Shalymirs Doctrine

Doctrine of Humility

“Somewhere stands the greatest wall ever built, and the men that built the wall do stare at it with pride. But o’er that wall, there hangs a bough, its leaves laden with the water. And every day the bough does drip down on the wall its precious drops. A thousand men may live a thousand lives, and look upon that wall, but one day the water will prevail. Drop by drop, the mortar will be undone. Bit by bit, the wall will crumble and fall, and those proud men will be proud no longer of their mighty wall, broken into dust. I obey the water.” —Shalimyn Shipwright Kellyne Seafarer’s “A Daughter of the Sea Father”

The Shalimyn faith preaches profound humility. We live and die from the water; without it we are nothing. It is to the water we must always show our gratitude. On the surface, this makes the Shalimyn seem like a downtrodden, dour lot, but it is not so. The Shalimyn are humble before the waters, but they are fierce to their enemies and unafraid to die, ready to enjoy hard drink and the joys the body offers.
They believe they live only by Shalimyr’s grace, that every day they might be swallowed by the waters—even when they stand in a scorching desert—and this belief and recognition of impending death makes them fearless, at least in theory.
However, when not in wild festivals or raging against enemies, a Shalimyn’s faith is based on personal sacrifice. The Shalimyn shed things that are important to them and constantly mourn the losses, but temper mourning with gratitude for the sea’s gifts. The more a person sacrifices, the holier she is thought to be. The Shalimyn faith is based on three primary principles, referred to by the Shalimyn as the “Three Blessings.”
Humility If every drop of water believed itself more important than the drop ahead and behind, the river would not flow. If the river thought itself greater than the ocean, the seas would grow thirsty and dry. Every individual must accept that his fate is not in his own hands, and must flow where the river takes him.
The practical effect of the doctrine of humility, though, is not a sea of Shalimyn faithful waiting for orders from elders (as one might imagine from a lawful church with a similar doctrine). This is because all mortals must be humble. No mortal can determine another’s path, so every man and woman must listen for the call of Grandfather Ocean, the inevitable pull of fate, the flow of the river tugging them this way or that. This “pull” would be described by a modern person as the unconscious: the raw emotional voice buried away by most, but heeded carefully by the Shalimyn. This makes for a church of people who, through their humility, are prepared to obey their every animal instinct; and perhaps among the truly righteous Shalimyn, these instincts are the call of Shalimyr. Regardless, it makes for a chaotic faith.
Sacrifice We come from the water empty-handed. We must return to the water empty-handed. All things are granted by Shalimyr, and the belief that anything we have in hand is our property is absurd; it all belongs to Shalimyr. Because of this, Shalimyn obsessively tithe anywhere from ten to eighty percent of everything they own. There are wealthy Shalimyn sea-traders who give away all their wealth when they are old (often to their own children or grandchildren), so this custom does not mean the Shalimyn are all paupers.
However, it is ingrained into the Shalimyn in their earliest lessons that they must be prepared to sacrifice everything for the Sea Father, even their lives, for everything they own belongs to him. Nearly all Shalimyn rites involve a sacrifice of some kind, usually mingling the blood of an animal with the water.

Gratitude Every day we awaken with our homes still intact, our vessels still held together, our sails still whole, it is because the Sea Father has let us. Every man, woman, and child must thank Shalimyr for his gifts at least three times daily: in morning prayer, in mid-day meal prayer, and in evening prayer. Prayers must not be missed. The prayers involve pouring water on the palms, touching water to the lips and eyelids, and reciting the Beatitudes of the Sea Father. If prayers are missed, the penitent Shalimyn must make painful sacrifices to Raging Shalimyr.
He kills one of his finest livestock, gives his best sword to a pauper, and so on. Gratitude is also shown with regular periods of fasting, during which the Shalimyn eat nothing, and drink only water for a week at a time.
The Three Blessings are so important to the Shalimyn because they know Shalimyr is a vengeful and angry god. He nurtures those who show him the proper respect, and destroys the arrogant utterly. The Shalimyn themselves are happy to cheer on this destruction. The bar brawls begun by Shalimyn are legendary, and easily set off, for they take it as a religious duty to deflate the egos of pompous men. Should a man brag in a seadog bar about his brave and mighty exploits, he can expect a mug against his head soon after. The Shalimyn faith is likely the only (nominally) “good” faith where one does his religious duty by cold-cocking someone in a bar.
But the Shalimyn truly believe they are helping such people, for if they find such men arrogant, imagine what Raging Shalimyr will do to them! In fact, the truly devout Shalimyn can be heard to mutter “this is for your own good, in Shalimyr’s name” as they hit an unsuspecting, pompous fool in the head with a chair. Of course, not all Shalimyn indulge in this sort of behavior, as the faith runs a wide gamut, from chaotic good to chaotic evil worshipers.
Yet nearly all Shalimyn find the imposition of elaborate codes of law ridiculous and laughable. Authority must come from personal respect and devotion. This is how the captain of a ship might lead an incredibly loyal crew, all of whom would gladly die on his word, and not be thought arrogant—each member of the crew knows the Captain and respects him. However, try telling one of the Shalimyn, “You must obey me because those are the rules,” and it won’t get you far. Add to this the fact that the Shalimyn are prepared to lose their lives should Shalimyr call, and you have a potential riot brewing at every port in the world.
It warrants saying, though, that like every other religion of the gods of the tree, not every Shalimyn is devout to the point of an impassioned willingness to die on a moment’s notice. There are many more “rational” followers of Shalimyr the Endless. But the Three Blessings make for a volatile religion.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion