Table of Contents
WARNING: This faith has not yet had a chance to become canonical. (It is a central element of the roleplaying game Tarnish, however, for those who wish to explore it further, and as long as canon does not begin to disagree with the roleplay, this page may be expanded with insights from the game.)
Nitish Ynas is a kavkem faith best referred to as Tarnish, even though its literal translation would be cruel enchantment (from the kavkem words nitish and ynas). It is a distant derivate of Taaravahr.
It can be encountered in central and 'western' Asheenagiji.
Cosmology
Nitish Ynas presumes that light and darkness have effects on personality.
It has been observed to morally be a remarkably forgiving cosmology, in that it attributes no inherent evil to the Nayabaru - but as they live in daytime, they have been badly corrupted by the light.
Its followers necessarily try to find well-shadowed places to sleep during the day and will be terrified if they can't find it. They also tend to try to avoid eating creatures that sleep exposed to sunlight or are too active during the day, meaning they have a strong preference for nocturnal creatures that live in burrows. Since this predominantly applies to small mammals, this faith sadly coincides with a lot of Serrata poisoning.
Additionally, given that Nitish Ynas is often encountered in central Asheenagiji, where Silukaaj and Sinukaaj flank the only habitat the kavkema can inhabit, it tends to be a rather unforgiving faith that adherents eventually run into problems with.
Note that ensouled creatures are more prone to the Tarnish. While plants themselves are not immune to the Tarnish, it does not persist in them and they can be ingested without passing on the taint. Generally, the degree of persistence past firsthand exposure differs from Nitish Ynas group to Nitish Ynas group. Universally accepted are that plants can be eaten without concern and that sapients are at peak risk of corruption.
Diseases and mental illness are often ascribed to the Tarnish first and to physical processes second. Fundamentalists might reject physical causes outright and keep the sick or despairing trapped in shaded enclosures, shielded from even secondhand light 'for their own good', but given such enclosures are difficult to carry along such incarcerations are fortunately usually short-lived (unless, of course, they are deranged enough themselves to discard the common sense of migration for the full duration of a sufferer's sickness).
The truly pessimistic consider the Tarnish to be a qis̈elek on top of its corrupting influence.
Metaphysical entities
Adherents of Nitish Ynas consider the gods to be something between metaphorical and forces of nature. They might speak of them as 'essences' permeating through the world. To the adherent of Nitish Ynas, the sunlight is Tkanetar and the shade is Maenona. The energy allowing life to grow and thrive is Tamas̈elu, the flow of time and the space all is embedded in is Garukaron.
That said, Nitish Ynas does allow for spiritual beings in general, though typically restricts itself to kiikama.
Rituals and spirituality
Obvious rituals of Nitish Ynas are to keep everything of value in the shade.
Beyond that, individual ryrhakenema may have cleansing rituals that purge the Tarnish's taint from a meal if it is not 'too far gone to cleanse' - this usually at the very least involves taking it apart fully before eating it, ostensibly to allow the Tarnish to escape the tissues.
Competing faiths
Nitish Ynas is not geographically monolithic, though it tends to dominate in central Asheenagiji.
It shares territorial overlap with the following faiths:
- Hostile Ground / Akynkulla
- Death of Gods / Leksharia
- The Corrupt Mirage / Ne͡imakanaas̈