Ash-Shallal Al-Hadi
Enter here. Find your home. Find your pride. There are two paths; which will you take?
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Yamakari
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Join date : 2016-11-27
| Subject: Stories Thread  Wed Dec 07, 2016 1:20 am | |
| Every culture has its own traditions and the fairytales, myths and legends that are attached to them.
This thread is there to collect songs and stories that can be brought up in-universe.
Anyone can contribute!
Just fill this out:
Group:
Origin:
Type/place in canon (optional):
Story example:
That having been said, here's the current mythoreligious and fictional canons, in order of precedence, for each group.
Fahari
FAHARI ORIGIN CANON
1. The birth of Fahari from Nolwandle, mother of oceans, and his conquest of his brides, who were the four corners of the earth.
2. The birth from the East and the signs of the Two Brothers.
3. The Tale of Two Brothers.
4. Stories of the rule of Jeuri over the Manati horde.
5. Stories of the evils of Manat.
6. Stories of the time when the faith of Manat merged with another monotheist cult and got worse, such as the tale of how Juhudi gave sorcery to the Manati.
7. The Concealment of Ash-Shallal.
8. Stories set during the hunt for that pride, which explain the social structure and the warlike nature of Fahari as well as expressing sentiments of anger and bloodlust.
FAHARI MYTHIC CANON
1. Jeuri stories, relating the virtue of conquest.
2. Sanura stories, relating that she is a daughter of Mshindi and Ngawira, and telling of various misadventures in which the goddess of youth learns a lesson and becomes a little wiser. Always cheery and safe and occasionally musical, kind of like a kids' show.
3. The birth of Nonhlanhla, goddess of luck and water, and how she was given to Fahari's people as a bride. Plus other stories where her favour gets various heroes out of trouble.
4. Stories about proud or overly hubristic heroes and their journeys in an effort to complete some kind of set of three tasks and develop beyond their egocentrism.
The Cycle of the Beautiful Lion, for example, tells about a lion who challenged the moon and lost his mind and sight for his presumptuousness. Stories after the first are about him learning virtues to eventually become worthy of sight and the favour of the moon. Generally, these stories have the goddesses of relation, Nobuhle, Nothando and Nonjabulo, as the setters of the tasks in disguise. In some versions, the hero takes the task-givers as wives at the end. There are stories about the children of these unions, who are often heroes in their own right. You can elaborate on this theme endlessly and add to the corpus of saints!
5. Nolwandle stories, generally framing devices from the viewpoint of the sea for social commentary on Fahari affairs. A more or less reliable transmission of actual history.
6. The Cycle of Bhekisisa and Nqobizitha, using the lives of the gods of war and hunting to illustrate when it is appropriate to have a hunter's virtue and when a warrior's.
7. Mcebisi stories, morality tales.
Ash-Shallal
ASH-SHALLAL SCRIPTURAL CANON
1. The creation of the world by Manat, in a span of twenty-eight days, and the caveat that she could not imitate her own radiance and create a sun and moon from nothing. Creation of lionkind from clay, grass, sand and stone, symbolizing the habitats lions can be found in. Beginning of the First Age.
2. The creation of the sun and moon from two lionesses of great virtue, and the birth of twin sons to Manat.
3. The (Manati) Tale of Two Brothers. Worth noting that in some versions, either each of the lunisolar sisters favours a different brother, or their piety is contrasted: Mtamu offers prayers to Manat on behalf of all creation first, as a good Manati boy should, naming all the creatures beneath the sun and moon as beneficiaries. Mshindi begs selfishly for individual gain.
4. Stories of the persecution of the ancestors of Ash-Shallal under Jeuri, and of the heroes who gave their lives to uphold the safety and honour of the pride.
5. Stories of the miracles of Manat.
6. Stories of the time when the faith of Manat was tested.
6A. Tales of the arrival of the People of the Unnamed God and the gradual peaceful merging of the two groups; the beginning of the Second Age.
7. Tales of the Three Trees, in which there are originally four, but the fourth is symbolic of all that is ill and destroyed by lightning. Derived from pre-Manati religious observances of the non-Unnamed-praising group; the trees were once gods named for trees that eventually became conflated into... yeah, just trees.
