Orkanan

Orkanan is a mono-panentheistic and animistic religion predominant in northern Anaria, defined by its adherence to common-held spiritual principles and mythos as prescribed by the Tankan. Central to the faith is the deity Vind (literally, the “Wind”), the omnipresent and omnipotent creator that serves as the godhead of Orkanan cosmology. It is among the world religions, spanning from its heartland of Stoldavia to the peripheries of Altaia, Jorveh, western Raia, D'Runia and parts of eastern Davai and Tzeraka.

The cyclic existence of the soul and the interconnectedness of things in harmony are running themes in Orkanan, and often define much of the faith's experience. Much is noted of Orkanan's focus on drawing closer to Vind's presence itself, through acts of creation and collective devotion, until ultimately reaching the divine after death, in a state/plane of being called samman. At present, Orkanan is doctrinally divided between interventionist and non-interventionist camps, of which the latter believes that Vind has a “master plan” in which it uses as the basis to act within its creation.

Earliest mentions of Orkanan as a concrete tradition date back to the First Stoldavian Empire (aptly named the Orkanan Realm), and is commonly accepted by historians to be a unification of various early-stoldavic pagan cults. This first iteration would be referred to as Fyrirhugin, and was inexplicably tied to the authority of the Stoldavic state. With the dissolution of the First Empire (and the subsequent rise of the Dragar Monopoly), Orkanan would spread and branch out into various sects, reaching northern Anaria Major and much of Thultannia. The Imperial sect of Mellanhand would assert itself as the dominant sect in Stoldavia after the foundation of the Second Stoldavian Empire, though would experience a great schism leading to the Empire’s downfall and dissolution. Today, Orkanan has since been existing as a polycentric faith, often organized into nation-spanning congregations.

Orkanan, from the word…

The ultimate goal of Orkanan is to achieve samman, or “wholeness”, with the supreme god Vind, usually interpreted as a spiritual and collective consciousness. Samman is considered to be part of the “realms” or “states of being”, alongside garda (the mortal/living state), sike (the passing-through), and hel (the cleansing). The lay Orkanan is expected to transcend all other realms of being through rigorous worship and invocation of Vind's presence, a kind of constant communion through following its example. The necessity of returning to Vind is considered the paramount duty of the faithful, as it is the only thing that sustains their continued existence in the hereafter; those who do not actively live in the service of achieving samman are condemned to spiritual oblivion or eternal solitude, of which sike also encompasses.

In some traditions, particularly the non-interventionist branches of the faith, this is compounded further in the belief in reincarnation; that all souls may cycle through all states of being; those who fail to achieve samman in the old lifetime may have to enter Hel in order to correct their shortcomings and return to garda with a deeper awareness of duty in understanding the world. Such chances to do so are limited at a certain, but often undetermined threshold, however; as Sike is still held as a potential end-state for deviants.

Orkanan's central object of belief is the supreme god Vind. Vind is considered to be the almighty power behind everything, an omnipotent and omnipresent being who created and pervades across the universe. Unlike the deities of other faiths, Vind is characterized as immaterial and transcendent; unable to be fully and truly perceived by mortal senses outside of limited facets and an innate sense of “feeling”. Hence, Vind can make its presence manifest in various ways through its creation, usually in natural phenomena and most commonly through the wind (hence its name). The need for wholeness and the limited mortal understanding of the divine has led to Orkanan rites and practices to be of holistic form; in which actively mimicking and understanding Vind's qualities, from creation, learning to communion with others one could in turn be closer to it's divine essence.

All of creation is considered to bear consciousness or hold part of Vind's consciousness (including humans), thus meaning that all concrete things, from objects to phenomena, are spiritually tied to one another. This includes the principles of matter, the spirit, and the soul, the latter two being distinct elements in Orkanan hierology¹⁾ . Hence, the universe is interpreted as a sort of holistic and cohesive art, an intricate harmony in which all of creation takes a part of. Humans are expected to bear a sort of reverence to creation and compassion to its “soul-bearing” creatures (usually referring to people and animals). Reaching harmony with the elements and other people is thus seen as a virtuous act or an integral part of one's path towards samman.

With its adherence to the interconnectedness of things, communion and fraternity with others is a prized value in the faith. Orkanan remains tied to the extended family (the stim?) as the core unit in its society. Things are best done together, and cooperation is seen as congruent with the achievement of samman. The self is always tied to the wider group, and in turn the world at large. Going against this dynamic in favor of self-interest goes against the principle of wholeness, and could lead the soul astray from the world, and in turn Vind itself. As a consequence, however, this often leads to an attitude of compulsion and conformity amongst conservative Orkanan societies.