User:RustingWithYou/Sandbox1
Overview
"What have our lords done, with their power and armies?
They have driven a blade into the world's heart!
If we are to endure, we must have no master but Sk'akh!"
-Judiza Si'akh, Final High Prophet of Purifying Flame
Emerging from the fires of the Contact War in 2439, Si'akh has spread across the Wasteland in underground cults and by the proselytizing fires of its priests. It is led by charismatic former Sk'akh priest Juzida Si'akh, who claims to be the Messiah for Unathi. Si’akh is a radical Sk'akh heresy that claims the Contact War to have been final judgment for the Unathi species caused by their innate wickedness. He claims all Unathi that died in the "cleansing fire" of the atomic weapons were given salvation, and all Unathi that survived are damned to remain trapped in the Chained Wastes for eternity unless the species and Moghes are rapidly purified by converting and repenting for their sins. The movement is believed to have hundreds of thousands followers, and it has come into immediate conflict with the orthodox Sk'akh church due to Si'akh claiming it to be completely illegitimate with the revelation of the Contact War. Its followers were ruthlessly hunted down by the Maraziite Order and the troops of Izweski nobles. Despite the bereavement that came with the Order’s expulsion, the nobility of the Hegemony continue to strike at Si’akh congregations in their lands. Many of its followers in Izweski territory are fleeing into human space as they try to find personal salvation as a result. It is treated as a heresy and fanatical doomsday cult by orthodox Unathi.
The Prophet
Born Juzida Aizahi, Juzida Si'akh was born in 2409 and was rather unassuming as a priest— at least, he was rumored to be— until the Contact War brought nuclear devastation to his village. Si'akh was the sole survivor in his village after a nearby nuclear blast flattened the entire area. He emerged to the blasted hellscape and saw Sk'akh in a distant mushroom cloud, who spoke to him and gave him divine inspiration, declaring him the Final Prophet: the messiah and last hope for Unathi. Since that day, he has been a firebrand preacher, traveling the Wasteland and giving incredibly intense and passionate sermons. He claims to have a direct connection with Sk'akh which gives him supernatural powers. He claims he can bring salvation to Unathi with a simple touch. He traverses the Wasteland wearing simple robes, typically with nothing but his walking stick and his journal. He is an extremely charismatic leader and has spawned a cult of personality around himself. His formal title is the Final High Prophet Born of the Purifying Flames.
The popular and unofficial symbol of Si’akh is fire of any variety, be it commonplace flames burning something down, atomic fires wreaking havoc, or depictions of the Chained Wastes. The official symbol Si’akh and his clergy uses is a circle with a triangle inside of it, with the circle being on fire. This represents the Sk’akh origins Si’akh comes from, but also shows how Unathi are trapped in a circle of reincarnation until they can prove themselves to Sk’akh— and Si’akh. This will be sewn into clothes as the traditional means of display, yet it is not uncommon for final acts for Si’akh worshipers before dying to use their blood (if possible) to draw the symbol of Si’akh on any nearby surface, as if asking for one last blessing from the Final Prophet before testing their chances of making it to paradise.
Fire Priests
The church organization is decentralized due to its nature as a radical heresy constantly hunted by the established Sk'akh Church. However, beneath Juzida are his Speakers of the Purifying Flames, or Fire Priests, that spread his message across the Wasteland. Named in reference to both the cleansing fire of the atomic weapons that swept across Moghes, it is also in reference to the firebrand sermons given by their messiah. Fire Priests tend to be former Sk'akh priests that embraced Juzida's radical messages. However, in the past, Juzida decreed that anyone with a determination to spread the message can become a Fire Priest, but it is a rite of passage to first come before him and recite all of his sermons from memory.
Doctrines of Note
The primary, overriding belief of Si'akh is that the nuclear conflict of the Contact war was Judgement Day and that all Unathi that live after it are Damned. They believe that upon death their soul is unable to join Sk'akh, instead doomed to reincarnate forever across the galaxy for their sins of defiling Moghes. The only method of achieving salvation is through being personally forgiven by Si'akh or by following his doctrines and gaining enough favor with Sk'akh to be forgiven after death and join the ancestors. Si'akh believes that evil and selfish behavior transform the souls of Unathi into literal demons who then perform evil on the world. Fighting back against one's innate wickedness is the primary goal of all Si'akh.
Like the traditional Church, Si'akh believe that the soul is the true individual, and that the body is a vessel. However, the relationship between the vessel and the soul is given a radically different relationship. The body and soul both fight temptation and the influences of daemonic forces. They also believe that the soul was in the past instilled within a vessel during its development within the egg by the Great Spirit, but with the Damnation facing the species, all unborn are instilled with the reincarnated souls of the Sinta barred from joining the Great Spirit in death.
