Yonfao (Yon-faow)
Summary
Among Veltrona's oldest religions, Yonfao's origins lay in ancient philosophy. It's believed to come from the jiuweihu, but their records of its foundings were lost–if they ever existed at all. The universality of Yon, however, made their philosophers believe that it wasn't them who 'discovered' it first. It always was, and would be, so invariably everyone would discover it. Nonetheless, as far as most of recorded history is concerned, it started within Nerzin. Yon, as an idea written down, is represented by the circle, or O. It's defined by the harmony of all things, the cohesion of the universe within one, and an arrangement of perfect purpose. Contrasted with the line, or |, which has definite beginnings and ends, and so is considered 'incomplete'. Hence, divinity is represented by the circle, and mortals by the line. The interplay of these two simple characters is the foundations of Yon-centric philosophy. Its word for 'harmony' is based off these two characters written together. Immortality as a word has ever meant 'beyond death', but how is ever shifting. Does it mean someone cannot be killed? Are they time's eternal companions? What about those who can be murdered, yet never age? For the jiuweihu, who are naturally immortal, it was an immediate and vexing problem. They lived and watched the world around them shift and change. Some things remained, albeit in different forms. Others arose once and then faded forever. It left them strangers in their own lands wherever they lived. It would be the scholar Rohtu who forever changed the ways of the jiuweihu. Already several centuries old, Rohtu's insightful mind grasped answers to problems and questions most of her peers couldn't imagine. Rohtu committed to a formidable task: gathering up all jiuweihu knowledge and then refining it. Her work produced a series of texts of around five volumes, and so Yonfao was born. Rohtu laid the totality of existence before, inside of, and around Yon. All things lived within harmony of each other, and so all things were connected. That their relations were unknown, or unknowable, was not their fault, but that of the person perceiving them. Through dutiful work, just conduct, and humble learning could a person come to understand life, and in doing so come closer toward Yon. Ultimately, all 'righteous' deeds were governed by Rohtu's definition of virtue. While the list is extensively long, seven principles became the core everyone else took to heart. They are:One obtained virtue by fulfilling Rohtu's principles, and so virtuous behavior became the defining 'lifestyle' or 'worship' of Yonfao. She put to words what many already considered just or good, so much of what was laid down wasn't exactly new. For that reason, many were willing to adopt her clearer, codified virtue, and so it became common language. Even more astonishing was Rohtu's structuring of Yonfao's philosophy itself. Where many of her contemporaries sought to create absolute answers and solid structures, Rohtu opted for openness and flexibility. Against their mountainous towers she became the vast dirt, and from her writings all things grew from. Yonfao shaped into a companion, not a lady that one bent their head toward. A way of life that, for the immortal jiuweihu, provided meaning, context, and purpose. In many ways, it gave answers without actually answering the questions, a paradoxical notion that ever comforted them. Yonfao wasn't infallible, and many of its critics deemed it too impersonal; too cold or callous. Many more grew to adore its framings of life, especially in the many knowable ways it opened up. It didn't close doors; it taught people what door did what, and let them live the choices they made. Millennia later, these ideas sound very banal in a post-Yonfao time. It's hard to contextualize how revolutionary they were, or how profound Rohtu's writings shook the jiuweihu world. In seeing that so many, whether in part or full, carry Yonfao's philosophy speaks to its enormous success. Long after her five texts were laid down and spread across the lands, many contributed more toward Yonfao. Different temples, sects, monasteries, scholars, and all the rest who entertain philosophy devoured Rohtu's work. Its universality lent it great adaptability, so even pre-existing beliefs could intertwine with it comfortably. Rohtu herself never engaged as a 'leader' of Yonfao, leaving all matters to her texts. Other people, in her words, were to build their own answers of what Yon was, and how they lived with it.
