Shamashine
Shamashine is one of the most widely practiced and influential religions within the Remnants of Diaghal. Descended from the traditional Pelorite worship of the Kanes, Shamashine was founded during the very beginning of the Dark Ages by a prophet now known to the world as Shamash. The religion first spread throughout Diaghal during the Kanic Diaspora. Shamashine is based around the goddess Soleil - who is referred to as Azshura - and the now-dead god Pelor. Shamashine was the first of the Navmesic Religions, a group of faiths that believe in a balancing force that permeates all existence known as the Navmesa. Shamashine fervently believes in the innate goodness of mortalkind, and encourages its followers to do good by following its doctrine. Shamashine is recognizable by its veneration of fire and practice of shurtoval and headcovering by worshippers.
The symbol of Shamashine is known as the Shuran’amell, or Twin Suns. The outer sun is used to represent Soleil, whose power encompases everything, while the inner sun is used to represent Pelor, who should be looked to as a model for enlightenment. The name Shamashine comes from the phrase “Way of Shamash” in Old Common.
Hakiveira Shamashine is the most common form of Shamashine practiced in Tuatha. It is the ancestral faith of the Kane humans, and as such, holds its largest number of worshippers in the Republic of Calania. Rohanuali Shamashine is the denomination of Shamashine common to the islands of the Coravian Sea, with the island of Malinau holding the largest number of practitioners. Bhaqino Shamashine is the denomination of Shamashine native to the Asvalan Peninsula, and Maned Shamashine is the ethnic faith of the Leonin of the Maskilj tribe.
Tenants
- Deliver the light of the sun where darkness dwells, and do so with kindness, compassion, and mercy.
- Aid those who are without guidance. Heal those who are without hope.
- Every mortal soul can find the light. Inspire and guide others to virtuous behaviour.
Deities
Soleil, goddess of the sun, is seen as the head deity of Shamashine. She is the creator and preserver of the universe. Shamashites also see Pelor, god of light and former human who stole fire from Sirrion, as the Perfect and Enlightened Being, and look to resurrect him through worship.Soleil
Soleil, goddess of the sun, is worshipped as the head deity of Shamashine. Usually referred to as Azshura - which means “Deity of the Sun'' in Kanic - she is the creator and preserver of the universe through the Navmesa. She is depicted as either a vermilion skinned woman, a woman made of fire, a many-armed woman, or as the sun itself. Her holiday is Midsummer.Pelor
Pelor, the dead god of light, is venerated in Shamashine. Shamashites see him as the Perfect Being, an exemplar of what it means to follow Shamashine. During the Age of Arrival, when Pelor was still a mortal, he stole fire from Sirrion, carrying it to the nascent humans using a torch. For his act, Soleil elevated him to godhood. Pelor sacrificed himself during the Dawn War to cast Dorin’s Cataclysm, which ended the conflict. According to Shamashine, Pelor now resides in his palace in Elysium, with the Shamashites that Riageysi determined to be good after they passed. One of the goals of Shamashine is the eventual resurrection of Pelor. He is often depicted as a young bearded Kane human holding a torch. His holiday is Dulich, a day of mourning. On Dulich, many Shamashites close, but not extinguish, their Brazier of the Torch Flame.Gwynna
Shamashites believe that Gwynna - whom they refer to as Riageysi - judges them after they die. She does this with Ayndaleriel, an angel who advocates for the deceased’s good deeds, and Vizeshiel, a fallen angel who points out the deceased’s evil acts. Riageysi will then decide if the deceased should go to Elysium with Pelor, be sent to one of the other Upper Planes, be sent to the Lower Planes, or be resurrected. She is depicted as wearing a black cloak that obscures her form, and from her back sprouts many raven wings. Only those so despicably evil can glean her true form underneath her cloak, which destroys them instantly when they lay their eyes upon it.Sirrion
Sirrion is the primordial god of fire. It was he whom Pelor stole fire from to give to the early humans. Despite being a key figure in one of the core myths of Shamashine, he is not an important deity in the religion. In Shamashine, he is often depicted as a humanoid male cloaked in a robe made of fire.Luna
Luna, goddess of the first moon and spouse to Soleil, is venerated in some forms of Shamashine, most famously Rohanuali. Her popularity in Rohanualism is due to her being an important deity to the native Pelavish Thanadar tradition. In Rohanuali Shamashine, she is known as “She of Many Faces”, and is seen as the messenger of the gods, sending omens and visions to those on Crith. She is depicted in a myriad of forms, each one related to a phase of the moon.Viswamitra
