CCC Religions - Thru FRI 4/18

[zompist]

Curiously, many of our major religions developed in a relatively short period of time-- around 600 BC to 100 AD. Possibly something about the size and complexity of societies triggered this, or maybe it's just a coincidence.

In any case, it's time to create some religions! This can include any belief systems really, including political movements and the obsessions of golems.

Here's the tricky bit: your religion starts off in a single square. It can be a development of your main religion, but it should start small.

Here's the other tricky bit: you can start it in any culture, including one not your own. (However, if the creator of the culture wants to keep developing it, work together to create a compatible story.)

Voting will determine which religions spread like Islam and which religions fade like Zoroastrianism.

[KathTheDragon]

Does it count if our religion/pseudo-'religion' started off with our culture at year 1?

[clawgrip]

I plan to develop my religion based on the spiritual beliefs that I already outlined. I'm not sure how exactly to restrict this to one square though. Maybe I will just describe the two En sects (since the En people have kind of split into separate states anyway) which are still primarily based in the original En square.

[Burke]

I've been lurking around these topics a bit and said nothing due to school, but school's over soon and might jump into this. Am I too late, and where do I sign up?

[clawgrip]

pick an unused square in the land grab thread and design a culture. Design a religion for it, because that's the next step.

Edit: I guess you should wait until the winners of the last round decide where they will expand to.

[zompist]

Does it count if our religion/pseudo-'religion' started off with our culture at year 1?

A religion that never changes in 5000 years is rather unnatural. Think about something new that would arise, and why.

You may need to talk about the "old religion" in order to explain what changed, of course.

[KathTheDragon]

Ah, that's not what I meant. What I meant was that the religion had its origins in year 1, and wasn't supplanted by anything radically different. Yes, it would evolve over time, but do we absolutely have to create something new, just because you say so?

[CatDoom]

None of the major world religions of earth emerged ex-nihilo; Christianity seems to have basically begun as a reform movement within Judaism before exploding across the Mediterranean, Buddhism emerged as a mostly monastic tradition within the (proto-)Hinduism of its day, and Islam openly presents itself as a further development on the older Abrahamic religions. I would assume that most of these "new" religions would likewise build on existing spiritual traditions; however, this might be the first time that any of them expanded their influence beyond the limits of a single culture, tribe, or city.

[Matrix]

Should we still post histories for the 4000-5000 period?

[zompist]

Should we still post histories for the 4000-5000 period?

Please do!

(I should really set up a wiki for this. We're starting to run into each other, and documenting things will get trickier.)

[Hydroeccentricity]

I would like to develop something for a different culture somewhere else on the globe. If there is anyone who is opposed to other participants adding religions in their territory because they have other plans, please make it known here!

[CatDoom]

I encourage anyone and everyone to make up crazy religions for my culture; I'm gonna be going far afield for this one too. Honestly, I imagine Ngi’³² being a little like southeast Asia, with successive waves of missionaries succeeding or failing based on who dominates the maritime trade routes.

[Matrix]

I think I'm gonna put the Tsargoki up for grabs, since I wanna focus on the Mecongai.

If you want the Tsargoki, PM me and I'll give you the info.

[Torco]

(I should really set up a wiki for this. We're starting to run into each other, and documenting things will get trickier.)

there exist a large number of wikis that are well suited for the purpose: rhetorica's one is rather green but has promise, and there's the knee quickie and xin's wikifarm and so on and so forth... so if setting up a wiki is a lot of hassle using them might be the way to go.

[Hydroeccentricity]

I think I'm gonna put the Tsargoki up for grabs, since I wanna focus on the Mecongai.

If you want the Tsargoki, PM me and I'll give you the info.

I'll take you up on that offer.

[احمکي ارش-ھجن]

Anyone wanna try their hand at developing a religion for the Khsinesir? Though at base, they're spiritualists, and don't worship gods...

