Kozartism

Kozartism is the state religion of Siui, and emerged around 600 BS in Siui. The religion is named after the chief god of their pantheon - Kozar or Kozarti (Great Sun God), the god of the sun in contrast to Koaduanua - the god of the moon. As the cult of Kozart is the largest and most prominent, a lot of outsiders refer to it as Kozartism. Believers of the religion often refer to it as Aineina - the truth. The religion emerged much later than Safaism - which was previously the primary religion worshiped in Siui, and displaced it rapidly as successive rulers adopted the religions and converted their subjects. In Siui, Safaism is often referred to as “The Old Gods” - though Kozartism is not called the new gods - for most followers of Kozarti, Kozarti is the true god.

Beliefs

Creation & Cosmology

The world was once a great, empty featureless sea of water and consciousness. The first pair of gods emerged from the water, one of light, and one of darkness. The first one was male, and called the Great Sun - or Kozar. The second one was called Koduanau - or Great Moon. They represented light and darkness.

The world was now half in light, and half in darkness, and the gods desired something to rest on. So the first gods said - let us create a god who will obscure our light and darkness, and bring balance to the world, and let us create a god who will create a place for us to rest on. So they created a pair of gods, and then named the first one Siu, who is male, and responsible for the sky. And then named the second one Bein, who is female, and responsible for the land. Siu made clouds from the featureless water, which obscured the sky from Kozar’s harsh light, so that plants may grow in its shade. Bein carved land with her own hands, and gave birth to creatures and plants. With land to rest on, Kozar and Koduanau took turns at the top of the sky, resting for half a day.

Then Kozar and Koduanau created the god of water and storm, for there was cloud and much water in the sky but no rain, and named him Keinaul (Lit. Storm). And so it rained and rained, and much land was flooded, and the other land was still dry as the sand. The god then created Kial (Lit. River), god of river, who is female, who made rivers and carved valleys, and brought water to the land that was dry. Though some land was wet, the land that was dry blew great dust storms, and suffocated the plants and animals that lived within. So they made a god of wind and of season, so that there will be cycle and season in this world, so that it will not rain all day, and there will not be sandstorm every day. And since the god was to be one of balance and cycle, they created the god with the attribute of male and female, and named him Walihai (Lit. Season), who preside over the cycle of life, the four seasons and in which direction the wind blows.

And so there was stability in life, for the world is now balanced. And many animals and plants grew and spread across the world. Then Kozar and Koduanau rested, and enjoyed watching the world for ten thousand years.

And one day, there was a great shaking of the world, and from a great fissure in the void, came a massive creature - a wriggling worm of void and darkness, and it devoured all in its path. And Kozar and Koduanau woke up at the same time and stayed awake, and thus the animals saw the sun and the moon and the sky was split in half. The two eldest gods were shocked, and Kozar basked it in its light, but the creature would not retreat, and it continued devouring, and Koduanau baked it in darkness, but it did not retreat, and continued devouring.

Kozar said,“We cannot defeat this creature with the power of our own. But our likeness repels each other, and we cannot combine our power”.

Koduanau,”If we combine our likeness, and create a god with half each of our essence, perhaps it can be repelled.” And so the two eldest gods conceived instead of created. And they summoned all the gods, who took care of Koduanau in the realm of heaven. For twelve months the great creature devoured most of the world, there was storm, endless rain, endless desert and the world was in chaos.

And then the child of the two eldest gods was born. And it was handsome beyond belief. The light and the darkness was balanced in its body. And it had the parts of a female and a male. Its eyes were large, and it shone with light, piercing through to see the truth. One eye had the symbol of the moon, and one eye the sun. It was born as an adult, and uttered their own name - Mainien, for clay, for they were molded in the image of the first gods. It had the wisdom of the sun and the moon, and it can see what

And it turned toward their parents, and said,”When something is created from nothing, there must be balance.”

“If one of us is male and the other is female, is there no balance?”

“There is balance between the masculine form and feminine form, but there is also the balance between existing and not existing. And so by existing, you two have created a version of you that represents non-existence. And for each deity you create, a form opposing them representing non-existence is created in the otherworld.”

“And so there must be balance, and why will they intrude upon our world?”

“You and our world represent the state of existence, and thus all can be sustained. And the others represent the state of non existence, and it may not be sustained. And so they seek to sustain non-existence by devouring existence. That creature is the opposition of every deity, and it has come together as one to devour after devouring each other.”

“And if you say so, is our world doomed to be consumed until all is rendered into existence?”

“I am not created, I am conceived. Do you not see the creature devouring the animals and plants? It seeks energy that is new, that is free from the balance of creation, for devouring creation returns all to zero, but conceiving creates a positive energy.”

