[sub]excerpts from:[/sub] [centre][h2][sub][i]The Great Collected Piece for the One Who Shan’t from Knowing Cease writ that it may, at last, give such Valiant Seekers Peace[/i][/sub][/h2] [img]https://i.imgur.com/2D6WHzh.jpg[/img] [h2][sub]Written by Mijaranta the Scribe from the words of his sage and master Arahtura[/sub][/h2][/centre] [centre][h3][sub][b]I. Introduction[/b][/sub][/h3][/centre] This is recorded by Mijaranta the scribe, the disciple of the Master Arahtura. It is the history of Dehrthaa, the great [abbr=Kingdom]Ramshidra[/abbr], by the mouth of the Master. Thus spake the sage our Master: [indent]We begin, as are all beginnings, with praise of the Glorified Mojtha who came into the world and cleansed it. We praise him who is the sanctified avatar and voice of Misnaya the god, who is the Protective Lord, the Creator of Balance, the Maintainer of Order, the Ordainer of Justice, the Sustainer of the Living, the Writer of the Law, and the Teacher of the Meditative Ways. Praised be ever the Glorified Mojtha, praised be ever Misnaya - who is but an aspect of the One Who Frowns. And in praising them, who are aspects of aspects, we praise the ever-alert and watchful Lord whose throne is Mount Qaywandar. We praise the One Who Frowns and extend our arms to him in worship and gratitude. Now know this Mijaranta: the first noble learning is the knowledge of places; one who seeks to know the history of Dehrthaa must first know its places. So listen carefully and know now. The Land of Dehrthaa is made up of five regions - it has always been this way. These regions are: [list][*]The Khadaar in the north. [*]The Place Betwixt the Rivers in central Dehrthaa. [*]The Sea of Mimarba in the east and the great mangrove forest, known as the Mimrabans, on its coast. [*]The Qaywandar Highlands and Lowlands in the west. [*]The great forests and jungles of Muraymuna in the farthest south.[/list] [centre][h3][sub][b]II. On the Khadaar[/b][/sub][/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/SamgfF8.jpeg[/img][/centre] Of the Khadaar, the eager seeker of knowledge should know this: [indent]These are green and fertile grasslands. Here many herbs and shrubs grow wild, as do solitary trees. The savanna is mainly dominated by grasses, interrupted by trees and shrubs. There is much greenery near rivers and lakes, of which there is a small number. Rains come in the wet season and do not in the dry season. The wet season is a month-long period of continuous rain that brings water and life. In the dry season, all things dry without irrigation. In the Khadaar, fires occur annually and, if early in the dry season, are beneficial to plant growth - the people here know this and often start the fires at the right time. Larger plants are subdued by fires. Large herbivores also eat them - and they, in turn, are fed upon by large carnivores. Mature trees can survive the fires, but their seedlings may be killed. The people of the Khadaar have played a major role in creating and extending the Khadaar with deforestation, initiated fires, agriculture, and by bringing new plants and domesticated animals. Once the Khadaar may have been a land of endless forest similar in some ways to Muraymuna, but this is no more. Only small foresty enclaves remain as evidence that there ever was a jungle here. In terms of plants, grasses reign with some trees that seasonally shed their leaves, along with scrubs. You also find the flat-topped acacia, the solitary baobab, clumped grasses, and bush thickets. Elephant grass grows quickly in the rainy season - up to twenty handspans. I have observed that plant leaves tend to be small and thick, and either waxy or hairy. I have also observed that both the baobab and acacia lose leaves in the dry season. The baobab is unique to the Khadaar and is quite strange in appearance - many hold it to be sacred for this reason. It can grow to great heights - I have observed those that were thirty and one hundred spans in height; one must walk four and sixty spans to go full circle around some. As for age, some are reputed to be thousands of [abbr=years]cycles[/abbr] old. Their fruit is the monkey bread, its leaves are edible, and the tree stores water inside its trunk. Anyone who has walked the great grassy expanses of the Khadaar knows well that it captures the imagination, especially in terms of freedom and wildness. Great herds of gazelles roam here - great free things unrestrained by limited space or high mountains and forests to obstruct them. The soil is good and over time some of the nomadic people have settled into villages to farm the land. People here are also involved in silk production and actively grow the white mulberry to feed their silkworms. The north is dominated by the Khadaar nomads, who have their own arrangements with the [i]shids[/i] of the southern Khadaar. As for animals, I have roamed the Khadaar and seen all there is to see, so record this and commit it to your memory: [list][*]Large herds of thousands of wildebeest and caffer buffalo can be seen in the dry season. [*]Other common animals include the dik-dik. [*]Predators include the lion, the leopard, the cheetah, the caracal, and the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_wild_dog]wild dog[/url]. [*]The hispid hare, active near dusk and dawn, roams in tall grasslands across the western Khadaar, though grassland burnings mean they are not as common anymore. [*]The nocturnal bunyoro rabbit occupies the foresty and rocky regions of the central Khadaar. [*]The large brown hare roams across the Khadaar’s open grasslands. [*]The red fox is present, along with the "asse" - the silver-backed fox. The latter is restricted to open grasslands, where it is most comfortable, unlike the more versatile and cunning red fox. [*]The raccoon dog roams in the Khadaar also and is valued for its fur, particularly when reared in captivity. [*]The bat-eared fox dwells in the short grasslands on the eastern Khadaar. [*]The maned wolf roams in the northern and eastern Khadaar as well as the northern parts of the Qaywandar Lowlands. [*]There is a population of wild dogs in the north and central Khadaar. [*]Dholes are present across the Khadaar. [*]The limited woodlands of the Khadaar are home to side-striped jackals, while the related black-backed jackals prefer the open grasslands of the region. [*]Golden jackals roam across the eastern and central Khadaar while wolves may be found across the region. [*]Shepherds make use of various dog breeds for herding and protection across the Khadaar. [*]Herds of takhi horses roam across the open grassland of the Khadaar. [*]Certain breeds of horses, and certain uses (such as show or war), are considered marks of prestige, though the majority of common folk use horses for work. [*]There also exist feral horse herds - that is, horses that are domesticated but have run free and are now untamed. [*]Lion prides stalk the length and breadth of the Khadaar. [*]Where the Khadaar meets the Qaywandar, there lives the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_golden_cat]golden cat[/url], which also dwells in the mountains of the Lowland and beyond. [*]The leopard cat is also present in the same region as the golden cat, while the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_wildcat]common wildcat[/url] is present across the Khadaar. [*]Domestic cats are kept by people as pets in settlements and on farms to hunt rodents and other pests. [*]The [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_boar]wild boar[/url] occurs in the eastern Khadaar and along the River Muhaddir in the southern Khadaar, while warthogs can be found across the Khadaar. [*]Various species of civet call the grasslands home, and as does the ferocious honey badger and the sloth bear. [*]The Khadaar is home to a number of antelope species, these being the nilgai, chinkara (a kind of gazelle), the blackbuck, and the four-horned antelope. [*]Snakes that can be found across the Khadaar include the common krait, the chandroborha viper, the saw-scaled viper, the spectacled cobra, and the black-tailed python. [*]The common crane sometimes winters here. [*]Deer species that roam the Khadaar include the chital, the muntjac, the barasingha deer, and the sambar deer. [*]The great [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_elephant#:~:text=The%20Asian%20elephant%20(Elephas%20maximus,to%20Borneo%20in%20the%20east.]elephant[/url], one of the greatest of the animals of Dehrthaa, roams across the Khadaar. [*]The hoopoe is present in forested parts of the Khadaar and the common peafowl roams throughout the region. [*]The greater one-horned rhinoceros calls the plains of the Khadaar home, particularly in the south near the River Muhaddir. [*]A number of mongoose species call the Khadaar home. [*]The people living in the southern Khadaar keep a riverine water buffalo species. [*]The [url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/resources/nature-online/life/dinosaurs/dinosaur-directory/images/reconstruction/small/proto.jpg]small dircaan[/url] as well as their larger cousin, the [url=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-npHMDmpvBKU/VnpUZxiI1jI/AAAAAAAAB9o/kf2oqRvaAxg/s1600/Triceratops%2Bherd%2BWitton%2B2015%2Blow%2Bres.jpg]tri-horned dircaan[/url], roam all over the Khadar. [*]The terrible carnivorous and [url=https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/000/242/919/large/kotakan-_-rain3.jpg?1412891866]winged dircaan[/url], known as the ujkaar, also roams the Khadaar.[/list] This is all that the beginner needs to know - and even if you go the rest of your life knowing no more of the Khadaar than this, then you will have done well for yourself Mijaranta.[/indent] [centre][h3][sub][b]III. On the Place Betwixt the Rivers[/b][/sub][/h3] [img]https://i.pinimg.com/564x/72/53/fe/7253feec9a92d26217617bc9aa3b0798.jpg[/img][/centre] As for the Place Betwixt the Rivers, listen now for I shall relay to you what the cycles of roaming and pursuit of knowledge have unveiled: [indent]South of the Khadaar lies the Place Betwixt the Rivers. It is a hilly but fertile area between the River Muhaddir in the north and the River Juhmar in the south. It stretches from the diversion of the River Dahuur at the Rock That Would Not Move in the west until the conversion of the Muhaddir and Juhmar into the River Mudhindahuur in the east. The seasonal flooding of the Muhaddir and Juhmar, as well as other rivers, occurs in the dry season due to higher temperatures causing the glaciers in the Qaywandar Highlands to melt. Rain in the Place Betwixt the Rivers is split between the wet season and dry season, just like the Khadaar. The dry season is also flood season, while the wet season centres around the same month-long period of continuous rain. The rain can sometimes be so great as to cause the rivers to flood a second time, though this is a rare occurrence. The lack of rain in the dry season is not felt as markedly in the Place Betwixt the Rivers as it is in the Khadaar due to the presence of various tributaries and lakes throughout the region. As with the Khadaar, people here involved in silk production actively grow the white mulberry to feed their silkworms. As for animals, listen now and remember: [list][*]The [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_hare]karun hare[/url] thrives across the region, as does the red fox. [*]The raccoon dog roams in the Place Betwixt the Rivers and is valued for its fur, particularly when reared in captivity. [*]Dholes are present across the region, as are golden jackals. [*]Wolves are present, but in reduced numbers due to hunting. [*]Shepherds make use of various dog breeds for herding and protection across the region. [*]Certain breeds of horses, and certain uses (like show or war), are considered marks of prestige, though the majority of common folk use horses for work. [*]Lions call the hills, forests, and rivers of the Place Betwixt the Rivers home. [*]Domestic cats are kept by people as pets in settlements and on farms to hunt rodents and other pests. [*]The [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_boar]wild boar[/url] is present in the hills and along the rivers stretching to the east. [*]The various rivers and lakes of the region are home to the common otter and smooth-coated otter. [*]Innumerable freshwater fish call the rivers and lakes of the Place Betwixt the Rivers home. [*]Snakes that can be found across the region include the common krait, the spectacled cobra, the pit viper, the black-tailed python, the common vine snake, the aquatic checkered keelback, and various venomous elapid snakes. [*]The common crane sometimes breeds in the lakes and shallow waters of the region. [*]The rivers and lakes of the Place Betwixt the Rivers are home to the fish-eating crocodile and the mugger crocodile. [*]The muntjac deer roams the hilly regions of the Place Betwixt the Rivers. [*]The golden monitor is to be found in the floodplains of the region. [*]The [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asian_river_dolphin]river dolphin[/url] is to be found in the River Muhaddir and Juhmar. [*]The hoopoe is present in forested parts of the region. [*]The greater one-horned rhinoceros roams in the region. [*]The people living in the region keep a riverine water buffalo species. [*]The common peafowl roams throughout the region.[/list] Know all this that I have said to you of the Place Betwixt the Rivers and know it well, and if afterwards you wish to know more, Mijaranta, you will find yourself building upon the best of foundations indeed.[/indent] [centre][h3][sub][b]IV. On the Sea of Mimarba and the Mimrabans[/b][/sub][/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/We2ywSh.jpg[/img][/centre] As for that eastern region where the world seems as water beneath your feet and where the many mangroves are, know this: [indent]After the rivers Muhaddir and Juhmar diverge, they flow through the Place Betwixt the Rivers and eventually converge again into the Mudhindahuur River, from where they flow into the Sea of Mimarba. A great mangrove forest, known as the Mimrabans, grows along the sea’s coast and in the wetlands created by the Mudhindahuur’s great delta. The dominant mangrove species is locally known as [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritiera_fomes]mimri or mimrabi[/url], which yields a hardwood used for building houses and making boats, furniture, and other things. It may well surprise you to know that I did not find these mangrove forests to be home to a great variety of plants. This is because they have a thick canopy, and the undergrowth is mostly seedlings of the mangrove trees. One notable tree that does manage to grow here, among a few others, is the nipa palm. As for animals, there are many. Listen, Mijaranta, and I shall tell you: [list][*]Dholes are present in the Mimrabans along with wolves. [*]Shepherds make use of various dog breeds for herding and protection across the region. [*]The Mimrabans are home to the majestic and terrible tiger and to the leopard cat, and to both the jungle cat and fishing cat. [*]Wild boars are present in the western parts of the Mimrabans. [*]Various species of civet call the Mimrabans home, and so does the small-clawed otter, common otter, and smooth-coated otter (though the latter requires freshwater from further upstream). [*]Innumerable brackishwater fish call the Mimrabans home, and as does the sloth bear. [*]Snakes that can be found in the Mimrabans include the spectacled cobra, the pit viper, the black-tailed python, the aquatic and nocturnal bockadam snake, and various venomous elapid sea snakes. [*]The common crane commonly winters in the shallower waters of the great delta, which have the advantage of being protected by the great mangrove forest. [*]The saltwater crocodile is at home in the brackish waters of the Mimrabans and the Sea of Mimarba. [*]Deer species that live here include the chital, the muntjac, the barasingha deer, and the sambar deer. [*]The golden monitor is to be found here and so too is the greater flamingo. [*]Shrimps, prawns, lobsters, and crabs are found in abundance, as is a species of crayfish. [*]The Mimrabans is also home to the greater one-horned rhinoceros. [*]The people living in the region keep a swamp water buffalo species. [*]Various species of woodpecker dwell here and can often be heard pecking away. [*]Two great species of dircaan, the [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0a/eb/8c/0aeb8c6b37ffaffc3fe0a221dbddfb5c.jpg]one-horned dircan[/url] and the [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8c/59/2f/8c592f7202af3d0d87f2a7a862dbaef0.jpg]comb-headed dircaan[/url], dwell in the Mimrabans where their diet is composed of both vegetation and aquatic life-forms. [*]A wingless relative of the winged dircaan, better adapted to aquatic environments, stalks the wetlands of the Mimrabans and the Sea of Mimarba - the [url=https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DlDePLzXsAYcF5k.jpg]water dircaan[/url].