Kamada
Every few centuries the Akrean volcano at the heart of Ekraht awakens, dousing the continent in fire and death. The massive ash-laced floodplains of Northern Ekraht have created massive wooden cities that re-enact this in miniature every few decades as well. The huge populations here are haunted by fire, disease, and the toxic fumes that waft down from Akrea (and the Dragomanders kept by the Sorcerous Elite) that make both of these things worse. Rebirth is not constant here, but death and renewal feels omnipresent and certain. Balance is also a constant theme in Ekratan religion, as the Windweavers and Dragon sorcerers must be kept in perfect balance lest the public suffer for it.
Kamada draws on the ancient philosophies of renewal and balance and gives them solid form. It is the culmination of many cycles of dead religions and imperial cults given coherent cosmology and transcendent aim. Kamada is revolutionary for Ekraht: not only does it seek to outlive the cycles of social destruction through mass worship and education, but it provides a path to heaven that does not pander to elites above all. While the great crowns are revered and given divine mandate, transcendence and sacred-ness is offered to the common people as well. Through community education, breath-worship, meditation, spiritual exercise, and sermons to the masses, priests are more connected to the common spirituality than ever before in Ekratan history. Perhaps this is to use the common people as a vehicle of permanence beyond this volcanic cycle, perhaps it is to inoculate them against the arrival of foreign evangelism. Regardless, it has produced a sort of spiritual engagement and fervor hereto unseen on the continent.
Kamada is a cosmology and worldview that can be seen as unusual out of the context of Ekratan life. It sees the past, present, and future as mixing together. Blood feuds are the past contaminating the present physically and spiritually, and people can channel strange powers and knowledge from their past or future lives (for good or ill). Past lives and afterlives exist in parallel, as each person has ten lives that generate fractional souls that will merge together once all ten are lived. The combined soul will then have an opportunity to ascend or will simply get sucked back into the cycle again. The present exists only in yourself and in concentrating on the world around you, and only in the present can you hope to not be overwhelmed and destroyed. By focusing on your breath, your body, and your mind in this moment you can harness what little agency you have in life to make yourself stronger and better. The Gods are benevolent and helpful in the journey for self-improvement, but the center of Kamada is the individual. Prayer is useful, but the objective is you and how you can get better. Prayer makes you better by making you think about the world and be humble, the Gods don't actually need it.
In terms of species-preference, Kamada tends to separate communities somewhat by role but has more freedom and intermingling than other societies of that nature. Certain jobs are reserved for certain races, but these are more of monopolies than castes. In terms of land use, architecture, and resource focus Dryads and Humans are seen as the "foundational" species and are valued the most by society (other races are expected to form private groups to stockpile emergency resources for their own kind, for example).
Structure
Kamadan religion is fairly centralized, with the Patient and Perfect Masters forming the ruling oligarchy and setting official doctrine. Most on-the-ground activities are based in the Crown Priests though, or Dragon priest in the massive Empire of Zerua. Crown Priests are attached as religious mirrors of their patron governments, even forming mock religious "courts" to mimic the royal court of their host country.
Beneath the priests are initiates and temple-keepers, who are managed more by in-temple hierarchies than any sort of pan-Kamadan top-down organization.
| Rank | Role | Selected By | # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect Master | Coordinate religion in regions (North, West, and East) | Elected by and from the Patient Masters | 3 |
| Patient Master | Coordinate General Religious Policy | Selected from a select pool of priests by the Patient Masters | 7 |
| Dragon Priest | Manage Zeruan Kamada | Elected by and from the Crown Princes of Zerua | 1 |
| Crown Priest | Manage state Kamada (or sub-kingdoms in Zerua) | Heir is chosen from the Crown Priest's Temple-Court, or elected by them if none chosen | 35 |
| Arbiter | Manage regions or large cities | Chosen by Crown Priest | Many |
| Priest | Manage communities and temples | Initiates trained by priests to replace them | Many |
History
Zeruan Old Religion
Zeruan religion has been state cult for most of its history, with religion being centered around the ruling government as a divine body. These religions were attached at the hip to the dynasties, and as they fell their religions were replaced. The periodic social-imperial collapse would take down most of this old cult legacy with it, creating gaps in religious continuity. Mystical groups would occasionally grow in popularity among the populace but would inevitably become either absorbed into the detached power structure or fade into irrelevance. Since association with commoners was looked down upon, any group seeking power would have to shun a popular following. This led to a patchwork of different esoteric beliefs and groups. Dozens of religious movements, many of them hangers-on from ancient dynasties, were preserved in the common folk and religion was largely unregulated outside of mandatory state-cult sacrifice.
