Unclean Divide

Summary
The Unclean Divide was a split in the Fiducian Faith at an unknown period. The result of this schism was the formation of two separate branches of faith, Animarius Fiducianism, and Vitael Fiducianism. The resultant split was met with animosity by both aspects of the faith, and followers of Vitael Fiducianism were quite to label Animarius followers as backward and heretical, while followers of the Animarius faith considered Vitael Fiducianism as an unorthodox perversion of the original faith. Several conflicts have been sparked by this divide.

Course
The Divide began when the High Priest of a particularly inflential tribe of Fiducian followers, Esovarius, began to coordinate a large group of tribes into a single religious group. He thought that with a collective, they could spread the word of The Goddess much more easily. This was conflicted almost immediately by several other noteworthy high priests. Though a loose affiliation, a leader by the name of Taltasanus quickly took head of the group.

Conflict was further created when Esovarius claimed that a way forward, was to accept the natural cycle and bring the Fiducian faith to great cities, and build the power of the Goddess. Esovarius claimed that only sentient animals had a true right to life, and that their sentience and ability to reason was a gift by the Goddess. As such, they should weild this gift, and claim their place as the greatest servants of the Goddess. By his word, it was the right of all sentient beings to claim this gift, and take command of lesser animals, killing or abusing them at well.

Ultimately, this sparked an enormous conflict between various tribes, and the faith split into two groups. The majority joined Esovarius, claiming new lands and buildign cities, erecting statues to the Goddess. They constructed a Church, with Esovarius being named as the First High Priestess of the Goddess. The followers of Taltasanus declared that no single body could claim to speak for the Goddess, and the faith largely continued in its orthodox manner, creating the Animarius Faith.