Godherja Encyclopedia

Shy'atan (faith)

Parent: Shy'atan

Shy'atan is the western Amaghean belief that time is ultimately nothing more than a reflection of an unending cosmos and ultimately is nothing besides yet another facet of the world that humans can shape to their will, just as they can dig a ditch or planet a tree. Shy'atani priests claim to be endless reincarnations of other priests who discovered a way to step out of the cycle of time and reenter it in a new body. Priests before their 'death' will seemingly randomly choose a time along with village, region, or name, and declare that to be the date and location of their reincarnation, a babe then being plucked from there (sometimes forcefully) to be raised among the priests to return to life. While this is normally seen as a great honor, it is still considered heresy to resist the coming priests.

Secular rulers have often chafed against the excesses of the priesthood, technically beholden to any demands made by the priests who often miraculously choose their own children as their reincarnations and thus maintain vast holdings in their name.