Niyamor's Creed
Niyamor's Creed is the religion of Niyamor, the Goddess of Trade in the Expanse and one of the six Walking Gods of the The Children of Fortune. Members of Niyamor's Creed, known as Morians, are common around the civilized areas of the Expanse.
Mythology & Lore
It is said that Niyamor descended from Shula's palace on Misrul into the Asamaline Expanse on a ship of gold and silver on the same day that trade began flowing between the islands. Where that golden ship sailed, helpful currents and wind followed, and where it docked, trade flourished. Port cities around the Expanse began holding month-long festivals when Niyamor came to them, hoping to keep the trade goddess there for even a day longer. At that time, a golden ship was synonymous with Niyamor, and some merchants began plating their vessels in the metal to show their faith.
One day, however, Iyera, Goddess of the Lost, met Niyamor on a wave of darkness. Iyera turned the winds and waters against her, forcing Niyamor to diverge from her course, where she once again carving a path of favorable currents through the Expanse. However, each time Noyamor set her mind on reaching a place, Iyera arrived once again to sweep her further out to sea. Niyamor was thwarted like this thirty-six times, and upon the thirty-seventh she set her resolve. Calling on her luck, she surged through Iyera's wave.
However, Iyera is the Goddess of the Lost, and her power over the ocean, travel, darkness, fate, and time overwhelmed Niyamor's bravery. Iyera trapped the Goddess' ship in deep shade that blocked both sight and sound, allowing her to know neither direction nor time, separating Niyamor from her domains. There was no art in the darkness, no travel without direction, no community without travel, no nobility or law without community, and Niyamor certainly did not seem lucky. Iyera kept the Golden goddess enshrouded for years, but to Niyamor it felt like an eternity of sailing without rest.
Eventually Niyamor's power faded, and she slumped to the deck of her ship in a deep slumber. Only then did Iyera relent, pulling her shade away to guide another astray. Niyamor remained in her slumber, ship slowly drifting through the seas on the confusing tangle of currents that her blind wanderings had created, until her vessel finally scraped up against the shores of Reishi Island. She was subsequently placed into The Shrine of Gold, a temple thought to have been built by the Vulux.
Divine Origins
Niyamor's Creed originated and has stayed largely within the boundaries of the Asamaline Expanse. Her general worship and the proclivity for travel through the Expanse has helped to spread her influence to some coastal mainland towns, but her power - and therefore her religious importance - doesn't extend very far beyond the waters of the Expanse except in the case of her chosen priests.
Cosmological Views
Niyamor's Creed is a supplementary religion, in that its followers don't see their Goddess as some infallible creator of all. She has a relatively small domain over a relatively small area, and she is worshiped for the things that she can provide to the people within that region. Niyamor did not create the world, nor do any think that she did. If one is looking for answers as to where the world came from, they will have to look elsewhere.
Tenets of Faith
Niyamor's Creed has six basic tenets:
- Create, do not destroy. If given the option, you should always add to the world, rather than subtract from it. Take what it has to give you and make something greater for the betterment of all.
- Let your wit be your weapon. Work hard, but do not toil needlessly; act efficiently, and with a clever mind. The long route well-traveled does not seem long at all.
- Act kindly. Much in this world is costly, but kindness takes nothing and offers much; this is the essence of strong community.
- Live justly. Laws are made to be upheld, for the betterment of all. If the law is kind, then adhering to it is just.
- Spend freely. Money exists to be spent, and so it should. When coins change hands, Niyamor smiles.
- Noblesse oblige. To be noble, one must act nobly. Let your quality of character be a blessing to all.
Ethics
The Sin of Destruction
Among Morians, the greatest sin is the destruction of wealth. It is one think to take valuable things for yourself, but it is another to tear a painting or smash a statue. Such actions are fundamentally reductive to the whole of the world, as they steal beauty and expression from it and offer nothing in return. This action violates the nearly all of Niyamor's tenets: it destroys, not creates, is unkind, is likely against the law, and prevents that wealth from being spent.
The Sin of an Unjust Law
It is considered sinful to behave with cruelty and without nobility of character so that you may adhere to an unjust law, or to twist the meaning of a law such that it allows you to behave in such a manner. The tenet states that "Laws are made to be upheld for the betterment of all." If the law benefits only a few, or to the detriment of the undeserving, then it is an unjust law and should not be obeyed.
The Sin of Hoarding
It is sinful to hoard your wealth and to never spend it. Wise investments lead to prosperous finances, and Niyamor smiles on a shrewd businessman, but their wealth should be used. Art must be created, technology invested in, places seen, and communities supported. Idle money buys nothing but morally bankrupt pride.
The Virtue of Charity
Coins must change hands and trade must flow. However, one need not always purchase something tangible; one may acquire the value of friendship, of a strong community, or of a heart full of kindness by spending one's coin just the same. If those in need will not accept a gift, request that you be taught something - apprentice under them to learn a new trade, and offer payment for services rendered. A fair trade before Niyamor.Worship
Niyamor isn't worshiped through conventional song or necessarily through prayer (though many pray to her regardless), but rather through the creation of art or crafts, the spending of money, by traveling the waters of the Expanse, and by caring for one's community. The especially pious may donate money to her temple, where the Travelers of the creed may take it to distant lands or the Passengers may use it to create beautiful art.
Priesthood
Priests and priestesses of Niyamor are usually retired merchants or craftsmen who take up the position as priest to lend greater authority to their advice, but there do exist some who are devout for the sake of it, rather than for any personal benefit. The former of these are called Passengers and the latter are Travelers; Passengers are along for the ride for the benefit they gain (a respectable quality in Nyamor's Creed) and Travelers are those who stride forward on their own two feet. Passengers often work from the temple, acting as instructors to those who come seeking Niyamor's wisdom, while Travelers walk the world to spread Niyamor's grace with their own hands.
Political Influence & Intrigue
Despite the relative ubiquity of Niyamor's Creed throughout the Expanse, few follow it in its entirety. Most "faithful" cherry-pick one or two tenets to follow, such as "Let your wit be your weapon" and "Spend freely," but not "Noblesse oblige." The most commonly ignored tenet is "Create, not destroy," as many who worship Niyamor are traders or gamblers, unskilled in any craft or artistic pursuit.
Even in Reishi, the center of Niyamor's worship, there are shockingly few that are truly faithful. Most nobility are too greedy to act as Niyamor demands, most merchants create nothing of their own and actively sabotage one another for a leg-up, most artists and craftsmen are miserly with their creations (and therefore refuse to spend freely), and most gamblers are also cheats.
Many in Korosa have pushed for Reishi's nobility to take their faith more seriously, as they should be the shining examples of what Niyamor can make of a person, but in most cases their greed has outpaced their piety.
Act justly, live kindly, spend freely.
Type
Religious, Financial
Demonym
Morian
Deities
Divines
