[Fiction] Ask a Chaod Leu Priest Anything!

[Seonid]

**Ythvinaj Khriniahnya is a member of the Priestly caste of the Chaod Leu. They are extremely xenophobic, and they believe that unless you are Chaod Leu, you don't have a soul. Outsiders are killed with no mercy, and no remorse. He isn't too happy about being forced to do this, but I insisted. His text will be written in red. Background information about his culture can be found here.

 

 

What is this? What sorcery has roused me from my chambers and my temple? And why am I set thus in front of a rabble of Soulless and demons? I object to this treatment! The Great Elements will consume you for your blasphemy!

 

It appears I have no choice at present. Whatever demon binding has brought me from the sacred place also compels me to answer your questions. Under duress, I will introduce myself.

 

I am Ythvinaj Khriniahnya, priest of the Great Fire. I am the first-son of Subrahta Mahravaj, son of Chandrasek Adioniv, son of Abhilasha Lodha, slave-elect to the priesthood of the Fire. I live in the city of Adalaj, at the Temple of the Great Fire. I cast the omens for the fire-chirnigi in the great Temple, and I watch the society of the Chhuyha at that place. I must find a powerful purifying spell after consortings with such Soulless and demons as this, though.

 

But for the moment, I am bound. Ask me your questions, and I will answer.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Seonid

[Kobold King]

Before the Great Elements consume me, might I ask why your gods created me without a soul? Also, is there any conceivable way a Soulless such as I could acquire a soul and join your society?

[Seonid]

Before the Great Elements consume me, might I ask why your gods created me without a soul? Also, is there any conceivable way a Soulless such as I could acquire a soul and join your society?

 

Ha! You would try and trick me into giving up my soul to you, Soulless! I am surprised you are so open with your intentions. But know this. I have been assured by the powerful sorcerer who holds me in thrall that he will not permit my soul to be harmed. So all of your trickery will be for nothing!

 

And it appears that the sorcery still compels me to speak. By the Great Flame and the Bones of Chaos, I will have my vengeance upon this sorcerer!

 

So listen carefully, Soulless. I will not repeat myself. Long ago, in the First Time, the world was without form. All things were in mixture, and the Great Element Chaos reigned, and he did maintain the border against the Outside. From this Chaos was born the Six Great Elements, Light, Darkness, Fire, Air, Earth, and Water. These Elements made war upon each other as they sprang from the Chaos, and the Chaos laughed to see it. The whole cosmos was in upheaval, and splinters were torn from them as they fought. These became the chirnigi, and are still present today.

 

But the Element of Light hated the conflict, and she watched the fighting for a long time, only defending herself at need. And she saw that Chaos laughed, and knew that he encouraged this fighting in order that he would always remain most powerful.

 

So she turned to the one who hated her most, the Element of Darkness, and spoke to him of the perfidy of Chaos. Now the Light knew that the Darkness hated her, and would take any opportunity to destroy her, but she also knew that the Darkness was hungry for power, and would love nothing more than to pull Chaos down and take his place. So she brought to him a plan to awaken the old enemy of Chaos, the Great Element of Order. The search was long, but in passage of time they found the place where Order was imprisoned. And with their joint power, they broke the bonds and awoke the old Enemy.

 

Now when Chaos knew that his old Enemy had been awakened, he was wroth with a mighty anger. But he had no time to take vengeance on the Light and the Darkness, for Order pressed him hard, and quickly. Such was the fury of that battle that all the other Great Elements hid in terror from it, and the cosmos shuddered as if Being itself were about to come undone. But in the fury of that battle, Chaos and Order destroyed each other, such that nothing was left but their bones. And so no life force yet exists that holds Chaos or Order alone, and none will ever be, for the life force of those Great Elements passed out of Being before the world began, in the First Time.

 

And so began the Second Time. When the battle was over, and Being had ceased to shake, the Great Elements came out of the places where they had hid themselves. They saw the destruction, and the bones of Chaos and Order remaining, and they made an oath at that moment that they would no longer fight among themselves, lest they put Being itself at risk. For it is certain that if ever all the Great Elements passed out of Being, that Being itself will end forever.

 

But Darkness had in his heart to end Light, for his hatred had not ceased towards her. And he had not yet gained that which Light had promised him, which was to stand in the place that Chaos had, and to rule everything. But the oath he had sworn bound him, for he was afraid that the other Great Elements would turn on him and drive him out of Being if he were to end the Being of Light. So he plotted and schemed for Ages, while around him the other Great Elements began to build the world on the Bones of Chaos and Order. Earth built the mountains and the Chosen Land, while Water formed the Seas. Fire put himself into the heart of the World, while Air flew above it. Light stood aloof, watching over things and making all things beautiful with her radiance, and the other Elements loved her for it. And Darkness had no part in the making of it, but he lusted to rule over the World.

