The Word

All has been translated from the tribe's language

The origination of "The Word" lie in the deserts of Atamara. It was brought back by an explorer, a young boy who left his village in Axzaloc to become a man, a man with the lust of great challanges and great risk, and ultimately a faithless wanderer who heard the voice of creation. Trapped in a valley near the highest crag in Eagles Glen. He was lost, near death. As he lie there awaiting the loss of the last of his stregnth, dangeling down the side of the mountain's Crag swaying where the wind blew him slowly freezing and praying to any god that was listening. Through Frosted lashes and near delerium, he heard the whisper of "THE WORD" and saw a vision of peace and prosperity. He listened and recieved enlightenment. With renewed stregnth and resolve recovered himself and walked away from the mountain. He left not only a strong brave man physically but spiritually as well. He walked into the dawning of the rest of his life changed, enwizened and with a look sorrow and determination etched into the new lines upon his face. Previously a pagan, he knew that to give others the same hope and renewed purpose, he needed to spread "THE WORD." He wrote of what he heard and wandered preaching, finding no compassion in his wanderings until finally he returned to his small tribe around Axzaloc that was lost and aimless due to the death of many due to a long drought, With his voice of hope and purpose they listened, and heard "THE WORD". Through "THE WORD" they prospered in the middle of the desert. The caravans came in time and spread "THE WORD" through the desert and beyond.... It is common practice among the dedicated to name children after the aspects of the God. All people are welcome, you need not to be named or be of the desert to appreciate "THE WORD" or worship any of the God's many aspects.

Core Belief

The Believers of "THE WORD" know that everything was brought into being by a supreme "CREATOR." He is a being higher than the guiding spirits, and the guiding spirits also comprise him. He brought into being from his thoughts all of the firmament of our continent of Atamara and all of the great continents of our world. With a few strokes from his fingers he brought into being the shape of the world and with a few more he peopled the world. This was good but did not bring him happiness. He then sent out into the void a calling for special sparks of life to inhabit his people to give them leaders and purpose and to lead the peoples of the world into civilization. From these sparks have brought forth Great leaders, Hero's, Nobles, Trading empires, and Religious leaders. Many have tried to explain away the ways of the world that the "Creator" has made, and all are good, since the "Creator" also formed aspects or guiding spirits to help explain and maintain the titanic wonder of his world. He accepts worship of all the varried forms either to him or through "Guiding Spirits" many call "gods". He understands it is hard for many to accept a "Creator" who does not need worship only that we follow his ways and be the best that we can be. That is our purpose. Hopefully in our example to others, may the "Creator", whom we call GOD find joy with us and be happy. And in time when our physical forms fail us may he welcome us back.

Culture

The culture of The Word is complex, with many intricate manners.

Quick Vocabulary

• God, Hab
• Gods/Aspects, Hab-yc
• The followers/devotees, Hab-b
• By the aspects, Het Hab-yc
• For the gods, Het Hab-yc
• Under god Kargnch and Kargnchha, Het hab Kargnch ke Kargnchha

Main article

Holy Days

• On every 24th day of a conflict, hab-b are expected to take a day off from fighting and pray to Karibash for success.
• The full moon is a time when the gods are closest to the world, and hab-b are expected to leave an offering at a temple.
• The second day of the fourth moon is a day of atonement, hab-b should pray to the gods.
• The day between the 13th and first moons is a day of praise and thanks, hab-b should hold a feast with family and friends.

Calendar

The Word follows a lunar calendar, with each moon having 28 days leaving one day of thanks at the end of each year. The year starts at the 6th month of solar calendars (OOC:The first full moon in June)

• Kay'o-i, begin.
• Ta kar, first war.
• Ta tor, first peace.
• Ansto, sand.
• Es, land.
• A, water.
• Nee, fire.
• On, air.
• Sc-i, giving.
• Wenta-i, receiving.
• Ya tor, last peace.
• Ya kar, last war.
• Xan-i, end.
• Bah-tansktsul, no name. Lasts one day.

Numerology

Numbers are used to tell the future in the religion.

• 1: The modifier. A sign of change.
• 2: The mother. A sign of beginning.
• 3: The complete. A sign of ending.
• 4: The child. A sign of growth.
• 5: The multiplier. A sign of drastic change.
• 6: The complete child. A sign of a great event.
• 7: The jumper. A sign of an extreme change.
• 8: The grandchild. A sign of fruition.
• 9: The complete grandchild. A sign of balance.
• 24: The perfect. A sign of the Second Coming.

