Taosri

The Pantheon

Taosri is the most prominant religion of the Vasri belief systems as it is the state religion of the Empire of Kyawas. The religion is an offshoot of Vasri, and holds the same pantheon. Taosri differs in it's beliefs about Kyate'i Ashtimnai Taos. While the Vasri believe this Kyate'i to have become an entity to be distrusted, calling them The Devourer, the Taosri refer to them as The Bearer of Chains. The Bearer of Chains provides the opportunity for believers to be reincarnated after death, letting souls cycle through lives until they gain the knowledge and morals to wield the powers of immortality responsibly.

The Bearer of Chains, also simply refered to as Taos, argued with the other Kyate'i to allow mortals a path to reach immortality still, a tough feat after the Severance War. The Devmahar of Kyawas, its leader, is known the be a lesser avatar of the Bearer of Chains. Other Kyate'i are banned from such avatars, but The Bearer is allowed this form as an explicit exception in the Severance Accords that they might lead the mortals to become more righteous and complete.

The Devjat

Taosri believes that the soul is weighed down by the burderns of sin, chained to mortality. As one lives a life of piety they can lighten their souls and ascend bit by bit, becoming better with each reincarnation. They have assigned tiers to each soul to indicate their progress towards ascension, this system being known as the Devjat.

When a person reaches Jat Primas, the highest tier, and dies they are in a state of being capable of reaching immortality. The Bearer of Chains will allow their souls to head to the first ring where The Lifeweaver teaches them the secret magics of the immortal.

A person who is sinful in life can actually lower their Jat, or if the sin is bad enough, be ejected from the Devjat alltogether, losing out on their chance at ascension and reincarnation.

Holy Texts

The Taosri often reference and teach from a book titled The Book of Chains which contains stories of the Kyate'i, though primarily focusing on The Bearer of Chains. The Book of Chains contains a historical account of early history, when the avatars of the Kyate'i still walked alongside mortals.

For a long period of time all the Kyate'i were as one group, and interacted often with mortals -- offering aid and watching over the people to help avoid strife and disease and pain, though not completely solving all problems. Eventually Kyate'i Ashodiya Primas, the Great Spirit of the First Moon, grew overly fond of the mortals and granted some of their closest followers the knowledge to perform great magic and immortality, the secrets of the Kyate'i.

The followers, still being mortals in their hearts in minds without preparing themselves through the Devjat, used their newfound power to become tyrants. This sparked a schism among the Kyate'i, leading to full scale war between the Kyate'i Ashtimnai and the Kyate'i Ashodiyai. This war became known as the Severance War.

The war shook the world, and when the dust settled, the Kyate'i Ashodiyai were sealed away, a network of grand weaves used to seal away pieces of the Great Spirits. The Kyate'i Ashtimnai agreed to leave the world of the mortals to avoid the situation happening again. The Bearer of Chains alone is allowed to interact with mortal under strict rules agreed to by the other Kyate'i.

These rules have become known as the Severance Accords, a set of divine law upheld by The Last Word and ratified by all of the Kyate'i Ashtimnai. They dicate what expressions of power and influence are acceptable within the material world and dictated the sealing of the Kyate'i Ashtimnai. In addition, it laid out the explicit path mortals must take should they want to obtain the immortality and power that the Kyate'i Ashodiyai once offered.

The Foundations of Ascension

The Foundations of Ascension are the most core tenets of the religion that all members strive to follow. Through the Bearer of Chains, a believer following the foundations can shed their chains of mortality to ascend.

• The Faith that the Kyate'i exist, and that they will lead the holy to ascension.
• The Obedience to the Ordinances of the Bearer of Chains and his avatar, the Devmahar.
• The Strength to withstand temptations and trials across many lives.
• The Humility to act with grace in accordance to one's jat.
• The Devotion to respect the Kyate'i and their temples.

The Chains of Mortality

The Chains of Mortality weaknesses that reafirm mortality and burden the soul, making it impossible to ascend to immortality.

• Gullibility
• Wastefulness
• Indecisiveness
• Impulsiveness
• Hubris
• Laziness
• Impulsiveness
• Fatuity

Clergy

There are several groups that function as clergy for the Taosri. Given that Kyawas is a theocracy, the structure of the clergy is intertwined with governance and basically all organizations that hold authority within the government are seen as holding religious authority. The Arjei are the primary organization that perform religious ceremonies and teach the masses. The Auditors are seen as a elite group of zealots that maintain the religion and ensure its values are upheld -- handling the worst offenders such as heretics and dissidents.

The leadership of the clergy are called the mahari. The leader of the Taosri is the Devmahar. Below the Devmahar are the Zemahari, and below them are the Tavmahari. The mahari function as the government of Kyawas with the Devmahar leading the empire.

Outside of the typical hierarchical structure are the Spire Wardens are wildcards. They have power roughly equivalent to a Tavmahari but stand outside of the direct control of all but the Devmahar. Zemahar have some power over wardens, but even that is limited.

Common Practices

Prayer Ropes

There is a practice of preparing nets of rope known as prayers knots, which are woven and tied in colorful patterns that serve as a runic language. More elaborate prayer knots are created by arjei and sold at their temples. Prayer knots are hung up around the temples for a time before they are burned.

Amsharat

The amsharat, translated to mean 'the unburdening', is a practice of wearing a set of weighted chains across the body, each link of the chain symbolizing a sin or mortal they have confessed and repented of. The chains, the sin shackles, let a person trade the burdens of their soul for burderns of their body. The more orthodox Taosri wear these chains at all times in public, but many just wear them for special occasions such as visiting the temples.

Cleansing Chimes

Followers are expected to ring the chimes of cleansing once per day in a public space, especially around temples and effigies and the like. The chimes require weft to operate, which the followers supply from themselves, a symbolic gesture of the exertion they need to maintain themselves like they do the temples they clean.

Ceremonies and Holidays

Naming Day

On the dawn of a persons 12th birthday, an arje reveals the true name of the persons soul to them, and the personal history of their past lives. Every soul name is unique, and is used for all official documents. Most people choose to go by their new name after it is revealed to them.

A person is responsible for their past lives, oaths and debts can be carried across lives, and so many people are careful with how they word things to ensure their next life can start fresh. The Order of Records keeps meticulous notes of life events so that they can be tracked across reincarnations, and oaths with durations exceeding a single lifetime can be registered with them to make them enforcable.

The Sun Festival

On the days of the summer solstice (Highsun 20-22), a grand festival takes place. This is the one time of the year it is said The Last Word will intervene with the physical world. The Taosri believe The Last Word is also the Gaurdian of the Stars, where souls awaiting reincarnation are kept. People honor the dead on this day and burn prayer knots with messages to the dead, as the Last Word has vowed to deliver their words to the souls interned in the stars. Some seek boons from The Last Word, and large tournaments are held in his name for warriors to prove their worthiness.