 

His plan came to him as the Chosen Land, the land of my people, was finished. If he could not destroy Light, for fear of his oath, he could bind her, as Chaos once had done to Order. And then none would lift up their hands, because he would be in breach of no oath.

 

And in those days was found a new Great Element, Spirit. And the Elements brought Spirit to the Light, and the Light touched Spirit and knew her. And she said that Spirit had sprung from the mingling of Chaos and Order, in the last moment before they had died. And so did the last of the Great Elements come into Being. And while the others wondered over this, Darkness saw his chance. So swift was his strike that none could stop him. And in one motion, he took Light from where she stood watching over the world and bound her away, so that she could no longer touch the world. And with her he bound all of the chirnagi that had come from her. Having done so, he proclaimed himself ruler over all of Being, and the power of his manifestation struck fear into the hearts of all of the Elements and chirnagi. But Darkness had not realized the love that Light had inspired in the other Elements, for they realized that she had saved them from the endless war that Chaos had kept among them. And so Darkness too was bound away. And they turned to Light, and realized that what the Darkness had done could not be undone, but that Light was forever bound away until or unless new Great Elements should arise with the power to overrule it. So they took the prison of Light and the prison of Darkness, and fashioned them into the boundary, so that the two Great Elements would always stand watch against the horrors of the Great Outside. Now this was the end of the Second Time.

 

And the world was now shrouded half in Darkness, and half in Light. And the Elements could not bear that any part of their world should always be without the influence of Light, even though she was locked away so that she could not touch the world. And so they set the Great Boundary in continuous motion, so that all the world was graced with Light for a time. And because the Darkness was so oppressive, they took the chirnagi that Darkness had bound away and set them upon his prison, so that they would shine the pieces of the Light that they had come of into the world. And these are the lights that are set in the heavens when Darkness reigns.

 

And the elements turned to fashioning those parts of the world that are not the Chosen Land. And so it is that only the Chosen Land was touched by the Great Element of Light. And Spirit came to the world, and said "I have had no part in making this, so I will instead make things to live on it." And so Spirit fashioned the animals and plants that live and move on the surface of the Chosen Land. But still she was not satisfied. So she took of herself and made chirnagi from herself, and put those into clay pots, and out sprung the Chaod Leu. And thus it is that the Chaod Leu are given souls. And the Four Elements looked on and greatly wondered, and they would that she would make such Souled creatures for the other lands too. But she said to them "This Land only was touched by Light before she was stolen away, and my grief is such that these shall stand as my tribute to her. I will not place them on a land that Light has not touched." The others pressed her, and she consented to fashion animals and plants for their lands. But to this day, she has remained resolute, and never fashioned a soul for one who does not live on the Chosen Land.

 

The other Elements fashioned things of the same forms as the Chaod Leu, and they lived and breathed and moved and spoke as the Chaod Leu do, but they could not give them souls, for that alone is the domain of Spirit. This is why you have no soul, Soulless.

 

And, as you well know, some of these forms are possessed by the demons, chirnagi of the Darkness that were never bound away in prison. And such demons come and tempt the Chaod Leu into performing lewd acts with them, so that they may steal their souls, which she created in honor of the Light. And of such unions are the half-souled born, animated by the stolen soul of the demon.

 

And now I have said as much as the magic binds me to, Soulless. I shall not say anything more until I am asked another question.

 

**Interlocutor's Note: The Chaod Leu mythology, like much of the mythology in Edassa and elsewhere, is filled with incorrect information concerning the makeup of the cosmos. Most prominent among the errors is the notion of Elements governing the universe. Although many primitive cultures understand their cosmology in terms of basic elements, such a view has little relationship with the actual makeup of the universe - and what relationship it does have is mostly tangential. However, the idea of a primeval Chaos is certainly accurate, though hardly unique to the Chaod Leu.

 

Curiously, however, the mythology of the Chaod Leu does preserve a tradition of a War in Heaven that predated the founding of the world. This has interesting parallels with the accounts given in the Hall of the Tribunal upon Asteros, where Taris sits as steward of the great Mother Alheia. Of course, such an account is also hardly original, but it likely represents the descendant of a true tradition.

 

Even more curious, this is the only mythology on Edassa or any of the other of the worlds of the Material Realm which I have visited where legends of an Outside are present. Through great personal effort and persistence, I have managed to speak with many denizens of the Outer Realms who has spent time traveling among those parts of the Realms of Being that stand at the edge of Chaos. After much trying, I was directed to one who reportedly had passed over that boundary, on business of some Lord of the Outer Realms or another. She confirmed that she had done so, but of the things the experienced there, nothing could get her to speak. But the fear on her face was plainly evident. So it must be assumed that here the Chaod Leu have, against all odds, preserved or intuited or received through some long-lost revelation the nature of the Outside. Unless, of course, this is just a projection of their own xenophobia into the greater cosmos. If so, it is exceptionally accurate, and would be a remarkable coincidence.