The Arrival of Keveket, Orisha, and Vetevism changed that. Failed foreign coups in Zerua and temporary coup-regimes in the East created a fear of foreign evangelism. The rise of Keveket-aligned Empty-producing Esedeta in the Southwest only intensified that fear. There was a feeling that Prisms were taking over and violating their sacred role- both Maradians and local Prisms that had seized the volcano for their own. Fears of inter-species conflict (which had been absent from Ekraht for millennia) rose. And then came Ilona of Lainiko, a Prism priestess who envisioned a new order could withstand the volcanic eruptions and protect Ekraht from foreign species-conflict and imperialism (and perhaps even begin an age where Ekraht could colonize instead). She soon became a favorite of the Zeruan court, which poured money into her new religion.
Lainiko's Old Religion
Ilona was a Prism born on the Lainiko side of the Zerua-Lainiko border and was originally a Lainikan state-cult priest before she became the prophet of Kamada. While exposed to Zeruan religion from a young age, she still brought with her some of the baggage of Lainiko's religious history. Lainiko began its state cult as a representation of the early clan-republic, with each clan's gods joining together to make the world as they had made their state. When the republic collapsed, one clan was rocketed to power above the others with the aid of the migratory Mimiravi- a group of pastoral Pearl Pangolins that had become a traveling Cult of Hiku. Hiku Cult and Hero Cult became dominant within the old religious traditions, and this new setup survived the volcanic eruptions with some consistency. Their loyalty to Hiku become mixed up with loyalty to Wimbo over time as the religion mutated, and when a new ethnic group invaded during a civil war to re-instate "order", the religion was reformatted into a strange compromise where every version of the religion was true at different times.
Bringing it all together
This flexible-time esotericism was a perfect way to merge the different traditions within greater Lainiko- and proved to be just as effective merging traditions across North Ekraht. But it needed someone with the charisma and experiences necessary to bring the ingredients together. Ilino of Lainiko was the woman for the job: a curious girl born in 1770 to middling-class mining parents and given patronage for her travels by a wealthy mystic-merchant who hoped to begin selling travel guides built from her research, Ilino had the drive, the mind, and the means. From the 1820 to 1878, Ilino traveled North Ekraht seeking greater understanding of the world and used her training as a Lainikan mystic to construct a worldview that made could find spiritual value wherever she went. In 1878, she returned to Lainiko with her documents and proof of her rising social power: her time in the royal court had earned her a Dragomander and she had become a Dragon sorcerer of substantial power. Armed with status, knowledge, and backers, Ilino began a second continental tour in 1882 to build a unity movement. She found incredible success in this, and became something of a spiritual celebrity. Her unique ability to play the Lunar Gods off one another without making heavenly enemies had earned her the support of several divine patrons, her rising magical prowess ensured she remained high-status in court, and her worldly open mindedness inspired her to build her religion in communities rather than just among the princes. She was scandalous, but her scandal only made her even more popular. The injection of foreign influence had brought the proto-printing-press from abroad (and it was rapidly and thankfully adopted by the massive Zeruan bureaucracy) and Ilino inspired something of an early media storm. Everyone projected their hopes and dreams onto her and she was always careful to balance her many different patrons on heaven and earth. When she finally died of old age in 1910, she had left behind a religion that could rival any other. She was cremated in a massive forge and her ashes was split up into several massive tombs that remain sites of pilgrimage to this day.Mythology & Lore
Uarta, Aizusha, and the Centerpoint
There was no beginning, but at the heart of existence from which all has emanated are the Goddesses Uarta and Aizusha. Uarta was pure fire, creation, destruction, and change. Aizusha was cool skies, preservation, purification, and protection. Uarta spat out the world as hot magma, which Aizusha then washed in cool ocean water to transform into land. Together, they made all the world and its creations this way, and from their mixture came the lesser gods who populated the skies. To shelter themselves from the raging hot of the sun and the freezing cold of the night sky they built their own hidden world beyond the clouds. These heavenly realms were tiered by the power realms, with the lesser ones becoming the afterlives, where the fraction-souls of dead mortals wait to join together as one. After many millennia, the seething tide of creation died and the world returned to magma before crawling back to Uarta again.
