Skarisi Theology

Introduction

All schools of Aruhvianism agree that the eternal essence of The Keeper is at the core of all things, endowing them with being as well sustaining, and ensuring the constancy of the fundamental laws that govern their existence. But the degree to which beings act and exist in conformity with these fundamental laws is determined by their degree of unity with the Keeper. In the beginning the universe was in perfect harmony with the will of The Keeper with each thing a different expression of the Keeper’s essence accorded its proper place in a cosmic harmony, like notes in a musical scale.
Skaris theology differs in one key aspect from other strands of Aruhvian thought in that it recognsises the existence of a powerful and destructive entity known as the Devourer, a creature that consumed worlds and stars before it was slain by the Keeper. Orthodox Aruhvianism dismisses this aspect of the great celestial story as a superstition. Skarisi Aruhvians see themselves as inherently superior and enlightened in their knowledge by embracing the 'truth' of the Devourer.
According to Skarisi doctrine the coming of the Devourer, and the introduction of chaos into The Keeper’s perfect ordered cosmos, sowing the seeds of discord in all things, encasing each expression of The Keeper’s essence in a prison of matter, and thus alienating creation from its creator.
The creation of the material universe emerged out of the war between The Keeper and the Devourer not as a synthesis between two opposing principles, an error known as the Golonite heresy, but the degradation and corrosion of the harmony established by The Keeper. For the Skarisi, material reality emerged from the corruption and degradation of every expression of The Keeper’s essence. More complex beings expressing the most complicated aspects of the original harmony, such as the Graces were able to resist the corrupting influence of the Devourer more effectively than the more basic expressions of The Keeper’s essence.
The Skarisi believe that humans were once minor Graces that through the corruptive influence of the Devourer were infected with chaos and became encased in materiality, while animals were minor Graces that were corrupted completely by chaos, losing the rational part of their being which allowed them to commune with The Keeper.

Materiality and Redemption

As creatures of pure spirit commensurate with the substance of The Keeper, The Graces could not bridge the gap between the material and spiritual aspects of The Keeper’s shattered creation, while as creatures of pure materiality, bereft of reason, animals could not transcend their corrupt materiality and achieve union with The Keeper.
As human beings took on material form they lost their place in the Celestial Realm and were banished to the Mortal Realm, which was created by The Keeper out of the ruins and debris that resulted from The war against the Devourer, not to punish them, for their materiality and the disorder of their being was a grievous punishment in itself, but to set them on the path to redeeming not just their own compromised existence but the whole of creation.
As both beings of matter and reason, humanity has the capability to bridge the gap between the material and ethereal aspects of creation through their own purification allowing them to enter into a union with The Keeper.
The Skarisi have a saying ‘If you seek the kernel, you must break the shell’ meaning that in order to put oneself in accord and harmony with the essence of The Keeper that lies at the heart of every being, you must break the shell of materiality through asceticism, self denial and the mortification of the body.
The desires and yearnings of the body are to be quietened so that the desire for union with The Keeper is awakened and the Skarisi penitent radiates the light of this desire in spite of their materiality. The Skarisi see human beings as ‘matter that reasons’, the one corrupted part of The Keeper’s creation that has the capacity to transcend its own degradation and achieve harmony with the primordial order originally established by The Keeper.
Once enough souls have been saved and unified with The Keeper, then the chaos in materiality will have been overcome and the material aspects of creation reconciled with the spiritual. For the Skarisi it is not a matter of denying materiality in favour of the spiritual substance of human reason, but rather disciplining materiality so that it is redeemed as the highest expression of devotion for The Keeper.
The Skarisi argue that the devotion of a Aruhvian redeemed through purification and mortification of their materiality is more valuable to The Keeper than even the devotion of the Graces. As creatures of pure spirit love for The Keeper comes naturally to them, it is a joy instinctively practiced. For humans, imprisoned in materiality it requires discipline and suffering to quiet all competing desires and pleasures.
Therefore when they achieve the same instinctive love of The Keeper as the Graces in spite of their materiality they are accorded a more exalted place in his creation as their suffering testifies to a greater love towards and devotion to The Keeper. The Skarisi insist that they do not hate the body but rather see it as a gateway to purer form of love and devotion than even the Graces are capable of. This allows them to reconcile the devastation of the War with the Devourer with their insistence on The Keeper’s omnipotence and omniscience.
The corruption of The Keeper’s primordial harmony was a necessary step in the pursuit of a greater harmony, an act of creative-destruction in which the Devourer was the instrument of The Keeper’s will to transcend the level of devotion and harmony attainable through beings of pure spirit, such as the Graces.
The Skarisi belief in the redemptive possibilities of materiality forms the basis for the organisation of their whole society. The primary work of a human being, and thus the focus of all human activity, according to Skarisi Aruhvianism, is the purification of the body and its harmonisation with the underlying desire in every person to achieve union with The Keeper.
The discipline required to overcome the yearnings of the body is so rigorous that it must be practiced unceasingly. Consequently it is only attainable by a select few, since the labours required to sustain human and social existence would interfere with the work of salvation. Thus Skarisi society was divided into three castes: The Ulmine,the Adramine, and the Touramine.
The Touramines served as the backbone of Skaris, providing a pool of unskilled labour, and forming the basis of the agricultural aspects of its economy, tasked with providing the very basic necessities required to support the two higher castes. The Adramines formed the artisanal, mercantile, martial and bureaucratic class overseeing the administration of the city and generating much of its material wealth through trade. Skaris’s standing army is also derived from this class, as well as the lower echelons of the clergy.
The Ulmine’s salvation is the overriding priority of all Skarisi. Though members of the Adramine and Touramine cannot hope to achieve salvation, their sacrifice will be recognised by The Keeper and though they may not earn a union with The Keeper, or even entry into Celestium, they will be spared the ravages of damnation and their sins and transgressions forgiven.
The Skarisi, alone among the Aruhvian faiths, posit a place between Damnation and Celestium, buried deep beneath the Mortal Realm known as Ulnast, a city where dead Adramine and Touramine undertake in earnest the labour of purification so that they too may enter Celestium.

