Sudhaism

Sudhaism is a dominant religion in the Makkada Sultanate and throughout the Spiral Empire. Believers, called Sudhas, worship only one god, which they capitalize: God. This makes them strictly monotheistic—worshipping other gods is forbidden, though most Sudhas believe in a variety of liminal and spiritual beings, such as djinn and tree spirits in the Forest. Sudhai holy people are called elai and host bi-decanal services during regular times, daily services during holidays. Temples are almost always open, however, for those who wish to pray or require spiritual assistance.

## Tenets

### Debating Scripture

Sudhaism has a single holy text, called *The Book*, and accompanying interpretations, called *The Book of Precedents* or merely *The Precedents*, which was written over centuries by scholars and elai. While the role of the elai is to understand *The Book* and the supplementary interpretations and distill the important parts for the masses, every Sudha is encouraged to read all writings for themself and come to their own conclusions. Argumentation, in good spirit, is encouraged as it can only increase the understanding of all involved. In many cases, scripture is treated sort of like law, with precedents and established interpretations that may be overturned in extreme cases. Different elai may preach different interpretations as well, and this is not considered untoward.

To prevent Sudhaism from fracturing into different sects, larger debates are settled by a single high elai or, if the high elai chooses, by a council of elai. The present-day high elai is Elai Baran. Because the determination can be disruptive, the high elai and any other advisors in the case write detailed reasoning for their interpretation, and include counterfactuals or pieces of evidence that would lead to the interpretation's rejection in future. After this publication, the debate is considered settled fact and elai may not continue to preach otherwise without permission. This has, historically, led to many elai using circuitous language, dog whistles, and rhetorical questions to hint at an interpretation that is no longer acceptable, and is perhaps one reason Tak has a counterfactual tense, used to represent possibilities that could exist in other worlds but not this one.

Because Sudhas are expected to come to their own conclusions, levels of dedication vary. Some Sudhas pray more than twice a day, others don't pray at all, or only during a few important holidays. Some Sudhas are vegetarian or avoid all animal products, including eggs, whereas others believe the restrictions on sea food no longer apply and eat everything they choose.

### Memorizing Scripture

Most Sudhas can recite a few passages from *The Book* and summarize both sides on their favorite rulings by the high elai. More devout, or richer, Sudhas may memorize chapters or the whole text and transcribe it into beautiful calligraphy. On the northern island, many Sudhas believe that the same chapters should be transcribed at the same time each year, so that as a Sudha grows and changes, they see the same passages in a different light over time. Because this is arguably an importation from the Hafya sect of Yanism, most elai discourage the practice, though it is too popular to ban.

### Modesty

Sudhas are expected to dress modestly. This means covering knees, shoulders, and the stomach at all times. Women wear veils over their mouths and sometimes noses in public, wifere wear gloves, and men wear scarves over their hair, which can be quite colorful and intricate—collectively, these additional articles of clothing are called jisan. While the veils, gloves, and scarves can be removed in the private of a home or when alone, knees, shoulders, and stomachs should only be viewed by someone of the same gender, and in private. While praying, even Sudhas who choose not to wear jisan in public put them on until they are finished; this is more common outside Makkada—inside Makkada, it is safe to assume someone without jisan is either too young or of a religious minority.

Non-Sudhas in Makkada are expected to follow the laws of modesty, regardless of their religious alignment. This means covering knees, shoulders, and stomachs. Foreign men often wear loose headscarves that do not cover all the hair to indicate respect for Sudhaism. Many non-foreign religious minorities in Makkada choose to make their lack of jisan obvious, painting their nails, dyeing their hair or wearing it in intricate up-dos, and using colorful make up on their lips.

### Prayer

Most Sudhas agree that they must pray twice a day, once when they wake up and once after the evening meal. Exceptions are made for the young and sick or those who are traveling in dangerous territory. Merchants, for instance, may make up additional prayers later if pausing in the Forest would force them to spend the night there. A common make up time is during lunch.

