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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aust Meliamne" data-source="post: 776" data-attributes="member: 95">The religious backdrop and info.Religion and CosmologyThe people of Zanshin-Ryung tend to be contemplative and religious lot. They have a multitude of spirits, both nature and ancestor spirits, they pray to. The physical world is often referred to as the “Floating World”, although physical it is but one part of a shifting wheel of worlds. The Spirit Realm exists beneath the floating world, and is divided into two distinct worlds. The Yin World is dark and cold, the land of the dead; here the Magistrates of the Yin Court usher the newly dead to their rewards. The Yang World is a place of nature where the bountiful natural spirits reside; these are spirits of animals, trees, and forces of nature. These two respective worlds make up the Spirit World, and are both connected. The last realm is the Celestial Realm made up of Heaven and the Yomi World. The dark and inauspicious Yomi World, the realm of the Yomi Demon-King who are the enemies of the Five Elemental Dragons and the would-be destroyers of Heaven, plot and scheme in from their twisted bone thrones. It is a place where punishment and evil rule the day, and unimaginable torment is prepared for corrupt mortal souls. In Heaven exist the magnates of the Celestial Order, the high deities of the Eternal Empire.The Floating World is unique in that any spirit from any of the other worlds can manifest themselves there. The other worlds are only the domains of their respective spirits, the strict law of the Celestial Order. The people of the Eternal Empire tend to worship at shrines, while temples tend to be places where monks gather to train and ponder the meanings of the world. Most peasants believe that the nobility are the descendents of gods, with the Emperor being the rightful descendent of Amuro the Blazing-Sun. Most common folk do not worship the deities outright but focus on nature and animist prayer. Shamans are common and interpret the will of the spirits to the people, while the nobility tend to focus on the will of the gods and interpret them as they see fit. They also make up the bulk of the court historians and maintain various calendars and charts of celestial events.Celestial OrderFive Elemental Dragons: The Five Elemental Dragons are not gods per se but the apex of Elemental Force, each exists in a realm dominated by its chosen element. They are neither good nor evil, but more or less natural neutrality. They exist in a state above the gods, but do not receive prayer. Though there are monasteries dedicated to them, they have no formal form of worship or dogma. They represent Air, Earth, Fire, Water, and Wood respectively, and they are all of equal power. Rarely if ever have they ever interfered in the matters of gods or men. They simply exist.Amuro, The Blazing Sun: Amuro is first among the gods, he is the Celestial Emperor and supposedly the father of Hazama Fong. The truth of this is highly debatable though. He is a neutral god, and weighs all things evenly; he is both stern and fair. Although few men of the common class pray to him, the noble Shugenja class often invokes him. He is an aloof godhead and tends to remain distant from his court. He is rarely moved and slow to act, but when goaded to action is a furious foe. He is the patron of leadership and set the foundations of Bushido it is said. His son Mitsurugi refined the code.Sakura, Magistrate of the Harvest: The bountiful abundance to a good rice crop is often given credit to Sakura, for she is the minister of the harvest. Farmers tend to have shrines to Sakura in their homes and make pilgrimages to her shrines when the harvest looks lean. She is harsh and will punish those for sometimes it seems no reason at all. She is hard to please, at times. Many shamans make a point to make sacrifices to Sakura to hopefully ensure a good harvest. To anger her could mean death, and hardships for those you leave behind. Hirokama, Daimyo of the Dead: Although the dead go to the Yin World, they are under the auspice of Heaven, and in particular Hirokama, the Daimyo of the Dead. A cold master and lord, his agents scour the land for fresh souls to bring to the underworld. His ghostly samurai can be seen on battlefields leading the freshly dead to their just rewards. Hirokama is rarely if ever prayed to, unless someone expects to die in the near future. He is cold but not evil, he is simply the ruler of the realm of the dead, the Daimyo of the Yin World. Though it is whispered that the shugenja of the Fire-Snake Clan have made tacit deals with the minions of Hirokama, many of which are less then savory or good.Mitsurugi, Magistrate of War: The strongest of the gods in battle, Mitsurugi is the pinnacle of war. Yet he abides by all of the strictures of Bushido, for he is said to be the creator of the code. He is war, and battle, from a scuffle between youths, to the famed iaijutsu matches in the Eternal Court, to the massive battles across the Eternal Empire. He is a master of all weapons, though he specializes in the