User Tools

Site Tools


kavkem:mythology:vahrs̈elos

This is an old revision of the document!


<fc #ff0000>WARNING</fc>: This faith has not yet had a chance to become canonical.

Spread of Vahrs̈elos

Vahrs̈elos is a kavkem mythology best referred to as well as translated directly as Breathing World (from the kavkem words vahr and s̈elos). While it shares much in common with Taaravahr, adopting the stories it tells unaltered, it nonetheless rearranges the fundamental power structures in a way only rivalled by Leksharia.

It can be encountered in Tabraan. Before the end of the book A Thread Between The Stars, Tabraan had no other faiths to compete with Vahrs̈elos. Its dominance on the continent has waned since then, but Tabraan should still be considered the territorial home of this particular mythology.

Cosmology

The adherents of Vahrs̈elos believe that all components of the world are filled with energies, unrelated to the powers of the gods. If anything, the deities are a result of these energies - manifestations of unusual purities that must have existed at the beginning of the universe. In Vahrs̈elos, one can only flourish in certain locations. More so, the adherents believe that some locations are so hostile toward their enemies (i.e. the Nayabaru) that they can serve as sanctuaries. One would be wise to beware, though, as the weather is a component in Vahrs̈elos, ensuring the tides of fortune can shift at any time…

Vahrs̈elos energies are largely invisible and intangible (or only indirectly tangible, by the sudden arrival of their effects). One notable exception is the Twilight Band (Vaanikir, a portmanteau of vaata (twilight) and danikir (band)), the starkly visible force that separates day from night. In Vahrs̈elos lore, this indeed is a band spanning the entire planet. It's entirely conceivable that it might slip at some point, shrinking either of its sides, or perhaps even coming dislodged from the planet as a whole. This is not generally an active concern of Vahrs̈elos adherents, however, largely because it isn't worth worrying about - there simply is nothing either kavkema or any manifest deities could do about it.

Metaphysical entities

Vahrs̈elos ryrhakenema do not typically come up with stories involving manifest deities, but there are exceptions.

:Main article: Sanarama

One of the most notable and most well-travelled is the deity Sanarama, goddess of toxins and cures, although Vahrs̈elos itself tells most stories with her as an abstraction - in part evolution, in part a force sharing distant parallels to a highly impersonal form of karma, or simply a primal balance. Alternatively, one could view her as part of a triad: growth (Evenatra), support/defence (Maenona) and repair (Sanarama). In either case, as with all things in the cosmology of Vahrs̈elos, these forces come and go.

Rituals and spirituality

Within Vahrs̈elos, the role of ryrhakenema is primarily to divine the flow of benevolent and malevolent energies, as to determine where to go for maximum safety, health and well-being. This of course absolutely is a full-time job, since, as already mentioned, these forces shift all the time.

Dreams are ascribed certain divining properties as well, potentially showing the dreamer the otherwise invisible forces directly, like adopting another sense, or a false colour image.

Of course, there isn't much that guarantees even experienced kavkema will always be right about their interpretations. That said, Vahrs̈elos kavkema tend to do remarkably well on Nekenalos, likely because they tend to hit on a healthy mix of their instincts with intellectual analysis of threats (even if they are prone to dressing such analysis up in mythological nonsense). They're fortunately also not prone to overconfidence, ascribing far too much complexity to the Forces as that a streak of good luck could be viewed as a reliable predictor of future successes.

Competing faiths

Prior to the end of A Thread Between The Stars, none of note on the Tabraan mainland. Toward the equatorial islands, the mythology mingled with Ne͡imakanaas̈.

kavkem/mythology/vahrs̈elos.1578018852.txt.gz · Last modified: 2020-01-03 02:34 by pinkgothic