gods of Urth, like God-on-Urth and Akrona, are gods that are descendants of the Artiniki, born to further lead humanity into enlightenment. They call the other gods the Artinak, or the good children. Followers of the Artinak are usually welcomed by Artinikists and are allowed to worship their respective Artinaks in Artinikist temples. The Artiniki are told to have left Artinikists with the Artinikalita, the good twelve paragraphs. In the Artinikalita, twelve paragraphs detail the history of the universe, the Artiniki and their domains, the Demotag and their origins, the different Artistakis or good worship, the explanation of the Artinaks, the different sins, the afterlife, and finally, the way mortals can find enlightenment.

According to the Artinikalita, there are only 5 sins that mortals can do that’ll stop them from reaching enlightenment. The Artinikalita calls these 5 sins the Mahagata, or the five trespasses:

1. Impeding the search of knowledge of any person
2. Forcing one’s belief on another person
3. Ignoring the guidance of others
4. Ceasing caring for one’s race and the other races
5. Exploiting the creation of the Artiniki for greed

Although the Artinakalita doesn’t mention any commands, Artinikists follow the opposite of the Mahagata, the Mahatos, or the five commands:

1. Matuto (Learn)
2. Magalaga (Care)
3. Makinig (Listen)
4. Magmahal (Love)
5. Magpreserba (Preserve)

Unlike other religions, Artinikists aren’t required to attend mass. Knights of the Artiniki only hold mass during religious holidays. Artinikists worship the Artiniki using the different Artistakis, or good practices: the Apostaki, worship through offering precious goods, like food, money, personal items, and even spices, to the goods and burning them in a communal fire, burying them in the ground or sinking them in water; the Sarstaki, worship by personifying the gods, acting like them, and leading by example; and lastly, the Gawastaki, worship through creating things in the image of the gods. Artinikists aren’t required by the Artinikalita to do all of the Artistakis as long as they don’t violate the different sins.

In Artinikist belief, there is no concept of ‘hell’, only Ganobaga or the heavenly home. Artinikists believe in reincarnation until ascension. In the Artinikalita¸ two paragraphs are dedicated to the explanation of reincarnation until the ascension process. When sentient beings die, their soul leaves the physical body and reincarnates into a new being immediately until the soul reaches ascension. A human soul can be reincarnated into a lutryne soul, and vice versa.

Reaching enlightenment, according to Artinikist belief, is learning, exploring, and researching until one ascends to Ganobaga. While some interpret this as learning enough and ‘ascending’ like Ademar of the Ademarist belief, some interpret this in a literal way as the 9 races learning enough to be able to travel to Ganobaga¸an alien planet somewhere in the universe. In the last paragraph of the Artinikalita, there are names of constellations mentioned and some say that this is where the Artiniki came from and that’s where Ganobaga is.