[ol bofosh]

Gaak: Qah Duotheism
Square: Q1
In the beginning there was only water: formless and without life. Then from beneath the water, came a quake and a mound of earth appeared. And from it grew a tree, a massive tree, covering the heavens with its branches. On all parts life existed, in harmony with its home. But the tree grew old, or some say that those living on it poisoned it. Whatever the cause, the tree died and fell northwards. Its body becoming the land. Its spirit split in two, Root and Branch, North and South. They yearned to be married again, to become one, but they could not reach each other. So they created creatures in their image that could move: from the branches' fruits were created the munkees, and from the roots' fruits were created the amphibimorphs.
These two species travelled towards each other and finally met, and through them the Two Spirits married once again. And as long as there is unity between amphibimorphs and munkees, the Tree shall be whole.

"Armdoms", tribal states ruled by munkees in the North along the river Megeh, thrived in the North, harassing the southern cities. The South galvanised against them, becoming centred around the city of Qah on the river Qag. In Qah they established a High Council to run the federation of city states, an oligarchy of privileged elders. These chose two individuals to carry out their decisions, a High Arm, to protect the cities and enforce their power, and a High Leg, to carry out the administration. A munkee and an amphibimorph, respectively. Over time they developed a spiritual role, incarnating the Two Spirits, and "marrying" the two species together under a spiritual diarchy. By 5000, they had grown powerful, and the High Council was reduced to an advisory role.
It took several centuries for the High Arm to quell the northern tribes and establish the rule of the Qah Diarchy. To strengthen their rule they sent missionaries from two different "spiritual departments".

Haax Monasticism and the Ancient
"Instincts are not bad, but we must gain control of them and subordinate them to the service of the Two Spirits. This can only be achieved through purity of spirit." The Ancient
The Cities' Arms lead the military but they were recruited from the sect of monastic munkees known as Haax. The Haax came from a long line of grave tenders, that in ancient times were called the Graosk. The Graosk would wrap dead munkees in linen and tie them to the Ancestor Trees. This practice had not changed much since those days, except they followed the teachings of a munkee called the Ancient, that had taken the Graosk Way and created a monastic tradition from it, emphasising self-discipline, purity, service and martial excellence. Anyone could join the military, but only those that had taken Haax vows could be considered for leaders, because it proved their purity. By 4000, they still tended the Ancestor Trees, but did not tend the dead, as that was taken over by the amphibimorphs to fertilise their forest gardens, as they did with their own dead. It was an "honour" for their essence to strengthen the people once again.
Haax groups were sent north to live amongst the munkee tribes there. Their martial discipline soon caught on, and became very popular, easing the way for the Diarchs' rule and religion.

Tehe: Civil Servants and Priesthood
"Together, the tree is whole; together, we are whole. Root and Branch, Climber and Crawler, we are whole." Traditional chant
The High Leg ruled the tehe, the adminsitration of the Diarchy, which was spread amongst the cities and villages. These "civil servants" historically had a minor function of tending the shrines in cities and villages, but there was no priesthood. As the Diarchy's power increased, their role as priests did too, adminstering sacraments, as well as "balancing the books". They would insert themselves and their religion amongst the tribes and villages, but they left the traditional religious practices and beliefs alone. The old traditions of ancestor worship was respected and remained more or less intact, but was subordinated to the duotheism of the Diarchy. Over time, ancestor worship itself transformed into a state-sanctioned saint worship, where individuals of holy repute would take precedence in the old ancestor shrines.

Syncreticism
Daily, the people look for support from their saints and ancestors, for advise on more philosophical matters they may seek the advice of the Haax, but focus of their lives is on the marriage of the Two Spirits and union between munkee and amphibimorph.
Traditionally, the Haax was for munkees, and the Tehe was for amphibimorphs, but they recognise that individuals from each species have their own spiritual calling, so you may see Haax amphibimorphs and Tehe munkees, though few in number.
In the South, outside of the Qah Diarchy, ancestor worship is still strong, but ideas are slowly catching on. Amphibimorphs driven to wander take their ideas about the Two Spirits to far off lands, and here Root and Branch appear at the head of local pantheons. And where these ideas take hold, Haax monasteries and Tehe priests aren't far behind.

