Tinel

Arcana, Knowledge

The Tinelites believes the mind, when open, can perceive many things the naked eye cannot, including visions, portents, and symbols in the landscape. The opening of the mind's eye is a lengthy process, and involves the chanting of a daily meditative prayer. The following is one of many variations, as Tinelites tailor the words to their personal outlook:  

Symbolically, Tinel is represented by a golden key. The key symbolizes the keys to Heaven, but also to the world's countless secrets. When necessary, this symbol can be quickly sketched as a two-tined key with very little detail, but this is rarely used.   Worshipers of Tinel displaying his holy symbol wear at least one key about their necks, and some wear keys all over their persons.

"When I walk down the road that I know I must walk, and I come to the path I know I must take, I hope to find myself opposed. For if there is a rock in my path, I will not say 'I must move this rock,' as might the practical man. I will not say, 'I will turn around,' as might the impatient man. I ask, 'Why has this rock been placed here before me?' Obstacles lie across our many paths in life to teach us the meaning of our journeys. There is nothing that happens to us without the knowledge of the Lord of Secrets. All that we experience in our lifetime is meant to edify. May we have the wisdom to learn."

— the Journals of Madgrigan Yewstaff

  There are many aspects of the Scriptoriums of Tinel, and even a violent division between his faithful, but two beliefs are universal among all Tinelites.   First, there is Truth. There are incontestable facts about the universe, and it is the duty and purpose of the faithful to find and examine the Truth using their senses and empirical evidence.   Second, mortal life is a test. All beings are being watched and judged as they travel through life. The final reckoning takes place before Maal, and mortals do well in that final reckoning if they solve the personal riddle of our existence.   How these beliefs are interpreted varies based on which faction one belongs to.  

The Faction of Tinel, the Heavenly Archmage (Chaotic Good)

The dominant faction of the Scriptoriums believes Tinel wants everyone to be happy. However, mortals have free will, and cannot be made happy with the wave of a god's mighty hand. Mortals must find happiness themselves, by exploring the meaning of their own existence. Every person encounters a great riddle they are meant to unravel over the course of their lives. Almost no one does, and therefore mortals are reborn, sent by Maal to try again. Solving the riddle is only possible if one seeks out the Truth, which is sometimes hard and terrible, and that is only possible if one shares knowledge with others who also seek the Truth.   The followers of Tinel have an advantage over others in the quest to solve the riddle of their lives, for they know how to seek signs of the Truth. Tinel wants mortals to be happy, and makes signs and portents available to all people throughout the world. The most important of these is the Vision of the Opening Eye. When a Tinelite is young (or young in faith, for a late-in-life convert), they learn a series of meditations to open the closed "eye of the mind." After some time, usually a few months, the Tinelite is visited in sleep by an incredibly vivid dream. The dream is often filled with strange symbols. One Tinelite might wander a barren field and plant bloody seeds, as eight blue hawks fly overhead. This vision should be the Tinelite's passion for many years to come, as they seek to unravel its meaning.   Many never find the meaning in their visions. Those who truly understand them (and have an epiphany, instead of just pretending to know) take new surnames based on their understanding of the vision.   Comprehending the vision is only the first step, likened to finding one of the keys to Heaven. Tinelites spend the rest of their lives seeking out how the vision unlocks the riddle of their beings, searching for the lock to fit that key. The Tinelites explain each vision contains a great lesson they are expected to understand completely, before death. The true riddle is the process of uncovering and comprehending that lesson. Few manage it in their lifetimes. Those who do are among the most serene mortals one could hope to meet. Sadly, because their riddles are so personal, they cannot pass along answers future generations can fully comprehend, much less apply to their own mysteries, though they might help a seeker in some small ways.   This vision serves not only as a central pursuit for the members of the chaotic good faction, but also as an explanation on their view of Tinel. The god provides mortals with clues out of love, so they can find their way. Mortals must preserve and share knowledge to help one another on their journey to find answers. There should be debate, rancor, argument and struggle. The world is not pretty, and mortals must look at every aspect of it in their quests. Therefore, societies should be free, and lawful outlooks run counter to what is best for people. Highly lawful societies only work when there are questions people are not allowed to ask, and places they aren't allowed to go. Groupthink is the enemy; the greatest good is found in many free individuals, not in united slaves. However, simply looking at all aspects does not mean partaking in them all; these Tinelites are not evil, and do not give in to depravity. The quest seeks the knowledge to live a good life.   They regard the neutral faction as heretics who teach lies about Tinel.  

The Faction of Aloof Tinel (Neutral)

The neutral faction agrees that one must seek Truth. Life is the great test; upon this, they agree as well. Both factions use the Vision of the Opening Eye, and therefore both seek to comprehend their visions. But the followers of Aloof Tinel believe a person must collect knowledge and secrets to break the riddle of one's life for its own sake, not to help others. Secrets should remains within oneself. The vision is a map to the Truth that one must follow to serve Tinel. Once one discovers the secrets of this path, they should keep them hidden. Knowledge belongs to worthy Tinelites and their well-guarded Scriptoriums.   To the Aloof faction, the mortal world is an illusion without consequence, created by the gods to separate the worthy from the worthless. When mortals die, those who have accumulated the most knowledge—the only thing that is real in this fleeting, illusory existence—are sent by Maal to stand before Tinel. Those who show they have unraveled the secrets of life are enlisted to aid Tinel in his studies to preserve the universe from the End Times. Nothing matters but the acquisition of the Truth, to prepare for this final test before the Lord of Secrets. Therefore, this faction encourages the hoarding of learning. They believe it is wrong to give knowledge to those who are not worthy, and will waste Tinel's time.   Adherents believe Tinel no longer cares about the Material Plane, that he places no signs in the world, and no longer offers his guiding hand to anyone. Tinel provides a vision, not a loving embrace, as a way of seeing the pure and beautiful Truth one must seek forevermore. When the vision is comprehended, the Tinelite is well on the way to learning as much of the Truth as they need to pass the test, and serve Tinel.   They regard the chaotic good faction of the faith as deluded idiots, chasing phantoms. Tinel is too busy studying his secrets to pay attention to the inconsequential mortal races, when they must prove themselves worthy of him.

