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Thek |
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Master
of the Reciter of Lore |
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Thek is the honoured elder of the Gods, husband of Uchsvun, and father of many other deities. He was a mighty warrior in the past, fighting against his rebellious son Jrakka who sought to become king of the gods, but is now considered to be an elder who dwells apart from the other deities and his followers, looking for portents of the final battle to come, and watching over all with the aid of his great lamp, the sun. He is the Respected Elder, rewarding those who follow tradition and the rule of the clan chiefs, advising the rulers of the people about ancient lore and precedents and individuals about their fate and about how best they can serve the good of the clan. When supernatural and spiritual threats arise it is the priests of Thek who take the lead in combating them rather than the martial deities who wield spears rather than secrets. His priests live as hermits among the crags and at isolated shrines contemplating the movement of the sun and the planets and enduring the freezing mountain winds. Geographical
spread Thek
is worshipped throughout the Tsolyani
interpretations Thek is considered by the Tsolyani to be an aspect of Thumis due to his association with wisdom and good advice, but is equally related to Hnalla and Dra. Astrology Thek’s
planet is Tuleng, the Sun, especially while it rises in the morning
above the harsh mountain peaks. Thek also rules the bright sides of all
the other planets, which are illuminated by his glorious Lantern, the
Sun. Note: The followers of Thek
subscribe to the heliocentric theory of the solar system and are well
aware that the sun can illuminate the planets even when it is not
visible on Tekumel. The Noble Action A follower of Thek must be loyal to his chief, following his word and rule at all times, must pay due respect to the head-woman, must provide for himself and his clan through hard work and diligence and when he gives his word it is his bond. Followers of Thek are stoic, steadfast, serious and upright, complain little and think much. Ignoble action is to disobey ones chief and elders, to be lazy and expect others to provide for you, to be dishonest to others within your clan and to break your word once given, to be weak and complain about one’s fate and to refuse to do what should be done, and to boast about one’s deeds when one knows that it is expected of all that they benefit the clan. Rituals and Pilgrimages All men must make a pilgrimage to the shrine of Thek when they father a child to place a stone upon his altar stating the child’s name and lineage. Without this stone being placed there Thek will not know who the person is and will not allow the soul into the paradise beyond the clouds. Images of Thek bearing Thek’s Eye occur all over the valleys, carved into cliff faces, on menhirs and especially beside roads and pathways. It is the duty of every priest to make at least one of these images in his lifetime and to make sure that no such image has been desecrated by vandalism or being removed and used for building stone. Some of these images are very simple, just a low relief on a flat stone depicting an eye, other are elaborate statues. Up among the high peaks of Kilalammu there is a whole mountain that the priests of Thek have been carving bit by bit into an image of their god for millennia and being martyred by freezing to death and falling to their doom in the process. It is usual for a worshipper of Thek to greet the sun at dawn or when one rises with a silent prayer, to give thanks to the god for one’s food at meal times (usually along with several other deities) and especially to invoke the deity when men meet to discuss clan activities and policy. There is one major Pilgrimage each year, timed to arrive at the appropriate shrine on 25 Pardán or the 8th Moon as the Jannuyani call it. This pilgrimage usually delivers food stuffs and supplies to the hermits to keep them over winter. A lesser pilgrimage is made to arrive on New Year’s Day. The priests in the monasteries and at the shrines have a more elaborate series of rituals to perform, starting by waking before dawn and going out to observe the sun rising, or at least the lightening of the sky if it should be overcast. On clear days they will often sit cross legged contemplating the patterns in the clouds for hours, and there is a set passage from the Litanies and Legends of Thek (see later) to be recited at the altar each day, and if the temple has a calendar stone the markers must be advanced with the appropriate prayer. Death Rituals Followers of Thek are buried according to whatever their local practice may be; usually burial in the valleys, though some clans burn their dead and in the mountains a form of sky-burial is practiced. Priests
are sewn into cloth or leather bundles in the foetal position and
interred in stone Sacrifice Followers
of Thek usually sacrifice foodstuffs, garments and tools to their god,
essentially providing directly for the upkeep of the hermits and monks.
