Spirit Worship

## Transcendent Spirits

Turians believe that groups, areas and objects have "Spirits" that transcend the individual. For example, a military unit would be considered to have a literal Spirit that embodies the honour and courage it has displayed. A city's Spirit reflects the accomplishments and industry of its residents. An ancient tree's Spirit reflects the beauty and tranquillity of the area it grows within.

These Spirits are neither good nor evil, nor are they appealed to for intercession. Turians do not believe Spirits can affect the mortal plane, but Spirits can inspire the living. Prayers and rituals allow an individual to converse with a Spirit for guidance or inspiration. A turian who finds their loyalty tested may appeal to the Spirit of their unit, hoping to reconnect with the pride and honour of the group. A turian who wishes to create a work of art may attempt to connect with the Spirit of a beautiful location for artistic inspiration.

This belief can often be confusing for alien cultures to understand. Spirits are not deities, nor are they treated as such. Rather, they are considered foci for the spiritual health and morality of wider turian society.

## Ancestor Veneration

The veneration of one's ancestors is a fundamental cornerstone of turian religion. Often misinterpreted as a "death cult" by alien cultures, spiritual practices surrounding funerary rites and beatification focus on enshrining the lives and achievements of the deceased into the annuls of history. Remembering and honouring the dead is a cultural custom which permeates all aspects of turian society, as the worst fate a turian can endure in death is to be forgotten by the living.

Ancestor veneration is not the same as the worship of a deity or pantheon of deities. As Spirits are not divine and cannot alter the mortal plane, the purpose of ancestor veneration is not to ask for favours or intervention but to perform one's filial duty. Showing reverence for the dignity, wisdom, or dedication that an ancestor displayed in their mortal life imparts wisdom and inspiration to their living descendants.

In this regard, many alien cultures and religions have similar practices. Some may visit the graves of their parents or other ancestors, leave flowers and pray to them to honour and remember them, while also asking their ancestors to continue to look after them.

In following the example of one's ancestors, turians learn from a young age to embody the ideals of altruism and collectivism, enriching society. By ignoring the past, turians invite egoism and individualism into their hearts. These traits are considered to be closest to the concept of "evil" that exists in turian culture.

### *Loquor cum Vox Eorum*

*Loquor cum Vox Eorum* (meaning "to speak with their voice") is a ritual practised by turian spirit priests which, they believe, allows them to speak with the voices of their ancestors on behalf of a petitioner. The specifics of the ritual differ from culture to culture but, generally, preparation involves the inhalation of psychoactive vapours that are released from the burning of *spiritus* *animi* ("spirits' breath"), a bioluminescent plant that grows exclusively around turian *necropoli* and has been culturally associated with the spirits of the dead for millennia.

These vapours are toxic to turian physiology in high doses but, in smaller doses, allow a priest to enter into a mantic, trance-like state, characterised by bouts of euphoria and jerking tremors, while still retaining consciousness and being able to respond to questions, albeit from an altered mental perspective in which the priest believes they are the petitioner's ancestor. These symptoms are believed to be a byproduct of an ancestral spirit possessing the priest and speaking with their voice. Preparing young priests for a lifetime of practising this ritual is a long and sometimes dangerous process, which requires initiates to be routinely exposed to the vapours in increasing levels of potency over time, to gradually acclimatise them to its effects. Overdosing on *spiritus* *animi* vapours can result in coma and death, thus its usage is strictly controlled by the turian clergy with government oversight.

## Living Spirits

While the turians do not worship gods, Living Spirits are the closest thing to deities which exist in their culture. Living Spirits are mortals who are believed to possess powerful Spirits, whose deeds and words have the power to change the course of history. They are paragons of what it means to be a true turian. Aurelion Aurelos was the first of such Living Spirits to be named and continues to be the most revered, however, he was not the first of his kind to appear chronologically - this honour goes to Atrin Impera, Imperatrix of the ancient Nialin Empire, who lived approximately 2000 years before Aurelion's time. She was posthumously named a Living Spirit a few hundred years after Aurelion's death and subsequent ascension. The most recent person to be named as a Living Spirit was Desolas Arterius II, a direct descendant of Aurelion, who unified the galaxy against the Reapers.

The naming of a Living Spirit is extremely rare and happens only once in an age. Those who are named have forever changed the course of history, for the better. The honour is often a posthumous one; turians as a species are not rash when it comes to making decisions of such magnitude. Despite being called a Living Spirit by the majority of his empire's citizens, Aurelion was not formally deified until after his death. The same is true of Desolas, who was formally deified by his son-in-law, Fidellion, following his mysterious disappearance in 2230 CE.

### **Known Living Spirits**

* Achaeus Corinthus
* Adrien Victus
* Atrin Impera
* Aurelion Aurelos
* Desolas Arterius II
* Federicus Mehrkuri
* Fidellion Victus
* Jorax Halabrian
* Laurentia Caelax
* Palex Natanus
* Vorenus Aventen