Mainien then created a bow as big as the sun and the moon together, and then it made a knife, and drew its own life blood, and created an arrow made out of the lifeblood. And it shot out its blood, which streaked across the sky and became the first comet, and the arrow pierced through the giant creature. The energy of conception blew its body in half, and it let out a guttural, incomprehensible scream, and then disappeared.

And so Mainien fell onto the ground, and its parents wondered what it was doing,”I have shot out my energy, and so I will fade away and be separated. And I will rest on the ground, so that when I split, my split form will not fall from the sky.” And then it went silent, and all the gods could see it was dying. And the two eldest gods said,”But we need your wisdom so much.” And so, Bien cradled it in her arms and gave it warmth, and Siu split off part of his essence, and opened its mouth, and rained onto it to sustain them.

And Mainien was resuscitated, and it spoke again,”The creature will return to devour the world again. My parts will have the blood of me, and they shall conceive, and they will fill the realm of Bein. They, with faith in you, will become the warriors of the For ten thousand years you shall let them multiply in peace, and then you shall become mortals and guide them to the righteous path.And when Biadun (end time) comes, all who believe in us shall raise their bows and take down the great evil, and the world shall be preserved for ten thousand thousand years, until the end of time, when all return to nothing, and we emerge again. And should we fail, and there is not enough faithful, or those who worship the great enemy, then the great enemy will devour all, and for ten thousand thousand years, there shall be nothing, not even us, until the end of time, when all return to nothing, and the cycle emerge again“

And so Mainien breathed its last breath, and the gods flew away to heaven. Its body split into one thousand and three hundred fifty seven parts, and there was one male for every female, except for the last one who was left. The tribe was confused, and saw before them a bountiful land, and so they hunted and took each other as partners. Soon, they saw the vastness of the sky and the bounty of the earth, the light of the sun and the beauty of the moon, the rain of the storm and the flow of the river, and the ever shifting seasons. And so they named those as deities and praised them, and called them by many different names, for the true names of the gods were not revealed yet. And the gods in heaven were pleased.

Origin of Evil

All, but the last male was pleased.

And the last male, lonely, wandered away from those who praised gods, and cursed them for not providing him a wife. And he found strange rock carvings of a great beast eating animals on a rock. And he wondered by whose hands were it drawn, for surely there is no other tribe but his? Then an unearthly shape appeared before him, and said,”The gods have made one thousand and three hundred and fifty seven of you, and made you the last one to see you as their entertainment in a world where all are in pairs of male and female.”

And the last one weeped and sobbed,”If gods willed it so, what can I do?” Then the being said,”I will make you a partner, and you shall become the likeness of her partner, and you shall bring me their body.” And so the being conjured a bow that will always strike, and called it Tseniltsunoun - The bow of justice. And with that bow the last one went out on a hunt, and he saw in the field a beautiful woman and a handsome man hunting a lion, and he looked upon a river and reflected on his face. “If only I could be as handsome as that man, and have a partner as beautiful as her.” And thus he steeled his resolve and shot the two through with one arrow, which pierced through their heart and left a big, gaping hole that does not bleed. Thus the first murders were committed.

And he dragged the body away from the lions and hyenas that were chasing them, and shot through them and pierced clear through, and dragged it to the cave where he met the unearthly shape. And the unearthly shape appeared before him, and devoured the man and touched the heart of the last one. And the last one felt his heart squish and disappear, and his body changed to that of the man he had killed. And then it devoured the woman, and emerged a new woman who was even more beautiful than the one before. And the last one took her as partner and left the cave and the bow inside. And with time the last one conceived thirty children with the false woman, and his children conceived with the descendents of his tribesmen, until all were tainted with the blood of the last one - the murderer, and the essence of the beings against existence - from the false woman.

Straying & Revelation

And so the gods followed the prophecy of Mainien, for they dare not disturb the righteous order of things (Puononie), even as the descendents of Mainien were tainted with the essence of those against existence, and those who have sinned. They started to praise strange gods, and made strange sacrifices for power, and they invoked the power of the against-gods for war and conflicts. But the righteous order of things cannot be disturbed by the gods reincarnation, and so they appeared before the wise men and women who meditated in cave, and every one hundred, three hundred, five hundred and seven hundred years they created a wise prophet, who guided them back to the righteous religion and pulled mankind away from crimes.

