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cornerofmadnessI had a ton to say about this part of the world building but then again, I knew this well. It's a main feature of the story (which is odd since I'm not a giant fan of talking religion). Two of the four main characters are deeply involved with their religion, Archana, a Living Goddess and Sverre, a Yaarian Priest.
The Tasianas and the Yaarians have a shared belief in a mother and father deities. Savaria, the Goddess and Alren, the God. There is, however, a definite divide in how to worship the deities. Mostly this divide has been relatively amicable, except among the most hard core worshippers. Worship of Savaria and Alren dates back at least a thousand years. Five hundred years ago the split between the Tasiana and the Yaarian worship was codified.
They agree on many points of the religion. It unfolds in a series of stories. Their deities are believed to actively walk among them. The Goddess is especially fond of manifesting herself. It’s believed that the deities have granted immortality to an occasionally human, especially to Polycarp who tricked it out of Alren. It’s unknown if Polycarp was ever real or not. He fulfills the Trickster role along the lines of Iktomi, Rabbit or Coyote. His stories are cautionary tales and being called a Polycarp’s fool is a common insult among both Tasianas and Yaarians.
In the heroic tradition, Alren saves Savaria in the Forest of Dappled Sun, which is a favorite story among the Yaarians. However, it’s the solitary time he saves his wife. It’s more often Savaria saving her husband who is usually depicted as a hapless adventurer. He’s more whimsical and foolhardy than his practical wife. Savaria and Alren are very egalitarian about sharing duties in the home, the fields, the seas and the woods.
Heaven is pictured somewhat differently by the Tasianas and the Yaarians. The former see it as a beautiful beach with homes in the hills overlooking the waves while the latter see it as palatial woodland estates. Both agree they’ll be living in the God and Goddesses encompassing love without pain or fear. Both agree that hell is presided over by the deities with punishments fitting the crime. There can be release if the soul has suffered and repented enough. Those souls will be reborn for another try at life and heaven.
The main tenants of both branches of the religion include treating others as you wish to be treated, no stealing or killing (exceptions made for the warrior-priests and the military), using the right speech and actions, keeping a calm mind, love is the way to peace, that all humans house the divine in them, that the prayers and scripture should be shared with all.
Where the Tasianas and the Yaarians vary widely isn’t in their core beliefs but in how they worship their deities. The Yaarians curry favor more with Alren. Their temples are very rustic and they have two enclaves of the priesthood: the warriors and the herbal healers. They consider Savaria colder and less accessible than Alren (in spite of her coming among them more often), but they don’t forget to include her in their ceremonies. That would be highly insulting. They are more patriarchal and women rarely enter the priesthood, but it is allowable. They strongly do not believe that the goddess imbues anyone with fragments of her personality and power or at least not more than the divinity to be found in all living things. They respect (mostly) the Living Goddesses, but don’t believe they are actually Living Goddesses.
The Tasianas are pretty much the reverse. Alren has a minor temple within the vast temple complexes of the Living Goddesses, and while he is included in worship, his role is more minimal. In normal towns, the temples are to Savaria and Alren together but he usually has a small nook or grotto and the rest of the temple is hers. Worship in the Star Cities is vastly different. A Star City houses one of the thirteen Living Goddesses. It is believed that Savaria imbues young girls with a bit of her essence and personality traits. These girls are found only among the pure blood Tasiana (which is a definite prejudice in the last five hundred years stemming from the Yaarians turning away from the Living Goddess system. There are records of Yaarian Living Goddesses from before that but it’s not widely known).
The Living Goddesses are as followed
1 – Militant/war (Savaria Archana) (she’s the main character. This is mostly her story)
2 Mercy (Savaria Trinda)
3 – Hope (Savaria Omvati)
4 – righteous fury (Savaria Darshena)
5 – love (Savaria Shaila)
6 Peace (Savaria Nilem)
7 Joy (Savaria Bethen)
8 Arts (Savaria Ceri)
9 goodwill & generosity (Savaria Miro)
10 Care for the Land & sea (Savaria Madhy)
11 courage (Savaria Lunad)
12 serious study (Savaria Iskra)
13 death (Savaria Riya)
(Using the systems to select a Kumari Devi or the Dalai Lama as model) the Living Goddesses are chosen by a specialized sect of the priestesshood. Once a girl is selected (usually between the age of one and five) she is brought to whichever Star City houses her personality trait. The search parties go out when the current Living Goddess turns nineteen because she will only be a Living Goddess until she is twenty-one when she passes on the mantle to her successor. The priestesses use personal items belonging to the current goddess with the belief that once they get a sign of a possible candidate, the actual Goddess will allow her mortal counterpart to pick out the items and do other things that indicate she is the right girl.
