Cult of Hiashin

The cult of Hiashin is ruled by a council of three, each from a different prominent family born with certain 'gifts'. The Noyo believe they can see the unresting dead; The Kokobi believe they can speak the sacred Tongue of Serpents, and hear the whispers of secrets from the shadows; and finally the Arjuda family believes they have heightened senses and an empathic gift granted to them by Hiashin. These three families form the Pillars of Hiashin, and each guards one of his Sacred Tenets.

The beliefs of Hiashin's cult:
- Reincarnation happens when you prove yourself worthy to Hiashin.
- Hiashin carved the River of Death by slithering in the ashy ground, leaving behind a trench that filled with water and spirits both.
- Feeding Hiashin the spirits of the unresting dead will keep the boundary between life and death strong; if they don't feed Hiashin, the boundary will fall and the world will end.
- Hiashin is capable of granting great gifts and blessings, but only if you sacrifice something great. Each of the three families started with a single lion who gave everything to Hiashin, and earned a powerful gift in return.
- The Noyo, Kokobi and Arjuda were made equal but different--Hiashin will accept no infighting, and anyone who oversteps their bounds and moves into another family's territory will be dealt with by the family they offended.
- Every member of Hiashin's cult has Hiashin around their throat--even if they aren't a Noyo and can't see him, Hiashin is there watching them. Sometimes they feel phantom coils.
- Family members can be exiled rather than killed for the right crime, but they will still be monitored--if they have any cubs, they'll be stolen back for the cult eventually.
- If the families have interpersonal relationships--i.e. a Kokobi and a Noyo get together--any cubs from the resulting relationship must be killed or sent away, to avoid diluting or polluting Hiashin's gifts.
- Hiashin is a god of death and suffering. He doesn't give blessings easily, but curses are free. Pain and suffering are signs that Hiashin is paying attention to you, and maybe that you've pleased him.
- As long as Hiashin is pleased, life is good.


I picture Hiashin as a shared hallucination taught to the cubs from a young age and gently shaped by the adults around them. What he says and does changes from person to person, but they all have a similar personality & the cult members can sort of understand what Hiashin is telling both them and the other members when they're all together. The three leaders have final say on the correct interpretation of what Hiashin wants.


Why Amaryllis?
For several years, their numbers have been diminishing. Hiashin is abandoning the wasteland where they live, and they have not yet found where he wants them to go instead.

Nonoyo was meant to be absorbed back into the cult when her mother died, because the older lioness was an exile. She doesn't know as much about their belief system and their lore as she should, or she would have known that they would come for her.

When one of the Kokobi went to retrieve her and found her gone, they followed her all the way to the Passage before turning back to inform everyone else. The lands of Amaryllis are lush, protected by another god but with plentiful spiritual energy. After much deliberation, it's been decided that half the cult will follow their unexpected guide to the New World, and half will stay behind to tend to Hiashin's lands until the end of their days.

The Noyo

Hiashin slithered past, and water filled the trench he made to form the boundary between life and death. Feed him to keep the boundary strong.

Hiashin will eat the spirits of the restless dead to grow more powerful, and preserve the boundary between life and death. This is a belief the Noyo hold sacred, and it is their job to feed him when he gets hungry. (He's always hungry.) Some do this via active sacrifice, of other lions or of prey; others passively spend time in places with high concentration of the restless dead and let him feed that way. Both are correct & follow the ways of the Noyo.

The Noyo family looks for a specific marking in their cubs, in the form of speckling across the face or paws. This is a sign that the cub's spirit spent time in the river of the dead as they passed through to their new life; on the paws, and they walked through it--on the face, and they drank from it. Those with speckling on their face are considered to have more powerful gifts; the more paws you have speckling on, also the more powerful your gift is. If you have all four paws and a face marking, you're in line to lead the Noyo branch of the Hiashin cult one day.

If you're covered in speckles, however, Hiashin attempted to drown you & the Noyo will kill both fully-speckled and non-speckled cubs.

