Eslend Rift
A collection of lores and short stories on the universe Eslend Rift.
Shamanism
Energy
Energy is a property of matter; that principle is simple enough—what matters most to anyone is how they can wield this energy for all sorts of purposes. It’s said that some god responsible for Creation a long time ago has made it possible for inhabitants of Eslend to be capable of learning how to control this energy in however way they wish, given enough time and practice.
While the principle is simple enough, what this “energy” is and why certain people manipulate it easier than others is poorly understood. Those who have come to understand that matter is simply made up of energy have a better time bending it to their will—those who wield elements like fire, those capable of lifting objects by apparent means of sheer will, those who float with the wind and those who communicate with animals… all are equipped with the understanding that once one sees matter and its properties in its truest form—energy—one can command it for their own purposes and ambitions.
Despite this knowledge being widespread, most choose to turn a blind eye, much like an ordinary citizen would turn away from the studies of science, despite it being something of an eye-opening knowledge—simply because it has little use to the common folk. What was the use of studying telekinesis for years, when one could walk over yonder and pick up the desired object that way? Nowadays, those who bother to understand and master such knowledge are only combatants, vagrants, religious schools, hobbyists, and particular individuals with an ambition.
Shamans, over the millenia, have become known to be masters of such knowledge. Their mastery has come to the understanding of life, death, creation and destruction itself—a knowledge guarded as precious secrets; an extent of knowledge taught only to those who can handle it responsibly. This understanding of energy meant that Shamans could do anything and everything with this energy; they could destroy the world if so desired—which is why a Shaman, despite their power, is the only religion to teach mastery of it… only not to use any of it.
While different schools of Shamanism have different principles and integrities, a majority agree that these qualities make a Shaman:
- Complete and utter mastery of energy and matter, to the extent of control of life and death
- Association with the elements, to the point of almost becoming one with it
- Resignation to the natural flow of things; to never use their mastery for their own ambitions
Point (2) almost always refers to a Shaman’s association with a crystal. In Eslend, crystals are believed to be physical, concentrated manifestations of energy, in which infliction or even contact with it can affect those who have no understanding of that energy. Depending on the region found, certain crystals have different properties—e.g. rubies are warm to the touch, and if pure, can inflict burns. In the common world, crystals are harvested to be used as sources of fuel, embedded in accessories or weapons to imbue luck or certain properties, etc. A Shaman who has completely mastered energy and matter would, therefore, be able to phase their physical forms into crystals—while some choose which crystal they associate with (mostly due to profession), others simply go with the one they found in abundance during their lifetime. For example, Yushou is associated with the crystal jade, often associated with life force and healing.
Point (3), however, differs from school to school. Some create sub-clauses for this point—others define new meanings for it. Some meanings may include one or multiple interpretations:
- Never changing one’s appearance—e.g. cutting one’s hair is to alter the natural flow of things
- Having a morally gray or neutral stance; nothing is right or wrong. Only what wins and loses
- Little or no interference to injustices or perils of oneself or others
- Never using one’s powers at all—in fact, complete abstinence from it
Point (a) is followed by many Shamans, though to what degree people follow it varies. A majority vows to never cut their hair; nowadays it has become a symbolism of sorts, that cutting a Shaman’s hair often means unsubscribing to principle (c), therefore symbolizing sacrifice to one’s life or chasing their ambition. Point (a) is widely known to many others in Eslend; it is also common practice for combatants/militias to cut a Shaman’s hair to shame them if captured.
Other points may be followed to some degree; some schools of Shamanism encourage moral neutrality, while others encourage serving justice to bring balance to the world, as one sees fit. Two students from the same school might even disagree on to what degree a certain principle should be followed (if at all).
Either way, two things make a Shaman: (a) Graduation from the teachings of another Shaman (may be from a school, being a former apprentice of one, etc); and therefore the devotion to the three principles, and (b) General acceptance from a majority of others that one is, indeed, a Shaman. While this may reduce the identity of a Shaman to redundancy, surprisingly enough, the definition is well-understood by others.
As a point of illustration, Shamans often take up neutral jobs; for the common folk, Shamans often present themselves as ordinary citizens, earning their living from teaching, healing, as merchants, advisors, and so forth. However, once a Shaman takes up an occupation that yields power—a warlord, for example—that Shaman is no longer a Shaman, but a politician, as they use their powers for some ambition. Those who rise up to that high of a power can seldom be accepted as a Shaman again. The identity of a Shaman is not determined by oneself or by other Shamans—it is determined by the common folk.
