Forces of Faith

Thuoth

 

A Force revered by the knowledged and those who wish to know, by the quiet people of Naruta, and by anyone who's ever picked up a book, Thuoth is a truly well loved entity.

 

Dogma

 

"Knowledge is everything."

Information is Thuoth's domain, books - the perfect recepticles of that knowledge - are his holy text. According to Thuothians, without knowledge there can be nothing. Life would stagnate if there wasn't anything being learned, and that it would be the end of the world. Therefore, all of the scholarly priests make it their personal mission to learn new things throughout their life. This helps to explain their good relationship with the Soachian priests - who are constantly thinking up new things to do!

 

Example Holy Passages

 

As all books are sacred, it would be impossible to pin down any written tenets of the faith. However, certain adages have been passed down throughout time.

 

"Books are an amazing thing. They are fragile, prone to damage from fire, usage, water, even time. But the knowledge that they contain surmounts all of those things."

 

"Question everything. You might find that you're right. You might find that you're wrong. Either way, you find out something."

 

"There's no such thing as a stupid question."

 

"Silence is the mantra of morons and the song of great thinkers at work."

 

Holy Days

 

Second Fuoco of Vrede - Debate Day: All of the priests of Mentis convene for a week long (sometimes shorter, never longer) debate in the Debate Hall. The High Priest of Thuoth will put forth a question and invite all of the priests to participate. It is here that many priests find their fame in the chronicled histories of Thuoth's priests by coming to some great insight.

 

First Silva of Mena - Book Day: A two day holiday. On the first day, all of the priests are excused from their duties for a day in order to simply select a book of their choice and read. On the second day, the priests go out and offer to buy one book to add to the libraries of Mentis (or their local temple).

 

Third Ventosus of Mena - Catalog Day: All other duties are excused as all the priests simply make sure that catlogs of the books available are up to date. After the work is done, a feast and celebration are held at night, often accompanied by out-loud readings of favorite books and passages.

 

Second Ventosus of Vorst - Teaching Day: The priests must go out and give public forums on any subject. In Mentis, this is a very organized, very large affair where all priests take up a post in their assigned section and answer any questions put to them by the visitors. Outside of Mentis, this can be a bit less organized and closer resemble a giant, open discussion on various subjects as the priests see fit to teach aloud.

 

Roles of a Thuoth Priest

 

Thuothian priests face a long life of pursuit of knowledge ahead of them. Their function, whether they are located in Mentis or in any other temple, are more or less the same through all of Naruta. The priests collect as much information they can on a variety of subject; anything really. This is carefully recorded and shelved away. The priests often add to this constantly-growing collection themselves. The second function of the priests is to spread knowledge where they can. Many priests double as tutors and teachers. It is perfect acceptable for a Thuothian priest to have a profession or job outside of their priesthood, so long as it does not cause a conflict of interest. The priesthood must always come first.

 

If someone has a question for a Thuothian, it is their solemn and holy duty to provide as much of an answer as possible. If they do not have an answer readily available, it becomes a geas of theirs to find out what that answer might be. Some exceptions can be had, of course; questions of philisophical nature, like "What is the meaning of life?" cannot have a concrete answer of course. Outside of these questions of cosmological knowledge, Thuothians must remain as neutral as possible. No question is to be censored, no answer is either, regardless of the feelings of the priest. If a question of a philosophical nature is posed, the priest is invited to contribute their own thoughts and beliefs.

 

Each priest is assigned to a specific section of books. The subjects are great and varying, from informational to fictional, books on animals to books on machines, so forth and so on. Depending on the size of the section in question, priests may oversee a more broad subject than others. The priest rarely is given a new area of subject to preside. Where they are assigned depends on where they were assigned in sub-priesthood and where more priest help is needed. It is the priest's duty to care, read, and understand as many of the books under their care as possible. A subject of books rarely has more than two priests overseeing it.

 

Transcendance Through Priesthood

 

Transcendency is a slow process, requiring much work along the way. The process will be explained as if a novice was applying in Mentis. It is not very much different for other temples, though some discrepencies may occur based on the size of the local libraries available. A novice is directed to a mentoring older priest. Who this priest is is dependent on a number of factors; if there is already a realtionship between the individuals, what sections of the great libraries need more help, and the seniority of the priest mentoring.

 

The novice is charged with the general care of the books in their section. They make sure they are shelved in proper order, are in good repair, so on and so forth. Since these tasks are minor and not usually time consuming, they are also charged to begin reading as much as they can. When the novice feels ready, they approach their mentor asking to pass to the next level of priesthood. The priest, having read as much or more of the books in his section, presents the novice with a series of questions, ranging from ten to fifty questions. If the novice is able to answer most of them correctly, he may pass into Sub-Priesthood.

 

Sub-Priesthood involves choosing what section an aspiring priest wishes to remain in. They are relocated based off of their personal wishes and where help is needed. From here, the step to full priesthood is identical to novicehood. If a sub-priest wishes to remain in the same section given to them in novicehood, they may immediately pass into full priesthood.

 

Relations to Other Religions

 

Efil - This is a neutral relation. Thuothians enjoy speculating over the purpose of life and the origins of it with Efil priests. Otherwise, they do not often interact.

Taed - The same relationship exists with Taedians as with Efilians.

 

Worg - Worg priests sometimes frown on Thuothians for exercising their minds more than their bodies. But they also understand the power knowledge has over the growth of civilization and society. The relationship is more or less neutral.

 

Soahc - 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 - Etaf and Thuoth priests are very friendly with one another. As Etafians often need to do research, they find themselves frequently in Mentis in order to search the hoardes of books available there. For that reason, Thuothian priests do their best to assist Etaf priests whenever possible, and in return, Etafians will sometimes allow a Thuothian priest to store and chronicle away a bit of prophecy and the history attached.