I'm developing the religions of my world. One race, the suchians, worship something they call Epitomes. An Epitome is not a conscious being; rather, it is an impersonal disembodied force.
Each Epitome represents a virtue of thought and behaviour - bravery, honesty, fairness, generosity and so on. When you worship an Epitome, you gradually develop a connection to it. Worshippers give up small amounts of mental and bodily energy. This energy is stored in the Epitome on the spiritual "plane" where it exists.
A person can be connected to many Epitomes. When you're connected to an Epitome, it rewards you with a boost of energy and well-being wherever you act in accordance with the Epitome - e.g. when you do something brave or honest. Thus the Epitome "pays back" its worshippers. Similarly you get "punished" with anguish and fatigue if you violate your principles. Both happen automatically as long as the worshipper genuinely believes he is doing the right/wrong thing. (The Epitome cannot judge the virtue of actions. It is not intelligent. It just responds to people's thoughts and feelings.) This is not complete mind-control - a worshipper can disobey the Epitome, it's just psychologically hard and painful to do.
The Epitomes did not always exist. They were created. A sufficient congregation of worshippers, led by learned mage-priests, can create new Epitomes. Epitomes grow stronger and weaker depending on how much they are worshipped.
Religious practices and rituals can vary widely; the important thing is just the faith and emotions of worshippers. Beliefs can also vary - some people (rabble and clergy alike) may falsely believe that their Epitomes are conscious gods who created the world.
An Epitomes can be built on any virtue, code or principle as long as it's based on thought and behaviour - you can't have an Epitome of strength or fertility or wealth because those are not behaviours; they're not a choice.
There exist hundreds of Epitomes worshipped by various cultures. Some are near-universally revered while others are controversial. E.g., one nation might revere Vengeance as an Epitome whereas another insists that Forgiveness is a virtue and that Vengeance is an evil Epitome that should not be worshipped. Epitomes can range from very general ("Loyalty", "Fairness") to very specific ("Loyalty to your commanding officer in war", "Fairness towards employees and servants").
I'm thinking about how this could be used on a large scale.
Epitomes can function as a kind of indoctrination or brainwashing. A ruler who wishes to change the world can introduce new Epitomes and discourage the worship of others, and thus gradually literally change the minds of his people. One of my characters is like that: A ruler and mage who seeks to change the world - for the better, as he sees it. To that end, among other things, he introduces and popularizes Epitomes which he believes will help spread his influence and further his political ends.
What do you think? Do you have any good ideas for how this could be used and abused, or any pitfalls I need to think through?
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Each Epitome represents a virtue of thought and behaviour - bravery, honesty, fairness, generosity and so on. When you worship an Epitome, you gradually develop a connection to it. Worshippers give up small amounts of mental and bodily energy. This energy is stored in the Epitome on the spiritual "plane" where it exists.
A person can be connected to many Epitomes. When you're connected to an Epitome, it rewards you with a boost of energy and well-being wherever you act in accordance with the Epitome - e.g. when you do something brave or honest. Thus the Epitome "pays back" its worshippers. Similarly you get "punished" with anguish and fatigue if you violate your principles. Both happen automatically as long as the worshipper genuinely believes he is doing the right/wrong thing. (The Epitome cannot judge the virtue of actions. It is not intelligent. It just responds to people's thoughts and feelings.) This is not complete mind-control - a worshipper can disobey the Epitome, it's just psychologically hard and painful to do.
The Epitomes did not always exist. They were created. A sufficient congregation of worshippers, led by learned mage-priests, can create new Epitomes. Epitomes grow stronger and weaker depending on how much they are worshipped.
Religious practices and rituals can vary widely; the important thing is just the faith and emotions of worshippers. Beliefs can also vary - some people (rabble and clergy alike) may falsely believe that their Epitomes are conscious gods who created the world.
An Epitomes can be built on any virtue, code or principle as long as it's based on thought and behaviour - you can't have an Epitome of strength or fertility or wealth because those are not behaviours; they're not a choice.
There exist hundreds of Epitomes worshipped by various cultures. Some are near-universally revered while others are controversial. E.g., one nation might revere Vengeance as an Epitome whereas another insists that Forgiveness is a virtue and that Vengeance is an evil Epitome that should not be worshipped. Epitomes can range from very general ("Loyalty", "Fairness") to very specific ("Loyalty to your commanding officer in war", "Fairness towards employees and servants").
I'm thinking about how this could be used on a large scale.
Epitomes can function as a kind of indoctrination or brainwashing. A ruler who wishes to change the world can introduce new Epitomes and discourage the worship of others, and thus gradually literally change the minds of his people. One of my characters is like that: A ruler and mage who seeks to change the world - for the better, as he sees it. To that end, among other things, he introduces and popularizes Epitomes which he believes will help spread his influence and further his political ends.
What do you think? Do you have any good ideas for how this could be used and abused, or any pitfalls I need to think through?
Sent from ProtonMail mobile