[ChickenPlague]

What is your favored beverage?

[Eagle of the Forest Path]

Oh, great prejudiced one, are there any dietary restrictions placed on your priest caste and the other castes of the Chaod Leu?

(or the Chaod Leu as a whole)

[Unodus]

Pardon me, Ythvinaj Khriniahnya, but I do in fact have some questions regarding your intriguing social structure. I'm not entirely sure if a priest can interpret my complex legal inquiry, though I'd be interested in hearing your opinion.

Suppose this scenario:

A woman of Chaod Leu society is married happily to a man in the Tradesman Caste. Over many years, they have earned a considerable amount of wealth to be pass onto their firstborn when he inherits the business. Suddenly, the Father disappears inexplicably- presumed dead. Due to the nature of the contract, this makes the woman the distributor of the inheritance in this case- but can't decide who gets the money until either the husband is confirmed dead or eight years elapse since he is only missing. Because of this, over the period of many grieving years, she is visited by various suitors who- despite the social disapproval- are desperate enough to attempt marrying this woman in order to use the inheritance for their own means. In the end, she falls in love with a member of the Warriors Caste who had been appealing to her due to his financial and social position- and after a long period of courting, the two marry. The woman's son, not old enough to run the trading business- is also moved to the warriors caste. A few happy years pass, in which another child is born- who is placed in the slave caste. Life in the Warriors caste, despite the marriage disapproval, has been successful so far- and since the eight year threshold has elapsed they can make use of the finances in order to support society. 

 

One day, the Womans original husband is found. It is revealed to the world that, shockingly, he was foreign spy- sent by demons to infiltrate Chaod Leu society! The scandal has the Warrior caste in uproar!

 

So, given the complex nature of this case...

Is the woman, who intermixed unknowingly with a demon, automatically placed within the half-soul caste?
If she is, what happens to her firstborn- who is descended from a Demon?
If she is placed within the half-soul caste, what happens to her second husband? Strictly, the two aren't allowed to intermingle- is the marriage declared invalid, or does the second husband also get taken into the half-soul caste?

And if so, what happens to her second child? Who isn't descended from demon blood, and is (if the marriage is declared invalid) the firstborn of his house? Does he stay in his caste, move up, or moved into the half soul caste too?

And finally, what happens to the demon-funded inheritance which has been used to improve society? Does the wife get to keep the remaining inheritance? And is the money now supporting the economy terminated?

 

Again, apologies for the strangeness of the case- I hope I haven't missed anything obvious.  

[Seonid]

What is your favored beverage?

 

I drink only pure water from the Spring of Ankura, in the Temple of the Flame, as required of me by my service. Others of my caste who serve in different temples may do differently, but I drink only the pure water of the Spring, so as not to offend the Great Element of Water, seeing as I serve in the temple where her rival is revered.

 

Oh, great prejudiced one, are there any dietary restrictions placed on your priest caste and the other castes of the Chaod Leu?

(or the Chaod Leu as a whole)

 

As a priest, of course, I may not eat any living thing, but instead subsist off of the food of plants, as appropriate to my station. Taking life, either in war or for food is a terrible breach of the order of the world for one such as I. One of the Warrior caste, of course, ought to eat flesh - for his life is born to conflict and strife, and his food should represent that. And after all, all of the animals on his land are owned by the ruler, and it is his right to use them for food as he desires. If he wills, then the tradesmen and the farmers may partake with him, but if he wills it not, then they find their food elsewhere as they are able. But to priests like me, the flesh of living things is forbidden.

 

Pardon me, Ythvinaj Khriniahnya, but I do in fact have some questions regarding your intriguing social structure. I'm not entirely sure if a priest can interpret my complex legal inquiry, though I'd be interested in hearing your opinion.

Suppose this scenario:

A woman of Chaod Leu society is married happily to a man in the Tradesman Caste. Over many years, they have earned a considerable amount of wealth to be pass onto their firstborn when he inherits the business. Suddenly, the Father disappears inexplicably- presumed dead. Due to the nature of the contract, this makes the woman the distributor of the inheritance in this case- but can't decide who gets the money until either the husband is confirmed dead or eight years elapse since he is only missing. Because of this, over the period of many grieving years, she is visited by various suitors who- despite the social disapproval- are desperate enough to attempt marrying this woman in order to use the inheritance for their own means. In the end, she falls in love with a member of the Warriors Caste who had been appealing to her due to his financial and social position- and after a long period of courting, the two marry. The woman's son, not old enough to run the trading business- is also moved to the warriors caste. A few happy years pass, in which another child is born- who is placed in the slave caste. Life in the Warriors caste, despite the marriage disapproval, has been successful so far- and since the eight year threshold has elapsed they can make use of the finances in order to support society. 

