Verses of Light

The Verses of Light is a religious text used by fuhals and Apprentices. Much like the Bible, it contains stories filled with lessons about culture, society, and conduct, as well as the wider "history" of Arbitors as kind of Patron Saints of humans. The songs/hymns that are associated with the Verses of Light are not officially part of the text and vary from region to region (even village to village). It has been translated into various languages for study, particularly by the College, but is still traditionally spoken in Microshan among its believers. Microshans will seldom quote the Verses in any other language other than Microshan, if ever.
The Verses of Light was originally an oral tradition when the Adi'i were nomadic people: a collection of stories passed down from fuhal to fuhal where memorization of these stories was imperative to keeping the culture alive. A few volumes existed on paper since it was simply another thing to keep track of and pack. As the Adi'i settled in what is now known as Microsha, more volumes were written down and collected, forming the final version known as the Verses of Light. In modern times, as paper tends to be more expensive, most copies are kept digitally.
While most Microshans grow up with some version of the Verses of Light, the impact of the text is rarely felt as a religious one. Microshans generally do not view themselves as "religious", though they may follow and quote the Verses of Light in their daily lives. This stems from a split between the spiritual belief in things like Arbitors and the more practical aspects such as funeral rites and cultural norms. Most Microshans do not fully believe in the existence of Arbitors, believing instead that Arbitors are symbols holding greater lessons. The line between Microshan religion and culture is blurry at best.

Type

Manuscript, Religious

Medium

Digital Recording, Text