Viswamitra is the once-mortal god of heroes and stories, and a culture hero to the Jaari people. In Bhaqino Shamashine, he is seen as a second Perfect Being, much like Pelor was. Bhaqinos depict him as a Jaar man holding a spear and harp, with iconography similar to that of Pelor or Azshura.Beliefs
The Navmesa
Belief in the Navmesa is one of the core parts of Shamashine. The Navmesa is a force permeating the universe that keeps the cosmic balance, and appears in other Navmesic religions, such as the Court of Niran and the Luvera Orthodoxy. The Navmesa was created by Soleil, who used it to order the universe. In Shamashine, she still attends to it in her role as the preserver of the universe. Shamashites, as well as worshippers of other Navmesic faiths, believe that the Navmesa is the source of all magic in the universe. Shamashites also believe that the Navmesa innately inspires people to do good.Fire
In Shamashine, fire is a sacred object. It is seen as the conduit between the divine and the mortal; Pelor’s theft of fire is symbolic of this. In each Shamashite community, a bonfire known as the Brazier of the Torch Flame is attended to. According to law, it must be lit by a flame that originated with the original Torch Flame, the fire that Pelor stole from Sirrion. If the fire is completely extinguished and another one cannot be obtained, it was accepted that another one could be lit by casting a fire spell sourced through divine magic. According to some traditions, all fires that had been lit by a piece of the Torch Flame had been snuffed out during the Dawn War. Shamash was given a new flame by Pelor himself during his vision at The Ruzam. Shamashites also recognized the evil in fires sourced from fiendish powers, which they called the Fire of Fiends, the Impure Flame, or the Corrupted Flame. They believe that this flame can corrupt the hearts of mortals and turn them towards evil.Morality
Shamashine doctrine does not believe in the existence of true evil within mortals; there is only good, or absence of good within them. However, Shamashites do believe that true evil exists within fiends. According to Shamashine, evil was created when The Abyss was spawned at the beginning of the universe. After Soleil woke, she created the Navmesa in order to counteract this evil with good, as she could not destroy it. Since then, balance has been kept through the Navmesa - whenever evil acts, good will respond.Pelor's Reincarnation
Shamashites believed that, if enough good was done in the name of Shamashine, Pelor would eventually be resurrected. They believe that this resurrection would turn the tide of the battle between good and evil, and all fiends would be utterly destroyed, leading to an era of peace and goodness.View of Supernatural Beings and Other Gods
The perception of gods and supernatural beings outside the religion varied based on the individual and the denomination; however, Shamashine sees most other gods as of no issue to the doctrine of the faith. The general view is that other gods are both controlled by and enact their will through the Navmesa, so while worship is seen as less significant than worship of Azshura, there is no taboo towards it. Some Shamashites do explicitly worship gods not in the faith. This is more common in sects of Shamashine that originated from outside of Tuatha, such as Rohanuali and Bhaqino Shamashine, than sects from Tuatha, such as Hikaveira and Maned Shamashine. Rohanuali Shamashine especially gave reverence to many traditionally non-Shamashine spirits and gods.Death, the Afterlife, and Undeath
When a Shamashite died, the community would hold a mourning period of two days, then cremate the body at sunset. Shamashites believed that, for a soul to be severed from the body and pass into the afterlife, the body had to be destroyed or mortified. They explained the Revivify Interval as the “embers” of the soul remaining before it turned into “ash”. During this period after death, but before the body was destroyed, it was believed that the soul was fully conscious of its surroundings, but could not interact with it. If a body could not be cremated for whatever reason, a limb was instead severed, usually the head to simulate Shamash's decapitation, to allow the soul to leave. After cremation, a soul would be guided by a type of angel known as a Sahdarra to Riageysi, who would judge them. Riageysi was accompanied by two beings, the angel Ayndaleriel and the fallen angel Vizeshiel. Ayndaleriel will put forth all the good that the deceased had done during their life, while Vizeshiel will put forth all the bad that the deceased had done during their life. Riageysi would then decide where the deceased would go: to Pelor’s palace in Elysium, to a different plane, or to be reincarnated. Shamashites generally had a negative view of undeath, regardless of the type. Because of the belief in the soul remaining in the body unless the latter was destroyed, Shamashites saw the creation of the undead as trapping an individual on the Material Plane when they were supposed to go to the afterlife.Practices
