There is little else to do right now other than post this load of brain diarrhea. It is all a work-in-progress. I apologize for any inconsistencies. I thought it would at least be of service to post what I have at this point.
House names are intentionally left out (with the exception of the Seldalis). Maybe your house can somehow be part of this history?
Possible Introduction
It has been over two thousand years since the great mountain in northern Uedos spewed fire, ash, and death, clawing the sky with smoky fingers and scattering the stench of bitter brimstone. Gazing to their firmament, the Alyusian people had long seen the pale-green jade moon, and swore by its thousands of faces that it held the power of fertility. Yet as ashen rain swept the skies, and the green moon became masked by gray ghosts, that symbol began to fade and vanish, along with the lifestyles the Alyusians had relied on for what seemed like time eternal.
Before the migrations, the Alyusians were bound to dozens of chieftains, many of whom were locked in constant squabbles and violent feuds. Yet as the green moon disappeared behind the gray, the chieftain known only as Sytus, "the Pale" in the now-extinct old tongue, stepped forward. He proclaimed guidance from mysterious "nine oracles", outcasts and twisted folk who had given their souls to the strangeness of the world. Believing it to be the Alyusian people's destiny to follow the light of the green moon to an ever-fertile land, Sytus led the clans out of Uedos, through a cold and harsh landscape, and across a narrow isthmus. There, they discovered the land of Suenos, or "eternal garden", a fertile, flowing land with green, jagged mountains, not dissimilar from the moonscape as seen through a peering tube.
As the Alyusian people journeyed south through Suenos, they encountered clearer and clearer skies, and thus a firmament containing a crisp, green moon, and a landscape teeming with game and fertile land. They also encountered the diminutive so-called Rayaki (or "painted children" in the old Alyusian tongue), indigenous peoples to the wilderness of Suenos and mostly hostile to the Alyusian migrations. The Rayaki were spread across the land, and had developed into varying regional subgroups. In north Suenos, where the Alyusians first arrived, the Rayaki were largely a nomadic peoples, hunting whale and living in the deep cold, presumably pushed to such conditions by their more aggressive southern relatives. Another offshot dwelled in the wooded mountains of central Suenos, where they lived a primitive lifestyle, seemingly out of sight and beyond the senses of men.
Warriors might boast that the Alyusians had come across the land bridge armed with bronze and horses, and countless lifetimes of battle experience due to previous clan infighting, while the Rayaki relied on cruder methods of defense. Priests might imply that the nine oracles used their powers to control the Rayaki, conjuring storms and cloudy hands that reached low from the green moon. And academics might note that the united Alyusian people, even after their struggles and migrations, were more numerous and unified than the Rayaki tribes, and knew how to maintain such a large population with agriculture and husbandry. All of these observations are, to some extent, true.
As the Alyusian clans established hegemony over western Suenos (called Syrosia), they eventually made their way across the Milky Channel. On the eastern sphere of the continent (called Tenosia), they came into contact with the militaristic Esurks. The Esurks were on the cusp of developing into a viable, sedentary, bronze age civilization on the Ketiral Steppe, and followed a society based on a strict warrior's code. Conflict eventually erupted between the fledgling Alyusian civilization and the Esurks. The result was a series of wars, resulting in the eventual defeat and enslavement of the Esurkish peoples.
For about five hundred years, the Esurkish tribes were permitted to propagate throughout the Ketiral Steppe, much as they had before, but kept subjugated by iron and blood. During this time, the Esurks maintained their fervent warrior traditions, even teaching their code and practice to their captors (who, over time, emerged as protectors; being slaves in the Alyusian kingdoms was considered a far better fate than being shipped off to Uedos on a foreign slaver ship). Indeed, Esurkish techniques and warrior art forms became amplified as iron was introduced to Suenos. During a millennium of Esurkish slavery (and to a lesser extent, Rayaki slavery, though most Rayaki had been either exterminated or brought into "lesser" families), the Alyusian people crafted magnificent structures. They ranged from great temples boasting of the godhood of "the Pale" Sytus to massive keeps and dark castles. During this time, Alyusian families around the Ketiral Steppe interbred with their Esurk slaves, something that was kept secret and forbidden for first few generations, but which gradually became common practice, as it maintained a truce between the two peoples (thus, when the first open marriages between the Esurkish and Alyusian peoples occurred, that was also the first year that saw no rebellion or bloodshed on the Ketiral Steppe since the Alyusian arrival there).
