Shemsu of Sharadiya
Structure
The Shemsu operate as a loose confederation of priesthoods, united under Sharadiya’s tenets but granted autonomy to adapt to their environments.
1. Governing Body: The Fourfold Circle
Composed of one high priest from each order:
Shemsu-Sedjemhet (Wind and Veil) – Oversees death rites and ancestral lore.
Shemsu-Hekau (Djinn) – Manages djinn relations and elemental magic.
Shemsu-Nisut (Fourfold Pillars) – Trains warriors and enforces trials.
Shemsu-Raheem (Endless Dunes) – Not required to attend but can come whenever they want. Serves as nomadic ambassadors and storm-readers.
Meets biannually at the Silent Sanctum beneath Abdasham to settle disputes and align doctrine.
2. Shared Hierarchy
Arisekhet (High Priests) – Interpret divine will.
Kheru (Mid-Rank) – Conduct daily rituals and enforce laws.
Sahu (Novices) – Serve as apprentices and laborers.
3. Oversight Methods
The Mirage Codex – A living scripture updated by all orders; discrepancies are resolved through wind-divination.
The Trial of Echoes – Disputing priests must stand in the Whispering Hollow; whoever’s words echo truest wins.
Culture
Adaptive – Desert survival requires flexibility; doctrine shifts like sand.
Merciless to Traitors – Those who defy the Fourfold Balance are left blindfolded in the deep desert.
Suspicious of Cities – View settled life as "softening" faith.
Celebratory – Lunar festivals involve drunken dagger-dances and mutant beauty pageants.
Public Agenda
Preserve Sharadiya’s "Fourfold Balance" (life/death, mortal/djinn, strength/grace, tradition/adaptation).
Protect the God-Scarred from persecution.
Ensure the dead are returned to the wind, not buried or burned.
Assets
The Mirage Codex – A sacred text that rewrites itself.
Sandfire Blades – Glass swords that burn oath-breakers.
The Silent Sanctum – A buried temple where Sharadiya’s voice is clearest.
Nomadic Allies – Amjadian tribes and rogue djinn informants.
Tenets of Faith
The Desert Claims All Flesh – No graves, only wind.
Djinn Deserve Bargains, Not Chains – Binding is a last resort.
Mutation is Divine – Sharadiya’s touch is not deformity, but evolution.
Ancestors Speak Through Storms – Listen or be buried.
Priesthood
Shemsu-Nisut: Priests of the Fourfold Pillars
Shemsu-Hekau: Priests of the Shackled Djinn
The Shemsu-Sedjemhet: Order of Wind and Veil
Shemsu-Raheem: Order of the Endless Dunes
Political Influence & Intrigue
In Abdasham: The Shemsu are the de facto rulers—their laws override the nobility.
In Faizum: Tolerated but distrusted; nobles consult them only for curses or djinn pacts.
Among Amjadian Tribes: Revered as living saints, especially the Raheem.
With the Rajindra Empire: Seen as dangerous mystics
"Four arms to cradle the living, four winds to carry the dead."
Subsidiary Organizations
Deities
Divines
Location
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
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