[Hydroeccentricity]

In preparation for the upcoming Tsargoki religion information, I drew a map of the new and expanded Tsargoki sphere:

[Hydroeccentricity]

Here's some background info. Hopefully I will post more about the religion itself before the deadline.

Geography
The northeastern coast of Matrixia has a cool continental climate similar to the eastern coast of Canada or Russia. It is mostly boreal forest dominated by spruce and birch. In the south, alder, willow, and poplar can be found along with pine, fir, and juniper. Deciduous trees become slightly more common in the north, where maple, oak, and elm are frequent. Land mammals are plentiful, with the most impressive being the giant deer and brown bear, but life is most abundant in the sea. Sea birds roost on tiny islands offshore, and huge schools of fish roam the waters. Soils are acidic and generally poor, and the growing season is short, so agriculture on land is difficult. The staples are a hardy grain similar to oats, and a crunchy white root vegetable similar to a carrot, whose seeds and aromatic leaves are also edible. Seashells and guano are sometimes added to fertilize the soil, and fields are frequently rotated. Some plants and animals are cultivated or kept without proper domestication, such as lingonberry, cranberry, dandelion roots and leaves, lily bulb, goose, hare, and squirrel. A large part (for many people more than half) of the diet comes from fish and other marine food. Smoked salmon or eel, kelp, and bivalves feature prominently. A fermented fish sauce is made from mackerel. The warmer north has a few more vegetables to choose from, like burdock, green onion shoots and bulbs, and a small local stone fruit, both of which are semi-domesticated. Wild game is also important, especially for communities far from the sea. Clothing is usually made from leather, fur, or pounded bark, as no textile crops are grown. Nakedness is perfectly acceptable when weather permits, which is not often.

Expansion
Bronze weapons, political initiatives, and long distance trade have driven the expansion into the interior. Golems are not very numerous, but they are exceedingly tough, and live in groups of fifty to sixty individuals. Attacking such a group is not feasible, but luckily golems never seem to plan offensive movements on that scale, and Tsargoki's new defensive strategy is more than adequate to handle one or two golems testing the perimeter. The map shows the area under permanent Tsargoki control. In fact there are constantly shifting buffer zones and semi-golemfrei areas outside this perimeter, but few permanent settlements. The new order has revolutionized Tsargoki life. Large plantations in the interior provide cheap grain and vegetables for the cities, and timber and charcoal are traded for gold and jade. Fish still makes up a large part of the diet, and this as well as the importance of maritime trade has made sailing a major part of Tsargoki life. Another consequence of the need for greater security and connectivity is the greater role of the monarch, or tkokyar, who exercises power from the palace complex in Saraskok.

Social Change
The three and a half/four part caste system has broken down somewhat. Humans make up only about a fifth of the population and form a slave class. They work in the inland plantations, and do some menial work on boats and in blue collar employment in towns. Artisans and farm managers are mostly Sexie or Munkee, and sailors are increasingly Ksinesir, especially the officers. The caste distinctions between the Munkee, Ksinesir, and Sexies have become even more confused. The former two still maintain a martial identity, but less than half of them have any direct involvement in the military. The Sexies, who now make up over a third of the population, run the gamut from titular head of state to vagrant. Any of the three races may be merchants, craftsmen, planters, captains, or courtesans. The ritualism of interspecies sex is still important, but the idea of reuniting the races is taken less seriously. Humans, who have the least sexual agency, are nearly always attached to a pseudo-owner sexually. Relationships among the other races are more fluid.