The era of slave labor ended during the reign of Emperor Seldalis. Seldalis had struggled for the shrine with his old brother Reldan. Reldan was an insane and cruel man, and Seldalis had ambitions of his own. Thus, when their father died, the two brothers engaged in the first true struggle for the Moon Shrine. Initially, most families supported Reldan's claim, for such claims were sound and based on law. Seldalis cleverly distanced himself from his father's policies, which were aimed at humiliating impure families and alienating them from the shrine. Seldalis not only guaranteed the shrine's support to the families of the Ketiral Steppe, but he also guaranteed the freedom of the Esurks and the end to slavery. Threatened by raiders and marauders from the Ketiral, and all of Tenosia itself, various families folded to Seldalis and began to support his claim. He would eventually become emperor, killing his brother in battle, and he kept his word: all Esurkish slaves were free, and slavery was ended throughout the Empire.
[Elaboration needed on events after Seldalis' reign.]
Possible Timeline of Events
~2,000: The Alyusian Crisis, the Blackening of the Pines, the discovery of Suenos and the subsequent migration.
~1,950: The death of Sytus the Savior at Savior's Grove (illness). Before his death, he was crowned Supreme Guide of the Alyusian People. He had five sons, but all died of illness except for one. He became the next emperor. This year also marks the subsequent establishment of the Lunar Shrine (the original structure was a simple wooden one, which has now been replaced by a magnificent marble structure). Thus, the establishment of the Pale Faith. A canon begins to be compiled by the original oracle-philosophers (based on Sytus' teachings and writings), who establish rough parameters for the appointment of new eunuchs / cut hermaphrodites. The original sages will be canonized themselves, their writings replicated by scribes on thousands of scrolls, which are distributed throughout Suenos.
~1,900: Alyusians flock to the Lunar Shrine and pay homage to Sytus' only surviving ancestor. He is later proclaimed Emperor.
~1,800: The discovery of the vine-covered Ruins of Foresight, which seem to predict Alyusian landfall.
~1,500: Beginning of Alyusian hegemony over Syrosia (western sphere of Suenos). By this time, numerous settlements exist throughout the land, as well as crude forts. The most spectacular is the Pale City, capital of the realms and location of the Lunar Shrine. Prominent families have already emerged, many of which claim to be descended from original Alyusian clans (doing so by showing evidence such as old clan artifacts, written documents, or even going so far as to compare their facial features to those of chieftains of old). Those with the best claims seem to gather the most followers, mostly because of official recognition from the Shrine.
~1,400: Landfall in Tenosia, or the eastern half of Suenos. The subsequent subjugation of various coastal fishing peoples related to the Esurks.
~1,300: The first meaningful conflict with the Esurks, resulting in a purging of Alyusians from the Ketiral Steppe. The emperor reacts by sending a massive army to Tenosia.
~1,200: After numerous wars, the Esurks are battered and surrounded. Numerous lesser Alyusian families have flocked to Tenosia to start a new life. They are recognized by the emperor and given estates. The Era of Slaves begins - the slave trade makes once barely-known families extremely wealthy. It would be followed by numerous bloody rebellions in which the Esurks would try to take back the Ketiral Steppe, but fail. The result is a collection of truces, over time, and secretive bastard children being born of Alyusian and Esurkish parents.
~700: The Seldalisi War of Succession. After victory, the younger Seldalis brother frees all Esurkish slaves and recognizes many mixed blood families in Tenosia.
~550: The "Age of Kingdoms" begins. The emperor loses political authority to numerous smaller kingdoms, but retains his religious, symbolic role, and a massive degree of respect from all houses and the general populace.
----- Several wars between "kingdoms" for a variety of reasons; ~Turmoil period, establishment or continuation of various regional identities and prominent regional houses. -----
0: The first Executate; the first Executor comes into power after a bloody war uniting the families once more into a single empire. The Executor is handed supreme political and military power by the emperor himself, and dozens of lords and their houses pledge fealty. This does not end warfare between families, though it does greatly diminish it. This also marks the re-creation of a formidable imperial guard, so as to "enforce the emperor's appointments and protect the Lunar Shrine in the name of the god-king and the Executor, his holy protector".
190: First struggle.
410: Second struggle.
570 A.E.: The current year. Suenos has maintained a modicum of political stability through a series of Executates. These Executors have varied in their effectiveness, but overall they have contributed to a sense of empire that has allowed Suenos to grow significantly in the last five centuries (cities have grown, roads have been constructed, ports are thriving, and all classes have been somewhat content). There have been some interruptions, as listed in this timeline. And now, the Executor's power is diminishing further, due to a variety of factors: over the last two hundred years, trade with Uedos has boomed, thus strengthening the Suenos currency and has creating a variety of commercial zones (as well as more respect for the low-tier merchant class); the prevalence of bandits and thugs has contributed to a rise of regional powers, as many lords pledge to protect farming villages; general developments in agriculture and local trading has led to a desire for greater local autonomy... just to name a few. This desire for regional power has, in the last few decades, led to a boom in castle construction, much to the chagrin of the last few Executors. Building codes have been put in place regarding castles, yet they are largely ignored.