And thus ten thousand years have passed. Yet the last-prophets have not succeeded. And the one purest of heart and mind lived tinder the Mountains of the Sky, for there were many meditative caves and many prophets came here. And on the day of the eclipse he made himself manifest, and turned himself invisible - but his brightness was so overwhelming that only his body was invisible, and he hid in a cave until a wise man came upon him in the cave and saw the strange light in the shape of a man. And he told him,”In the next eclipse a woman, and you shall take her as your wife and conceive with her.” Then Kozar touched his heart and the man was filled with revelation about the truth of the world, but his vision was blinded by brightness, and Kozar named the man after himself. And Koaduanua appeared in the shadow in the next eclipse, five months and a half later, and she touched a woman who was asleep on a bed and has never associated with a woman, and she was filled with a vision of the truth of the world, but her vision was obscured by darkness. And the man and the woman got together, and they conceived, and two strange babies - a pair of twin were born, who saw the truth of the world from the beginning of time, and when the child grew up, they preached to the people of the realm of the mountain of the sky, and said they should name their realm after the gods of Siu, and told them the truth and the destiny of men, and that each man and woman shall keep in their possession a bow and spread Aineina to all corner of the world, so the gods may have warriors for Biadun and have many a warrior.

And the twins split apart, and one went west and the other went east. And in their wake they taught the people the truth and renamed the gods to their true names, and told them of the various gods that have been made manifest by mankind’s desire for justice, and who shall be praised for blessings, but not above those of the first gods who created the world and mankind. One hundred years later both of them passed away in their sleep on the exact same day at the exact same time. And when news of this reached the middle, which is Siu, they said the two were the truth and the spirit of Mainien reborn through sacred conceivement, and they spread their word until the King of Siu’s eyes was opened to the truth.

Mainien Reborn

Later doctrine of Kozartism state that when twins of male and female are born - they shall be sent to be educated in the way of religion and one of them shall propagate the truth, and that they are destined to die together and shall be referred together as the “Mainien”, who shall be the reincarnation of Mainien of their age. After a historical incident of a pair of twins declared Mainien only to have one of them survive much longer than the other - Mainien are now seldomly declared until posthumously, and those who are seen as possibly a reincarnation of Mainien are referred to as “Hosts of Mainien” instead, and it is said only the priests can determine after death that they are in fact, truly what Mainien chose to resides in.

Afterlife

Doctrines of Kozartism are unclear on a true afterlife. However, it is said that all people will be reborn over and over as humans until the final battle that determines the fate of the world. The fact that one could possibly be reborn as someone who does not know Aineina and thus not take part in the battle that will save the world - or possibly become a follower of the against-gods, give a special impulse to spread the religions far and wide to improve the odds that one is reborn as a righteous follower and to do good for the faith in your current life.

Pantheon of Kozartism

Kozartism split their gods into four different categories, each of which has a special name when referred to and often worshipped as a collective - The Born Ones, The Created Ones, The Conceived One and The Manifested Ones, in order of their chronological creation. Mainien is seen as a separate deity, not belonging strictly to either pantheon, having been uniquely born through conceivement.

The Born Ones

• Kozart - The god of the sun who is prayed to for giving life, prayed to for energy in life.
• Koaduanua - The goddess of the moon who is worshipped for beauty, quiet and rest.

The Created Ones

• Siu - The god of the sky whose domains includes the mountains and the cloud and thunder and lightning.
• Bein - The goddess of the earth, fertility and harvest, whose worship is exceptionally popular. Those who desire good rest also pray to her for her role in providing it.
• Keinaul - The god of storm, prayed to for wind and prayed to by sailors
• Kial - The goddess of the river, prayed to by riverine fisherman and those who live in or near a floodplain.
• Walihai - The god of the cycle and seasons, genderless. Prayed during harsh and gentle seasons for them to be shortened or extended. And often seen as the god also responsible for reincarnating people who have passed away. Sometimes depicted as an oarsman, who steers the soul of the righteous on a boat into the house of couples who follow the truth, and steer the sun and moon for the four seasons.

The Conceived One

• Mainien - The son of the Born Ones, who is the god of justice and is in the blood of all people - in effect giving everyone a spark of divinity. Prayed to for justice.

The Manifested Ones

The manifested ones are noted for their similarity to some deities of Safaism. The following five deities are most commonly worshiped. Many minor deities are worshiped throughout land following Kozartism.

• Penin - God of the Forge. Depicted as a man in Kozartist tradition, unlike their Safaist counterpart.
• Tek - Deity of Society. Genderless. Prayed to uphold order, largely worshiped by aristocrats only.
• Assiye - Deity of Justice. Genderless. Prayed to uphold justice. Worshiped widely, especially those who deal with laws.
• Tayabb - Goddess of Fate. Depicted as a woman holding a weaving wheel. She spins the fate of destiny and is the goddess to pray to for fortune and favor, and is the favored deity of gambler. She serves both goddesses and thus can be called upon anytime of the year.
• Yisrib - Deity of War and Peace. Portrayed as holding a bow, a sword and a shield. They are always depicted driving a chariot with two horses.

