Khettadine Unitism

The predominant Khettadine religion is a non-theistic spirituality common across the different cultures of Khetta. At the most core, basic level, it is descriptive rather than proscriptive, and as such posits a relative morality.

Summary

An ancient spiritualism common across all Khettadine cultures, "Khettadine Unitism" as it is known in Arbiter preaches that each tier of community (individual, immediate family, extended family, town, country, etc.) has a soul, or character, determined by each individual's actions.   Unitism has no deities, but operates instead with the principle of the "oversoul," to which each being belongs. In the living world, there are many such oversouls, each itself contributing to a greater oversoul all the way up to the ultimate, universal oversoul. The "soul of life" has a counterpart, the "soul of peace," a single, united oversoul which all souls join after death. The soul of life is represented by black (often a field of black with white symbols), while the soul of peace is the exact opposite.   Because the "living" oversouls have a nature reflective of their constituent souls, the spiritualism makes no demands upon its followers and there is no offer of reward or threat of punishment in death. However, there are many sects that put forward their own moral codes based on how they seek to shape the relevant oversoul's character.   On the other hand, the soul of peace subsumes souls into its nature, removing all distinction and integrating them into an eternal state of peace and tranquility.

Origin

The origins of Unitism are unknown, as it has been in the Khettadine consciousness for many thousands of years and has no foundational holy texts (though there are numerous works of great religious significance dating back eons).   There are numerous stories—all believed to be myths—about the religion's origins, differing by people group and region. For example, a myth from the Shoreborne tells how a shipwrecked sailor near death after days adrift at sea had a vision of the soul of peace (Shoreborne: Masyt id Sky—"Soul of Tranquility"), while a myth from the Northern Khettadine tells of a barren woman who gave up the will to live and lay in the midst of her warren for days with nothing to eat or drink, only to fall into a trance-like state wherein she could perceive the living oversouls around her (Des-Khett: wida vidwoljrogip—"living oversouls") and the final oversoul beyond death (Des-Khett: Teya Vidwoljroga—"Peaceful Oversoul").   Many modern historians believe that it was most likely a device of ancient philosophers to describe what they saw in the world—with the founding stories being allegorical myths rather than literal recountings—and that the modern perspective is more true to the original intent, but others dispute this, whether or not they personally ascribe to the spiritual aspects of Unitism.

Path and Objective

Unitism teaches that the way to achieve a "good life" is to peacefully integrate with the nested oversouls. To do this, each person must start by living at peace with his own soul, then the family, and on up the ranks.   By living at peace with the souls, the person will be able to live happily and comfortably in the communities of which he is a part.   Because this is a process that requires constant adjustment and reexamination, it is lifelong and never truly completed. Most Unitists seek a "peaceful death," by which they mean a death where they slip easily between the living soul and the peaceful soul, lingering in both before slipping fully into peace.

Philosophical Anthropology

In Unitist philosophy, a person consists of four essential components: body (material), heart (spiritual), mind (material), and will (spiritual). A person must integrate all of these to live at peace with his soul.   The body is seat of action, the heart is the seat of emotion, the mind is the seat of reason, and the will is the seat of discernment.   The soul, rather than being apart from the body, or a component of the body, is the totality of the body. When a person is conceived in the mother's womb, the body is formed first, then the heart. After birth, the mind and will form. Thus, the soul is first composed of body, then of body and heart, and so on.   What makes a person—a true "soul"—is the potential for all four aspects. Animals only possess body and heart and plants only possess body, so neither have souls. While this point is subject to some debate, the common belief is that while newly-conceived persons do not have a "completed" soul, they have an extant soul that is merely growing into its fullness.

Worldview

"Unitism" is a rough translation of each major Khettadine language's name for the religion (Central: Avilrogin—"Soul Unity"; Northern: Konswoljrogst—"concept of soul-bundle" [rough translation]; Shoreborne: Masytsili—"All Souls"), drawing from the common essential tenet of all three major branches: Unity within a soul is essential to spiritual flourishing and is the best state for a life.  