While the morning prayer is expected to be solitary, the evening prayer may optionally include others of the same gender. During holidays, Sudhas may decide to pray in temple in large groups, though it is not required. In general, before praying, Sudhas should ensure they are dressed properly, as it is considered dirty to pray in a state of undress. However, Sudha prisoners in Seprum, who often did not have access to proper clothing, prayed nevertheless, as they determined it was worse not to pray and that their immodesty was not their own fault. Before prayer, Sudhas also wash their hands. Afterwards, they may choose to meditate, though the emphasis on meditation in both Yanism and Paraism has reduced that practice, or read from *The Book of Precedents.*

### Charity

Sudhas are expected to dedicate one day a decan to charity and one to introspection. Often, the former follows the latter. On days of introspection, Sudhas refrain from intellectual work when possible and spend time in holy or beautiful places, including temple, gardens, and the desert. The three sister mesas are considered an especially good location for introspection. On days of charity, they may donate money, food, clothing, or labor to a cause they consider just. Most temples double as homes for the homeless or others who are struggling and elai are willing to put Sudhas in touch with other charities as necessary. Recent sultans have taken it upon themselves to ensure everyone may donate their time once a decan by compiling lists of organizations that help the needy.

During the rest of the decan, Sudhas are expected to behave in a charitable and kind manner, helping those who are struggling and seeking always to put goodness into the world. Sudhai scripture states that humans are born neither good nor evil but must make choices everyday that determine their effect in the world, and that even small choices are important and should be made with care.

### Mathematics

The single Sudhai God designs and continues to enforce the natural laws that govern the universe, both known and unknown. However, Ey does not play a daily role in affecting the lives of those in the world now, especially if doing so would violate a natural law. This is why it is important for humans to behave morally. Mathematics are seen as the purest expression of God in the world because they are governed by knowable laws that humans cannot break. The study of mathematics is a necessary part of Makkadi education and a love of math permeates art, which more often than not feature patterns, fractals, and proofs.

## Holidays

### Shasha

Shasha celebrates the conversion of five monarchs to Sudhaism, one on each subsequent day. During the five nights of Shasha, Sudhas are expected to pray in groups of at least three, though they grow as large or many thousands in the cities. It is the only time praying alone is considered unacceptable. On the sixth day, Sudhas do not pray at all, which is meant to show Sudhas the emptiness of a life without God.

### Qiesh

Qiesh is celebrated four times each year. In the bigger cities, its date is generally agreed upon by all Sudhas, but there is no actual requirement that it be celebrated at a certain time, only on a day of charity. Qiesh replaces regular charity of the physical world with more metaphysical charity. On the first Qiesh of the year, Sudhas must consider those they wronged the year before. On the second Qiesh, they write and send letters to those they wronged, apologizing and explaining why they strayed off course. On the third Qiesh, Sudhas gather, ideally in person, to settle the differences that caused the strife. On the fourth and final Qiesh, Sudhas write down the ways they will improve next year and burn them at sunset in great bonfires.

Sudhas who feel they have not wronged anyone are encouraged to speak to elai on the first day, as everyone's behavior can be improved. Sultans and other people in positions of authority may choose to write letters to their people or the sultanate as a whole instead of individuals, or do both. Letters to multiple people are read aloud or posted publicly. In recent years, such broad gestures have fallen out of style and sultans have taken to handling their wrongdoings privately.

### Ghaaev

Ghaaev is celebrated on the shortest day of the year. From dawn until dusk, regular citizens are encouraged to seek out elai and ask their most ridiculous hypothetical questions, including: if a ghoul converted to Sudhaism, would drinking human blood be considered acceptable as they need it to live or unacceptable because sentient animals cannot be eaten? if trees in the Forest are, indeed, conscious, is it permissible for Sudhas to remove jisan amongst them? and if a Dhi person who identifies as a gender besides man, woman, and wifere arrived in temple, where would they pray and who may undress in front of them? Everyone? Or no one?

Because all but the smallest villages have at least two elai, they take turns making themselves available and attempting to hide. In many places, this involves a series of antics, such as an elai in Meh who climbed a two-hundred foot rock wall to escape a group of schoolchildren with questions and an elai in the suburbs of Dinash who painted her skin with mud and laid down in a sewer, leaping out to surprise passersby and asking them how *they* liked being chased on Ghaaev. It is all taken in good spirit, of course, and many people look forward to the antics of hiding elai as much as getting their questions answered.

### Valah

Valah celebrates the inherent goodness in a world built by a loving and forgiving god. The morning is spent in contemplation and awe, either in groups or alone. Free food is provided to everyone in the cities and people travel for days to the larger cities to admire the cooking and decoration. In the afternoon and evening, Sudhas sing, dance, and recite passages of scripture in front of crowds well into the morning. Traditionally, the next day, the ruling class is responsible for cleaning the city up, though if the celebrations are quite raucous, they may recruit some help. The sultan and most of the council of viziers has worked dawn until dusk the day after Valah, putting away stalls and picking up flags and banners, every Valah since the Makkada Sultanate formed.