The Covered Path

The way of Elementalism holds that in order to achieve harmony and alignment with the cosmic forces of the universe, each individual must strive in the pursuit of perfection, seeking purity in accordance with the elements and their associated traits as much as is possible for them. Conventional doctrine preaches that the way to do so is attained through governance in accordance with the Four Books of the Elements, under the guidances of the priests and temples who safeguard the purity of the elements and guide the people in homage to them. However, another path to perfection exists - the Covered Path.

There is some debate as to whether the Covered Path represents a particular school of thought within Elementalism, or another religion entirely. While it accepts the elements as the cosmic forces that sustain all things and holds the gods as imperfect and unworthy of worship, it also rejects temples, the priesthood, and the caste system. - which has made it appealing to the lower classes, and a target of persecution from officials who find it a threat to their authority. To those of the Covered Path - the dervishes - the pursuit of perfection is not a one-size-fits-all goal to be imparted to the masses from on high. Rather, it is a personal journey, one that must be discovered by each person in their own way.

The Covered Path was founded centuries ago by a human scholar named Amid al-Samad, and thus, its practitioners are also called Amidis. Where the name came from has puzzled scholars. Some believe it came from Amid's practice of disseminating his teachings in debates with other scholars held on a bench beneath a cover of palm fronds, while others posit a link to the woolen caps used by mystics to cover their heads. Whatever the case is, the Covered Path quickly took hold as a popular movement, and in the years since, it has given rise to a multitude of different schools and philosophies - all of which, however, claim a direct line of teaching that can be traced from student to master all the way back to Amid himself.

According to the Covered Path, Amid al-Samad was the perfect being - the first living thing created, but who lived in secret for milennia until the time came for him to reveal himself to the world. Although conventional Elementalism claims that humans are inherently imperfect beings due to being made up of all four elements in equal parts, and thus impure, devotees of the Covered Path argued that this balance of elements actually made one's existence more harmonious, as it ensured no one element overpowered the others. Nevertheless, the Covered Path is not a phenomenon exclusive to humans, and numbers genasi and even a few genies among its ranks. A core teaching of the philosophy is that everyone, regardless of their social standing or place of origin, is an equal in the balance of the universe, and that the only pursuit in life worth following is understanding this balance, not wealth, power, or personal gain.

Many Amidi dervishes thus follow an ascetic lifestyle, deliberately cutting themselves off from earthly desires to pursue spiritual enlightenment alone. Every school of the Covered Path approaches this differently, but they all hold that wealth and comfort is a distraction from perfection. For this reason, they are often compared to the monks of northern lands. Like monks, they devote their lives to study and meditation, with little communication with the outside world - in particular, they are well known for their rituals in which they gather to play music and whirl in place, allowing themselves to be moved only by instinct and the ecstasy of spiritual revelation.

Unlike monks, however, dervishes do not flock to monasteries. Every member of a given school considers themselves to be part of the same brotherhood, but, in keeping with the individualistic focus on perfection, dervishes of the Covered Path undergo spiritual training under a master, who sees to their personal instruction. Amidis maintain that it is not possible to achieve perfection through passively reading theory; they must actively be guided. They do congregate at their own schools and holy sites, however, many of which are the tombs of esteemed Amidi masters. Traditionally, they are buried in their homes, which become shrines tended to by their families and students. These shrines are often sought out as places of pilgrimage in a dervish's journey to spiritual understanding, and become hotspots of congregation where knowledge (and, informally, rumor) is shared, often providing housing for itinerant mystics, with shade and water to relieve themselves from the desert heat. Some masters, in fact, are so devoted to the cause that they choose to let their spirits linger at their tombs after death, forgoing rest in the Land of the Dead so that they may impart their wisdom to those who seek it.

To the dervishes of the Covered Path, adventure is not a means to gain power, fame, or wealth. It is an exercise in patience, understanding, and broadening one's horizons, often with functions that may make little sense to the initiate at the time. These mystics are tolerated by some authorities more than others, and they often find themselves as outsiders beyond their own communities. But they and their communities can be found all across Quel'Ahma.

Background: Amidi Dervish

Skill Proficiencies: History, Religion

Tool Proficiencies: One musical instrument of your choice

Languages: Quel'Ahman; one language used for mystical and poetic texts

Equipment: A set of common clothes, a begging bowl, a musical instrument of your choice, and a scholar's pack.

Feature: Path of Perfection. You have a master who personally instructs you in the journey to perfection, and they will offer you guidance if sought after. You are also welcome at any Amidi shrines or gatherings of the faithful.

Feature: Asceticism. Your school under the Covered Path requires that you pursue some form of voluntary asceticism to cut yourself off from worldly distractions and focus on the big picture. As long as you practice this restriction, you may cast Divination once per day by whirling in place for ten uninterrupted minutes until you recieve a vision. If you break your restriction, your master will give you a quest of penance to undergo before you may make use of this feature again; until then, other dervishes will recognize that you are out of balance with the universe and refuse to help you. Roll 1d8 on the following table to determine your restriction.

