Skaalka

Skaalka (also called Sculkicism in the Traveler's Tongue ) is a religion that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and practices centered around the god Yan-Shul, a deity associated with the Sculk fungus. Adherents (a.k.a. Sculkites) practice ritual sacrifice, Warden summoning, bodily modification, and various practices of the arcane.

Skaalka has no centralized institution. It is instead split into numerous cults that, while they may have different beliefs, all share the same core doctrine. However, the First Lodge, Skaalka's founding cult, is considered to be the leading institution and bears authority over all the other cults. More information on the cults of Skaalka can be found here.

Core Beliefs
Apotheosis: Souls contain a form of power called Soul Energy (EXP), which has deep and vital connections to magic. Soul Energy can be transferred between living beings, and Sculk is capable of containing souls within itself. After a Sculk colony has gathered enough Soul Energy (grown large enough), and by using a specialized ritual, an individual may ascend beyond the mortal plane and achieve a godlike state of existence. Once enough people have ascended, the gods can be overthrown and the world will be transformed into a paradise, “where a blue sun may shine forever in a black sky.”

Will: The will to power is the primary driving force of man. The individual desires mastery over all things within their domain. This is done by exerting one's will over the world, while others do the same, often in opposition. Alone, one's will may be weak or strong, but when a collective all exert their will in tandem, such power is exponentially increased.

A Skaalkan cult must have the willpower needed to exert control over the god-flesh of Yan-Shul, lest the Sculk consume them.

Defiance: Skaalka believes that human nature is inherently evil, and that the natural state of the world is chaos, violence, greed, oppression, fear, and suffering. To commit an act of goodness, therefore, is an act of defiance against human nature through willpower.

Sacrifice: Sculk grows whenever it consumes a soul. A Skaalkan cult’s responsibility is to make sure a Sculk colony grows as large as possible, thus sacrifices of both humans and animals are made during rituals. Treasure is often offered as well in order to placate Yan-Shul and the Vorutah, especially if it’s enchanted items.

Cultivation: Sculk is able to store souls within itself, and it is believed that it can keep a record of every living being it consumes inside of its mycelial network. The Sculk can then produce a perfect copy of that creature out of itself that can be remotely controlled by that being’s soul, and it will reform upon death (respawning is held as canon in Skaalka). With enough practice, Sculkites can augment and alter their new bodies well beyond their original capabilities.

Pantheon
Yan-Shul: Yan-Shul is the primary god of Skaalka and is regarded as the principle power in the universe. He is portrayed as the progenitor of all life and its inevitable end, a devourer of all things living who then creates new life, only for it to be devoured again in a never-ending cycle. Scriptures describe this creation of life as accidental, a byproduct of Yan-Shul’s mere existence, unguided by intelligence. Because of this, and his intrinsic connection to Sculk, Yan-Shul is described as “blind” and driven by pure instinct. The Varadan (Wardens) are believed to be his avatars, representing his pure destructive power and the potential for new life to rise from that destruction. Yan-Shul is perceived as a threat to all existence, but only in the same regard as a wolf is dangerous to a sheep. If he cannot be killed, Skaalka seeks to subdue him, like caging a beast, so that the cycle of destruction may be broken.

The Vorutah: The Vorutah, or Archons in the Traveler's Tongue, are described as "faceless entities with a thousand names each." They accompany Yan-Shul and cultivate the universe as a sacrifice to him so that he may gorge himself. Their true names are not recorded or known, but they will take up the names of gods from other religions. The Vorutah possess a level of indifference towards mortals at best and malice at worst, and they will present themselves as benevolent or well-intentioned to hide their true motives, unless their wrath has been incurred. Thus, the Vorutah are feared rather than venerated, and seen as the true enemy of all existence.

There are six Archons:

It is believed that Yan-Shul and the Vorutah originated from the Void, the endless black abyss below the bedrock, where there is a complete absence of matter, energy, and even concept. Because their essence is tethered to the Void, they can only know hunger, and will devour anything in their path.
 * The Archon of the Sun, who created and perpetuates the lie that there is a heavenly realm beyond death, that the key to this dimension is through devotion to them, and that the Archons are kind and benevolent gods. This lie is often called the False Light.
 * The Archon of the Moon, who creates the numerous false identities that the Archons adopt. Sculkites must carefully scrutinize every religion to determine if their deities are real or a facade.
 * The Archon of the World, who entices human beings to fully embrace their evil human nature.
 * The Archon of Chaos, who sows discord among the world, keeping it in a constant state of conflict with itself. The Nether is regarded as its primary domain. Believed to have borne the name of Entropy in the past.
 * The Archon of Life, who enforces the hierarchy of nature so that only the strongest and fittest creatures remain for Yan-Shul to devour.
 * The Archon of Death, who plucks the souls of the weak from the world in the name of perfecting the shape of the universe. The End is regarded as its primary domain, with the Ender Dragon possibly being an avatar.