Life and Death

To Unitists, the material is a transitory stage of the soul, not unlike a mother's womb for an infant. Thus, death is really a second birth, a different kind of birth, where the soul transcends the material world and binds to the soul of peace.   The material form—composed of the four facets—is important in the soul's pursuit of transcendence. Life is essential to the soul's development, because without life it cannot make peace with the oversouls, and damage to any component of the soul (body, heart, mind, and will) inhibits the soul's journey by reducing the "quality of life," by which Unitists mean how effectively the soul can pursue peace with the oversouls.   While there are some sects that practice extreme degrees of respect for life, these are fairly small. Mainstream Unitism protects individual life from conception to death, but does not demand pacifism. While the religion is more of a generalized spirituality with many cultural variations and regional or ideological sects than an arbitrated religion with established "rules" or missives from an overarching religious authority, it is broadly accepted that execution is an acceptable potential punishment, and that self-soul-defense (whether the soul is one's personal soul, that of one's family, or that of one's country) is an acceptable cause to take life. What actually constitutes "self-soul-defense" is usually left relative, to the authority of local governments. Thus, what some might consider an unjustified war can seem to others wholly justified, and in the totality of the philosophical system both may be correct as what is "right" is dependent on the character of the soul in question, for the people within the soul are merely trying to achieve unity with the whole. That said, the soul in question is part of a larger soul, and the unity of that soul may have a different view of what is right or not.   When a person dies, the soul separates from the body and merges with the soul of peace. Multiple varying perceptions of this merger exist, but the original, "purist" concept was an immediate joining of soul to soul. The commonly-held idea, however, originating in the Centrality, is that a soul not "ready" for transcendence goes through a limbo state—called "Novteer" (grow-sleep) in Central Khettadine—where the disembodied soul is conformed to join the oversoul.   This conformation can be quite difficult or painful if the person was far from peace, but it can be resisted and refused. However, this consigns the person to eternal loneliness, a state which is unimaginably horrific to the Khettadine psyche.  

Meaning of Life

The question of the "meaning of life" is, in many ways, irrelevant to Unitists. To them, "life is meant to be lived" is a fundamental axiom, just as a song is meant to be sung and a story is meant to be told. The question is not "Why am I alive?" or "What is the point of my life?" but "How should I live my life?" To Unitists, the answer is not a set of moral standards or objectives, but a basic understanding of what makes a life "good" for the self or community, with connection (family, community, etc.) being foremost as the underlying assumption of their philosophy.   This naturally extrapolates to the principle that it is good to live at peace with each nesting oversoul, as far as it is possible to do so. This "living at peace" is not a passive state of being, but rather an active way of being. Hard work, hospitality, acts of affection, the maintenance of high morale, and the bearing and raising of children are all ways one can contribute to the welfare of the oversouls. Conformity to the oversoul's nature is also essential, but is complicated by the often contradictory "natures" between different oversoul layers.   The end of life represents the end of the individual's ability to contribute to the group, which is tragic for both the individual and group. Further, a premature death can make the second birth difficult because the individual has not had a full life to make peace with the oversouls.  

Relationships

Relationships (whether romantic, familial, friendship, or political) are the foundation of Unitism. Each has a soul, and those within the relationships must strive to maintain unity with the others in the relationship. Beyond this foundational statement, Unitism has little to say on the subject as the specifics of any of these relationships are not dictated by the spirituality.  

Tenets for Life

Unitism's focus is entirely relative, except for the central axiom that life is for living and the fundamental understanding of the soul's arc from conception to its second birth into eternity. Thus, it truly only has a single tenet, and that is summed up with the following phrase: "As far as you are able, make peace with your oversouls."   In the major languages:

• Central Khettadine: "Far taktotint teyot hine farla avilrogskip." ("Make your utmost effort to make peace with your oversouls." Literally: "You make utmost effort [to] make peace with your oversouls")
• Northern Khettadine: "Terismen ba medst, nasa merastena zeenbar monstvid ba vidwoljrogip ba med." ("As much as you can, remain subject to your oversouls." Literally: "To the limit of yourself, do not wander from the authority of your oversouls.")
• Shoreborne: "Er greso er leyt weka, exyo skya zi masytili." ("As far as you are able, make peace with all souls." Literally: "As far as your mental strength [allows], make peace with all souls."