[/list][/indent] [centre][h3][sub][b]V. On Qaywandar[/b][/sub][/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/NXuBcie.jpg[/img][/centre] Now, Mijaranta, I shall speak to you of sacred Qaywandar, its lowlands and its highlands - so listen attentively and well: [indent]Qaywandar in the west, named for the holy mountain whereon the One Who Frowns sits enthroned, is a mountainous region and is the source of the many rivers that converge into the River Dahuur, which swiftly splits off into the Rivers Muhaddir and Juhmar due to the Rock That Would Not Move. I have sat up there in the mountains to meditate on the secrets of the rivers that stem from it, and I have seen that the coming of summer causes glaciers to melt in the Qaywandar Highlands; the resultant meltwater feeds various freshwater mountain lakes, which are in turn the sources of the many rivers of Dehrthaa. The melting of the glaciers results in the seasonal flooding of the Muhaddir and Juhmar, as well as other rivers - foremost amongst which is the River Mur in Muraymuna. Despite this, the Qaywandar Highlands, and some parts of the Qaywandar Lowlands, are very cold all cycle round. There are also many lakes in the Qaywandar Lowlands, a number of which freeze over in the colder months. The Qaywandar Lowlands and Highlands are home to mountain rainforests. In comparison to other places, these forests have a relatively low variety of plants and life. They are mainly made up of needle-leaf trees. I found that larch, a needle-leaf that seasonally sheds its leaves, and cone-producing evergreens are most present. Some small-leaf trees that seasonally shed their leaves occur, as well as berry-producing shrubs and ground cover. The region is particularly notable for the majestic giant sequoias that grow in isolated groves - these can grow to become sixty and three hundred spans in height and the distance of walking full-circle about one can be seven and thirty spans. How old they are the mountain only knows. The middle elevations of the Qaywandar, on the other hand, boast temperate broadleaf forest regions that support an incredible variety of life. At lower elevations, this region boasts pine forests. At higher elevations, it boasts conifer forests as well as alpine shrub and meadows. This region of middle elevation receives a considerable amount of rain during the wet season. Oaks and laurels, such as the cinnamon tree, grow here, as does maple, the common walnut, the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alnus_nepalensis]mountain alder[/url], the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corylus_ferox]mountain hazelnut[/url], and various species of birch and magnolia. There are many animals in Qaywandar, for it is a blessed land that teems with life beneath the watchful gaze of the One Who Frowns. I shall speak to you of the wildlife I observed - though know that it is impossible for one man, even a watchful man, to observe all. I give you a foundation, Mijaranta, and if you will carry this torch then you must build on it. Listen now, these are the animals that call Qaywandar, its lowlands and highlands, home: [list][*]The hispid hare roams in the eastern lowland regions. [*]The snowshoe hare, whose fur is white in winter and brown in summer, dwells in the mountain forests of the Qaywandar lowlands. [*]The large mountain hare is present across Qaywandar. [*]The red fox is present across the lowland regions. [*]Dholes are present across the Qaywandar Lowlands along with wolves. [*]Shepherds make use of various dog breeds for herding and protection in the Lowlands. [*]Certain breeds of horses, and certain uses (such as show or war), are considered marks of prestige, though the majority of common folk here make use of the sturdy mountain ponies to navigate the difficult terrain and heights. [*]The wild kiang, the largest wild ass species, roams the Qaywandar Lowlands. [*]The clouded leopard stalks the foothills of the Qaywandar mountains, and as does the leopard. [*]The heights of the Qaywandar, above the tree line, are home to snow leopards, chinchilla, and wolverines, while the forests of the Highlands are home to the marbled cat and the golden cat. [*]The golden cat, along with the leopard cat, dwells in the Lowlands and to the foothills stretching towards Muraymuna and beyond. [*]The lynx is well adapted to stalk the difficult terrain of the Qaywandar Lowlands and Highlands. [*]The yellow-bellied weasel dwells in both the Highland and Lowland forests, though it descends to the Lowlands in especially cold weather. [*]The wildcat also occurs in the Lowlands, as does the wild boar. [*]The giant forest hog also occurs in the Lowlands and where the Qaywandar foothills merge with Muraymuna. [*]The yellow-throated marten and [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgiri_marten]hill marten[/url] dwell in the forests of the Lowlands and Highlands of Qaywandar, as well as where the foothills merge with the jungles of Muraymuna. [*]The lakes and rivers of the Qaywandar foothills are home to the common otter and smooth-coated otter. [*]Some species of grey langur inhabit the Qaywandar. [*]The mighty brown bear occurs above the tree line, in the Highland forests, and in their Lowland counterparts. [*]The Lowland forests are also home to the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_black_bear]arboreal black bear[/url]. [*]Snakes that can be found in the Lowlands include the common krait, the spectacled cobra, the pit viper (which can be found in the Highlands and above the tree line), the black-tailed python, the common vine snake, the bronzeback tree-snake, the very hardy, adaptable, and arboreal cat-eyed snake, and the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloydius_himalayanus]mountain pit viper[/url] (in forests at high altitudes). [*]The black-necked crane summers in the great Highland lakes of the Qaywandar. [*]The rivers and lakes of the Qaywandar Lowlands and foothills are home to the fish-eating crocodile and the mugger crocodile. [*]Deer species that live in the Qaywandar foothills include the chital, the barasingha deer, the muntjac and sambar deers (which can both be found in the Highlands). [*]The great elephant can be found even in the Highlands of Qaywandar. [*]The tenacious ibex dwells above the tree line in the mountains. [*]The people living in the mountains keep a riverine water buffalo species as well as domestic yaks further up beyond the tree line.[/list] This is what the one who sits upon the throne of Mount Qaywandar has deemed fitting and right to show me; that there is his kingdom and his are its wonders. He allows whom he wishes to gaze on it and he forbids whom he wills![/indent] [centre][h3][sub][b]VI. On Muraymuna[/b][/sub][/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/4eRACLV.jpg[/img][/centre] All that begins must end, Mijaranta, and so we arrive at the sixth and final of Dehrthaa’s regions. As you listened when I first spoke, listen to these my last words and commit what you hear to memory - for I shan’t speak of it to you after this day: [indent]In the furthest south is Muraymuna, a land of uninterrupted forests and jungles, and into which flow a number of rivers from Qaywandar. The greatest of these is the River Mur, which flows deep into the jungle until it pouts itself into Lake Raiya. The rain is intense in Muraymuna, though it is evenly distributed across the cycle so that there are no distinct wet and dry seasons. When paired with the generally high temperatures, this makes for suffocating humidity indeed. Muraymuna boasts a great variety of evergreen rainforest and flooded forests also. In the former, these forests enjoy consistent daylight cycle-round, with high temperatures and high rainfall. The forest is dominated by semi-evergreen and evergreen trees. These trees number in the thousands and contribute to the highest level of species variety I have observed in any of the regions Dehrthaa. A relatively small area may be home to as many as one thousand tree species! The perpetually warm and wet climate promotes more explosive plant growth than in any other area. Animal life is likewise diverse and abundant. I have observed that there are several layers of life to the jungle - a unique situation due to the abundance of life here. There is the forest floor layer, the understory layer, the canopy layer, and what I call the emergent layer. The canopy is home to many of the forest’s animals, including apes and monkeys. Below the canopy, a lower understory hosts snakes and big cats. The forest floor, relatively clear of undergrowth due to the thick canopy above causing little sunlight to make it through, is stalked by animals such as gorillas and deer. It is ever moist, with rotting fruit and mould, and a web of roots and vines from above. There is no wind on the forest floor, so the carrying of plant seeds depends on insects and other animals. The soil is rich in litter decay on the surface. A thick and continuous leaf canopy of broadleaf evergreen trees, such as mahogany, ebony, and rosewood, tops the forest. Palms, sugarcane, and bamboo grow too. Tree trunks tend to be smooth and slender with thin bark buttressed by woody flanks that grow from the root system to stabilise the tall trees. Usually, no branches grow on the lower two-thirds of the trees. Lianas climb the trees, and orchids, bromeliads, and ferns attach to them too. The flooded parts of Muraymuna occur along the lower reaches of rivers and around freshwater lakes, producing freshwater swamp forests. The flooded region’s extent increases during the flood season, when the rivers bring a fresh deposit of silt - similar in many ways to the Mimrabans. Compared to dryer parts of Muraymuna, these swamp forests have few varieties of plants. Due to this, they are mostly full of one type or just a few types of trees, like myristica. Thin peat, however, may be found in these forests. Such areas, where trees are not present, give way to floating meadows. In fauna, these freshwater swamp forests are just as diverse as the dryland forest. You ask me about the animals, I shall tell you. Listen well now Mijaranta: [list][*]The red fox is present in the dryer parts of Muraymuna, and both the dhole and wolf are present across the jungle region. [*]The opportunistic and powerful leopard stalks these jungles along with the sturdier jaguar, and as does the terrible tiger. [*]The black panther, a variant of leopards and jaguars, is also present. [*]The eastern parts of Muraymuna are home to the golden cat, which extends into the mountains also, and to the leopard cat and giant forest hog. [*]The solitary and nocturnal margay dwells in the jungles. [*]Various species of civet call the eastern and north-eastern reaches of Muraymuna home, and the binturong also dwells across the great jungles of the region. [*]The small-clawed otter, smooth-coated otter, and common otter dwell in the freshwater wetlands of the Muraymuna forests. [*]Innumerable freshwater fish call the Muraymuna wetlands and rivers home. [*]The jungles are home to many monkey species, including langurs, lutungs, macaques, and hoolock gibbons. [*]The jungles are also home to the sun bear and sloth bear. [*]The colour-changing chameleon also dwells in the jungle. [*]Snakes that can be found across Muraymuna include the common krait, the spectacled cobra, the king cobra, the pit viper, the black-tailed python, the common vine snake, the darash ratsnake, the aquatic checkered keelback, the bronzeback tree-snake, and the very hardy, adaptable, and arboreal cat-eyed snake. [*]The rivers and lakes of Muraymuna are home to the fish-eating crocodile and the mugger crocodile. [*]The muntjac, sambar, and hog deers can be found in the great jungle. [*]The [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_monitor]common monitor[/url] stalks the great jungle while the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_river_dolphin]river dolphin[/url] is to be found in all of its rivers and lakes. [*]The great elephant dwells here too. [*]The ruddy mongoose calls the Muraymuna forests home. [*]Various species of woodpecker dwell in the forests and contribute to its great and constant choir.[/list] I have spoken and you have listened, Mijaranta, and this is all you shall hear from me about Muarymuna.