Immortals and Mortals
As the jiuweihu in Nerzin practiced Yonfao, their ways eventually spread to the other peoples. The many mortal peoples–those who time will eventually kill–became enamored with Yonfao. It opened all sorts of possibilities, and gave an insight into the immortal mind many had never encountered before. Philosophical revolutions followed, an arms race of those trying to comprehend Yonfao and those keeping their own traditions alive. It can't be likened to a religious purge of one faith against another per say. A better understanding would be 'new understanding has arrived, now we must all adjust to, or around, it'. However, an imminent problem came in that Yonfao was originally envisioned by the jiuweihu. Being an immortal species, their answers to some problems simply didn't work for mortal people; timelessness permeated their philosophical views. While most of it could be adapted without too much issue, important parts of it couldn't be. Like a dagger in the gut, a single question dug deep, and the wound left behind proved terrible. 'Why are we cursed to die from time and not them?' Envy, jealously, and spite followed after. Whether directly or not, it spurred on wars of its own as those frightful of death sought a way to escape it. Others, not beholden to violence, contemplated deeply of the Heavens that Yonfao envisioned. While the wars came and went, those who contemplated bore an altogether different answer. The Path of Cultivation became the mortal answer to death, by obtaining immortality themselves. In other words, by defying the fate which decreed that mortal people must one day die. No one can say who the first cultivators were, but in their wake all others since followed. It horrified the jiuweihu, who saw cultivators as a perversion of Yonfao. They were rapacious, greedy beyond measure, and twisted by unbridled arrogance. Spreading like locusts, they consumed all they could to satisfy themselves. Yet, in seeing how some cultivators achieved success, some jiuweihu felt obligated to teach them. To, somehow, correct the errant minds of these newfound immortals and embrace eternity properly. It hence sculpted the idea of cultivation into its 'virtuous' form, one that much more faithfully adhered to Yonfao's principles. Although the conflicts eventually faded away, the division did not. Immortals and mortals, despite living on the same world, ever held differences against one another. Yonfao embraced them both, but it has yet to answer the simple difference of death between them. Some believe it is the way of the world, while others think it is a problem to be addressed. It's, arguably, among Yonfao's oldest and unanswered dilemmas. While it could be called a schism, many different variants of understandings of Yon, and Yonfao, arose. The likes of karsoru, for example, perceived Yon closer to a symbiotic 'two halves' nature. It is a sentiment that became popular among the vampyr and mussuba as well. Humanity and dragonkind favored ideas of hierarchical gain, especially rewards for work or virtuous deeds. Some variants of Yonfao ultimately aligned in name only, superficially resembling the original teachings without understanding why they existed. Yonfao's incredible age and generally pervasive influence can make judging its total impact quite difficult. At a glance it is easy to say that almost all others within Nerzin were inspired, or drew upon it, in some form or another. However, all sorts of different religions and differing philosophies on the nature of everything continue to exist. That it is not, at its heart, a militant entity lets it live in easy cohabitation with all sorts of other ideologies. This give and take harminous relationship is perhaps its greatest hallmark in surviving through time.The Five Realms
In the original texts of Yonfao, there isn't a hierarchy or any sort of 'up' or 'down' structure. Instead, Rohtu emphasized a closeness or farness to the concept of virtue. As one embodied virtue, they came closer to the essence of Yon, and so became heavenly in nature. Rohtu viewed life as a journey with Yon, how ever it manifested. In her own words, no person is made 'more' or 'less' by what or who they are. Life, after all, takes on many different forms, and no single path is the sole correct answer. She nonetheless subdivided the totality of existence within five broad realms. Her purpose in doing so was to teach people that they shouldn't deny their life's calling. In other words, there could be no shame in what one did for a living. Some later scholars pondered if the five realms and five original texts held a meaning of its own. Rohtu herself eventually remarked it was nothing more than a funny coincidence. The five realms are: Fonavel, Kotinwo, Mufusha, Data, and Sovar.Fonavel
Everyone who tills the soil, mines the veltron, harvests crops, scavenges, hunts wildlife, and so on can be called a person of the land, or fonavel (fo-na-vel). To wrong them, who are innocent, is a most serious offense in the eyes of the Heavens. Sometimes derided as the simplest of the realms, the fonavel are comely, down-to-Veltrona people. Upon their backs did they cast up their homes, tame the wilderness, and foster civilization. Unsung throughout history they are nonetheless the bedrock of all nations, oft silent and majestic as an unseen mountain. Those pursuing these estimable virtues embody steadfastness, resolve, and resourcefulness. It is in defending the people of the lands that noble warriors display virtue. Hence, most Rohtu-esque orthodox groups will make patroling and protecting them a priority. Many a warrior has made a name for themself in tackling wild beasts, Relentless, bandits, and other evil doers.Kotinwo