The Undead

It is our sacred duty when passing through regions to Reconsecrate the local graveyards to help keep down the restless spirits. The Unrestfull are a plague upon the land and their spirits are in desperate need of guidance to find their true way into the plains of the afterlife. Priests and Karibs of the order are asked to speak the following to help keep spirits leave this world and go into the next....

HET XANIO! B'XANIO KA HAB! FEH-SUNUK THS-AITO SKTGUULTAN-I! BAH-ANSTO-I!

(For Xanio! Death's god! I ask you! Do not forget!)

This is a prayer to the guiding spirit of ending that he take the spirit and bring him to the afterlife. It is chanted while dancing about the graveyard burning incense.

Temples and Shrines

A temple is always a pyramid, with the corners in line with the compass (North, South, east, West). Inside, there is a central room with a shrine where offerings are made. Rooms branch off the central room, including attics and basements. It is here one can study, contemplate, preform rituals or speak to a priest. The larger the temple, the more rooms branch off. In the largest temples (Lvl. 4 and up) there is an observatory at the highest level and the basements stretch down some 30 levels, it is common to see children playing hide and seek in these vast temples.

Families are expected to keep a shrine in their households, and have a larger family shrine where large ceremonies take place.

Temple Locations:

• Mapaxal Lvl 4 Founding Temple, largest in all Atamara
• Axtli Lvl 3
• Cantril Lvl 3
• Chocxal Lvl 2
• Metemec Lvl 2
• Mattlu Lvl 2
• Ptaphoc Level 2
• Chucxi Lvl 1
• Lowdale Lvl 1
• Maapan Lvl 1

Main article: WORDSPREAD

Relations

We prefer to maintain good relations with other faiths. Usually, they are misguided, following only one aspect of the God or one of his Guiding Spirits. They are variants, one of the God's spiritual aspect's worshiped under a different name. We choose to follow the true all encompassing GOD. Of all of the Aspects we do not recognize Evil aspects as we know there can be no truly evil religions, for God is not evil. There may be misguided individuals whom wrongly worship the natural process of erosion and decay as a destructive Aspect instead of seeing it as a natural process. The other aspects of God may believe that their aspect is the only aspect and seek to persecute us. But we shall stand, for in the end, even if they do not recognize their Aspect we do and it is hard to fault the followers, as God is not easily understood by all. For a faith to be considered evil by us, they must actively and forcefully seek to deny their place a part of God's holy "WORD" and strike down the teachings of the Kargnchha and Kargnch, the highest priests of "THE WORD". This we consider blasphemy and will not be tolerated. We do accept and understand that not all are able to accept the full blinding belief that encompasses "THE WORD" and acknowledge that our God has many spiritual aspects that are sometime worshiped by others under their native names. These Atamaran names are as follows.

ATHONLAURISM --- (Guiding Spirit of the Sun, child of Esaneon)

• The word Athonlaur derives from the ancient tongue, and means, "Bright Path," or, "Way of Light." It is the way of Arelien, Goddess of the Sun. She is, at heart, a warrior Goddess, and is the patron of honourable battle. Her primary tenets are:
  • The duty of the strong is to protect the weak
  • Seek justice, tempered by mercy
  • Do not raise your hand to strike before you have raised your voice to speak
  • Do not seek vengeance, for such is the way of Elanzil; rather, forgive, and be forgiven

DARKANISM --- (guiding spirits of fire earth and smoke, children of Esaneon)

• Darka, Sigrid and Lodril are the main gods. Jordfan, Sigund and Brigith are the side gods. Sigund and Brigith are evil, because they are fighting the main gods to bring them back into Sigund's womb. Their followers are not tolerated, because they are simply evil and worshippers of evil are not welcome. We do not wish to scare children with that, we wish to hold them for their evil. Sigund and Brigith are the ones scaring the children. Jordfan on the other hand is not evil. He is the creator of everything, but has lost many of his worshippers since he decided to not get involved in the conflict between Sigund and Brigith on the one hand and Darka, Sigrid and Lodril on the other hand. His followers are of course fully tolerated, but there are much less of them. Easy, High Priest of Darka, God of Ashes.

DA WAY ---- (Guiding spirit of mischief, represented by a goat)

• Da Way was founded to honor Da Great Goat and spread his teachings, to all inhabitants of the world. We accept all nobles wishing to discover Da Way and devote their lives to it. Members initiated into our religion are given a set of specific tasks designed by Da Goat to teach them about Da Way so that when their training is completed, they may in turn teach it to others."

