A Study of Tengrol Mythology

[Advocatius]

Humanity and the Abyss

In Tengrol mythology, there are 2 groups of deities, the Gods themselves, and those subordinate to the Abyss. The Abyss is seen as a separate plain of existence that is embodied by Angalankhdagch, his name literally translating to "Primordial of the Abyss". Tengrols believe that Humanity are beings that stem from the abyss, modelled after the gods in a shameless attempt to recreate them and spread abyss to the wurld. Eurth's wildlife are seen as defenders of it, protecting Délkhaav from dark corruption, the Abyss modelled Humanity in a similar manner to the gods to deceive it's protectors, allowing the Abyss to corrupt Délkhaav and cause an effective end of the universe. However the Gods would create new beings, the Dragons, serpent-like entities created from Archtrees (trees that hold up the wurld), who would purify Humanity, while they are still beings of dark and can fall prey to the abyss, they believe the sun and the light of heaven will guide them to an afterlife within the dominion of heaven by the physcopomp Goddess Altakhötöch (Guide of the Golden Journey), to become truly light and ascend beyond temptations of the abyss. Those who fall prey to aspects of negative human character, greed, gluttony, envy and others, when they die a separate psychopomp known as Ükhliivragch, son of Angalankhdagch, drags their soul into the Abyss to be eaten, the Gods allowing it because said person would have only been corrupted further as time continued.

Space, believed to be an extension of the ocean, embodied by the Goddess Mönkhalaitei (Mistress of the Infinite Ocean) is infinite just as the abyss, ceaslessly flooding its void to prevent it from consuming everything, being seen as the Gods sacrifice as she is cursed ever use her power to hold the ocean together, relying on fellow gods to fill her past duties. The portal to the abyss is represented as the planet Satre; whilst yellow/gold is believed to be representative of the Gods and Heaven (specifically Ekhleedöl), the white/gold of Satre is believed to be a shameless imitation of it to tempt humanity to fall to the dark and the abyss, which is why it gives off no light. Often remarked as an "Anti-Morningstar" (mainly by christians) as in many religions Satre is seen as being in defiance of the sun (the Gods / God) due to its pride trying to 'outshine' the sun, a fruitless endeavour, yet in its arrogance it still tries to, which is most likely where Lucifer's modern form takes inspiration from. Satre here, instead of being defiant through pride and arrogance, its defiant through chaos and instability, a dog barely kept on its leash.

However there are a much smaller group of Tengrols of which refer to themselves as the "Dark Lord Servants", who believe in something called the First Sin. In the beginning was an Age of Dark; then with the birth of Délkhaav and Mönkhalaitei which would create the Age of Light; and should have been followed by an Age of Men. But Ekhleedöl, God of Fire, created the First Flame, which allowed the Age of Light to persist against the laws of nature, this is what the Dark Lord Servants deem as the First Sin. Their name refers to a Dark Lord, a sort of messiah figure, yet to be born, but is believed to be capable of overthrowing the Gods, destroying the First Flame (sometimes represented as the Sun), and returning nature to its course, becoming the Age of Men, not dominated by Gods or the Abyss, but the power will be hold by Humanity. This cults worship is very fractured, in the past its worship was notably followed by an ancient Tengrol King, his name wiped from the annals of history, who spread the cults worship. In the primary worship he is believed to have fallen into the Abyss as his Kingdom was sunk to the ground and his soul was consumed, which most of the Gods worship refer to situations where known Dark Lord Servants are represented as abyss-corrupted maniacs where they inevitably lead to the downfall of those who surround then and lead violent deaths in the Abyss.

Edited October 3, 2022 by Advocatius
fixed spelling of délhaav (see edit history)

[Advocatius]

The First Tengrol Khagan

In Tengrol Mythology, it's thought that the man who formed the First Tengrol Empire, Tulaatörsön, after falling in battle, achieved immortality and became a God. In roughly 736 BC, the father of the Gods, Délkhaav, apparently conceived a child with a mortal women called Altasain - the wife of a now lost Tengrol clan. Délkhaav's wife and sister Mönkhalaitei, was deeply enraged by her husbands infidelity and cursed the child with the fate to die in battle, a scare on his left eye leaving him half blind, and told Altasain's husband of what happened, both Altasain and here child were banished from the clan, and set foot on a journey to find a home, it was due to the curse to die in battle the child was named Tulaatörsön.

Tulaatörsön and his mother came across a rival clan to their former and hearing of what happened, they took them in, the clan, of which today several clans claim to be the descendants of, believing that the fate of Tulaatörsön's death was not a curse, but a blessing from the God to achieve glory in battle. As the child was growing, Délkhaav secretly aided Tulaatörsön and his mother from other attacks by Mönkhalaitei during his childhood, including sending snakes to poison him, attempting to lure him into the ocean, etc. Altasain later became one of the many wifes of the clan leader that took them in and Tulaatörsön became a general for their army.