The Living Goddesses are raised in huge temple complexes that have dormitories for the priestesses who attend to her every need. The Living Goddesses have nothing to do but learn scripture and act as an intercessor for whatever her personality trait embodies (if you had a murdered relative, you might go visit Righteous Fury to help get justice for example). They do nothing for themselves. They are bathed, clothed and even fed if necessary by their servants. It’s a lush life but also very isolating. Not even priestesses are allowed access to the Goddesses beyond their duties and the Goddesses cannot leave their temples unattended. In fact, they rarely leave at all except to go to festivals or meet if the Savaria Chorus, the entire group of Living Goddesses, must come together to make a decision on something.
It’s an isolated, lonely life even if they want for nothing. The Goddesses are virgins and it is firmly believed that if that vow is broken, Savaria herself will strike them dead. The only people they get to talk to are worshippers seeking favors and the priestesses. While there are male priests in the outlying towns, only females are allowed to work in the Living Goddess’s temple. (So when Archana ends up in the real world she is very naïve, especially about men). Once they pass on the mantle at twenty-one, they still live in the temple and mentor their successor. However, at that age, they are allowed out and about on their own. They are encouraged to have as many lovers as they want, though marriage is forbidden (No one is considered ‘good enough’ to marry a goddess). Their lovers are houses within the enormous temple grounds and the hope is that their offspring will become important influential people down the road.
Magic also exists in this world. It’s relative rare and a person only has one magic born to him or her. The Yaarians do nothing special to acknowledge the magic. The Tasiana tattoo a stylized symbol on their foreheads (over the third eye) to signify their magic. For instance, Ethon Drake is a very rare fire mage and he has a flame tattoo. Archana is a healer but as a Living Goddess she has a bindi-like opal on her forehead to signify her special divinity. Sverre, a Yaarian, is a plant shaper but has no tattoo. Ethon was forced into the military because of his magic and Sverre is the one who suffered for it.
worldbuilding blog fest
The Tasianas and the Yaarians have a shared belief in a mother and father deities. Savaria, the Goddess and Alren, the God. There is, however, a definite divide in how to worship the deities. Mostly this divide has been relatively amicable, except among the most hard core worshippers. Worship of Savaria and Alren dates back at least a thousand years. Five hundred years ago the split between the Tasiana and the Yaarian worship was codified.
They agree on many points of the religion. It unfolds in a series of stories. Their deities are believed to actively walk among them. The Goddess is especially fond of manifesting herself. It’s believed that the deities have granted immortality to an occasionally human, especially to Polycarp who tricked it out of Alren. It’s unknown if Polycarp was ever real or not. He fulfills the Trickster role along the lines of Iktomi, Rabbit or Coyote. His stories are cautionary tales and being called a Polycarp’s fool is a common insult among both Tasianas and Yaarians.
In the heroic tradition, Alren saves Savaria in the Forest of Dappled Sun, which is a favorite story among the Yaarians. However, it’s the solitary time he saves his wife. It’s more often Savaria saving her husband who is usually depicted as a hapless adventurer. He’s more whimsical and foolhardy than his practical wife. Savaria and Alren are very egalitarian about sharing duties in the home, the fields, the seas and the woods.
Heaven is pictured somewhat differently by the Tasianas and the Yaarians. The former see it as a beautiful beach with homes in the hills overlooking the waves while the latter see it as palatial woodland estates. Both agree they’ll be living in the God and Goddesses encompassing love without pain or fear. Both agree that hell is presided over by the deities with punishments fitting the crime. There can be release if the soul has suffered and repented enough. Those souls will be reborn for another try at life and heaven.
The main tenants of both branches of the religion include treating others as you wish to be treated, no stealing or killing (exceptions made for the warrior-priests and the military), using the right speech and actions, keeping a calm mind, love is the way to peace, that all humans house the divine in them, that the prayers and scripture should be shared with all.
