The Noorish Empire fell to pieces fifteen generations ago.

The aftermath of the Empire's fall was not kind to the northwestern part of Noors territory, the continent of Aus.

Unlike in the Noors Eastern and Southeastern territories, no one stepped in to fill the power vacuum left behind by the Noors.  Aus was torn apart into various small principalities that just conquered each other before being conquered by another neighbor, again and again and again.

During this, missionaries from the Eastern lands arrived, teaching the Precepts of  Suj and Beruism.  Beruism taught there was only one god, simply referred to as Him.  Suj was his earthly son, who willingly sacraficed himself for the good of all.

The missionaries tended to be skilled herbalists and healers (in the herbalist sense.  Not in a magical sense).  They were able to make some headway among the various pagan tribes and lordlings that fractured Aus.

Seven generations ago, invaders from the Southeast called the Alohadi invaded the lower parts of Aus.  They were able to claim large portions of the land.  The Alohadi practiced a religion similiar to Beruism called Ah'hnism.  Ah'hnism also taught there was only one god.  But Ah'hn taught god was not to be named.  And they revered a prophet named Ah'hn a Boli as the true spokesperson for the divine being.

The Berus were able to funnel support to the northern parts of Aus, enabling them to hold off Alohadi advances across the Rio Pedrogoso, the great river that divided the lower plains of Aus from it's more mountainous regions to the north.

Slowly, mostly with Berusian aid, various powers began to emerge out of the chaotic states of northern Aus.  With the marriage of Dom Hecho and Lady Esiah du Castillo, a powerful enough state named Quastilla emerged.

Quastilla waged war to drive the Alohadi back, with the goal or unifying the entire Aus peninsula.  The wars took two generations. The Alohadi still maintain a foothold along the southern coasts of Aus, but the majority of Aus is now free and under rule of various lords who owe their holdings to the support of Quastilla and the Berusian Church.

You took part in the last big campaign.  The commander you served received a title and some land for his service.  Bien Regado or "Well Watered" is a small valley set in the foothills of the Aidan mountains.  A river provides ample irrigation to the area and your lord has been busy establishing villages to farm the fertile plains.

You serve him as a "halcón montando" or riding hawk.  You move through his lands, looking into things and performing odd missions to ensure his holdings are running smoothly.

My inclination is to say Beru was the name of a particular region these religions were founded in.  They share a common ancestry in that they both evolved from a people who were monotheistic.

There was some kind of split.  Not a religious based one.  I'm thinking that parts of the people relocated to the coastal area and others drifted inland, perhaps because they were shepherds.

The coastal people merged with some other cities.  In doing so, the culture of the coastal people sort of developed a sense of assimilation.  It became a bit of a model for them to absorb other peoples and make them adapt to their culture, perhaps incorporating the more favorable parts of the new culture they absorbed.

The shepherds remained more insular and traditional, almost becoming rigid in their faith based practices.  To the point that their priestly sect began showing signs of becoming oppressive.

The coastal people faced a crisis with an invasion.  The invaders subjugated the coastal people and began trying to force convert them to their religion and culture.  A prophet-hero named Ah'hn a Boli arose, unifying his people and leading them to a victory over the invaders.  Ah'hn laid out the religious doctrine in a set of teachings that he stated were holy and could not be altered.  He proved this by means of some miracle shortly before he died.

Thus the coastal people became Ah'hnites.  The Ah'hnites scattered along the coast, continuing to assimilate other cultures, sometimes militaristically and sometimes culturally.

The shepherds had their own drama going on.  A poor herder's sun named Suj rose up and began interpreting the doctrines of their faith in a more peaceful, inclusive way.  This lead him into conflict with the priestly caste, who eventually stoned him.

After he was dead though, several miracles occured and Suj visited several of his disciples even though he was dead.

Suj revealed he had been sent back by Him in order to strengthen the faith of his disciples and to charge them to preach the message he had taught them.

The Beruists arose out of the shepherds and managed to convert a number of nearby city states.  From there, they began to expand westward.

Beruism:  What if instead of a a Madonna focus, we shift from mother to wife?

