Per Ardua Ad Astra
Basic information about the game.
Who is who in the Known Worlds.
A little about the game universe.
Handouts, rules and amendments unique to the campaign
Non-Player and Player characters of note.
The Story so far...
Out of Character resources
The Cosmology of the Universal Church
quoted verbatim from p.163 of the 'Fading Suns' Second Edition Rulebook-The Prophet's words, from the Omega Gospels
The Prophet preached about a Holy Flame, a Celestial Sun which mystically burns at the center of the universe, providing light and life for all souls. Since this is holy light, it cannot be perceived with gross (material) senses. The light of this ever-burning sun flows outward and touches every thing - except the darkness emanating from the demons, whose shadows blot the light. Since this fire is mainly spirit, actions of the spirit nourish or damage it.
The Avestites take this flame very literally, especially the prophet's words about burning out sin, which they attempt to do with flameguns. Less zealous priests claim that the prophet was speaking metaphorically, that sin would be burnt out as darkness before a revealed light.
The material world is the reflection of the Holy Light. Evil stands between the Light and the material world, blocking the light which reaches mortal beings. This is why other points of light and reflections within the material world are so important, since they reflect the Light from other directions, not just directly from before. The virtues polish the soul to reflect the light, making the soul a beacon or lantern in the night of shadows. This holographic web of lights can thus be stronger in the material world than the direct ray of light itself, which is too often blocked by evil. The Pancreator resides in the Empyrean, the seat of the Holy Flame. It is a place of pure spirit and light, nigh unimaginable to our sin and shadow-stained minds. It is from here that the light of the Holy Flame shines into all dimensions of existence. Some say that it is not above the world, but central to all worlds (although the idea of many worlds is still an argued tenet) . Others say it is above all, that it's light is sent by the Pancreator downwards into the world of matter. This is called the Descent of Grace.
When grace is accepted, the soul becomes a mirror, reflecting back the light of the Holy Flame. This is called the Luminous Return (the souls of the faithful return to the Empyrean with the light after death, and thus a bright soul is all-important to cast a powerful enough light back to heaven; if not, the soul may not reach all the way, falling off like weak light, getting lost in the darkness). Each soul is meant to be a mirror for the light so that it can be reflected in all directions throughout the world(s) . But sin blackens the soul. Enough sin will eventually shut out the holy light, leaving the sinful one's soul a black blotch of shadow - pure evil, the stuff of demons, who cloak themselves in fogs of shadow. Sin is like verdigris on the mirror of the soul. To remove the sin, the soul must be polished, and there are many methods for this, differing with each sect. In general, however, the eight major virtues represent the necessary steps to polishing the soul.
Certain sects (Eskatonics among them) believe that everyone is born with a spark of the Holy Flame. The purpose of the Church is to fan this flame into a fire. This is best done through exposure to the supreme Holy Flame through mystical illumination or meditation. Thus, certain faithful are not merely mirrors but beacons themselves. The Orthodox Church believes this idea may be heretical, that the best humans can hope for is to be reflectors, not generators, of divine light. The former tend to seek inward for grace, while the latter look to external actions for grace, although both honor meditation, for it is known that in contemplation, the Holy Flame can be glimpsed.
Astrology:
In the Diaspora, the Church taught that the stars were material manifestations of the Holy Flame. It was natural for people to yearn for distant stars; the Diaspora was an extension of humanity's search for the Pancreator. A whole new field of astrology became popular in occult circles, categorizing stars by the quality of their energy. People born under certain constellations would thus behave in certain ways, as ordained by the qualities of the Holy Flame being projected from these stars on the night of a person's birth.Pilgrimages became popular to certain systems known for a particular energy quality, such as healing or insight. Moons had particular qualities of their own, being reflectors of the Holy Flame. The light they gave off was an alchemical result of the sun's light and the moon's own energy. Occult powers could be gained from certain moonlight. After the Fall, the Church ignored the "star as Holy Flame" doctrine (the Doctrine of the Embodied Flame) and spurned Church astrology. It taught instead that each person must be content with the sun he was born under. Emperor Alexius is attempting to revive the Embodied Flame doctrine to spur new discovery.
Geomancy:
This obscure philosophy is still studied bythe Eskatonic Order. Each planet's molten core is believed to be, like a star, a piece of the Holy Flame. The energy of this fire escapes to the surface in certain ways, creating magical sites and ley lines. It is believed that the terraforming architects of certain planets knew this geomantic science and built the worlds to take maximum advantage of it. The Eskatonics believe that Pentateuch is one such place, as is Byzantium Secundus. Holy Terra is special, for it is the cradle of humanity and is thus rich with natural ley line energy. Geomancers are desperate to find untouched, unterraformed worlds to investigate, hoping to prove their theories.Backto the section on the Church