 

One day, the Womans original husband is found. It is revealed to the world that, shockingly, he was foreign spy- sent by demons to infiltrate Chaod Leu society! The scandal has the Warrior caste in uproar!

 

So, given the complex nature of this case...

Is the woman, who intermixed unknowingly with a demon, automatically placed within the half-soul caste?

If she is, what happens to her firstborn- who is descended from a Demon?

If she is placed within the half-soul caste, what happens to her second husband? Strictly, the two aren't allowed to intermingle- is the marriage declared invalid, or does the second husband also get taken into the half-soul caste?

And if so, what happens to her second child? Who isn't descended from demon blood, and is (if the marriage is declared invalid) the firstborn of his house? Does he stay in his caste, move up, or moved into the half soul caste too?

And finally, what happens to the demon-funded inheritance which has been used to improve society? Does the wife get to keep the remaining inheritance? And is the money now supporting the economy terminated?

 

Again, apologies for the strangeness of the case- I hope I haven't missed anything obvious.  

 

Such a case would indeed be unlikely, as it would be difficult indeed for a demon to infiltrate the society of the Chaod Leu. For would not his skin color betray him? It is my experience that the demons that live in the great desert beyond the Wall are paler of skin. And they have no proper skin mottling, but their skin is all one color, as if they were one of the Chhuyha. Such an ugly thing would hardly convince any woman of the Chaod Leu to marry him, let alone hold her attentions.

 

But I suppose it is not out of the realm of possibility that one of the half-souled from beyond the Wall could enter in, possessed by the demon that spawned him, and with much study of our culture convince a young, impressionable, foolish woman that he was full-souled of the Tradesman caste. The half-souled who live among us are branded properly, of course, along with their children. So a half-souled who grew up living in this land as he ought would be recognized on sight and slain for his blasphemy in disregarding the laws of his station. But one from beyond the Wall would have neither brand to mark him nor proper teaching to know his place, and could well do such a vile thing.

 

There are a few misunderstandings in the rest of the case as it is presented. In the first place, a widow with children cannot marry a man outside of her social caste - it would be a violation of the order of things. If it were to happen, the man who married her would be stripped of his caste and become of the caste of the woman's first husband. But a member of the Warrior caste with large debts, and therefore desperate for money might be willing to leave his caste in order to obtain access to an inheritance such as that. And you have properly intuited that the woman would care for the money until her son came of age to make use of it. She would certainly not be able to use the money of her dead husband for any other thing other than the shop she cared for, unless she were to marry again.

 

And now to the meat of the case. The father of her first child was half-souled or demon-spawned. She, of course, would be stripped of caste and station, branded and sent with the other half-souled. Her soul was forfeit to a demon, she deserves nothing less for allowing herself to be tricked so. Her first child is the son of a demon spawn, and is also half-souled. He cannot do anything about his parentage, but his mother's punishment carries on to him. It is the way of things. Her second child was born to a full-souled father, but the mother had already forfeited her soul. He too would be branded with his mother, and stripped of caste and station. Her second husband, on the other hand, mingled his seed with a half-souled, but one who had lost her soul to a demon, not a demon who had come looking for a soul. He would need to visit with a priest to determine if his soul had been damaged by the union. If the omens showed that the woman had stolen part of his soul to try to replace what she had lost to her demon-first husband, then he too would be branded. But if the omens showed that his soul was intact, that she had not attempted to steal it from him, then he would remain in his new caste (he had abandoned his station to marry her, he cannot return to it just because he does not like the marriage), and inherit the money. If the second husband did end up being branded and cast out, then the Warrior caste ruler would appoint one of his slaves to take control of the inheritance.

 

Although the money had been earned by a half-soul, the half-souled are not permitted to own money, and therefore any money illicitly owned by them is not made unclean by the association. The same with the land, the house, and the shop. The contents, of course, would be burned or otherwise destroyed, and the accounts would have to be carefully gone through to discover all previous buyers from the shop, and all that they bought from it would have to be similarly destroyed, and those who bought it be purified. However, with the inheritance, the house, and the shop, the new owner (either the second husband or a newly appointed former slave) would be able to set up his own business on the premises.

