I've posted this general description, as this obscure religion from the
Calarnari Desert is about to take a larger role in Midsea affairs, as it
is gaining adherents in the Kaeirean Republic, including several
important figures and leaders. A central belief, as contained in the
Gospel of Shanar: "This is the message sent to all nations, and those
who have eyes, understand and believe."
In the latter days of the Sinari period, a new society began to develop
in the Shanari heartland of the Central Mountains (known as the
Mountains of the Moon Warriors) seeking a restoration and purification
of Shanari religion, law and culture, the abolition of superstition and
witchcraft, and the return of peace to the Shanari lands.
Centred in the Akbari valley of the central Mountains, the new society
was led by an enigmatic religious leader, the Alb Sheikh (Old One),
Faymiyun al Shawari. Receiving revelation solely from the principal
deity of the old Shanari pantheon, Sin Alif (He Who is One), the Alb
Sheikh called the Shanari people away from the Sinari, and to return to
their ancestral pastures to nurture their wounds and return to the true
religion. Faymiyun's message called the Shanari back to the Millat
Shanar, the Path of Shanar (Shanar being the mythical Shanari ancestor).
Many of the tribes who had not joined not join the Sinari have joined
the Alb Sheikh in the Akbari valley.
Later, the Alb Sheikh died, and a successor was chosen, adopting the
title of "Talis" ("Binder") instead of the prophetic title of "Alb
Sheikh" ("Conveyor"). Shanjil Yuliyan al Shawari, cousin to the Alb
Sheikh, became the first such Talis, and was responsible for the
maintenance and development of the Shanariyya state centred in Akbari.
A central tenet of the Millat Shanari faith is its rejection of
knowledge of the supernatural (note: not rejection of the existence of
the supernatural). The current Talis, or head of state, of the
Commonwealth of the Shanariyya, Shanjil Yuliyan al Shawari, when asked
about the practice of magic by the ethnically related Milakanuri,
stated:
The Sons of Milakanur should abandon the ways of the Dreaming, for He
Who is One has commanded it. He Who Is One conveyed to the Alb Sheikh
these words:
"And some ask, what of the Dreaming? Let the sons of the guided one,
Shanar say: "The Dreaming is the Dreaming, and the land that does not
yield is unyielding. Only the fool seeks for the two to meet. Do you
dream when you wake, or wake when you dream? Nay!" If but you had
eyes, you would understand this, for only the fool who disbelieves in
time and its debt talks of the whispering and the darkness." [The
Gospel of Shanar, revelation 6, reading 1]
Abandon the ways of darkness and injustice, and embrace the religion and
message of He Who is One, and we shall come to a mutual peace whereby
all may prosper."
It is noted that the Millat Shanari faith and its belief in an
transcendent absolute deity does not reject the idea or existence of
gods and supernatural beings, but that it rejects the idea that they are
truly divine. As such, the Millat Shanari philosophers place Sin Alif
above and beyond the many pantheons of Celandra, holding He Who Is One
to be the Originator and Creator. Indeed, the old Shanari pantheon is
held to the result of lesser beings and deities added to the original
religion of Sin Alif.
This theism, combined with the ethnic Shanari emphasis on commerce and
trade, makes for a very worldly philosophy, devoid of the arcane
mysticism in many of the passion cults of the Midsea.
The newer significance of this religion is its adoption by many
Kaeireans, especially amongst the military and ruling classes. Lord
Basiluddin, and possibly (though unconfirmable) Lord Jafaarsan, practice
the religion. Jafaarsan's embassy to the Shanariyya Commonwealth in
1442 brought the religion into the heart of Kaeir, and from Port Kaeir
it was soon being practiced by a active minority. Most significantly,
its ascetic worldliness and ethics found great appeal amongst members of
the Kaeirean Guard.
=====
Attached is an earlier article on the Millat Shanari faith:
Daggra Egsbert, "Religions of the Qaiyorean Continent" (Society of
Scholastics, 1600).
In 1439, a Kaeirean special delegation arrived in the desert city of
Akbari, at the heart of the Mountains of the Moon Warriors, deep in the
Calarnari Desert. Comprised of diplomats, intelligence officers and
merchants, it had been dispatched by Senator Jafaarsan back in Port
Kaeir so as to open the way up for a strong political and commercial
relationship between the Republic of Kaeir and the hermit state of the
Commonwealth of Shanariyya.
In time, this was achieved. That story though, is not the one being
recorded here. Senator Jafaarsan, students and graduates of the Society
may recall, was in beginning stage of his struggle with the great
revolutionary Lord Basiluddin for control of the destiny and fate of the
Republic. As part of his broader policy, Jafaarsan had been looking for
a religion that he could manipulate for his political benefit in the
Kaeirean Isles. He found, as far as he could understand in terms of
religion and Men, such a faith in the austere monotheism of the
Commonwealth, the Millat Shanar.
And so it came to be that in the dawn of 1440, as the Kaeirean
delegation returned from across the Northern Midsea, that they brought
with them a small group of Shanari scholars, well-versed in the
scripture and philosophy of somewhat alien faith of the Conveyor of the
Scroll.
With the support of Jafaarsan and his people, the Millat Shanari
scholars established a small Holy Tower in Port Kaeir, the first of its
kind beyond the Calarnari sands. At first, it seemed to be much like
the thousand other cults in Port Kaeir, catering to the myriad peoples
that had made the Republic their home.
Soon though, the Millat Shanari religion began to draw greater numbers
of new adherents, especially amongst the native Celtehari and Celtelathi
islanders, who felt aspects of the desert religion strike chords in
their hearts, as it paralleled some aspects of their own ancient
monotheistic cult, yet provided the sophistication necessary for an
urbanising population.
It was in this context, that we first began to see rumblings of great
change, radical shifts in religion, the future split from the Mother
Tower in Akbari, but most importantly, the appearance of the Disciple,
and from this one individual, the spread of the Disciples.
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