user:kvash_leyh:priest_brief [redemption]

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======Extra Tel religious brief======
This page is for the extra knowledge you would have of Tarzhda as a priest. If I define other things later I may add more detail here to help keep things consistent. ---GM Andrew

(It's also worth noting, as this seems to have been misinterpreted/misrepresented elsewhere, that the main theme of the religion is conformity, cohesiveness, community and unity, and stars are secondary.)

=====Liturgical Language=====
Liturgical Telbau was the original language created for the Tel Exodus ship to take advantage of the population bottleneck to unify and improve the language used. In the centuries since, it has gradually evolved into the modern vernacular Telbau, but it remains in use for ceremonial purposes and is still mutually intelligible. As a priest, you are fluent in this dialect as well as the vernacular. Most of the differences just require you to be more careful with your speech e.g. enunciating all obligatory pauses, annotating any metaphors and consistently using terminators (some of which are hardly used otherwise outside of schools, and some which have been dropped form the vernacular entirely). There are also some more substantive differences, such as the existence of several styles of quotation and the restrictions of names to either meaningful words or names ending in consonants. Modern names are converted either by using an alternate combining form of the same word, if it is one, or by appending "s" or "n". The alternate form of your name would be "Kvash Kles Tus Drud".

=====Aurugy=====
Augury is carried out by priests by observations of the suns (suns being stars in inhabited systems, particularly in the context of that system. Stars in Elysian space are mostly not considered suns, as the Elysians don't interact with them.). This is mostly done by observations with visible light and other nearby parts of the spectrum, but radio astronomy and spectroscopy is also used. Neutrino observations are used to give more direct insight into the sun's internal state, but it has much lower resolution and usually just reveals a steady state. Features such as sunspots, solar prominences and flares are used in augury, as is the star's context e.g. other related stars and the presence of planets and native life orbiting the star.

Specific events and patterns symbolise things about the moos and opinions of the star. You have recieved some training in astrophysics, to learn about how observable features relate to the internal state. Interpretation is usually performed with the aid of charts listing the sybolism of various occurrences, but none of these are available on b-Exagora.

=====Prayer=====
Prayer is fundamentally a communication between a sub-soul and that of a community of which it is part. It is through this link of component-ness that the prayer may flow. Usually there are more efficient means of communication, such as the community meetings at a parish level, the voting implants for the Tel as a whole, and nerves within one organism. In the case of those communities of which we are part which are not entirely human though, there is no better choice, which is why you pray to the stars.

One human's prayer in an entire solar system or more will have little effect. It's hard to identify with or even agree with such a large group, so the connection is weak. The soul of a whole parish has a far stronger connection to the larger communities of which it is part, so it is most effective to pray when the community is cohesive and pray together. This is one of the main reasons for the community meetings, and one of the most important duties of a priest: to coordinate the community, to help them come to compromises and collective opinions and join together as one, both for their own benefit and so that their prayers may be heard.

You have also recieved training on the correct methods of praying.

=====Priestly garb=====
There are no formal uniforms for priests, but there are various symbolic items which are quite common.
  * Superconductive rings are quite expensive but generally just look like a plain darkish metallic grey ring.
  * Anything involving coral.
  * Single loops of string or coloured yarn, tied around the arm, forehead or torso (symbolising the priest's role in binding the community together).
  * Star emblems.

=====Meetings=====
One of the main practical duties of the priesthood is organising the community meetings. You supervise and instruct on the preparation of the communal meal, as well as participating in the cooking. You sometimes give speeches, but most of the speeches are by other members of the community who have things they think need saying. The priest chooses who gets to speak to ensure that those who are just most keen to speak are not too overrepresented. You also gently guide the discussion to try to ensure that a concensus is reached, suggesting compromises if necessary.

=====Death=====
There is not quite an afterlife, but after a person dies some part of them persists in the souls of the communities they were part of. Funerals normally take place within a few days of the death if possible, and are usually public and widely attended, with discussion of the dead parson's life, what they were able to contribute and their relationships with others. The ceremony includes everyone eating small person-shaped cakes, symbolising the soul of the dead person. After the ceremony is complete and several more days have passed, during which time the soul's attachment to the body fades completely, relatively little importance is attached to the remains, which may then be disposed of in whatever way is practical.

This belief implies that the death of a long-running community is even more significant, as it also implies a more final death for all of its former members.
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