Manashinian Spirituality
While most of Veiama follows the pantheon of gods in the Old Religion, the Manashin people in the far north have a unique religion.
The Manashins have no specific name for their religion - it is just the traditional beliefs of their people for thousands of years. Some in Veiama call it Mehanism. 'Meha' is the Manashinian word for 'creator.' Veiamic people, who come from a tradition with a pantheon of gods with unique names and identities, took it as a name.
Manashins have a monotheistic faith. In addition to the singular creator, there are also 7 powerful spirits the influence humanity. They were also made by the Creator, and are not considered gods. 6 of them are guardians of specific attributes and their presence encourages those things in humanity.
The 7th represented aspiration, but it aspired too much and turned away from the Creator. This spirit, the tern, is also known as Chuhe. Chuhe inspires humans to listen to their base needs and prioritize their own life, comfort, and prestige about all others. Chuhe's presence, in moderation, is not a bad thing, but following Chuhe's desires too often and too strongly makes someone turn their backs on the needs of others, and is the origin of evil.
Creation
Long ago, ice and snow covered barren rock in an endless darkness. Then, below the ice, a voice began to sing.
The ice cracked and the Creator emerged from Lake Jondush. She walked to Jásk Island with its high peak, and climbed to the top to see to the horizon. Upon reaching it, she saw that the darkness and the ice stretched as far as the eye could see. The world was empty. So, the Creator began to sing.
The first thing she sang was the sun, which burst into the sky and melted the snow.
The second thing she sang were the mountains, to sculpt the barren world that was now warm and bright.
The third thing she sang were all the green things to cover the world.
The fourth thing she sang was life, and with each note, a new creature sprang into existence. With the final note, she poured all her passion into a final creation made in her own image, and these were the first humans.
The fifth thing she sang were the Guardians: the owl to teach, the crane to lead, the magpie to explore, the raven to provide, the eagle to defend, the loon to heal, and the tern to aspire.
For years and years, the Creator stood atop Jásk Mountain and observed the world she had created. Each Guardian encouraged their trait in humanity, pushing them to create strong, lasting communities. When humans needed aid, they climbed to the Creator's peak, bowed before her, and received her blessings. In this time, humans were simple. They had no wisdom, and no evil.
The age of peace did not last. The tern, created to aspire to greater things, did so. It wanted more than to be a servant, and encouraged humans to desire more in life as well. Give in to your instincts, it whispered in their ears. Prioritize yourself, hoard all that you can seize, seek power, seek glory.
The Creator despaired, because humans could not resist the lure of the tern that she had created. So she sang one final song, and broke herself into infinite pieces like a fire exploding into sparks. Each spark entered a person to be their third soul, their tausai, and with the Creator's own essence entwined with their own, they gained the wisdom to reject the tern's temptations.
Magic
Manashins see magic as an aspect of the Creator. They believe that humans did not have magic at the start of the world, and it was only after the Creator's essence joined them as tausai that they received access to it. This makes magic a sacred responsibility, as the Creator did not intend humans to have it initially. Magic is only to be used for healing and to set right what has been broken. Only the Creator can use her magic to sing change into the world; humans must only use it to fix things back to the state that the Creator made them. A torn wound can be mended, but appearances cannot be altered. A broken roof can be fixed, but it must have been built by hand in the first place. Using magic offensively is completely taboo.
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