Headcovering
Shamashites of all genders covered their heads. This could be done with a hat or helmet, but it was usually done with a type of headscarf or veil. Headcovering styles were a large part of Shamashite fashion, and many areas had famous regional styles of head coverings. Shamashite youths began wearing their headcoverings around adolescence, and Shamashites were given a special type of headcovering known as a Muivas if they were ever married. Shamashites were required to wear the head covering at all times, except when praying, sleeping, or in a place they considered safe, such as a home. However, the mandatory aspect of this practice has been considered more lax as of late, and some Shamashites do not wear headcoverings whatsoever. Maned Shamashites do not wear headcoverings, as they believe that since fur covers their head, their heads are always covered from the sun.Food Taboos
Shamashine doctrine states that Shamashites can only eat things that have been grown under the sun. A few foods considered taboo under these rules would be root vegetables, fungi, burrowing animals, insects, animals of the Underdark, and fish. Meals that were permissible were known as Shurtoval. Because of their heavily sea-based diet, Rohanuali Shamashites developed a ceremony known as Afertysh, which ritually made taboo foods shurtoval. This ceremony quickly spread throughout the Shamashine world, though some Shamashites only perform afertysh when absolutely necessary. Shamashine also preaches moderation or abstinence from intoxicants.Rituals
Prayer
Shamashites pray every day at noon. They do so by taking off their headcoverings and sitting in a lotus position, with their palms up facing the sun. Shamashites would sit there quietly to pray and meditate, lasting from anywhere between one minute to an hour.Afertysh
Afertysh is a ceremony that makes taboo foods permissible for consumption. Originally introduced by Rohanuali Shamashites to compensate for a fish-based diet, it is now practiced by all denominations of Shamashine except for Maned Shamashites. The name is etymologically linked to the Kanic word for “opening”. Shamashites with divine spellcasting capabilities often had this ritual manifest as a purify food and water spell.Raznarro
Raznarro is an ancient Pelorite dance that is practiced in Hukiveira Shamashine, primarily by Kanes. The dancer will wear a special dress called a Raznarro dress, parts of which will be lit on fire while they are dancing. Other members of the community will play instruments and sing while the dancer dances. Raznarro is one of the few times where Shamashites are not supposed to be wearing their headcoverings. Raznarro dresses are often dervish skirts with ribbons tied to various body parts. Many are made of fabrics from plants of the Pinarro Shrubland, which makes it easier to control the lit flame on the dancer’s outfit. One popular type of ribbon used in Raznarro is the Jaki, supposedly named after the dancer who invented it. The Jaki are a pair of long ribbons, one side of which is tied to the bottom of the skirt, the other side of which is tied to the wrists of the dancer. Raznarro dancers may also use props in their performance. The most popular props are sticks, polearms, and quarterstaves, the ends of which are often lit on fire.Tiko
Tiko is the name given to one of the most important rituals in Shamashine. It had many variations, and was used as a symbolic recognition of a life-changing religious event. All forms of Tiko involved a Sanna taking the initiate into a dark room and having them step out into the sunlight with a torch that was lit inside that room. In communities that had a matiro, the temple would be built with a room specially designed for Tiko rituals called a Khuadazom. Tiko for children coming of age is called Tiko’masleer. The child, who has been bathed and cleaned beforehand, is taken to a dark room and given their first headcovering. After putting it on their head, the Sanna or Khaznarro will light a torch with a small brazier containing a light from the Torch Flame and give it to the child. The child will then take this torch out into the sunlight, symbolizing their coming-of-age. The Tiko ritual for initiates into Shamashine is called Tiko’brekh. It was near identical to Tiko’masleer, but if the initiate had a spouse, they would be present during the ceremony. When an alun passed their test and was approved to be fully ordained as a sanna, they underwent Tiko’bauredo. Tiko’bauredo was performed by the sanna who mentored the alun. When the time came in the ritual for the torch to be lit, the alun would light it themself and take it out into the sunlight. Unlike other forms of Tiko, a headcovering is never given to the initiate during the ritual.Khafazzunto
