History
Gronnic Polymancy was the ancient state religion of the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns. Founded by Gronn Falnak, one of the first of the philosopher subspecies of the Cielioid race, upon seeing a mystical vision. Gronn's disciples were convinced of the miraculous nature of Gronn's visions because they seemed to form a coherent narrative thread, even though Gronn's memory had been surgically impaired as part of the "philosophical wounding".
The disciples of Gronn recorded their leader's accounts of the visions, and they spread like wildfire through the upper echelons of imperial society, and even the imperial court. When Emperor Krog the 22nd converted, Gronnic Polymancy became the official state religion.
Membership in Gronnic temples swelled as loyal imperial subjects converted to the new religion. The influence of the religion was felt most strongly at the upper levels of imperial society, as members of the lower castes officially joined the faith, but still maintained their traditional beliefs on the side. Over time, many of these traditions gradually wove themselves into Gronnic Polymancy, as it partook of all the power of the state. This place of power and privilege would exact a price on the vigor of the faith, however, and most practitioners waned in their devotion.
Gronnic Polymancy had a resurgence during the 1,000 Years War (~ GC 10,000 - ~GC 11,000 ) as the leaders cast that conflict as a holy war between the natural followers of the Gronnic pantheon and the artificial followers of Troniac.
This resurgence did not last, and after the war, with all of it's social upheaval, the official schools of philosophy were founded. The Empire remained officially Gronnic, but most just went through the motions without believing in the Eight Celestial Beings.
Statue of Gronn. The statue is surrounded by buildings because the religious wish to live close to this effigy of their founder, and a local temple paid to place an advertisement next to Gronn.
Doctrine
Gronnic Polymancy centered around a pantheon of eight primary gods, known as the Eight Celestial Beings of Gronn. Each of these represented a sphere of influence that covered some general aspect of existence, and supposedly they covered everything as a group.
The Eight Celestial Beings were:
Lannek, Celestial Being of water
Glorr, Celestial Being of earth
Flaun, Celestial Being of air
Neelah, Celestial being of plants
Blenn, Celestial Being of Animals
Hadrek, Celestial Being of people and machines
Mishio, Celestial Being of the heavens
Kruknovannibashtiko, Celestial Being of the lost and forgotten, the unknown and the unknowable, was also the creator of the universe
Influence
In many ways, Gronnic Polymancy shaped the culture of the E1MS. It gave rise to the base-8 numbering system and the Gronnic Cycle became the basis of the imperial calendar. Even though the religion faded over time, its influence continued to shape the empire that initially spread it.
