Geyan

## Basic Information

Geyan (Pronounced Gee-YAHN) is a Overworld-born religion surrounding the god Chiste and their mortal and immortal children. While it is not as old as some other religions, it is followed and practiced by millions across the Overworld, including Interra Gloria.

## Gods & Hierarchy

The first or primary god, Chiste of Parenthood, is seen by Geyani as the god of gods, or the king/queen of gods. Chiste's perceived gender changes depending on the person, but most works depict them with a feminine appearance. Chiste goes by many names among Geyani, including, but not limited to: The Great One, The First, The Mother God, and Light Goddess. Chiste watches over the Overworld and protects the mortals fro

Beneath Chiste are the other gods, believe to be made from pieces of the stars taken by Chiste. The gods are all capable of shapeshifting without any pain, but most also have unique abilities. These can be anything from flight to time manipulation to even creating new magic. Gods follow a strict code that involves never revealing their full power to mortals or developing any kind of emotional connection towards them. This exists to (A) protect the gods from being pointlessly hunted by the mortals, and (B) protect the mortals from losing their sanity if shown the full power of a god.\*1

The spirits are like pets to the gods, created from "spirit smoke" and given the same immortality and some of the powers of the gods. Spirits are capable of shapeshifting, but they are limited to Overworld creatures to take forms of. Unlike the gods, who can put on "skins" to appear more human, spirits are stuck in a completely black, smoky shade that reflects neither light nor darkness. They are able to pass through nonliving objects, like gods can, but unlike gods cannot pass through living things. Spirits are also capable of possessing mortals- which gods can't do- but run the risk of becoming "mortal-locked" if they develop any kind of emotional connection.\*2

Phantoms, or Reflections, are the Overworld equivalent to ghosts. When a mortal dies in the Overworld, regardless of their origin, their soul is drawn from the body and becomes a phantom. Phantoms, like gods and spirits, are made of spirit smoke, but cannot shapeshift and can pass through *any* object living or nonliving. While phantoms can control whether or not they are visible to mortals, it takes a significant amount of practice and does not give them the ability to possess mortals like spirits can. Phantoms, being reflections of their previous life, take on whatever form they did, albeit translucent. Any wounds that the phantom had before they died will glow the color of their soul, and is not translucent like the rest of the phantom's body.

If a phantom wants to be reborn, they need to seek out a pregnant mortal to take the soul of the fetus. Due to a baby not developing a soul until they take their first breath, this is harmless to the fetus. There have been situations in which a phantom soul the soul of a recently born baby, which resulted in the two souls sharing the body, but this is incredibly rare.

## Holidays & Traditional Celebrations

### Berite

Berite (Bear-ITE), or Sun Day, occurs on weeks of solar eclipses. The holiday is meant to honor Chiste's birth and their creation of the Overworld. It is celebrated by building small shrines out of stone and hanging orange cloth around their home. A food commonly baked and eaten on Berite are star-shaped cookies.

### Ayape

Ayape (AI-yah-PAY) is intended to pay respects to the spirits and phantoms. It occurs on the week of a lunar eclipse, where spirits and phantoms are most visible under the moonlight. Mortals celebrate Ayape by hanging purple cloths, making origami, and making moon-shaped cakes or cupcakes.

### Weddings

Geyan weddings are no different from typical Overworld weddings.

### Funerals

Geyan funerals are usually either really big or really small, depending on who passed. They are always led by the deceased's closest friends and/or family. If the deceased didn't have a particular person or group of people in mind, the whole group leads it together.

## Followers & Religious Views

### Priests

Geyani priests are more like researchers, studying the gods and spirits in hopes of discovering more about them. Becoming a Geyani priest involves devoting your life to Chiste and the gods, and severing any worldly ties (love, selfish desires, etc). In the modern day, it is uncommon to find a true Geyani priest.

#### Envy

One can be jealous without being aggressive.

#### Greed

If someone has a lot of frivolous items around their home, they’re considered selfish. As a result, Geyani are usually pretty easily satisfied and know when to quit while they’re ahead. It's for this reason that Geyani humans tend to follow a more greed-forgiving version of Geyan known to others as Yepuma. Humans typically call it Nakyu.

#### Gluttony

It’s considered a bit rude to be eating excessively, especially if it’s someone else’s food.

#### Wrath

There is no general view on wrath, so it depends on the individual.

#### Lust

There is no general view on lust, outside of it being heavily looked down upon to commit bestiality, rape, pedophilia, etc.

#### Sloth

If you have all you need in life, they have no problem with it. If there are things that need to get done, however, it's looked down upon.

#### Arrogance.

There is no general view on wrath, so it depends on the individual.