ShemirOrders < Shem

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The First Nation of the shemir has 12 religious orders:

The Dinya: an order of ascetics who worship the Maker as the maker of the world. They commune with the world and with the Maker through meditative practices, honor all things that exist, and believe that the world is unending. The Dinya gain powers through their communion, mostly making them better makers or specializing in making certain sacred things (ailsilver, lapis lazuli, whitebeam). They make a pilgrimage to the World Tree every millennium. To join the Dinya, one must prove oneself by joining them in meditation. They are the simplest group to join, but one of the smallest. When they are not meditating, fasting, or on pilgrimage, they are out in the streets singing and dancing in celebration of the world. They are led by one elder, a woman named Cohova, one of the earliest of the shemir. She has six Disciples elected from the body of the Dinya, and one of these is chosen as her successor (in case of emergency) and representative on the national council. After the six Disciples are the elder councils, which are made up of the oldest of the Dinya, and so on, ranked by which Age a shemir joined the order.
Order of Destpek: a group of proselytizers who worship the Maker and honor Mother Shem as the beginning of all things. They use prayer, fasting, and conversion to all upon their Divine and the world itself, and this worship brings them out into the streets with their preaching. They were founded by Destpek, but he died during the end of First Shem in battle with the Omega Shemir. Since then, they honor his death as their holiest day, calling it their New Beginning. Members of this order elect a vestry of ten leaders, including one to represent them on the national council. The vestry coordinates when and where each member of the order is sent to proselytize. They go out in groups of twelve, and each group has an appointed leader, usually the eldest or best recruiter. Their goal is to constantly recruit, and they have one of the largest congregations of the orders.
Yekemites: the Yekemites are an order of warrior-monks who worship the Maker as a protector of Mother Shem, and they believe they have a role in protecting her. They dedicate their lives and their work to her and the Maker. Every Yekemite is recruited from the various militias of Madziar's tribes and communities; the more devout shemir are often given an opportunity to join when they are younger. As a Yekemite, they join the monastery on the outskirts of Madziar and begin specialized training in both the faith and in combat, combining faith, hegnh, and Foundation. They use quarterstaves, hand-to-hand, and special ropes called weris as their main weapons. Yekemites are led by their abbott-general, Eheul, one of the earliest of the shemir. He has four Disciples, the masters of each weapon (abbott-colonels) and the head of the faith. The latter is the only elected leader, and they represent the Yekemites on the national council. Each weapon master has an abbott-captain, and then a whole military hierarchy below them. The Yekemites are a moderately sized order.
Xuliqi Emir: Xuliqi Emir is a religious group focused on teaching ancient writings and arts of creation. They are led by nine dests. Each dest is focused on a different art: carpentry, sculpture, weaving, mound-building, metalworking, pottery-making, painting and visual arts, music, and leather-making. The dests are the best teachers of their arts, and they each choose their best students to be part of a council that goes out to promote their arts and their faith. This council is made up of 99 students. These students elect their own leader. The entire order elects one representative to the national council, usually one of the dests but not always. They honor the Maker as the great artist and Mother Shem as the source of all their materials. Their art is made in dedication, which sometimes imbues it with holy energies.
Association of Avakirin: Those who call the Maker the Builder, the Association of Avakirin focuses on building massive structures not as art, but as craft. They focus on practicality and dedicate the use of their works to the Builder and his mother, Mother Shem. From this, they derive holy powers. They are named for Avakarin, their founder and an early shemir, who died in Starfall. She was one of the greatest builders in the entire world, and her works are known all over. She gave one last command to her people before her death: to construct a great temple in the forest of Genesis. They have since been working on this incredible structure. They recruit from builders unions, focusing on those with skills they need. They form small crews, and each crew elects a crew leader. The crew leaders elect a crew-general, who represents the order in the national council.
Sikilists: Sikilism is the belief that form comes before being, that Mother Shem created the Maker from her earth and water, and that eventually all will return to form, leaving being behind. Sikilists are a small order focused on philosophical matters; they recruit from the schools and scholars. They honor the Maker and Mother Shem through rituals that represent the form, the formation, and the being. They are led by a triumverate of elders elected by the entire order (or those who are present) at each millennium's convocation. The triumverate chooses one amongst them to represent them on the national council. Besides the triumverate, there are groups of three in a hierarchy going down to the main body of the Sikilists. They spend more time in debate and study than in any other works.
