Not to be confused with the Concordian Church of the Divine Spheres, which is the newest imagining of worship to the spheres.
History
Nearly four hundred years ago the Artebazzani Arcanist Nicolo Van Demuer opened the space between our world and the next. Stepping through Nicolo saw the cosmos for what it was. Not an ethereal beauty of clouds and harps. Not a hellfire dimension of punishment. Rather is a vast open realm of seven swirling spheres. In a moment of pure rapture he saw the souls of the lost pass from the mortal realm and be summoned up and through these spheres.From there, being restored and returned once more towards the mortal experience. He saw others, shining less brightly, fail to reach a sphere; falling instead through darkness and out of sight.
While initially overcome by his experience, Nicolo was an Arcanist and would not be content to leave these mysteries alone. Over the course of his remaining years the Artebazzani opened this window to what he began to call the Divine Spheres again and again. He would invite others to these events, showing them what would become of their spirits and what was beyond their world. His studies spread across Artebazzan in a whirlwind of arcane study and eventually religious fervour. The Church of the Divine Spheres made it their duty to understand this world beyond. What were these spheres? What affected a spirit’s trajectory? what was below? These questions emboldened the new religion which spread throughout the territory. It is said that Nicolo’s journey through the spheres at the day of his death was watched by over a thousand Arcanists and Priests.
The ceremonial magic of revealing the divine spheres allowed the Church a great boon in theatrics. Over the ensuing years, travelling along the Artebazzani trade lanes, the Church spread throughout many lands including Esterra. At the time of the signing of The Concord, the Church of The Divine Spheres had been the dominant religion for most of the continent for more than two hundred years.
Current Doctrine
There are seven spheres of existence; six divine and one mortal. The mortal sphere contains all mortal existence, from life to death and everything that journey contains. The six divine spheres orbit the mortal sphere and appear in some ways, at least partially, to be emotive beings. They respond to the actions of mortals, favouring some actions and decrying others. Which ones depends on the sphere in question. When a mortal dies their spirit is launched from the mortal sphere towards the divine spheres where it begins the great journey. If a spirit was closely aligned enough in life to a particular sphere that connection will draw it through the sphere in a reincarnation. After which it will return back towards the mortal sphere. Some spirits have been observed travelling through multiple spheres after a particularly auspicious life, a sign of great glory.
However there are those who do not make the great journey successfully. Those people whose lives are poorly lived by whatever metric fall in their travel. Rather than travelling through a sphere, their spirits flit from existence like a failing moth, descending into an eternal darkness, never to be reborn.
With this understanding, the Church has spread. The duty of care of its priests drives them to educate the world on the spheres, ensuring the greatest number of souls may return to the mortal sphere. The Church varies from region to region but the core beliefs remain the same, even if the names are changed.