Religion

Tell me Zuma, what is it that you believe? No, do not interrupt your teacher, that was a rhetorical question. Whatever it is you might have said, it will be unique to you. As many people as there are across Thyslann, so many are the different beliefs. I have heard two Bishops of Tharena profess two different stances on the creation of the species, and even the priests of Ezu I have met state different truths about one of their gods. No, do not question how I have spoken with the Priests of Ezu, that is not for you to know in your state of ignorance. Know only there are no truths in our beliefs of the divine: that is the deepest truth. Once you have mastered it, then you are prepared to learn from me.

- the philosopher Hamiko, as portrayed in the esoteric text Of Circles in Truth by his pupil Zuma

Several major religions are spread across the world, the largest of which is The Unspoken Word, practiced in the Northern and Southern Empires and indeed The Labyrinth itself is considered a holy site. Religion plays a major role in people's lives and the operation of some of the states. Many of these religions co-exist side-by-side across a population, while others are geographically more concentrated. This page details the core beliefs and practices of these religions as well as where they are most often practice or places they are associated with.

The Unspoken Word is a monotheistic religion focused on a deity known as the Guardian Goddess, who is held to have been present in mortal affairs in the past but to have recused herself since the church's founding. The religion was founded by the Tharenan Empire's foundress, Kallia, and her twelve companions, who claimed to have met with the Goddess and to have been chosen to carry on her work in the mortal world — that is, it fell to them to speak the word now left unspoken. Rather than a central holy book, the most noted religious texts are chronicles of the lives of noted figures, especially Kallia and her companions. As Kallia rejected deification late in life, neither she nor her companions are viewed as infallible — merely as the founders of the church and its closest link to the Goddess.

The Unspoken Word was the state religion of the united Tharenan Empire, and has remained such in both its successor states. The church — known as the Church of the Guardian — is formal and organised, with a hierarchical clergy. The church views itself primarily as the vessel through which the Goddess' will is enacted on the world today, and seeks to bring the Goddess' blessings to the laity of the empire through the performance of the proper sacraments for any given occasion.

Rather than a single head of faith, the church is governed by a council of six high priests titled Principia, with each responsible for one of the church's Dominions. Of these, the Dominions are traditionally ordered by the date of consecration of their High Seat and the recognition of one of its bishops as Principia, the only exception being the Dominion of Tharena which is held to have been founded by Kallia herself. In accordance with this, the order of precedence of the six is as follows:

Beneath the six dominions, the church is organised into Provinces and Districts led by Archbishops and Bishops respectively. The rank of bishop is conveyed only through anointment by another bishop, creating an unbroken chain of 'holy personage' that returns all the way to Kallia and her companions, who were granted this same anointment by the Goddess herself. Lower, un-anointed priests are the primary means by which the church communicates with the laity, speaking and offering sacraments on behalf of the bishop responsible for their supervision.

Connected to the church's hierarchy are a great number of Holy Orders, which might be organised as a military force or as a charitable organisation. While the church operates on donations from the laity it serves, the Holy Orders as a whole dwarf the entire church's priesthood and staff. As a result, Holy Orders are traditionally founded upon grants of land, sometimes very substantial in size. The largest Holy Order are the Word-Keepers, who were granted the isle of Kythara by the church after Caevrus, one of Kallia's companions, requested that it be used as such in his will.

The Sathists believe that they, and everyone else, are divine beings who have descended into the mortal world, hiding their true nature even from themselves. This is a sort of game the divine beings play, to have a mortal life for a handful of decades, and try to achieve mortal greatness through mortal means. The appropriate thing to do, when one finds oneself playing a game, is of course to play to win. Sathists therefore tend towards high ambition and competitiveness.

It is important for each Sathist to work out for themself what their particular calling is, what criterion they will use to evaluate the success of their mortal life after returning to the spirit realm and re-gaining the memories of their divine form. This win condition is different for different people, and is deduced from the challenges the adherent finds themself faced with, their personal feelings on what is interesting and worthwhile, and interpretation of omens.

Sathism is the majority religion in Corpunia, a region of the Northern Empire, having been brought there by the Sathi people, but Sathists can also be found scattered throughout much of the world.

The national spiritual practice of the Ezu Plateau region, The Divine Mysteries teach of the existence of 3 “Inner Gods”, who are all in some sense the same goddess, undergoing a process of death and rebirth. “She who Lights the Fire” is said to have created the world through an act of Divine Self Sacrifice. She was then reborn in a new form, “She who stokes the Flame”, The Preserver, who gave guidance to the holiest of the Ezu people, and taught them to build a society that would refine and purify it's people through cycles of death, rebirth, and ascension. This Goddess too has faced death, and is destined to be reborn into her third aspect, “She who smothers the Flame” the Destroyer, and usher in an age of blood.

Members of all Castes are strongly encouraged to perform the duties assigned to that Caste as a matter of religious duty, and so that they may be reincarnated into a higher Caste in the next life, eventually having purified themselves enough to be worthy to be born into the Priest Caste and contemplate the Divine Mysteries. Once a member of the Priest Caste, through multiple reincarnations, has finally mastered all mysteries, they escape the cycle of Rebirth, ascending to the heavens upon their death to live amongst the Gods.

Beyond this, The Tenets, Laws and Mysteries of the Priest Caste, along with the vast majority of religious texts, are forbidden knowledge for those outside the Priest Caste, and will not be recorded here.

Practitioners of Za-Rin believe that the natural world is the purest expression of the divine and thus it is necessary to revere and respect the natural world. They also believe that different aspects of nature all contain a fragment of the divine, because of this understanding aspects of nature is the best way to grow closer to the gods. Wildborn are particularly important, and are seen as the divine come to life to provide wisdom to the world of people.

To its believers, the name Za-Rin is less the name of the religion and more a word meant to encapsulate the deep sense of awe nature instils in them.

Za-Rin is mostly practiced in the Land of Endless Sky and is not commonly found elsewhere.

Purdanism is based on the revelation of the Prophet Purda that the Goddess of Darkness, Arshabeya, sacrificed herself to stop the sapient species from being destroyed by the God of Light, Mithura. Arshabeya committed herself to an eternal battle with Mithura and it is the duty of all people to live a good life and empower her in her battle so that one day she may defeat Mithura. The unscrupulous, hot-headed and arrogant will inadvertently aid the Light and are in danger of bringing about the end of the world where everything is consumed by fire.

Worship is conducted at numerous shrines, typically among small gatherings. The faithful are guided by astrologer-priests who are expected to read the stars and moon to determine the state of battle between Dark and Light.

Purdanism is primarily practiced in the Altalyria region of the Northern Empire as it was the state religion of a long-defeated empire. Some believers can be found elsewhere around the Inner Sea.

Misotheism has little in the way of specific beliefs. Misotheists have a generally distrustful attitude towards whatever god(s) may be out there. They avoid anything that seems likely to risk attracting divine attention or intervention, such as the rituals of other religions and often even saying gods' names. Other than this, they try to focus on the here and now, and not dwell too much on anything beyond. Misotheism is common, though not a majority, in the Allied Guilds, especially among Slimefolk.