Zwaism
To create with the knowledge that it will all fall away in time, is the greatest act of humility one can achieve
Zwaism, the Church of the Creator, or Zwahiism is one of Holos's oldest continuously practiced religions. It is centered in a dualistic cosmology of good and evil, a theory of universal energy transference, and an emphasis on mortal impermanence. It incorporates theological elements of henotheism, monotheism/monism, and polytheism. Ascribed to the teachings of the Shanindar-speaking spiritual leader Kaikobad (also known as Karkoban), the faith eventually became the state religion of the Shanindar Empire and became exported to a number of dwarven communities outside of the Nioan continent. Today, Zwaism remains an influential part of Shanindar culture and life in the World's Cradle.
History
During the Middle Mithril Era, it is said that a dwarf named Kaikobad received a series of revelations from Zwakhasis himself after he was trapped in a mine collapse near the city of Sadsuna. After emerging from the tunnels, Kaikobad begin preaching this new religion to his friends and family. Some among the Sadsunese disagreed with Kaikobad's teachings, particularly his assertion that the power of the gods comes from an external force and not from within the deity Themself. A brief conflict known in the religion as the First Hammer War took place between Kaikobad and his followers and the leaders of Sadsuna. Though many died, including Kaikobad's wife, Azdarte, the Zwahis were victorious. Kaikobad's philosophies were spread far and wide and soon the new king of Sadsuna, Vaspan the Great, adopted the religion and spread it in his kingdom as he began to expand his new Shanindar Empire.
Throughout the Mithril Era, the new Shanindar Empire fought many wars with the Temekanian Empire, which ruled much of the Nioa continent. Despite the tensions, these wars were rarely religious in origin, as both empires had prophets and seers with unequivically deep and genuine connections to the divine. Shanindar dwarves made pilgrimages to religious sites in the Mashiq and many Temekanians sought out the mystics of Sadsuna for greater arcane knowledge. In many ways, Zwahism was seen less as a separate religion or sect, and more as a spiritual perspective with a territorial political arm.
After nearly collapsing during the Lich Wars, the Shanindar Empire survived the Reckoning of Temekan in a much reduced state. The Reckoning had both proven the extraordinary power of the gods of Heavenly Council but also ushered in a period of disquieting isolation from the arcane and mystic realms. Throughout the Second Intermediate Period and Early Palladian Era, the ruling shahs of the Shanindar deemphasized their special connection to Zwakhasis and encouraged patronage to the Heavenly Council as a whole.
During the Middle Palladian Era, Shanindar explorers discovered (or rediscovered) a major passageway to the Underdark. Shortly after, they encountered one of the two lost clans; the Duag-gur. But they had become changed, warped by their time enslaved and exposed to the horrors of the Underdark. These were the duergar of the Jul-Duzakh Dominion, the first great free kingdom of the grey dwarves. The Duzakh duergar loathed their surface dwelling kin and shortly after sending a delegation to Sadsuna, they declared war upon the Shanindar.
This War of the Dwarves, or Black Hammer War, devestated the Shanindar. For 40 years, the great mountain holdfasts they'd once lauded as impregnable were sapped and sacked, their people captured and enslaved in horrific conditions beneath the earth. Even Sadsuna itself, the Jeweled City, was taken and much of it buried beneath the mountains. The tide only turned when an illithid elder brain threatened Jul-Duzakh and the duergar were forced to bury much of their subterranean hinterland.
In the aftermath of the conflict, the dwarves of the Shanindar experienced a Zwahi religous revival. New monasteries were established above ground and many shrines to other members of the Heavenly Council were abandoned or destroyed. The Palladian Empire, which had emerged as the primary successor state to the Temekanians, had also recently undergone a period of religious imperialism and decried Zwahism to be heretical to the Heavenly Council. For the next 500 years, dozens of wars would be fought between the two powers, with religious tensions on both sides rising to dangerous levels. It would not be until the Gladiator Wars and the Sundering Arcana, that peace would be acheived with the collapse of the Palladian Empire.
Mythology & Lore
It is said that Zwakhasis forged the dwarves as a present to his son Qingu. To do this, He took the ores of the Nine Mountains and divided them, and thence made six statues—two from the ores of the hills, two from the ores of the mountains, and two from the ores of the deep places. He carved their skin from marble. He hammered iron for their bones. He fused ochre to liquid for their blood. In their eyes, he set emeralds, sapphires, jade, and amber. He wove gold, black iron, copper, brass, and white silver to form their hair. He wanted their beards to gleam when they emerged from their homes in the earth. To this day, all dwarves revere Zwakhasis as their father above all other gods, even though the Heavenly Council discourages such favoritism.
Divine Origins
Zwaism developed as an off-shoot of the Heavenly Council's main tenants. Unlike other mortal races that were the result of the unintentional actions of the gods, dwarves believe that they were in fact actually created by Zwakhasis, the Gilded Crafter. Zwakhasis has always had a close relationship with His clerics and followers, as evident by the number of influential and powerful followers of the Divine Forgemaster. But this did not actually develop into a full religion until a few decades before the rise of the largest community of Zwahis, the Shanindar Empire.
Cosmological Views
Zwaism maintains that though there are many gods in the multiverse, they themselves are not inherently powerful. Rather, it is through the manipulation of the energy of the universe, the Urdash, that the gods exert influence into the material realm. Zwahis often use the example of Zwakhasis forging Uriah's fabled bow of sun rays as Zwakhasis manipulating Urdash into the form of a bow, and that it was Zwakhasis's knowledge of the universe and his horaxa or "genuine faith in the concept of the Good" that allowed him to create something so mythical, so powerful, and so beyond the scope of mortals.
