This snippet of parchment would be found near the Old God's Temple, tacked at the bottom of the stairwell. Whoever left it there signed it off with no name, and is free for any passer-by to gloss over and read. Forseth eða Jaud (The All-End and All-Spring) The expanded beliefs and references to Forseth, the general concept of the imminent end to all things. It is understood as the all-end in the Oldt Fayth and is simply a natural happening of the world. This is why anyone under the belief of the All-End simply lives in the here-and-now and for their own satisfaction and life lust. ———————————————— ———————————————— “It is described as a rock or a tree, sometimes with the shape of an old man’s face, though generally considered to be a very mundane object. The story goes that on the Forseth Daggrondr (day of Forseth), Forseth will fall into the Jaud (the general concept of origin) and end time by blocking the flow of water, which represents the passage time. It is said that when Forseth falls, the world simply ceases to exist and all that has happened will be meaningless, though it is not entirely clear how the prophecies exactly mean the world will end. Some imply time simply stops turning, hunger, sleep, birth and death will disappear, and the world becomes a grey nothingness where souls wander in infinity.” “The Four Musings” is something to constantly reflect on, for they are the four facts to be recognised, whether one is a woman or man, lay or ordained. This is to remember the gift of living that has been granted; to abuse this gift is to make a mockery of the Creators. The Creators are typically referenced to be the theoretical infinite pool of gods that wildly differ and exist; in recent times, however, the Dragons have been included in this pool. The Four Musings First Contemplation: I am sure to become old; I cannot avoid ageing. Second Contemplation: I am sure to become ill; I cannot avoid illness. Third Contemplation: I am sure to die; I cannot avoid death. Fourth Contemplation: I am the owner of my actions, heir of my actions, actions are the womb from which I have sprung from. Actions are my relations; actions are my arbitrator. Whatever actions I do, good or bad, of these I shall become the heir to. Textual Analysis of the Musings The first three contemplations are simply a means to weaken or overcome conceit in youth, in good health and in being alive; the [Creation Particle] simply gives a branch to an alternative path, an alternate ending. To deny these three contemplations is to deny the ruling of what the world has set for its inhabitants. This is inclusive of those who fall prey to [Undeadism], [Vampirism], [Poltergeists] or [Ghosts]; to a lesser extent, [Phantasma]. That is to say, an Archblood without a meaningful purpose is no different from an Undead. The fourth, however, is special in its ruling and should be kept in mind for any believer of the Forseth eða Jaud. It is a declaration of the freedom to act, along with the necessity of taking responsibility for what follows from one's actions and minimising harm to oneself and others. This can become particularly contradictory in nature as which actions "do harm" (and which do not) are not discussed. What exactly does and does not do harm is therefore open to personal interpretation. Therefore, it can be reasoned out that the person of belief may commit violence in the name of self-preservation, or in the name of protecting others. Of Soldi and Rebirth This is where Forseth eða Jaud starts to deviate away from traditional Oldt Fayth beliefs where there is no such thing as an afterlife. When one dies, they either die with fair Soldi or without fair Soldi. Soldi, however, is something that is determined by one’s fellows; the peers will be the judge of how you lived, whether it was a life lived of virtue or of disgrace. It is encouraged for the laymen to reflect on these questions often to uphold their Soldi, even to their final moments. The Four Reflections “Can I fault myself with regard to my virtue?” “Can my knowledgeable fellows, on close examination, fault me with regards to my virtue?” “What am I becoming as the days and nights fly past?” “Have I lived a life of virtue, such that - when my fellows question me in the last days of my life - I won’t feel abashed?” A life without Soldi, being stubborn or uncurious about the teachings and Musings lead to an inferior rebirth; a state of unbecoming in the form of Otr’s Dreyr. In more apt terms, an inferior rebirth doesn’t necessarily equate to a change in race but rather, a change in character. An example could be such that an Ailor without good Soldi will be reborn into something or someone similar, and possess similarly bad or even worse Soldi. In essence, it becomes a downward spiral in their honour and is up to the individual to break such a cyclical path. As a warning, as much as the Fourth Contemplation (from the Four Musings) encourages freedom to act and may lead individuals to cutthroat behaviour, it is ultimately up to their peers to decide how they lived; in the end, one choose the path they live and the others will decide the ‘grandeur’ of it. Deities centric around this subsect, A███h, the Violet Night Throne, the master of creation and living things, prayed and revered to give shape to life, and one who stewarded all