Opelitl

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Opelitl is a religion native to the island of alaxua and practised in the nations of Tlaxunawal, Yuatma and Yupanxla. A follower of Opelitl is known as an "Opelitlist". The religion is named after the first civilisation to rise in the continent, the Opelitl civilisation.

Beliefs

Deities

There exist several kinds of deities, associated supernatural forces and entities within the religion. Chiefly, the three gods sit atop the spiritual hierarchy:

• Xowiy, the original mother of reality, matter, life and consciousness, responsible for birthing Velkhwiy. Her essence is associated with the feelings of love, passion and happiness. The blueness of the sky and the blue glint of the night is said to indicate her presence.
• Velkhwiy, an androgynous deity, formed from the essence of the land, it sacrifices its body to birth all matter; forming soils, plants, creatures, and in direct circumstance supernatural entities and even humanoid life itself. It is responsible for inadvertently birthing Nikhtushwaiy.
• Nikhtushwaiy, formed from the minds and emotions of humanity, his very essence and will is comprised from and directs the alaxuan civilisation and its prosperity and/or depravity, with the quality of life being directly proportional to how pleased the god is with his worshippers. Often depicted as a particularly cruel deity, his worship and cultural prevalence has frequently been used to justify religious terrorism.

Depending on the sect of Opelitl, the three deities are either all entities of one another, or separate entities within their own right.

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  Depiction of Xowiy, holding a llama herder's staff to symbolise her as the protective shepard of her believers

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  Depiction of Velkhwiy, with its headdress and arms depicted with faces to symbolise it as the giver of life

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  Depiction of Nikhtushwaiy, depicted with a snake tongue, a severed head in one hand, and a headdress adorned with horns and intestines

Lesser Deities

There are also a variety of lesser spiritual forces and entities.

Cycle of Existence

Reincarnation

Opelitl's model of the universe views every single living organism as existing on equal grounds of entitlement, all forming part of the "fabric" or biomass of life. It teaches that the aspect of life, consciousness and memory is a hereditary aspect that manifests itself in two things after the organism's death: Physical objects that the organism used most in their life (e.g. Pendants, portraits, books, musical instruments, weapons, and so fourth), and the genetic material of its children. Essentially, this means all life reincarnates after death as their own children, and even through other organisms.

The life of an organism is divided up into four stages: Upbringing, Reproduction, Death and Rebirth.

An organism's consciousness and ability of generating new thought and emotion is what defines its existence. Enactment of productivity and beneficial work towards kin, civilisation and fellow living creatures is the very meaning of life. The first phase of existence emphasises this. Children and young adults are constantly taught to seek knowledge, to learn, to develop skills, to succeed, and to help and benefit others.

The second phase is the period of time where an organism begins the slow process of reincarnation, as their life force is reborn and distributed amongst its children. From a scientific perspective, this quite closely mirrors actual genetic descent, and somewhat accurately explains why personality, behavioural and visual traits of children are similar to their parents. This phase is hence defined by: finding love, reproducing and building a family - where a supposed quarter of a person's life force (often described as the dormant quarter) is passed on.

After death, an organism's body becomes an empty vessel, as they transcend physical reality to enter the third phase of existence. With all useful genetic material and life force existing now as other life forms, the spirit of the deceased organism imprints itself upon everything it touched and was associated with, with the most life force manifesting in their most useful and/or favourite objects. The potency of a spirit's presence is said to be heightened by a lesser number of objects, often meaning that wealthier followers of the religion should either donate portions of their assets to the less fortunate before death, or should simply invest in living a frugal existence, lest they risk living a weakly experienced afterlife.

The fourth and final phase of an organism's life is the steps its children take towards achieving their first phase of existence.

If a being does not have children, then its essence must still be dispersed. Ceremonies such as sky burials or cremation and dispersion into soil so that an organism can become food - and eventually genetic material - for other forms of life typically manage this. Often however, to promote maximum adherence to the spiritual cycle, many bearers of children still wish to be buried in this manner so that they can benefit as many life forms as possible.

The spirit of the deceased is then attached to the physical world through their bound object, and lives a fulfilling eternity at rest. Folklore often tells of spirits being called upon to help in times of strife through rituals and prayer, or even summoning themselves when angered or endangered. A spirit can only exist in the afterlife and physical world simultaneously if their memory is preserved by its descendants, lest it ceases existence and is lost to the stars forever.

The reincarnation cycle is not only encouraged for an individual's satisfaction after death, but is taught as thing that must occur for the benefit of the entire community, for the cycle can only continue if fuelled by constant death, genetic dispersion and rebirth, much like a river that powers a watermill.

Apocalypse

It is sincerely believed by devout Opelitlists that if their religion is wiped out, the cycle of existence will end, and all meaningful life will be irrevocably lost with the death of the final generation of all living creatures. With Opelitl forgotten, and all adherents of Nikhtushwaiy having disappeared, Nikhtushwaiy is prophesied to wreak havoc upon the life and lands in a psychotic, terrified panic, in fear of its own demise. In the maelstrom of destruction it inflicts, it will wound the body of Velkhwiy grievously, causing the two gods to battle one another.

In the wake of this apocalypse, the lands, the seas, the dead and the mortally wounded bodies of the gods will burst into flames, burning fiercely until they become ash. The sun will extinguish, plunging the land into darkness, and all unfortunate enough to have lived through the end of reality will starve to death.