Elestaarian Faith

I would love some more information about what Elestaarian worship looks like day-to-day? What does prayer look like? Does scripture outline what good and goodness is or is it left to individual interpretation? 

I would love a lore dump on it, so feel free to add anything else relevant <3 

Also are there any observances around Solitary?... Or is it just the time when your local Elestaarians are being way too loud? 

Good question! It depends on the local Elestaarian community or individual. Some Elestaari also more or less observe Solitary, seeing it as a holiday that promotes virtue and useful self-reflection, though they don't tend to do so as rigorously as Azadi and their emphasis is on meditation upon the Good. One of the most popular ways for Elestaari to spend Solitary is by actively performing charitable acts -- stepping up efforts care for the sick, the hungry, and the poor while the Azadi faithful are in seclusion. Some bad, naughty Elestaari have used Solitary as a time to finalize conspiracies against local Sirdabi oppressors. Other Elestaari really are just those guys being way too loud (along with those pesky local Kalentians/Yehani/pagans). Most cities and towns have ordinances that prohibit excessive noise and disturbance from non-Azadi during Solitary, but not everybody is deterred.

This is not at all complete, but here's quick run-down of a few aspects of Elestaarianism.

The Origins of Elestaarianism

Elestaarianism is a millennia-old religion that was established late in the lifetime of its eponymous founder. Not a great deal is recorded about the early life of the great sage Elestaari, but it is known that she came from a wealthy family residing somewhere in the east of the old Irzali Empire, probably in the vicinity of Nishkol. She seems to have led the ordinary life of a woman of her time and class, being well educated according to the standard of her day, marrying well, and successfully raising several children. It was only after her children had themselves grown up that she found time to reflect deeply upon matters of philosophy and spirituality. She devoted herself as a priestess to one of the many deities of Irzal, but gradually arrived at the belief that only one of these gods was truly worthy to be called God, and that others were in their benevolent aspects merely the spiritual helpers of what came to be known as the God of Good Thought.

Elestaari did not give up an active interest in the world when she became a priestess; instead, she became ever more involved in the lives of ordinary men and women and spent much of her time aiding the needy and teaching the ignorant. At the same time she gave them a sense of value and purpose by her message that, like the demigods of the land, all humans likewise had the capacity to be essential helpers of the God if only they committed themselves to doing good wherever and however they could. Elestaari became much beloved by the common people of the empire, who embraced her teachings and elevated her spiritual philosophy into a popular and widespread religion that persisted even after her death.

Elestaarian Philosophy

By all accounts Elestaari was an active and energetic woman, and her philosophy clearly reflects her sense of energy and purpose. Like its founder, Elestaarianism acknowledges the evils and pains of the world and the day-to-day travails of mortal existence. Rather than adopting a gloomy or fatalistic outlook on the nature of mortality, however, Elestaarianism emphasizes the role of those same mortals in combating evil. According to their philosophy, mortalkind has been created by the God of Good Thought to aid It in the struggle of good against evil, and therefore people have a vital part to play as helpers of the God and partners with It in achieving the ultimate victory of Good.

For an Elestaarian every day is a struggle of good against evil, light against darkness, truth against lies. But this struggle is embraced with a sense of fighting the good fight, and with the sure knowledge that it is ultimately winnable, however long it may take. Each good and true act, however small, is a victory of the Good and an affirmation of one's own importance in the fight. It is generally believed that the triumph of Good is itself predetermined, but it is each person's choices and actions that work to bring that triumph ever more swiftly and surely. The more good a person can do during their lifetime, the sooner that triumph will come, and thereby the greater the amount of suffering and evil prevented.

The most important act of "worship" an Elestaarian can perform is to do a little good each day. Many Elestaarians see each useful thing they do as a small act of worship, and therefore see themselves as worshiping by doing through the course of their day.

Positive Acts
 -- Choosing to tell the truth over a lie
 -- Starting or tending a fire, especially for cooking or for warming others
 -- Saying a kind word to someone
 -- Comforting someone in distress
 -- Being hopeful in bad times, and helping others to be
 -- Tending and harvesting cropfields or gardens
 -- Feeding others
 -- Giving to the needy
 -- Tending to the sick
 -- Making medicines
 -- Killing snakes or vermin, including insect pests
 -- Feeding a stray dog
 -- Exposing a lie or an act of corruption
 -- Righting a wrong, including one commited by oneself

Tenets
 -- Both good and evil exist, and they are in opposition to one another though not equal in strength.
 -- The God of Good Thought is the ultimate embodiment of Good.
 -- Mankind has been created by the God of Good Thought as a helper and partner in the struggle of good against evil.
 -- Good will triumph ultimately over evil, and each good act performed by a mortal brings the victory closer to hand.
 -- Although there is duality between good and evil, these are not represented in any duality between the flesh and the spirit, or between the earthly world and some heavenly one. Matter and spirit are both equally important, and the earthly world, having been created by the God of Good Thought, is likewise good.
 -- Life is to be lived and enjoyed, because happiness is one of the greatest aspects of Good.
 -- Celibacy, asceticism, fasting, and self-mortification are proscribed, because these embody some manner of suffering and are therefore aspects of Evil. The only exception is during the days of purification leading up to the start of the annual Fire Festival.

Milieu

Elestaarianism is a religon that emphasizes and values settled, domestic, well-ordered life. Tending the earth and growing crops are considered virtuous acts in and of themselves, as are many activities in the domestic sphere such as tending the hearth fire and cooking. Wise governance is also valued, typically under a stable hierarchy such as that of the former Irzali Empire. Governing with wisdom and generosity is another practical act of worship, and is what all rulers should strive for whether they are emperors, local governors, or the head of a household. Where government is negligent, oppressive, or wasteful, the good Elestaarian is ethically bound to oppose it. In conventional practice this opposition is supposed to involve rebuke, exemplary action, or at most noncompliance, but more "extreme" schools of thought exist that teach that the good Elestaarian may even go so far as to overthrow the bad regime if doing so will lead to greater good and happiness overall.

Prayer

Prayer is a simple and generally sporadic thing among Elestaarians. Again, many Elestaarians consider their good acts to be in themselves a prayer to the God of Good Thought, and sometimes they will also offer up additional words of prayer or devotion -- or even conversation -- to the God as they perform such acts. If any time of the day be considered the hour for "formal" prayer, this would be at noon, when the sun is highest in the sky. Sometimes the person wishing to offer prayer will write it out upon a scrap of paper, then use a special small lens called an atrasha to kindle the paper and burn it away.

Notes

Many of the ancient practices and beliefs of Elestaarianism have been lost due to the suppression of the religion after the conquest of Irzal by the Sirdabi Caliphate. While initially fairly indifferent towards the faith, the Sirdabi began to turn strongly against it when Elestaarianism began to serve as a focus for insurrection against the state. The practices that remain are a patchwork of the original practice of the faith, and not all Elestaarians observe their religion in exactly the same way.