Uriens Doctirne

“The sky is light and dark. The wind is hot and cold. The sun gives life and death. But the sky is dark when the world needs dark, and death comes of necessity. Can we question and rail against the cold while we praise and hallow the warmth? Can we hate the sun in the desert when we love it in the winter? All are part of the Sky Father, and all have a purpose in his plan. We must be grateful, even for darkness and death.” —Skylark’s Song Abu Goldfeather’s “I Have Tasted the Stars”

The Urianath practice a good-aligned faith, even though they sometimes praise and glorify things others find evil, like bitter cold, the blood moon, or darkest midnight—and it is precisely because others find them evil that they praise them. The core premise of the Urianath faith is that Urian loves the world and its peoples. After all, he guarded the tree, he opposed Kador bitterly, and he pulled the winds from his own body and enslaved them—he who loves freedom most! He gave light to the dark parts of the world, and gave evening to the light parts. It is therefore unquestionable that he loves the world and the mortals who inhabit it.
So why, then, does he sometimes let the wind rage and destroy ships? Why does his cold winter wind come down and kill unprotected children? Why does his sun burn the skin and suck the water from a man’s body, leaving him to the vultures in the desert? Why does the night serve as a haven to thieves and evil beasts?
The contemplation of these questions, and their reflection in every mortal spirit, is the heart of Urianath practice. For these great and difficult questions are reflected in the hearts of men: Why does a good and happy woman consider hurling herself to the rocks below whenever she stands at the edge of a cliff? Why does a loving father consider casting his own child into an open fire? Why do good people do terrible things? The contemplation of these questions is of central importance to the Urianath, and their understanding is that it is the freedom to do evil that makes people good. Just as the Great Sky must sometimes let awful things happen so that the mortal races fully appreciate the good of the world, so too must all people contemplate the darkness in their own souls to fully appreciate the good.
One can see, therefore, why the Urianath so oppose tyranny and slavery. A slave is not free to walk the good path, to explore the depths of her spirit. Tyrants seek to control the thoughts and hearts of their subjects, though thoughts and hearts must be free to soar or sink.
But just as the Urianath oppose the extremes of law, they oppose the extremes of chaos. They believe that discipline and rule are necessary for a person to fully appreciate his goodness. The path of the Urianath lies between law and chaos. It embraces contemplation and balance on the road to good. The eyries are most often visited by those wrestling with the darkness of their own spirits, just as the sun and moon wrestle, and just as the North and East Winds battle with the South and West.
Those who strive to conquer what they see as their worse natures, those who feel imprisoned by past deeds or wicked desires, find succor in the faraway and hidden eyries, high in the mountains. Whenever they are apart from their eyries, the Urianath seek to bring spiritual guidance and support to people across the land. They bring freedom of the mind, the heart, and the body to all they encounter, so that all people can explore the dual sides of their nature—the light and the dark—and understand that both are necessary for goodness.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion