Forces of Faith

Soahc

Certainly one of the most controversial of Forces, both revered and reviled, Soahc makes his mark plain for all to see - both in his personal antics in the world that is his playground, and through his priests of mayhem.

Dogma

"Don't suffer from madness; enjoy every moment of it."

Not all of Soahc's priests are mad, persay, though that is the popular opinion. All of the priests do try to break free of what is perceived as normal, however, thus giving them a variety of labels, very few of which are flattering. In Flux, the "Touched Ones of Soahc", those who truly devolved into a type of blissful state of madness, are honored and revered amongst the priests.

Example Holy Passages

Taken from the Scrolls of Anarchy:

1. "Take humor seriously, and take seriousness humorously. People are too stressed, too worried. It leads them to die early and unhappily. Enjoyment of life is the cure for this sickness - so enjoy it, and enjoy it well or else!"
2. "Do not discredit the teachings of the insane. Just look at us and our history for further proof."
3. "Don't believe everything you read."
4. "No two equals are the same."

Needless to say, the holy text of Soahc and the wisdom therein is unconventional at best.

Holy Days

First Terra of Solary - Sinfest: Truly, what Soahcian priests live for. Each priest spends the entire day (and in Flux, the entire week) indulging in their chosen Path (see below) to as much excess as possible. Priests generally have a special set of robes made up and set aside for Sinfest - black, trimmed in the color of their choice. The emblem of Soahc is etched somewhere on the robes, and the rest of the space is filled up with symbols signifying what path the priest is engaged in. This helps to avoid unwanted attention and clashes between the various Paths. Lust often decorates their robes with hearts, lips, and phallic imagery. Greed enjoys sewing coins, hands, and broken scales upon their robes. Wrath often depicts a fist, fire, or a middle finger. Death during Sinfest is an acute possibility, but the funerals afterwards are generally as lively and full of good times as Sinfest itself, in accordance to Rule One of the Scrolls.

First Silva of Nox - Grey Day: The opposite of Sinfest, Grey Day is a day spent in as much moderation as possible. Priests generally drink themselves stupid the night prior, lock themselves into their room, and don't come out until the day is over. Those in more spirit of the day actually go out and give sermons to people or do servant work around the temple. All servants are given the day off to celebrate their own 'sinfest' though it's generally much tamer by comparison.

Too many to count- Unholiday: In the spirit of Rule One, every day that is not a holiday is an unholiday and should be treated with lighthearted revelry when appropriate.

Random - Chaoflux: At the start of each year, a calendar is drawn up on the wall of the high priest's room. The high priest is then blindfolded, spun around several times, and handed a dart. Whichever day the dart strikes is Chaoflux day. On this holiday, the priests compete against one another to be crowned 'priest of the day' in Flux. There's no rules and no set of criteria for how to win, so it's a very crazy day indeed.

Roles of a Soahc Priest

Soachian priesthood is a surprisingly complex religion. When an individual joins the church, they are asked to pick a "path". This path is a subset of belief in Soachian teachings. New paths may be created, and often are, but the most common follow the seven deadly sins. All Soachians are taught that Soahc's gift to humanity was there failings, and, as such, this must be a very good thing. They revel in their frailties, hold up sin and immorality as something to strive for, and are constantly on the hunt for something new and unusual.

Outside of Flux, priests tend to be a bit more subdued lest they give their religion a bad name and are forced out of their homes. However, this does not deter them too much, and these priests are at the least jovial, lighthearted individuals, and at most, considered "half sane" as they ramble about the strangest of things and give completely bizarre advice to one silly enough to approach them for it. Sometimes it works out - more often or not it doesn't, but the priest gets a good laugh out of it.

Within Flux, however, all is madness. Priests are very competitive with one another, but rarely does this turn to any bitterness or animosity. Two priests could nearly kill one another one day, and the next be sharing a mug of ale amiably. Such is the life in Flux. The citizens are all looked upon fondly but condenscendingly. They are the 'children' of Soahc, to the Soachian priests. An ancient prophecy foretells of a time when the people would band together despite their differences and their conditions and "speak with one voice, move with one body". The priests are still waiting for this day. Until then, they encourag the squalid conditions and meager existence, hoping to either erradicate the chance of the prophecy becoming fulfilled or in hopes that the people would realize that they could make their trapped homes into something pleasant if they would only think unconventionally - it all depends on the individual priest, and his motives.

Murder, rape, and other disagreeable acts in the name of Soahc are strictly forbidden. "We have a hard enough time not getting chased off just for being merry and unusual," is the general claim. For this reason, any priest caught performing forbidden acts of depravity are thrown into cells under Flux or outright killed. Note that there is a fine line between "acts of depravity" and "experiments of creativity". For this reason, most Soachians try to get the permission of any non-priest that they wish to experiment on.

If a priest is lucky enough to live into ripe old age and fall into a state of constant hallucinations and disconnection from reality, the priest is considered to be touched by the hand of Soahc. So long as they are not violent, they are thought of as posessing the ultimate reward of their services. These priests are given luxurious quarters at the top of the Fluxian towers in the temple and are waited on patiently and lovingly, referred to as Father or Mother.

Transcendance Through Priesthood

Anyone can try to come into priesthood. However, there is a probationary period prior to becoming an acolyte. Candidates must be tested to see how chaotic they are intrinsically. Some individuals are able to pass on the first try, but many must be taken in under the wing of a full priest for tutoring and advice. Once passing this test, the individual becomes an acolyte.

From here, an acolyte must somehow make their mark on the priesthood. This is generally done through either writing a provocative essay on chaos and its relation to something else, or similar topics; or through some great act of some kind. How this step is achieved is not of much concern as long as it somehow pertains to Flux, Soahc, chaos, or anything to that kind of subject. Once this deed is comitted, the acolyte is raised up to full priesthood and let loose amongst the ranks.

Priesthood does have weight of seniority for multiple reason - chiefmost being that they survived this long, they must know what they're doing. High Priest used to be selected via voting amongst senior priests, but this practice has been recently abolished and a policy of drawing straws at the end of the year instituted to "keep things fresh".

Relations to Other Religions

Efil - Efil priests are a bit wary of Soachians. Unless they prove themselves harmless, they are viewed with suspicion.

Taed - Taedean and Soachian priests experience a love-hate relationship of sorts. The Taedeans think Soachians are noisy, troublesome, and altogether not worth the time of day. Soachians think Taedeans are too serious. Both, however, find themselves actively agreeing on the validity of destruction and the usefulness of it in all forms.

Worg - Generally Worgans are indifferent to Soachians. They do think Flux has some, grudging, merit in that it forces its citizens to rely only on their inner strength. Furthermore, Worgans understand that to grow, change must exist. However, they do not appreciate the rampant destruction Soachians can sometimes create.

Thuoth - Surprisingly, these two religions get along extremely well. Soachians have developed a great love of writing down what they see, find, experience, etc. They have their own well stocked, completely unorganized library of this information, but often will donate their findings to Mentis as well, much to the delight and amusement of the priests there. As a result, Thuothians are very happy to help with some hands-off research when asked.

Etaf - The two religions are often at odds, but sometimes compliment one another, as is the nature of chaos. Etafians generally dislike the wild-card effect Soachian priests have in their surroundings, but they bow to the fact that it is through chaos that often free will is most apparent. Soachians, for their part, feel the Etafians need to lighten up and greatly dislike the idea of anything being unchangeable.