Zheaniism

Zheaniism (Vespian:, Xīânī), is a major  predominately found in Zhakar, and practiced by the Vespian people. Zheaniism is one of the largest religions in the world, with more than one billion adherents around the globe, or 0.0% of the global population, known as Zheaniists. Zheaniism teaches that life was brought to life by the all-powerful deity known as Zhautan, who created all life with his blood, primarily for his own entertainment, and guides his servants through divinely-inspired scriptures, prophecies, and avatars of his will. The holy scriptures of Zheaniism are known as the Zhantana, viewed by adherents as the word of Zhautan, and its edicts collectively known as the Yon'Zhauta. All Vespians are adherents to the religion, and thus adherents are known interchangeably as Vespians and Zheaniists.

Zheaniism teaches that all life originated from the divine blood of Zhautan, and that all life thus owes Zhautan a "blood debt" known as the zankana. Zheaniists believe themselves to be the arbiters of Zhautan's will, and that they alone serve as the reapers of the blood debt, capturing individuals for sacrifice to the gods, as well as giving of their own blood as a personal gift to Zhautan. The sole purpose in life for a Zheaniist is to repay the gods in life, be it through entertaining them, dying for them, or whatever their fickle nature desires, and be rewarded for their lifelong service and obedience in the afterlife. Adherents also believe that they must remain unpolluted in life to enter the realm of the gods in the afterlife, as the gods are clean and without corruption, and to sully their realm is to invite divine retribution of the highest order.

Regarded as the oldest religion in the world still practiced in modern times, Zheaniism's history goes back nearly 17,000 years with its origins along the banks of the Zhona in the northern half of Zhakar. Zheaniists traditionally ascribe the formation of the faith to the first man known as Veskan, the founder of Vespia and the father of the Vespian people. Originating along the Zhona River, Zheaniism grew rapidly and overwhelmed all other embryonic religions in the region to become the sole faith of the ancient Vespian population. Becoming deeply intertwine with Vespian culture and traditions, Zheaniism spread as the Vespians migrated across Zhakar, and came to become the single-largest religion on the continent. Today, hundreds of millions of adherents reside across the width and breath of the continent, and Zheaniism's grip in Zhakar remains unchallenged.

Having weathered attempts at schisms, purges, inquisitions, and crusades, Zheaniism remains a single unified faith and the dominate religion in Zhakar. Sizable communities of Zheaniists can be found in Kai-Meridia and TBD, where the faith remains strong among the Vespian diaspora residing on the two other super-continents. Though the Tazen of Vespia has traditionally been regarded as the head of the faith, the clergy known as the Ionaki, has traditionally operated autonomously from the Tazen so as to fulfill their divine obligations, and cater to the needs of the faithful around the globe. Adherents of Zheaniism are found in nearly every part of the globe, though their religion remains highly resented and reviled for its bloody rites and traditions, and the majority of religious extremists in the world are predominately of Zheaniist origin.

Etymology
The word Xīânī is the Vespian word for "faithful ones", with its roots xī- and -ânī, both having two separate meanings. Xī- means "faith" in the Vespian language, and is itself is a diminutive of the Vespian word xâuta, meaning "god" in their language. Likewise, -ânī is a simple plural marker for the diminutive, and is attached to the first half of the word to create the whole. Together, the literal meaning of Xīânī is "children of the faith", or more more simply "faithful one" or "faithful children". In Vespian documentation, Vespians will often refer to their religion in its singular form as Ja-Zhean, or "The Faith". Thus, the word Xīânī is used by the Vespians use to denote the followers of Jâ-Xīân. However, in foreign circles, given the Vespians total adherence to their native religion, the faith is referred to as Zheaniism and its followers simply as "Vespians" or "Zheaniists", as both the religion and its followers are considered inseparable units.

Deities and spirits
Zheaniism at its core is a polytheistic religion, with a total of twenty-three gods, and dozens of minor deities who exist at various points in the religious texts of Zheaniism. The religion boasts a large pantheon of gods known as the tavina, or "great spirits", who preside over the physical and spiritual realms of the universe. Beneath the Tavina are the savina, or "little (or servant) spirits", who submit to the will of the gods, either as manifestations of good will or divine punishment. Collectively, these entities are known as the vina, the metaphysical beings who govern the laws and behavior of life in the physical universe. At the head the two spiritual pantheons is Zhautan, the god of life, death, and creation, and the paramount entity within the religion as a whole. In spite of the polytheistic nature of Zheaniism, Zhautan stands above all other entities within the religion in terms of worship, given his role in creating the other gods and spirits in the religion.

Zheaniists believe that Zhautan is the ultimate ruler of the universe, and that all life was created from his divine essence, bringing forth the physical realm and all life within it. The blood, flesh, and bone from Zhautan was used to bring about his desire to create life, though only the Vespians themselves were perfect manifestations of his absolute strength, vigor, and wisdom. All other life on the otherhand, was formed from Zhautan's weakness as a result of him using his strength to create the Vespians with his own blood and bone, weakening him as it would with any person who did the same. The child gods who aid Zhautan in governing the universe serve as his eyes and ears throughout all of creation, and are responsible for handling the roles that Zhautan himself once filled at his prime. The spirits which are subservient to the will of these gods in turn serve as the agents of their will, and the executors of their divine judgement as required.

