The Followers of Mariah

"""'Do not follow someone where you would not tread alone. Follow your heart, follow your soul. Do not follow blindly, unable to make choices for yourself. If you follow me, know that I thank you, I love you, I accept you.' -Mariah 1:12"""The Followers of Mariah is the most prominent religion in New Arcadia, primarily worshiped by those who live in the city states, save for The Hollow. It believes in one goddess: Mariah, and Lucy, the usurper daemon.

Mariah
Mariah is the goddess that The Followers of Mariah hold sacred. She was born in the Année of Old, 35 years prior to the Année Darkness.

She is revered as a goddess due to her goodwill, her ability to perform miracles, and her ability to see into the future. She was at first branded as a heretic because her unique ability, which has never been recorded before. It was not until that her prophecies started coming true that people started to listen to her. She used her miracle-like powers to help people, which made her popular with the masses.

She was most notable for curing the diseased, completely eliminating an epidemic that was killing thousands upon thousands.

She lived in the Arcadian University where she became a professor in language. She created her own language that she used to write all of her prophecies in. This language became known as Old Arcadian, which spread through the people. When her language became popular, she started writing in a dialect that didn't exist, making it almost impossible to interpret the meaning of her prophecies. She had a great following of many people who believed she was their goddess, though this was an unpopular thought as Mariah claimed she was not a goddess.

Mariah and her followers believed in peace, and challenged Lucy, breaking away from her. This plunged Old Arcadia into a civil war that was known as the War of Casters. No one knows why it was named this as only one side had Casters fighting.

Mariah was allegedly murdered in the Siege of Arcadian University in the year prior to Darkness by Lucy and her army of Casters. Before she died, Mariah wrote one final prophecy that she addressed to Regalia Venyn Ridere. It was the only thing to survive the siege. Mariah's body was never found.

According to Iudex's journal, Mariah teleported to the Dead Cities and became it's queen, now ruling over the dead. She has a hand in the Arcadian world, many believe, shaping the world from the Dead Cities. Many say that if they find the Dead Cities then Mariah will return to their world in person and bring their world back into peace.

Many turned to worship her when they saw her miracles still being performed after her alleged death and the fact that Anthony of Amnesty claimed to get visions of Mariah telling him to do her bidding.

Lucy
Lucy is a powerful Caster who lived in the time of Mariah. She was extremely powerful and the Empress of Old Arcadia until Mariah came and her and her followers challenged Lucy's oppressive system. In the middle of the War of Casters, Lucy lay siege on the Arcadian University and claimed to have murdered Mariah.

The building was burnt down to the ground, and there was only a handful of survives. The rest were massacred. From the ashes of the building, Lavie was created, thus starting the calendar system and the first Année, Année Darkness. This was an unofficial name, given by Iudex because of Lucy's terrible reign.

Lucy became even more oppressive, murdering thousands upon thousands before she was stopped by Anthony of Amnesty, Ezekiel the Clever, and Amaryllis the Innocent. Lucy had tried to attack the Triste Fortress, using almost her entire army. Unfortunately for Lucy, they were expecting her. In a great battle they fought back Lucy.

When the battle seemed over, Lucy was on her knees, her hands raised in surrender. If not for Anthony, Ezekiel and Amaryllis would have beheaded her, as most people demanded. As the people called for Lucy's blood to spill across the floor, Anthony demanded all to stop. He then said Mariah foretold him this would happen, and she also told him that they were to spare Lucy.

Everyone was dumbfounded. Riots were on the verge of happening. Anthony explained that Mariah foretold this event. She told him that the people were not to kill Lucy, but to banish her. Lucy asked to be killed herself, as she did not want to live.

They banished Lucy from Old Arcadia and never truly seen again. Some say she died out beyond the forest, others say she's turned into a daemon and now terrorizes the people from afar. Whatever someone might believe, Lucy is almost always referred as the daemon in human skins.

The Holy Tome
The Holy Tome is the holy book of Mariah that her followers use for guidance. It contains several journals from people who followed her and most of Mariah's prophesies.

Odea
Odea is a persone that has done something religiously significant enough to gain the Followers of Mariah's attention, such as miracles or dreams or being a chosen prophest. Most do not become an Odea until after death. There are several Odea's, the most notable being Anthony of Amnesty. Regalia Ridere was up for consideration to become an Odea and was elevated to that states when she was presumed dead, 1 year after her disappearance.

Temple of Mariah
There are several temples to Mariah, the largest one being in Pays Du Tristesse. Each City State besides The Hollow and most Isolated Districts have a temple to her where the Followers go to worship Her.

The first temple was built in the Trist Fortress, now known as Pays Du Tristesse, after the fall of Lucy. It is the largest temple of all and the only temple to have depictions of Lucy inside the temple.

The temple of Mariah in Pays Du Tristesse is the only temple to have a copy of her Final Prophesy other than Regalia herself.