Cins: a Cin is a believer that the shape of something determines its essence. All spheres are connected, all angles are related, all lines are the same line. This obscure order uses mantras and chanting to center themselves in their honoring of the Maker (the drawer of the line) and Mother Shem (the great sphere). They appeal to the common shemir because of their low engagement and focus on daily life, recognizing patterns and shapes, and using those to glean wisdom from situations, not unlike astrology or tarot. They have few gatherings, occurring once every few millennia, but when they meet up, they choose new leadership to represent them on the national council and to read the great signs of the universe. These leaders bring teachings back every hundred years.
The Dinyagog: this offshoot of the Dinya believes that the Maker shaped Mother Shem and all things, but that these things then shaped him back. This cycle is called the zivirok. We are made, then we make. They are split into two groups: the Makers and the Made. Members of the makers are responsible for supporting the made, the made are responsible for the work of the order, recruiting, preaching, and leading rituals. Members of the groups shift between the two, depending on which they started in, every millennium. They are led by one Made and one Maker, each one elected from their respective bodies. The leader of the Made represents them on the national council. Like the Dinya, they use meditative practices and fasting if they are Makers, but unlike the Dinya, the Made proselytize.
Qunduz: Qunduz is a shamanistic faith in the Maker and Mother Shem, viewing them as a pair of ancient beavers. They focus on communing with the world and nature through altered states of being. Every believer in Qunduz partakes in these rituals, led by shamans. A shaman is elected every millennium to represent them in the national council. They recruit from the fringes of shemir society, seeking those who need escape and transcendence.
Morism: the Morist Order wear only purple, cover their faces with elaborate masks, and never speak outside of their convent. They are a group who believes that Mother Shem is dying and the Maker is killing her by forming her into existence. They wear purple to mourn her, engage in rituals and meditation that honor her, and only leave the convent to process to special holy altars where they leave sacrifices. They do not speak outside their convent as a sacrifice, and from this, their faith and fashioning become more powerful. They believe greatly in sacrifice as their main form of worship. They quietly recruit by sending messages to the leaders of various tribes, communities, and unions, suggesting support in exchange for small services or sacrifices in their honor. They are led by Sister Falroh, one of the earliest shemir, and her Disciples the Sisters of Mor. They lead the faith, but the acolytes, mask-bearers, sacrificeers, and painters of the faith are the main body, and they elect a national council representative every millennium among their own. This representative never speaks in council, but sends notes and essays, using gesture to vote.
Order of De: The Order of De worships Mother Shem first and the Maker second. They believe that he was formed by Mother Shem, and that all the Divines and all that is began with Mother Shem, who was once in the heart of the universe. She left to become herself. They believe in the act of becoming. They believe that all beings are becoming, transforming, ascending to a higher form all the time. They honor what is and work to make it better because that is the process of becoming. They go out into the community to perform acts of improvement and support for all. They are led by Gahuine, a non-binary shemir elder from the earliest days, who has twelve Disciples, each one charged with coordinating one of the monthly outings each year. From these, the Order elects a representative on the national council. Their works tend to be a great recruitment method, and they are one of the largest faith groups.
The Masi: the Masi worship Bahamut, the great fish upon which the universe rests, whom they consider synonymous with the Foundation and the Book of Names. They believe Mother Shem and the Maker are Shem's representatives of Bahamut and honor them as its vessels. The Masi are the smallest of the faiths, but very powerful. They have a complex network of cells, which consist of 40 people each. These cells each have a different task and purpose, though they do not always make sense: protect this shrine, build this bridge, move this stone, etc. It is all part of a huge ritual that empowers them and allows them to commune with Bahamut itself every millennium. In this communion, they gain great wisdom and power. Every cell elects a leader, who represents them on the Order's council, which then elects a representative to the national council.

Topic revision: r2 - 12 Nov 2021, SallyJaneBlack

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