Retrieved from "http://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php/Talk:The_Word"

HÖRGR OF MAKAR ---(Native name for Karibash)

• Beliefs
  • We live the life of a true viking and preach to the masses the life of a viking warrior and how it pleases the gods.
  • We instruct that true pleasures are with the gods in the after-life.
  • We strive to be heroes and champions of battle.
  • We teach drinking the mead of the gods and punishing of the heretics!
  • We adhere to sacrificing the bodies of the heretic’s horses and to feast on their meat!
  • We are instructed to steal the gold of the heretics, to pillage their fields and to roost with their women.
  • We shall go forth and build temples to the gods and name them Hörgr of Makar, for this will please the gods and find us favor in their eyes.
  • Following the Hörgr of Makar will find you favor and building a temple will find you more favor.
  • Such is the will of the gods!

MAGNA SERPAENSISM --- (Native name for Scha)

Magna Serpaensism is the organized, and concerted effort of Ash Sea Island nobility to formally construct a church based upon worship of the Great Serpaent Magnus, who in ancient times created the nobility of the realm and charged them with the defense of the Ash Sea, and its Isles from those unholy and barbarous peoples who would threaten to sanctity of the waters.

THE PANTHEIST PATH --- (Similar beliefs, native touches, VERY similar)

The Pantheist Path is a tolerant faith, expansive and open-minded in its search not only for the truth, but all means by which it may be arrived at. Thus, it is widely believed that there are indeed many gods, most worthy of worship, and most of whom faith and understanding in will bring one closer to one of the roads to the truth. Of the many gods, we venerate eight above all others, those whose purity of purpose and power, determines and defines the Eight Ways, the following of which will bring one to True Enlightenment and Understanding of the Universe around us.

THE ORDER --- (Same beliefs, native touches)

• Not much is known of this aspect as of yet, related to the Order of Ered Luin.

VENERISM --- (Same beliefs, native touches.)

• THE VENERABLE ORDER OF THE CITADEL.. An Eston noble by the name of Marouane rose to great power. Though Marouane had shortcomings as a man, as a warrior he was unmatched. The gods used Marouane's spirit to fight the Great Dragon. Marouane defeated the Great Dragon's spirit thus allowing the gods to smite the dragon. Without the Great Dragon's intervention, the gods can now contact their creation. The contact cannot be direct, for no mortal can stand in the presence of a god and survive, but the gods can speak to men through departed spirits. The gods wish now to undo the damage which was caused by the false noble lines and reestablish Eston as the true noble line.

Appearance

There is not much one can use to show they are a follower. There is no outward signs for the religious. It is through deeds that followers are known. In battle, you can wear a small religious sigil upon your shield or a pendant upon a chain. Some of the more devout wear a war-skirt comprised of a large piece of folded leather, though nothing else. For that reason, wearing a war-skirt is unpopular with other more civilized tribes. Some colors are also symbolically used.... Purple is the main colour used in ritual vestments and garbs, yellow is the royal colour and used during the most holy or sacred of occasions, and red is the colour of strife, not only physical but spiritual as well. Showing a purpose of steadfast resolve and will. The Lay priests are usually seen wearing White robes for regular duties excepting for their appropriate colored robes when they are preforming their religious services. The Kargnchha wears robes displaying all three colors in various combinations whilst the Kargnch wears a robe of red and purple.

Aspects and Guiding Spirits

There are thousands of Aspects of the God. These are the names we use for their aspects, they are arranged in a heirarchy. At the top are the Higher Guiding Spirits or Habha. They are Xanio, Kaora, and Fuarchostn. They are the Spirit of End, The Spirit of Beginning, and the Entity of Time respectively. The next order are the Greater Spirits or Habztaninaasktesaiyn. They are Scha, Wentarkl, Torsaan, Anstorkoc, and Esaneon. They are the Spirits of Good/Happiness, the Spirits of Evil/Sadness, Entity of Balance, Entity of the Forgotten, and the Entity of the Elements respectively. Karibash is the most prominent of the lesser Spirits as he is the Personification of War. It is common for a follower to prefer a Guiding Spirit to God. As it is an easier path to understand. There are different priests who maintain shrines to one Spirit, but they still acknowledge the others. They have a 'favourite' Aspect, but recgonize its place within the heirarchy. Many of the most devout view deification of one Aspect over others is heretic as All aspects are part of the greater God and no part of God is more holy than another.

