Mare Eternus: The Wandering Way

[Nomadic]

[note]Haven't done something on ME in awhile, this is a bit of spur of the moment but I figured it was a good way to get back into things. Feel free to read about one of the largest religions in The Expanse. Born from tribal ancestor worship tempered by the Zen-like Gray Circle The Wandering Way has grown into a large influencing force, especially within The Pearl Way[/note]
Foundation of The Wandering Way
The ancient tribes of the Maeri long ascribed to ancestral and spirit worship of some form or another. The origins of Maeri religion are shrouded by time and the original spiritual worship was a mixed and scattered thing with individual tribes and even families following their own personal spirits and gods and obeying myriad different ceremonies. The rise of the pearl way brought much of it together into a single cultural melting pot and for the first time in Maeri history forged a unified religion of sorts. Almost all Maeri are brought up to show respect to their ancestors and to respect their elders above all. They pray to their ancestors for guidance and go to their elders for advice. Additionally the various tribes look to different personifications, invoking them during rites and even in every day speech. When this spirituality met the old Nicu Gray Circle Order it coalesced into a central idea and has since become a true religion. It of course has its own branches and divisions but they all fall under the label of The Wandering Way.

Followers
Anaeli (Ikaedian for Journeyman) are followers of this belief system which advocates prayer to ones ancestors and to the various Utu (an Ikaedian word which in meaning is a mix between spirit, goblin, and fated event). These Utu are not only the causers, but the very embodiment of certain events. For example, the Utu Omniliaux is responsible for stubbed toes, bitten lips, banged shins, and all other unfortunate injuries inflicted by bad luck. It is he who Anaeli curse when they hurt themselves. Additionally there are Utu for defeat, careless words, loss of possessions as well as positive events such as weddings, deaths, and births. Those looked as bad events are generally brought up as curses such as a workman cursing Omniliaux after hitting his thumb with a hammer. Meanwhile positive ones are thanked and praised such as a woman thanking Yrnal the restorer of hope when she finds her lost child. Above the Utu however are still ones ancestors with the more ancient ones holding more power.

A Few Various Utu

Vrod (Bringers of Joy)
Berd the Soulgiver
Setahg Midwife of the Ancestors
Yrnal the Restorer of Hope

Draeki (Bringers of Sorrow)
Goabi the Loose Lipped
Lyerni the Defeater
Omniliaux the Blameless Wound

Ancestors
Genealogy holds great importance with The Wandering Way for obvious reasons as the farther back an ancestor is the more potent their favor may be. Those who cannot trace their ancestry at all often find it hard to be Anaeli, the few who do often clinging to the Utu in lieu of ancestors. For those who do have a lineage to look to great effort is spent in honoring it. There are several daily prayers and regular proper invocations that may be used in daily life. One swears on their ancestors ("may the fathers of my father forsake me if I forsake my oath" being an example of a common warriors promise) as well as asking them for direction in life. Many Anaeli carry with them a pouch of colored and glyph covered cubes much like dice with which they divine the will of their forebearers.

The practitioners of the wandering way view life as a road, a journey that everyone takes. They believe that those that have already walked the road can help guide them as they wander through life. It is through these prayers and through the dice that they believe the road can be safely walked. Along the way one finds dangers and hazards (Draeki) as well as lucky breaks (Vrod) and one acknowledges and respects these as part of the path to ancestral glory but ultimately a person looks to their elders and ancestors farther along the road to aid them in making the journey regardless.

[Ghostman]

I like this, particularly the "Life = A Road" analogy. Is this taken as a simple metaphor or do they also attribute spiritual significance to actual roads and pathways?

How does the known history of one's forebears influence an Anaeli? If you know that your ancestors had a feud with another family, would that result in a religious obligation to bear a grudge towards the members of that family? Would you be expected to imitate the ways and opinions of your most prominent ancestors, if these were well-known?

[Nomadic]

actual[/url] roads and pathways?

How does the known history of one's forebears influence an Anaeli? If you know that your ancestors had a feud with another family, would that result in a religious obligation to bear a grudge towards the members of that family? Would you be expected to imitate the ways and opinions of your most prominent ancestors, if these were well-known?
[/quote]

How does your forebears history affect you? It doesn't, it is largely irrelevant who they were or how they acted. Of course in practice some may act prideful because of something their ancestors did or tease someone who say, had a grandfather who stole cattle. That however isn't the religion, that's just Maeri tribal habits bleeding over into modern life. It tends to get mixed up in all of the religion they practice though in some way or another. Anaeli do not place religious import on what ones ancestors did or did not do or who they did or didn't like. All ancestors are guides and all are equals save that more ancient ancestors may be able to offer you greater guidance as they have had longer to watch the roads.

[LordVreeg]

"an Ikaedian word which in meaning is a mix between spirit, goblin, and fated event"

I just wanted t put this one back out there

[Nomadic]

"an Ikaedian word which in meaning is a mix between spirit, goblin, and fated event"

I just wanted t put this one back out there

Haha yea I've been trying to fit in realistic language. Not actual full on languages, I'm no limetom, just little snippets that look like they come from an actual language. Real languages don't tend to directly translate over (if they did google translate would have 100% accuracy). Words have contextual meanings and shared meanings and so forth and some don't have direct counterparts in other languages and can only be translated properly through a definition (as opposed to a single word equivalent). A couple examples being the Greek word Agape or the Japanese Sensei. I've tried to quietly fit this into the languages of Mare Eternus to help give the setting a bit more depth. Obviously I'm no expert and limetom will probably say that everything I've just said is a lie but I try hard to add that extra bit to the setting to draw you in when I can.

tl;dr - trying to make my languages/words feel real, using real world examples for aid, in before "limetom: you fail linguistics forever"