Tenets of Faith
In Zwaism, the purpose in life is to become an Urdashan (a master of Urdash) and to bring happiness into the world, which contributes to the cosmic battle against evil. Zwaism's core teachings include but are not limited:
- Follow the Threefold Path of Horaxa: Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds
- Charity is a way of maintaining one's soul alignment to Urdash and to spread happiness
- The spiritual equality and duty of the genders
- Be good for goodness' sake without hope of reward
Worship
Beyond following the Threefold Path of Hoxana, daily worship among Zwahis involves lighting a small shrine within one's home, called a harahma or "little hearth." After lighting the shrine, a daily prayer is said, usually taken from one of the Proverbs of Kaikobad.
Unlike many other religions, weekly services are not considered mandatory. Quiet, self-reflection and meditation through work is emphasized more than communal ritual. However, weekly services are held in each Foundry. These services are held on Brothersday. This is communal where prayers are said, a passage from the Kaikobad Prophecies is read aloud, and the leader of the service—usually a Drafter—gives a short sermon. These sermons often reflect upon the passage from the Prophecies but sometimes are more focused on current events or politics that are affecting the community. Because of the connection between the Shanindar State and the Zwahi religion, worshipers are encouraged to speak their minds and express themselves in services. Several times in history, this has resulted in violence but also in social change or an agreement between congregants to change their behavior or work together on a shared goal.
Priesthood
A Zwahiian church is called a Foundry and is a kind of fire temple with a central forge fire with access to the sky, usually in the form of an oculus.
The leader of the Zwahiian religion is in fact the Shah of the Shanindar Empire. He presides over the Summit, a council of the leaders of the Keystone Foundries located in large population centers of Zwahis. These leaders are called Architects, and are responsible for the running of their foundries, collecting tithes, and acting as a conduit for their community's concerns, questions, and desires about both the material and the spiritual realm.
Each Foundry is overseen by a priest called a Drafter. They are usually also supposed to be competent craftsfolk and sometimes double as the community's tinkerer, smith, masons or another kind artisan. They often have acolytes that assist them with their crafts and with their religious work, and these acolytes are called Apprentices.
Zwaism is most famous for its monastic traditions. The Spiritsmiths are monks that travel throughout the world acting as examples of Urdashan for lay people they come into contact with them. Other Spiritsmiths live in isolated monasteries, training more Spiritsmiths for their quests and working on honing their craft. Often, Spiritsmiths either then sell their products back to the communities that are on the outskirts of their territory or actually destroy their work, to practice meditating on the impermanence of the material world.
Granted Divine Powers
Clerics of Zwaism generally practice the divine magic of the Forge Domains, Life Domains, or Light Domains. The Forge Domain is the most common, though healers from the Life Domains or philosophers from the Light Domains can also be found. There aren't separate terms for each of these domains or priesthoods because of the foundational belief among Zwahis that all divine energy emanates from the same central force, the Urdash.
The Spiritsmiths of Zwaism follow monastic traditions in line with either the Way of the Open Fist or the Way of the Divine Soul. Some hermetic Spiritsmiths also follow the Way of the Elements.
Political Influence & Intrigue
Zwaism is the state-religion of the Shanindar Empire. The Shah of Shanindar is in fact the leader of the organized religion of Zwaism and oversees the Summit, a council of Architects from across his realm and beyond. The Zwahis believe that their connection to the Shanindar allows them access to the lineage of shahs that are anointed and appointed by the divine will of Zwakhasis himself. A shah that acts in accordance with the Kaikobad Prophecies is believed to be a good ruler. A shah facing adversity either internally or externally is believed to be being tested by the demonic forces that serve Zaguna or Ókan. If a shah is overthrown, it is believed that he was not truly aligned with his Urdash and that Zwakhasis chose instead to find a more suitable replacement to guide his people. Because of this, Shanindar shahs try to be acutely attuned to the desires and wishes of the faithful and try show their own devotion to the Zwahi creed through large public feasts, celebrations, and acts of piety.
As a result of the close bond between the state and the religious orders, many in the Palladian Empire were openly hostile to Zwahis, believing them to be either spies or secretly loyal to the Shanindar and not the Palladians. This distrust has continued into the Iron Era, with many in both the Qartagonian Emirates, the Pilgrim States, and the Imperium of Iskendra being wary of granting Zwahi Foundries territory.
Sects
One of Kaikobad's followers was an influential dwarf named Tahmuras. Tahmuras furthered Kaikobad's belief that there was an energy to the universe outside of the powers of the gods and went on a quest to find this power. He eventually came to realize that that power was concentrated in various locations throughout the world and he believed that should it fall into the wrong hands, mortals may bring about their own destruction. He established his own order, a monastic group made up of any and all races that would protect these great places of power. However, Tahmuras's influence was feared among many of his contemporaries, who believed he was hording the power of the universe and the artifacts that were charged within it. Tahmuras himself was killed by these shadowy forces, but it is said that Tahmuras foresaw this and instructed his daughter, Pariveh, to have the Tahmuras go to these great places of power and hid them and protect them in secret. Since then, the Tahmuras have only been a myth, a whisper spoken of in hushed corners of taverns. Occasionally, someone be called a Tahmuras but they are usually captured and interrogated by powerful forces that wish to know where these secret sources of mythic energy are hidden.
Founding Date
Middle Mithril Era
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Alternative Names
The Church of the Creators; Zwahiism; The Prayers Under the Mountains; Shanindarism;
Demonym
Zwahi(s)
Leader
Parent Organization
Permeated Organizations
Divines
Location
Notable Members
Related Species
Related Ethnicities
Comments