Religion

During the Age of Emancipation, one of the goals of the Tasnican Republic and the Thamassan Empire, among others, was to wipe out all religions that worshiped extra-planar creatures that could grant spells to their followers. These parasitic creatures fed off the act of worship of humanoid mortals, converting this spiritual food into magical energy which they could use to intervene in the material plane and provide a select few of their followers with magical powers.

For millennia, the religions based around these “gods” persecuted secular spellcasters as threats to their monopoly on magic. The Mages, a race of pseudo-humans with unbounded magical potential, eventually discovered the true nature of the “gods”: that they were in fact vulnerable and were giant magical pinatas, waiting to be cracked open. Instead of keeping that discovery for themselves, the Mages spread the word far and wide, encouraging secular spellcasters and power hungry individuals to go after the various cults and their deity.

The Mages understood that removing the “gods” would not negate the spiritual needs of the masses. They identified two religions that did not center around the extra-planar parasites: Kinto and Bhavism. As the Republic expanded and enforced their ban on worship, they pointed toward the masses to the two as acceptable outlet for their spiritual needs. The Empire was less enthusiastic about promoting new cults but did not impede their expansion. Both powers ensured that Kinto and Bhavism were never allowed to become integrated into political life and the leaders of the two understood that they needed to tread lightly. Until this point, Kinto and Bhavism had comparatively few followers. Indeed, while they did provide spiritual guidance, a moral compass and a path to the existential truths of the universe, their adepts couldn’t perform the miracles of the other religions. But as the other churches were burned down, the clerics put to the swords and worshippers forced to renounce their faiths, the ranks of Kinto and Bhavism swelled.

Bhavism is based around the life and teachings of a human named Bhava who lived over three thousand years ago. In fact, the calendar of Acarn takes the year where Bhava achieved enlightenment as its zero. The core concept of Bhavism is that all creatures are stuck in an endless cycle of life and death and that the suffering it causes can be overcome by achieving enlightenment. Bhavism conceives of time as cyclical.

Kinto is centered around the respect of traditions and ancestors as well as documenting and preserving history. Kinto conceives of time as linear.