Khafazzunto is the wedding ritual in Shamashine, which the word literally means. The couple would be engaged to each other in an informal matter, usually amongst the two of them, their friends, or their family. On the day of the wedding, both spouses light torches from the Brazier of the Torch Flame. They would then hold hands and walk clockwise around the brazier twice, while the Sanna recited rites. Once the couple had done so, they would then take off their headcoverings and drop them in the fire. They would then meet north of the brazier, in front of the Sanna. The Sanna will call up one of the parents of each spouse-to-be; if neither parent of one of the betrothed is present, they will instead choose someone to act as their parent on their behalf. Each parent gives a Muivas, a special headcovering that declares marital status, to their child’s partner. After the couple puts on their muivases, the Sanna declares them married, and they kiss. A muivas was supposed to be made by the family of the spouse. Despite being a signifier of marriage, married people were not expected to wear their muivas as their headcovering at all times.Hluzh
Hluzh is the name for the funerals of Shamashine, which it literally means. After death, the body is cleaned, then dressed in a red shroud. There is a mourning period of two days, where relatives and friends are expected to speak with the body. This is because Shamashites believe that the soul still possesses the body and is aware of its surroundings until the body is destroyed or mutilated. At the end of the mourning period, the body is ritually cremated during sunset. Afterwards, the ashes are collected in an urn by the family and then consecrated in a way the family deems fit. The commonality of certain methods of consecration often depends on the denomination of Shamashine that the deceased belonged to. For instance, spreading the ashes to the wind is more common in Hakiveiranism and Maned Shamashine, while consecrating the ashes into a river or body of water is more typical to Bhaqino Shamashine. Maned Shamashites also sometimes bury the container of the ashes into the ground. No particular form of consecration was more popular than another to the Rohanualians. In fact, Rohanualians had a unique form of disposal of the ashes, which was to give it to a local spirit to safeguard it.Holy Texts
The liturgy of Shamshine is divided into two collections, referred to as the Lekhn'andiqa or Old Texts, and the Lekhn'nuavad, or New Texts. Traditionally, the Old Texts were preserved orally, while the New Texts were preserved in written form.Lekhn'andiqa
Lekhn’andiqa are religious texts related to Shamashine that date to before the founding of the religion. The Old Texts include the Berehin, the Daonna, and the Polekh. The Berehin recounts the creation of the universe, and myths related to the Astrals, including Soleil. The Daonna, also known as the Book of Humans, is an important text in many religions that accounts the diaspora of early humanity and select myths related to Orsil and Pelor. The Polekh compiles further myths and laws related to Pelor, and was a very important text to his pre-Retreat religions, including Pelorine, the faith that Shamashine developed from.Lekhn'nuavad
Lekhn’nuavad are Shamashite religious texts that were compiled after the Retreat. The New Texts include the Shamashaya, which tells the story of Shamash’s life, and the Shuradin, written by Shamash himself, that tells the cosmology and doctrine of Shamashine.Temples
