THE BALANCEIn Themyscira the vast majority of the population follow a religion that calls itself The Balance. Its concepts are actually rather simple to understand. All things within the Universe must be kept in balance and humans are the ones tasked with ensuring that takes place. The religion has a heavy focus on nature and the idea of the meaning behind an action being significant. The belief is that there are four Gods, two responsible for acts of good, two for acts of bad. Neither are considered evil as they are simply maintaining balance in the Universe. The Gods of good control a paradise where those who achieve a positive balance in life are rewarded with fine banquets, love, dancing and joy for all time. Those who achieve a negative balance are cast into a realm frequented by demons. These demons feed upon certain human elements such as emotions, feelings and even the soul itself. The demons also inhabit a realm where there are demonic cities where the things they feed upon are used as currency. As such these demons seek to corrupt us.
To ensure the four Gods are able to make an informed decision on what happens to a human once they die each of us have an "Arbitor" sat on each shoulder. These are neutral spirits who exist within the physical world unseen. The one of the right writes down our good deeds, the one on the left the bad. These deeds are inscribed in two identical books of our life with the ink being considerably weighty. When we die the books are weighed by the Gods and the heavier one determines their fate. Should they be equally balanced then the person is held in limbo between the two realms for a year and further information added to the book based on what their family does in reaction to the persons death.
Places of WorshipThe Balance have no single places of worship. Most things are done in nature and communities have built small stone shrines usually very simple in nature. Each tends to be just four standing stones, occasionally with a table between them. Often the stones are not even uniform but rather just the first four large stones found by the community in any area where they wished to worship. It is expected that on Friday evenings the faithful will gather at the stones and sing praises to the Gods while also meditating. During meditation they often will quietly explain the reasons behind actions they have taken that are likely to have been written on the negative list. They hope that the Arbitor on that shoulder will remove the negative deed from their book if they know the reason.
ArbitersThe Arbiters make a list of our deeds. The interpretation of what they write down have significant impact on peoples lives.
| Goodness | Evil |
*Creating new life
*Creating beauty
*Helping a soul in need
*Growing nature
*Praising the Gods
*Remembering the dead
*Being in love
*Seeking knowledge
| *Ending a souls life
*Causing uneccessary pain or suffering
*Turning a blind eye to others in need when you could make a differnece
*Any act of violence
*Disrespecting the Gods & the Dead
*Taking more than your fair share
*Lies |
These rules have had significant impacts on the nations culture.
*The nation has found it hard to form an armed forces. In the past this has seen them rely heavily on a form of Foreign Legion made up of people who do not share their faith and who are paid. Military service has also been used as a form of judicial punishment. The concept of a "Enlightened Warrior" exists. This is where military forces as well as learning combat skills undertake courses in study in art, literature and music in the hopes that they may out weigh any evil caused by killing or injuring in combat and committing acts of violence.
* Vast investment in The Arts. The nation places great emphasis on music and dance in particular as well as encouraging art.
*Each year on the anniversary of a persons death people will make an item to place on their grave. In order to allow the body to be of use the person is buried without a coffin of wood but in a wicker basket. The basket is filled with wood chips and other organic matter designed to help the body break down. Seeds are contained within the burial, usually of a tree, in hopes that their body will create a thing of beauty or help grow nature.
*It is said Themyscirans fall in love very easily. This is because of a desire to have a significant person in their life. While the religion doesn't say you have to be married to the person you love that is seen as the surest way of getting favour from the Arbiter. The average time from a couple meeting for the first time to marriage in the nation is less than a year. Marriages do not always last long however as the idea of lying to a person brings with it negatives. The average divorce rate for the nation is around 12% and divorce is not seen as a negative as it ensure that you are not causing unnecessary pain or suffering and ending a lie which is the marriage.
