Animism

Horjinic Animism

What sets Horjinism apart from standard Cedrism is the idea that everything has a spirit, up to and including ideas. These spirits exist in our world and in another, though they are far more comfortable in their own realm.

Spirits are created through two things: belief and existence. The latter is more common: if the object/being exists, it has a spirit. However, concepts have spirits as well, and those spirits are created through belief.

An example: the Cedrist and Soloralist gods both exist in the Horjinic mindset, because they are believed in. If the followers of those religions were to turn away, these gods would weaken and eventually die. Similarly, new gods spring into existence (and definition) because followers come to them.

This is not true only for religion. There is a spirit of Shireroth, because it is, as a nation, an entity. But there is not only one spirit of Shireroth; rather, there is the major spirit known as "Shireroth" and several other sub-spirits that are specific aspects of Shireroth, such as "Brookshire,"Shireroth-At-War," "Rebellious-Shireroth," and many others. These sub-spirits report to (and are ultimately controlled by) the greater spirit, "Shireroth."

This format holds true for almost all spirits. When enough power and belief is behind one spirit, it achieves godhood, similar to the Cedrist idea of Transcendence. When this happens, the spirit takes a unique name and aspect, and becomes a god. For instance, the spirit "Hunting-Tiger" achieved power and belief enough to become a god, took the name "Horjin," and became the God of the Hunt.

Sometimes a spirit has more than one master. For instance, "Howling-Cave" will report to both "Wind" and "Mountain." Ultimately, almost all spirits report to one of three main spirits, know and the Triumvirate: Earth-Mother, Sky-Father, and Moon-Sister. Only a few do not report to these, but instead report to the Muses: Organization, Creation, Alteration, and Destruction.

Most who do not report to the Triumvirate are gods and ideas. Horjin and Nelig are unique in that they do not report to the Muses; instead, they report to the Triumvirate, like most natural spirits. Horjin in particular reports only to the Earth-Mother.

Horjinic magic and Neligan magic are not really magics, per se, but are more a calling forth and manipulation of the spirits who are everywhere. The main process involved is a sudden increase in power and belief of a single spirit, allowing it the influence of a near-god for a single moment. But the way Horjinic and Neligan magics are designed, that belief is focused into a particular result.

For instance, say a mage wants to set something on fire. First he must offer a suitable sacrifice (usually something highly flammable), and then believe that the magic he desires will happen. The spirit consumes the offering and then fulfills the belief.

Some mages are known to work with "reversal magic." Using the example above, the mage would offer something cold instead (like an ice cube) and then believe that the spirit would go away. The cold spirits in the area would consume the offering and fulfill the belief, thus raising the surrounding temperature.

Reversal magic is inexact and dangerous, though results from it are frequently far more spectacular.

Horjinic mages also have patrons (known as totems), and this gives them a distinct advantage over the Neligan in that they will always, under any conditions, be able to call upon their totem's powers, frequently without an offering. Totem animals don't require immediate offerings, as long as they receive proper offerings later.