 

I trust I have satisfied your inquiry? It is indeed refreshing to converse with a Soulless who begins to have an understanding of how the world must be ordered. Although you may never become one of the full-souled, one such as you would not be an unwelcome addition to the half-souled. I hear that the half-souled who have built great cities on the other side of the wall are quite lax when it comes to mingling with foreigners, almost as if they do not care if their soul is stolen. Or perhaps they live in a constant cycle of gaining and losing souls to the demons, and the demons have come to be just a part of their society, tamed into submission by the easy access to souls. Perhaps you might find a soul there, and your descendants would be half-souled indeed, by their own possession and not by stealing from another.

 

Tell the King of the Kobolds as well, that if he desires to gain part of a soul, as he indicated in his earlier question, that he too would be permitted in such a way to join the ranks of the half-souled. I may have failed to answer his question fully, though I satisfied the magic that binds me.

[Patar]

Did the conflict between the various elements affect the climate or landscape in any noticeable way? 

[Kobold King]

What kind of plants and animals do you keep? Do you grow grain crops? Do you keep some animals as pets?

[Seonid]

Did the conflict between the various elements affect the climate or landscape in any noticeable way? 

 

Although I said I would not repeat myself, you are not the King of the Kobolds. Therefore, I am not repeating myself, as I impart this information to a new Soulless. The conflict between the Great Elements occurred long before the foundation of the world. By the time the world was formed, and the landscape and climate were placed, the Elements lived largely in harmony with each other. It is said by some among the priests that the great Wall was raised during the binding of the Element of Darkness, but that is a heretical view. It is abundantly clear that the Wall was raised by the Element of Earth before the Binding of the Light, as it is part of the Chosen Land, and the Chosen Land was the only part of the created world to have been graced with the presence of Light in her person.

 

With that said, though, it is recorded in the traditions of the Temple of the Flame that there are great mountains of fire in the south of the Great Sea that were raised by the Element of Earth to settle a dispute between Fire and Water. I believe that similar histories are given in the Temple of the Water, though I have not seen them myself.

 

*Interlocutor's Note: This seems to be a prime example of the failings of mythology. The islands referred to by Ythvinaj are likely the Taravoy Archipelago, which are certainly rather recent geologically speaking. The youngest of the islands could potentially have emerged during the beginning of human habitation of the islands. How the legend of the mountain of fire which rose from the sea would have reached the isolationist Chaod Leu is rather obscure, however, since foreigners have been killed on sight for a great deal of recorded Chaod Leu history. Most probably, the legends found purchase in the kingdoms (made up of the so-called "half-souled") on the other side of the mountain range known to the Chaod Leu as the Wall, and made their way from there into the Chaod Leu mythology. An outside possibility exists that the Chaod Leu were once far more wide-ranging seafarers than they are currently, and their ships observed either the emergence of an island or - more likely - a volcanic eruption. This could also have been the source of such a legend.

 

In any case, to those travelers who frequent the Outer Realms, the Chaod Leu notions of some Great Elements is quaint, but wholly myth.

 

What kind of plants and animals do you keep? Do you grow grain crops? Do you keep some animals as pets?

 

Many of the plants we grow, I am told, are strange to you Soulless. grow some fruits on trees, especially the sunfruit and the redfruit, but many of the plants we cultivate are grown underneath the ground. The starch-tuber, the true fireroot and the false fireroot, and the globe-tuber are also among the many we grow, but I am told that many of them are had among the Soulless as well. In addition, we grow the spikefruit and the water-globe on great bushes or vines that grow along the ground. There are many varieties of leaves and beans, more than I can name here. As for grain, we raise barley and rice, and the earthbean as well.

 

As for animals, there are many. The stripe-horse is particularly beloved, both as a work animal and, I am told, as a delicacy among the Warrior caste. The buffalo and the pronghorn, the greathorn and the wool-bearer - I translate many terms into their meaning in your language, so you are not inundated with foreign terms - are also kept by us. I do not understand what is meant by pets, though. Could you clarify, Soulless?

[ChickenPlague]

A pet is an animal kept by a person to provide comfort and often nothing else. Some people teach their pets tricks, but even these are usually useless.

Edited January 12, 2016 by ChickenPlague

[DreamEternal]

Ythvinaj Khriniahnya, priest of the Great fire, please forgive me if I misunderstood something, but I have a question about your faith and its pratices.

If I understood rightly, your people is the only one with true souls because only the Element of Spirit held the power to bestow them. Yet, the other elements, who you also worship, created souless beings in the image of your people, althought inferior.

If so, is true peace between those with full souls and those with no souls possible, if there is no intermingling or direct contact to avoid the possibility of the stealing of souls?

[Seonid]

A pet is an animal kept by a person to provide comfort and often nothing else. Some people teach their pets tricks, but even these are usually useless.

