Kihala's Gnosis is Live!

[Gillar]

The Goddess of Life has been updated and her gnosis, Vitalization, has been added. There still may be a bit of tweaking done but it is in. Questions are welcome. Enjoy.

[Grim Ravenwood]

It looks superb!

My question is...

It was noted that followers of Dira may be marked by Kihala. How can an Eiyon stay true to both goddesses, if Kihala requires extreme devotion to preserving life, while Dira vouches for moderation? While needless slaughter, truly, angers both, an Eiyon would be content with allowing one to perish, making sure that their passing is as peaceful as possible, while a Marassa would, presumably, go out of their way to help an individual stay alive.

For instance, someone who bears both one mark from Dira and one from Kihala stumbles over a dying man on the side of the road. He has very, very slim chances of living, but it just might be possible to save him. What would be the correct response, one that pleases both of the two divines? Would the two ideologies of this, Meyon, conflict?

I mean, I am not saying that the two godesses are the opposite of one another, since Eiyons are not the only ones that stand guard of the Circle of Life and Death. What more, they'd probably be allies, seeing as, for instance, the unliving are enemies of all life, and in turn, death. Allies, however, don't need to have the same methods of working towards a common goal. Would it be possible to sit on both chairs at the same time?

Rambling aside, I like the sheer amount of potential that this gnosis has. Having the ability to be creative with a power always seems to bring life to it (no pun intended).

[Maore]

The answer might be simple.

A singularly and secondarily marked Masarra can't restore life to a creature that is sentient. To the best of my knowledge, a Masarra can't heal a man who is close to death, as that is the domain of Rak'keli. He can treat the man for his wounds and see if he pulls through, and if he dies, then he dies.

For the third rank, if the man died before his time due to unnatural causes, such as murder, then a Masarra can restore his life once he's died. The Marassa can choose to revitalize this man until he accomplishes what he was destined to do, and then permit him to die. They have to maintain the Vitalized person, though, and as agents of Dira as well, they will undoubtedly respect that this cycle of life and death mandates that the victim dies. A Massara - Eiyon wouldn't prolong his life unnecessarily, as both goddesses would not like it.

I think of it as a two sides of the same coin kind of deal and a person could certainly be marked by both Dira and Kihala and fulfill the requirements of both.

But this is also my rambling, and I might have missed the nail entirely.

[Grim Ravenwood]

Actually, that makes a lot of sense. I did say that an Eiyon would try to make one's passing as peaceful as possible. One of our Eiyon PCs, in fact, got marked by Dira to ease his pain of dying, only to keep his mark after he survived. A Kelvic jackal he was, I forgot the name.

I see now, keeping the person alive would allow him to finish whatever business he would have, and say his goodbyes. That would, in turn, allow one to minimize the chances of the deceased becoming a ghost for instance, further easing the job of the Eiyon. Truly, to understand death, one must understand life.

I'd say that you hit the nail, and it went trough the plank~

[Gillar]

Ciraaci, you are on the right track with that and Grim I think you're getting it too. I have updated the Vitalization article to expand a bit on the idea of being marked by both life and death.

It is a difficult path to follow and can take a heavy toll on the person marked in this way. They are in constant conflict with the need to promote life while also accepting death. The one point where Kihala and Dira agree completely is that everyone has a purpose in the grand cycle of life, death and after. That purpose can be disrupted by outside forces which interferes with the natural cycle as perceived by the goddesses. This is why the rare few who are strong enough to handle being marked by both are tasked to seek out instances where a person has died before fulfilling their purpose and restore them to life in order to do just that. This accomplishes the desires of both goddesses as it promotes life and encourages that one finds meaning in it while also preventing the possible creation of a ghost.

These types of individuals are not common and are quite rare as it is difficult for most of the living as well as the unliving to fully understand the need for both sides to promote the cycle. There is a risk of leaning to far in one direction over the other. Longer lived races tend to have a little better understanding of the balance but even they can become too attached to living if you will to fully grasp the need for death. It's a philosophical barrier that one can claim to understand and accept but when personally faced with death, that understanding and acceptance quickly breaks down.

[Maore]

I think I did make a mistake not to mention that a person wouldn't be thrice marked by either goddess if they were marked by their counterpart in order to preserve the balance they seek to uphold.

I'm really enjoying the intricacies of this gnosis and what it implies; I remember reading in the lore that Uldr stole the secret of how to make life from Kihala and created the Nuit, and it definitely fits into the pieces of how a Kihala-marked can breathe life into inanimate art.

I love it.