Editing Asrai (section)

==Asrai Religion==
[[File:Aowa Lair.jpg|thumb|right|500px|The Aowa Lair deep inside the holy mountain]]


The Asrai have developed a religion based upon the discovery of some obviously ancient artifacts. The artifacts are believed to have originated with the ''[[Aowa]]'', a title which literally translates as "the Most Ancient Ones"

These artifacts are believed to be gifts handed down from the Aowa, and are meant as puzzles that should be studied and unlocked in order to better understand the universe, science and their own lives. As a result of these beliefs, the Asrai, have developed an exceptionally complex religious caste to handle all matters related to the Aowa. 

As the Aowa are believed to be divine and the Religious orders are believed to gain enlightenment from their studies of Aowa artifacts, texts and other teachings, they are de facto the leaders of the Asrai Society.

There are several orders, each having a specific function in the religious orders.

Some of them are:

*Chalo
*Scholars of the Reliquary
*Order of the Baneful
*Order of the Sovereign Sphere
*Voice of the High Oracle
*High Oracle of the Golden Temple

===Chalo===
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A chalo is a teacher. Each of the orders possesses them and their entire task is to teach religious belief, dogma and lessons to the membership of their orders so that the traditions and work can be carried on. They hold a very high position, and an Acolyte can be sent for punishment or correction as a result of their word.  It was [[Layeela|Layeela's]] Chalo that sent her to the Voice of the High Oracle for determination of her punishment when she failed to adhere to his teachings.

===Scholars of the Reliquary===
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[[File:Aowa Artifact.jpg|thumb|left|400px|An Aowa Artifact]]

The Scholars of the Reliquary are the members of the Order of the Reliquary. Their primary religious function is to unlock the meanings found within the ancient artifacts that have been left behind by the Aowa. They are highly trained, being similar in training to Engineers, but only just so. They are the religious members who are in direct contact with the devices and artifacts that are recovered. They often disassemble them in order to better understand their function, purpose and meaning. As such, this order is the most technically adept of all the orders.
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{| class="toc color" style="border:3px solid goldenrod;"align="center";"width=246px"
! style="background:black" align="left" |<font color=goldenrod> <small>{{quote|The sacred light is a gift of the Aowa to all their children. In the great time of darkness, they alone lit the perpetual night to guide the faithful to the sacred places, where they slept deep within the womb of the world. It is the reminder of the death-time, when all the world was the realm of the bomkor, as they ravaged the world with the tainted spirits of nature. It was the beacons that kept us alive, that protected us from the darkness. The Scholars of the Reliquary are the guardian of the sacred light, we tend it, and see that it's fire never dims. For it is said that another dark time will befall us, when Solyon the destroyer returns to bring death and destruction to our world. And once again, it will be the sacred lights that will guide us to our salvation deep within the arms of our mother world.|Scholar of the Reliquary}}</small></font>
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Among their many tasks, the Scholars of the Reliquary safeguard and tend to the maintenance of the Sacred Lights. They believe that the Sacred Lights are beacons left by the Aowa used to guide the survivors of some dark times to underground safe havens. They also believe that someone called [[Solyon|Solyon the Destroyer]] will plague the world again, and that it will be their task to display the beacons once again to save the survivors of the world from complete destruction.  It was later learned that Solyon was the Asrai name for the [[Rogue Planet]] that was discovered by the [[USS Rosenante]] prior to their discovery of [[Asrai Prime]]. 

The Reliquary told the story of the Sacred light to [[Ben Soma]] and [[Mike Rosenbauer]] during their visit to one of the relics of the Sacred Light located in a shrine in [[Celdebrai City]].

===Order of the Baneful===
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[[File:Shrine of the Sacred Light.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Shrine of the Sacred Light illuminated]]
This order has the least connection to the actual Aowa. Their purpose is completely one of enforcement. They act as investigators, judges and police forces wherever they go. The majority of the members are highly indoctrinated in religious dogma. Among their tasks is the discernment and punishment of heretics, or breakers of the holy laws. They are brutish and are known for their unflinching duty to the orders. As such, they are highly effective and feared.

===Order of the Sovereign Sphere===
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The Order of the Sovereign Sphere are astronomers. They are directed by holy writ to search the heavens for signs of the Aowa. They catalog heavenly bodies and make certain that all is the way that it should be. As there are no other moons or satellites in the system, they often study the Twin Stars that make up their [[binary stars|binary star]] parent.

There is little room within this order for speculation. The rules are well established and the number of heavenly bodies are well known as well. Therefore this order is considered one of the least important amongst the religious orders. Many members of this order move on to other orders after acheiving some rank here.

[[Layeela]] was an acolyte of this order, being indoctrinated into the Third Order. She was cast out by the Voice of the High oracle after she challenged the order of the universe upon sighting the [[Rogue Planet]] [[Solyon]]. Despite the fact that her observations could easily have been verified, she was still cast out for daring to claim that the universe was not static as was believed at the time.

===Voice of the High Oracle===
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[[File:Golden Temple.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The Golden Temple]]
The Voice of the High Oracle is the second most senior member of the Religious castes. His function is to interpret and communicate the orders of the High Oracle of the Golden Temple. He acts as the intermediary between the other members of the orders and the High Oracle. Only he sees and speaks with the High Oracle. It was he that determined that Layeela should be cast out as a heretic.

===High Oracle of the Golden Temple===
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The High Oracle of the Golden Temple is the head of the religious caste, and therefore the entire Asrai Society. He is the supreme ruler, and he alone is permitted to interpret the findings and teachings of the Aowa. He is reclusive, and is only seen by the Voice of the High Oracle. The position is passed on by selection from one Oracle to the next. There is no direct ascension to the position and it has happened in the past that acoltyes have been selected by the prior high Oracle to succeed them.
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<strong><font color= Goldenrod> MORE COMING SOON!</font></strong>
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[[Category: Species]]
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''The Asrai were first seen in the [[USS Rosenante]] Mission '''[[The Third Law]]'''''