Kharist Ata - The Old Way

The Primusian Religion

Basic Ideas – The Primusian religion is a dichotomy. It is a philosophy on the nature of existence, and it is the worship of a nearly-forgotten God. Primus Was before anything else and Will Be after all else falls away. Their God is both a being and an idea; because of this Primusians are all very intellectual. Those who are not of Mind enough to understand Primus are not regarded as true followers. Contemplation and meditation are key for Primusians; silence is golden.

Worship – Primusians follow a strict schedule of prayer. Temple attendance is not mandatory, especially since Tersid curiosity often leads to travel. If a temple is nearby, though, it is considered of up most importance to attend for prayer services. Every Wednesday there is prayer at the beginning of the hours¹. Every other day there is simply prayer at the beginning of the second hours², and at temple there is a communal dinner.

There are also some sacred relics which are worshipped. There is, of course, a crystal egg with three golden symbols in it which are the laws of the Primusians³, but this is lost to the depths of Fou Lu or perhaps some other Realm. Next are a series of stone tablets, kept in separate locations, which hold the original text of the Scrolls of Primus: Creation, Tersid, God, Dragon, and Unity. These were originally wall murals which were taken when the Tersids withdrew from the world, and later scribed to scrolls. They are kept in the five separate temples, the tablet with Creation kept at the Great Temple. Finally there are crystal tablets which have been carved and the grooves filled with silver. The much smaller tablets come in sets of three and there is a set at each Primusian Temple (except those above, as the two temples built by Human followers who found the Scroll of Creation that Zensheiy Tarou had unearthed did with what they had). The crystal tablets hold the prayers of the Primusians.

First are the two previously discussed prayers, one for each day and a second on Wednesdays. The third is for the beginning of the Primusian year. This calendar is used only by Tersids (though the followers above know when the day to pray is they do not know what year this is by Primusian reckoning) and this is their New Years. On this New Years there is always a sacrifice made to Primus, usually Kerin Flies for the Tersids, and a great celebration is held.

General – Primusians are basically pascifists, holding respect for All That Is. They do not show disrespect to other Gods or peoples, at least until those peoples disrespect Primus. Should someone or a group of persons happen to offend a Primusian’s religion they will most likely seek revenge. Only once has this happened (as few talk to Tersids anyway) and it resulted in a Tersid war party coming out from their hidden city and laying a village to waste. News of this event hasn’t really spread, as there were no survivors to send out word, but rather it is regarded as an odd disappearance. Followers of other races, which are basically the couple dozen attendees of the two non-Tersidian Temples of Primus, are generally far more pascifist and prefer trying to stop the ignorance of those who offend them. This doesn’t usually work but they do not have the force of a united race behind them.

Temple – Temples to Primus are elaborate structures in the Tersid world. Not wanting to harm All That Is they carve all their buildings out of natural rock, leaving it attached to the World. Great statues are carved in the Temples, as well as seating and altars. Jewels are laid into the eyes of these statues to make them appear more alive. At least they do to the Tersids. The Temples above are not quite so ornate. They have a few wooden statue replicas, thanks to sketches from one or two Tersids who passed through, and are housed in simple buildings. The other Primusians don’t let this get them down, and the Tersids respect them for their commitment to the Father.

Notes:

¹ [Tersids can’t see the sun, so rather than rely on the sun they simply split the day into two twelve-hour sections. So, there is no day ending earlier in the winter or any such thing, but each day is the same as the last. The starts of the hours are what we regard as sun up and sun down. Roughly.]

² [This would basically be sun down. This is when Tersids usually eat dinner.]

³ [For more information see the Scroll of Tersid, Second Scroll of Primus.]