Suj's first disciple was his wife.  The couple married in accordance to their people's customs but never consumated as Suj wished to remain pure for his mission work.  After his death, he first appeared to his wife and told her he had in fact given her multiple children: the faithful.

Nuns in the religion are married to the Faith, somewhat like Nuns are in Catholicism.  It was Suj's wife who was the skilled healer/herbalist, and it is the various order of nuns who carry on this work and work on conversion.

Where women focus on healing and bringing life into the faith ("give birth to new life" so to speak), men occupy the roles of providers and protectors.  They are the priests who guide the faithful in worship, as well as function in the crusading capacity.  Warrior-priests yes.  But their doctrine forbids them from direct conquest.  The warrior-priest order is a defensive one.

How well the Beruic church adheres to that doctrine is of course a matter of question.

As far as Suj's appearance in the Noorish Empire's timeline...I would say he appeared sometime after Noors zenith but not too close to it's fall.  Somewhere around the 2/3 mark of the Empire's timeline.  The Noors considered the Beru to be a minor people and minor religion.  By the time the Noors realized what kind of threat the Beruic faith presented, it was too late.  They were converted by the herbalist nuns.

I'd say the Beruic Faith has a central temple, but not in Aus.

Aus has a Bishop located in Quastilla.  With the recent expansions into the south of Aus, the Bishop is still working to organize the new lands that have come into his sphere, including your lord's land.


I actually think Suj predates Boli by a generation or two.  By that time, the two peoples had seperated so much they weren't really in direct contact with each other.

Did I manage to answer your questions?  It's late as I type this and not sure I got them all.

And again, this is me spit balling.  Not married to anything here just yet.

The psuedo-Jews would be the original tribe the Berus and Ah'hnists came from.  They really no longer exist as an individual group.

The central temple of Beruism is somewhere to the East.  Sure there are pilgrimage sights, but they are all to the east as well.

Aus is more or less the hinterlands for both religions.  Though the Beru arrived let's say nine generations ago, and the Alohadi invaded seven generations ago, both religions are focused more to the east and southeast.  There are no holy sites in Aus at this time.   Though a saint was just declared.  Saint Joseen.  She was a martyr in the early missionary efforts and her canonization was done just prior to the last war, perhaps as a way to inspire northern troops for that one last push against the Alohadi.

There are two sets of male clergy.  The Pastors who serve the role of priest to the various congregations.  They are addressed as Silbador or "Whistler".  A reference to the old custom of whistling to one's herds as they kept them.  Most Silbador are excellent whistlers, and it's common practice for them to stand at the door of the church and whistle loudly to announce a service is about to begin.

The warrior-monks are Martillo or "Hammers".  They are not celibate and may marry, though their marital vows include a promise to raise their sons to be warriors of the faith.

The Martillo are usually a bit of an issue.  I'll detail more about what's going on with them below.

Nuns are addressed simply as Dama or "Lady".

Here is the current situation in Bien Regado.

The valley had been held by the Alohadi until the previous generation, when it was liberated.  However there was a bit of a squabble about who had administrative rights over Bien Regado.  Three seperate families claimed ownership:  two asserting owenership rights that allegedly dated back prior to the Alohadi invasion and a claim by the commander who took the area back.

The issue was only resolved four years ago when the valley was awarded to your lord, Conde Escobar Aurulos.  Aurulos had won some distinction in several battles near the coast and his family's claim to the valley was more an award for his valor than a just decision rendered by the Imperial Court.

The "capital" is Lluvia Verde.  Aurulos' manor and the central Beru church are located there.  Silbador Ogado presides there.  He is assisted by a few other priests and some Martillo who reside in town.

There is a convent of nuns in Lluvia Verde. Another convent is located upriver.  The priests make rounds to all the local villages offering services.  The nuns visit regularly to see to the sick and teach various subjects.

All over Aus, the disposition of the Martillo is becoming an issue.  When the war with the Alohadi was running strong, the Martillo were welcome as brothers-in-arms.  But now that more of the land is at peace, the local lords are eyeing these  armed vetrans.