This story has played out countless times and will play out countless times more. Each time the details are different, but the essentials remain the same. Uarta manifested this time as the Dragon of Dragons and the mother of humanity, while Aizusha manifested as the Wind Serpent and the mother of dryad-kind. Ruling over the upper heavens are:
- Zowashta, thousand-armed monarch and builder of heaven
- Ikarza the star empress, culmination of ascended monarchs of past universes
- Isari the stormlord, Uarta's weapon and master of foreign things
- Faswa the Fire-keeper, the sorcerery-teacher
- Akarat and Zalta, the laughing smoke spirit and the weeping sailor who transport the dead
- Umasu, the rainbow serpent of journeys and wisdom
- Arzid the shield-maiden and goddess of war
- Makoi the supreme emperor of heaven, child of Aizusha, and husband of Zowashta
- Kemegi the child of Uarta and the one who tends the fire of the great volcano
- Ilona, the risen prophetess who studied under Zowashta and is their heir
Ascent of Makoi
Makoi was born of a dryad priest and most talented windweaver named Zanarta. Zanarta was one of five windweavers of legend who fell one by one to pride and other sins- but Zanarta was last to fall. As their reward they were given a child of heaven, who was cloaked in the invisible silk of the night sky. As the other corrupted windweavers descended to slay the child out of jealousy, the child was wrapped in the invisible silk and sent down the ashen river to the kingdom of Karema by a gentle wind. He was delivered to a family of devout dryads who raised him to be dutiful and devout- but never told him his heritage, out of fear.
He went on to become a soldier of the kingdom there, who slew many monsters that descended along the river in search of him. Eventually he followed the river to the holy volcano, where he met Kemegi, the keeper of all fire. Kemegi is lazy and irritable and greatly disliked his approach and so spat the fire of creation at him- but Makoi cooled it with windweaving of legendary skill. Kemegi was so impressed he invited Makoi into his home to talk and have tea and the two became fast friends. Kemegi taught Makoi the secrets of sorcery and became Makoi's familiar. Realizing his heritage, Makoi flew to heaven to ask Zowashta what his purpose was. Looking down upon the world he saw bitter war and division and even as he asked he knew that the answer was to bring peace. And so Makoi slew the thousand tyrants who had so disrupted the land through their imbalance and division. He made the Empire of Zerua and flew across the entire continent of Ekraht, building communities and crowning just kings and oligarchs. He flew across the sea and discovered Ibith and the healing tree there, and drew a gateway to allow others to go there as well. His empire of Zerua stretched the entire world, and every godling and prince bowed to his holy law. His wise governance lasted five hundred years before Zowashta invited him to her side as her consort. His empire collapsed, but it was the first Zeruan empire of ten destined empires (after which the world will end).
