Silymism

Silymism is a budding religion in Eldham's Onthukhan region. The religion is identified with a triangle with an illuminated dot in the centre symbolic of the Three Sisters unitedly drawing their power from the super-energy Silym, a.k.a. the Singular Entity, a formless god that operates through the Three Sisters. Even though Silym is the supreme being from whom the entire universe and the gods themselves originate, followers of the religion like to worship the primary deities Ashtar (Goddess of Death), Imu (Goddess of Creation), and Emreir (Goddess of Protection and Slayer of Evil) due to their close association with the human form.

Creation
The universe in the beginning was empty. Nothing existed except for a strange energy emanating from a single point from the core of the inky void. This energy would later be called by scholars as the Silym. In time, Silym would gain its own consciousness - a floating mass of formless energy - and finding a vast sea of nothing would create what is now the known universe, flooding the emptiness with gases, stars, planets, moons and various kinds of anomalies. But that alone was not enough. Silym saw that by creating the universe, he had only littered the emptiness with mere lifeless forms. He noticed that parts of him had begun to corrupt and were gradually straying farther away from his centre. When this corruption reached the surface of the Earth it took the form of Usars, immortal demons of mammoth proportions. These creatures of darkness battled against each other, relishing in the pain and suffering of others, without respite. They never fell, and their injuries were mended in a matter of moments. They felt no empathy, nor did they have any sense of kindness. They were devoid of virtue. The universe had life, but at what cost? Everyone was busy fighting and the world was consumed by the fire of fruitless violence without a hint of it ever stopping. In a last ditch effort, Silym created the Three Sisters from his divine energy and commanded them thus: “You three are born from me. I shall name each of you differently for that is what will make each one of you unique and distinguishable from the other. Ashtar, Emreir and Imu I shall call each of you respectively. The Usars have for long devastated the soil of the Earth. To Ashtar, I give the responsibility of sweeping the land clean of this blight. Wipe these demons from the Earth. To Imu, I give the responsibility of birthing new life. And to Emreir, I give the responsibility of protecting all life from evil. You three are born from me and so shall be respected as gods among all.”

So the Three Sisters departed, having received their blessings from Silym. When they reached Earth they saw what the Usars had done. All the lands were consumed by a great inferno and the ocean was crimson with blood. Seeing this Ashtar’s wrath grew. In a fit of rage she hurled a giant rock almost the size of a continent at Earth. When the rock hit, it set the world aflame. The ocean, scared out of their wits, swallowed the lands that moved and shifted, extinguishing the fire. For billions of years, the Earth simmered from the heat caused by the impact. Then one day when the planet had cooled down enough the second sister Imu said unto Ashtar: “Tell me sister, have we not waited longer than we should? The Earth is habitable enough to sustain life now.” To this, Ashtar said: “Go forth sister, sow the seeds of life on the Earth and command them thus to proliferate.” At once, Imu flew to Earth. First she created the gods of the ocean and the rivers and commanded unto them: “From me you are born like I was born from Silym, divine source of all energy in the Universe. I name you Kaymos and Gamon. One of you shall take charge of the rivers, the other the ocean. From me you are born and so shall be respected as gods among all.” Saying this, she commanded them to order the waters to recede from the surface of the Earth. They obeyed. The waters pulled back and placed themselves suitably to create rivers and the ocean. Rivers would run through lands and meet the ocean. The ocean themselves shall separate the continents and surround the islands. Then Imu created the sun and the moon. One of them she named Kalos and the other Eclecia. She commanded Kalos to be fixed in one place and illuminate the Earth and make the planet habitable with his heat. Then Imu instructed Eclecia to go around the Earth. She instructed her thus: “You are my jovial daughter, you are to go around the Earth, every day. But you are never to show the other side of your face, for that is the side that you will show only to your husband, with whom you shall meet and make love every two to five times a year. I appoint Kalos, the god of the sun, as your husband.” Next she created Uldartish, the god of rain, thunder and clouds and commanded him to rule the skies. Ultardish at once alighted his cloud but was unable to move them. He decided to split the clouds into many to make them light but that did not help. It would seem that the clouds that were suspended over the Earth in the blue skies would need some kind of force to move. Uldartish, thus asking the divine blessing of Imu, informed her thus: “O divine creation, sister of the Great Three. Like you asked of me, I have made the clouds that disperse rain and thunder over the domains of the Earth but a complexity has come upon me. I command my clouds but they cannot move of their own accord.” Imu heard his prayer and answered at once: “It is not weight that impairs the movement of your clouds, great one but the lack of something to push it. Thus I give unto you wind. He was made from you and shall be your son. You may call him Xixx.” So having said his thanks to Imu, Uldartish departed, ordering Xixx to move the clouds across the length and breadth of Earth. At last Imu created the rest of the gods and goddesses and gave them each their own names and tasks. She also named the Earth and commanded that she be known as Wasu.