Tenets of Morality

Beyond the aforementioned single fundamental tenet, Unitism possesses a relative morality, and thus there are no codes of conduct innate to the religion rather than to a culture that adheres to the religion. It does not, however, mandate a relative morality—which is itself a moral system—but rather leaves such determinations up to the souls since the ultimate end is unity within a soul.   There are sects who do put forward moral codes, but these are not so much statements of how things are, but how the sects want them to be. These sects account for large cross-sections of the population and are usually "led" by a large, informal cadre of philosophers and respected figures. Not all codes are put out by semi-official "sects," however, and are often released by philosophers, community leaders, or famous and respected figures in attempts to sway groups of people and change (or codify) the "character" of a given oversoul, whether that's a single warren or an entire nation. These codes vary in purpose and reason, with some being purely altruistic and others being a leader's attempt to change everyone else so that he himself does not have to change.  

Practices

Unlike most religions, which have regular meetings, public and/or private rituals, and holy days—all outward shows of religiousity specific to the given religion—Unitism is a religion engrained in every thought and action of its followers. Everything done should be done to the end of unity.   That said, there are numerous ways Unitists may actively seek to foster unity, and while not unique to Unitism there are certain common events held to encourage unity among communities:

• Fairs: Whether barely more than a neighborhood party, a town's festival, or a festival of nations, fairs are universally enjoyed as an opportunity to fellowship with others, often in the hopes of fostering further unity through shared experience and common enjoyment.
• Parties: Whether thrown as a celebration or as merely an excuse to have fun, parties are popular among smaller communities of Unitists. In Khettadine society, a party differs from a fair in that it usually takes place on the property of a single warren and includes a variety of individuals connected by family or community ties.
• Elections: Distinct to the Khettadine, elections are seen as an option for achieving unity. Rather than secretly casting ballots or voting through some other anonymous method, votes in most Khettadine systems are public. While the rules and exact methods vary from locale to locale, the general system requires rounds of voting until 75% of the votes are cast for the same option. This is often accomplished in no more than three rounds of voting, as individuals seek to vote in accordance with their community.

Practitioners

Unitism is most widely practiced by the Khettadine, and is so engrained in their culture and mentality that it has spread with them wherever they go. On Khetta, it is most widely observed in The Centrality and in The Fire Kingdom, but is common across the planet.   Elsewhere in the cluster (and outside of the Khettadine diaspora), Unitism holds little spiritual sway and many fear the conformist attitudes it encourages. Many, however, from across cultures and species, have adopted some basic philosophical ideas from Unitism and may even call themselves "Unitists," although their practical application of the religion is far from its original intent. Accordingly, many Khettadine use the Arbiter term only with distaste and prefer whichever name their own culture has for it.   The exception to this relative unpopularity is within [Nation 10], where—to the consternation of many Khettadine Unitists—the government adopted and warped it as a tool to further control its population. This is controversial in Khettadine circles because—while technically not violative of any of the religion's principles—this warped form is at odds with the Khettadine conception of Unitism and accomplishes ends they find distasteful, inverting the proper order of things by creating a system where the soul's nature cascades down from the government rather than being built up from the individual level.

Cultural Variants

Beyond variations in values from polity to polity, some cultures add their own unique twists to Unitism, viewing the same basic ideas through different lenses and building and extrapolating from this base in sometimes radically different ways.  

Central Khettadine

Unitism is known as "Avilrogin" (literally "soul unity") in Central Khettadine.   One of the major quirks of Unitism within the Central Khettadine is that they don't only ascribe souls to sentients, or even just to animals, but to all forms of life, including plants, and to some, the planet herself. In this school of thought, community oversouls are not solely composed of the souls of sentients, but of everything within the community.   Each tier of soul (earth, plant, animal, Khett) has a different level of mutability, and thus of responsibility, agency, and influence. These are commonly thought to form a circle, cycling from earth to trees to animals to Khetts (or other sentient species) and then back to earth. With the earth comes influence, then plants add mutability, animals agency, and Khetts responsibility. Earth benefits the plants, plants benefit the animals, animals benefit the Khetts, and in turn the Khetts have a responsibility to benefit the earth, creating an unbroken cycle.   The main symbol of Unitism, known as the "Florint bor Rogot," or "Circle of Integration," was originally a Central Khettadine design, but it proliferated along with Unitism and is accepted by (almost) all groups and sects. As a symbol of the living oversouls, it is built with white against a black background. The symbol itself is quite basic, being merely a circle with four nested circles, but since each circle has those same four nested circles as far down as the artist is willing to depict them, any given iteration of this basic design can be quite intricate. This symbol is a recurring theme in Cent-Khett architecture and artwork—though not exclusive to the Cent-Khetts—and is ubiquitous to the point where it has somewhat lost its original meaning in the minds of those confronted by it on a daily basis in everything from popular apparel to the logo of a popular manufacturer of household appliances.   While the meaning of the pattern of four is unimportant, it is commonly understood to represent the four essential aspects of an individual soul. Otherwise, it is focused on the nesting rather than the number.  