Katana, the gentleman’s weapon. Mitsurugi is a refined killer; he is the sword arm of the gods. Nearly any samurai worth his blade has a shrine to Mitsurugi somewhere in his household, and often carries a charm into battle to grant him strength over his enemies.Kotozama, Minister of the Seas: The people of the Zanshin-Ryung islands depend on the seas for food, trade, and travel. Kotozama is a prominent name in many households, especially coastal locales. The common folk of fishing villages tend to have shrines in their homes to appease the taciturn deity. Kotozama is chaotic, calm as a summer day, and as crazed as a typhoon, he is chaos. He also holds the distinction of being Mitsurugi’s younger brother. Kotozama like most of the gods does not demand devout servitude, but he expects his due and for mortals to pay homage when they have need of him.Tenchi, Shogun of the Night: Tenchi is the brother of Amuro, he is the night and the moon and stars. He is contemplative and is said to have been the first to understand the workings of magic. He has domain over the night and the things that lurk within, yet he is also the father of Kadeshi, Yomi Emperoress and enemy to the Celestial Order. Tenchi is aloof and at times grim, and tends to lend his advice sparingly. He has few shrines in the world, but is respected nonetheless. Most wu-jen and sorcerers tend to give Tenchi praise for it is by his gift to man that they are able to cast and use magic.10,000 Spirit Ministers: These are the greater spirits of the world, referred to as “Nushi”, they fulfill all the roles beneath the Celestial Order. This does not mean there are only 10,000 spirits, but these are the most powerful or prominent in the Celestial Order. They are countless, and naming them all is an exercise in futility. On that subject though the 10,000 Spirit Ministers tend to have pompous and lyrical names. For example; Tanuki, First Minister of the Seven Petaled Lotus, the names tend to represent their place in the order and in a round about way at times describe what they do. The general populace and some of the more superstitious nobility pray to the Nushi, they tend to interact with mortals the most when there is a need. It should be noted that the 10,000 Spirit Ministers represent even the Yomi World, as even hell has a place in the Celestial Order.The Seven Samurai-Ko: It is unknown just where these seven mysterious spirits fit into the whole Celestial Order. These seven Nushi, though there is even contention there, seem to serve Hirokama as the gatherers of souls. But they have also been known to meat out justice for the Celestial Order when it is needed. They always appear as female samurai, samurai-ko, dressed in black and white armor of the highest quality. They are said to be incredible warriors, and wield exquisite daisho with unearthly skill. They fulfill many roles yet they go about their roles in silence. The phrase, “You fight as if you are one of the Seven,” is a praise that is not spoken lightly in the Eternal Empire.Kadeshi, Yomi Empress: She is evil incarnate, mixed with pain, betrayal, and vindictiveness. She was once the youthful goddess of the morning, now she is the master of the corrupting pit of Yomi. Yomi has always been hell, but it once was a place a redemption where the soul was brutally cleansed of its sins. Once cleansed the mortal soul was once again released into the Celestial Order to be either sent to a final resting place or reincarnated. This has subsided with the ascension of Kadeshi, she has found that souls can be a power all their own, and she now plots and schemes to overthrow the Celestial Order. There are no shrines to her in public, but the mad, foolish, or just plain dumb offer her prayers in turn for power. Though few deal with her directly, she uses either proxies, equally rare, or the Yomi Daimyo intercede on her behalf. Though the Yomi Daimyo, is a fractious lot, she prefers it this way, they stay under control and rarely plot to take her throne. Although she is against the Celestial Order, she still serves the Mandate of Heaven, for Yomi is still a twisted place of evil and pain. She is a temptress and she is evil, the wise man would do well to remember both.10,000 Yomi Demons: Just as there are servants of the Celestial Order, so are their servants for Yomi. In addition to the few 10,000 Spirit Ministers that represent Yomi are the 10,000 demons. From the incredibly powerful Yomi Daimyo down to the petty curse spirits, that causes cankers and ill-fated trips. They all have a place in Yomi, and all serve in one way or another Kadeshi. They tend to have similar names to their Nushi counterparts, i.e. Kodamo, First Golden Oni of the Poison Fanged Sword, just with a darker and more horrific focus. It should be noted that there are in all likelihood much, much more then 10,000 demons in Yomi. This is just a term to refer to them, the 10,000 Yomi Demons. They work to make man miserable and to tempt through dark pacts of power, but all they desire is souls. Souls are the currency of the day in Yomi just as rice is in the Eternal Empire.</blockquote>

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