Organization

Since the reform of the Third Advent - the third officially declared pair of Mainien around 300 BS, Kozartism has taken on a much more centralized form where worship is concentrated on Kozarti, Koaduanua and Mainien, which some see as a response to make the religions more competitive in the face of somewhat diffused worship.

The standard temple of Kozartism consists of an altar of Kozarti, facing west, and an altar of Koaduanua, facing east, and Mainien, who stand in between them, and is drawn with feminine features to the east, and masculine features to the west. They are preferably located in a sunny place not obscured by other buildings or natural features, and often feature a sundial. Lined on the sides are smaller altars of the other god, with the Created Ones to the left, and Manifested one to the right, and in between are kneeling sheets where congregations can pray to all the gods at once. Sacrifices tend to be light - if not almost non-existent, while formal hour-long prayer opens with recitation of all the gods name and their deeds.

The idea of a sacred twin making for a true prophet is appealing - but the amount of sacred twins available for priesthood is not enough to fulfill the need of all the faithful. Priests are usually selected from suitable candidates who were born during an eclipse of any kind and are raised specifically for the purpose of religious services. However, the lack of candidates had led to a relatively recent innovation, after 400 BS - where a special “eclipse chamber” is made, where mother is made to give birth during the day or night, and ritualistic fire and moon disk is used to simulate the sun and the moon. This birth ritual is said to emulate the eclipse and amplify the energy of Mainien and diminish that of their enemy, and make all born with this ritual eligible for the highest priesthood. Those who were not born under this ritual nor under a natural eclipse (Which are still preferable to the artificial eclipse) are not eligible for priesthood.

Priests in villages are sometimes of a part-time nature or the local nobles often serve as the priest and maintainer of a small temple - especially the all important eclipse chamber and surrounding nursery - where women expected to give birth soon are nursed in. Inside Siui, the Court Priest of the Emperor is seen as the highest authority of the faith, who may issue Tsenain (Accusation) against undesirable practices or individuals - though the power is seldomly invoked lightly, even against domestic enemies of the Emperor. Under the Court Priest are the Faith Districts who often have separate court priests, and are drawn largely according to the line of provinces and governorship, and underneath are subdivisions going down to the smallest villages.

Other Beliefs

• Birth: Giving birth under an eclipse chamber is the preferred method of birth - but not always practicable.
• Death: Cremation is the preferred burial method, but inhumation is also accepted.
• Necessity of Intimacy: It is considered unhealthy for a man or woman to be unmarried past the age of 25, and it is said this will tempt them into crimes. It is considered even more unhealthy if one is unmarried and never married past the age of 25, and also does not partake in intimacy with people of the hour - those are seen as outright villainous and a danger to society.
• Prohibited Celibacy: Celibacy is prohibited and greatly discouraged - seen as outright sinful and horrifying.
• Thou Shall Not Covet: Jealousy is seen as the greatest of all sin and it is preached that it almost always results in mureder or robbery.
• No Likeness Of Man: While summoning magic are allowed in Kozartism, making any summon in the likeness of a human is strictly prohibited, and if they are humanoid in shape, much care are taken by Kozartist summoners to make them look eerily inhuman in purpose.
• Marriage, Polygamy and Polyandry: Kozartism accept only monogamy as legitimate. Lack of physical or satisfying intimacy is seen as equally valid ground for divorce for both male and female, though if the couple had young children they are expected to arrange for their proper upbringing
• Two Marriage: Kozartism doctrine recognize gay marriage, but considers it to be strictly separate from a straight marriage. A straight marriage is called “Pact of Conceivement”, and the couple is expected to have children. And a gay marriage is the called the “Pact of Whole”, and the couple is expected to take care of they and their relatives children. Religious doctrine explains homosexuality as the condition of an inherent human desire to make whole one’s body to imitate that of the born ones, and heterosexuality as the condition of an inherent human desire to make offsprings. As a result, “Act of Kozar” is often used to refer to gay acts, “Act of Koaduanua” is used to refer to lesbian acts, and “Act of Two Gods” is to refer to straight acts.
• Implicit Bisexuality: Due to Mainien having the part of a male and female, Kozartism doctrine believe that everyone’s inherently bisexual and just leans on different place of the scale.
• Premarital and Extramarital Intimacy: Premarital intimacy is allowed. Extramarital intimacy is frowned upon extremely - especially with another person who is married, regardless of consent.
• Sacred Bow: Bow is a sacred weapon and every able bodied man and woman is expected to practice and be capable of using it.
• Consanguinity: Kozartism has historically allowed first cousin marriage.

Branches

Kozartism has no current significant branch of note.