The second primary belief of the faith is that Juzida Si'akh is the Messiah. Sk'akh has personally bestowed upon Juzida the objective of helping the Unathi species find redemption. His followers accept him to be an immortal with supernatural powers. If he is successful, Sk'akh will then rule Moghes as a literal heavenly paradise for 10,000 years. The faith generally considers that finding redemption means converting more people to Si’akh. As such, it is not uncommon for Fire Priests to venture into the stars in search of Unathi, particularly in the Republic of Biesel. Many degenerates flee there in the eyes of Si’akh, such as the Aut’akh, various dishonored groups, Guwan, and other Unathi that need salvation. These people, according to the Final High Prophet, are fleeing Moghes in shame of the deeds of their ancestors, or are attempting to avoid the consequences of the species as a collective.
Si'akh are forbidden from eating anything but raw food and drinking anything but water. This is to purify the soul and train followers in self-restraint. It is said that, due to this extreme diet, some Unathi abroad have sometimes starved to death if the circumstances are right (such as being stuck with nothing but jerky or other prepared meats). However, later proclamations from the Final High Prophet have allowed people to eat liquid rations and other bare minimum foods, claiming that they are as pure as raw meat.
Repenting within the faith means to resist temptation and live a life according to asceticism: to live meagerly and not give into the temptation of luxury and overindulgence. Frugality and simplicity are words to live by; tailoring plain clothes, eating simple food, and keeping honest hobbies and work will set you along the path for salvation. Of course, practicing ritualistic obedience to Si’akh’s teachings puts someone along this path and makes it easier to do. Good works also absolve Unathi of their past sins, and it is said that someone who does enough works and follow the tenets of the faith will be overcome in a feeling of "righteous fire."
Si’akh believes inherent wickedness comes with money and opulence, and as such, he opposes the idea of nobility sitting above the rest of Unathi as rulers and kings. Owing in part to why the Hegemony so vehemently opposes this religion, Si’akh has been known to inspire small revolts where he has traveled to— and those in charge fear what may happen in their own lands should Si’akh take root amongst the masses.
Like all Unathi religions, followers are taught that even aliens have souls that go to their respective afterlives and greet their gods upon death. Unathi are given the unique curse of being banished entirely until they can find redemption, however.
Si'akh demands strict burial rights in the form of a body being cremated. Anyone that knew the Unathi that passed is expected to attend the cremation and beg for the soul to be forgiven by Sk'akh, expressing all the good the person did in life in order to curry favor with Sk'akh. Anyone that dies having followed the path laid out by Juzida can be redeemed and embraced by Sk'akh, joining them in the afterlife. Those that die failing in their duties to resist temptation and vice remained damned, forced to reincarnate into a new body. However, some souls can become completely overtaken by daemonic influence through temptation and vice, causing them to become literal daemons in the afterlife. These particularly damned souls prey on the living, filling them with the temptation to create even more of their kind.
Relationships in general are touched on heavily by Si'akh. He completely throws out the orthodox definitions of relationships of being a mix of Duty, Love, and Lust, saying that relationships are a question of duty and duty only. Marriages are framed in a survival sense, with new generations of hatchlings being reincarnated souls of the Damned unable to join Sk'akh. As a result, the only type of marriage Si’akh recognizes is one which can bear hatchlings. These 'second try' souls must be raised to participate in Si'akh's grand vision in order to achieve salvation. Notably, Si'akh forbids divorce and demands that any relationship be a lifelong act of monogamy.
Si'akh and Gender
Si’akh understanding of gender broadly mirrors Sk’akh, though with less of a focus on meditations of the Great Spirit. Si’akh ceremonies of gender transition focus on cleansing sins of the flesh, and being reborn from the purifying and burning love of the Prophet - though these ceremonies, contrary to popular rumour, do not involve setting anyone on fire. As for the Prophet Si’akh himself, while he generally identifies as a warrior his followers view him as something greater - having transcended mortal concepts of gender by Sk’akh’s divine grace, being all and none at once. In emulation of this, many Fire Priests will burn relics of their former lives in a symbolic incineration of gender, claiming themselves as vessels of the Prophet’s will untouched by mortal constructs. To those outside the faith, this is generally viewed as the typical madness that the radical religion inspires in its devotees.
