Sadarisnism

Sadarisnism

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Sadarisnism is an ancient and long-lived polytheistic faith with direct traces to the beliefs of the ancient Sinan Civilization. The faith once in its history dominated the vast majority of the lands surrounding the Ovestan Ocean and the Stolvic Tzerakan lands. Sadarisnism's central tenant is that the cyclical rhythms of nature, life, and death are directly influenced by the pantheon of gods that resides in the "Raquarrim", an overworld beyond the perception of mortals and the abode of the gods and souls.

Sadarisnism holds that there are thirteen deities that influence and rule over existence. Twelve deities of the complete whole, also known as the Qazirum. These deities represent the cycles and aspects of human life and nature. Sadaris is the thirteenth deity and the transcendental outsider beyond creation, the creator of the universe who has always been and will always be and the Weaver of the soul threads.

In Sadarisnist cosmology, the spiritual overworld and the mortal realm (Thaltar) are separated and immiscible. Only the gods can observe and influence the mortal realm; mortals have no influence but through prayer and their souls to the spiritual realm. Souls exist in the spiritual realm and are tenuously linked to the mortal world by threads weaved by Sadaris. On the death of a mortal, their thread is cut and examined by the goddess Farkhas, and if a person has lived a worthy and righteous life, their thread is tied to a worthy body, and their soul can live on. If a thread is judged to have grown putrid with sin and blasphemy, the god Azqir will burn it, and the soul will wither away into oblivion.

Prayer and acts of faith, such as attending temples, lighting candles and visiting oracle shrines, are central to the worship of the gods and living a worthy life. Acts of asceticism and ascetic life are also worthy pursuits to correct grave sins or to dedicate oneself to the mysteries of the gods.

Sadarisnism is far from a unified and monolithic faith; there are numerous denominations with different doctrines on how to live a worthy life and on ascetic and penance practices.

Sadaris - Creator and Weaver of Soul Threads

Sadaris is the eternal god, the outsider that rules Qazirum and the mortal realm. Sadaris created the mortal realm by willing into reality light and darkness, celestial spheres, the elemental essences and their mortal manifestations, and the vessels for the souls that swarm and sing the eternal chorus that permeates Qazirum.

Qazirum itself was the void from where the gods sprung forth after Sadaris occupied the endless void, filling the void with light, Aeather and the celestial elements. From light and the elements, the gods coalesced. The echoes of light that pulsated between the gods radiated outwards as pure spheres of willfulness and thought, the innumerable souls that swarm the spiritual realm.

Soul Threads

Souls are no more than ephemeral songbirds in the Spiritual realm, withering away as their light fades as they radiate away from the gods. They must be anchored to the mortal realm to endure. Sadaris only plucks the souls with the most beautiful voices from the Aether and anchors them to the mortal realm with a thread spun with pure light and thought.

Threaded souls can now reason and enjoy the experiences of the senses, interacting with the world and each other as pure and innocent beings. Souls develop under the will of the soul itself, and they must navigate a life full of temptations and emotions with temperance and benevolence if they are to endure and remain in the graces of the gods.

Qazirum Deities

Farkhas - Goddess of the Soul, Law, Justice and Judgement

Farkhas stands next to Sadaris, holding the looking glass of souls and inspects the many threads from the cosmic bundle that Sadaris holds with two of his six hands as the other four endlessly spin soul thread and tie worthy souls. Azqir points to the souls he wishes to cut with his shears, and Farkhas judges if the soul thread has grown beautiful and radiant or putrid and abhorrent.

Raqmarith - God of Knowledge, Wisdom, and Mysteries

Raqmarith observes the mortal realm, learns, and critiques. He uses the countless mortal lives to formulate notions of wisdom and common sense, which he whispers to the souls to help them live worthy lives. He is not just the fountain of wisdom but the keeper of secrets and mysteries of the mortal realm that only he, with his many eyes, can witness, secrets that can only be pried from him with worthy bargains.