[/indent] These are the six regions, and if you are to know the history of Dehrthaa you must know them well. He who does not know where a thing happened may benefit only little by knowing what it is that happened. And they should not be trusted who say, "it matters not the where or why, but only the what of it". Such as those will rid the world of wisdom and cause every sage to weep. [centre][b][h3][sub]VII. The Origins and History of Dehrthaa to the Present Times[/sub][/h3][/b] [img]https://i.imgur.com/r7saDrw.jpg[/img][/centre] In the beginning, there was only the Serene Lord, and all was harmony and peace. When the Laugh sounded and cleft the world, the Serene Lord opened his eyes and frowned, and so the One Who Frowns emerged from the bloodfog - where he had always been and always frowned. Without speaking he gave chase to the One Who Laughs. And they raged in heaven and warred, and they brought about the [abbr=Great war spirits that eventually became the gods]Thousand Terrible Things and Faces[/abbr]. Out of the fallen and debris of their battles, and out of their great warriors and war tools, was the earth brought into being in due course. When in time the battle continued to draw out and victory seemed no closer than it had always been, the One Who Frowns came to settle down, and he gazed on the world and found nothing befitting of his glory. So he caused Qaywandar to emerge from the bowels of the earth and he called it his throne, and there he sat and from there he watched over the clay-fingered people of Dehrthaa and he blessed them so that their hair was as black silk. Know this, Mijaranta: the land of Dehrthaa is ancient, and so long as time and man have co-existed so has it been. But it was not always unified, and the people for long suffered beneath the yoke of oppressive [abbr=A general title by feudal lords, independent or otherwise, broadly meaning ‘Lord’]shids[/abbr] who carved up the land into petty [abbr=lordships or duchies]shidras[/abbr] and filled the world with suffering due to their constant warring and jealous feuds. They paid goodness and justice no heed and chased blindly after the fulfilment of their desires and ambitions, and so they killed and slaughtered, stole and raped, betrayed and conspired. And those were the times of [b]the Great Bloodletting[/b]. Listen now, and listen carefully: in those times most people were organised, not tribally or in rural settlements as was the case in even earlier times, but [i]territorially[/i] – in units of land referred to, as I have said, shidras. Cities were emerging in the Juhmar river valley with diverse populations - different people coming from all over -, and there were also increasingly wealthy mercantile communities - traders, merchants! - and would-be rulers carving out important roles and large territories for themselves in and around such rising cities. At the same time, however, these cities were not stable economic or political centres; changing lifestyles, political infighting, and disease reduced their viability. Amongst other things, there was heavy taxation on the peasantry and exploitation of the people by those in power. As a text from that time period puts it: [indent]“Those in authority feed on the people; the state is the eater and the people are the food.”[/indent] The One Who Frowns looked on all this and there grew within him great displeasure, and his displeasure blossomed into wrath... but before the full flower of his wrath could manifest itself unto the world it gave way to mercy. And so he saw fit to send to these straying people a guide. It was so that the Glorified Mojtha came into the world and caused the thousand wayward shids and all their confederates to flee in terror and humiliation. And his days were many and glorious, and all of Dehrthaa, even from the green plains of the Khadaar to the deep jungles of Muraymuna, knew peace and harmony beneath the shade of the glorified [abbr=Great-Lord, King]Ramshid’s[/abbr] sagacious and divinely-inspired rule. When at last he [abbr=i.e. died]shed his worldly chains[/abbr], he did not simply die like you or me - for it is not the lot of those such as he to perish into dust away - but his glories cleansed and carried him, and the heavens called and beckoned him, and the people venerated and magnified him, so that he ascended on high and suffused all below, and all voices praised and glorified him and all heads fell in worship. There came in his wake generation after generation of heirs, and of them were those who followed in the way of their father and well their duties to their people kept. They called to goodness, ordaining probity and proscribing vice, and they guarded their people against external threats and internal chaos and strife: so that when the [abbr=nomadic dircaan-riders from the Weeping Plains]Okur-Durcan[/abbr] rode forth from beyond the Khadaar, on their million dircaan-steeds, those gloried and just Ramshids sallied forth and smote them utterly and sent them north away; and when rapacious, jealous shids rose up to tear away the unity of Dehrthaa those hallowed and watchful Ramshids were the waiting hammer and fury, guardians of their people they! Those were the well-guided and successful, their spirits mighty and wise, and the One Who Frowns was pleased with them and caused them to rise up with their glorified father in death so that all voices should exalt them and follow in their way into eternity. Even now they are remembered and known, their deeds and virtues recounted; and all know them as Those of the Great Spirit. Then there came after Those of the Great Spirit generation upon generation of heirs who mixed mindfulness of duty with neglect, acts of probity with those of vice, and who followed the way of their first father only in form and ritual. These survived on the legendary edifice Those of the Great Spirit had erected before them, and so they were safe and the people neither prospered nor suffered. Then there came after them generation on generation of heirs to whom wickedness was made to appear good, and the people groaned beneath their decadence. They pursued the pleasures of the world and viewed themselves as living gods. They saw that all were to serve them, that all had duties to them and they to none. And the people raised their hands up and called with a single voice on the One Who Frowns to avenge them, and when he descended from the mountain, to grant them their harvest, how odious was the morn of those who had sown wickedness! And there followed chaos and terror and a great bloodletting. In the vacuum left behind by the Ramshids emerged power-hungry mayors, governors, hard-eyed and untamed hillmen, feudal lords seeking self-aggrandisement, tribal chieftains, and rebellious peasant leaders. They emerged from every crevice and cavern and deep ravine, they descended from every mountain pass and rose from every valley and came on every great elephant and horse and dircaan to carve up the land of Dehrthaa into disunited shidras once more. The law was that of the fishes, and strife was the lot of the weak. The ways of the Glorified Mojtha and Those of the Great Spirit were thrown to the wayside and all sought only to fulfil their vain desires and ambitions as in the times of the Great Bloodletting the shids had done afore. In that time there were brief - fleeting - cycles in which parts of Dehrthaa experienced some respite. The fierce foreign Plant-King, known only as the World-Conqueror, arrived at the banks of the River Mur during that period and decisively defeated a number of shids in the utmost southwest of Dehrthaa. He then set about preparing his troops for entry into Dehrthaa proper. Because of the World-Conqueror’s death, the invasion never occurred; yet among those shids preparing to battle him was one Tahlan-Amujjirta of the tribe of Mupkinraya. Tahlan-Amujjirta had soon rallied to himself the largest army in the west with hundreds of elephants and tens of thousands of infantrymen. By either conquering or making alliances with the shids of other city-states he established an empire that stretched across much of West Dehrthaa: from the western Muraymuna, across the Qaywandar, and into the Khadaar, with the Rock That Would Not Move marking his easternmost boundary. Tahlan-Amujjirta’s grandson, Mokrasha, led some unsuccessful campaigns against the shids of the Place Betwixt the Rivers, until after a particularly brutal battle on the southern banks of the Muhaddir he was moved to convert to the Mojthast Rejectionist creed, or, at least, to selectively appropriate the teachings of his Mojthast mentors. Under Mokrasha’s selective application of Mojathaya, the rudiments of a compassionate judicial system were implemented, non-violence and vegetarianism were encouraged, and various religious sects were honoured - however, monasteries were patronised and Mojthast principles favoured over all others. Needless to say, Mokrasha came to be a subject of intense dispute amongst later Mojthasts, with some claiming he was a Seed of the Mojtha - for they do not believe Mojtha to be an avatar of great Misnaya -, while others view him as a great Mojthast but no Mojtha, and others yet hold him to have been yet another opportunistic shid who used the faith for worldly self-aggrandisement. After Mokrasha’s death, the unity of his shidra dissipated and the west reverted to city-states and smaller shidras. And across Dehrthaa, the cycles of darkness and blood drew out into decades, and it seemed to all that this [abbr=Era of the Warrings Lords]Shidrasta[/abbr] would continue on into eternity. But those who neglect duty scheme, and the One Who Frowns schemes also, and his schemes emerge ever above what they contrive. So in time it was the will of the One Who Frowns that Birsas [abbr=son of]shib[/abbr] Hur should be, and when he became he was made mighty and he was made glorious - so much so that some Mojthasts declared that there was planted within him the Seed of Mojtha. And when he grew, he grew strong and he was imbued with wisdom and his mind was honed. And the One Who Frowns bid him go, and he was placed where his power flourished and the flower of his destiny was made to blossom and all shids were brought low before him, and all of the land of Dehrthaa and her peoples bowed to him and praised him. And he ascended to the throne and was hailed as Ramshid, the coming forth of Mojtha into the world once more. But when his mortal form was quashed and his essence ascended to the One Who Frowns, there came after him sons who did not keep to his way. They allowed greed and the dereliction of duty to take root in their hearts so that there was a terrible bloodletting. And it did not cease until the sons of Birsas had all perished bar the one called Dagran - and now as I speak to you the Dehrthaa finds itself splintered between Dagran who rules in the Place Betwixt the Rivers and the shid Arkhus shib Mucazim, who has married himself to Muwayma the granddaughter of Birsas, in the southern Khadaar. In the northern Khadaar the nomads have broken free of their ties to the southern shids and united themselves about a great warlord called Shuhgumir. The shids of Qaywandar, like those of the Mimrabans, are divided amongst themselves and watch fearfully and cautiously what those mighty shidras of the Khadaar, Muraymuna, and Place Betwixt the Rivers do. And in the Muraymuna we have seen the rise of the One-Godders continue unchecked - they have established their state there, first under the Teacher-Sage Roja Karn and then - after his assassination and the cessation of the Teacher-Sages - under the powerful [abbr=King of Kings]Shidilshid[/abbr] Muhabarat. The unity of Dehrthaa is once more shattered, and we stand at the cusp of a great bloodletting once again. I will tell you now of the One-Godders of Muraymuna and how they came to be. This movement came about in the late-Shidrasta. It was initiated by Ghinkulo the Teacher, whose simple message was spread through his prolific writings and extensive travels in all directions: [i]God is one and supreme[/i], he said. [i]He is the all-pervading Creator — fearless, timeless and self-existent — who can be realised only through His own grace. All men are equal; discrimination on the basis of one’s position in society or creed as well as the suppression of women is to be denounced.[/i] Ghinkulo advocated the righteous life of a householder against that of the ascetic. He declared that this world is a reflection of divine purpose and so man’s duty is to improve the condition of his fellow beings through, love, compassion, and right conduct. Practical virtue, rather than abstract piety, is the preferred way. Honest work, charity and the remembrance of the true God’s name is the path to salvation and release. While being clear that his belief system was a break from Dehru tradition, Ghinkulo preached that one’s soul would reincarnate in this universe unless it attains release, which is to be achieved through the grace of the God. In its corporeal attire, the soul passes through cycles of birth and rebirth. Through Divine Grace, it can merge back into the Cosmic Soul and escape the cycle of life and death. Ghinkulo denounced the oppression and tyranny of the ruling classes, protesting against the conquests carried out by the Mupkinrayas who had ‘stormed across the land with their wedding party of sin from Sondarba’. He lamented the suffering inflicted by the shids on innocent citizens, particularly the womenfolk. His reaction was not just of an eyewitness but also of a philosophical sage, a visionary and a poet. The shortcomings of the age, the profligacy of rulers, the nature of the divine will, and the suffering that mankind has to endure when the whih principles on which the world rests are ignored were all brought out in his compositions which are renowned for their spiritual depth and literary beauty. This protest can be regarded as the genesis of the clash of the One-Godder faith with the shids. When Ghinkulo settled down in Sokalkapur on the southern banks of the River Juhmar after more than thirty cycles on the road, he gathered around him a congregation which was a precursor to the community that was to follow. Here he taught the ways of the true worship of God, the practice of true whih – which he defined as duty – the discipline of true reflection and meditation as well as the rejection of outward form and false status based on one’s position in society or wealth. Here started the practice of singing the praises of God. Here too were seen the beginnings of the institution of the communal mess hall. A new community with its own tradition of companionship, values, and beliefs was thus born at the southern bank of the Juhmar. For Ghinkulo and for One-Godders, the lowest is equal with the highest in race as in creed, in social and political life as in religious hopes. After Ghinkulo’s death, the head of the community who followed him came to be known as the Teacher-Sage. One of these, Buhra Letfu, made very significant social innovations that were to form an important aspect of a distinct One-Godder cultural identity, including the prohibition of the practices of wide immolation for women, as well as the propagation of widow remarriage and marriages between people of different positions in society. The Teacher-Sage after him was Shurdas, his devoted disciple and son-in-law, who chose to build a town where the River Mur flows into Lake Raiya in Muraymuna. This town would get the name of Shurdaskan, later renamed Rutsa-kul; Lake Raiya would house the Temple of the Hundred Pillars. The One-Godders were encouraged to make contributions in coin, kind, and service for the growth of the town; in fact, the spirit of voluntary labour remains strong among One-Godders to this day. The Temple was completed by the next Teacher-Sage, who asked a well-known Theistic Mojthast monk to lay the foundation stone. The simple and modest temple, as it then was, had none of the trappings of extravagance usually associated with such buildings. It was lower than the surrounding land and not towering above; it had five entrances and was thus open to people of all positions in society. The Temple was to undergo destruction and desecration many times at the hands of conquering shids, and would be given its present spectacular form by Shidilshid Muhabarat after the death of Ramshid Birsas and the rise of the independent One-Godder state. Due to the martyrdom of a number of Teacher-Sages at the hands of shids, and as the One-Godder community came to realise that the non-violent martyrdom of sages would not awaken the comatose conscience of the oppressive regime, a martial spirit came into existence under the auspices of one Teacher-Sage Rhugaham. The One-Godders were taught to take up arms, but only in self-defence and for the right cause. Wearing two axes around his waist — one for spirituality and the other for temporal power — Rhugaham gathered a body of soldiers around him and spent much time on martial exercises and hunting. These developments were a challenge to the shids. The fledgling army clashed with marauding