Szassar Spirituality

The szassar have relatively little interest in spiritual affairs. However, students of Kri-kik Split-tail often wonder what they meant when they spoke of the szor-rek, or forge people in their second precept of civilisation, as laid out in the Kri-kik Codex.

Without a vision for who we wish to become, we will ever be stagnant as a (people). It is the duty of all szassar to dream of a future where we can go beyond the sky and walk with the (forge-people).

Much speculation has taken place since the writing of that entry about just who these forge people might be. Were they alien visitors? Were they another race of sapient people who have since become extinct? Were they a pantheon of primitive deities who were attributed with creative and generative powers? Or is this simply a speculation about life on other worlds, orbiting other stars (supported by the idea that the name Kri-kik's paj'rek gave to the szassar homeworld's sun was "Szor" - or forge.
These speculations have led to various sects of szassar that have banded together around a particular theory. The vagueness of the reference is something that prevents individual szass from taking umbrage with others who see things differently. This somewhat playful debate has led to loose confederacies of belief in one concept or another, but nobody takes it seriously enough to declare any other belief as anathema or take up arms against those who belief differently. 
Others still, postulate that the purpose of the original text may have been to focus the szassar people on achieving a higher set of goals - a unity of purpose that did not require belief in a specific deity, but instead declared Kri-kik's goal as being to become a space-faring civilisation capable of travelling to distant stars.
Parallel to that discussion lies the szassar framework for understanding their own mortality. The longevity of szassar means that death is a big deal to them, whether through misadventure or old age. Szassar believe that dead is dead, and that there is no ineffable spirit or soul that survives death as such. However, they do believe that early deaths should be a reminder of the importance of being productive and making a positive contribution, because the only thing that carries forwards from the moment of a given szass's death is their works and contributions:

• Their additions to their professional body of knowledge
• The art and writings they have contributed to szassar society as a whole
• Their contributions on projects they worked on
• The public records of the conversations they had in social matters
• The memories of them that other szassar carry forward as inspiration and motivation.

By that standard, Kri-kik Split-tail is considered nearly immortal, closely followed by many of the notable members of their original paj-rek. Those who claim direct lineage from Kri-kik's are not considered any more special than other szass, but inspired by their progenitor, they are often particularly motivated to create great works of their own, and are especially revered for their contributions when they succeed in their goals. There is a strong recognition that such a lineage places a significant burden on the szass concerned, and that living up to the standard set by their ancestor requires additional celebration.
Early deaths are considered a tragedy. Deaths of old age are considered a gift to the szassar concerned, and to the szassar as a people. The rites for an early death differ from those of a natural one. Rather than focusing on the accomplishments of the szass concerned, they focus more on the lost opportunity, and the importance of carrying the goals of the recently deceased forward in a way that honours their memory. There are also various goal commitment ceremonies in szassar culture in which the name of one or more notable szassar with domain experience in the goal being set are invoked to provide inspiration, aspiration and celebration. Memorialisation of the szassar so named often occurs during, and especially at the achievement of that goal. This could be viewed as a crude form of ancestor worship, but calling it worship misses the point. The aforementioned inspiration and aspiration are the key aspects that make this a "spiritual" practice, but the focus is not on worship but on living up to the example of the szassar so named.

Type

Religious, Other