In the valleys the garments can be especially elaborate, it is a matter
of pride to provide the expensive ritual vestments for the most
elaborate rituals, and the ‘sacrifices’ have more of the character
of customary tithes. Note: The
Tsolyani practice of sacrificing flowers is regarded by the people of
Chaigari with some disdain; what possible use are flowers to the god and
his priests? Sexual Taboos The overwhelming majority of Thek’s priests and hermits are male. In the valleys the odd female might join a monastery and study there for a while, but this is considered odd and unbecoming. Priests can never marry, and since the Jannuyani have quite strict ideas about sex outside marriage this means they are pretty much celibate. Any priest of Thek found violating this (and it does sometimes happen that a monk will sneak off to a Tsolyani village to meet followers of Dlamelish) will be expected to expiate his sin by making some very long pilgrimages or permanent transfer to far-off shrines and/or carving lots of images of Thek to guard the local area. Food Taboos Thek’s priests are expected to be able to fast for long periods. In the high mountains this is forced on them by the scarcity of winter, but in the richer agricultural lands of the valleys fasting is deemed meritorious and suitable preparation for one of the prodigious tasks of memorisation of lore the sect is famous for. The Afterlife Thek is the judge of his followers in death. If a person who followed him in life dies, their soul goes to meet him on his mighty mountain top and he decides whether they can pass beyond the clouds to dwell in paradise (envisaged as much like one’s home but better), or to go back to earth and be born again. This doctrine of metempsychosis is not much developed; it was not part of Engsvanyali teaching and seems to be a native Jannuyani tradition that re-emerged after the old empire collapsed. Still, the priests of Thek often warn acolytes that they might come back as a hmelu if they do not buck their ideas up and use their brains, say that great tyrants have the spirit of a zrne and say of good and noble people that Thek will take them as one of his own, ‘to soar above us in heaven, as far above the kuni as the kuni soar above us.’ Literacy Many priests and hermits are as illiterate as their congregations. Among the mountain hermits and the smaller hill shrines a ‘runic’ script is sometimes used, reminiscent of Thu’usa, thin lines carved on tally sticks and upon the corners of stones in the manner of ancient Celtic Ogham. This is not a true alphabet, each sign represents one word or a name and it is used only for very minor inscriptions and never to record any of the lore of the temple. In
the lowlands the large monasteries have small libraries where the lore
is written down, and where scribes record annals and keep a few records
on behalf of the mightier clan chiefs. They write in a form of the
Tsolyani alphabet for the consonantal sounds, but they use a myriad of
diacritical marks to communicate vowels and word-tone. Their books are
few, as paper is rare, very expensive and must be imported. They prefer
wooden tablets for recording most matters. The Litanies, Legends and Histories Despite being mostly illiterate the hermits of Thek and their lowland colleagues are far from unlearned. They memorise vast poetic ‘litanies’ which record lore of all kinds, such as the ‘Litany of Beasts’, a description of every bird and animal known to the temple, their relationships to each other and salient legends, the ‘Litany of Herbs’, an equally involved list of medicinal herbs and the ‘Litany of Reading the Heavens’, which explains all the different astrological relationships between the planets. Some of this lore does not even relate to local conditions, being abridged verse versions of ancient and long lost Engsvanyali books committed to memory after the collapse of the Empire, and some of it is no longer understood as it includes distorted Engsvanyali words, obscure poetic kennings and references to works now lost. Equally important are the histories and legends. These too are memorised word for word. The distinction between the two is that the histories are known to have actually happened and the legends are thought to have probably happened. The priest of Thek are sanguine enough about the nature of belief to consign most of the tales of their god to the latter category, saying that no-one can now be sure the truth of such ancient matters and admitting that oral transmission is never perfect. One such legend is very similar to the ‘Lament to the Wheel in Black’, but recast with the gods being depicted as a typical Jannuyani clan and all being closely related. Jrakka, their