Harkening back to the Kanes’ nomadic history, Shamashine practice does not require a place of worship, only a Brazier of the Torch Fire. This Brazier would be either carried or have its own carriage to be transported in. The Brazier would then be taken out when it needed to be attended to by the Khaznarro, or during holidays and celebrations that required it. Despite this, many settled Shamashite communities have built shrines or small temples around their Brazier. This shelter is called a Matiro. In construction, matiros have a central cylindrical room where the Brazier of the Torch Fire is kept and maintained by the Khaznarro of the community. Underneath the Brazier room would be a Khuadazom, a dark underground sanctum used for Tiko and specific types of prayer and meditation. This room, the name of which literally means “dark room”, would be well ventilated and cleaned often in order to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Some matiros would also have a library for the priests to study in, or a living quarters for the priests that tended to the temple. Rohanuali and Bhaqino Shamashites often had their matiros double as temples to other deities and beings that the locals worshipped, or, instead of having a matiro, would have their Brazier placed in a temple to these figures.Priesthood
Sann and Khaznarros
The priests of Shamashine are known as the Sann (singular Sanna). There was no exact translation of the Kanic word “Sanna”, but it was understood to mean “scholar” or “teacher”. When translated, the most common word to use for the title was “Luminary”. To become a Sanna, one must train under another Sanna, studying the religious rituals and texts of Shamashine, as well as the debates and deliberations of those texts. During this period, the priest-in-training would be known as an Alun. When their mentor believed they were ready, they would be tested. If they passed, they would go through Tiko’bauredo. At that point, they would be considered a full Sanna. Shamashine also had another title of priest: the Khaznarro. While Khaznarros were often viewed with more esteem than Sann, Khaznarros were essentially Sann with additional responsibilities. Khaznarros tended to the Brazier of the Torch Flame of their community, and were expected to retrieve a new flame if one went out. Khaznarro translated to “Fire-keeper” in Kanic. They were often referred to with the title “Khaz'', which was often translated as “Keeper”, but more accurately meant “someone who is respectable because of something they keep or guard”.Asceticism
Asceticism is a common practice in all forms of Shamashine, excluding Maned Shamashine. Shamashine asceticism was first developed by Bhaqino Shamashites, which then spread throughout Shamashite communities in Diaghal. Hermits in Shamashine are known as Mahji. Mahji wear simple clothes and live alone or together in monasteries, spending most of their time meditating and praying. They eat a vegetarian diet, but do not fast, as they believe fasting is damaging to one’s body, and therefore not a godly act. Mahji may meditate in uncomfortable environments, but self-mortification is forbidden for most Shamashites, except for the few monastic orders that believe in the Equilibrium of Pain. Mahji also perform Raznarro and Sharuhrazna as part of prayer. All mahji are expected to also spend a period of time in their life wandering the world doing good deeds.History
Shamashine is descended from the Pelorite ethnic faiths of the Navadi, which dates back to as far as the Age of Arrival. During the Arcane Age, Pelor’s cult exploded in popularity. Pelorine, the most widely practiced Kane faith based around the deity at this time, was the largest influence on Shamashine’s development.
After Pelor sacrificed himself as part of Dorin’s Cataclysm, his cult underwent a crisis of faith. Many believed he had completely died, such as those who followed the Imperial Faith, while others believed that he might still have survived in a greatly diminished capacity. This crisis made the cult of the once-popular deity drop to only a small fraction of its previous followers.
During the early-to-mid 1st century MT, a Pelorine priest of Kane and Nimadu descent, known today as Shamash, was wandering the island of Teixeira when a blinding flame appeared before him. Shamash recognized instantly that the flame was a vestige of Pelor’s power. It spoke to Shamash, and told him that Pelor no longer had enough power to protect all his followers. Because of this, the faithful should instead follow Azshura, the deity who elevated him to godhood, in Pelor’s name. If they did this, Pelor would one day be resurrected. In some versions of this story, all Braziers of the Torch Flame had been extinguished during the Dawn War, and Pelor gave Shamash a new flame from his torch directly. The place where this vision happened is now a sacred place in Shamashine, known as The Ruzam.
After experiencing his vision, Shamash began to proselytize his new interpretation of Pelorite worship. He wrote the Shuradin, a religious text that outlined the cosmology and doctrine of Shamashine. During Shamash’s life, “Shamashine” was instead known as Shuradinine, named after the text that he wrote. Shamash made the Navmesa, a concept previously relegated to religious mysticism, one of the core aspects of his faith.