8. The Concealment of Ash-Shallal.
ASH-SHALLAL MYTHIC CANON
1. Stories of the Sun and Moon during their time as lionesses; generally virtue stories, but also important in that they highlight that it's fine to be different: the Sun, Nashwa ash-Shams, was forceful of personality, loved the people and was skilled in leading, which was why she shone so brightly when she ascended. However, the Moon, Najwa al-Qamar, was subtle and beautiful, with great emphasis on her quietude and the passivity of her observation. That she had a magnetic hold over others nonetheless is given as the reason why tides exist, for even the sea is still moved by her presence.
Another theme in these tales is that both Sun personalities and Moon personalities were and are necessary for the survival of the world.
The final story in these sets often has Manat descending personally to inform the sisters of the potential utopia created by the light they could give to the world, and the pair each selflessly agreeing but attempting to dissuade the other four times. Each time, Manat replies "it will be provided for", and indeed, every reason the sisters name is given a counterbalance. This is the origin of the four times of day: dawn, dusk, day and night.
2. Cycle of the Beautiful Lion; in these versions, he insults Najwa four times, and it is Nashwa on whose advice the fourth time is the last. The sun lends strength and cunning to the moon, because this is familial obligation at its finest, and together they give him the task of looking at the moon all night. When he fails, it is a flash of light from the sun roaring behind the moon that blinds him.
3. Series of saint-and-hero stories that may follow the same patterns as Fahari's, albeit without divine involvement -- Ash-Shallal's heroes solve their problems on their own.
4. Stories of various messengers of Manat descending to teach things to the new Ash-Shallal: Juhudi bringing proper ritual observance and composition, Ngawira bringing patience and forethought, etc. You'll notice that Fahari gods are recast as something like angels.
5. Scriptural parables detailing aspects of Manati religious law and why it's important to obey it. Used as teaching tools for new Speakers. When a Speaker ascends, they can be thought of as a son or daughter of Manat if they recall these parables and the scripture and swear to act by them. In the case where the Speaker is nonbinary, the term is "child of the house of Manat". Although that term has its origins here, referring to a genderless or nonconforming lion as neither son nor daughter but a "child of the house of" their parent has become commonplace in Ash-Shallal.
6. Speaker stories, which are a form of social satire. The individuals featured herein might be just or unjust, have integrity or be corrupt, but the general focus is Speakers doing things unSpeakerly. These traditionally begin with "In the time when x was king/queen", because they tend to grow out of the deeds of one specific Speaker.
qOrowa
Barely relevant due to the current closed status of this character type. | |
| | | | Umaiza
Admin
Posts : 16
Join date : 2016-11-27
Age : 29
| | Subject: Re: Stories Thread Wed Dec 07, 2016 7:31 pm | |
| honestly still busy screeing re: Nash/Naj | |
| | | | Yamakari
Admin
Posts : 29
Join date : 2016-11-27
| | Subject: Re: Stories Thread Sat Dec 10, 2016 7:31 am | |
| Group: Ash-Shallal Origin: Lost to time. Type/place in canon (optional): Hero story, morality tale. Four felines seeking life, love, personal growth and luck; very heartwarming? I guess? Story example: - Spoiler:
In days long past, when the Sun and the Moon were newly risen, there was a place that Manat had decreed was holy. And this place was atop a great mountain, and it was said that once every year, when quiet Najwa yielded to shining Nashwa and the day was longest, a path would open there to the righteous.
And the most righteous, so they said in those days, would enter into that place and their every woe would be washed away, as the rain cleanses suffering from the earth.
On the day when the shadows are shortest, a throng gathered on the mountainside, hoping to be brought to the radiance of Manat and healed. There were four there who were pushed to the edges of the crowd, and passed the time until the appointed moment sharing their stories of woe.
The first of four was the Lioness, a female destitute, bereft of pride, of cubs, sick with a sickness that knew no cure. Health and more had been taken from her by the wrath of Manat, and she knew not why.
The second of four was the Leopard, a male with a pelt as dark as ebony. And so it was that the Leopard was alone, bereft of love and luck for the colour of his fur. He hoped, so he said, that Manat would grant him a brighter pelt to live a brighter life wearing -- that he would offend the world no longer by his obviousness in the grass.
The third of four was the Tiger, a child of the house of Manat whose eyes were blind while yet seeing and whose life was clouded. And so it was that their hope rested upon the blessing of Manat, who could grant them all that they deserved and received not.