 

Ah, I see. Then, I believe that many among the priestly and warrior castes do keep these "pets" you speak of. They call them companions, and treat them as if they were family. This occurs most often among the very young and among those who have not yet married - married members of the caste are expected to put away such childish frivolity. And those among the lower caste's do not have such traditions.

 

Ythvinaj Khriniahnya, priest of the Great fire, please forgive me if I misunderstood something, but I have a question about your faith and its pratices.

If I understood rightly, your people is the only one with true souls because only the Element of Spirit held the power to bestow them. Yet, the other elements, who you also worship, created souless beings in the image of your people, althought inferior.

If so, is true peace between those with full souls and those with no souls possible, if there is no intermingling or direct contact to avoid the possibility of the stealing of souls?

 

Peace? By this you mean a lack of war? You have correctly apprehended the nature of the Chaod Leu and the Soulless, but perhaps not fully understood our practices. I must confess, when I was bound to this magic, I did not expect to find so many of the Soulless speaking with the proper respect due to my station. It is indeed odd, but I do not find myself resenting these questions as I did at the beginning.

 

In any case, we of the Souled do not go out to war against the Soulless. Why should we? They have nothing that we desire, nor can I think of a situation when they might. But it is blasphemy for a Soulless to enter the Chosen Land, for to allow this is to perpetuate the risk of one of our own losing their soul. So we merely inflict the appropriate punishment on those who violate our borders. If the Soulless do not profane the Chosen Land, then we have no quarrel with them, and they may do as they please among each other and the half-souled across the wall.

 

Or do you mean is there a way for the Soulless and the Chaod Leu to live together in the same land and the same cities? This would be unthinkable, and against all of the natural order of the world. No worse thing could happen to my people.

[DreamEternal]

Or do you mean is there a way for the Soulless and the Chaod Leu to live together in the same land and the same cities? This would be unthinkable, and against all of the natural order of the world. No worse thing could happen to my people.

Forgive me for not making my intentions clear, souled one. Your beliefs clearly would render such close coexistence unthinkable, I merely meant a... distant coexistence and even cooperation. Trade, exchange of knowledge, pacts of non-agression.

Edited January 12, 2016 by DreamEternal

[Seonid]

Forgive me for not making my intentions clear, souled one. Your beliefs clearly would render such close coexistence unthinkable, I merely meant a... distant coexistence and even cooperation. Trade, exchange of knowledge, pacts of non-agression.

 

That is a different question indeed. I appear to have misunderstood you. I cannot imagine what the Soulless could have that we might need. If such an unlikely situation were to arise, then the half-souled on the other side of the Wall are certainly sufficient to perform any interaction that is needful. Though I am not of the tradesman caste, I understand that some of them do business with the half-souled kingdoms across the wall. In such a way, anything of the Soulless that might become useful to the Chaod Leu could be acquired.

[Datan Nomlibash]

Are there any break off groups that worship more or less elements?

I am unclear on something, do all souless get possesed by demons or do you belive it is possible for one to live without a spirit of some kind?

Edited for questions already answered

Edited January 15, 2016 by Datan Nomlibash

[DreamEternal]

How many elements do your people worship?

How were the souless created?

I believe those two questions were answered earlier.

[Seonid]

Are there any break off groups that worship more or less elements?

I am unclear on something, do all souless get possesed by demons or do you belive it is possible for one to live without a spirit of some kind?

Edited for questions already answered

 

As a matter of semantics, your word worship is an imprecise way of describing what we of the Chaod Leu do. I have heard of the services you Soulless give those beings you call gods, of the sacrifices and festivals and sermons and rituals and all manner of incomprehensible things. We of the Chaod Leu do no such things.

 

We reverence the Great Elements, true. They are the source of the world, and the foundation of this creation, and deserve our respect. But they do not demand our praises, our worship, sacrifices and festivals. Unless their attention is captured by some unfortunate event, they pay no mind to humans either of the Soulless or the Chaod Leu. And we are content to have it that way. To draw the attention of one of the Great Elements is to invite destruction down upon not just you, but your whole village, town, city, or even kingdom.

 

Of far more importance is the art of dealing with the chirnagi. And as a priest, that is what I am trained to do. I read the omens, and watch the portents of the Chhuyha in their enclosure. I cast the divinations that tell which of the Elements has touched one of the Chhuyha or which chirnagi is troubling a particular family or person, and the reason why. And I can call the abjurations that can bind a chirnagi at need, for a price, of course. I also take my turn keeping watch over the Great Fire, which our records say was placed in the Chosen Land by the Great Element himself. It has never gone out in the twelve thousand years since then, and we are tasked with keeping it so.

 

I am told that the initiates of the Great Temple of the Spirit, placed in the center place of the Chosen Land, have been known to approach the Great Spirit personally to ask for favors or other intercession. She has a closer relationship with those of the Chaod Leu than the others, and her attention is not uniformly disastrous. But of the means and methods of their approaching I have no knowledge.

