Alima

Alima is the chief god of the Zesheko religion. It is said that they are the oldest god of them all, born of the union of darkness and light at the beginning of time. They are the patron of benevolence, the great purifier, and the slayer of divine monsters. They are birth, death, transition, and mixture. They are not omnipotent or infallible, but they are the patron of the good and the pure. Alima is the cultural understanding of the Masked One and Tte Masked One Automata in Holy Zeshema. They are the three-faced god, who wears a face of tragedy, of rage, or of laughter.   Alima is a genderless being, vast and ethereal. They wear many faces and many bodies. Even in their purest form they are the three-faced god, who wears a face of tragedy, of rage, or of laughter over a flowing cape of pure dusk. They are everywhere that darkness meets light and life meets death; they are in every drop of water, which is an element born of Alima's work. They know the worth of every mortal soul and hold the keys of life and death. One might say that Alima is a very big deal. Alima did not create the universe, though; they were the firstborn of the world but not its creator. Alima did create the water that life needed to thrive as the fourth element of the world and did play a pivotal role in shaping the infant world. But Alima only became the chief of the gods when corruption and evil set upon the world and ruined its gardens, for it was Alima who claimed the seas and had the bravery and power to oppose the forces of ruin.   Alima is worshipped as the patron of the Zeshem as a religion, culture, and political structure. This worship is not monotheistic; Alima is worshipped alongside a number of other good gods and spirits. But Alima is important to every social class, profession, and major sphere of life. If the Zeshem had to worship only a single god it would be Alima, for Alima contains multitudes and holds sway over all changes and transitions.   As a note, Alima is the fictionalized or culturally-interpreted God-concept while The Masked One is the actual physical deity (or Architects). This is an important distinction. Alima is believed to be an active and powerful divine force who believes in law and justice, but the Masked One is neither active nor particularly interested in those things. The Masked One Automata, however, is active in the world and does have overlap with Alima (though it wouldn't be fully accurate to say that the Automata is Alima). Much of the mythology around Alima is also based in cultural beliefs and stories and not the actual deeds of the Masked One or Automata.   Alima is not visible or personal in their purest form - they are something of a cosmic force of change, death, birth, and renewal. Looking at their true form would blind a mere mortal or drive them to madness. So Alima dons a mask and a Siforek to interact with lesser beings and guide them through the transitions of life and of death. Alima has three masks forged from an alloy of cosmic light and dark that transforms the great god into a more perceivable and personable form when worn. These are the Three Faces, three god-aspects that operate as their own deities at the same time and in parallel while also being Alima.   The mask of Alima serves as a model for Zeshem religious attire and behavior. The Siforek and mask not only give Alima shape but serve as a barrier of mutual protection between speaker and listener. Alima's vestments purify and stabilize the dangerous connection between the divine and the mundane. They also influence Alima's presentation and behavior. The mask and Siforek are, essentially, a second body; through Alima's example, we understand mortal bodies as similar vessels that shape (but do not define) the spiritual essence of a person. The mortal Zeshem Mask and Siforek are imitations that draw on Alima's teachings to act as a vessel over a vessel - like a Matryoshka nesting doll - further protecting the body and stabilizing communication with both the divine and the impure. This is part of the religious logic behind the use of masks and Siforeks in handling impure foreign relations as well as the most important divine communions.    Alima may be a cosmic alien force but it is also used as a model for understanding the mortal soul. Alima is a spiritual force that is shaped by the vessel it animates; so is the mortal soul's relationship to its vessel. Alima is the oldest truly sapient being in the universe and in many ways it is the ancestor and 'eldest' of all living things. Furthermore, Zesheko religion often conceptualizes the soul as manifesting in the body through water and liquid; the drying of the body is what severs the last lingering connection between vessel and essence. All living things require water, after all, even those without a need for physical food (such as Solars). And water is the element most directly born from Alima (while earth, fire, and air were all born from Light and Dark, the original substances of the world). Since people are water, people are Alima's children - more accurately Alima's grandchildren by the Five Water Mothers, but that is of little difference.    Connection to Alima provides a connection to one's spirit beyond the vessel of the body. Alima already has a connection to all mortal life, as Alima is master of all change and change is an innate part of mortal being. Alima appears to all creatures in their hour of death and the hour of their birth, to lead them into the greatest of all changes, but in a way Alima is always there. In this way all of the faithful have a personal spiritual relationship with Alima. This can be similar to the "omnipotent god" relationship that some monotheists have, though it is not a one-to-one parallel.   The way that Alima is a force-that-is-a-person obscured by vessels-that-are-people, that can exist in multiple forms in parallel while also existing as a distinct separate "over-entity" serves as a model for the Zeshem idea of the Masiteb - the second body or shadow body. The core idea of the Masiteb is that a person can control and articulate their spiritual essence outside of their mortal body, hiding it from the world or even detaching it from the body. Mystics draw on this concept to supposedly astral project or see the future, priests are taught to seek this state through meditation, spies train to disassociate this way to hide from pain in torture, and the Hunters of Norinar draw on this concept to protect their souls in foreign lands.    Alima may be the great power and chief god but mortals can only directly speak and interface with the Three Faces linked with Alima's three sacred masks: 

• Ozima the Laughing, Alima's joyful aspect. Ozima loves comedy and is prone to pranks and jokes even in dark times and on dark subjects. Ozima created Comedy Magic and often creates Ghosts from those who die in humorous ways. Ozima's mask is humanlike and perpetually smiling.
• Ozara the Crying, Alima's mournful aspect. Ozara is somber and grieves for all the injustice and suffering in the world. Ozara is also a hopeful entity, though, and created Tragedy Magic as a way to grant wishes to those facing great hardship. Ozara creates Ghosts from those who die tragic deaths. Ozara's mask is humanlike and perpetually weeping.
• Ozualo the Furious, Alima's wrathful aspect. Ozualo revels in karmic punishments and just desserts. This entity created Curse Magic as a way to empower the meek, punish the wicked, and show mortals the terrible cost of vengeace. Ozualo is angry and harsh but is also thoughtful and well-intentioned. They are a teacher as well as a destroyer. Ozualo creates no ghosts. Ozualo's mask is stern and crimson-colored with a long rounded nose. 

The Three Faces act as a single unified entity even if they move in very different ways through the world.    Most mythology involving Alima as a character tends to portray Ozima, Ozara, or Ozualo rather than Alima's true essential body. That said, Alima's "true" self does take a few actions. Alima created a great number of water spirit children when they created water, for example, and doted on their five favorite powerful water gods: the Five Water Mothers, who helped souls enter the world to become mortals with free will. The Protector-spirit Sevizu the Watchdog is also quite literally Alima's favored guard dog.    Alima's symbols are their masks: tragedy, comedy, and fury.