Religion in Tunflow

Religion
Tunflow believe that they once came a land of many great beasts to hunt and plants to forage for. Somewhere beyond the freezing sea that surrounds where they live now is a land torn apart by war, distrust, and chaos. The Goddess that gave them all life grew overwhelmed by the massive population of humanity and was only troubled further by their expansions and cruelties to each other and the land. Instead of working towards remedying the damage done, she became fascinated with it and grew hungry for more. Mankind was nearly erased from being by her desire for chaos, but a new god stepped in just in time. The God of order, the One Who Gives, came to the people at war and spoke of ways to seek salvation from this life. Those in power widely ignored him, but the ones who truly wished to keep their families alive and safe were swayed to leave their original homeland. They crafted magnificent ships, gathering whatever animals, seeds, and people they could fit into them. But the Goddess of Life and Chaos began to take notice, and here is when she truly earned her new title as the One Who Takes.

The One Who Takes went after those who were making efforts to escape the lands of war, whispering doubts to them to cause more fighting before they could leave her grasp. The One Who Gives heard of this and stripped his refugees of their color, doing all he could to help them blend into the world around them. Their clothes turned dull, their skin a muted brown, and their eyes went pale. He could not take all of the color from their eyes, only tone it down from the strong shades they had before. Knowing this would not be enough to keep her whispers away, he crafted a mask of wood and enchantments for each of his people. These supposed warding enchantments have been lost to time, but the tradition of making and wearing masks still stands strong with many of the Tunflow people. In their escape, the people were separated into three different boats, only one of them held The One Who Gives as a guide to the new land that would be far out of the Goddess’ reach. She could not find them, but she knew what they had done to leave her, and so she sent storms and beasts into the seas in hopes to force them back into her arms.

All this did was delay the arrival of the three boats that grew into the three core clans we know today. The clan that is forever searching reached the new land first, the Silent wander the land in an endless but massive path to find the power that promises to deliver them to a land like their old homeland. Then the clan that grew to tame and favor the creatures of the forests, the Howling Clans were left unaware of this power and instead learned to thrive and work together not only with each other but the wildlife around them. Finally, the clan which clung to the sea that served as their passage to peace, the Singing, came to love and respect the ocean as a giver of life of endless shapes and sizes that offer a way to banish the souls of the unforgivable.

The One Who Gives, however, could not remain in this world forever, he had more of humanity to save from the chaos the One Who Takes began. He gave up some of his power as well as his solid form to create a third god to watch over the Tunflow and ensure the knowledge he had shared with them would never be lost. The One Who Watches was not granted the powers to make a direct impact on the world, they were even denied a distinguishable gender with their child-like form. All they do is wander the world, going to each clan and teaching them ways to keep away or defend against the attacks from The One Who Takes.

The One Who Gives
The One Who Gives is seen as a gentle, old, and wise man who makes an effort to enforce order to the world his opposite creates. He is thoughtful, caring, and does what he can to help humanity avoid total annihilation. While fond of mankind, he discourages vanity and warns against it, thus the wooden masks so they all can easily remember the qualities that truly matter in a person. This forces every member of a clan to be physically fit and focused rather than subjecting anyone to merely remain at home looking perfect.

Most clans work to please this God, seeing him as a great teacher and savior from what would have been the end of the world. To keep him pleased, they continue the practice of making masks every year just as he instructed. When hunts or efforts of foraging have been particularly generous for the day, it is believed to be a sign from this God still supporting this collection of mankind. So in his honor, an object made of ice, stone, or wood will be shaped into his image. These objects are often left behind when the clan moves on to a new area and while there are several possibilities to what becomes of them, there is a strong belief that the God at the very least sees them and will continue his watch.

The One Who Takes
The One Who Takes is described as an ever-changing woman, delighted with both creation of life and its destruction. She is chaotic, wild, and does as she pleases, telling lies to break bonds and encourage violence. Wars are her favorite act to witness, and so she does try to nudge the clans to expand in size to increase the chance of them clashing. They seem to believe in bright colors or great amounts of objects will attract her to tempt them. This may be why the Tunflow go to great lengths to remain humble and small.

While she is not quite worshiped in the same way as The One Who Gives, She is respected and acknowledged as the Goddess she is. If the clan finds themselves starving, they believe it is because The One Who Takes has sent spirits to devour their typical surrounding resources or interfered with their efforts of hunting or trapping animals. In order to reverse this, they must make an effort to appeal to her by leaving the area as soon as possible. During the packing process and even the move itself, they are to mutter in an angry tone as if they are upset with one another. Even their speaking voices must sound accusatory, making it seem as though the clan’s bonds are at the very least weakening. When they arrive at a new location, they will drop this act as they will often have more success after leaving a poor hunting ground and will believe they have managed to get her to leave them be once more.

