The Wakshe Religion
of Yori (Regina 0510)
Introduction
Wakshe is the traditional beliefs and religious practices of the people of Yori. It is a polytheistic religion but with a monotheistic structure; there are many gods, but only one is ascendant at a time. As each god has his or her own values, the values promoted by Wakshe changes with the god.
The currently ascended god is Zelodeous. He promotes piety through the virtues of self-reliance, anti-materialism, hard work, and self-sacrifice for the good of the community.
Beliefs
Heaven and Hell
The spiritual plane coexists with the material plane as a sort of parallel dimension. Some physical objects, therefore, exist in both planes simultaneously.
Yori circles the ringed gas giant Dectura. On the spiritual plane of existence, Dectura is a heaven, and the rings are walls to keep the unrighteous out. Twice a month, when the rings are edge on (approximately every 11 local days), they appear to the naked eye to briefly vanish. It is at these times that those who have died can enter heaven.
And (allegedly) somewhere in the dark, lies another, unseen, celestial body; Vech (hell).
Gods
There are supernatural beings that secretly walk on Yori. Every once in a while (often decades apart) one can ascend to heaven. By standing on the threshold, they can judge which souls are worthy of entering into heaven. And so the values of that being become the values the adherents of Wakshe must follow. However, the ascendant god cannot remain at the gates without the prayers of the people tying them to the material plane. Once lost, the god ‘falls’ into heaven and can no longer influence the world. Thus a god can only rule by the will of the people.
Fifty years ago, for example, the ascendant god was Tricore. Tricore promoted growth, of building a better future, of trade and prosperity.
Then the ascendant god was Chaarni (“he who moves the sand dunes”). Chaarni promoted enlightenment through exploration and the pursuit of truth.
Since 1104 Imperial, Zelodeous (the “Deep One of the Undersea”) is in charge. He calls for a return to traditional ways of life. He is a reaction to the decadence and complacency that comes from over-reliance on technology, a reminder that no matter how powerful the people become (through technology) they must still honour the gods.
Then there is Taino, a supernatural being who aspired to godhood but failed. Frustrated, he tries, again and again, to build a sufficient power base to ascend. Taino is all about the self: the importance of pleasure as part of a balanced existence, and of sometimes putting one’s own needs ahead of the needs of others. Taino is represented in the sky by the Decturan moon of Tino.
Monsters
Before living on Yori, the people lived on Vech and were the playthings of monsters. Fomatet is the devil figure in Wakshe, but he (or she?) is distant. Lord of the monsters in Vech, lieutenant to Fomatet, is Korsu.
Creation
In the beginning, there were many gods. They created the worlds and populated them. One world was paradise (Teth), and the people who lived there were innocent and happy.
But while some gods were good, others were evil, and a great war broke out. One day the Devil (Fomatet) entered paradise and captured many of the people, taking them back with him to Hell (Vech) as slaves. These slaves built a great city in Hell: Grakoma, the City of the Damned. And the Devil made the people brutalise and oppress each other, the weak and stupid were killed, the strong became warriors in the gods’ war, and the most successful were given exalted positions of power over the rest of the Damned … and were known as Lords. The worst Lord was Korsu, who was vile and cruel and without mercy. And Korsu became First Lord, the one to whom all other Lords paid homage.
After a time some of the Damned rebelled. The one known as Skubum did not want to fight, did not want to kill for another, not even a god. Working in secret, he drew others, like-minded, to his cause. Then, while the Devil was away fighting, he stole a ship and fled the slave pits of Korsu into the wilderness. With him went his followers and their families. And they numbered ten thousand souls.
Korsu was enraged and feared the Devils’ displeasure. He dispatched his warriors to destroy Skubum and all those who followed him. But Skubum had timed things well, for many of Korsu’s warriors had been sent to fight at the Devil’s side in the gods’ war, and the ten thousand escaped into the dark void.
Many years passed. Many generations were born, grew old, and died. Then, one day, Goshau (a descendant of Skubum) found the Oasis (Yori). The Oasis had its own gods, and these gods took pity on the people. Goshau went and talked to these new gods, at a place called the Valley of Tears. There the gods of the Oasis agreed to allow the people to make the Oasis their new home.
The new gods were different from the old: They hid themselves and often worked through the forces of nature. And while they warred with one another, they do not expect the people to fight for them … only to pay tribute to whoever is ascendant. Those who dishonour the gods of the Oasis risk being turned away, of returning to Korsu’s slave pits.
But life was not easy at that time. To help the people, the gods of the Oasis gave Goshau much knowledge. For forty days and forty nights, Goshau was gripped by a divine trance wherein each god appeared before Goshau. When he awoke, Goshau wrote down all that he had seen and been told, and these writings were called the A’chim Papers. A lot of these writings were complex and confusing, so Goshau formed a council of the brightest people (called the Chosen) to examine them and to ensure they were properly used. A band of holy warriors was formed (called the Hand of God) to guard this and to do its bidding.
“The Start Of Things”
paraphrased from the A’chim
Organisation
The Wakshe religion is based on priest-like ‘Advisors’ organised into religious orders, and monk-like ‘Krohm’. Traditionally, the Advisors were representatives of the currently ascended god to the people. They are experts in their respective fields; professors of law, economics, geology, and so on. At the same time, the Krohm (having forsaken any specific order), represent the people to that same god. They are community-based; advocates and arbiters of local issues, reporting back to the Advisors.
Current Religious Orders
- The Church of Physicians
- The Doctrine of the Faithful
- The Followers of the Divine
- The Followers of Truth
- The Holy Order of Merchants
- The Keepers of the A’chim
- The Order of Justice
- The Order of the Righteous
- The Seekers of the Past
- The Servants of Zelodeous
Another religious order, the Brotherhood of the Eternal, follows Taino. It is a banned order that persists as an illegal cult.
There are about 5000 Advisors spread between ten different currently active religious orders. Each order selects ten of their number to be ‘Senior’ Advisors. (The exact mechanism of selection varies from order to order.) 80 of these Senior Advisors form the central government Council of Elders (the government’s executive branch) and hold the top positions in the government’s directorates, while the other 20 hold non-council positions of importance (for example, running the Blephos Archive). A further 720 Advisors are nominated to stand in the wider Grand Council, Yori’s main legislative and judiciary body. The remaining 4000+ Advisors work in local government, academia, and as corporate consultants.
Government Directorates
- Community Directorate
- Defence Directorate
- Education and Research Directorate
- Energy Directorate
- Environment Directorate
- Farming and Food Directorate
- Finance Directorate
- Intelligence Directorate
- Interstellar Affairs Directorate
- Labour Directorate
- Mineral Resource Directorate
- Public Health Directorate
- Transport Directorate
Other Departments
- Blephos Archive
- Hemdian University
- Public Guardian Service
- Supreme Court
- Yorian Airfield Consortium
- Baxter City Council
- Big Rock Mountain City Council
- Bon-Fargoa City Council
- Devil’s Fork Metro Council
- Hemdian City Council
- Market City Council
Lexicon
A’chim
Powerful truth, an epiphany.
A’chim Papers
The holy scripture of Wakshe.
Daugu
A traditional communal farmhouse. Still found in some of the more remote rural areas of Scarland, the word conjures up a sense of “home”, “safety”, and “belonging”.
Etip
An obscure written language, originally made from marks chiselled in rock. The A’chim Papers are written in etip.
F’goa
A fortified desert encampment of the T’Lana Esh. Can be temporary or permanent. The most famous is on an isolated rock plateau (or mesa) near the Claw Mountains. Occupied by Kel Bon, it became known as Bon F’goa and is now the site of a major city.
Fomatet
The Devil.
Forsaken, The
Outcast or de-frocked clerics.
Goshau
Prophet who wrote down the A’chim Papers.
Grakoma
Mythical “City of the Damned”.
Jaibok
Child or someone naive. (lit. “Innocent children”)
Kel
A tribe of the T’Lana Esh. (lit. “Family”)
Korkorrale
Despair.
Korsu
Character from legend. Zhan of Grakoma.
Orlot, The
Mythical “Land of the Devout”. Reputed to be the source of vaothois.
Rogan, Lem
Historical character. Merchant and founder of Montierra (later Fevel’s Fork).
Shankril
A lucky pebble from the Yea-ka river.
Skubum
Character from legend. Led the people out of Grakoma.
T’Lana Esh
Originally, the northern tribes. Now, a triumvirate of the last Kel of the northern tribes, the military’s special forces unit, and the government’s Intelligence Directorate.
Teth
Paradise.
Vaothoi
A wooden, quarterstaff-like weapon from the Orlot. Typically 2 metres long, 4 centimetres in diameter, and weighing 4 kg … Yorian hardwoods, such as ‘mahogany’, are lower in density than comparable hardwoods on other planets. Historically carried by Wakshe priests and engraved with the holy symbol of the currently ascendant god, now carried by Krohm and with the holy symbol removed. Most vaothois are antiques passed down through the generations.
Vech
Hell.
Yori
Oasis, respite, break.
Zhan
Title from the before time. (lit. “First Lord”)
Zerp
The People (alt. Zerphani).
Zud
Pit.
Phrases
“Hail Zeludeous”: a daily salutation (like saying “hello”).
“Taino save us!”: muttered in exasperation, when frustrated.
“In his name”: a pledge sometimes said before a difficult or dangerous task (such as combat, etc.).
“Vech!”: a simple swear word. Variations include “Go to Vech!”
“May you know Korkorrale”: a curse used when really angry.
“You are Jaibok”: an insult, meaning accused is an idiot (ignorant and naive). Variations are possible.
“The present is made possible by the ghosts of the past. And because there is a present, there will be a future. The past, therefore, is where the future begins.”: parable.
Traditions
Community:
The whole is stronger than the sum of its parts. Group members are expected to be loyal to each other, eating and socialising together. With some crimes a community may be seen as guilty rather than an individual … and the community as a whole is punished. (In such cases the punished community rarely turns on an individual.)
Education:
Ignorance is immoral; knowledge is empowering; skill is admired. Those not destined for academia leave school earlier than the Imperial average but devote at least four years to an apprenticeship.
Crime is the result of ignorance. Even a murder or rapist can be redeemed through re-education (and thereafter carries no stigma for past crimes).
Conservation:
Food and water are valuable. Waste should be recycled where possible. Even in war, destruction of enemy water or food supplies, farms, fields, livestock, etc., is sacrilege.
“Dead Water”: The dead are neither buried nor cremated. They are ground up and scattered over fields as fertiliser.
Hospitality:
There is a strong tradition of hospitality, especially in desert communities. Hosts are expected to be generous and share food and water with visitors. Visitors must be gracious and not abuse the privilege but must accept even the humblest offering as something of high value.
Gift giving (even simple lending) is ritualised. The item is presented in both hands with a formal stance; it should be accepted reverently and with a head bow of thanks.
Meals are typically communal buffets … guests choose first, then priests, then everyone else.
Cheating:
The purpose of competitions is to prove who is better at some task. Winning in and of itself is worthless. Therefore, cheating is pointless. Life is a competition … so cheating at life is pointless.