In short:

• Kaora (KAY-o-ra) Goddess of Beginning. She beguns everything. Her prefered physical form is a lizard.
• Xanio (ZAH-ni-o) God of End. He ends everything. His prefered physical form is an eagle
• Fuarchostn (fwar-SHOS-ten) Entity of Time. It controls and bends time. Its prefered physical form is the moon.
• Scha (SHAW) Goddess of Happiness. She rules a domain of happiness. She has no physical form, merely a white fog. Is at constant war with Wentarkl.
• Wentarkl (when-TAR-kil) God of Sadness. He rules a domain of sadness. He has no physical form prefering a black fog. He wars with Scha for eternity.
• Torsaan (tor-SAHN) Entity of Balance. Strives to keep balance. Contains Scha and Wentarkl in their eternal war. Takes the form of a floating glass sphere which shows the balance of an individual.
• Anstorkoc (an-STOR-kos) Entity of the Forgotten. Rules all that is forgotten, keeping it in existence. Takes the form of sand.
• Esaneon (es-A-neon) Entity of the Elements. Is all physical elements. Takes no form out of choice.
• Karibash (kar-i-BASH) God of War. He is the god of war, and is asked for help whenever one enters battle. Take the form of a tall man dressed in whatever the person seeing him feels a warrior would have.

Scha, Torsaan and Wentarkl

There is difficulty describing these three gods. When they enter the afterlife Scha is the Goddess who rules those who serve, those who sacrafice, the people who suffer in any way. Wentarkl rules those who lived in happiness, but not necessarily gluttony and sin, though he does rule those people as well. In the afterlife, debts are repaid. Those who lived in servitude and strife enter the Kingdom of Scha and live in happiness until their debts are repaid. Those who lived in happiness enter the Kingdom of Wentarkl where they live in pain and suffering until their debts are repaid. Those who lived in balance can await the second coming in Torsaan's kingdom, or travel.

Philosophy

These are the beliefs of the hab-b, also called the followers (devotees of the word).

Life and Death

One is responsible for one's life. You have one chance at life, then you repay any debts. You should not mourn death, for that was their choice. Vengeance is pointless, all debts are repaid after death. The afterlife is a great plain of short grass. It is a flat plain of immeasurable size sitting in a sea of forgotten. The plain is ruled by Fuarchostn. The forgotten is ruled by Anstorkoc. In the top corner lies Xanio's kingdom of end, where the dead arrive. it is a small field enclosed by great walls of stone. In the centre lies a small building where Xanio rules. It is a hall which leads to a door engraved with the kargnchha's predicted death. The room within is where Xanio's throne lies. To the North east lies Kaora's kingdom, where souls await their life, and the dead await the second coming. South of Xanio's kingdom is Scha's kingdom, an unimaginable paradise where one can enjoy anything, even murder. Near the centre of the plains lies Wentarkl's kingdom. the area around is dry, resembling drought. The kingdom is on top of a mountain of black stone surrounded by black pillars of marble. A single staircase winds up the mountain where unimaginable torture and suffering lies. To the far south is Torsaan's kingdom, a small realm with walls where the Kargnchha is waiting to train.

When all souls have had their one chance at life, then the gods will create the Second Coming and all will start new. All Kargnch and Kargnchha will become gods.

War and Peace

They are vital to life. If one's realm happens to throw things out of balance, there is little one can do, for balance will be restored. The only thing you can hope is you are not hit in the backlash. Unless you were an instigating factor, then you have it coming. When one is forced to follow an imbalance, they may keep loyalty with their realm, or seek sanctuary wherever a temple lies. There, they may stay until their troubles are solved. If it happens that you are banned from your realm for this, then you obviously were not meant to be there. Friends are sacred, and should never be betrayed. A realm counts as a friend, but if they betray you, then you should have no more dealings with them.

Honour

There is no true "honour". Honour is for those individuals who believe that they should strive to suffer so they will be blessed in the afterlife. They are bound for suffering for their gluttony. Of course, this does not mean you can betray. This will land you in suffering as well. It means that you sould not feel restrained by fanicful notions of how one should act. Act as you wish, you will have your debts repaid. All actions are part of a cycle. Do not for what others will think of you, but what you will think of yourself.

Ceremonies

Ceremonies usually involve burning incense and saying prayers. These are done within the confines of purple curtains. In the older days, ceremonies involving cannabilism and sacrafice were common, but they have disappeared from most of the religion, surviving on the few who cling to the old traditions.