 

But I have allowed myself to be drawn onto a tangent. The magic apparently permits this. Interesting. I must investigate that further. At some other time, though. All Chaod Leu recognize the five elements - Earth, Fire, Air, Water, Spirit. Five is a number of the second perfection, and that the number of Great Elements agree with it is a sign. But there are the Four Hidden Elements - Light, Darkness, Order, and Chaos - and these added to the Five are nine, a number of the first perfection. This is a greater sign. I deal with esoteric matters now, Soulless, and will clarify as I can to you if you do not understand. But the sum of it all is this - no philosopher or priest of the Chaod Leu would begin to think that there were more elements than the five and four. It is such an obvious thing, born out by science and mathematics.

 

But there are heretical sects among us - many devoted to the Hidden Elements. As if Order or Chaos could rise from the dead when their life force had passed from Being. Or as if one would want to free the Darkness, or draw the attention of the Light. She may have captured the love of the other Great Elements, but it is only Spirit who ever notices mortals without bringing down disaster on their heads. Why should the Light be different?

 

More insidious are those sects that pervert some form of the true Way. There are some who teach that the Soulless beyond the Wall actually were given souls created by Spirit. This is blasphemy, of course, and easily refuted. After all, did not their originator - may he ever be nameless - have a half-souled wife? Is not such a thing proof of his perfidy? But the teachings remain, especially among the half-souled and those who deal with their kingdoms on the other side of the Wall. Some will not be convinced no matter how obvious the truth is.

 

To answer your final question - not all the Soulless are possessed by demons, though any of them may be. It is only the Chaod Leu who have protection against that, for we have a spirit inhabiting us. The Soulless are animated by the latent power of the Elements who made the universe. One needs not a spirit to make such a life as the Soulless live. The ambient force of the Universe is sufficient to sustain them. But we of the Chaod Leu have an individual spirit, a chirnagi of the Great Element herself, inhabiting us. It is a mark of honor indeed, and it is why we strive to maintain our purity.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

Do you value music, and if so, what instruments are used in worship? 

[Aonar]

May I ask for clarification upon what exactly the chirnagi are? They seem to fill the role of elemental spirits of sorts; lesser beings fashioned from the one of the Great Elementals for one purpose or another, which occasionally meddle with mortal lives. (I believe you mentioned that as a priest, one of your functions was to bind said spirits, if they become to disruptive?) However, you also refer to them in the context of your animating spirit, and the theoretical difference between yourselves and the Soulless. And then again they are also referred to as the demons which can posses the Soulless. How exactly does this all link together? If demons are chirnagi of Darkness, what motivation do they have to damage/steal a chirnagi of Spirit? If a demon is in a sense a human animated by Darkness, what is the difference between one such as that and a Chaod Leu, who is animated by Spirit? Would it be possible for a human to be animated by the chirnagi of one of the other elements? If so, would they still be considered a demon/Soulless? 

 

(Sorry for the ramble-y/kinda weird questions. I'm curious as to exactly all what roles/purposes the chirnagi fill in this mythos, though. As a bit of an aside, is there a factual basis for these spirits in-world? Or are they purely a construct of the Chaod Leu religion?)

[Seonid]

Do you value music, and if so, what instruments are used in worship? 

 

Music is, of course, an important part of our culture, but it is not prominent in what you would call our religion. Our rituals sometimes involve a gong, a drum, or a horn, but that is the limit of the presence of music in our rituals.

 

In our wider society, however, I am told that much music is made and performed. The sorcerer who binds me here informs me that the instruments in your world most similar to those we use are the sitar, the Saraswati veena, various forms of drums, and several forms of reed instruments from a place he calls India. I am informed that our music is much like the music of this India place in many regards, including tone, rhythm, and melodic structure.

 

Truly, though, I know little of music. I have heard the performers at the festivals on the rare occasions I find myself on business in the city during that time, but there is little music in the temples.

[Seonid]

May I ask for clarification upon what exactly the chirnagi are? They seem to fill the role of elemental spirits of sorts; lesser beings fashioned from the one of the Great Elementals for one purpose or another, which occasionally meddle with mortal lives. (I believe you mentioned that as a priest, one of your functions was to bind said spirits, if they become to disruptive?) However, you also refer to them in the context of your animating spirit, and the theoretical difference between yourselves and the Soulless. And then again they are also referred to as the demons which can posses the Soulless. How exactly does this all link together? If demons are chirnagi of Darkness, what motivation do they have to damage/steal a chirnagi of Spirit? If a demon is in a sense a human animated by Darkness, what is the difference between one such as that and a Chaod Leu, who is animated by Spirit? Would it be possible for a human to be animated by the chirnagi of one of the other elements? If so, would they still be considered a demon/Soulless? 