Northern Khettadine

Unitism is known as "Konswoljrogst" (literally "concept of soul-bundle") in Northern Khettadine.   One of the two most significant variations from baseline Unitism is a greater emphasis on being subject to greater oversouls, rather than merely being "united" with other oversouls. Their very word for "oversoul" (vidwoljrog) literally translates as "authority-bearing soul-bundle." Each oversoul has authority of all oversouls below it. Thus, the individual is subject to the family, the family is subject to the warren, and the warren is subject to the community. It is a subject of some debate whether this variation was accepted at the behest of and for the benefit of the existing government or if the concept was so engrained in the Des-Khett psyche that it was a natural progression.   The significant majority of Des-Khett scholars firmly argue that their government is in line with the religion—and is a benevolent system in unity with, and deriving character and authority from, its subjects—rather than their religion being developed to support the government and, in turn, argue that many of the scholars who dispute this are politically motivated to discredit The Fire Kingdom. This argument holds a good degree of credibility, as the major proponents of the alternate theory are Cent-Khett scholars (who come from a nation and culture long at odds with The Fire Kingdom) or dissidents within The Fire Kingdom (who are widely viewed as disreputable rabble-rousers seeking to destroy the nation's unity). These scholars and philosophers accuse The Fire Kingdom of twisting the religion to subject their population and thus providing a blueprint for [nation 10] to do the same. While there is a degree (or perhaps "semblance") of truth to the latter accusation, it is offensive to Des-Khett Unitists because it implies greater similarity between their variation and [nation 10's] warped version than truly exists: Where the "national character" in the latter system is determined by and cascades down from the government, in the Des-Khett system the government's character is determined by its populace and it rules only by the consent of the governed.   The other significant variation is a belief in "avatars," which they call "woljrogap" (literally "those who are as an oversoul"). These come in two varieties: "corwoljrogap" ("those who are as the body of an oversoul") and "davip ba woljrog" ("blooms of an oversoul"). Corwoljrogap are living beings who act as the leader, representative, exemplar, or champion of an oversoul, while "davip ba woljrog" are spiritual manifestations of an oversoul. This latter category is obsolete or purely metaphorical in contemporary practice as Unitism has become more of a philosophy than a true religion, but in history there were numerous reports and stories of these spiritual figures.   At the most basic level of its definition (a physical being that best represents an oversoul), each individual is a corwoljroga for his own soul. However, the definition is traditionally understood as only applying to oversouls from the warren level up. The Shonsurogst (the ruler of The Fire Kingdom) is always considered to be the corwoljroga of the nation, except in the most extraordinary circumstances—there have been some terrible rulers who are not credited with the title because they are not believed to have acted in accordance with the nation's soul.   It is not necessary or expected for an oversoul to always have a corwoljroga. Only the most extraordinary characters are considered corwoljrogap, and often only in retrospect. In military units, it is rare for a soldier to be considered a corwoljroga while still alive; the designation is usually a posthumous honor for those who distinguished themselves in the finest tradition of their unit. Such honors have to be approved up the chain of command, and when verified, they are added to a unit's honor role. This honor role is a point of great pride for each unit, with its honorees serving as role models for those serving in the unit.   Davip ba woljrog, on the other hand, are spiritual manifestations that may or may not appear visibly. They are often described as perfect manifestations of an oversoul's character, appearing for only the most united oversouls. However, they are not limited to "good" oversouls, and they can manifest for both benevolent and malevolent oversouls. Accounts of what they look like vary, but they are most often depicted as building-sized, ghostly Khetts with healthy fur of a perfect color and eyes blazing with fire. Male and female depictions exist, with female depictions most common for warren spirits and male depictions most common for community or military spirits.   Historical accounts of the appearance of davip are most common in wartime, with spirits appearing over a military unit to bolster morale or lead them to victory, and many eyewitness accounts—sometimes corroborating—exist to support these stories. Most, however, credit such accounts to mass hallucination or false memories created in suggestible states. Older accounts are more often simply dismissed out of hand as fabrications or gross exaggerations. That has not stopped many from fictionalizing these accounts, and such manifestations are extremely common in dramatic fiction (not all of which is theologically accurate).   Many tales—whether ancient stories purporting to be true accounts or modern fantastical fiction—feature these incorporeal avatars battling each other either on behalf of their respective oversouls or alongside them, being strengthened or weakened in accordance with the unity and morale of their oversouls. Another common trope is to have a davip ba woljrog guiding a corwoljroga, another allegedly historical arrangement commonly considered metaphorical at best in modern thought.   Corogatta—the woman who came from the moon in the foundational story of the Northern Khettadine—is considered to be a fusion of the two types of avatars, ascending both and becoming a "Daswolj" (lit. "strong-soul"), an aspirational figure tied to an oversoul, but maintaining an independent character and being beyond the influence of mortals. She is the only such being recognized by any mainstream Unitist denomination and some view her as a god-like figure.   While actual belief in spirit-avatars has waned to near non-existence, they are incorporated in modern thought as metaphorical concepts intended to represent larger groups, serving essentially as (usually) charitable stereotypes or aspirational standards.  