shids on several occasions and emerged victorious, showing that the seemingly all-powerful warrior-ruler class of shids could be successfully challenged. A new spirit of armed defiance and pride in their prowess had entered the consciousness of the One-Godders which was celebrated by the singing of heroic ballads, accompanied by the blood-stirring strains of the sarangi at the Court of the Temporal Throne, the new temporal seat of the faith built right across from the Temple of the Hundred Pillars (which had become the spiritual centre). Matters came to a head when a delegation of Shedder Rejectionists came to Teacher-Sage Marukbam, requesting him to save them from the conversions being enforced by one shid Fuhara’s priests. After deliberating over the matter, the Teacher-Sage declared that if the shid could convert him to Reformed Ritualism, the Shedder Rejectionists would follow suit. This was a direct challenge to Fuhara who ordered that Marukbam be brought to his seat at Palukban in fetters. Marukbam did not wait for his captors but began moving towards Palukban of his own accord. When finally arrested, he was brought to Palukban in a cage of wood and bamboo. The priests challenged the Teacher-Sage to perform a miracle or convert to Reformed Ritualism. When he refused, three of his close companions, who had joined him, were killed in his presence. Thereafter, the Teacher-Sage himself was beheaded in the market square; there stands today a One-Godder temple known as the Bloodhall of Marukbam the Saint. It is said that a terrible storm then raged through Palukban and, during the storm, a humble One-Godder recovered the Teacher-Sage’s head and took it to Rutsa-kul, where Marukbam’s son Roja Karn was. The body was similarly smuggled away by another follower to his own hut at a place called Gulik Hill, and the hut was set afire to cremate the body. A solemn memorial made of white marble was later built on this site, the Gulik Shrine. The jungle shids of the Muraymuna then watched Roja Karn’s growing power and influence with consternation, though the coming of Ramshid Birsas ensured peace. With his death, the One-Godders were unleashed under the leadership of first Roja Karn and then, after his assassination and the cessation of the Teacher-Sages, under Shidilshid Muhabarat. Now all of Muraymuna is in the hands of those unyielding One-Godder warriors.[/indent] [centre][h3][sub][b]VIII. The Creeds of Dehrthaa[/b][/sub][/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/tC4oouy.jpg[/img][/centre] Know this Mijaranta: the thousand warring creeds and beliefs have intermingled with the blood of every Dehru - you will not find a single one who does not hold to one creed or another. These various religions and beliefs may be based on region, clan, ethnic origin, and other factors, though the great majority of beliefs tend to be variations on the same core elements. Creeds range from polytheistic belief in the gods as real, personal entities that actually and physically exist, to an understanding of the gods as representations of abstract concepts and ideas one is to live by, to dualism, to purist one-godism, to wholly atheistic beliefs. The traditional religion of Dehrthaa is the ritualistic worship of the Serene Lord, the One Who Frowns, and the Thousand Terrible Things and Faces. This ritualistic religion is organised and led by a class of spiritual teachers known as Priests. Priests can generally be found in every locality and are organised in great temples in major cities. Such temples are usually built on sacred spots, which are identified either through written or oral accounts of the history and mythos of that spot or pilgrimage site, generally telling of the exploits of a deity at a particular place and of wondrous deeds done by worshippers and pilgrims to it. While ritual remains of great importance across Dehrthaa and the Priests benefit greatly from this continued importance, there is a powerful anti-ritualistic stream, known as the Rejectionists - that is, those who reject ritual. The Rejectionists emerged in the pre-Mojthaic period as a result of the forest movement - this was a movement that saw the “forest” as a place of refuge. Not only were there still heavy forests from Muraymuna to the Khadaar when it arose, but the “forest” also became a metaphor for the life of seeking and reflection, a haven from urban problems and a liminal space for finding the “truth”. The life of contemplation and asceticism was viewed favourably by those who spearheaded the movement and they tended to combine understanding with disciplined action. The Rejectionist stream of religious thought eventually developed from it. You may from time to time find pure forest ascetics, but they are a rarity now indeed. Beyond the Ritualists and Rejectionists, there is the One-Godder belief system, which is a recent break from the Dehru tradition. There is also the Laugh-Silence Dualist belief system, which perceives the One Who Laughs to be the primal creative force or living spark, without whom existence would not have come into being and so is worthy of worship. There are also innumerable local tribal religions such as the Sky-worship of the Khadaar Nomads. I see your confusion Mijaranta, but have patience and persevere - only then will understanding descend upon you. Were one to ask a Dehru of any sectarian persuasion as to the core of religion, the most likely response (with some exceptions) would be that it is whih. The term whih implies [u]a sense of reciprocity[/u] between [abbr=nature or cosmic law, the cosmic processes as a whole; the ultimate truth which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and all in it]tibaya[/abbr] and each individual within nature. This larger cosmos supports all beings within it, and so all beings are obliged to support the cosmos. Whih is carrying out actions that uphold cosmic ‘balance’ and so prevents chaos. In this sense, it pervades all aspects of an individual’s life and pertains to things such as fulfilling of social, legal, and ritual duties in a manner that does not disrupt the cosmic balance. It entails, for instance, a reverential attitude toward life, right conduct toward one’s parents, siblings, and children, right conduct between spouses, and right conduct to people at large. Whih is thus not so much a belief in a deity or performance of rituals, but is a way of existing in harmony with nature. Ultimately, however, one must seek release from all the world’s processes, a soteriological release into the great silence (in atheistic belief systems) or into the Serene Lord (in some theistic belief systems). Without it, one has nowhere to go and must continue in the world forever in a cyclical process of death, life, devolution, and renewability. This world of suffering, change, and disquietude is the arena from which one seeks release into the utter harmony of either the silence or the Serene Lord. This is natural, for existence emerged from a disruption of the original and sublime silence of pre-existence, and so all beings - and existence itself - yearns for a return to that silence. The law known as the Law of Cause and Effect is a fundamental logic to this universal process. Those who maintain the balance in their thoughts and actions can expect good to happen to them, while those who disrupt it will reap what they have sowed. One could “use” the Law of Cause and Effect to bring about desired results, including one’s own soteriological release. With time, we have seen this law has come to be used in the hands of the powerful as a legitimation of status and power: [i]our status is the result of our good past cause-acts; while their low status is a result of their bad past cause-acts[/i]. Yet many sages have refuted this: for just as there is a logic of cause and effect to the universe, so too in human affairs; good cause-acts can bring about good consequences, no one is locked-in to the results of the cause-acts of previous lives. Your immediate actions will affect your present life too, Mijaranta, not just the next one. Different spiritual teachers have prescribed different paths that lead one towards observing whih and so towards living in accordance with tibaya. Lists of things to abstain from and things to do (Abstentions and Actions) appear in both Rejectionist and Ritualist schools. But now I shall tell you about those different creeds and beliefs, and after my speaking you will have encompassed all creeds in knowledge. It will remain for you to dive into the great ocean that is each of them if you wish to know more. [list][*]In the polytheistic beliefs of the [b]Ritualists[/b] and in local beliefs, like Khadaar Nomad Sky-worship and others, the god known as the Serene Lord tends to be treated as the ultimate god, though he is largely considered to be far removed from the affairs of mortals or even the affairs of the other gods. Most view all the other gods as being lesser gods relative to the Serene Lord, while some believe that some gods - particularly the One Who Frowns, though the One Who Laughs is sometimes included - have ascended to such a level as to be his equals. The One Who Frowns is believed to have emerged in pre-existence when there was nothing but the Serene Lord. When the Laugh cleft through pre-existence, the Serene Lord opened his eyes and frowned, thus releasing the One Who Frowns into the world to chase down the one who had caused the Laugh. How the One Who Laughs came about is unclear, and there are many different beliefs surrounding the matter, but it is accepted that the world came about as a result of the lengthy chase and wars that took place between the two gods. The war has not come to an end, but the chase ended when the One Who Frowns caused Qaywandar to emerge from the earth and took it for a throne. He now sits atop the hallowed mount and watches over the silk-haired and clay-fingered people, and from there he commands his host of lesser gods known as the Thousand Terrible Things and Faces (the One Who Laughs similarly has a host of such lesser gods). For Ritualists, the Glorified Mojtha is believed to have been an aspect or avatar of the One Who Frowns through Misnaya, one of the lesser gods known as the Thousand Terrible Things and Faces. He came into the world to restore balance and order, and when he returns to the world he returns as an avatar of Misnaya under any name and not necessarily as the Mojtha. The Mojtha’s greatness, for them, lies in his having been an avatar of Misnaya. [*][b]Mojthast Rejectionists[/b] are a diverse religious group who can be broadly split into [u]Theists[/u] and [u]Atheists[/u]. Theists believe the Glorified Mojtha was an anointed mortal who achieved godhood due to his spiritual and material struggle. Atheists, who do not believe in material gods, believe that the Mojtha was an elevated spiritual teacher and master of men, the first in existence to achieve soteriological release. For Atheists, anyone who achieves release is a manifestation of the Mojtha. For them, Those of the Great Spirit are all Manifestations. Theists believe that the Mojtha himself is reborn into the world in times of strife to bring about his glorious and harmonious rule once more. For them the world is a cycle, the high point of the cycle is the rule of the Mojtha while the low point is the disintegration of it all in preparation for the next coming of the Mojtha and re-establishment of the Mojthaic order. Such is the cyclical nature of all things in existence, from the smallest living creatures to the broad movement of history and the world. Atheists believe that the seed of the Mojtha may be planted within anyone at any time if they are: [i]a.[/i] mindful of the way, [i]b.[/i] the condition of the times demands the Mojtha, and [i]c.[/i] they take an active role in counteracting the prevailing corruption. It is important to note that Theist Mojthasts believe Mojtha to be the ultimate god and do not believe in the Serene Lord or the One Who Frowns, and the pantheon of gods beneath the Mojtha is made up of those who have achieved release. [*]Like Theistic Mojthasts, [b]Shedder Rejectionists[/b] have their own pantheon made up of Forest-Teachers and those who have shed “anti-motes” and so achieved release. They are not active gods, but are the embodiment of perfection and the release to which all yearn. [*]In [b]Laugh-Silence Dualism[/b], both the Serene Lord and the One Who Laughs are treated as equally powerful opposites. In their belief, the One Who Laughs is the creative force and living spark, energy and vitality; the manifestation of sound. The Serene Lord is death, cessation (as well as thought and wisdom); the manifestation of silence. [*][b]One-Godders[/b] believe in one god only, who is both transcendent and immanent, meaning that he permeates both within and without the cosmos. The universe is his own emanation, an aspect of himself. While he is thus all-pervasive, he remains separate and distinct from creation. While some One-Godders have no qualms referring to their god as the Serene Lord, others do not do so because that name implies a gender when their god is genderless, and they also wish to differentiate themselves from other beliefs and to make clearer that the One-Godder belief system is a break from Dehru polytheistic and atheistic traditions.[/list] [list][*][hider=Soft Rejectionists]Not all Rejectionists reject ritual and the old religious order completely (which causes other Rejectionists to label them as Ritualists, while Ritualists label them as Rejectionists). Such Soft Rejectionists often ask such pressing questions as: [indent]1) What is the nature of the world or cosmos? Their answer: [i]It is to see that the world and cosmos is both a manifestation of the majesty of the Serene Lord and immediately also an illusion which must be transcended. The world is illusion, the Serene Lord is truth.[/i] 2) What is the nature of the self? That is, what does it mean to be a person? Is there a permanent entity that can be called a Self? These Soft Rejectionist sages invariably answered this last question in the affirmative: [i]each Self was carved from the Serene Lord when the Laugh cleft the silence, just as the One Who Frowns was cleft from him, and that eternal, permanent Self must ultimately return to its place of origin.[/i] 3) What is ultimate? [i]The term 'Serene Lord' is used to describe the ultimate essence, though this is articulated in various ways by different teachers. Knowing that the Serene Lord is the essence of the universe is to know the “truth” - that “truth” is what is ultimately liberating.[/i] 4) How does one attain release? The preferred path of these Soft Rejectionist sages is: [i]the path of wisdom, attained through stringent asceticism (including observing whih and living in accordance with tibaya) and contemplation, though ritual is not eschewed.