name for Ksarul, is Thek’s youngest son for example, who falls under the influence of Hrakma (Hru’u), Thek’s jealous younger brother, then betrays him and set out to become chief of the gods himself. Acolytes are expected to learn these poems by heart (a task made easier by psychic magic), and among the hermits it is recommended that an acolyte learn everything twice from two different masters. If versions differ then he should consult a third master and go with the majority opinion as to the true text. In the valleys the litanies are written down, but acolytes are not considered to have learned the lore properly until they can recite the lot without reference to the text. A test of their knowledge is to write another copy of the text from memory, and then check it against the original. If the acolyte’s version is different the whole copy is burned and they start again. By these methods the lore of Thek is reasonably consistent between temples and hermits, and preserves many nuggets of Engsvanyali learning that the literate cultures of the Five Empires have lost. Magic The priests of Thek use many magic spells, the techniques of which are memorised like their litanies, but no one master knows them all. A sorcerer must sometimes make many pilgrimages and visit many shrines to learn the spells he wishes to know. Thek’s preists preserve knowledge of all the Universal Psychic and Ritual spells known to the Tsolyani, though often lacking the more elaborate extensions and specialities, and many of their temple spells are often identical to those of Hnalla and Thumis. In addition they have some magic lore unique to themselves. The mountain shrines of Thek consist of a high altar open to the elements, a disc of rock about a meter thick and three meters across. A few are made from one huge slab, but most are constructed from closely fitted dry stones and paved on the top with flat slabs. In the centre of this altar is a smaller cylinder of rock carved all over with the representations of Thek. These are always placed on high hills or on prominences of mountains that give a good view of the surrounding country. They are always high enough that snow falls on them at least once during the year. Downslope from the altar the hermit – usually one, but sometimes up to four - will live in beehive stone huts or a cave. Most have at least one acolyte, often two or three, a storehouse for keeping sacrificed goods and a small pen for hmelu. The most elaborate shrines have a series of rings of smaller stones arranged around them. These form a calendar and the moving of the stone markers from stone to stone around the circle is accompanied by special prayers. In the valleys the set up is more elaborate again with a whole hilltop being carved into stepped terraces, carved flagpoles bearing white flags being moved from hole to hole around the temple to denote the date and little slips of woollen cloth bearing requests of the god hanging from bits of string tied between the central posts of the circular huts housing the monks and their facilities. The central altar is of the same form as those of the high shrines, and is set apart by a low wall. Pilgrims must walk round the altar a given number of times to achieve various requests. The hills are often very steep and the path up to the monastery winds round it in a clockwise spiral, marked with the tomb-cairns of deceased monks. The In return for sacrifices the clergy will advise anyone, from telling the fortune of a peasant-child to advising a clan chief on the wisdom of investing in a merchant caravan. The temple provides a few of the greatest chiefs with acolytes to serve as personal scribes and to help administer tax systems and record legal judgements. They will keep archives for these great chiefs if they so wish it. They sell small amulets and the blessed white headbands required for pilgrims. The hostels for pilgrims at the base of the monastery hills pay some money toward the temple upkeep, but are not owned or managed directly by the temple. Thek’s
This
is not one of the highest peaks in the High Peaks of Kilalammu, but is
high enough to require those visiting it to acclimatise to avoid
altitude sickness. The monastery on the slopes is a sprawling collection