creation. The Violet Wing has huge tie-ins with the concept of Jaud. [The Dragon Throne] Vinella, the female goddess of the winter and the hunt, prayed for good hunting prospects and to stave off wild predators during winter. She is typically worshipped by giving the animal hunt its Last Feast*. [Major Pantheon] Ul, the only female giant goddess, goddess of death and a final end to all the living. While giant gods are normally not worshipped, Ul is a sole exception in that several traditional festivities, as well as customs, are related to offering her service in exchange for safe passage to the dead. Ul has huge tie-ins with the concept of Forseth. [Major Pantheon] Myrk, the female goddess of blood and bone, prayed for feasts and uproarious celebration after a momentous hunt has been fulfilled. She is typically worshipped by giving offerings of carved bone and, in rarer cases, blood trinkets. She goes hand-in-hand with Vinella. [Minor Pantheon] *Last Feast: A small branch, most often from a pine tree, is placed in the animal’s mouth to represent its last bite. This is to pay respects before it perishes. The branch used is largely dependent on the region and is typically [Royal Oak Wood] since it is widely found in central Aloria. The deities listed are ones with focus on worship as of now, and much more pantheons are welcome in this selection. That is to say, however, that the rest aren't ignored or cast aside. The pantheons can even go beyond the Oldt Fayth's and in theory is all-encompassing of other deities of other faiths, so long as it isn't destructive to the tenets set out. ———————————————— ———————————————— “For birth is suffering, ageing is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering. The three universal conditions of ageing, illness and death are something that should not be broken. Look upon a corpse cast away in charnel grounds—one day, two days, three days dead— bloated, livid and festering. Apply this to your own body too: Such is its nature, such is its future, such is its unavoidable fate.” OOC Note: This is something I got inspired to write and think over a few days ago, drawing inspiritation and references to my faith IRL when I was ordained for a short while in the past. This post, however, is largely IC and is up to any player that wishes to respond to it however they want; but I rather not see the shit-post of 'takes this poster and burns it in the comforts of my fireplace, sipping on my aged wine from 200 AC' or something similar to those lines without an effort to opinionate. That's frankly a bore to read over and makes you edgy. I think it also ties in nicely with the fact that Ritualism is out, and faiths are more open for free intepretation. Anyone can take what I've written and twist it further, corrupt its meaning even.
The Url reads it with a slight surprise, “Seems the man who spoke with me so long in the Garden of Oberon still remains within you. Your actions to me now begin to clarify...a response is in order. As due a faithful or least thoughtful soul.” He sets down his own snippet. All things burn, all things turn to ash, yet so to do they arise from it nurtured by what is burnt. The questions one asks are of importance, Some of us wander in search of an answer to what we become...some of us hear the Answers of others and our own, yet both can be more wrong then they seem. What one seeks to be and what others see them as are two very different things, yet both in the end do little. When I pass on to ash, Many will see me as a Heretic, a wrathful beast, a disgrace, a warrior, a faithful friend, a faithful guard, a walking enigma of some intelligence and vast foolishness, and a fool who angered both Saints and Demons by playing at being of both. Yet even if here and now I indulge these views, in the end I simply ask. Why should I care for what others make of my life? It is my own, hard won through battles more dangerous then the Wars fought in its pages across Northland and Highland. Its pages are bound by bonds stronger then Blood connecting every soul of my clan and ever person I call kinsmen. Even when some of them might rather the bond be severed never shall it ever truly be. A person is many things, I am wrath a reckless Beserker whose mind long gave itself to rage and war while casting aside sense. I am a cold blood hound who now renounces the chains of a servitude to his master. Who sent him to hunt and kill without question that she deemed her followers mission to destroy. I am a loving father and faithful of My Gods who raises his daughters to be the best they can alongside a wife whom he loves and whom he has shared the warmest of days and the coldest of painful nights. What I become is my choice and it shall be a choice forged alongside my Disgrace and my Honor. But it will be my honor and my disgrace not what others shall cast upon me in life or in death. Their is no rebirth in my eyes, the here and now is what their is but in death we become part of this world. Never again to walk upon it in any form but to become the ash which can’t rekindled our own spark of life but which nourishes the next spark helping it to catch light. (OOC: this may be edited later. I’m writing this in a short amount of time. Loved the work Bahm, hopefully I can make one of these when I figure out my own chrs ideology.)