The Ten Lives of the Moon
The Lunar Pantheon are great heroes and the spirits of the two moons, who incarnated as mortals ten times. They are each iterations of the same soul, and will fuse into one spirit at the end of times.Cosmological Views
Past and Future Lives
Everyone and everything will exist and be destroyed ten times. This will work differently for some than others. Cats can choose to use their ten lives immediately to resurrect, for example (though their last life will always escape them). A person's past and future lives are mysterious and can only be truly known after death, but they do hold great power over people. They are the source of your preferences, instincts, and subconscious desires as well as many strange dreams. Analysis of your dreams and impulses can help decipher who you once were and will be in order to master yourself.
Past lives are not inherently good, and can often be extremely negative things. To get lost in their impulses and fears is to lose your present self and any chance of self-improvement. It is also why the wise should rule the foolish: people are inherently spiritually irrational and require discipline and thoughtful guidance to make rational.
Divine blood sorcerers, bards, and druids channel aspects of their past lives for their magic and as such are dangerous for the undisciplined.
Also at play are your past selves of your current life. Old behaviors and habits can always return, and your old actions can haunt you by manifesting in the present against or for you. This is where Dhampirism comes from- it is becoming trapped in the moment of being struck, so that by replicating that moment as the perpetrator you gain energy and become more present. This is also why you should never do evil, as it will haunt you this life and in future lives!
The Deca-Cycle
The universe will finally end and begin again after everything within it is destroyed ten times- this is known as the deca-cycle or universe-life. The traditional Kamadan understanding is that the world needs ten iterations of the Zeruan empire, with each iteration being continued spans of rulership known as regimes (as compared to dynasties, of which there can be multiple per regime). This has been declared to be the third regime by the Patient Masters.
The deca-cycle is a ticking timer for how long everyone has to achieve enlightenment. When the deca-cycle is complete, all of existence will retreat to the center of creation, beyond even the Upper Heavens. This center of creation is known as the Centerpoint or Cosmic Heart, and to be there is to be beyond time. Those who are worthy can remain in the centerpoint when the deca-cycle is complete, while all those who are not will return to the greater ebb and flow of creation. The goal of life is to join Uarta and Aizusha in the centerpoint, as that is the only true place of rest and goodness.Tenets of Faith
- Live In The Present: To live burdened by the sins and whims of the past is to live without agency or power. You must meet the past and the future with compromise- you must accept the power they have over your world, but seize what tiny fragment of present exists. This can only be done through disciplined self-improvement, typically in the form of meditation, constructive thought, or purification of the body through worshipful exercise.
- Live Up To Your Duty, And Impinge On No Other's Duty: Every race has a sacred duty. The humans are dragon sorcerers, the dryads are windweavers, the Prisms are to travel up and tend to the great volcano, Pangolins guard the Masters, Solars are life clerics, etc. If you can, live up to your duty- the Gods gave it to you to teach you something. If it isn't your job, don't do it unless you have to- you are taking someone else's intended lesson and wasting it.
- Observe, Listen, Learn, Think: Listen to your Elders, learn to read, observe the world for the lessons the gods are teaching you.
- Do Not Sully Your Body: Your body is a sacred vessel, and the better you treat it the more time you'll have to learn and grow. Avoid things that are impure: Do not eat pork, do not smoke opium, do not drink cow milk, do not bury or touch corpses.
- Rise Within The System: Heroes are glorious and live inside all of us. Only a few rise to unleash their inner potential, but anyone can. By hard work and clever thought, even the poorest or weakest can become a legendary hero. Any system should allow for some kind of advancement by extraordinary accomplishment and those who succeed should be applauded and adored.
Worship
Breathe-Worship
A cornerstone of Kamada is the use of air and breath to preserve and protect. Controlled breathing is seen as the first step to a disciplined and calm body and mind. Toxic smoke is a fundamental danger to the spiritual well-being of the people of the continent, and any regime that fails to keep the smoke at bay is spiritually illegitimate. Foreigners sometimes have difficulty breathing in the humid floodplains of Zerua because foreign lands are ignorant and often have ambient difficulties breathing anyways. Miasmic diseases spread via breath because breath is a fundamental merging of the body and spirit.
