Fiction:Draconid Imperium/Religion

The Cult of Drakon Is the official state religion of the Draconis and to al esser extent their empire. The cult is a monastic order that claims the draconis were hand-crafted by their patron god and are his personal children. Outside of the draconid colonies the cult is more easily remembered by the cult's inquisition - considered the military arm working to maintain a religious status quo in the empire.

=Organisation=

Heirachy
At the very top is the archcleric, typically seen as one of the wisest figures in the empire and has rarely been under 300 years old. The archcleric is chosen by the council of cardinals for their deviotion and study of the book of divine teachings - an anciont tome said to be written by the cult's founder and its holy book. The archcleric's position, along with other ranks, is considered for life unless one is promoted. Each cardinal is in charge of proceeding within an entire sector and are rarely seen in public. Below them are the master clerics who number in the hundreds of thousands (a disproportionate inflation since there are less than 100 cardinals in the entire empire) and are the chief religious figures of each draconid world.

Senior clerics are the heads of each temple on a single planet and are the ones who generally host mass. There is frequently more than one senior cleric found on each world who cooperate during mass and spiritual guidance. They are attended by countless clerics who often go out into the community to give guidance and support.

At the lowest rung of the cult's heirachy are thr apprentices. They study under the clerics, often doing so in a temple's library, and attend to a cleric under a master-student principle. Oficcialy they are still training and are often young aspirants seeking to help people.

Practices
Practitioners promote the values explained in the book of divine teachings. These values include respecting family, respecting the world around you and enjoying the visual and performing arts. Many draconis keep a printed copy of these teaching somewhere in their home to examine at any time.

The cult and its practionioers genrally frown on sacrifices and fundamentalism, prefering to honour their god through reading and understanding the holy book; these teachings are frequently passed down from broodmothers and therefore - due to the impressionable nature of their hatchlings - most have some basic belief in Drakon and his teachings.

Inquisition
The inquisition is the side of the cult that many non-draconis would been exposed to. Because clerics state that the cult is draconis-exclusive, preachers in other communities are rare so most who do experience the cult see them in draconid colonies.

The inquisition's task is to keep religious tolerance at an acceptable level to prevent unrest and holy wars. They have been granted by the archcleric to do their task by any means necessary, including force-of-arms and invoulentary interrogation. Most draconis see the inquisition as a force for good and rarely see the side other races fear. Trained from a young age, inquisitors primiarily hunt for signs of intolerant fundamentalism and zealotry - factors that could put not just the community but the entire empire at risk - and will frequently use force, sometimes going as far as execution or kil-on-sight for targets who are too dangerous or too zealous to reconsider.

The empire generally asks for tolerance towards other religions and other cultures. As a result religions or practices that promote a being's development or bring a community together in a positive way are genrally left alone by the inquisition. Groups that force their beliefs on others, use underhanded methods or practice anything morally wrong (peverted hedonism, glorifying death, living sacrifice, demon worship) are the inquisition's primary target, often removed through a leader's execution.

The inquisition is frought with controversy from their "end justifies the means" practices and shoot-on-sight habits to their questionable recruitment methods. However since they are as old as the empire (which as so far evaded serious religious unrest) there has been little reason not to trust that they know what they are doing.

Training
Initiates are chosen from young houseless and voulenteers who are willing to sacrifice everything to keep the empire stable. Training takes many decades and the student studies negotiation, exopsychology, exobiology, martial practices and history. The younger years are taken up with study while later on they practice combat with a variety of standard and exotic weapons.

As they develop they exercise and consume a specially engineered diet in order to maintain a level of peak physical position as they develop, they also meditate (a practice brought in from ceratain protectorates) and study the book of divine teachings intensely. The inquisition is pleased with nothing less than a supreme killer and negotiator to root out even the most subtle signs of disruption and insurrection. When a student is old enough he is paired with an inquisitor in order to learn from the field.

Distribution
The inquisition is licensed to operate outside of the imperial government, kept in line by the cult, and as a result they have been known to journey outside of imperial space to carry out their operations. This is primarily because: Paranoia is another factor; the cult is forever worried that a subversive cult could build a power base in one region of the galaxy and spread chaos to the empire when it becomes so large that it can be considered unstoppable. While some races may be strongly against such interference, the outcome can often outweigh the risk.
 * A: The inquisition does not trust the competence of other governments to ensure safety of their citizens' well being
 * B: They believe their work benefits the galaxy as a whole

=NAvigation=