Similar issues with the Martillo have plagued the Beruist church since the order was institued.  The Beruist don't have a blanket policy and usually just come to some kind of agreement/arrangement with each individual kingdom.  In some areas there is a cap as to how large the Martillo forces are allowed to grow.  In other areas, the Martillo must serve a term for the local lord.  Other areas have come up with their own solutions.

The Martillo presence in Bien Regado isn't too large.  Only about 15 men total.  But Aurulos is trying to come to a decision as to how he wants to approach the matter.

The peasantry seem to be happy now that they are out from under the Alohadi.  The region seems dominantly Beruist.  Any who had converted to Ah'hnism fled when the Alohadi lost the valley.

Aurulos feels the peasants are a little standoffish with him.  They aren't disrespectful. But there seems to be some skittishness, which he attributes to being "the new guy in town".  He is hoping to win the peasants loyalty over time.

The last day of each week is named Dinen.  It is the day of worship, and service will be held on that day if possible.  In smaller areas, where there isn't a priest assigned, Dinen will be held when the itinerant silbador is in town.  The Church tries to make sure each village is visited at least once a month for Dinen service to be held.

Each town is responsible for maintaining a worship space.  In larger populations, churches are built.  Most small villages have a hut that serves as a chapel, but a few may just have tents.  Whatever the composition, one distinct feature is the worship space will have an area for food preperation.

Dinen starts in the early morning.  The family is allowed a light breakfast, usually water and a bread roll or something simaliar.  An hour after sunrise, the Silbador will come to the entrance of the worship space and start to whistle.

As each family hears the whistle, they will leave their homes as a family.  The families will usually begin to sing as they make their way to the worship space.   In areas where the houses are more spread out, other systems of signalling may be used.  But it all starts with the priest whistling and the nearest households to hear responding (the singing in most cases), which is heard by the next household and so on.  Villages are usually built to make this "transfer of summoning" easier on everyone.

The head of the household will bear a sangrento.  The sangrento is a small rock that has been colored red with a special dye.  This dye, agua sangreta, can range from anything to red clay to homemade dyes.  The important thing is the rock is red.

The sangrento symbolizes the stones cast at Suj when he died in his earthly body.  They also represent the family's sins and guilts.

As the family approaches the worship space, the heads of the household begin to whistle back to the priest.  They then drop the sangrento into a basket by the entrance.

Once the village is assembled in the worship space, Dinen begins.  It lasts most of the day.

First there is a reading from scripture, usually one of the missives of the saints or some such, followed by a hymn and prayer.  The silbador then rings a bell and the Vindo Junto portion of the service begins.

The Vindo is a period of time...usually anywhere from an hour to two...where the community works together on a project and a meal.

The men will work on something.  They might repair someone's roof.  May build a wall for the chapel.  During harvest or planting season, it's not uncommon for the men to descend on the fields of one of the poorer farmers in the village and work as much as they can for a four or five hours.  The actual project of each Dinen is decided ahead of time by the village elders.  And whatever materials are needed for it are usually gathered in the days before Dinen occurs.

During Vindo, the children are left in the care of the elders.  A few of the women may assist depending on the number of elders.  The small children are taught songs, scripture, or something else during the time.  Older children are tasked with cleaning the worship space.

The women use the cooking facilities to make a communal meal.  Each household contributes what it can.  And usually the men will try to hunt game for the Dinen before hand.  Whatever is on hand is used. Even if all the village can scrape up is a thin, watery soup, then that is what the community will eat for that Dinen

At whatever point, the community reassembles in the worship space.  The communal meal must begin before the sun sets but cannot occur before noon, the time when Suj was stoned.

Once the Vindo is ended, the Silbador reads some scripture and presents a sermon.  A hymn is then sung and the basket of sangrento is brought to the priest.

There is a ritual where the silbador washes the sargento.   A number of prayers are offered during the washing.  The cleaned stones are deposited into a new basket.  The basin of red water is dragged off and dumped somewhere to the west of the worship space, as Suj was dragged to the west of his home to be stoned.

After the red water is dumped out, the priest washes his hand and the meal is started.

As stated, the meal must start before sun set, but it can go on into the night.  Most festivals occur during the Dinen meal.