The Ur-Ashaar

Most commonly referred to as “The Creed of the Seven” or simply “The Seven”, The Ur-Ashaar, which roughly translates to “The First Immortals” in the proto-hominid tongue, is the predominant faith amongst The Hominid Strain. Originating from the Region known as Zagesi and its surrounding Lands, The Ur-Ashaar tells the story of how the seven immortals, led by Zargoran, rose up in rebellion against their Draconid masters, stole the power of the Divine Flame from Tiamat, breaking the chains of their enslaved people in the process and establishing the first hominid nations. The Faith puts a heavy focus on hospitality, celebration and freedom.  

Quick Summary:

“Through Righteous Flame and Broken Chain,
born again through Blade and War, the Seven staked their Claim.”
“Together as before unseen, they rose against the Dragon Queen,
at Zandije they made their stand, and brought the Dragons to their End.”
“Delivered us to promised Lands, to prosper, spread and make Amends.”
“The Mortals immortal, through Defiance reached Heaven,
and so we repeat it, The Creed of the Seven”
  While most followers of The Ur-Ashaar pay respects to all of The Seven, they usually focus on the worship of one or a select few. The amount to which one of the Ashaar is worshiped also depends heavily on the region: Where Zargoran for example is the predominant Deity of all of Northern Zagesi, he barely has any followers in the City States of the Tripact, down south at the Conflux Sea.   The Ur-Ashaar is the most widespread Faith regularly practiced amongst The Hominid Strain, but it is not the only one. One would assume that to be a problem for a faith such as The Ur-Ashaar, however the approach of the priests, theologians and other faithful is rather pragmatic in this regard. Their simple assumption is that the deities of other Hominid Faiths are simply their own in disguise. “That strange wanderer God of yours is just Zargoran wearing a disguise, and that God of Magic of yours is just Arcana crossdressing” you get the Idea.
The Most well-known example of this is The Ashen Lord of Rungholt, who most followers of the Ur-Ashaar simply presume to be a particularly grumpy version of Arkas.  

Core Beliefs:

The Ur-Ashaars specific tenets and beliefs vary quite a lot based on the region and dominant Ashaar, but they still have several things in common.  

One Life, one Chance:

The Ur-Ashaar explicitly states that there is no afterlife and that every hominid is born with a unique soul, risen from the same soil all Hominids were created from. Once their time has come, their soul returns to the earth, rotting away just like the rest of the body.
This has a few interesting quirks:
  • For one, the fact that they have no afterlife and no reincarnation to look forward to or dread, means that hominids that follow the Ur-Ashaar are more inclined to "get as much out of their life" as they possibly can. This can take many different forms: From Immense wanderlust, crystalized out of the wish to see all the world has to offer.
  • A rebellious spirit standing against any and all injustice, because they will not waste their one life in service to some undeserving tyrant.
  • An opportunistic sense of malice and greed, seeking to enrich themselves by any means necessary and live life to the fullest.
  • Pushing themselves to master a skill or profession above all others,
  • Or simply doing everything they can to leave their mark upon the world, even long after they are gone.
  •   Another interesting side effect is that, as Hominids consider the soul as simply a part of the body and the body itself not as a sacred thing, the raising of undead, undeath and necromancy are on their own not considered evil acts. It is a tool just like all forms of magic, a tool that can be used for righteous or nefarious means just like any other. Having corpses wander through the streets is however still frowned upon, it is after all quite unsightly and unsanitary.   Finally third is the absence of burial rites. Whereas other faiths have their followers dead buried in tombs or graves, followers of The Ur-Ashaar rarely, if ever, have any sort of rituals associated with death. Once the body dies, so does the soul, and there is no point in venerating a carcass, pay your respects, say your goodbyes and then leave it out for the animals to feed.
    Most followers of the Ur-Ashaar either leave their dead for nature to reclaim, or incinerate them and scatter their ashes over their fields, so that they may feed future generations even in death.  

    Ashaar, Asha and The Immortals:

    While members of The Hominid Strain that follow the Ur-Ashaar may not have an afterlife to look forward to, it is not like they have no options beyond dying of old age. The Ur-Ashaar in fact states that every follower has the chance to join the ranks of The Seven, for while they are treated pretty much as deities by their followers, The Ur-Ashaar describes them as mortals, which claimed eternal life through living in accordance to Asha, and still walk the Earth to this day.   Asha is a somewhat nebulous concept, it is a cryptic term originating from the proto-hominid tongue, though its exact translation has long been lost to time. Scholars, Theologians and Philosophers have interpreted it to mean a variety of things: Civility, Ambition, Probity, Honor, Pride, Accomplishment, Humility, Defiance, Mastery, Enlightenment, Perfection, Revelry, Cunning, Wisdom, Ruthlessness, Kindness, Resourcefulness, Might, Spirit, Prowess and the list goes on and on…
    The definition is generally vague, but “to live in accordance to Asha” is nowadays understood to mean something along the lines of “To live and conduct oneself as an Immortal would”, which is on the one hand infuriatingly vague, and on the other hand likely as precise as that definition is ever going to get.
    Through living in accordance with Asha, any Hominid is supposedly capable of shrugging off the chains of mortality and joining the ranks of The Seven as an Immortal, an "Ashaar". Many monastic Orders and temples have formed all throughout Zagesi and beyond with the explicit purpose of having their members achieve Asha, though so far with no success, or at least they have not been keen on sharing this knowledge.  

    Born of Clay and Dragons Breath:

    The Ur-Ashaars view on how Hominids came to be is pretty much consistent with the belief of The Ruumush Amat, which claims that Hominids were created from shaped clay and brought to life by the fiery breath of Tiamat, which at the time was infused with the power of the Divine Flame.
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    Cover image: by Temarius Walker

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