 

(Sorry for the ramble-y/kinda weird questions. I'm curious as to exactly all what roles/purposes the chirnagi fill in this mythos, though. As a bit of an aside, is there a factual basis for these spirits in-world? Or are they purely a construct of the Chaod Leu religion?)

 

You have indeed understood correctly - the chirnagi are splinters of the Great Elements, cleaved from their being during the great conflict of the First Time. They are elemental spirits, but they are also demons, and they are also the souls of the Chaod Leu. This is one of the great mysteries. All such beings had their origin in the Great Elements. The commoners, of course, do not study such things, and therefore do not know them. To them, the demons and the chirnagi of the Great Elements and their own souls are of different kinds. But I have been inducted into the great mysteries, and to the priests is entrusted the knowledge that all such things are of the same being. All being is of the Great Elements - even such half-lives as the Soulless live. No chirnagi inhabit them, of course, which is why their being has an end when they die. But such being as they have came from the Great Elements too.

 

So, if I understand your question right - all things that live and move and have an enduring consciousness are of the chirnagi. The Soulless live and move, but their consciousness has an end when they die, and there is no more. Thus, they are not of the chirnagi.

 

To answer your second question - why should a demon not want to steal the souls of the Chaod Leu? Our souls are created as a tribute and a monument to the Element of Light, and the demons are of Darkness, who hated her. And so they lie in wait to deceive the Chaod Leu into forfeiting half their soul. Thus they disfigure and defile the gift of Spirit as a tribute to the fallen Light. It is their great pleasure.

 

Your final question is a complex one. There are chirnagi of the other Elements, and it is certain that any of them might have power to inhabit a Soulless, if they should wish. But these chirnagi were ancient indeed before even the rising of Spirit - there are no new chirnagi save those that Spirit creates to inhabit the Chaod Leu. Beings so ancient and set in their habits ought to have no desire to meddle with such insignificant forms as a human, either of the Soulless or the Chaod Leu. They are more likely to destroy one than inhabit it. I have never heard of such a thing happening.

 

*Interlocutor's Note: I speak here from the perspective of one who has traveled the Outer Realms, and regularly crosses the Realm of the Unmanifested - called by some the Spiritual Realm. Some of the basics of the Chaod Leu religion are centered on facts of the world, but most is incorrect extrapolation. There do exist many spirits - though the idea that they came from Great Elements is, frankly speaking, absurd. Some of these spirits do, in fact, interact with mortals, and many are mischievous. The rituals of binding have some effect to prevent the attentions of these spirits, but much of the rituals they perform are unnecessary additions onto the simple spells of warding. However, this is common among many Edassan religions, not merely the Chaod Leu. Theology shapes the rituals that interact with the unseen world.

 

The Chaod Leu distinction between themselves and the so-called Soulless is wholly fiction, as is their cosmological history. I am in a position to know this, for I have read in the records of Asteros - that Outer Realm where the great god Taris rules as the steward of the Great Mother - that reach back into the time shortly after humans were created. As far as can be told from the records that exist there, the souls of mortals (like the spirits of all intelligent beings, from gods to the unmanifested) are eternal in nature, and cannot be either created or destroyed.

 

So it appears that the Chaod Leu have fashioned an incorrect theology around their observations of various spirits at work in the Realm of the Manifested - what you would know as the Material Realm. They call these spirits chirnagi, but have created wholly fictitious origin stories for them, and created artificial distinctions between them. The truth of these things is long and complicated, but I may someday explain it to those who are curious. By all means, if you have more questions, feel free to ask.

[Eagle of the Forest Path]

Oh vastly self-assured one, if I may pose another question?

 

If a Chaod Leu man and woman were to take up residence in another land (if they were shipwrecked on an island for instance), would any offspring they had in that land have a soul?

[Seonid]

Oh vastly self-assured one, if I may pose another question?

 

If a Chaod Leu man and woman were to take up residence in another land (if they were shipwrecked on an island for instance), would any offspring they had in that land have a soul?

 

Ah, now that is an interesting question. Interesting indeed. A number of follow-up questions could be asked - where is the island, how long do they remain there, and a number of others. But the simple answer is: they are Chaod Leu. Their children will be given souls. I cannot say whether or not that would remain constant in their descendants if they remain far from the Chosen Land for generations and more, for Spirit could easily grow displeased with those of the Chaod Leu who leave the Chosen Land to live forever somewhere else. But their children of the first generation would certainly have souls. Past that, I cannot say. A priest would have to take the children of each generation and cast the omens for them to see if they had not been given souls.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Seonid