The One Who Watches
The One Who Watches is depicted as a child, unable to influence the other two in any way. Sometimes a girl, others a boy, who whispers alarming thoughts to mankind but offers nothing that helps or harms them - only reminders of what they’ve already been taught.

When in need of guidance, the clans turn to this God for wisdom. In order to hear advice from the One Who Watches, an elder is selected from the clan to craft and wear a mask the reflects what they desire. With a mask made and replacing what they normally adorn their face with, they hide away into a tent or cavern to meditate. It is believed that this Child God will visit them in their mind, casting a vision to speak directly to the chosen elder. They will not give them a “right” or “wrong” answer, only the truth on the options they have and what may happen in the worst or best cases in all of them. In order to sway Them from their usual neutral tone, an offering must be made. This offering is often a bone carved into the shape of an animal made by the chosen elder themselves.

Death and the Afterlife
When one is no longer able to contribute to the clan, be it through age, illness, or irreparable injury, they are encouraged to leave their mask behind and embark on a final walk. It is believed these people will die on their own, bodies devoured by the wildlife, but soul allowed to be reborn again as a child for a new chance to contribute to the world. It is not the most honorable way to die and there are some clans that refuse to accept this tradition, but it is not an uncommon occurrence.

There are times a death occurs due to battle. Those who die in an honorable way have their mask gently removed, replaced with a mask made of tightly packed snow that’s placed over their heart. The snow mask is often in the shape of a bear’s face, and unlike their wooden masks offers no holes for the eyes.

Honorable deaths aside from the final walk include dying through combat defending the clan or from an accident while hunting. It is believed when someone dies in an honorable way that they are reborn as a white bear that stalks after the clan of its previous life and protects them from the greater dangers of the world. The bears they see in the wild are often believed to be ancestors of a strong will.

Meanwhile, those who have died in a dishonorable way are tied up with rocks and thrown into the sea. Dishonorable deaths include running away from fights or causing trouble for the clan in some other way that forces their hand to get rid of that person. These problem people have caused the death of many, or have done something that has caused the clan to believe that they are a monster sent by The One Who Takes rather than another human being. It is believed the spirits of dishonorable people who were thrown into the sea or rivers, become ones who are trapped in the realm of dreams and incapable of inflicting further physical harm on the clan. They are also believed to be ones who bring about nightmares of fear and doubt as revenge for being denied the chance to be reborn.

Overview of Spirits
For the Tunflow there are many unseen forces to be wary of and grateful for. While they are all sent by one God or the other, there is an understanding that the Gods themselves are merely ordering their personal ‘clan’ to attack or defend humanity.

The One Who Takes has control over the souls of the dead who were dishonorable people, she sends them to devour and send whispers of doubts to their old clans to feed her desire for chaos. Violent bears are often blamed on her and are believed to occur because the remains of someone who was unworthy of rebirth was not properly thrown into the sea. For souls of the dishonorable that are trapped within the sea, she pulls them into the realm of dreams instead. They are never able to find peace in this realm, so these vengeful spirits will do everything in their power to summon nightmares that keep the living just as restless as they are. She also sends spirits of angered animals, who may have been disrespected in their previous life to ruin hunts and devour food. Disrespected animals include ones who were slain for sport or their bodies wasted from a clan failing to make use of every piece. It can also include domesticated animals that were abused by a clan, as some have gotten into the habit of raising their own herds or personal pets. These betrayals are rarely ever forgiven and may go on for generations even after the guilty individual has been punished by their clan.

Meanwhile, the One Who Gives guides souls of the disciplined and pure, sending them to assist in hunts and fight the enraged spirits who try to interfere with the realm of the living. White bears who keep their distance are believed to be sent by him and thought to work to keep other dangers away from the clans. He cannot interfere with the realm of dreams, as he is not as powerful as The One Who Takes, so instead his sent spirits search for dream catchers. It is believed that souls of the restless can be caught within the webs, allowing the other souls to take them away and cleanse them or at the very least prevent them from harming a clan for the night. Animals who were given a proper death may also join his cause for humanity’s benefit, as it is believed they were likely once reborn from humans as well. Proper deaths simply mean the animal was not tortured or forced to die a slow or painful death and that every part of their remains was used for the clan. This is likely why the Tunflow make an effort to save even the smallest drops of blood from their kills.

Finally, the One Who Watches merely sees to the transformation of souls and remains. A body, regardless of the soul, has the potential to be reborn into many different forms. At times it will be plant life, others a rock, but the One Who Watches seems to favor animals more than anything else. This is seen through how sparse said plant life is and how none of it seems quite as grand to the beasts that reside in the forests, mountains, and seas. He does not control what these spirits do, only what their remains are reborn into.

