Vasri

Vasri is almost a category of religions, but all of them share most or all of the following beliefs and values in common. At its core, Vasri is a relgion about the great spirits, the Kyate'i, anbd how they interact with mortals. The Vasri have no unified holy texts, but some specific branches of the belief use specific texts to teach from.

The Pantheon

The Vasri Pantheon holds 10 great spirits as more important than all others. These Kyate'i dwarf the other spirits in power and hold large sway over the course of history. For each major celestial body in the heavans above Emala there is a Kyate'i. The Kyate'i are not seen as gods with specific malice or benevolence, but as near forces of nature, each great spirit following its own unfathomable set of rules and logic. The Kyate'i no longer inhabit physical avatars, under the rules of the Severance Accords, and work through much lesser forms of influence.

Great Spirit of the Sun

The Last Word

Kyate'i Ash'hara, The Great Spirit of the Sun

The Last Word is an arbiter of disputes and created the Severance Accords which limits the interactions Kyate'i have with mortals. He is depicted as a great warrior who watches over the Kyate'i, the first among equals.

Great Spirits of the Rings

The Lifeweaver

Kyate'i Ashtimnai Primas, The Great Spirit of the First Ring

Like the title suggests the lifeweaver creates life, or more accurately, they create new souls for living things. When a new child is born, their soul is a gift from the Lifeweaver. The lifeweaver does not protect life, but ensures that the world has a bounty of creatures, and plants to fill it.

The Smith of the World Clock

Kyate'i Ashtimnai Avos, The Great Spirit of the Second Ring

The Smith ensures time keeps flowing as it should, and that things happen when they should. The smith never acts directly, they push things to happen indirectly. The movement of the skies and the seasons are the doings of the World Clock.

The Devourer

Kyate'i Ashtimnai Taos, The Great Spirit of the Third Ring

The Devourer is the voice of desire, the force of want, drive, passion, and hunger. It brings motivation and inspiration, but also greed and gluttony. The Devourer was once knows as the Lover and was said to pine over Kyate'i Ashodiyai Primas before they became The Screaming Moon. The screams of Ashodiyai Primas have changed The Lover, making it something darker and more intense.

The Oathkeeper

Kyate'i Ashtimnai Izem, The Great Spirit of the Fourth Ring

The Oathkeeper does exactly that, it keeps oaths. People who invoke the Rites of the Oathkeeper when agreeing to something or otherwise making a promise will be held to their promise by the Oathkeeper. Breaking a rite-sworn oath will cause the oathbreaker to become cursed, the more meaningful the oath, the more impactful the curse.

The Chronicler

Kyate'i Ashtimnai Kresh, The Great Spirit of the Fifth Ring

The Chronicler records great events in their annals of time. People will burn prayer knots to the Chronicler when they attempt something historic or noteworthy in hopes that the Chronicler will assist them in achieveing momementous things.

The First of the Forgotten

Kyate'i Ashtimnai Nama, The Great Spirit of the Sixth Ring

The Forgotten watches over the weak and downtrodden and all the other forgotten things of the world. The Forgotten is the force of karma, a boon to the unfortunate and a bane to everyone else. The Forgotten brings dreams to people to remind them they are seen and remembered, a personal gift to all people. Many people prefer to refer to this Kyate'i simply as Nama.

The Great Spirits of the Moons

The Screaming Moon

Kyate'i Ashodiyai Primas, The Great Spirit of the First Moon

After the Severance War, this Kyate'i became mad, releasing an unending scream. The Screaming Moon brings madness to this who listen too closely or hear too much. They are the force of anger, rage, and malevolence.

The Warden of the Final Dark

Kyate'i Ashodiyai Avos, The Great Spirit of the Second Moon

The Warden can not interact with the living, but instead watches over the frayed souls of the dead. What happens after a soul frays and dissapears from the Shroud? The Vasri would say that they enter the Warden's domain, the Final Dark.

The Unraveller

Kyate'i Ashodiyai Taos, The Great Spirit of the Third Moon

The unraveller sees to it that all things must meet their end. Seasons must end, the living must die, and all things must eventially crumble that new things may rise.

The History of the Pantheon

The Severance

Prior to the Severance, the Kyate'i would walk about the mortal world with manifested avatars of incredible power. The Kyate'i would act according to their natures, but in much more direct ways. This was a time of great and terrible wonder, both the positive and the negative amplified greatly. Eventually, the Kyate'i Ashodiyai, the Great Spirits of the Moon, offered mortals the ability to become immortal, they taught them the secrets of the Kyate'i.

Still having the mind of a mortal, these newly created immortals used their power to wage great wars on mortality, establishing sprawling empires and subjugating peoples under cruel rule. The other Kyate'i were forced to intervene to prevent the Ashodiyai from disrupting the power balance further. And so, the Kyate'i went to war.

The Severance War raged for many years, kingdoms fell and peoples were forgotten to all but Nama, the First of the Forgotten. The Ashodiyai raised more mortals to immortality, using them as generals. While these new immortals could not be slain, they could be locked away. The Last Word set about a plan to seal the Kyate'i Ashodiyai in grand weaves built into towers across Emala. Over time these generals, the Zete'i, were sealed away. With each Zete'i sealed, so to was a portion of the Ashodiyai's power sealed away until they were unable to manifest in the world of mortals.

The Severance War ended and the Kyate'i created a pact to remove themselves from directly interfering with the world of mortals to avoid another war. This pact, the Severance Accords, detailed how the Kyate'i could wield their power, and forbad them from taking avatars evermore.

Beliefs and Values

Vasri teaches that one should be balanced and in communion with their surroundings to be able to enjoy life to its fullest. Emotions should be felt in balance without too much indulgence or focus on any individual one, making qualities such as greed, gluttony, and grudge-holding negative and reproachable.