Reavers of the Flame
Being situated in the incredibly dangerous Wasteland, and coupled with ruthless oppression from the Maraziite Order, Si'akh early in his days as messiah created a fanatical militant holy order answerable only to him. Its members are called Reavers, and they are charged with the protection of Si'akh and all of his followers. Based in Wasteland forts, they guard pilgrims who travel for miles to follow the traveling Si'akh, sheltering them from bandits. They are frequently attacked by explorers and mercenaries hired by the Hegemony, and have taken to arming their troop with a mix of Contact War era weaponry and crude ballistic weapons to defend themselves. Using welders, Reavers are required to burn off their horns when joining the Order, giving them a strange appearance compared to typical Unathi. Joining the Order is a fast track to salvation.
Reavers of the Flame have taken an almost barbaric stance on self-defense in the name of their savior. Where called for, they are merciless, unafraid to use ambushes and underhanded tactics to gain the upper hand. They give those that attack them and the followers of Si’akh a ruthless choice: join the flock or die in the sands. Given that they must reincarnate if they are not saved, Si’akh has not given any dismay or disappointment at this development among the Reavers; however, he has been known to occasionally step in, offer his blessings, and perform a rumored miracle to convince bandits to join his cause.
Final Judgment
In a sort of twisted means of reverence, those that follow Si’akh make a grand display and festival of the day the first atomic weapons were used in the Contact War. On September 5th of each year, Si’akh’s followers make a grand display of thanking Sk’akh for the war. Those outside of the faith will view it as a disturbing celebration of one of the worst modern catastrophes in Unathi history; those of Si’akh’s devout know it is celebrating the Unathi that were deemed worthy by Sk’akh and went to join them in eternal paradise. Originally intended to be a day of religious importance on Moghes and in the Wasteland, people who cannot make the pilgrimage to the Wasteland can do it wherever they are. These practices were gleaned from Si’akh’s routine and instructions to his first followers on this day.
The start of the day is a rigorous one. When celebrating the holiday, someone must be awake before the sun rises— this is being mentally awake, too, so typically, this is very early in the morning, even by autumn standards. The day begins with a rigorous prayer to Sk’akh and an admission of guilt and sin. Verbal recognition is made that the worshiper is unworthy of Sk’akh’s generous gifts and even the fraction of a chance to be redeemed offered by Si’akh. After completing this and whatever other rituals and prayers a devotee personalizes, they gather their daily things: a bag of jerky and two gallons of water. The day and subsequent week is one of fasting, without even water barring specific times every other day. Even then, Si’akh’s followers are permitted only two gallons of water for the week, regardless of individual need. The jerky and the water at the end of the week are burned and dumped, respectively, were one successful in not consuming them.
Typically, followers meet up with others for celebration. At this "celebration," there is no food, no drink, no usual luxuries found at other parties, and this meeting resembles more of a Sk’akh day of sermons than anything else. However, even by any religion’s standards, this mass is remarkably grim. The firebrand sermon is given, though only after being preluded by a romanticization of the events of the Contact War. A sense of longing is made clear by the priest and those listening to them; particularly dark speeches will openly pine for the death so many were granted when faced with atomic annihilation.
When the sermon is over, things begin to liven up marginally. There are performances of "flaming foxtrots," elaborate dances between two fighters with their weapons ignited. They can be Reavers of the Flame or other warriors, but Reavers are accustomed to this method of fighting. They do this in the Wasteland by drenching their blades in oil, then getting friction with the hot sand with a couple of stabbing motions into the gravel to ignite it. Nonetheless, the displays are brilliant and terrifying, with some of them ending in light to moderate burns for either performer. Such simple displays of energy and passion for the religion are seen not as luxuries, but as proof of one’s vigor, belief, and hope in purifying the Sinta species. Other exchanges are made between casual attendees, whether confessions to those close to them or encouraging each other to continue down the path Si’akh has trotted before them.
The Fire Priests are stolen away for much of the event to attend to the individual confessions and help encourage people down the path of salvation. Should someone’s sins in a confession prove to be great, the Fire Priests will begin a ritual: the Purifying Immolation. The specifics of the event are shrouded in mystery due to all Si’akh followers being sworn to secrecy about it. Despite this, rumors have begun to circulate that includes scarification or mutilation of some kind, or even flogging. None of this has been proven true by any authority due to the niche cult’s insular behaviors outside of proselytizing.
At the day’s end, the ritual of sunset looks similar to the one performed at sunrise, with one major detail: the end is a question of asking for Sk’akh’s forgiveness, so one may join them in the Beastlands after the ordeal is done. Some have said they received prophetic dreams the night of from Sk’akh’s xzarak and have been redeemed. However, the only true way of knowing will be in death.