Literally, "something maker", kotinwo (ko-tin-woo) are artisans, craftswomen, masons, carpenters, jewelers, and any one who does sophisticated work. Kotinwo are those who help shape the world, who turn clay into pottery, etc. The root idea in Yonfao is to discover how the world not only came to be, but what it can become. It's a bit contradictory in its philosophy, a natural state that Yonfao is quite fine with. Many take away a root message of 'creativity is vital to living', such that all people should embrace it. For immortals, it is an endlessly churning cauldron that they throw themselves into. They chase one project after the other, building mountains of knowledge and achievements in doing so. It is a much different situation from others, who must learn and create quickly. It is believed the Heavens smile upon those who can create wondrous works, no matter their pedigree. In the eras around Rohtu's writings, the kotinwo and fonavel shared a harminous relationship. The things fonavel cultivated or found could be made into all sorts of useful or artistic items. Kotinwo would compete amongst themselves to earn these resources, creating a kind of bartering affair. Some of the oldest surviving family lineages and their relationships can draw their lines back to these days.Mofusha
Mages, philosophers, scholars, and other people make the ranks of the mofusha (mo-fu-sha). While the kotinwo and fonavel remain in somewhat common vernacular, mofusha is an exceedingly archaic term. It encompasses the fantastic and spiritual, heavenly and mundane, and so sufficed in eras of great mystery. Generally, mofusha is invoked when speaking in the philosophical context of Yonfao and not much elsewhere. For a time, magic and divinity went hand-in-hand. Rohtu, however, refuted that idea. Capability itself wasn't the measure, but one's usage of it instead. Proper usage of magic became a cornerstone of Rohtu's virtuous structure. It resolved a longer standing issue of her era, especially where homekeeping magic was concerned. Essentially, it sidestepped widespread and prevalent forms of magic undermining notions of 'divine origins'. As in life, like how one lived, how one used magic set them upon a path toward Yon. Because of the resources needed to entertain such a livelihood, mofusha as a word can be equivalent to 'nobility'. Those who were rich in wealth could spend the materials and time needed to further their understandings. Emphasis was placed upon them sharing these accomplishments with others, such that all could grow. Like a mountain arising from the veltron, the mofusha were the peak all others pushed up. They in turn rained down abundance from their esoteric work. As the rich and powerful ever want to divorce from their perceived inferiors, they soon took on different names and titles. Most eventually abandoned the conceptual purpose of the mofusha, though many of their learnings passed on. Things like social welfare programs, common aide schemes, and other universal laws have their origins in mofusha work.Data
Of the five realms, the data (dah-tah) went through the most extreme change since Rohtu's original texts. Initially, the data were priestesses, monks, healers, and other spiritual/communal people. They sought to heal the ill, educate the ignorant, and guide the lost upon virtuous tenets once more. To do so required resources, knowledge, and aptitude. Moreso, the willingness to fight and confront discord and evil wherever it arose. While priestesses and monks are still counted among the data, warriors and martial artists soon joined them. While the latter lacked the religious or spiritual connections, they shared a unified purpose in safeguarding people. The data would wander Nerzin, righting wrongs, defending the innocent, and slaying irredeemable evil wherever it emerged. Like the mofusha, the data eventually became connected to 'nobility' and the upper classes of society. For some, becoming an accomplished data was an assured way of increasing their station in life (materially and virtuously).Sovar
A contentious realm and one that has lost much of its original meaning. The sovar (sov-ar) were those Rohtu believed closest to virtue, and so Yon. Eventually, at such an intimate understanding and comprehension, the distinction eventually breaks down. Virtue, Yon, Heavenly being, and so on, all aligned together into a supreme existence. A mistress of her life, capable in many ways (if not all of them), and many more accomplishments were the hallmarks of the sovar. Linguistic drift and marriage of other words eventually changed sovar toward sovereign. In hierarchial cultures, it suited well as a title for those who stood above all others. The likes of empress, paragon, and so on followed suite as well. Such people are exceedingly rare upon Veltrona, as most have simply ascended to other places beyond. Rohtu herself even admittedly struggled to capture their true nature in her writings, sufficing only for the closest of approximations. Unfortunately, those vague descriptors is where despots, dictators, hegemons, and other tyrannical people slid into easily. To solidify their presumed right to rule, they equated themselves to the sovar, and thus heavenly beings. Whether or not their actions were virtuous in doing so ever remained debated. The concept of a person's power being so vast as to shape civilizations was a difficult problem to tackle. With the likes of dragons and other great beings, the naturally born weak peoples ever wonder what their 'place' in such a world is. Rohtu ultimately didn't condemn the ruling nobility per say. She acknowledged such people had a place, for a time. Whether or not they would remain worthy entirely depended on their deeds in the eyes of the Heavens. Perhaps her vague, timeless warnings did much more than any certain threat ever would've. The nobility are ever afraid of those greater than themselves, after all.
Type
Religious, Other
Location
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