Pelt Colors: Normally Clay, Brown, Black, gray, merle, mauve (All other colors except red/maroon are fine as well)
Details: white or simply pale speckling on the face and/or paws, any size
Naming Conventions: Plainsfolk Lalafell

Specific Adopts:
Uncle Noyo - the leader of the Noyo faction, following his exiled sister's offspring to establish a new territory for the cult. Nonoyo has never met him, but he spent a long time watching her lessons from the shadows & knows her quite well. He plans to indoctrinate her back into the cult.

The Guardian Spirits - Noyo who have proven their excellence in one way or another, usually 4+ years old. They form the voice of the Noyo family at most gatherings, and make up the bulk of those who will be moving to the New World. The Noyo have decided to send most of their old leadership away, and leave youngsters to take their places in the Homeland. Some of their positions include:

The Voice - The position most likely to speak to those outside of the group when the Spirits are together, very close with nearly every other member of the Spirits to the point of silent communication/shared hallucinations.

The Heart - Usually a little lost in the clouds, the one the others believe to have the closest connection to Hiashin. Speaks most quietly, but is heard most often--the most empathetic of the group, likely to advocate for mercy even in dire circumstances. Mercy, in this case, being immense suffering rather than death.

The Eye - Keen and watchful, generally the ambassador to the Kokobi family and a position that comes with close ties to the serpent-speakers. Expected to be at least somewhat in control of the flow of information into and out of the group of Spirits, i.e. keeping eavesdroppers away and making sure the Voice has the right information to be giving out.

The Kokobi

If you listen, Hiashin will tell you what to do--from the mouth of any serpent, our God's voice echoes.

This family is up for grabs! They are the spies/assassins of the cult, gathering information and bringing it to the others so that the collective can decide what to do. They are also the ambassadors and diplomats; their job is to make sure outsiders don't look at the cult too closely, using any means necessary. They also have a marking they look for in cubs, some form of dark markings around the mouth and ears; if the cubs don't have them, they are killed.

Pelt Colors: Brown, Clay, Dark Brown, Black, Maroon, Chartreux
Details: Black or dark markings near the mouth and ears--where Hiashin spoke to you in the afterlife, and gave you his tongue. Extra/small/medium
Naming Conventions: Dunesfolk Lalafell

Specific Adopts:
Kokobi Spy - The first lion to follow Nonoyo, leading the way back to Amaryllis by laying a trail. Roughly her age, previously instructed to form a friendship with her and start comparing their educations. Kind of reluctant to do so because ew, she's basically an outsider. Any age, but 2-3 would probably work best.

Kokobi Leader - A young heir suddenly stepping up to the plate before really considering themself ready. 3+, Male or female, potentially related to the Kokobi Advisor but could also just be a mentor/mentee relationship before joining. Confidant in their abilities, maybe a little nervous about the New World but ultimately ready to conquer it.

Kokobi Advisor - Has a pet snake. 6-7+ preferred; an older Kokobi sent along to help guide the young leader when they ask for help. Mostly here to retire to the lush New World, eager to be relegated to just a resource for knowledge rather than an active assassin.
(Sub-plot here: I really...really want an old married couple aha so if you like the idea of this character & like the idea of an old married couple as well we could totally work something out there.)

The Arjuda

Your power comes from Hiashin. You are an instrument of his will.

This family is up for grabs! They are the warriors/barbarians/paladins, the fighting force, and only occasionally brought in as an ambassador when the cult is also attempting to make a show of force. They also patrol the borders wherever the cult settles, and have red markings they look for in their cubs. If these red markings are not there, this is the only family that will not kill them--instead, they are sent away to another pride, where such gentle souls can live more happily. Despite being the most violent and the fighting force of the cult, the Arjuda family is the gentlest with their own.

Pelt Colors: Wheat, Palomino, Gold, bronze, white, pink, red, maroon
Details: Red markings--the blood of your past life's enemies. Medium/large/colossal
Naming Conventions: Any Lalafell

Specific Adopts:

Arjuda Leader - Young, but older than the Kokobi Leader. More calm, gentle giant than anything; hard to rouse to anger, but once they get there they are berserk. Maybe one thing or character in particular calms them down prematurely, otherwise they basically go 'hulk smash' until the thing that annoyed them is dead or gone.

Arjuda Bodyguards - One for each of the other adopts on the list, plus Nonoyo. Varying ages & range of abilities, will expand this later on as necessary.

Designs

Incoming