• There is no ceremony for births. The child is blessed by the priest.
• There is a ceremony for coming of age. At this time, you are now considered to be in control of your actions, and your fate. Prayers are said, incense burned, and you must choose your true name. It must forever be kept secret until death. You are only allowed to share it with one priest, the one who will reside over your funeral. It is the parents choice for when the child has come of age, but it is usually around 14 years old. The ceremony is also held for new inductees to the faith.
• There is no such thing as a wedding. A couple may be blessed by a priest, but monogamy is in the hands of the person. Should the husband have 1 wife, but the wife have 15 husbands, then that is her wish.
• Death is not held to be evil, but very necessary. There is a viewing at the wish of the family. At the funeral, the body is presented wrapped in purple cloth. Prayers are said, incense burned, and the deceased's true name is called out for the first time by the priest. Afterwards, the dead should be refered to by their true name. If the true name is never known, then they are blessed to have a good travel for their soul will now be stuck until the body decomposes. The burial rites consist of prayers and a blessing of herbs. The body then has the cloth removed and is left in the desert, mountains, or dumped into the sea, for it is nothing but a shell and should be treated as such.
• If one feels they need to appease a god, there is a ceremony. It consists of prayers, incense, fasting, and offerings over a period of 3 moons. Human sacrafices were common but are not anymore. Typical offerings are food or valubles. It may be done in groups or alone but must always be done in the confines of purple curtains.
• After battle or a duel, there is a very rarely used ceremony, one of the few to involve sacrafice and cannabilism. It is used to forsake a person you've killed to 1000 deaths. It is a ceremony of pure hate and anger, known only by a few. It was largely dropped from use after The Word began to spread.

The Kargnchha and Kargnch

They are the highest priests, their names Translate to Holy Leader/Warlord and Leader/Warlord respectively. They names harken back to the Ideal of the Tribal Shaman leader whom both defended the tribe and was its spiritual center. They lead the order, and determine where we spread. The two positions are seperate. Unless related to the Kargnchha, a Kargnch can never be the Kargnchha, but the Kargnchha can be Kargnch. They must each choose one successor and have a successor at all times. If the Kargnchha is ever incapacitated, then the Kargnch takes control. If he is incapacitated permenantly, the successor rises up to the position. They are considered Speaker of the "WORD" of god, and should be treated as such. Their subjects bow to their word. Upon death, they rise to the afterlife to live with God, and are never reincarnated in the Second Coming.

History

History is largely determined, though it does not mean you are bound to do one thing. It means that the same outcome will happen, regardless, therefore you can do as you wish but not to throw things out of balance.

The Great Prophecy

Not all are ready for the unfetted knowledge of the "Creator", so as a guide to the pagans we break him into parts so that his deeds are easier for the uninitated to understand. Our Prophecy is as follows.......

Before the universe was created naught existed besides the three original gods, Xanio God of End, Kaora Goddess of Beginning, and Fuarchostn the Entity of Time. All three Gods banished the nothingness and created the universe. The nothingness was forgotten and formed Anstorkoc the Entity of Forgotten. To populate the universe Xanio and Kaora made Esaneon, Entity of the Elements, to create all inside. To govern these new things, Kaora and Xanio made Scha, Goddess of Good, and Wentarkl, God of Evil. The universe was then evenly divided until they came upon one planet. Scha and Wentarkl both thought they were superior and fought over the planet. Their war almost destroyed the universe until Xanio and Kaora created Torsaan, Entity of Balance to encase them in their war and rule that one world. Exhausted Xanio and Kaora prophesized that “In the time when the knives of the wind rule, the Kargnchha, symbolically named with a mother not of the time, shall unite the world. Long after the Kargnchha is gone, the era of abuse against Esaneon is over, and the heavens are within reach but never found, the ‘Others’ shall destroy their past. The Kargnchha shall return and lead the armies of the Gods against them after fusing with the one the Kargnchha was named for. The throne shall be reclaimed by the Kargnchha’s descendant and lead the peoples of the empire to prosperity.” They then fell into a deep sleep, only to wake and fight with the Kargnchha.

Pilgramage Sites

Sites that are considered holy. Multiple sites means that there is some room to discern exact location.

• Atamara/Axzaloc, Kargnchha Xanio's birthplace.
• Atamara/Nazia, Kargnch Bertie's birthplace.
• Atamara/Mapaxal, first temple.
• Atamara/Metemec or Atamara/Calis, physical embodiment of Torsaan's Kingdom on Atamara.
• Atamara/Foda or Atamara/Tarasac, physical embodiment of Wentarkl's Kingdom on Atamara.
• Atamara/Tucha or Atamara/Aja or Atamara/Ser'quea, physical embodiment of Scha's Kingdom on Atamara.
• Atamara/Leohampton, physcial embodiment of Xanio's Kingdom on Atamara.
• Atamara/Icegate, physical embodiment of Kaora's Kingdom on Atamara.