Religion
Around 3800, during the expansion, Tsargoki religion became more centralized and focused on state power. The gods, previously treated as ancestor totems connected to specific clans or villages, are now mythical heroes and heroines of the nation. There is a loose canon of oral traditions, many of them focusing on loyalty to the tkokyar. There are temples, the larger of which have quickly become the chief backers of the state in commodities like grain. Religious and political authority enjoy an unprecedented relationship in which each strengthens the social capital of the other. Writing has finally been invented, and in its nascent state it is primarily used by scribes attached to the church to keep records of the activities of the ruler. In some ways the system has retained the hierarchy that was lost when the racial caste system softened, with ideologically justified tiers from the monarch, to the royal family, to the great clans, to the professions, to the humans. Communities are expected to sacrifice to the greatest hero, Kasi, by providing gifts to the clergy who then pass them on to the state. Some representative of the state is often present for this, as well. If not, a tapestry of the bronze dagger, symbol of the monarch, is present to give the aegis of authority to the sacrifice. Thus the King or Queen is often called Kasi metaphorically.

[Matrix]

Mecongai Philosophies

Abstractism:

The Abstractist philosophy arose in the west of Mecongai territory, in Mecolen itself. It traces itself back all the way to the beginning of recorded Mecongai history, though it was only during the Late Expansion Period (3500-4000) that it was really first formulated and codified, in response to the rise and codification of the eastern Mecongai philosophies. Its rise is a prime example of its reactionary, conservative nature. While it has no hierarchy, as traditional Mecongai culture is not particularly hierarchical, there are revered philosophers, some from distant history, others who were directly involved with the codification of Abstractism.

However, the primary focus of the philosophy does not lie with its revered figures. Traditional Mecongai art takes abstract forms, not reminiscent of much - if any - natural object. Sharp angles are also favoured. Over the milennia, certain abstract forms came to symbolize certain concepts - primarily emotions, since art evokes emotions. This could vary from city to city, but some of these forms overtook others. The Abstractists codified these forms and defined the canon of traditional Mecongai art. They also gave guidelines for the judging of the use of the Canon of Forms. Generally, the more subtle the use, the better.

Consistent with its conservative nature, Abstractism promotes traditional ideas outside of art, as well. It stresses the importance of the ppon (community or family) and harmony within it. It even goes so far as to say that the city is the ppon of ppons, and that Mecolen is the ppon of cities.

Calligraphism:

The Calligraphists are the masters of the written word. Their art revolves around the beautiful arrangement of kana. In fine Mecongai tradition, this art is frequently applied to the creation of history towers. In fact, history towers became a focus of the Calligraphists by the Early Codification Period (4000-4230). Calligraphist historians collected histories from across the Mecongai lands and consolidated them on thousands of history towers, in one place called Thou ca Chaotata ([ˈtʰoː kɑ kɑo̯ˈtɑ.tɑ]), or the City of Knowledge. But the greatest thing about the City of Knowledge is that there are not only Mecongai histories recorded there.

Calligraphist historians travelled the trade routes into the Kingdoms of Night and Day, the Ggazzei lands, and Kyahida, recording all of their histories, too. The bravest went into the uncivilized north, eventually making tenuous and ephemeral contact with the Nggwoo, who by 5000 also have histories recorded in the City of Knowledge. Furthermore, the historians also proved themselves cartographers, making detailed notes and drawings of the places they visited to give their histories more context. From all these, the first complete map of Lyranis Major was made, and stands as the centrepiece of the City of Knowledge.

The Calligraphist philosophy thus promotes the meticulous recording of knowledge, as well as its aesthetically pleasing representation. Because of this tendency, the Calligraphists have a scholarly, academic streak. They were even known to sometimes associate with Portraitists in the recording of the lives of major historical figures, with the Calligraphist writing the history and the Portraitist making a statue or bust of the golem in question. Some of these remain in the City of Knowledge. As is evident with the travelling historians, Calligraphism also promotes exploration to find knowledge to record. This exploration can be in any sphere - geographic, temporal, scientific, philosophical, physical, mental, etc.

Landscapism:

Like the Calligraphists, the Landscapists have an exploratory bent. However, their exploration is strictly geographical, and not for the purpose of knowledge, but of finding beautiful landscapes. They carve models of these landscapes and other natural objects. The more ambitious projects, requiring the cooperation of one or more ppon, are usually modifications of existing landscapes. Those modification projects considered to be the best are those that you don't even know are there - that is, indistinguishable from the landscape.