The Kulvataar: Prominent kulcists of Skaalka that have transcended into a godlike state.


 * Currently, none have ascended to become a Kulvataar.

Structure
Skaalka and its cults are organized into a strict hierarchy, with regular followers at the bottom and the High Kulcist at the top:


 * Skulaar: The High Kulcist, a position reserved solely for the religion’s founder, Revin Eshet.
 * Kulvataar: A position referring to a system of saints within Skaalka. The gods are feared and hated, not worshiped, and the Kulvataar fill the role of worship instead.
 * Kulcist: The spiritual/secular leaders of a Skaalkan cult. Kulcists are first and foremost priests of the cult, and leaders of the community second.
 * Akularaan: Advisors to a kulcist. An akularaan may also play some other role within the cult, at the kulcist’s discretion.
 * Araan: Members of a Skaalkan cult who have been fully initiated into the cult. A kulcist may have one or two araan as apprentices to be trained in order to succeed them in the event that the current kulcist can no longer serve.
 * Alka: An entry-level rank, given to newcomers. Typically, alka are initiated into a Skaalkan cult by being sacrificed to a Sculk colony during a ritual, and are promoted to araan upon being reborn from the Sculk.

Sculk
The Sculk, also called the "god-flesh," is believed to be the physical manifestation of Yan-Shul. It is an utterly neutral organism, lacking the capacity for good or evil, only feeding off of death. Skaalkan cults bear the responsibilty of watching over a colony of Sculk, commonly referred to as the Deep Dark biome. They regularly feed it with sacrifices of souls in the form of animals and even people, and protect it against anyone or anything who would try to destroy it.

Sculkites believe that the souls that Sculk consumes are not destroyed, but stored inside of a mycelial network. This network expands with every addition, and multiple networks can become connected if two Sculk colonies come into physical contact with each other. Inside this network feels like being in an entirely alien dimension. It is comparable to a virtual world; the Sculk itself is the hardware, and the mycelial network is the software. Through willpower, a Skaalkan cult is able to shape the world of the mycelial network to suit their desires, turning it into a second home in between deaths. A Sculkite is first added to the mycelial network upon their promotion to an araan; their body is sacrificed during a ritual and thus their soul is stored within the Sculk.

The numerous blocks that belong to the Sculk family are all interpreted as parts of Yan-Shul's body:


 * The ordinary Sculk block is his flesh.
 * The Sculk Sensor is his ears.
 * The Sculk Shrieker is his mouth.
 * The Sculk Catalyst is his heart.

Tenets
Skaalka bears several key laws that one should abide by to remain within the faith's good graces:


 * 1) Place not your faith in false gods and idols; the Vorutah seek to lead you astray with the False Light.
 * 2) You shall not speak the name of Yan-Shul lightly, for the Devourer comes when his name is called.
 * 3) Offer sacrifices, and keep holy one day a week to offer sacrifices. When your kulcists host ceremonies, attend if you are able.
 * 4) The god-flesh is a sacred being; tread upon it with reverence, and collect it with sanctified tools of silken touch, should it need to be moved.
 * 5) Honor and obey just authority. Defy authority that would abuse its power.
 * 6) Kill not those who seek not to kill you first.
 * 7) Withhold not your mercy or your kindness without sufficient reason.
 * 8) Make no deceptions, for you emulate the Vorutah with every lie you speak.

Breaking one of the core tenets is seen as a grave sin, of which the penance is determined by a kulcist.

Cults
Skaalkan Cults are the numerous religious groups that all practice the religion of Skaalka. While there may be a small difference of beliefs between each cult, they all share the same core beliefs and doctrines.

The First Lodge
The First Lodge is the founding institution of Skaalka. It holds no beliefs of its own, preferring instead to adhere solely to Skaalkan core doctrine. The Lodge's role is as the primary authority on the religion's beliefs and practices as a whole, and serves as the leadership of the faith. The First Lodge's leader is the Skulaar, the High Kulcist of Skaalka.