For example; Yushou is a Shaman, as he follows the three principles of Shamanism. Someone like Lián Hé, however, despite mastery of the elements to the point of life and death, is not considered a Shaman, because the common folk considers him a Deity. Thybetwas once a Shaman—though because he violates principle (3) by following his ambitions, he is no longer considered one.
Stories and Legends of Shamanism
Thybet and the Undead Army
Not far from the fishing/port village Quanzhou is a Shaman school; this particular monastery doubled as an orphanage. Thybet and Yushou had therefore grown up together, and were attached by the hip; as the two matured, both became friendly rivals, often trying to best each other in passing exams, wielding energy and matter, trying to become more powerful than the other.
Thybet, however, had grown restless as the end of their time in the monastery approached, conflicted with the principles he was brought up with, half-heartedly trying to convince Yushou to forget the monastery altogether and wield the mastery of their powers for their own ambition. What was the use of attaining the manipulation of energy, in order to not use it at all in the end? Yushou, however, was already set into becoming a Shaman, and begs Thybet to reconsider his ways. Begrudgingly, Thybet casted aside his ego; once both of them left the monastery, they set up shop as doctors in Quanzhou—but Thybet hadn’t forgotten his ambitions.
Years go by, and Thybet becomes more and more uneasy, unable to follow the Shaman teachings he was brought up with. Behind Yushou’s back, he begins to use his powers to bring the dead back to life—something viscerally forbidden by the principles. At first, this army of the dead was used by Thybet to right wrongs—catch thieves, defeat local vagrants, undo evils—but Thybet soon realised that the power he’d been trained to attain could be used for bigger, better things. Eventually Thybet crossed a moral barrier and, Yushou, no longer able to turn a blind eye, duels Thybet—a battle that was said to have almost cracked Quanzhou a new river.
Yushou, having always been the better of the two, defeats Thybet, and reserves some of his own energy to ensure that Thybet could no longer use his powers—energy that Yushou actively expels to today. Thybet was banished from Quanzhou, and was said to run into the darkness covered in his obsidian—his associated crystal—never to be seen again.
Some say, however, that Thybet remains in the darkness, amassing an army, biding his time, waiting for the day Yushou’s energy to dispel. He knows the other can’t expend such amounts of energy binding him for this long—and it’s only a matter of time Yushou will grow weak, and Thybet may commence his revenge.
Son of Chunjin
A young Yushouforetold that, some years from now, the legend of Quanzhou will unfold; Quanzhou was a god that wielded the waters, and also the god that the fishing/port village is named after. Long ago, Quanzhou defeated another god—Chunjin—in a territorial dispute. Chunjin, in anger, said that it’d move heaven and earth to ensure that Quanzhou would bitterly regret its victory. The legend said that, millions of years from then, Chunjin would outlive Quanzhou, and take back the land that Quanzhou used to reside in.
Yushou’s prediction was right; one night, the stars seemed to move, and a meteorite could be seen rocketing towards the center of Quanzhou village. Yushou—having only been a Shaman for a few years then—hesitates to interfere, but decides that following his beliefs was not worth the death of the kind people of the village. It was said that he cut off his hair, and from the strands materialized a creature made of nephrite that ushered the villagers to safety. Having already broken his principles anyway, Yushou decides to preserve the village completely, and prepares to sacrifice himself to stop the meteorite.
It takes all of Yushou’s strength to limit the meteorite to the field of grass he was in; when the villagers return to see his state, Yushou lays on the ground dying, but seemingly curled as if holding something—after the villager’s pleas and promise not to harm whatever it was in Yushou’s hands, Yushou unfurls his arms to reveal a child.
It seems that Yushou’s crystal—jade, a crystal associated with life—had accidentally imbued its life force to Chunjin’s power, and struck to make a human child. The impact was so forceful that flowers had grown where the meteorite had struck and, when the child’s tears fell onto Yushou, it recovered him from dying, pushing him from death to a month-long recovery.
From then on, Yushou was responsible for the child, having adopted the infant as an apprentice—but this was without the villager’s gossip. Rumors have it that Yushou had already foretold Thybet’s return, but knew that he would be too weak to defeat him… and instead raised the child—now named Mana—as a weapon against Thybet. Mana was one of a kind, after all—the child was born with the understanding of energy and matter, and could control it before he could babble or crawl. Mana was a manifestation of a god, and combined with the mastery of a Shaman’s… it might just be the thing that may defeat Thybet, after all. It makes sense since—despite technically being Yushou’s creation, and therefore some sort of son—Yushou vehemently shies away from the title of a father.