Mountain Khettadine

The Mountain Khettadine know Unitism by the Central Khettadine name, "Avilrogin," but call their distinct version "Avilspinter," which translates as "soul-five" rather than "soul unity." This is not to say that it is fundamentally different than "Avilrogin," in that it doesn't perceive unity in the same way, but merely to highlight the main distinction.   That main distinction is in how they perceive the structure of the oversouls and in their philsophical anthropology.   In Avilspinter philosophy—influenced heavily by philosophy of Grelot Piran—the self is made up of five aspects: Body and mind—the material; heart and will—the spiritual; and stomach, which lies outside of either category, but influences them both.   Like mainline Unitists, they see the body as the seat of action, the mind as the seat of reason, the heart as the seat of emotion, and the will as the seat of discernment, but they add the stomach to this list, as the seat of instinct and appetite, a base, underlying aspect and the most restless of the five, the most difficult to integrate. All of these together create the soul, the five-under-one.   Further, they systematize the oversouls into five essential tiers under the universal living oversoul ("fracavilrogint").

• The family, one's parents and siblings and later spouse and children.
• The warren, which contains many families.
• The "purpose-group," which is vague, but describes the person's extra-familiar groups, whether a workplace, military unit, association, or an informal purpose-driven group like a warren's childcare team.
• The nation (and its culture), one's overarching polity.
• Ethnicity, one's race and ethnic culture.

Although they originally adopted the "Circle of Integration" common among other Unitists (indeed, its influence is clear on their flag), they came up with their own symbol later on to differentiate from the other forms of Unitism and put a more clear emphasis on the concept of five-under-one. The flag of The Mountain Republic features a four-petaled Adilys flower, with the red petals representing the four principle mountains and the green center representing the Valley of Provision, which lies between them. However, as the Circle of Integration is intended to represent a division by four, focusing on just the rings and disregarding the diamond at their center, many Mountain Khettadine philosophers considered the basic Circle of Integration insufficient.   Numerous alternatives were proposed over the course of decades, but eventually a new symbol achieved widespread appeal and was accepted. Known as the "Spinterint bor Rogot" ("Pentagon of Integration"), it features a nested pattern of pentagons, each side of which holds a hexagon that meets the matching side of the next pentagon in the nested pattern, thus creating a five-under-one pattern.  

Shoreborne

Shoreborne Amorality/nihilism

[Nation 10]

Sects

Added Morality (most populous sect, even moreso than the "original"), reincarnation Nihilism (third most populous sect, essentially a more extreme version of the "original") Singularism (smallest major sect, doing away with all oversouls between individual and universal) Dark cults (small, numerous, spring up occasionally. Essentially political movements by Unitist spiritualists, they are often subversive and manipulative, with designs to change the nature of a given oversoul.)

Unitism in the Modern Era