The fourth of four was the Jaguaress, brave hunter of the jungle in a land far beyond; a female of sorrowful mien whose fur was ever tangled and whose claws were always caught upon the grass. She was a luckless one and a laughingstock, and it was this that she hoped Manat would remedy.
At the time of choosing, it was so that the arms of Manat enfolded the Lioness, yet she cried out in terror and the remaining three were taken with her into the sacred place as they rushed to her rescue.
They wandered fearfully for long and long, encountering no obstacle yet finding not their way. And at length, when the radiant sun had reached her zenith, they came to an old tree. This tree then spoke:
"The path is the proof of your sorrow."
And the Leopard attempted to climb the tree, but its branches reached into the heavens.
And the Lioness attempted to leap the tree, but its leaves were thick as the very sea-water.
And the Tiger attempted to force their way through the roots of the tree, and they were entrapped.
And the Jaguar would skirt the tree, only its roots spread wide and wide, and there was no end to the obstacle.
Captured together, the four watched helplessly as the sky darkened with clouds and it began to rain. And the Tiger, who was hurt most by the thought that they would not reach the sacred place, began to weep. The others comforted them, struggling at the striped one's bonds still, yet they could not free their companion and would not go on without them.
At that moment, the tree drank in the Tiger's tears and loosed its bonds little by little, bending its stately crown for to be walked upon -- a living bridge to land above, the next portion of the quest.
Overjoyed, the Tiger's step quickened, and smiles were painted on the faces of the four as they climbed the trunk.
When the Jaguaress slipped down the rain-slick tree, the Leopard caught her and brought her up; when the lioness' paw ached with the exertion of climbing, he and the Jaguaress bore her between them. And so the four ascended to a mountain path.
They walked cautiously, and they were overjoyed with the end of the rain, only their road was blocked by a vast canyon, and the bottom of the canyon was all in fog. There, across the great ravine, a mossy old stone called forth:
"The bridge is the fruit of your labour."
So the four began to seek something which they could use to cross the deep ravine, and they came to an ancient tree, which had died long and long ago, but whose roots were buried in the earth.
"You, Leopard, climb and see, is the tree long enough to fall on the other side?"
This was the Tiger's question. And the Leopard climbed and told them: "Yes, the tree is long enough to fall on the other side."
"You, Jaguar, dig at the roots, that the tree might fall more easily." And the Jaguar dug and told them: "I have dug as well as ever I could."
And the Tiger turned to the Lioness and said, "Lioness, what have you done?"
"Nothing," said the Lioness in response, for her limbs were weak and her steps were slower as the day wore on.
"Nothing? Nothing? You have walked all this way, and you seemed to have ample energy to weep as if you were some cub earlier -- you cannot tell me that you did nothing. What reward do you deserve, if you have done nothing?"
"But you have told me to do nothing," said the Lioness, "and I am weary. And I wept for you."
"You are a lioness," said the Tiger, "and a lioness' function is to serve a pride. We are no lions, yet you should have known well what to do without my having to tell you! Or were you born to rogues? Did you grow up alone, that you act like a barbarian with no consideration for us, your companions?"
At this, the Jaguaress bristled: "Listen you Tiger, what have you done for us? What is your skill, beyond the speaking of false words and the roaring of empty threats? The Lioness is ill, and has not the skill to dig for roots or climb to the heavens. And it is she who in the stories is queen of all beasts, yet you who strut as though you rule us all. Enough! Be silent, cat!"
"You have had no luck in any other thing; why should you believe you will be fortunate in convincing me?" The Tiger scoffed.
"Manat does not desire our division," warned the Leopard. "My father is Her Speaker in my clan, and my mother one of little faith, and they do not act thus at all. Why is it that we are in conflict, who are more similar than these dissimilar spirits?"
"You be silent, spot-fur; talk not of Manat! Your line and your perverted brand of the faith have brought only confusion, and you seek to confuse us now." These were the Tiger's words, and the Leopard merely nodded meekly.
"It is so. I, liar and greedy one, now will be silent and work to build the bridge. Come, Lioness. Come, Jaguaress. The Tiger is noble, is mighty; they are far above us simple peons and they will not stoop so low as to touch with their shoulder what will be beneath our claws."