Shamash’s religion spread throughout eastern Tuatha, especially among Kane humans. However, other Pelorites despised Shamash’s teachings. One of these detractors was Queen Maril, the queen of the Kingdom of Cekad. When Shamash travelled to Chishas - the once-capital of the ancient state of Kania and the seat of Queen Maril’s power - she had him arrested. Queen Maril ordered him to be tied to a water wheel, with the intent of drowning him. But thanks to the grace of Pelor, Shamash survived the entire ordeal for 20 days, and the queen decided to behead him instead. According to the Shamashaya, before he was to be executed, Shamash turned to his followers and instructed them to erase his name from existence so he would not be worshipped instead of Pelor and Azshura. He decreed that he should be known by the name Shamash, which was an Old Kanic word meaning “Judge”. A day later, he was executed by being impaled by a pike from the front and decapitated from behind. His followers held a wake for him that lasted two days, until his body miraculously burst into flames.
After Shamash’s martyrdom, one of his followers, the male Kane human Nohan Zilhi, wrote the Shamashaya, a religious text detailing Shamash’s life. However, not all of Shamash’s followers accepted what Nohan wrote. History calls the faith that the detractors of the Shamashaya followed Posthumous Shuradinine, though they at the time called themselves Shuradinites. Another group of followers not only refused to accept the Shamashaya, but also believed that Shamash had ascended to godhood, calling what they followed Abchine, after the Kane word for “immortal”, abchi. Those who accepted the Shamashaya called their religion Shamashine. These three faiths contested each other during the Dark Ages, but Abchine went extinct within two centuries after Shamash’s death, and all Shuradinites had converted to Shamashine by around the late 400s MT.
The history of Shamashine was then uneventful up until the Kanian Conquest. In 584 MT, Empress Kynthia I of the newly-created Tyfilian Empire attacked the southern portion of the Kania region, and, by 591 MT, had annexed the entire territory. She declared that the Kane population would become the slave class of the Empire. Hearing this, many Kanes fled, marking the start of the Kanic Diaspora. Kanes emigrated to lands throughout Diaghal, with sizable populations ending up in modern-day Zemylia, Chikelu, Pelavayan, and the Asvalan Peninsula. These Kanes greatly influenced the culture of their new homes, and, for one of the first times in history, converted many people from outside the Kane ethnicity to Shamashine.
The region most eager for conversion to Shamashine was the islands of the Coravian Sea. There, Shamashine syncretized with the local Pelavish Thanadar traditions, creating a branch of Shamashine that venerated Azshura above all, but still paid respect to the other gods and animistic spirits of the islands. Luna, an incredibly popular deity in the isles, was given a place of great significance as a result of her relationship with Soleil. This sect of Shamashine became known as Rohanuali Shamashine.
Despite being the slave class of the Tyfilian Empire, Kanes were still allowed to practice Shamashine because of Tyfilion’s policy of religious freedom. It was still seen as a religion of the outcasts in society by Tyfilion’s elite, but Shamashine and Shamashine-based beliefs spread among the lower classes of the Empire. These lower-class belief systems were highly influential to the doctrine of what would eventually become the Court of Niran.
During the mid-800s, Kane missionaries converted the Maskilj tribe of Leonin to Shmashine. The vistant Leonin originally came to Crith during the late Dark Ages, from the same world that the Loxodon and Vedalken were from. Soon after their conversion, the Maskilj developed their own ideas about their new religion, which became Maned Shamashine.
Even with a sizable Kane diaspora population, Shamashine remained a minority religion in Asvala for most of its history. Asvalan Shamashine, known as Bhaqino Shamashine, developed ascetic methods that eventually became the most common form of Shamashine monasticism. Bhaqinos also saw Viswamitra, god of heroes and stories and culture hero of the Jaari, as a Perfect Being like Pelor. Bhaqino Shamashine grew in popularity when the Sultanate of Ajyotir, founded in northern Asvala in 999 MT, declared it the state religion in 1044 MT.
With the end of the Algenos War and the transition from the Tyfilian Empire to the Arduli Dynasty, Arduli’s territory in Kania was ceded to the Kanes as part of the Thirty Year Sovereignization. The creation of Calania in 1139 MT opened many of Shamashine’s sacred sites to pilgrims from across Diaghal.
Sects
There are four primary sects in Shamashine: Hakiveira Shamashine, Rohanuali Shamashine, Maned Shamashine, and Bhaqino Shamashine.