Religion
Sytus came to be called many things: The Pale God, the Savior of Jade, the Moon Emperor, and many others (titles that have been passed down from emperor to emperor). His legacy thus lived on in the guise of an elaborate religion, seemingly entirely dedicated to the Alyusian people and their struggles, moreso than vague concepts of spirituality. Still, by the current year, the religious practices of those living in Suenos have become muddied.
Esurkish Contributions
First of all, it is important to mention indigenous religions in Suenos. While the essence of those religions has faded along with its core practitioners, some elements have bled into the empire's overall mythos. For example, the Esurkish religions were polytheistic and idolatrous. Their specific idols were not given to the Alyusians; however, some symbols of these idols were translated through Alyusian history. For example, the "warrior's pose" idol no longer represents a vague Esurkish god of hunting and archery, but it has rather come to represent a variety of Alyusian heroes. There are dozens of such "small gods", with imagery taken from the Esurks, transformed, and "perfected" in wooden and marble statues. These forms were originally prized by Alyusian clans entering Tenosia. There were some notable gods of the Ketiral Steppe which many Alyusian families adopted as saints. These are not officially recognized by the Emperor or the Lunar Shrine, yet they do have great prominence throughout Tenosia and the Ketiral. In many ways, the respect of some old Esurkish gods, and the replacement of original Esurkish temples with like-minded Alyusian monasteries, contributed to the truces forged between the Alyusians and their rebellious slaves.
Rayakian Contributions
The Rayaki's influence on Suenos' religious atmosphere has been more widespread. The Rayaki did not worship any specific gods or idols, but instead worshipped the land as a deity. For example, a great mountain might be a god in their world, as well as a dense forest. As such, the most exceptional natural barriers or sites are now regarded as holy by the Lunar Shrine, a testament to nature's power. The Rayaki's mythos fit well with the migrating Alyusians, who "followed" a symbol of fertility and nature to a new continent; respect for their new world was of utmost importance to them. Various shrines to these places of great natural beauty or prowess have been erected over the millennia.
Practice
While we have covered some of the technical aspects of the Suenosi faith sets, lets hit a more practical note: practice itself. The temple is the most common structure used to worship the Lunar God, and they vary in size and construction. Shrines are typically in areas of great natural beauty, and are often built on top of old Rayaki shrines. Within a temple, one can find a censer, which is used to hold burning agarwood and cedarwood incense. The incense (one stick or a bundle; it does not matter) is lit by the worshiper and moved in a crescent moon shape, and then placed into the censer. Additionally, practicing monks carry small, chained censers, thus acting as a "temple in motion". Worshipers may find an idle monk on the street and use him to pray to the Lunar god, though the monk must be displaying his portable censer. Shrines do not have censers, and they do not house monks. They do have "keepers", who live on the grounds and maintain the shrine, though they are often kept out of sight. Shrines are simple structures built on the land of a god (hence the Lunar Shrine being built on the very spot Sytus is entombed).
Temples
Temples are typically spacious, stone structures, whereas shrines are almost always made of wood (cypress, cedar, etc.). Temples feature an entry hallway representing the full moon, and will always have an altar with an icon of the Lunar God's emblem (physical representations of Sytus are non-existent; only the emperor's emblem is shown for worship, for it represents all emperors, who are considered deities in their own right (though they all represent the manifestation of the same god). The entry hallway leads to a central courtyard, which branches off into seven other rooms, each one representing a different phase of the moon. The average visitor to a temple will only go to the room of the current phase, though devout followers might visit each room (such as, if a woman is pregnant, she may visit the phase in which her child is predicted to be born in). Some of the nine saints may be featured within the temple in various nooks and crannies. In Tenosia, there are eleven saints (as mentioned), the other two being the Esurkish warrior slave Ayrrak (who performed many feats, including freeing Alyusian prisoners after a violent slave revolt and eventually fighting valiantly for Emperor Seldalis) and the "steppe mage" Coseb, who acted as a wise intermediary between the Alyusians and the Esurks, eventually marrying the first interracial couple before it was appropriate or legal to do so.