This has given Landscapism a semi-environmentalist bent, wanting to preserve natural beauty while touching it up at times.

Portraitism:

While the eastern Mecongai of the Expansion Period in general had an individualistic streak, the Portraitists took it to an extreme. Early Portraitist work merely included golemorphic forms in otherwise perfectly abstract works. However, over time, the focus became more and more on the golems depicted, until they were all that was being depicted. Powerful Portraitist golems from mine-owning ppons would commission portraits of themselves. While the traditional idea of skill in art as an identifier of social status was espoused, throughout the Codification Period (4000- 4553), Portraitist society became more and more focused on wealth - as shown in metals and magnificence of portraits - and social connections as status identifiers.

With the importance of individuals, the codifiers of Portraitism were held in very high regard - moreso than revered golems in other Mecongai societies. They stressed the importance of the individual, but did not necessarily devalue the ppon - they merely suggested that some golems in the ppon were better than others, and that this superiority would show itself naturally.

Through this, a sort of aristocracy emerged among Portraitist elites late in the Codification Period. Eventually, one golem stood at the top of a newly minted hierarchy - the first one in Mecongai history. Their name was Leinopheon ([ʟɛːˈno.pʰø̃]). The hierarchy under them served to glorify them, and constituted the first true state in Mecongai history, which they named after themselves. It was situated in the southeastern highlands of Mecongai territory. This marked the end of the Codification Period and the beginning of the Imperial Period in 4554. The Leinopheon state embarked on a secret project, unheard of and unthinkable in previous eras - the mass production of golems. These golems were yet another testament to Leinopheon's glory, and they would show this glory to the world. These golems were secluded by Leinopheon state officials and trained to fight. Both the soldiers themselves and the techniques of fighting were developed over a hundred-year period from 4577 - 4677.

In 4677, the first war in Mecongai history broke out as Leinopheon began conquering cities to its north. It cannot be stressed enough how completely shocking this was to people outside of Leinopheon's top elite. It was a cakewalk to conquer the east, right up until Leinopheon theirself was assassinated in 4723. The cutthroat, highly individualistic aristocracy finally caught up to them. The assassin's name is unknown, stricken from all records. Five elite ppon - presumably responsible for the assassination - were eradicated in response by the soldier golems, who actually ceased conquering to go home and do this. The soldiers decided that the aristocrats were too much trouble and removed them from power by force.

Militarism:

Thus, 4723 marks the beginning of Militarist Leinopheon. The Militarists venerate Leinopheon - both the golem and the state. The Militarists proper are the soldier golems. In stark contrast to the extreme individualism of the Portraitists, the Militarists are rather collectivist. The soldiers were trained together, made to work together tightly, and thus consider themselves one gigantic ppon, about 400 strong at the beginning. Outside golems cannot enter the group of soldiers, which is thus essentially a caste. The soldier caste increases its number on its own, making new soldier golems.

The Militarists are still Mecongai, and the Mecongai love of creativity was instilled into them, especially with regard to military tactics. They also promote creativity in fields that directly influence the maintenance of their power, such as the sciences and the relatively new field of bureaucracy. Art, however, is not considered much by Militarist philosophy - Leinopheon didn't want their soldiers getting any ideas about trying to gain power for themselves through the trade of art. Thus, all Militarist philosophy has to say about art and commerce is that it should be watched and made to serve the state. From the great tragedy of the assassination and the chaos that followed, Militarists also emphasize order, and believe excessive individualism and personal power to be detrimental to it. As such, it is not friendly to monarchies and aristocracies, and is also not friendly to decentralization.

