Post by ravigen on Jan 25, 2016 5:22:25 GMT
Ikegami and Faith
The Souzen faith of the Ikegami developed over four different periods covering thousands of years from the earliest formation of clans developing along the mountain range and the surrounding lowlands. The various shifts between periods were sometimes gradual but more often than not sudden and shook the standing order of politics.
The first major period of the Souzen was simple animism. The Ikegami always believed that spirits resided everywhere and in everything that existed, even weapons or clothes could develop a spirit if given enough time. Small tribal groups worshipped the spirits of the sky, earth and water for rain, crops and health alongside other spirits for protection, skill in battle, fertility and more. These spiritual matters were led by tribe shamans, those who devoted their lives to the spirits and the spiritual worship of their people. These shamans were sometimes mages but most often not. Magic was considered a blessing of the spirits and mages were venerated in these early societies.
However as time went on and the various elven tribes began organizing into feudal clans over tribal villages, so too did the religion of the people develop. It began with Ikegami Takahata, the clan leader of a small mountain clan who one day traveled up the mountain to commune with the spirits. During this commune according to legend he was granted a vision by the major spirits who would go on to become the major figures of the Ikegami pantheon. He was commanded to end the infighting and divisiveness of the people and to teach them honor and diligence in accordance with their tenets.
Takahata returned to his clan invigorated and began to unite the elven people by diplomacy, marriage or war he eventually pulled the neighboring clans into his growing sphere of influence. Over a century of struggle resulted in a united populace under the Ikegami, it was during this period that Takahata began to spread the worship and tenets of Tenmu and his kin among the people, codifying what would go on to become the strict code of personal honor the Ikegami came to hold so dear.
This is widely considered to be the point of transition from the first period to the second as during the latter years of his reign Takahata built a grand temple on the mountain he received his command from Tenmu, this temple called Ashigara or place of purity was the center of Ikegami worship for over a thousand years. It was considered one of the holiest places in the Souzen religion.
Ashigara was where the Shodai, Nidai, and Sandai orders were founded and trained and for a thousand years it stood as a sign of divine favor among the Ikegami.
This period lasted until the civil war between Ikegami Honoka and Ikegami Fuyuki which resulted in a freak fire engulfing Ashigara. The priests of the Souzen despaired over the loss of their most holy places and declared that it would not be restored for many centuries.
This is considered the point of transition between the Ashigara period of the Souzen, to the pre-Survaek era of the seven temples, one devoted to each major spirit. These temples each devoted themselves to a particular spirit and also acted as wayshrines and temples for pilgrims.
Centuries later when the Ikegami were conquered by the Empire and the temples destroyed, the remaining priests who survived fled into the mountains and fringes of Ikegami land to hide from Imperial and Vaekirate authorities, waiting until the latter point of the Fifteen Years War to return to the forefront of Ikegami life.
Now is widely considered to be a 5th period of the Souzen where the direction of the faith is yet to be determined.
The Souzen faith of the Ikegami developed over four different periods covering thousands of years from the earliest formation of clans developing along the mountain range and the surrounding lowlands. The various shifts between periods were sometimes gradual but more often than not sudden and shook the standing order of politics.
The first major period of the Souzen was simple animism. The Ikegami always believed that spirits resided everywhere and in everything that existed, even weapons or clothes could develop a spirit if given enough time. Small tribal groups worshipped the spirits of the sky, earth and water for rain, crops and health alongside other spirits for protection, skill in battle, fertility and more. These spiritual matters were led by tribe shamans, those who devoted their lives to the spirits and the spiritual worship of their people. These shamans were sometimes mages but most often not. Magic was considered a blessing of the spirits and mages were venerated in these early societies.
However as time went on and the various elven tribes began organizing into feudal clans over tribal villages, so too did the religion of the people develop. It began with Ikegami Takahata, the clan leader of a small mountain clan who one day traveled up the mountain to commune with the spirits. During this commune according to legend he was granted a vision by the major spirits who would go on to become the major figures of the Ikegami pantheon. He was commanded to end the infighting and divisiveness of the people and to teach them honor and diligence in accordance with their tenets.
Takahata returned to his clan invigorated and began to unite the elven people by diplomacy, marriage or war he eventually pulled the neighboring clans into his growing sphere of influence. Over a century of struggle resulted in a united populace under the Ikegami, it was during this period that Takahata began to spread the worship and tenets of Tenmu and his kin among the people, codifying what would go on to become the strict code of personal honor the Ikegami came to hold so dear.
This is widely considered to be the point of transition from the first period to the second as during the latter years of his reign Takahata built a grand temple on the mountain he received his command from Tenmu, this temple called Ashigara or place of purity was the center of Ikegami worship for over a thousand years. It was considered one of the holiest places in the Souzen religion.
Ashigara was where the Shodai, Nidai, and Sandai orders were founded and trained and for a thousand years it stood as a sign of divine favor among the Ikegami.
This period lasted until the civil war between Ikegami Honoka and Ikegami Fuyuki which resulted in a freak fire engulfing Ashigara. The priests of the Souzen despaired over the loss of their most holy places and declared that it would not be restored for many centuries.
This is considered the point of transition between the Ashigara period of the Souzen, to the pre-Survaek era of the seven temples, one devoted to each major spirit. These temples each devoted themselves to a particular spirit and also acted as wayshrines and temples for pilgrims.
Centuries later when the Ikegami were conquered by the Empire and the temples destroyed, the remaining priests who survived fled into the mountains and fringes of Ikegami land to hide from Imperial and Vaekirate authorities, waiting until the latter point of the Fifteen Years War to return to the forefront of Ikegami life.
Now is widely considered to be a 5th period of the Souzen where the direction of the faith is yet to be determined.