Part of attending temple is doing community breathing exercises and meditation. This is the center of religious education during the teenage years when children fall siege by the baggage of their past lives, but is seeded early on during literacy training as a way of children to handle their emotions.
Worshipful Exercise
Aside from meditation and community sermons is the weekly worshipful exercise. Stretches and other peaceful forms of exercise are done to encourage health and well being, all in the framework of prayer. Exercise is self-improvement, community bonding, and a form of sacrifice. By giving energy and effort to the Gods, you are dedicating yourself to them in place of other material sacrifices.
Worshipful exercises range from what we might consider gym activities to yoga, and community temple exercise groups often act as sports teams (particularly in the countryside during the dull seasons when there is less farmwork).
Thoughtful Prayer
Part of meditation and worship is education. Sermons are the most common form of this- essentially, the priest will explain holy truths to the congregation, everyone will think about it while meditating, and then they will repeat mantras of that teaching back to the priest (often in song). This is known as thoughtful prayer. Some schools of Kamada see thoughtful prayer as an ascetic activity that should be purely intellectual; others see song as a way to channel the emotional truth of the sermon; others see dance as the perfect balance of thoughtful prayer and worshipful exercise. In any case, what constitutes Thoughtful Prayer is a major point of debate among priests right now.
The New Fire Ceremony
Every ten years, the new fire ceremony acts as a way to detach from the material and purify one's living space. This is a ritual burning of possessions and a cleansing of the home that occurs every decade. This uses a special solution mixed at temples known as Cleansing Balm, a kind of bleach made using volcanic minerals that often leech into the rivers.
The new fire ceremony is a way to keep homes clean, get rid of fleas, lice, and mold, and stimulate the economy by making people buy the same things every ten years. It is often a time of great feasting as well, so while it is expensive for common people that pain is dulled by celebration.Priesthood
Priests of Kamada wear either brown, black, or red mixed with white to represent their devotion to the balance between Aizusha and Uarta. During winter and spring, priests wear laurels or flower-themed headdresses, while in summer and autumn they switch to more fiery or draconic patterns. Priests of higher status wear fancier cloaks and caps- lesser priests of poor communities might wear a flower crown or a brown woolen cap with some bone, while a Crown Priest might wear an elaborate golden crown shaped like a flowering plant or burning halo.
Community priests are the backbone of the Kamadan organization. They teach literacy, teach their communities the sacred truth, teach holy exercises, train initiates, file reports on local goings on for their higher ups, act as local dispute mediators, and collect tithes from local community militias to fund the temple.
Any priest that is capable of magic is likely to either be a specialized monk or an Arbiter in the Priestly Court.
Sects
After Ilona's death in 1910, Kamada exploded into debate over what some of her writings actually meant. This debate is considered healthy and has been successfully contained by the regionalized temple structure, but it has formed dogmatic factions. These factions are numerous and diverse and their fierce debate has been referred to as the Springtime of Kamada. Writing and art has flourished for it and so far no schools have gotten large enough to dominate the others.
Generally speaking, schools can be divided into a few groupings by how they approach theology. Literalists approach the text of Ilona as the holy word and believe that only by strict adherence to divinely inspired writing can enlightenment be found. They often try to teach congregations every holy text, but fight tooth and nail over what should be in this canon. Mysticists believe that magic and emotion are the great vehicles of divine understanding. Only through ritual, mantra, and community activities that open oneself to the wholeness of the universe can congregations rise up. Kineticists believe that movement and action are the only ways to exist truly in the present and that specific kinds of dance, sport, or yoga are the keys to enlightenment. Academics believe that the Gods left truth in every thing and that knowledge is the key to wisdom. As such, congregations should be an academic and educational space for training the mind above all. Centrists believe that only by balancing specific ratios of different enlightened activities can you reach the whole of enlightenment (or the "centerpoint of self").
"Be Calm and Breath"
Founding Date
1880
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Alternative Names
Kamadism
Demonym
Kamadan
Subsidiary Organizations
Permeated Organizations
Deities
Divines
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