Three Sisters Covenant

The Three Sisters Covenant was a religious sect of the Fornorae. Based on the Enlightenment of Days it was a fate-based practice that held life to be one of a series of existences, each as a test of endurance. It was controlled by a triumvirate consisting of a child, a mother, and a crone. Of the many sects on Fortoral it was by far the most popular and powerful, occasionally speaking for the species as a whole in the absence of a unified government.

History
The Three Sisters Covenant formed in the Grand Ridge Mountains of Fortoral, around 8,000 BBY. Believing that most beings would have to pass through this life many times before successfully comprehending the necessary lessons for the next, they ordered the sustainable husbanding of resources. Through this practice, and aided by natural defensive structures they were able to gradually spread across the planet, suppressing aggressors one by one. This brought an end to the Liquid Fate Wars.

The Three Sisters Covenant was one of several faiths that kept careful records of the initial visit to Fortoral by scouts, and counseled swift and direct action in 1,574 BBY to destroy the second incursion.

In 146 BBY the leaders of the Covenant negotiated the science necessary to construct modern s and s from the. A century and a half later, in 10 ABY, they refused an offer of admission to the.

Structure
The covenant was perhaps the most hierarchical faith of Fortoral, having clear leadership and several subordinate ranks. It had a leadership triumvirate, and administrative wing, and several sub-ranks of priests, monks, and preachers.

Entering the priesthood was considered a great sacrifice, for one forsook the study of loss in order to guide others through their own, meaning it would be necessary to repeat this test again. Commitment was made in childhood, immediate after attaining literacy, and all literate members had the same voice, regardless of age. The clergy married only within its own ranks, and always gave children up to relatives. Duties were split, to a degree, along gender lines, with men filling administrative roles, and women counseling.

All communities of any significant size had at least one full time member of the clergy in residence, even where other sects predominated. These served as religious counselors and monitored the community to insure sustainable resource use. Many had important advisory positions to government officials and some ruled theological states outright.

Doctrine
The principle belief of the Covenant was that this life was merely a test, part of a series of similar tests designed to test an individual's ability to endure Fate and prove sufficient understanding to transcend mortality entirely and move into a new, cosmic, state of being. The current existence tested the ability to endure loss, and was generally construed as the sixth of nine such test-lives. This was subject to considerable demand and no small amount of spilled blood.

In order to pass this test, one had to come to understand the fated nature of loss, and its meaning in existence. The same three sisters was taken from the loss of the same, each at different stages of life, once as a child, once as an adult, and once in the twilight years. The gender stress was semantic, the loss could be of any loved one. Other forms of loss were considered potential substitutes, if sufficiently deep.