Now the creation of the gods was complete, there was someone to overlook almost every aspect of life. Imu proceeded to the next stage. She created seeds and spread them across the Earth’s lands to create trees, crops and vegetation. Then she created the fowl and the fish and commanded them to live in the sky and the water respectively. But the lands were still empty without anything walking about them. So she created men and women from the bones of the Usars (banished from life by Ashtar), long buried in the soil which had overturned and smothered their remnants as a result of the giant rock’s impact. Soon, the creatures sprang from the Earth and leaped to their feet. They looked around and saw Imu standing amidst them, clothed in white. A divine light emanated from her. Thus, Imu said unto the men and women of the Earth: “Men and women of the Earth, heed my words. You were born from the Usars, bloodthirsty demons. Know that this new life is not a gift to you but a test. Since you have sinned and lived in sin in your previous lives, you are to live on this mortal plain in pain and suffering. But to cope with that I hereby give you the gift of emotions, sympathy, empathy, kindness, goodness, forbearance, love, peace and fleeting happiness. Share these among the rest. Help and guide those in need and stay far from sin. You shall draw inspiration from all the gods but free will is conferred upon you, so how you lead your life is up to you. Think not of death to be eternal, for you shall again return to life, in a different body, with different features, as a different person to live and suffer among your own until you have attained Gnanur (eternal release from suffering). The only way to attain Gnanur is by adhering to the Codes of Livelihood and leading a virtuous life. Then and only then will you be freed.” And so ending her speech, Imu told unto men and women that the lands they shall live in shall be known as Earth and that there are many others like that that they will discover soon. Finally, she laid down the Codes of Livelihood and instructed all men and women to abide by it.

Before taking her leave, she issued a final command to each and every god with an air of strictness. She said unto all of them: “Remember O great gods and goddesses of the Earth and the Universe that you are the first progeny of all that will come after you. You must maintain your own dignity and be kind to all men and women and bless them. You must not fight among yourselves for you are looked upon as role models among men.”

The Tale of Kalos and the Gifting of Fire
One day Kalos was observing Wasu doing his yearly revolution when his beams fell on a group of people praying for protection from the cold. Seeing this, Kalos felt pity for the children of Imu. He also felt sorry for the Second Sister who had toiled so hard to bring order back into the universe. He asked Wasu, the Earth: “O cruel Wasu, how could you deafen yourself so from the prayers and wails of these poor humans. Where has your goodness gone? Had you also plugged your ears when Imu advised all the gods and goddesses to be kind to all?” And Wasu to him: “Great illuminator of the skies, what can I do? I am but a ball of land and water revolving around you. My skin is thick and cannot emit heat like yours, my bowels only pour forth boiling lava and toxic fumes, both highly dangerous for the delicate human form. Lord of all planets, husband to great Eclecia whose round face brings both joy and melancholy to the human soul, what solution have you for this conundrum?"

Kalos thought for a moment, then spoke: "I have a plan, but for that we need the help of mighty Uldartish, father of great Xixx, charioteer of the clouds, commander of thunder and rain, king of the many skies. Go Wasu, bid him attend me at once." Without wasting any time Wasu called Uldartish, who came riding his cloud and confidently stood facing the sun. But his eyes could not bear the strong rays and was forced to gaze at his feet. Then Kalos commanded unto him: "Mighty Uldartish, father of great Xixx, charioteer of the clouds, commander of thunder and rain, king of the many skies. For long mankind underneath you has lived in darkness, without heat in the cold. Fearful of being torn apart by savage animals he clasps his spear every time a cricket chirps, every time a twig snaps. How long must the man live on in plain darkness when neither my rays not my heat reach him when Wasu turns around to give equal light to the other side of his skin? Can't you see life which is now teeming on earth is suffering? I command you give mankind fire, the discovery of which shall open their mind to all kinds of new inventions." Uldartish obeyed. Taking out a bolt of lightning from his cloud he flung it at a tree. There was a flash for a second as the tree snapped off its bough and hit the ground, burning. People quickly gathered and spread themselves around the fire, warming their hands. Some curious humans brought meat and vegetables and held them over the fire to see what would happen. After a while, they ate it and found to their genuine surprise that the texture was better and it was easier to tear meat cooked than raw. They thanked both Kalos and Uldartish for their gift of fire. The sun god from his home smiled warmly.

