Corundi

**Corundi** is a world religion originating with the Land of the Three Princes in antiquity. No sovereign state professes Corundi as its dominant religion, but it remains widely practiced religion by Orcs and Evolvi in the Orcish subcontinent. Corundi as a faith centers around the core ideas of nonviolence and universal tolerance, leading to it being very diverse in membership. Religious Corundians have historically been victims of persecution in some Orcish nations as a result of standing contrary to the militarism common in Orcish society and at times refusing conscription for wars deemed unjust.

## Overview

The Corundi faith is likely the oldest organized faith in Parvolon, with accounts dating back to as early as 6200 PGF. However, the number of adherents has fluctuated greatly over the past few millenia, and it came close to extinction during the conquest of Corundia by the Bessorian Great Kingdom in the Early Classical Period. The religion saw a resurgence when the Empire of Anzu dismantled Bessor in the middle of the Classical Period, and in the past few centuries the religion has been at an alltime high within the Orcish Empire.

The mythology of Corundi is largely a fusion of Orcish and Evolvi myths at the time of its inception. Corundians have a pantheon that essentially consists of a hybrid of old Orcish and old Southern Evolvi deities, with some deities having more than one recognized name. This is a consequence of divine beings with similar purposes becoming one over time, and since revelation showed the true number of deities it has been agreed upon that these names reflect old disagreements. The number of legends in the holy literature are also disputed, and priests disagree on which stories in the text are canonical (to be accepted as part of the religious practice) and from these which are literal or figurative.

The novel ideas of Corundi are contained in the *Parsa* ("Method"), the first holy book of the religion. It is relatively short, and only contains the common practices of the religion as well as its core mythology. Most followers augment this text with the *Rumnadas* ("Tales"), a number of authorless and more abstract stories that vary greatly in their intent. Some of these legends are vague accounts of history with others existing as parables, some could fit on one page while others are standalone works, and a few are especially captivating because they are so unclear that there is no consensus on what the work actually means.

## Theological Schools

There are four separate theological schools within the Corundi faith, mainly divided over the interpretation of the *Corundi Creed,* a part of their holy text agreed upon as being the most important in the religion. The creed makes four statements about the world, gives four instructions in response:

* *See that people have made a creed of hand for hand and eye for eye; the command of blood for blood's sake makes all unclean.*
* *See that people have made from famine greed; to let a neighbor suffer is to cover the fire in your heart with sand.*
* *See that people have made from mercy shame; those who love others are of the greatest honor.*
* *See that people have made from peace war; people are not to walk over people.*

There are three different views on what these instructions have to say about violence, those being that violence is wrong, that violence is forbidden, and that violence is discouraged.

### Dirai

The **Dirai** school of Corundi is very common, and is consistent with the oldest practices. The Dirai are seen as traditionalists, and believe that the creed commands followers to not use violence with special exception for the defense of others. Because of this, the Dirai generally believe that war is unjustified, but those who are attacked are excused from necessary actions to restore peace and to prevent injustices.

The Dirai also believe in the modern day that Corundians have a right to their homeland, which has created friction between the Orcish Empire and the Corundians.

### Ansadi

The **Ansadi** school of Corundi is also common, and has a unique history. The Ansadi have their origins in migrants from their homeland to central Anzu during their time within the Empire of Anzu, and differ from the other schools in their acceptance of Skalan and even Avian mythology into the religion. While the Empire of Anzu did not interfere in the practice of Corundians, many priests elected to hybridize certain elements of local religion with Corundi as the communities lived together. Some from other schools have argued that the Ansadi have become a different religion at its core because of this, but the more popular opinion over time has been that this is still consistent with the Corundi faith.

The Ansadi are wide in scope and generally seen as a reformist or progressive wing of the religion, but like the Dirai believe that the creed commands followers to not use violence except for the cause of peace. This makes them against war under the majority of circumstances, although their position is more complicated than other schools. The Ansadi also conflict with the Dirai over any right to land, as while they do not oppose the restoration of the old temples they believe that the religion functions independent of the homeland and has done so successfully for centuries.

### Orosai

The **Orosai** school of Corundi is uncommon and has been shrinking in size. The Orosai are seen as purists, and believe that the creed prohibits the use of violent action regardless of purpose or intent. War is seen by the Orosai as a fundamental wrong of society, and unlike other schools they hold that even defensive action is participation in violence, as so is corrupting.

In order to uphold their commitment to nonviolence, the Orosai have historically been incredibly rural. Many Orosai live in small societies that are entirely self-sufficient, as these environments provide as little obstacle to their goals as possible. Those that travel or live in urban areas, however, are often rather wealthy. This is because organized groups in urban settings promote acquiring wealth for the purpose of avoiding participation in violence, and temples will accumulate community gold to prevent members from being drafted. The Orosai are consequently lenient on the act of giving to the poor, which has garnered some criticism from other Corundians.

### Qarasai

The **Qarasai** school of Corundi is the newest school of thought within the religion, and is uncommon but growing. The Qarasai are seen as radical, and believe that the creed only discourages violent action and demands that all violent action have justification. Accordingly, the Qarasai are the only sect that is in favor of offensive wars, with some taking a pragmatic or utilitarian approach to war if they believe that their actions can prevent more suffering than if they refused to participate.

The Qarasai are often interpreted as a response to repeated intolerance of Corundians, making them very controversial. While proponents of war in the sake of securing Corundians from invasion have existed since the occupation of the homeland by Bessor, the formation of the Qarasai only began after the collapse of the Empire of Anzu. This period was another low for the religion, and some reformists thought that stability was necessary if Corundians were ever to achieve true peace with their neighbors.

Critics from other schools of thought suggest that the Qarasai either betray the idea of nonviolence in their actions or give license to violence far too openly to be justified. The extent that adherents to the Qarasai school will go in justifying violent action varies person to person, and while they agree violence is immoral on its own they all believe that there are some circumstances that make violence either not wrong or perhaps more good than inaction.