[/i][/indent] With regards to this path of wisdom, the wisdom they speak of transcends mere knowledge. It is the understanding that comes from seeing the truth about existence – it is [i]liberating, enlightening[/i] wisdom. The fundamental mortal problem is that they [i]do not[/i] understand, [i]do not[/i] see. Soft Rejectionist sages command that the unseeing person find a spiritual teacher. This teacher can lead the unseeing person at least part of the way to a destiny where the Serene Lord and the Self are conjoined. This state of liberation is known as soteriological release into the Serene Lord, the ultimate awareness that frees one from all social constraints. It is a concept important to all streams of Dehru religious thought, Rejectionist and Ritualistic, though all differ on the question of into what one is released. Soft Rejectionism is not a centralised religious belief and its practitioners have different practices according to locality, ethnicity, and other factors. It is common for Soft Rejectionists to organise in groups of mendicant-ascetics who worship or honour one god in particular above the others, and they commonly eschew visits to temples. They live in isolated areas and practice forms of indigenous medicine and mysticism. The body, though considered defiled, can nonetheless be the medium through which the divine may be accessed. Some groups are led by poets who are said to be inspired by the gods. These singers tend to critique temples as the domain of the rich, and priests for their hypocrisy and corruption. For them, the gods are found in natural settings and can be embodied in small aniconic representations worn around the neck.[/hider] [*][hider=The Shedder Rejectionists]Shedder Rejectionism is perhaps the first religious thought system that emerged from the forest movement. It was founded by Sirbalan, a hermit-ascetic who meditated long in the forest. He is believed to have achieved release, and thereafter gained a significant body of followers who took up his teachings and spread them far and wide. After the death of Sirbalan, that great founding forest-teacher, the community was led by a succession of forest-teachers. Some centuries later one of these, Bihbaru-Molka, led a group of monks into the Khadaar to avoid a pending famine; upon his return, he found that those who had stayed had formed a more liberal group organised by one Vurand-Umyra. A schism resulted: Bihbaru-Molka’s followers became known as the Wind-Clothed for their unwillingness to wear clothes; Vurand-Umyra’s followers became known as the Black-Clothed. There has since then been no universally agreed-upon Shedder Rejectionist forest-teacher, only ascetics. For Shedder Rejectionists, the world is composed of an infinite number of motes and anti-motes. These two sets of entities are thought to intermingle in the cosmos. The motes, being lighter, tend to rise high, while anti-motes tend to sink. Hence, the cosmos is like a great hierarchy with those organisms that have the most motes (or are motic) being nearer the top and those that have the most anti-motes, or are anti-motic, sink to the bottom. The earth and mortals are located somewhere in the middle. The great spiritual forest-teachers have risen to the top as they have shed all anti-motic entities. Soteriological release from this intermingling of motes and anti-motes is attainable by shedding anti-motes and thereby rising in the cosmic order. In addition, Shedder Rejectionist cosmology envisions time as proceeding in a series of six cycles. The first is thought to be one of perfection, when mortals were divine beings who acted in accordance with motes and the truth (that is, whih). In subsequent cycles, the world became progressively bad, and mortals lost their divine nature, and there was a diminution of lifespan, knowledge, and activity that is in accord with whih. After the sixth cycle, it is believed that the progression will reverse, moving back to the primordial age of perfection. In Shedder Rejectionist thought, one attains release by following five basic vows: [indent][list][*]Own nothing (one is expected to gain and keep only the basic necessities of life and give the rest away), [*]Celibacy – ascetics are to remain completely celibate, while the laity are not to exploit anyone sexually. Not only is the loss of sexual fluids thought to represent the loss of power, but the sex act itself is also generally thought to be selfish and exploitative. [*]Do not steal. Taking or coveting anything which is not one’s own is the epitome of self-aggrandisement, which only nurtures one's anti-motic nature. [*]Truthfulness, which implies being true to the fundamental character of the universe, which is to live in accordance with whih and so in harmony with tibaya. [*]Non-violence. The best-known of all Shedder Rejectionist vows is that of non-violence, and it has inspired all other pacifistic views in other Dehru creeds. Ascetics are to eschew the taking of any life altogether, while the laity are selective in the observance of this vow. Non-violence entails:[/list] [indent][indent]The avoidance of, a) occupational violence (one should avoid occupations that cause one to take life, for instance butcher, fisherman, hunter, though in some cases shids are exempted from this vow, insofar as war is understood to be a last resort); b) protective violence (one should refrain from taking a life even if attacked, again more carefully followed by ascetics than the laity); c) intentional violence (any intentional harm to a living being is considered detrimental to release); d) accidental violence – ascetics, in particular, have been known to use a whisk broom to sweep the path before they take a step or to wear gauze over the mouth lest an insect be inadvertently swallowed. It is partially to avoid the possibility of catching insects in the folds of one’s garments that the Wind-Clothed ascetics choose to eschew garments of any kind.[/indent][/indent][/indent] The rationale behind these vows is self-discipline and the shedding of anti-motes. By non-exploitation of others and the purification of one’s own lifestyle one is able to attain release. As the Shedder Rejectionist community, in subsequent centuries, took its place in the socio-political, religious, and economic life of Dehrthaa, it placed a high degree of emphasis on education – ascetics were the teachers and exemplars while many lay Shedder Rejectionists went into occupations consistent with their vows, such as commercial enterprises, craftsmanship, the study of language and literature, and the production of the arts (especially of miniature portrayals). They were advisers to shids and writers of lexicons and producers of artistic expressions. Shedder Rejectionists emphasise the principle of “multi-mindedness”. That is, “truth” has not only two possibilities but several. This principle has contributed to a climate of tolerance amongst disputants across Dehrthaa. While Shedder Rejectionists are not reluctant to argue that their own position is the most nearly-true, they insist on the relativity of viewpoints and hence the necessity to see truth in various positions.[/hider] [*][hider=The Mojthast Rejectionists]After Reformed Ritualism, Mojathaya is the most widespread faith across Dehrthaa. Mojthast Rejectionists, due to a twist of history, are broadly split into Theist Mojthasts and Atheist Mojthasts. Both accuse the other of being corruptions of the original, pristine teachings of the Glorified Mojtha and Those of the Great Spirit. Mojathaya was for the many centuries of the Ramshidra a purely oral tradition. As all the Ramshids were viewed as Manifestations of the Mojtha (by Atheists) or Reincarnations of the Mojtha (by Theists), they were considered to have all the answers and as the living, speaking scripture. For this reason, it was never viewed as necessary to record or write the teachings, for it was naturally thought that the Ramshidra would exist forever and there would always be a Ramshid to guide the faithful. After the Ramshidra's disastrous decline and collapse, Mojthasts reviewed the Ramshidra's history and the Ramshids were split into three categories: [list][*]the first few generations were considered true Manifestation-Reincarnations, and came to be known as Those of the Great Spirit, [*]then the so-called middle-Ramshids who came thereafter and who, while not unduly evil, were not Manifestation-Reincarnations – so their religious rulings were not canonical teachings, [*]and then the late-Ramshids who came last of all. They were decadent and were active sources of corrupt religious rulings and teachings.[/list] The Mojthasts went about trying to separate the true religious teachings from the corruptions introduced by the middle- and late-Ramshids. This resulted in the Theist-Atheist split, with the Theists viewing atheists teachings as a corruption introduced by the mid- and late-Ramshids, while the Atheists considered theist teachings as introduced corruptions. Mojathaya defines whih as the body of the Glorified Mojtha's teachings. Whih is one of the Five Sanctuaries in which Mojthasts seek after release. These Five Sanctuaries are: [list][*]the Glorified Mojtha himself, who is the embodiment of enlightenment, freedom, and soteriological release into the great silence, [*]the whih, which is the teachings and methods of the Glorified Mojtha, [*]the actions and rulings of Those of the Great Spirit, who are considered the primary interpreters of the whih, [*]the teachers of the way, who are the Perfected Beings (in Theistic thought) or Suspended Spiritual Teachers (in Atheistic thought); Perfected Beings being individuals who have within them the Seed of Mojtha and so are destined for release, while Suspended Spiritual Teachers are believed to have release within their grasp but refrain from achieving it and keep reincarnating to aid all mortalkind to do so, and [*]the monastic community of Mojthasts, who are to be found in monasteries across Dehrthaa, and who provide guidance and support to practitioners of Mojathaya.[/list] Mojthasts claim that the history of their beliefs begins with Harushymka, who would go on to become the Glorified Mojtha. All Mojthasts believe that Harushymka was born some centuries after the forest movement began and was the son of an important tribal chieftain in the city republic of Gholguba in the Qaywandar foothills. Harushymka was being groomed for the life of a future chieftain and thus for a role in the governance of Gholguba, but one day he was curious about the condition of Gholguba’s people and prevailed upon his charioteer to ride with him about the city. While riding he saw a man so ancient as to be a living husk, a youth wracked by disease and illness, and a dead woman being borne in a funeral procession. After each sighting, he was reminded by his charioteer that illness, old age, and death were part of life. On another trip he saw an ascetic, with arms upraised, staring into the sun, and he was told that this was a person seeking answers to life’s mysteries. It soon became apparent that the young man’s mind was increasingly troubled by the misfortunes of life. His restlessness became known to his father, who decided to throw him a feast intending to relieve his brooding mind. Yet, as the evening of the feast wore on and dancing girls became increasingly tired and dishevelled, and the music faded, the transitory nature of pleasure and wealth became suddenly clear. Harushymka determined to leave his luxurious existence and seek for answers in the forests, as many an ascetic of the forest movement had done before him. Harushymka spent a number of years in search of the answer to life’s traumas. Much of that time was spent with Shedder Rejectionist mendicant-ascetics, who carried out fastidious fasting practices and other extremities. Mojthasts believe that Harushymka’s quest ended with his attainment of soteriological release, thus becoming the Glorified Mojtha. This means that all Mojthasts reject notions of the Mojtha being an aspect of the One Who Frowns, but differ on whether to view him as an anointed mortal who achieved godhood due to his spiritual and material struggle, or as having been an elevated spiritual teacher and master of men, the first in existence to truly achieve release. His release is said to have occurred where the Dahuur meets the Rock That Would Not Move, where there grows today an impressive sycamore-fig believed to have been planted by one of Those of the Great Spirit. For Mojthasts, his soteriological release encompassed several levels of experience: there was a dawning of intuition that allowed him to transcend everyday knowledge and attain wisdom. Ultimately, a certain cognition occurred that offered the Mojtha a basic framework with which to comprehend existence. Known as the Fourfold Framework, this is the foundation of Mojathaya. The Mojtha is said to have given a discourse on the Fourfold Framework soon after his release. [indent][list][*]The first of the four formulations in the Fourfold Framework was a statement about the nature of the world. The world, goes the formulation, is unsatisfactory. The entire universe is comprised only of matter, and so all things are impermanent (so for instance: the river that flows past one now is not the same river that flowed a minute ago insofar as the water droplets are different from those that flowed earlier). This also implied there was no permanent Self. Unlike the Soft Rejectionist sages, there was a denial that there was a permanent cosmic essence (the Serene Lord) or an individual manifestation of it (the Self). What then constitutes a person? A person was comprised entirely of matter, made of three parts that together bring about desire. These three parts are: i) Sensations. ii) Perceptions. iii) Mental formations and ideations. So the world is unsatisfactory, even painful. While there is happiness, it is evanescent; ultimately, everything is impermanent; the more time, coin, energy invested in that which is impermanent, the larger the disappointment when it is gone. Nothing lasts, death is inevitable – that is painful. [*]How did things get to be this way? The second formulation in the Mojtha's Fourfold Framework was the idea of the Dual Tragedies. The first of these is “desire” – one’s desire, particularly for impermanent things, leads to greater investment of energy in such things and merely perpetuates pain. Such desire cannot bring ultimate happiness and so is a basic problem for sapient beings. The other important tragedy is blindness; not seeing the true nature of existence - its impermanence and hence its unsatisfactory character - merely served to keep the cycle going. If one could address the Dual Tragedies of desire and of blindness, one might find liberation and peace. [*]This was the third truth in the framework: there is indeed the possibility of deliverance from the tragedies – it is soteriological release. For Mojthasts, release has been variously understood as a “cessation of desire”, perfect peace, transcendent joy. For Atheists, release is not a place (such as “heaven”) or immortality – it is, at most, a change of consciousness which enables one to live without attachments and with equanimity of mind. It is putting an end to one’s desire, and so releasing oneself from the cycle of reincarnation and being annihilated. For Theists, release is not about annihilation, but is much closer to a higher paradisiacal plain. However as it is unknowable, it is usually described in the negative – the destruction of desire, the elimination of suffering, and so on. [*]How is this achieved? The fourth formulation in the Fourfold Framework, known as the Tree of Eight Branches, outlines a pattern that combines appropriate action with appropriate mindfulness. It is a discipline designed to make the path a foretaste of the goal. Succinctly summarised, these eight branches are, i) correct insight, understanding, and vision; ii) correct intention and thoughts; iii) correct speech; iv) correct action; v) correct livelihood; vi) correct effort; vii) correct mindfulness and memory; viii) correct concentration.