Table of Contents
WARNING: This faith has not yet had a chance to become canonical.
Akynkulla is a kavkem mythology best referred to as Hostile Ground, even though its literal translation would be we are [the] foreign creatures (from the kavkem words akys (to be) and kull (alien)). As a faith, it is one of the most straightforward applications of the classical pantheon (Taaravahr).
It can be encountered all across Asheenagiji, but dominates in 'eastern' Asheenagiji. It is often strong in areas even where it is not the dominant mythology.
There are two main flavours of Akynkulla to consider:
Hes̈i Akynkulla (struggle of us foreign creatures) is the dominant form of Akynkulla and an incredibly well-known faith in general, as it was the faith of the founders of Shy͡ilun. While Shy͡ilun does not at all require the faith for membership, being a group with secular goals, many members do tend to lean in that direction. It may quite possibly be the faith that gives the Nayabaru the most trouble, owing to its very nature.
The high-conflict coastal stretch near Katal in particular is unbroken, pure Hes̈i Akynkulla 'territory', being where Shy͡ilun has most proliferated, and where other faiths are often perceived as annoying, counter-productive or even offensive.
Siri Akynkulla (regret of us foreign creatures) on the other hand is a somewhat submissive denomination. It's most frequently encountered in the 'northwest' of the continent.
Cosmology
Akynkulla assumes that the world belongs to Tkanetar in the most literal sense. Tamas̈elu might have tried to carve out a piece of the world for the kavkema to consider, but the world hasn't at all forgotten its allegiance. For believers in Akynkulla, all elements of the world are hostile, even the plants, and it's only a question of finding the path of least resistance amongst the world.
The subflavours of Akynkulla disagree on what this means as to how one should treat the invaded world:
The followers of Hes̈i Akynkulla believe that it was Tamas̈elu's right to carve out the world and that it is expected of the kavkema to fight for and dominate Nekenalos.
Meanwhile, the followers of Siri Akynkulla believe that they have little right to intrude on this world. They try to respect the world as it is, not trying to change it, merely trying to survive and find some kind of peace with it.
Metaphysical entities
Adherents of Akynkulla consider the gods to be deities in all traditional Taaravahr senses of the word - personifications of forces beyond mortal comprehension. As such, if they heard a particularly well-crafted story about a personal encounter with one of the gods, they would believe it. This tendency of the faith is especially pronounced within those Akynkulla adherents within Shy͡ilun, who do in fact work with Tamas̈elu, and thus would have a hard time denying the existence of their gods (assuming the interaction would not turn them into some flavour of atheist instead).
Rituals and spirituality
The adherents of Akynkulla are usually too busy dealing with the reality of the world to have rituals driven primarily by mythology. Their actions generally flow from the philosophy embedded in their faith (antagonism toward the Nayabaru for the Hes̈i Akynkulla adherents, avoidance for the Siri Akynkulla adherents), but these cannot typically be considered ritualistic in nature.
That said, Siri Akynkulla is a very spiritual faith, mindful of the world and oneself on a level beyond the practical, frequently coming with a mindset teetering somewhere on the edge of being described on the outside as 'depressed resignation' and 'respectful to a fault'. There have been tales of adherents of Siri Akynkulla starving themselves to death out of consideration, though whether these are true is anyone's guess.
Competing faiths
Akynkulla is spread throughout Asheenagiji, clustered predominantly on the 'eastern' coast.
It shares territorial overlap with the following faiths:
- Tarnish / Nitish Ynas
- Death of Gods / Leksharia
- The Corrupt Mirage / Ne͡imakanaas̈