Ulnast

According to Skarisi teachings, the prophet Elunre Ashtar, founder of Skaris, had a remarkable encounter with the Grace Y’Vestan in a vision. Y’Vestan guided her to the Drau’en’Khana forest, where Elunre witnessed a majestic city carved into an underground mountain that emerged from a darkwater lake. This city, known as Ulnast, was created by the mightiest Graces in ancient times to honor their master.

The mountain-city emitted powerful waves, causing Elunre to feel unease and recoil from its presence. These waves flowed in a rhythmic pattern, disappearing rapidly from the surface of the icy still waters, resembling a sheet of black glass. Y’Vestan, who accompanied Elunre in the guise of a beggar, explained that these waves were the result of the moaning of tormented souls dwelling beneath the water.
Scholars like Fra Mortus of the Carathene Brotherhood speculated that Ulnast did exist, but the suffering souls within were not human but rather Graces themselves. These Graces, having forsaken pain in life, transformed into unfeeling rock, forming the structure of each level in the city. They experienced not physical pain but a profound emptiness, where time became eternal and unchanging, devoid of any meaningful experience.
To ascend to higher levels of Ulnast, the souls had to embrace the desire for the sufferings of Damnation, as it was the only way to fill the crushing emptiness that plagued them. Through this resolute will to endure suffering, the souls would start to feel sensation returning, their stone forms cracking and breaking under the pressure of the engulfing darkwater.
However, each level presented new challenges. As the souls progressed upward, the intensity of their pain and suffering increased exponentially, surpassing the limits of human perception. The tortures they endured became more profound, reflecting their heightened sensitivity to pain. The souls had the ability to halt their ascension and escape the torments, but doing so would result in descending to a lower level, further from salvation at the highest level.
Before her departure from Ulnast, Elunre caught a glimpse of an empty throne at the city's summit, an enigmatic image that remained a mystery until she achieved theosis and ascended to Celestium, becoming the first human to attain Gracehood. Elunre renounced her place in the Celestial Realm and ascended to the throne of Ulnast, where she was bound and bestowed the divine name of Y’Ulnast. Her blood, symbolizing the essence of a Grace, flowed through channels across every layer of the city, instilling in those touched by it an overwhelming desire for union with The Keeper, willing to endure the worst torments of Damnation for a chance at entering Celestium.

The Inquisitors of Y’Ulnast

Elunre's choice to delay her final union with The Keeper in order to prioritize the salvation of the souls in Ulnast led to the establishment of the Inquisitors Ulnast, a group of extreme Skarisi ascetics known for their expertise in the science of pain. These inquisitors, who held significant power within the Ulmine caste, pledged to emulate Elunre's path and postpone their own union with The Keeper. They took on the role of overseeing the torture of the souls of the Adramine and Touramine, aiming to expedite their ascension to Celestium.
The Inquisitors became pioneers of the Skargoline, striking a deal with the Skarisi state to expand their experiments and secure a steady supply of subjects. They believed that Ulnast could not be reached through conventional means in the Mortal Realm but rather through deep explorations into pain and suffering. The inquisitors hypothesized that most individuals experienced the Mortal Realm at a limited intensity, resulting in a similar perception of reality. However, by broadening the range of human experiences and emotions through experimentation, they believed they could access hidden aspects of reality.
Their fascination led them to explore locations where the fundamental laws of reality appeared altered or suspended. Among these places, the forest of Drau'en'Khana in Hothis held particular intrigue. Elunre Ashtar had traversed this forest, defying the fear and trepidation that kept most denizens of Hothis at bay. Orestes Lyst, the founder of the Inquisitors, theorized that Drau'en'Khana represented a visible manifestation of a realm accessible only to those who experienced reality with a specific intensity. He aimed to derive principles based on human affectivity that would enable the Skarisi to identify such places and induce the necessary states to gain access to them.
Orestes claimed to have explored Drau'en'Khana extensively, conducting a topographical survey and collecting samples from the trees within. However, the veracity of his claims remains a subject of heated debate among scholars, with many casting doubts on the results of his expeditions. Prior to the discovery of magic in the world during the Sundering, Orestes' theories were largely ridiculed by the scholarly community, except among the most fanatical Skarisi sects. However, with the advent of magic, Orestes was reevaluated as an early theorist of magical principles, bringing a new perspective to his work.


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Type

Religious, Cult