Valqorin - Goddess of Fate and Destiny

Valqorin is a goddess of eternal empathy, watching the mortal realm with hope and sorrow as she watches the mortal manifestations of souls as they live worthy lives or sin. Her tender touch and voice resonated through the cosmic bundles of souls, her will manifesting as contrition, guild and moral dilemmas that shape the fate and destiny of mortals and their societies.

Azqir - God of Oblivion, Destruction and Death

Azqir stands opposite Farkhas and next to Sadaris. Holding golden shears of death in one hand and selecting threads to cut with the other, Azquir is a god of darkness and fire. With his touch, he will set fire to an abhorrent thread and leave the soul it connects to fade and turn to ashes that are blown into oblivion by the winds of Qazirum. Azqir's touch is powerful, and it resonates with the mortal realm as he plucks on the soul threads, meaning that sin causes destruction and loss in the mortal realm.

Kazralith - God of the Elements and Natural Forces

Kazralith, with his four hands and breath, controls the elements and forces of the mortal realm. In one hand, he holds the orb of water; in the other, that of fire, earth and air. His breath breathes in and out of pure aether, which gives a dynamic motion of the elements and forces of the mortal realm. The wind rises, things fall, and water flows because of the aether that Kazralith blows onto the mortal realm.

Sarvazir - Goddess of Health, Healing, and Compassion

Sarvazir is eternally compassionate and wishes for souls to survive; she cries streams of blood that permeate the soul threads she deems worthy of a long life or second chance from being plucked by Azqir. She gives souls a longer life to atone for their sins and to become worthy.

Jarnithas - God of Order and Stability

Jarnithas is the soother who soothes the wrath and eagerness of the gods; he plays his flute and tempers the gods, bringing order and stability to the mortal realm. Without his influence, Thazmarion or Kazralith could cause discord between souls and natural chaos that could cause much suffering and death.

Malkorin - God of Love, Desire, and Community

Malkorin is a generous god, wishing souls to experience emotion, pleasure and love. With his kiss he permeates the soul threads with lust, love, desire, a sense of family, comradery and all other emotions that make existence pleasurable. His gift is to be enjoyed and respected with temperance, for he is a trickster and enjoys the drama his gift causes despite the harm it may cause to a souls thread growth and change.

Thazmarion - God of War, Courage, and Honour

Thazmarion stands next to Azqir, counselling him on which threads he should pluck and trying to influence him. Thazmarion has a deep sense of umbrage and honour, and when angered by the actions of mortals, he persuades Azqir to cause strife and war and to pluck the lives of the many who die in war. Thazmarion can be sought for the courage to restore honour when he counsels Azqir to cause discord.

Valkhoris - God of Dreams, Imagination, and Inspiration

Valkhoris is the sister of Malqarra, and she reads the many scrolls of Malqarra and dreams of the many mortal lives that have come and gone. Rather than truly remembering, she imagines and creates a new version of what she reads, creating fanciful dreams and notions that often seep into the soul strands as dreams, notions and inspired bursts of creativity.

Azmariq - God of Time and Eternity

Azmariq is a god who is both young and old, holding a drum with which he plays a steady and ever-encompassing rhythm. The rhythm dictates the pace of motion and changes in both the mortal realm and the spiritual realm. The drumming will never cease and will forever dictate the pace of creation.

Malqarra - Goddess of Memory, Tradition, and History

Malqarra studies and records in her scroll the length, texture and colours of the soul threads, recording every change and thereby recording the life of all mortal beings that have ever existed. She helps mortals remember and know their history; she is the keeper of heritage and as long as she keeps her records, which will be for eternity, the memory of mortal beings will endure and will be remembered.

Children of Qazirum - Minor Deities

The Children of Qazirum is a broader level of minor deities that are often thought of as children of the main deities of creation, often helping or ruling over specific niches of creation. For example, Targoranis, the daughter of Azqir, is considered the goddess of disease, while Sarnor is his son and lord of rot. Other deities have their own sub-pantheon of children with their specific domains. A further example is Haldres, the daughter of Malkorin and goddess of lust.