Death and afterlife
For the religion of Zheaniism, death is not something to be feared in the eyes of its adherents, as the concept of death is merely viewed as a transitioning period, from the realm of entropy to the realm of immortality. A greater reward awaits those who perform their services to the gods faithfully throughout their life in the physical realm, and are prepared for the glories that await them after their time on the earth as passed. According to the teachings of Zheaniism, all Vespians spend their lives serving as sources of power and sustenance for the tavina, providing them with the strength required to maintain the physical realm and all life in it. When he created life, Zhautan greatly weakened himself, as he took his own power to do so, preventing him from performing his duties as a god in the fullest capacity. Recuperating, Zhautan is effectively being nursed back to health by his worshipers, who spend their lives providing him with that which he needs to return to his full glory.

Life itself is just a passing phase all Vespians must go through, predominately to aid Zhautan for the great day of war, known as Takivako. Vespians are meant to die, so as join Zhautan in preparation for this day of heavenly conflict, during which time, the adherents of the religion who died faithfully will be resurrected into Takiyavin as beings of divine energy and power. They will serve as the warriors of Zhautan's great war against the great sentient darkness and manifestation of absolute evil and chaos lying in wait beyond the edge of physical and spiritual reality. Until that day, the dead Vespians are rewarded for their good deeds with power over the sinners and heathens, and all sensual pleasures of the mind and heart that Zhautan promises to give onto all those who faithfully obeyed his will. All this takes place in the heavenly realm known as Takiyavin, a place of both eternal life and pleasure of the the greatest kind, and unending for all those who maintain their loyalty to the gods of Zheaniism.

As a consequence, the soul is regarded in the eyes of Zheaniism as immortal and enduring, and the uniqueness of the individual tied to that soul, unchanging and unaltered in death. Because death is considered a period of transition from one physical realm to another immaterial realm, the concept of bringing items with one into death has gained some hold in the traditions of funeral preparations and mourning. Since the soul and the person remain unchanged, ancestor worship also features somewhat prominently in the religion as well, as death does not severe one's tie between family in life and family in death. In essence, Zheaniism's teachings of the afterlife can be best described as somewhat fatalistic, with life serving as a mere blip to the greater life awaiting one in death. The pleasures and battle that lay in wait for faithful adherents of Zheaniism are great incentives for maintaining one's loyalty to the religion, and sparking many Vespians to actively seek death at times through acts of faith on behalf of their gods, claiming both their lives and the lives of the unfaithful.

Predestination
Zheaniism does not teach the concept of predestination as many other religions would recognize it, in that one's entire life course has been plotted out by the deities of that religion, and that their fate is set and impossible to alter. Rather, the religion teaches that all life has free will, but that the goals of that life have been set in place, much in the same manner that an item may be utilized for any purpose, but that its original intended use remains unchanged and unchangeable. Likewise, the Vespians believe that their lives are in the hands of their gods, and they are the hands by which the will of the gods are accomplished in the mortal realm. Though spirits may guide and assist them, it is down to the physical creations of the universe to act on the behalf of the gods, and that such a fact is but the life they have been given. The Vespians such view themselves as having been assigned a role as executor of the god's will, and providers of their power and energy, and though entirely capable of defying this position of divine servant, seek not to defy the will of the gods, who only wish to save all creation from the formless evil awaiting them beyond all conceivable reality.

The Vespians believe that Zhautan created life as a source of power as he sensed the approach of the evil entity known as Zhanivoyan, or the "White Horror", which was a body of pure and absolute evil and corruption the human mind could not and cannot fully comprehend. In creating life, he sought to bolster his own power for the day in which he would confront and slay the malevolent entity, and save all creation from a fate that could only be described as incomprehensible in its horror. The Vespians would effectively serve as batteries for the gods, giving him blood to revive his energy, the flesh of humans to feed him, and their acts as entertainment so as to bolster his resolve and morale, as he too possesses a personality and has his own concepts and realities. Their worship would energize both Zhautan and his children, the gods who would serve as his generals in the day of war. As such, all life was predestined in the original intention of Zhautan creating it, and thus the Vespians view themselves as vehicles of his purpose in the mortal realm.

Criticism
Zheaniism has been described as a death cult by many of its detractors the world around, for its permissiveness of rape, slavery, and murder, as well as numerous other issues, such as the justification of war and genocide, aggressive behavior of its adherents, and terrorism as a means of advancing the will of the religion's deities. Morality within the religion is vastly dissimilar to anything found in other religions in terms of its justification of concepts that are widely disturbing or unacceptable outside the faith. Some examples include rape being regarded as a supreme act of love, human sacrifices a method of providing food to the gods, death as a gift from the gods that brings them closer together rather than rob moral beings of loved ones, and bloodletting serving as a means of re-energizing the gods and bringing about good luck and favorable conditions. The issue of human rights within the tenets of the religion also raise numerous concerns, as the nations adhering to Zheaniism are home to the largest slave populations in the world. As many adherents have moved abroad, the effect of Zheaniism on the efforts of hosting nations to assimilate Vespians into the culture has been greatly criticized and denounced as counterproductive.