[/list] This pathway to release represents a coalescence of several factors. It represents the interplay between performing acts of virtue and eschewing acts of vice. It embodies an ethic intended to encourage charitable acts, humane social relationships, sexual control, and non-violence. The incorporation of non-violence was a reaction to the perceived excesses of ritualistic sacrifices and to the coerciveness of the ruling classes. Rejectionism, as the early Mojthasts understood it, was not so much the life of an ascetic – the hermit who eschewed all attachments to social ties; rather, it was to assert a certain moral authority and to join with a group of fellow-renouncers who, by engaging with laypersons on the fringes of the towns, were offering an alternative way of life. Enacting the fourth formulation was not easy, but it was thought to be available to anyone irrespective of birth or gender. It was not a path of extreme asceticism and certainly not one of hedonism or pleasure but provided a middle way. Seekers had to learn the way to release on their own, albeit with the help of instruction. While Theists have a belief in the Mojtha's divinity, it is not the Mojtha or others who have achieved release who offer salvation, but the teachings, teachers, and exemplars who show the way to it. This is held in common with Atheists. One story suggests something of this ethic: A woman, having just lost the last of her eight siblins, came to the Mojtha for help. “Master, do you have medicine for me?” The answer was: “No; but eat some mustard seeds. Make sure, however, that you get the seeds from a family that has never experienced death.” Some time later she returned and the Mojtha asked her if she had found the seeds. “No,” she replied, “but you have healed me.” She had learned that there was no family which had not experienced death, and the perspective of that realisation proved liberating. The woman then joined the Mojthast community as a nun.[/indent] During the life of the Mojtha, a community of followers was gathered that grew rather quickly. Both men and women could enter monasteries or be recognised as laypersons. Monks went out to proclaim the Mojthast message to one and all. Merchants and royalty were attracted to the message as it offered them the opportunity to shape their own destinies. People, including some priests and spiritual teachers, were converted, not only as individuals, but also as clans, clusters of friends, or sectarian groups. A monastic order for women was also initiated. At first, monks wandered homeless depending on the donations of laity for their livelihood. Soon, however, they were clustering in donated dwellings and eventually began to live in rock-cut residences donated by wealthy patrons. Monks and nuns had separate quarters, on the fringes of the cities, from which they could interact with laypersons – preaching the whih to them and receiving donations. People from the lower echelons of society were also attracted to the message because it was accessible and offered them the opportunity for release. These monastic communities maintained strict discipline. This discipline involved instructions as to lifestyle, moral behaviour, daily activities, and principles for addressing offences. These guidelines were designed (among other things) to help refine entrants drawn from the lower strata of society and to make all monks and nuns worthy of emulation. Meanwhile, laypersons were expected to observe those aspects of the Mojthast ethic appropriate for the householder – for example, generosity to the monks and refraining from killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; but laypeople were not expected to practice the meditative arts. In turn, they were promised happy rebirths and improvement in their religious and mundane lives. As with Shedder Rejectionism, Mojthast Rejectionism was attractive to merchants who were economically powerful but did not necessarily receive social status in the priest and shid dominated Ritualist order. Those from lower echelons of society also saw the movement as offering them opportunities, both religious and social. So powerful and so swift was the sweep of Mojathaya that a number of shids took action to suppress it, which gave rise to more militant aspects of Mojathaya. The ensuing conflict saw the age of the shidras swept aside in an incredible wave of faith-driven war and the Glorified Mojtha enthroned as the first Ramshid of a unified Dehrthaa. Later, long after the Glorified Mojtha had died and the Ramshidra had collapsed, the faith was in crisis and questions were arising as to the nature of the whih – the teaching of the Mojtha. Seeing this, a great council was held along the Juhmar to discuss these questions and settle them once and fore all. An important articulation of virtues that aid one along the path of whih was made at this council, known as the Six Virtue. These virtues are: generosity, morality, patience, vigour, meditation, and wisdom. This was taken up universally within the community of faithful. However, that was all the would be agreed upon - the first split occurred over differences as to the nature of the Mojtha and of release into the silence. On the one hand were the Theists, who saw that the Mojtha had become a divine being on release, and that release was peace in the physical form and, on physical death, a continued sublime existence in the silence (though how and what that is cannot be comprehended). On the other hand were the Atheists who rejected notions of the Glorified Mojtha becoming a god and insisted that release is only for this world and meant, on death, escape from the wheel of the world by being annihilated. The silence into which one is released is nothingness, it is [i]non-existence[/i]. Atheists hold that the ideal for monks is the role of the Suspended Spiritual Teacher – one who is characterised by the virtue of wisdom, who postpones attainment of ultimate release until all creation has been enlightened. Atheists soon took up the notion that the seed of Mojtha is innate in all sapients; should the seed bloom, the resultant person is a Manifestation of Mojtha rather than Mojtha himself. This is because those who had become Mojthas in the past are supramundane - that is, not of the physical world, transcending it and so unable to return to it. Suspended Spiritual Teachers, meanwhile, continue to be reborn and can in fact share their virtuous acts with others, thus adding to the virtues of supplicants and in fact increasing their own through the virtuous act of sharing. Theists, meanwhile, do not see the notion of a Suspended Spiritual Teacher as necessary, since unlike the Atheists they do not believe that release means the annihilation of the one who achieves it – indeed, the Mojtha and others who have achieved release (and so become divine) were able to enter the world at any time and help guide people towards release. Theists do not believe in such a thing as the seed of Mojtha, for the Mojtha is one who has achieved release and when he is born into the world he comes whole and complete, and so is the Mojtha fully formed, not a mere seedling. Those who achieve release are called Perfected Beings in the Theistic tradition, while Spiritual Teachers are those who are far on the journey towards it. During this period, the construction of domal shrines was taken up by. These domal shrines became more complex, in some cases patronised by the increasingly affluent classes of artisans, many of whom were Shedder or Mojthast Rejectionists. These later domal shrines had the form of a rotunda or “egg” with a walkway around it, up to four entryways with lintels carved with animals and symbols depicting Mojthast themes. The carvings on these entryways include motifs borrowed from the “folk” landscape: voluptuous young maidens, for example, are depicted on the lintels entwined with vegetation – these figures are likely borrowed from agrarian representatives of goddesses of the Thousand Terrible Things and Faces associated with vegetation. Elephants and dircaans are another such symbol – by now, representative of royalty, insofar as shids rode elephants or dircaans into battle, but also emblematic of the wild world of nature “domesticated” by the spirit of Mojathaya. On top of these domal shrines one would find a three-layered pillar, representative of the Mojtha in his state of release in the silence. In that early period, the Mojtha was not depicted anthropomorphically. Rather, he was represented by symbols: the sycamore tree (his place of release); footprints (his path); a circle (the wheel of whih and of life, emblematic of his first discourse as well as the cyclical nature of the world); a crown (indicative of what he renounced when going to the forest); and so on. It was perhaps a century after the collapse of the Ramshidra that the Mojtha came to be represented anthropomorphically by Theists – symbols and icons then swiftly became a hallmark of Atheistic shrines. Artisans were hired to portray the Mojtha, who was the epitome of light and truth. A Mojthast pantheon was developed by Theists as those who had achieved release in the past were added to it, and at the top of the cosmos, much like the Ramshid he had been in life, sat the Glorified Mojtha. The Mojtha gave warrant or privilege, like the Ramshid, to his Perfected Being ministers (whether in temporal form or sublime). The Perfected Beings helped people by serving as exemplars and providing common people with the opportunity to gain virtue by venerating them. The Mojthast pantheon included various representations of past Mojthas and Perfected Beings depicted iconographically. Such icons are venerated by Theists on the basis that nothing has its own being; that is, nothing exists independently. The unsatisfactory world – the realm of the tangible – does not have an independent existence; nor does the place of release, the paradisiacal silence. It follows then that the unsatisfactory world was corresponding to the silence. The silence is evident in the unsatisfactory world, all apparent opposites are thus collapsed: the Mojtha is innate in all things. Concrete objects and symbols such as icons and representations of the Mojtha could symbolise the Mojthaic state insofar as the world reflects “the ultimate being,” that is: the Mojtha. Atheistic Mojthasts naturally accuse these theists of having turned Mojathaya on its head – from a pristine atheistic movement for the highly disciplined to a movement in which the Glorified Mojtha could be seen and venerated virtually anywhere. Theists, unlike atheists, are more militant. They believe that the Mojtha actively pursued a war against the shids once they began hostilities and justify their militancy on this basis. Atheists reject this narrative and claim that the Mojtha's war was unique to that time period and to his person and necessary for the survival of the true way. Women seeking an escape from the Reformed Ritualistic models often turned and still turn to Mojathaya. These women join the Mojthast monastic settings or enter forested circles of seekers: such women eschew the expected social conventions and opt to have direct access to the way of truth or to a life of mysticism. Examples include a number of famed poetesses who avoided marriage or normal social interaction in order to “be at the feet of the lord”.[/hider] [*][hider=The Materialistic Rejectionists]This is not a large sect, but it is very well organised and its members tend to be merchants and pursuers of the physical sciences with no regard for spiritual affairs. They hold truth, integrity, consistency, and freedom of thought in the highest esteem. They believe that there is no Serene Lord, no One Who Frowns, no One Who Laughs, no divine Glorified Mojtha, no divine Great Forest-Teacher, no Thousand Terrible Things and Faces, no rebirth, no Law of Cause and Effect, no duty, no fruits of virtue, and no sin or vice. There cardinal maxim is: [indent]Live happily; with death, all is annihilated.[/indent] Materialist Rejectionists primarily concern themselves with a niche aspect of Dehru religious thought – its epistemology. Dehru religious streams often debate over six means of valid knowledge: [list][*]Perception [*]Inference [*]Comparison and analogy [*]Postulation [*]Non-perception, or cognitive proof [*]Word and testimony of past or present reliable persons[/list] Of these, Materialist reject all bar perception. [i]Perception[/i] is the primary and proper source of knowledge, while [i]inference[/i] is prone to being either right or wrong and therefore conditional or invalid. [i]External perception[/i] is described as that arising from the interaction of the five senses with the world, while [i]internal perception[/i] is described by this school as that of inner sense, the mind. [i]Inference[/i] is deriving a new conclusion and truth from one or more observations and previous truths. To Materialistic Rejectionists, [i]inference[/i] is useful but prone to error, as inferred truths can never be without doubt. Inference is good and helpful; it is the validity of inference that is suspect. To the Materialistic Rejectionists, there are no reliable means by which the efficacy of inference as a means of knowledge can be established. Full knowledge is reached when we know all observations, all premises, and all conditions. But the absence of conditions cannot be established beyond doubt by perception, as some conditions may be hidden or escape our ability to observe. They acknowledge that every person relies on inference in daily life, but to them acting uncritically leads to error. While inferences sometimes are true and lead to successful action, it is also a fact that sometimes inference is wrong and leads to error. Truth then is not an unfailing character of inference, truth is merely an accident of inference, and one that is separable. All people must be sceptics and question what is known by inference. Materialistic Rejectionists deny metaphysical concepts like reincarnation, the idea that the world is suffering or that it is unsatisfactory, an extracorporeal soul, the efficacy of religious rites, and afterlife and other worlds (divine plains, paradise), fate, and accumulation of virtue or vice through the performance of certain actions. Materialistic Rejectionists also reject the use of supernatural causes to describe natural phenomena. To them all natural phenomena are produced spontaneously from the inherent nature of things. [indent]The flame is hot upon the hand The water cold upon the skin The breeze is good and stirs the land And causes every heart to grin! I sat and thought from dusk till morn About how all these came to be The answer soon came light and free: From their own nature were they born. … There is no other world than this; There is no silent paradise; The realm of Mojtha and such gods, Are made up by daft parasites. … Be joyous now while there’s still life; There’s no escaping Death or strife: When at the last your body burns, There will be no happy returns![/indent] Since it is impossible to have pleasure without pain, Materialistic Rejectionists reason that wisdom lies in enjoying pleasure and avoiding pain as far as possible. Unlike other sects, Materialistic Rejectionists do not believe in austerities or rejecting pleasure out of fear of pain and hold such reasoning to be foolish. [indent]“Heaven is here and now: eat delicious food, joy in the bosom of youthful women, dress in life’s finery, do not be a miser when it comes to perfumes, wear garlands and dance about the grove and flame. They speak of release – I shall resolve the matter and end the debate: release is death which is the cessation of life-breath. The wise one then ought not to be at pains on account of release – the shid and the pauper alike, the miserable ascetic and relisher of life’s joys are all of them headed to the same place. Only a fool wears himself out by all these penances and fasts. Chastity? I say “pah!” to that! These and other such ordinances are laid down by clever weaklings who have not the courage to live, and only those like them are fooled.”