The Cleansing Flame

The Cleansing Flame is a religion that preaches shedding off mortal desires, down to basic needs, and dedicating one's efforts towards providing basic needs for others. The spread of the religion is wide across the known world, but it has been low-key, in the sense of recruitment and preaching. Acolytes do not openly try to recruit people into the religion, nor do its believers impose it on their offspring.

In the lands of the Arabian Sultanates, it is viewed as a life style more than a belief. However, it is easy to spot an acolyte, as they would frequently light a small flame and speak to it, beseeching council, or conveying hope.

It is taught that fire is not a deity, but a guide from life to death. One should strive to shed away their mortal desires and give away their excess, so that when they die, the eternal flame of the afterlife would consume them quick and painless. Their good deeds and well doings in life would transfer good fortune to their descendants and loved ones.

Those who hoard, and have too many unnecessary attachments to life, may suffer a long, timeless burning in the afterlife before their soul is finally consumed, and misfortune is divvied out to all their descendants and loved ones.

The Cleansing Flame was an organized religion, once, but it became riddled with over zealous figures, who enforced unsavory practices, such as branding with hot irons to cleanse out sins, crop field burning to reduce wealth, and other similar acts of taking things into their own hands. Things got out of hand when infants, born outside of wedlock, were being sacrificed in fire; to cleanse the parents' adultery against their will. This led to a culling of The Cleansing Flame. The religion was reduced to embers, and kept a low profile ever since.

How to adopt in role play:

• You should always have the means to start a fire on you.
• You should not put out fire by stomping or urinating, unless necessary.
• You should always restock a fire place or camp site after use.
• You should avoid raw or cold food, and you should boil your drinking water.
• You should actively try to improve your discipline and go through life without material luxury.
• You should be exceedingly kind to those who have suffered a fire-related tragedy.
• You should learn all you can of what enables you to provide - immediate - basic needs to others, such as medicine, cooking, hunting, etc.
• When entering a home or coming upon a camp, you should verbally ask for warmth and light. When someone enters your home or camp, you should verbally ask if they are cold, and offer them a seat by the fire.
• "May your fire be brisk." Is a common send off.

The frequent lighting of a small fire and speaking to it is superstition, and is not part of the belief. It serves as a quirk and telltale.

Type

Religious, Cult