And so the Leopard, the Lioness and the Jaguaress worked to topple the tree, and the Tiger demanded to be the first to be let upon it -- their suffering was greatest, so they believed they should reach the sacred place first.
Yet no sooner had the Tiger reached the middle of the fallen tree than it cracked beneath their weight, and they clutched for purchase at the knotted bark. Their companions leapt over them.
The mists beneath them swirled, and in the moment before their claws gave out and they fell to their death, their sins became plain to them. Begging to be forgiven, they clutched at what they could, but to no avail -- air was all that was caught between their claws. Yet just before they had fallen out of reach, the Lioness extended her paws, with the Leopard and Jaguaress to steady her. Together, the three pulled the Tiger to safety on the other side of the ravine.
"Why have you done this thing?" asked the Tiger, incredulous.
"What thing, stripe-pelt? Forgiven you? It was necessary," the Jaguaress purred. "Your life has value, even if you should misuse it."
"It is true," the Lioness added. "You did not see your error before. But you see it now, no? That is grounds for forgiveness."
And the Leopard only smiled to himself as they walked on.
At length, they glimpsed the place that Manat had declared to be sacred, but they could not pass beyond a murmuring brook -- it widened when they made as if to leap across.
And it whispered, as brooks do, the final task.
"The toll is the pain of the past."
Together, the four sat, and despaired at the impossibility of making such a thing tangible -- and shared why they did so, the stories of their lives intertwining and many an argument arising over who was correct and whose actions were justified. At length, just as the sun began its descent below the horizon, the four stood together and gazed across the brook.
And it narrowed, to their great joy -- the brook narrowed, and the Lioness, the Leopard, the Jaguaress and the Tiger leapt across.
Yet as they came to the sacred place, just as the sun was setting, the Lioness' legs buckled beneath her. She fell, breathing with great difficulty and feeling a great agony -- her time had ended.
She would not allow her companions to bear her to the sacred place, for it hurt too much, and she tried also to force them away, to tell them to go and receive Manat's sacrament for themselves.
They would not leave, however. The Tiger was frantic and brought water from the brook and many calming plants in their mouth, for theirs was the largest. The Jaguaress sat by and reassured the Lioness, keeping her from crossing into the next world, and the Leopard prayed and searched for healing herbs far afield. The sun was only just below the horizon when they had given the Lioness a tonic, which strengthened and healed her. But it was time now to decide who should go.
"I need not the favour of Manat," said the Lioness, smiling. "I am healed thanks to you."
"I need not the favour of Manat," said the Tiger, busy gathering herbs. "I have found my purpose -- it is to heal, to give aid and guidance to those who need it. I was blind, and now I see their suffering -- it is enough for me to act upon it."
"I did not need the favour of Manat to begin with," the Leopard lied quietly, for he thought his mission selfish now -- and the brook had taken his regrets. "You, Jaguaress -- for you it is most necessary. It is our gift to you."
So the Jaguaress went and received the favour of Manat, and her ill fortune was reversed -- but it had not been ill all along the journey. It was through the gaining of friends and confidence that she truly grew to shine.
When she returned at moonrise, bathed in Manat's radiance, she went to the Leopard and twined her tail with his. "You have been ever kind to me, laughed not a single laugh at my expense. And it is love you have been seeking, no? Here it is -- here is love. I am lover, and you are my beloved."
And as the moon reached its zenith, the four returned to their home: the Tiger a healer determined to learn, the Lioness healed and possessed of a new family, the Jaguaress in the bloom of the knowledge of her worth, and the Leopard healed of the sorrows of his past.
And not one of them, and no one else, and only you and I know that the sacred place was not in truth radiant with Manat's light at all. It is her design, you see, that we and ours heal our own wounds -- physical like the Lioness' sickness or of the heart like the sorrows of the rest.