Where the Tasianas and the Yaarians vary widely isn’t in their core beliefs but in how they worship their deities. The Yaarians curry favor more with Alren. Their temples are very rustic and they have two enclaves of the priesthood: the warriors and the herbal healers. They consider Savaria colder and less accessible than Alren (in spite of her coming among them more often), but they don’t forget to include her in their ceremonies. That would be highly insulting. They are more patriarchal and women rarely enter the priesthood, but it is allowable. They strongly do not believe that the goddess imbues anyone with fragments of her personality and power or at least not more than the divinity to be found in all living things. They respect (mostly) the Living Goddesses, but don’t believe they are actually Living Goddesses.
The Tasianas are pretty much the reverse. Alren has a minor temple within the vast temple complexes of the Living Goddesses, and while he is included in worship, his role is more minimal. In normal towns, the temples are to Savaria and Alren together but he usually has a small nook or grotto and the rest of the temple is hers. Worship in the Star Cities is vastly different. A Star City houses one of the thirteen Living Goddesses. It is believed that Savaria imbues young girls with a bit of her essence and personality traits. These girls are found only among the pure blood Tasiana (which is a definite prejudice in the last five hundred years stemming from the Yaarians turning away from the Living Goddess system. There are records of Yaarian Living Goddesses from before that but it’s not widely known).
The Living Goddesses are as followed
1 – Militant/war (Savaria Archana) (she’s the main character. This is mostly her story)
2 Mercy (Savaria Trinda)
3 – Hope (Savaria Omvati)
4 – righteous fury (Savaria Darshena)
5 – love (Savaria Shaila)
6 Peace (Savaria Nilem)
7 Joy (Savaria Bethen)
8 Arts (Savaria Ceri)
9 goodwill & generosity (Savaria Miro)
10 Care for the Land & sea (Savaria Madhy)
11 courage (Savaria Lunad)
12 serious study (Savaria Iskra)
13 death (Savaria Riya)
(Using the systems to select a Kumari Devi or the Dalai Lama as model) the Living Goddesses are chosen by a specialized sect of the priestesshood. Once a girl is selected (usually between the age of one and five) she is brought to whichever Star City houses her personality trait. The search parties go out when the current Living Goddess turns nineteen because she will only be a Living Goddess until she is twenty-one when she passes on the mantle to her successor. The priestesses use personal items belonging to the current goddess with the belief that once they get a sign of a possible candidate, the actual Goddess will allow her mortal counterpart to pick out the items and do other things that indicate she is the right girl.
The Living Goddesses are raised in huge temple complexes that have dormitories for the priestesses who attend to her every need. The Living Goddesses have nothing to do but learn scripture and act as an intercessor for whatever her personality trait embodies (if you had a murdered relative, you might go visit Righteous Fury to help get justice for example). They do nothing for themselves. They are bathed, clothed and even fed if necessary by their servants. It’s a lush life but also very isolating. Not even priestesses are allowed access to the Goddesses beyond their duties and the Goddesses cannot leave their temples unattended. In fact, they rarely leave at all except to go to festivals or meet if the Savaria Chorus, the entire group of Living Goddesses, must come together to make a decision on something.
It’s an isolated, lonely life even if they want for nothing. The Goddesses are virgins and it is firmly believed that if that vow is broken, Savaria herself will strike them dead. The only people they get to talk to are worshippers seeking favors and the priestesses. While there are male priests in the outlying towns, only females are allowed to work in the Living Goddess’s temple. (So when Archana ends up in the real world she is very naïve, especially about men). Once they pass on the mantle at twenty-one, they still live in the temple and mentor their successor. However, at that age, they are allowed out and about on their own. They are encouraged to have as many lovers as they want, though marriage is forbidden (No one is considered ‘good enough’ to marry a goddess). Their lovers are houses within the enormous temple grounds and the hope is that their offspring will become important influential people down the road.
Magic also exists in this world. It’s relative rare and a person only has one magic born to him or her. The Yaarians do nothing special to acknowledge the magic. The Tasiana tattoo a stylized symbol on their foreheads (over the third eye) to signify their magic. For instance, Ethon Drake is a very rare fire mage and he has a flame tattoo. Archana is a healer but as a Living Goddess she has a bindi-like opal on her forehead to signify her special divinity. Sverre, a Yaarian, is a plant shaper but has no tattoo. Ethon was forced into the military because of his magic and Sverre is the one who suffered for it.
worldbuilding blog fest
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