Followers of the Goddess
Followers of the Godess is the collective name given to anyone practicing the worship of the goddess Fareem. It is a religion without an official name of its own, but is often referred to as The Church of Fareem. It is the state religion of The Trident Alliance and its religious head is Jinkou Minister of Church Aiko Ashima. Due to the religion itself stating it is only the correct religion for Jinkou, Tio'ca and Vammar, none of any other race in the galaxy is known to follow the religion, even if many have more or less adopted its philosophies.
The religion builds upon the belief that the universe is split into countless of 'zones', each created and controlled by its own deity or deities, and that the goddess Fareem is the creator and caretaker of the Jinkou, Tio'ca and Vammar species. Considering how the universe is indeed split into zones of this nature, it is speculated that this belief sprung up from Fareem explaining the concept of Domains to her people. Aside from this, the religion also builds on the teachings of three holy texts: The Book of the Traveller, which explains how Followers of Fareem are supposed to live their lives without hate or destruction and how to treat one another and nature with love and respect; The Book of the Stars, which explains the truths of the universe, its Domains and its deities; and The Book of the Withered Blossoms which explains the concept life and death, and why death should not be feared, but also how life should always be cherished and protected, and how new life in all forms is beautiful and holy.
There are typically large amounts of temples and shrines wherever the Church of Fareem is the dominant religion, and there are many so-called Shisai, whom are the priests of Fareem. A Shisai is traditionally dressed in long, light robes coloured in a purple tone so dark it is almost black, with a large hood over their head and a light purple cloth around their neck which they use to cover their face when praying as a symbol of equality before the goddess. Underneath the robes the Shisai wear a light purple or blue tunic with black accents, as well as a silver necklace forming a blossom hanging around their necks. Shisai do not wear anything upon their feet with the exception of simple sandals, which they remove before stepping upon a shrine, temple, or other places considered holy, with the exception of gardens, as the Shisai should also be able to put their sandals back on after stepped out of the holy spot, but if they would need to cross a garden, they would have to leave their sandals at edge of the garden and walked barefoot even after they had already passed through the garden.
Although the religion advocates peace, love and understanding, the Followers of Fareem have at two different instances been invaded by hostile Demons in the past, the first time in The War of the Crimson Sky and much later in The Tainted War. As such, the religion has two different military branches: the Guardians and the Shiroi Tsume. The Guardians serve as just that, being protectors of justice, peace and life. The Shiroi Tsume instead take on an offensive role, serving as the vanguard against any potential demonic threat, and in other times serving as special operations troops. The first members of both orders were only Jinkou, but nowadays their members contain all three species of Fareem, though the Jinkou members are still seen as the "originals" of both orders. Both Guardians and Shiroi Tsume are, aside from warriors, also Shisai, and wear special Shisai robes whenever they are not wearing their iconic armours - dark blue robes for Guardians and white robes for Shiroi Tsume. Although this partly nulls the idea of the equality represented in the robes, no steps have been taken to change it due to the tradition behind it.