After restoring order, the Militarists resumed their conquest in 4725. The remaining eastern cities did not have much time to prepare and were conquered with some effort. The west, however, was another story entirely. There is mostly featureless desert between Leinopheon and Mecolen. Between being farthest away and the hassle of navigation, Mecolen had time to prepare. The ppon of cities came together, becoming the second state in Mecongai history, out of necessity. Mecolen mounted a defense and successfully routed the invaders in 4789. To Mecolen's surprise, Leinopheon left Ataccoupha alone. Leinopheon then decided on a new strategy. It expanded north and south, claiming many resources, and set about expanding the soldier caste. It did not set an upper limit for itself, however, and procrastinated on invading Mecolen to gather more and more resources.

Map c. 5000


(Mecolen is in G-4r. Leinopheon is in H-6, H-3r, H-4r, H-5r, and H-6r. H-4 is disputed territory.)

Other Things:

On its eastern and southern frontiers, Leinopheon has encountered natives. Mostly, these are humans, but there are some nightpeople and even golems. The Militarist response is to simply leave them alone, unless they cause trouble, in which case the response is to simply kill them. Golem natives are sometimes made to work in mines. Humans and nightpeople are considered too frail for mining work. Calligraphists can be found gathering information from them. Landscapists don't usually have any use for them. Portraitists, at this point reviled and discriminated against, have been sometimes known to in turn shun Leinopheon society and enter native societies. There are tales of Portraitists setting up cults around themselves in native societies, but much of it is propaganda.

As for technology, as ever, advances are made in artistic tools. Magical engineering finally advances outside of golems and toys in the Codification Period and finds use in small, mechanical carving tools allowing for very detailed carvings. Later in the millennium, Leinopheon experiments with bigger versions of such tools for mining and warfare. These larger versions prove unstable and explosive, and the idea is shelved. Also late in the millennium, steel is invented - by 4900 it is recorded that the entire soldier caste of Leinopheon is equipped with this early steel weaponry. With the prevalence of iron production in the millennium, magnetic ores are found and studied. Compasses are invented, which aid the Calligraphist historians in their explorations of Lyranis Major. However, they remain uncommon devices.

[KathTheDragon]

I think we found the Library of Alexandria...

[Mornche Geddick]

I think I've found Inrušap'us'ekasa̤̤ the Encyclopedia's distant relatives!

[KathTheDragon]

Zalar Ancestor Worship

The Zalar have believed that their ancestors have power over the world for as long as anyone knows. They quickly assigned the ruins in the mountains as the place where they dwelt, and would make pilgrimages there to make a request of the ancestors. However, as the ancestors were once alive themselves, they have moods and whims, and there's no guarantee that they'll pay you any attention. A good way to get their attention is to make a sacrifice, or to offer items of great spiritual value, such as dragon figures carved from wood. As the Zalar expanded, however, many dragons were incapable of making the pilgrimage, so they set up shrines with regular and frequent sacrifice in the hopes of attracting a wandering Ancestor. As the centuries passed, many of these shrine-cultures forgot about the Ancestors, and made their offerings in the names of the various gods. The various panthea seem to have started as a handful of panthea, spread by contact, then evolving separately in each culture, as they all feature a god of herd-animals, and the coastal cultures also have a god of fish and whales. Other common gods are sky gods, sun gods, and moon gods.
Those shrine-cultures that didn't forget about the Ancestors due to their proximity to the pilgrim-cultures shifted the habitation of the Ancestors to the stars, and decided that the first and greatest Ancestor of all lived in the sun, and his adversary(s) lived in the moon(s). This spawned various myths explaining eclipses - solar eclipses are the Great Ancestor being attacked by his adversary, feigning defeat, then driving the adversary away, and lunar eclipses are the adversary being struck down by the Great Ancestor, only to be revived by dark magic. They believe that stronger Ancestors live in the brighter stars, and so they try to invoke those Ancestors more than those which live in the dimmer stars. Their greatest hope is that their stars will one day be brighter than all others.
The pilgrim cultures are those cultures which would eventually form Qoc-Tavar lū Notəlerilir, as their common means of invoking the Ancestors meant they had frequent contact with one another, keeping their cultures from drifting too far apart. They remained largely unchanged, though they did build replicas of the ruins as part of their larger settlements, in the hopes of drawing the Ancestors down from the mountains, and bless the settlement with their presence. This belief stemmed from the fertility of the land in the ruins, which meant that much larger herds could be maintained there.
All cultures which retained the Ancestors also retained the belief that death would elevate them to the the status of Ancestor. The others lost it: their panthea are fixed and, as far as they are concerned, eternal. In exchange, they gained the belief that after death, they would be taken beyond the stars to the place where the gods lived, where the dragons would spend eternity in a world beneath the gods' residence.