The Singular Entity

 * Silym - A strange energy that all gods draw power from. The entire universe is made from the energy that it emanates.

Primary Goddesses (The Three Sisters)

 * Ashtar - Goddess of death.
 * Imu - Goddess of creation.
 * Emreir - Goddess of protection, slayer of evil.

Other Deities

 * Kaymos - God of rivers
 * Leeisha - Daughter of Kaymos, commander of the waters.
 * Shrenai - A demigod, the offspring of Kaymos and Sasara (a human).
 * Gamon - God of the ocean and seas.
 * Phaeneid - God of wisdom and knowledge.
 * Uldartish - God of thunder, rain and the clouds.
 * Xixx - Son of Uldartish, god of wind and air.
 * Ruhrr - God of harmony and balance.
 * Maru - Goddess of love.
 * Cecelia - Daughter of Maru, muse, a source of inspiration for all writers, poets, bards, musicians and artists.
 * Faydea - Daughter of Maru, goddess of harvest and spring.
 * Kalos  - God of the sun and illumination, giver of fire to mankind.
 * Eclecia- Goddess of the moon, daughter of Imu.
 * Laium - God of justice.
 * Wasu - Earth.

Codes of Livelihood

 * 1) Be kind and respect all men and women irrespective of their religion even if you do not agree with their ideologies.
 * 2) Slay or harm not any man or woman unless in defence of your own or for protection of another’s body.
 * 3) Refrain from false accusations, lying and hurting someone through words.
 * 4) Insult not the gods.
 * 5) Have deep respect for the faiths and beliefs of others. Harbour no ill will against them.
 * 6) You shall not steal or damage another’s property.
 * 7) Help those in need. Be charitable to the poor and generous to your friends and institutions doing good.
 * 8) You shall only take one man or woman as your wife or husband at a time, for the duration of which, you shall not engage in a romantic affair with another man or woman.
 * 9) Meditate and calm the mind, be free from sin.
 * 10) For princes and princesses, kings and queens: avoid war and genocide. Try to resolve conflicts with words not swords.
 * 11) Renounce materialism, live a life of purity outside the lavishness of modern life.
 * 12) Be honest with yourself and others.

Purification
One needs to be accepted into the Silymian fold in order to become followers of the faith. Instead of baptization which is common in most other faiths like the Quincy and Soleannen, the ritual cleansing process in Silymism is that of a deep meditation (in the open field or under a tree if it is sunny) followed by supplication to Kalos and his wife Eclecia for their divine guidance. This process ensures that you are purified body, soul and mind and are freed from sin.

Monasticism
There are many ways to break the cycle of Gnanur. One of them is by committing yourself to a monastic life, stripped of all worldly desires. The Silymian Monastic Fraternity constitutes a decentralised body of various monasteries across Onthukhan. If one chooses to enroll themselves into a monastery they must forego all worldly desires, respect the world and all the children of Silym, commit themselves to a vegetarian diet, not indulge in potions, refrain from intoxication of any form of liquor and devote themselves to academia: the study of Silymist faith and various literatures, sciences and histories from across the world.

Hermitage
If one becomes a hermit then one is essentially vowing to leave behind civilisation to settle in the gentle and caring lap of nature. By secluding oneself to a life of isolation in the wilderness, one foregoes all material cravings. The hermit only takes as much as he needs to survive. For every animal he kills, every crop or bush he harvests for food, he mutters a prayer of gratitude to Wasu for providing for him the means of his sustenance. In doing so, the hermit transforms the untamed forest into his home that shelters him for the care he provides it.