The Tinelites have a calendar filled with holy days, many of them so minor most people, even the most orthodox Tinelites, do not bother to observe them. As a faith, they observe occasions of great historical importance, and moments of profound learning. For example, the birthdate of a great teacher who discovered a new method for preserving food is a holy day for Tinelites.   Not all holy days are so minor. The Festival of the World and the Festival of Magic are the faith's greatest sacred events.  

The Festival of the Word

More than any other faith of the gods of the tree, Tinelites revere the written word, books, scholarship, and learning. In the Festival of the Word, which takes place every year at the height of summer, they honor and reward the greatest scholars of the day. The event lasts eight days, during which there are great feasts, lectures, recitals, and other celebrations of the written word. Usually, the Festival takes place on a national scale, so all the Scriptoriums in a single country band together to name the worthiest works of scholarship of that year, and bestow kingly gifts on the scholars who made them. In places where neighboring countries have friendly relations and cultural ties, the Scriptoriums of all those nations might band together to issue only one set of awards.  

The Festival of Magic

At the height of winter every year, the council of Five Hierophants decrees a single location where the greatest wizards and sorcerers of the world convene for a great celebration of the gift of magic. They arrive from all around the world for five days of festivities. Only those who practice the arcane arts can participate in the festival, which involves much debate about arcane pursuits, the relations between those who use magic and those who do not, the policies of the Council of the Five, and other matters of interest to powerful magic users. Celebrants gather for a great competition, where powerful and rare magic items are offered as prizes. The Council of Five determines the competition's challenges in the days before the festival, so the nature of the contests change every year. However, there are always at least one in which contestants demonstrate raw magical skill, and one in which they show cleverness and creativity in the use of magic. Sometimes there is even a contest for apprentices, but that is at the whim of the Five.

Tinel is mysterious. His attentions are divided, for he knows the future. Tinel is more acutely aware than any of the other gods that someday he will cease to be, either because the Great Sphere will collapse, or because mortals will all become like the fourteen wizards who tried to chart Heaven. He believes the end is inevitable. For this reason, he slowly gives in to what mortal minds would call madness. Sometimes, he pursues knowledge, and promotes the study of magic and virtue, because these matter to him, but otherwise he is utterly lost in his studies and secrets, and cares nothing for the numerous planes and their peoples. It is like he is two different beings, and because he is a god, can exhibit both personalities concurrently, even changing his appears to fit each aspect.   It is not altogether unreasonable to call Tinel mad and perhaps his wife, Zheenkeef, has affected him. The Tinel focused on the world believes the individual is greater than the community, that one person who finds her true calling can achieve more than a thousand who do what is expected of them. For this reason, he drives those who seek him out in prayer toward quests of personal discovery and internal inquisition. There is no one dearer to him than someone who questions his own motives, accepts nothing at face value, and sees the entire world as a lesson.   Yet Tinel also suffers from a divine malaise. He retreats to his sanctum and studies every minute detail of the universe. Perhaps he seeks to unravel the mysteries of the Nameless One, to keep the world from ending, should his name be spoken. Perhaps he strives to ensure he and his family will never cease to be. Whatever possesses him, in this state he cares nothing for mortals, for individuals, or even his own family.   These two faces of Tinel are senses by those who worship him, which has led to a profound schism in his faith. The divide is so deep, his church has expelled a large movement of "heretics," and is often torn by internal bloodshed and rivalry. If this bothers Tinel, he seems to have done nothing to stop it. Some believe he waits to see which side of the schism prevails, to put to rest his own struggle, and in the end he'll become as the winning side sees him, forever.   Just as he does not seem to care about the rift in his church, he also pays little attention to the rift in his own family. Zheenkeef and Shalimyr couple in defiance of the chaos goddess' marriage to Tinel, yet he takes no heed. Many believe he refuses to admit his knowledge, just as even wise mortals often fail to see those hurtful things closest to them.   If there is one thing Tinel remains passionate about, it is his rivalry with his brother Terak. He opposes his brother in nearly all things. Like his brother, Tinel has changed the reason for continuing the vendetta from what it was in legendary ages. While he once fought to be the eldest, Tinel now argues with his brother because he sees in Terak's doctrines the likely downfall of the gods. Terak would create a world where mortals need no gods and live as one people, obeying their leaders, questioning nothing. In such a world, the leaders are gods; truth is unimportant. Terak's vision of the world is soulless, in Tinel's esteem, and the individual will be crushed and washed away, if his brother prevails. Thus, the old grudge remains, only weakening in the neutral aspect of Tinel, lost in his studies.