Shrines
In contrast, shrines are small structures with simple features. While a worshiper might visit a temple for an all-inclusive spiritual experience, and the opportunity to communicate with the highest power, a shrine might be visited in order to curry favor with a specific "lesser god" of the land. There are hundreds of different lesser gods with their own respective shrines, most of them tiny (basically, one god per geographic feature). For example, the Ketiral Steppe features dozens of shrines dedicated to the vaguely-categorized "god of war", though the statue or icon of this god varies. An exceptionally tall mountain might also have a shrine on its grounds, which one may visit for peace of mind and to speak to the likewise vaguely-categorized "god of the mountain". There are gods of fertility housed in shrines overlooking vast farmlands; gods of sailing on the coast or built on small, rocky islands; gods of the river, forest, and even sky. Visiting these shrines does not necessarily mean you are wishing to speak to the specific god of that region or geographic feature. Worshipers visiting shrines might ask for a safe day of hiking or sailing, even if it is not on or near the respective mountain or body of water that action will be taking place on. There are a variety of other purposes to worship at a shrine. They are more peaceful, smaller, and harder to reach, and thus one's devotion is shown by visiting them. Children can be blessed at shrines, as well as pregnant women; for example, if parents wish for their son to be a talented captain, they may take him to a sea-shrine while he is still in the womb, or perhaps on his fourteenth nameday. Because shrines do not have censers, worship is done by kneeling before the region/feature (thus towards that feature itself). A typical shrine will have an incredibly detailed, wooden stamp showing the respective natural "god" (i.e., a mountain, or a forest, or perhaps another representation such as a falcon), which can be used to mark the page of a book to show that one has visited.
Visitation
Even though the majority of Suenosi visit both temples and shrines in their lifetime, there are certainly preferences depending on region and family. Some houses whose members have grown up in less developed areas do believe in the Lunar God, but they exclusively visit shrines because they are more relevant to their lives. And some of the elite of the cities or more developed regions might view shrines as useless supplements to their faith, far-away and obscure locales that lie in the backwater of Suenos.
Saints
The original nine oracles are considered saints in the Lunar faith. A plethora of icons, tapestries, and other such images exist of the Nine, and they have various meanings and representations, depending on the region, house, and local significance. They are:
Daryan: The Sculptor, sometimes called the Artisan or the River. At a young age, he was castrated by a giant river serpent, which was also said to have given him knowledge of the world's greatest flows and their spectacular origins. Never desiring physical pleasure, he spent his days crafting a variety of sculptures, the beauty and realism of which are said to have driven men to madness. His original busts of Sytus caused all who saw them to weep.
Erveta: The Druid, sometimes called the Exiled. A hermaphrodite born with an ugly, deformed face and pushed into the woods by her family at an early age; eventually resurfaced with the ability to speak to animals and the wind.
Haimara: The Witch, sometimes called the Weaver. A woman who long used the power of foresight for "evil witchcraft", eventually returned to society and repented, offering Sytus her abilities.
Innadi: The Hermit. A man who fled to the rocky northern mountains, where he remained for most of his life. When villages gossiped hatred of this man, Sytus journeyed into the mountains to find him. When Sytus found him, it is said that the Hermit gave him profound knowledge regarding the nature of humanity.
Kolanty: The Herbalist, sometimes called the Farmer or the Gardener. In society, he was known for his uncanny talent at growing crops in even the worst conditions. Jealous of his achievements, his neighbors burned his fields and killed his family. After this event, he began to wander, gathering and studying weeds and flowers. When Sytus fell ill during the migration, Kolanty saved him with his knowledge. Also known for his generosity.
Lioten: The Poet, sometimes called the Bard. Artists were long looked down upon Alyusian chiefdoms, and treated as scum. Yet Lioten was said to have moved even the most brutal, conservative naysayer with his written words, and caused the elements to stir with his stanzas. And indeed, many of his poems about Sytus are still read aloud today.
Padimon: The Linguist. It was said that he knew over a thousand languages, including the languages of fire and birds. He was long treated as a heretic, until he came to Sytus' aid, when Sytus could not communicate with some of the fringe chiefdoms.
Rodisana: The Courtesan, but also called the Singer. She was said to have unparalleled beauty and the ability to bed the greatest chiefs and even the ancient gods themselves. It was also said that her beauty pacified storms. She was kidnapped, tortured, and disfigured by a jealous chief, and eventually saved by Sytus. When Sytus did not take her as a prize, she joined him out of respect. No longer able to sway minds with her beauty, she began to use her hypnotic, enchanting voice for song.
Serlensi: The Swordsman, sometimes called the Blacksmith. He mined and worked with metals, he himself performing the entire blade-making process. He was said to be as strong and efficient as a thousand miners and able to duel the wind with his swordplay. His strength made him feared by the general populace, until he saved Sytus from a horde of giants.
(Ayrrak): The Warrior Slave, sometimes called the Merciful. Not recognized by the Lunar Shrine, though important to several houses in and around the Ketiral Steppe. An Esurkish warrior-turned-slave who led dozens of successful rebellions and captured hundreds of foes, but ultimately spared the lives of his Alyusian prisoners.
(Coseb): The Pacifier, sometimes called the Steppe Mage. A eunuch priest of the Lunar Shrine, he traveled to Tenosia to become priest of a temple on the Ketiral Steppe. There, he was a brilliant intermediary between the Alyusians and the Esurks, and married the first Alyusian-Esurkish couple. When this was discovered, he was brutally executed, but the Lunar Shrine has since vouched for his dignity (though continues to refuse official acceptance of his sainthood).