[/indent] For Materialistic Rejectionists, paradise is “the state in which man lives as he chooses, without control of another”, while hell is “the state in which he lives subject to another's rule”. On statecraft, they believe that it is best when knowledge of just administration and benevolent government is practised, the praxis of justice. This allows for the greatest happiness.[/hider] [*][hider=The Fatalistic Rejectionists]This is an atheistic sect and is not very widespread. There are small communities in the Qaywandar and Mimrabans, and some have taken refuge from persecution in Muraymuna of late. They believe that in every being there is a soul. However, they assert that souls have a material form, one that helps meditation. For them, there exist no objective moral laws. They also believe that the soul passes through many births and ultimately progresses to its pre-destined soteriological release. Everything in human life and the universe, according to them, is pre-determined, operating out of cosmic principles, and true choice does not exist. They are strict fatalists, who do not believe in the Law of Cause and Effect. They hold that all things are preordained, particularly when it comes to rebirth, and therefore religious or ethical practice has no effect on one's future. People do things because cosmic principles make them do so, and all that will happen or will exist in future is already predetermined. They do not believe in the moral force of action, or in virtues or vices, or in after-life to be affected because of what one does or does not do. Actions have immediate effects in one’s current life but without any moral traces, and both the action and the effect was predetermined. While other groups believe that an individual can better his or her lot in the course of reincarnation, Fatalistic Rejections hold that the affairs of the entire universe are ordered by a cosmic force, Fate, that determines all events, including an individual’s life, to the last detail. Fate bars personal efforts to change or accelerate improvement toward soteriological release. For this reason, they live a simple ascetic life, without clothes and any material possessions and practice non-violence and vegetarianism, and pursue no purposeful goal in life.[/hider] [*][hider=Reformed Ritualists]Reformed Ritualism is the most widespread creed in Dehrthaa. It is preferred by most shids as it generally complements and grants legitimacy to their status. Before coming to understand the beliefs of the Reformed Ritualists, let us speak first of their history and where they diverged from Classical Ritualism. [indent]Ritualism underwent a transformation during the stable period of the Glorified Mojtha and his heritors, becoming the Reformed Ritualism of the present over the course of the Ramshidra and the subsequent Shidrasta. During the Ramshidra, the task of incorporating the diverse and pluralistic nation under the hegemony of the royal court became the responsibility of priests. Priests served as court rhetoricians, advisers, and agents between the Ramshid and people. This combination of factors – the increased political power of Ramshids, the rhetorical power of priests, and the pluralism of urban settings – had several consequences. Unlike more ascetic creeds, the city came to be perceived by priests not only as stable, but also as the appropriate centre and venue for living out one’s duties. Ramshids (and shids) are to govern, not head for the forests, priests are to carry out their duties in the social milieu rather than become travelling hermits, and likewise for all strata of society. One major development of this period was the sacralisation of monarchy and the legitimation of statecraft. Perhaps as early as the late-Ramshidra there appeared a text which articulated principles by which the Ramshid was to govern. The text included the doctrine of the Law of the Fishes. The idea presented was that bigger fish eat smaller fish – that is, as city-states were threatened, a shid was forced to have strategies that would preserve the stability of his own domain, such as fighting, appeasing, or dividing the threat. In addition to the strategies of statecraft articulated in such Reformed Ritualist texts, Ramshids became increasingly extolled and sacralised, thanks in part to the rhetorical role of their priests. It is even believed that the title of Ramshid was in fact formulated by priests in this period rather than by the Mojtha himself; the title of Shidilshid was also formulated and so too was [abbr=Son of the Gods]Keladushra[/abbr]. The effect of this rhetorical support was to make the Ramshid (at least for Ritualists) the preserver of whih, he who preserved order and rendered the city and the state the very microcosm of the universe itself. The Ramshid was perceived as the personification of wisdom, the epitome of culture, and patron of the arts. A more harmonised Theistic Ritualism became increasingly visible during the middle Ramshidra too. A number of factors stimulated this phenomenon; the Ramshids were powerful figures in their own right and became the patrons of specific deities who were represented as the celestial counterparts to the Ramshids. People migrating to the city had brought their indigenous deities with them; these were incorporated into the ever-expanding list of the Thousand Terrible Things and Faces. The priests, who were the ones carrying out this process, were able tell the stories of these gods’ emergence to power and of their exploits. They linked newer deities to older gods by equating them, or by making them their genealogical heirs, or by ascribing them the weaponry of the older deities. As a result of this process, certain deities grew in the hierarchy of the Thousand Terrible Things and Faces with full patronage from some Ramshids or other powerful patrons, families, clans, temples, and so on.[/indent] Now this is a good place to speak of some of the major gods of Reformed Ritualism. [list][*]One of these gods is [abbr=Cadien]Riorga[/abbr], a warrior par excellence, patron of warriors, and celestial counterpart to the warrior-shid, the perfect warrior ideal. As he is red, he is also linked to the priestly sacrificial tradition of [abbr=Evandra-Neiya]Hunara[/abbr], the Terrible Thing and Face associated with fire, fertility, love, beauty, marriage, children, devotion, divine strength and power; and who is the cosmic embodiment of the feminine creative force. She is the unnamed goddess often worshipped by the sedentary peoples of the southern Khadaar, and for whom animals - and sometimes even humans - are sacrificed. [*]Another god is Muikwinda the war god, the image of youthfulness and wisdom, described as the son of Riorga and Hunara. He also embodies seven folk heroes (his avatars) and so he naturally also reflects heroism. [*]There is also the god [abbr=Gibbou-Tekret]Misnaya[/abbr], the god of protection, balance, order, justice, sustenance, law, and mediation. His avatars, such as the Mojtha, are thought to come into the world to restore balance when chaos reigns supreme. The Glorified Mojtha is considered a deity in his own right by many and is perhaps the most important figure in Dehru history as well as being, beyond his historical person, the driving force behind some of the most important concepts in Dehru religious thought. [*][abbr=Illyd Dyll]Ylludraa[/abbr] is the golden-skinned, flute-blowing god of the harvest, rain, crops, and father to the gods of the seasons. One of his daughters is the blue-skinned, white-haired goddess [abbr=Bikkjekaldt]Zuarshima[/abbr], Queen of Winter, who famously despises men and is the goddess of winter, mountain glaciers, storms, wind, and snow. She was wooed by [abbr=Boris]Qaywandar[/abbr] the god of mountains and stone and became his consort, mothering by him the river goddesses Dahuur, Juhmar, Muhaddir, and Mur. These river goddesses are all the consorts of [abbr=Klaarungraxus]Shirmundhar[/abbr] the great ocean god and lord of the Sea of Mimarba. They famously cannot satisfy him no matter how mightily they flow. While the goddess of the Mur once flowed into the sea also, she no longer does because she grew so jealous of having to share Shirmundhar with her sisters that she eloped with Raiya, god of Lake Raiya and one of the innumerable sons of Shirmundhar. [*]The great [abbr=Qael'Naath]Mihanna[/abbr] is one of the chief goddesses of Reformed Ritualism and is the goddess of magic, alchemy, knowledge, learning, writing, fortune, prosperity, and wealth. She is often depicted as a stern, many-armed woman with a great halo of magic behind her. She holds scales with coins inside them in one hand, a palm manuscript in another, reed pen and inkwell in others. [*]The god [abbr=Thaa]Ahthaaruhs[/abbr] is another chief god, being the god of whih, soteriological release, death, and paradise. Whih and release are perhaps the most important concepts in Dehru religions, making Ahthaaruhs a central figure. He is not considered a teacher of whih, however, and does not help along the way to release - that is for other gods. Rather, he presides over the great cycle of life and death and makes the final judgment on whether a person has lived in accordance with whih and so can be permitted to escape the cycle. [*][abbr=Genesis]Orjarnibapti[/abbr] is the green-skinned plant-god of the strange plant-people who dwell in the regions south-west of Dehrthaa, and is also the glorious god of forests and nature, as well as being a god of wisdom. He is also the god of outsiders, associated with cemeteries, forests, and non-urban places, and so is depicted as the ideal spiritual teacher. [*][abbr=Artifex]Hertaramfti[/abbr] is the bee-winged god of work, labourers, construction, engineering, architecture, civilisation, and time. [*][abbr=Oraelia]Hivilarti[/abbr] is the great god of the sun, day, goodness, light, life, preservation, justice, and of great open expanses. While he is not considered the creator god of mankind, he is the one who maintains their life and the life of all else, and is considered to be involved and concerned with even the minutiae of human life. When all other gods fail those who invoke them, it is known that Hivilarti will not. [*][abbr=Lucia-Meghzaal]Lukimbashi[/abbr] is the beauteous goddess of music, dance, poetry, art, tattoos, speech, beauty, and mysticism. She is also the other god of wisdom, along with Orjanibapti. She is often depicted as an ebony-skinned, golden-haired woman of slender build boasting golden tattoos across her form. [*][abbr=Sirius-Iternis]Nirjurti[/abbr] is the god of stars, guidance, journeys, nomadism, ascetic wandering, constellations, and astrology. When the augurs are called, it is Nirjurti they invoke, and no journey begins without calling on his aid and none end except that he is praised. Mendicant-ascetics can often be found wearing tokens with his symbols on them, which are known to safeguard one's travels and ensure you arrive at wherever you are meant to be - important for ascetics who wander aimlessly for the most part. [*][abbr=Yamat-Fe’ris-Ganglion]Malmatuli[/abbr] is the demon-god of violence, bloodshed, sacrifice, chaos, battle, misfortune, and strife. Human and animal sacrifice are practiced, amongst other things, as a way of appeasing him. [*][abbr=Aicheil-Firinn]Arurkalti[/abbr] is the retiring god of meditation, dreams, truthfulness, destiny, and guardian of the barrier between the world of suffering and the world of release or paradise. In this sense, he is the first judge of whether a person may be permitted release from the cycle of life and death, while Ahthaaruhs is the final judge. It is thought that he speaks with people in their dreams and causes lies to come unveiled.[/list] All these deities are viewed as aspects of the One Who Frowns; who emerged from the [abbr=essentially the Lifeblood, but given an anthropomorphised form]Serene Lord[/abbr]. All of these gods provided a model for a different stratum of society, serving to link shid or Ramshid to people and to incorporate various communities of people into the urban complex. Not least important, they provided an alternative to Mojthast imagery, and even go beyond Mojathaya in accessibility: for, after all, Mojtha was now one of many avatars (even if he is the greatest) who come directly to people’s aid. This harmonisation of gods across Ritualists circles in Dehrthaa meant that a new form of worship arose as a manner for a person to attain their ultimate destiny (after wisdom and virtuous actions). This form of worship is referred to as Devotionalism. These acts usually take the form of ritual addressed to the Serene Lord, who is housed in a temple and represented ichnographically. Libations or bathing is constituted of the pouring of certain materials on the icon. The icon of the Serene Lord is treated as though it is a Ramshid. The use of iconography in worship is consistent with the understanding that the Serene Lord pervades the entire universe and hence any material object can embody him. Further, an icon, beautifully carved, and sacralised by priests who ritually invoke the Serene Lord's presence in it, is deemed a fitting expression of divine presence and accessibility. In some contexts, whih has come to take precedence over soteriological release. Whih now connotes the law of individual cities, the law of the nation as a whole, social interactions, and ritual activities. Indeed, several bodies of texts have evolved summarising these duties. This genre is known as the “Way of Whih”, and its texts are made up of concise verses and aphorisms summarising ritual and legal obligations. There are also a number of commentaries and explanations on canon Way of Whih texts. What these (often differing) commentaries posit is an “ideal” by which a person should live. Some of the principles of Reformed Ritualist ethic can be sketched by way of illustration. For Reformed Ritualists, no longer need one rigidly abstain or carry out deeds and actions a in some Rejectionist creeds; rather it is the fruit of one’s actions that one renounces. Thus, some priests refer to “fruitless” actions and non-attachment to the fruits of one’s deeds. It is okay, in effect, insofar as it accords with one’s whih, to kill one’s enemy so long as one takes no pleasure in it. Despite Reformed Ritualism's opening of opportunities for asceticism, there is considerable emphasis on the importance of marriage and the family. The family is invariably patrilineal and includes the sons (and their wives and families) of the patriarch. While monogamy is considered the most desirable form of marriage, polygamy is not uncommon especially amongst the wealthy and aristocracy. Even polyandry is known to exist (particularly where one wife is married to multiple brothers, usually to ensure