of tiny beehive huts, barely distinguishable from the The Monastery of Yaksum This is the largest of the monasteries with fifty monks and acolytes. It is built within the ruins of a huge Engsvanyali monastery/temple complex. Little of this remains visible on the surface except a series of very fragmentary walls. The modern temple has a large library, including a stock of Engsvanyali inscriptions; this is the only place in Kilalammu where one may learn the Engsvanyali language and script. Internal Factions The main division within the temple is between the literate and comparatively wealthy monks of the larger valley temples and the illiterate hermits of the mountains. The two groups are not organised into sects as such, but there are always doctrinal differences and arguments when they meet. The lower classes tend to favour the mountain ‘hmelu-herd’ priests; their wild and woolly appearance, their obviously frugal and challenging lifestyle and the very fact that they live up mountains and are therefore ‘closer to god’ makes then more fit to be holy men in the eyes of the great unwashed. The upper classes favour the large temples; these are genuinely useful members of society who know many useful things and provide much needed advice, quite what a those smelly cave dwellers do all day in the middle of nowhere is anybody’s guess. There is also tension between the temple at Yaksum and the temples near Sirsum which reflects the rivalry of their patron clans. The Clan of the Citadel of Tears in the north are supporters of the Yaksum temple and pretenders to the title King of Alasum, in the south the consortium of clans that make up the Council of Righteous Elders that controls Sirsum and its environs challenge this. The priests of Thek join the fray on either side. Certain genealogies and histories do suggest the Clan of the Citadel of Tears are descendants of the Kings of Pagu, others suggest this lineage were all wiped out centuries ago by the Iron Fist of the Peaks. The There is a deep enmity with the god Jrakka. The Concordat is not usually considered to run between the ‘alignments’ in Kilalammu and violent religious conflict is far from unknown. The worshippers of Jrakka were, it is said, driven away millennia ago to live in the land of the Ssu and in the Lakam Mnellekma range, a magical blackspot where their demon conjuring will not work. The followers of Thek do not like the followers of the god Hrakma much either, not that they ever met any but suspect that there might be underground covens of such somewhere. Relations with Tsolyani gods are more distant. The priests of Thek recognise a common interest with Thumis but resent the Tsolyani attempts to organise and dominate them and rarely visit the alleged shrine of Thek in the Thumis Temple at Hekellu. They are even less trusting of Hnalla, who claims Thek’s sun as his own, and have a deep antipathy with Hru’u, Dlamelish and Ksarul which make a point of dealing with demons. It is unconfirmed, but Thek worshipping clansmen might be making a point of ambushing and slaying Tsolyani merchants displaying the tokens of Ksarul. There is just one living avatar of Thek, Gharuk’un Raisk’u, a very shy and retiring man who has an uncanny ability to foresee the future. Gharuk’un denies that he is a true avatar, but only one possessed by Thek could possibly be so accurate. His current location is unknown. Besieged by petitioners he ran away from his monastery in the dead of night and is believed to be on an extended pilgrimage of the highest and loneliest Thek shrines. Rumours that he predicted the return of Jrakka and a rematch of the battle of the Peak at the Heart of the World for the end of this century are being quashed by Thek’s priests wherever they arise. Spells As
noted above the Hibernation – a form of the Control of Self spell that enables the user to enter a state of suspended animation for months at a time. Resist Cold – enables a user to ignore the ill effects of extreme weather and, to a limited extent, cold related magic. Thek’s Finger – A specialisation of the Healing spell which enables the regrowth of fingers, ears and noses lost through frostbite. Prorogation – as T:EPT spell Thek’s Righteous Ire – as T:EPT Doomkill spell. The Blessing of the Planes – as T:EPT Guarding – as T:EPT The Inimitable Defender – as T:EPT Warmth – specialisation of Light/Darkness that creates the equivalent of a warm camp fire. Vallation – Thek produces a vallation of Wind, as per Belkhanu/Qon Artfulness – as T:EPT Comprehension - cannot use the Written or Ancient Languages specialisations Sagacity – as T:EPT plus specialisation of Memorisation; total recall of what the person has just heard or read during the spell. The Eye of Thek – enables the Priest to see through the eyes of any image of Thek within the area of effect, which is several tsan in radius. Amulets Amulets of Thek have various properties: Amulet of the Eye of Thek – protects against magic, +1 save vs Illusions and Mind spells Amulet of the Heart of Thek – gives +1 in wilderness survival and will checks Amulet of the Pilgrim - +1 hiking, increased luck in hunting and finding fresh water |