Significance in Eyes
People of the Tunflow clans already have rather unusual colored eyes for humans. They stubbornly insist it is because of the power of their god, The One Who Gives. However, the Tunflow also believe each variation of their unique eyes makes one capable of certain abilities more than another person, a “natural talent.” It can be proven wrong, of course, but they do encourage Elders and parents to lean towards favoring a child in certain lessons. “Life” (green) eyes are considered the gaze of a healer, reflecting the colored plant life they may use in making various medicines that will ensure the clan will survive despite injuries or illnesses they face. “Death” (light blue) eyes the gaze of a warrior, capable of falling silently or being part of a ruthless storm that will provide and defend for the clan with all their might until they die. “Soul” (lilac) eyes of the spiritual individuals, calm and soothing with never-ending understanding that will bring about peace and keep a clan from falling apart. Finally, “Heart” (rose) eyes are ones who have potential in creating weapons and carvings that will call forth the power of helpful spirits or even the Gods themselves. Individuals with eyes that aren’t the typical softer shades are believed to have had their natural talents stolen from them by the One Who Takes. They are also more likely to be blamed for a clan’s misfortune and may be banished with the hope that they will be reborn with their talent returned to them. The clan may delay banishing the individual so they have a chance to prove themselves still capable despite the perceived flawed eyes up until the age of twenty. They will be allowed to keep their masks, in hopes it will help their rebirth redeem their lost natural talent.

Celebrations
Festivities and celebrations for the Tunflow tend to be more spontaneous than a strict schedule of worship or planning. This is partly because they lack any kind of permanent settlement or calendar and partly due to the unpredictability of life.

Reunions
Many times a celebration will take place because of two different clans running into each other, these events are called reunions. They are perfectly friendly with one another, all believing they must have come from the same boats in their legends. For anywhere from a week to a month, the meeting clans will hunt together and recall their encounters. Elders take this chance to re-arrange travel plans to avoid areas that have already been picked clean for the time being or beasts that another clan was unable to deal with properly. The clans may merely describe the area of these places, but with more significant concerns they may have left an object carved to depict the warning to others. When possible, this object will be a totem pole that reflects whatever the issue might have been; sometimes of The One Who Takes or a beast that had been encountered. Children under the age of fifteen get the chance to play a little more frequently during these encounters, resulting in snowball fights and other such shenanigans. After a day full of foraging and hunting, the nights are filled with gossip, singing, and dancing during well-earned meals. These days are spent light-heartedly, embracing their life in the frozen lands instead of in sorrow of their past.

Mask Making
The art of mask making is traditionally practiced at the end of the harsher winter months and the start of the calmer springtime weather. It acts as a unified birthday to these people, a celebration and a time of remembrance of all they once were and all they have grown to be. These parties always result in anywhere from four to five clans gathering together in a place close to where they had gathered the previous year. It serves as a true reunion as more often than not, members from clans willingly go to live with others in order to get to know a love interest better.

Due to it being a more planned out arrangement, they are able to dig up whatever meat or fish they had left fermenting from the previous year. This makes the pressure for hunts less intense and allows a chance for more leisurely activities such as telling stories, dancing, singing, playing in the snow, and drinking. When the clans are all gathered in the chosen location and have finished collecting the food from the previous year, they remove their masks on the first evening to use as firewood. For the duration of this celebration, they will not hide their faces outside of the masks worn for their storytelling. These particular masks are made in the shape of various animals or monsters, part of elaborate costumes that can include countless feathers in addition to their usual habit of furs and pelts.

Stories told during this celebration include the wars the ancestors came from, the journey they had to embark to regain a peaceful life, and legends of what exactly they’re truly searching for in the land of unforgiving ice and snow - legends of the Gods, overall. More recent tales will speak of hunts of great beasts, people who were swayed back to the old ways of selfishness, or people that discovered powers to defend their clan with.

Outside of for the sake of storytelling, masks are made to fit their wearer in more simple shapes. Masks can either cover their entire face or only parts of it, but most obscure the wearer's eyes to some degree. It is believed that covering the eyes transforms how the Gods will be able to perceive them, so ensuring a mask worn on a daily basis is honest and truthful with every mark engraved into it. Many stories warn against the dangers of wearing a mask covered in unearned markings.

The chosen elders of each clan select a few trees to be chopped down and made into new masks. Many days may be spent shaping the wood into simple masks so that others that may be busy hunting will only have to carve personal designs on the final night. Children of age ten are granted a plain mask, shaped to fit them by their parents. They may be taught how to carve out more common symbols between this starting age and age fifteen. At the age of fifteen, they embark on their first hunt during this time and begin to earn their more personal symbols to decorate their masks. Elders of the clans assist in deciding what designs a member of their clan have earned. It can be a tiring process depending on the size of a clan, so elders may allow parents to decide on the designs for their children personally.