As nations formed, the tendency arose for eastern nations to be Ancestor-worshipping, and western nations to be Theists. The ruin-culture even spread beyond Qoc-Tavar, as it came to be 'fashionable' due to its presence in Qoc-Tavar. However, many of the cultures straddling the border between the two modes - all shrine-cultures - were a mix. Many of these nations collapsed in the resulting struggle between those who followed the Ancestors and the Theists. Some managed to find a compromise, and supported both religion modes. The rest tended to end up with Ancestor worship, though a handful became Theistic. This division became the major factor in the divide between east and west, which would ultimately lead to war. As the nations began to ally with their neighbours, the Theists realised how similar their religions were, and eventually, they all merged into something remarkably different to the supposed first panthea. The Ancestor worshippers were less unified. With their half of the continent essentially in three strips - shrine-, ruin- and shrine-cultures - no such merging of religions happened beyond each strip unifying their religions.

In the year 4026, the first dragon of the whole war died. A raid had been made into a Theist city, and while the invaders were driven away, there was a single casualty. The next day, another raid. The next, another. This continued until the city fell, coming under the shared control of the eastern nations. They'd agreed to split up their captured territory after their victory. This caused the western nations to develop crude weaponry of base metals and stone - nowhere near as effective as the bronze, and later, iron, of the East. The West caught up fast, and began training armies as more of their land was lost. Within two years, the whole island was in turmoil. The initial losses in the West were a major setback, and their territory continually shrank, and by the end of the war, they had been chased off the island completely. Qoc-Tavar settled the lion's share of the land, with states neighbouring the captured land taking the rest. The other states were now voicing their dissent, and another war seemed to be brewing.
Meanwhile, the colonies and former colonies were at war, but only because the colonies were not freed from their master states. As displaced Theists flooded into the Eastern Islands, the colonies revolted against their former masters, taking control of themselves, and repelling invasions with Theist help. The new East - composed of every nation in the Eastern Islands - turned their attention away from the new West - the homeland - to settle further islands. The Ancestor Worshippers and Theists were in harmony, though there had been many changes. The various Ancestor religions coalesced into a new religion, which combined the belief in the stars with the building of ruins. The change took centuries, but the result by the year 5000 was that there were two major religions in the East and a handful of minor religions, mostly offshoots.
The West, on the other hand, grew more and more violent. War broke out again a decade after the end of the last war, and soon, the island descended into a state of total and constant war. Incendiary devices were invented and used widely. The outcome: civilisation collapsed after the near-extinction of their herds due to the destruction of much greenery on the island. The surviving peoples were limited to a few isolated pockets of land, the largest in the ancestral ruins. The East did return briefly, but soon left after seeing the scale of the devastation.

It should be noted that writing was invented by the East sometime during the war, and was carried across the sea to the Eastern Isles numerous times by numerous nations. In the post-war period, mathematics, science, art and philosophy developed in the East. Metallurgy and then engineering began to flourish around the year 5000.

[CatDoom]

Hey Lyhoko, were you planning on doing something for the Nggwoo? I though I might take a crack at coming up with a religion for them, but I don't want to step on any toes.

[Lyhoko Leaci]

I haven't thought of anything for them yet religion-wise (other than the basic stuff I talked about in the original creation phase, but that is quite a bit of time ago now, so things could change quite a bit), and the basic idea I have for the area is for a collection of city-states and small-ish nations, so multiple religions could easily be handled. It might be that the only thing they all share is a language family, and some basic culture stuff. Having multiple religions in an area would probably be a good thing.