1. Cannot eat meat, legumes, or leavened bread.

2. Must spend one hour per day in meditation.

3. Must travel exclusively on foot (boats are fine if your destination can only be reached by water).

4. May only wear unadorned woolen robes.

5. May not use edged weapons to shed blood.

6. Must give all wealth attained to charity (your fellow dervishes will provide you with food, water, and other necessities). If using gold for EXP rules, consider money donated in this fashion to be worth EXP.

7. Cannot consume alcohol, caffiene, or other mind-altering substances.

8. Cannot willfully lie. 

Note: A PC may take up tutelage of a master of the Covered Path during play. If this happens, they gain the Path of Perfection and Asceticism features regardless of whatever background they already have. Consider having the PC undergo a personal quest to prove their dedication to the cause in order for them to obtain these features.

The Elemental Faith

Elementalism is, of course, not the only religion practiced in Quel'Ahma. There are populations of Pantheonists there, and temples to the gods can be found in many major cities, often catering to foreign visitors (and consequently most prominent in Al-Riyah). There are even some people, often in remote or tribal regions, with customs comparable to the Old Faith. And Quel'Ahma is also home to the mystic traditions of the Covered Path, a philosophy dedicated to the pursuit of transcendence from earthly concerns. But it is Elementalism that comprises the Quel'Ahman state religion, underpinning much of Quel'Ahman society and informing and legitimizing the caste structure of its society, and it is certainly the path practiced by the majority of its citizens.

Elementalism is quite different than other religions, especially those of the north. The faithful do not direct their worship to any sort of entities, such as gods, spirits, or ancestors, but to the cosmos itself.  The pursuit of Elementalism is not to serve the whims of higher beings. It is to live in harmony with the elements, and to strive toward achieving the perfect balance of the elements within one's being, as much as is possible for one to do in their station in life. Elementalism does not assert the gods do not exist (given all the miracles they have performed, that would be a foolish assumption) - rather, it cites that even the gods are prone to the vanities of mortals, and thus are not worthy of worship no matter how powerful they are. It contends that gods are not above the fabric of the universe, but a part of it, and just as subordinate to it as mortals are.

In the pursuit of perfection, the Elemental Faith is characterized by logic and rational thought. Its tenants are outlined in the Four Books of the Elements, a collection of holy texts and observations by generations of holy men, which describe the nature of the elements, their role in making up the universe, and how they influence life, as well as how their balance affects both individuals and the world. The elements are each associated with all things in life - the cardinal directions, personality traits, the bodily humors, and so on - and this tradition has influenced alchemy and science, as Elementalism encourages one to understand the natural world in order to best live with it and understand how to master it. Quel'Ahman society is in itself an attempt to create the perfect order in accordance with Elementalist teachings, as is reflected by the privilege given to genies and genasi for their perceived greater purity, and how the four emirates are laid out to correspond to the four elements, organized spatially according to what the Four Books hold to be in proper balance.

However, there is plenty of room for interpretation. The Four Books of the Elements are comprised mostly of anecdotes, parables, and philosophic musings, sometimes even apparently contradicting one another, and with little effort to explain themselves. Some anecdotes are older than others, and some come from sources believed less reputable than others, but they are included within the body of the text nonetheless. It is thus up to the individual to interpret the texts and what they mean, and to determine how perfection can be achieved with the information they impart. Many scholars in Quel'Ahma study the texts obsessively and debate their meaning, and it is an important task of the genasi elite to interpret the Books and judge how they may be used to apply policy - something that has, in the past, sparked wars over differing interpretations.

Elementalist places of worship are built around examples of the elements. Though some have drawn parallels between Elementalism and the worship of sacred sites found in some Old Faith traditions, Elementalists do not truly worship examples of the elements so much as they worship the elements themselves. A specific rock or a holy fire are only parts of the great cosmic forces that compose the universe, and when Elementalists venerate such things, they do so as extensions of the greater elements, standing in for something much bigger and harder to comprehend - at least to outsiders. That said, these objects are valued for their purity, and to move or handle them requires complex rituals to ensure this purity is not disturbed. Each temple venerates a specific element, according to the direction in which it is placed, and where it is located. Thus, temples west of Tasshen, including those in Al-Riyah, worship the wind. These elements must be kept pure, and great measures are taken in order to do so.

A typical wind temple contains a sanctum that is kept open to the sky, placed to the west and faced by worshipers when addressing their prayers, but this sanctum may only be entered by members of a priestly class to keep the wind as pure of other elements as possible, and those who face it must veil their faces and wash their hands and feet so they do not contaminate the air with the impurities of their sweat or breath. When it rains (rare in Quel'Ahma, but it still happens), the opening of this sanctum must be covered with a cloth so that the air is not polluted by rainwater, and this cloth may never be used twice to prevent any lingering residues of past rains from entering the site.

Because Elementalists worship no gods, they are not granted powers through prayer. In the Lunar Lands, most clerics actually learn their spells through study in a temple rather than direct divine intervention, and Elementalists also observe traditions of magical training so that their priests are better equipped to understand the cosmos. Use a Way of the Four Elements Monk to represent the average adventuring Elementalist priest. A Pyromancy Sorcerer could also represent a priest dedicated to fire.