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| | | | Yamakari
Admin
Posts : 29
Join date : 2016-11-27
| | Subject: Re: Stories Thread Tue Dec 13, 2016 9:35 am | |
| Group: Ash-Shallal Origin: Based on the myth that marriage as an institution was created because the Sun and Moon wished for mortal lions to have the same bond that they did. They then called up the very first Speaker and told him to tell them which kind of cat (they meant male/female) occupies which sister's niche in the relationship; the Speaker was confused and brought forth his companion Isaac to be the Sun to his Moon, because he thought about this in platonic terms (everyone did in those days). And that's why Ash-Shallal is so open to homosexual partnerships. Type/place in canon (optional): Children's game; the story it's based on is not canonical to the scripture because it implies that the first Speaker was alive when the sun and moon first rose, which contradicts at least three different more important teachings. Story example: A children’s game, originally a qOrowa concept and one of the few such ideas appropriated by the lions of Ash-Shallal. - Rules:
One player represents the sun -- Nashwa in Manati versions of the game, Matariel in qOrowa versions.
Another player represents the moon, either Najwa or Leiliel.
A third is chosen to be the first Speaker, Simon/Shiima.
The objective is for all the players of one team to tag all the players of the other. If there’s a Fahari version this is a war simulation, but here the ‘you’re out’ is supposed to be marriage, with the player who tagged another curling their tail around that person’s and guiding them off the chosen field of play.
At the outset of the game, the sun and moon face each other, the Speaker stands between them and the other players form two lines (not queues, walls): one behind Matariel and one behind Leiliel.
There is a script, which is usually sung -- in theory, everyone is supposed to join in with the Speaker, but in the interest of conserving breath for running most people don’t play that way anymore and designate friends not interested in running to sing and be referee.
Speaker, on their haunches with their front limbs splayed to point, and Sun/Moon: Here’s the shining moon above,
Singing to the burning sun:
By the edict of the One
we have long been shining.
Since the birthing of the world
Walking out across the sky
Is it not a lonely life?
Tell me that it’s so!
Speaker, at this point bringing their paws back together and starting to walk down the space between the teams: It was truly so!
Either everyone or just the Speaker, depending on how you play:
And the sun told the moon,
‘why don’t we share our love
with the world that we shine on from our nest of clouds?
He/she who speaks when Manat sings will choose now among them
The full-maned grooms and all their blushing brides!
At this point the Speaker closes their eyes and the lines surround them, nudging them to turn.
Players:
Turn and turn and turn again
Singing to the blinding rain
Singing from beneath the clouds,
Put manes on the lions!
By the moon and by the sun,
by the choosing of the One
Speaker tells us who will run:
And it will be these ones!
Children of the [sun/moon]!
Whoever the Speaker is facing at the end of that line, that person’s team (either solar or lunar) are now ‘not it’ and both groups have until the Speaker gets back their ability to tell which way is up to strategize. As soon as they have their bearings, the Speaker calls out ‘[Sunbeams/moonbeams] turn and run!’
At this point, the running team has to run and the chasing team has to catch them. When somebody has been tagged four times, the fourth tagger brings that somebody to the designated Speaker (and the Sun and Moon with them, if you have three initial ref team members), who declare them ‘married’ (“See the groom and bride, four times justified”) and adds them to the group of referees. When there is only one couple remaining, the group surrounds them, limiting how far they can run and the length of the game.
One can ‘rescue’ people from ‘marriage’ by tapping them four times while the other referees can’t see. If someone is ‘rescued’, they and the rescuer are ‘safe’ from the moment they’re out of reach of a tag from whatever position the other refs are in and until they reach the edge of the decided play area.
Cheating constitutes lying about how many times you’ve been tagged, leaving the accepted bounds, bringing an adult in, any kind of tool use to shield oneself from tags, being caught ‘rescuing’ someone, hiding, abusing the four TOs one gets, abusing the rescue immunity by not immediately going to the edge, puppy-guarding, and tagging someone while either you or they are on TO. Cheaters get locked into the ‘ref/out’ box until the end of the game.
Cubs and unlame teenagers playing the game might take the last couple being two certain people as a sign that those two people will end up together. It’s very cute.
Lame teenagers playing the game while their parents are hunting may replace tags with kisses. That’s less cute.
Lamer teenagers playing the game may get the Speaker high on red grass instead of spinning them. That’s not cute.
Manat assumes no liability for any cubs or STDs anyone gets out of being stupid and thinking ‘adult’ renditions of kids’ games are cute; if questioned, she will tell your local actual Speaker that she was carrying a bundle of cubbin fetuses and dropped them and oh dear, isn’t that unfortunate, you’re a parent now.
Your Speaker will be disappoint.
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