inheritance where inheritance occurs through the matrilineal line). Family solidarity is to be expressed in its ritual life – not only in its daily rituals, but also in its rites of passage. Starting with pre-natal rites, designed, for example, to promote conception and assure a safe pregnancy and childbirth, they continued into a series of post-natal rites enabling the new-born child to be accepted fully as a social person. The latter rites included the naming of the child, and the offering of its first solid food. It is also apparent that women are expected to fill certain roles in Reformed Ritualist settings. It may not be too simplistic to suggest that there are three “types” of woman. [indent][list][*]The first is that of wife and mother. The role of wife and mother is good. She is a creator and perpetuator of the “traditions”. She fulfils the role of the ideal woman – chaste, competent in the household, making of her home a microcosm of whih. She is to obey her husband irrespective of a husband’s worthiness. Just as her husband fulfilled the imagery of “sacrifice” in his role as husband, so she too is to perform “sacrifice” in her role as wife and mother. The wife who fulfils her whih obligations is afforded respect and is thought to have considerable power even after death. She comes to be known as an ideal woman through whom children can be born and wealth and religious virtue can be accumulated. This gives rise to a paradox for men. While honoured, on the one hand, for the capacity to give love, comfort, and happiness, the woman is, nonetheless, expected to be obedient and subservient to her husband. A woman’s freedom of movement outside the home is highly restricted and her ability to participate in public Ritualist ceremonies curtailed. In the wake of the Ramshidra's collapse, however, there have now emerged women poets, patrons of temple rituals, and commentators on scriptures. [indent]Ritualist girls are generally prepared from childhood for marriage, the purposes of which includes the promotion of religious traditions, assuring progeny, and enjoying sexual pleasure. Boys are supposed to marry after their years of studentship (sons of shids learning statecraft, those of priests religious knowledge, and others their father’s trade), while brides should be fully adult. However, if a husband or his family are willing to play a parental role to the new wife until she becomes an adult, girls may be married right after, or even before, puberty. Girls are considered by many an economic liability, particularly if remaining at home unmarried. In addition, there is an assumption that women are naturally sexually driven, hence the perceived need to marry them off as early as feasible. Marriages are arranged by the parents of the couple and are solemnised by a complex series of rituals, usually funded by the bride’s parents.[/indent] [*]A second type of woman is the widow. She is good only insofar as she remains faithful to her dead husband. She is expected to live a life of simplicity in the home of her in-laws and not remarry. Her regimen is that of an ascetic: eating simply, dressing without ornaments or coloured garments, sleeping on the ground. She is expected to spend her time engaged in performing religious rites on behalf of her deceased husband and awaiting the possibility of joining him. It is in the context of those circumstances that the practice of widow immolation on the husband’s funeral pyre arose. Precisely when this practice started is not clear – it was apparently rare during the Ramshidra, as occasional reference to it is made in the epic literature. Interestingly, however, even in the leading and most ancient commentary on the “Way of Whih” texts, the one known as “Mihraba's Code of Whih-Law”, where does not command that the widow cast herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. In any case, this is a common practice – and becomes more so in times of war when amongst aristocratic women, who would rather die with their husbands than be captured by foes. [*]A third “model” of the woman is that of the courtesan. The courtesan is a good figure not only because of her sexual power, but also because she has access to the highest circles of the court. She can appear and dispute in public settings; she has access to many of the “arts,” and not only those which might be considered “feminine.” Rather, she can be a mathematician, engineer, businesswoman, and virtually any other higher occupations. A variation of the court mistress is that of temple courtesan. In many parts of Dehrthaa a harem is considered an appropriate part of the deity’s temple entourage. Known as the [abbr=Women of the Deity]ayamarti[/abbr], and usually daughters of women who had served in a similar capacity, they are given for a lifetime of service to a temple, where they could be available to serve those whom the deity “favours.” Often, they become proficient in the arts, not least the sacred dances associated with worship. Large temples are known to have significant harems – anything up to five-hundred ayamarti in the largest temples. These women have been known by various terms over the centuries: Sacred Artists of the Heavenly Dance, Divine Dancing Virgins, and, more derogatorily by some Rejectionists, as sex slaves.[/list][/indent] Reformed Ritualist texts also offer extended discussions on which foods are appropriate to eat and which are not. The Way of Whih texts – treatises on proper behavior designed primarily for priestly males – offer scores of stanzas declaring what foods should be eaten or avoided, how they should be prepared, and how and when they should be offered to the gods or other persons. Foods are thought to reflect the basic character of the universe. Foods such as most vegetables, milk, or dairy products are believed to enhance spiritual awareness and ritual purity, so are favoured by priests. Foods that have the character of shids (such as meat, garlic, or onions) are thought to generate passion and action and are, for the most part, appropriate for the warrior but not for the priest. Foods such as liquor or stale food are thought to instil inertia and slothfulness and hence are appropriate only for the lower strata of society. The qualities of various segments of society are thought to be consistent with the nature of the food they eat. [indent][list][*]On the matter of classes, there are some Reformed Ritualists, though they are a fringe group considered extreme by most, who suggest that all of society must be structured in a particular manner which, in their view, would be in harmony with tibaya. They believe that society must be strictly and rigidly split into five groups: i) priests and ascetic spiritual teachers, ii) shids, iii) artisans, craftspeople, and merchants, iv) free farmers and landowners, v) slaves, peasants, and labourers. Once society is split in such a manner, individuals will have a clear understanding of their role in life and so will be better able to live in accordance with tibaya. Support for this theology exists only amongst some spiritual teachers and members of the ruling classes, and even amongst themselves they differ as to whether people are to be born into these classes or whether there should be some kind of system to place individuals into each class. [*]Others place a great degree of responsibility for ensuring people are able to better lead a life of whih on the shids, who must strive to bring about prosperity. Prosperity enables people to strive towards observing whih, while times of distress, drought, and poverty cause everything to suffer, including relations between people and their ability to live in harmony with tibaya.[/list][/indent][/hider] [*][hider=Khadaar Nomads and Other Local Tribal Beliefs]Other unique religious beliefs found in Dehrthaa are those of the nomads of the Khadaar. Unlike sedentary and agrarian Dehrus, these tribes have little sense of the sacrality or creativity of the earth – they have no time for those gods. As pastoral nomads, the sky serves as their sense of direction. Their deities are gods of the sky, virtually all of them male. At night, the tribes centre around fires that serve as the focal point of ritual, it is the messenger by which the Khadaar nomads have access to the gods. Fire also serves as the centre for sacrificial libations, most commonly of a special sap. The tribes practice cremation of the dead. Their communities are organised into a tripartite social order [list][*]those who do the teaching and priestly tasks are at one level; [*]at another are those who fill positions associated with tribal leadership, warfare, and protection; [*]at yet another level, are those who are the maintainers of society, those who perform the necessary work of daily life.[/list] These social roles reflect a cosmic order which is similarly tripartite: a supra-atmospheric level of the cosmos in which the Serene Lord – roughly corresponding to the role of priestly teachers – presides; an atmospheric level wherein the One Who Frowns and the One Who Laughs preside storms and warfare; and a sub-atmospheric order in which one finds those gods who maintain the everyday functions of the cosmic order – the Thousand Terrible Things and Faces. The socio-cosmic contract between the realm of the gods and that of humans is thought to be maintained through the sacrificial ritual system centred on the fire. The nomadic social ordering has a strong influence on the non-nomads of the Khadaar and even those south of the River Muhaddir, and have likely had a strong influence on those who view a rigid social ordering as part of whih. For settled agrarian rural people, worship of goddesses is common. Each such goddess is seen as the protectoress of land and village and the one who controls the forces of nature, including diseases. These village goddesses are pacified in a special way at the coming of the rainy seasons in order to avert diseases and assure fertility of the land. Goddesses are worshiped with flowers, peacock feathers, and wine but also by the sacrifice of animals, especially buffaloes, goats, sheep, and chickens. The spilling of blood satisfies and empower the goddess, invokes her protection, and keeps the land fertile. The sacrifice of human beings was is also practised in some settings. Goddesses are represented by a stone or simple clay effigy set up under a tree thought to be sacred. Such trees are ascribed special sacrality, along with the power to help women bear children. Ritual bathing in rivers is practised, as are collective dances of young women in praise of the deity. Snakes tend to be venerated as symbols of both death and fertility and may be given offerings at the start of the rainy season. Anthills may be respected as the houses of snakes. A belief in demonic beings is present – these demons are thought to control certain distinctive forces or appear at inauspicious times. Any number of gods are understood to offer protection or preside over particular areas or functions. The names of some of these gods appear in epic literature, and many are easily assimilated into the Reformed Ritualist tradition. Goddesses, gods, and demons alike are considered able to possess people.[/hider] [*][hider=The One-Godders]This creed is the youngest of Dehrthaa’s religions, but is likely now the most widespread after Reformed Ritualism and Mojathaya. It holds that God is one and supreme. He is the all-pervading Creator — fearless, timeless and self-existent — who can be realised only through His own grace. All people are equal; discrimination on the basis of one's position in society or creed as well as the suppression of women is to be denounced. It advocates the righteous life of a householder against that of the ascetic. This world is a reflection of Divine purpose and man’s duty is to improve the condition of his fellow beings through love and compassion, through right conduct. Practical virtue, rather than abstract piety, is the preferred way. Honest work, charity and the remembrance of the true God’s name is the path to salvation and release. Like other Dehru creeds, it holds that one's soul would reincarnate in this universe unless it attains release, which is to be achieved through the grace of the God. In its corporeal attire, the soul passes through cycles of reincarnation and only through Divine Grace can it merge back into the Cosmic Soul and escape the cycle of life and death. From an early point, this initially pacifist community clashed with the shids, eventually creating a strong martial tradition that would see it dominate Muraymuna.[/hider] [*][hider=The Laugh-Silence Dualists]This belief system perceives the One Who Laughs to be the primal creative force or living spark, without whom existence would not have come into being, and so is worthy of worship. For them the Serene Lord is the all-consuming silence of death, and is the cosmic antithesis and balance to the One Who Laughs. It is believed that everyone will return to the Serene Lord on death, but that the creative force of the One Who Laughs will eventually recreate them. There is no escape for the soul from this cycle, and so for Laugh-Silence Dualists release is a psychological state rather than a place or destination, similar to some Mojthasts.[/hider][/list] This is all as the Master relayed. The ink has dried but the words have not ended. [indent][list][*][hider=Summary]Excerpts from a book detailing aspects of Dehrthaa's geography, history, and religions. [list][*]Summary of Dehrthaa geography: [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/684462276866343075/767226419838844948/Dehrthaa_Map_Labelled.png]map[/url]. [*]History: Their history in short is that they used to be many feudal/tribal states, then a guy called the Glorified Mojtha unified them, there was a cool empire for some time, then it fell apart and there was a feudal warring period again, then a guy called Birsas unified them all again. He died and his sons killed each other, except one who survives. At present, the realm is split into a tribal confederation in the northern Khadaar, a kingdom in the southern Khadaar which is at war with another kingdom in the Place Betwixt the Rivers. There are multiple feudal states in Qaywandar and the Mimrabans. Muraymuna has been taken over by a zealous religious-state. [*]Religions: There are a lot of religions and philosophies. In short, most of them centre around how to get to enlightenment. A few are atheistic, a few are theistic, one is monotheistic, there's a nomadic one, and there's one that's just plain old materialist and doesn't believe in any of that nonsense. See god list under Reformed Ritualists.[/list][/hider] [*][hider=Might][centre]| 5MP (+2MP 'few hours into turn') and 5DP (+3DP 'few hours into turn') | +2MP Puppetry | +3DP Acting | +4DP Inspiration | +3DP Music | +2DP Dance |[/centre] [indent]1 Might: Create dircaans, a species made up of a number of giant reptilian subspecies. 1 Might: Teach Dehrus complex theological-philosophical doctrines. [+1 Inspiration] 3 DP: Adopt Inspiration portfolio. 1 DP: Teach Dehru sacred dances. [+1 Dance] 1 DP: Teach Dehru advanced architecture for temples, shrines, palaces, and walls. [+1 Architecture] 1 MP: Teach Dehru advanced stone carving techniques for statue, icon, and symbol sculpting. [Sculpting][/indent] [centre]| 4MP and 3DP | +2MP Puppetry | +3DP Acting | +3DP Music | +3DP Dance | +1DP Architecture | +1MP Sculpting |[/centre][/hider] [/list][/indent]