Tulaatörsön waged war on the clan that had forsaken him and his mother, and at the battle of Henin 709 BC, beheaded his father and through him off the cliff. Later that same year the clan leader passed away and Tulaatörsön after defeating all other candidates in battle, made them swear loyalty to him and began a series of conquest across what is now North Tengrolhan and south Advocatius, naming himself the leader of dozens maybe even hundreds of clans. Tulaatörsön after a decade of conquest had united many Tengrol people's across the Shfakien region of Aurelia. Tulaatörsön, believed that clans were only familial, and believed that all Tengrol people were one with each other, once amassing what he believed to be all Tengrol people he named himself the Khagan of the Tengrol's forming what is now known as the Tengrol Empire.

The Tengrol Empire's early years are shrouded in myth and legend, especially during the reign of Tulaatörsön. However, we do know that during the latter half of his life, the Tengrol Empire was at war with the Arhijperāka people's of the west Shfakien, known to the Tengrols as the Uulyodouud (Translating roughly to "Mountain Dwarves" due to they terrain of their land and their short stature in comparison to the Tengrols) with is why we refer to the many wars betwixt them as the Uulyodouud wars. It was here at the battle of Tzintzuntzan in 690 BC, were Tulaatörsön was shot in his right here and died in what is described as "the glorious battle", despite being a Tengrol defeat, with the Arhijperāka never being conquered during the Empire's existence.

With Tulaatörsön's fate completed it was thought his spirit would pass onto the heavens like any else, but with the Tengrol people united under a single banner the God's, including even Mönkhalaitei grew to admire him and pity his curse. Out of respect for what he did for the God's, his status as a demi-god already, and his ferocity in battle - the elder god Daisün stepped down his throne in the heavens and gifted it to Tulaatörsön, achieving immortality and become the Tengrol God of War and Battle - becoming a prominent god in the pantheon and gaining many famous Tengrol myths and stories including him.

Today, Tulaatörsön is remembered fondly by Tengrol's across Aurelia and admired by many other native groups, even growing a form of respect by the Arhijperāka people. He formed the Empire that would become the most powerful in Aurelia on his own and changed history forever, after the collapse of the Tengrol Empire it is believed the nobles who descended from him diluted their bloodlines, so there are no confirmed direct descendants of his royal family, but it is believed one out of every 30 people in Aurelia are descended from him. He is now considered a symbol of Aurelian power and the rich cultural heritage of the continent.

(Tulaatörsön Statue outside modern day Henin commemorating the battle, Tengrolhan)

Edited May 3, 2023 by Advocatius
imáge (see edit history)

[Advocatius]

Imperial Post-Tulaatörsön Ecclesiarchy

After the death of Tulaatörsön at the Battle of Tzintzuntzan in 690 BC, the fate of the Empire was left towards his many children, however his eldest son had forsaken his royal title to become a monk, next in line would have been his other son, but he had died in the same battle of his father, and the one after that was deemed by Tulaatörsön to be too immature and unfit to be the heir to the throne, leaving it upon his youngest son Dörökhüdai, (His name translating roughly to the “Fourth Son of War”.) with the problem being that during his ascension to the throne he was only about the age of 9, in order for Dörökhüdai to be a successful Khagan just as his father before him, he required a council of the wise to guide him during his early years, this would lay the foundation for the Tengrol Empire's Ecclesiarchy.

Ten men, all close friends of Tulaatörsön, were chosen for this task, each deciding on themselves which role they would guide Dörökhüdai during his “path to enlightenment”, based upon their own expertise, some Academics argue that the earliest council constituted a form of Noocracy, a form of government where decision-making is done by those considered wise. Now of course in the later years as the Tengrol Empire expanded and so did the systems it had brought such as the Tengrol Religion, the religion had developed beyond its original shamanistic form and in a much more powerful state church which had started interacting with the political climate of the Empire, slowly the wise councilmen chosen to raise future Khagans and make decisions on their behalf, had begun being encapsulated by religious figures, and by 553 BC after over a century of Khagans under influence of the church, it was mandated all members of the council were to be heads of the church in order to influence future Khagans to be “[act] more righteous and spiritualistic onwards to the path of the Golden Journey.” as stated what sometimes attributed as a Tengrolist 'Bible' by some but is more accurately deemed as a code in which Khagans and all below him shall act in an incomplete text only called now the “Ezant Kodyek”, (Meaning roughly Imperial Codex.) effectively establishing what we know today as the Imperial Ecclesiarchy.

The Ecclesiarchy having been born from the church adopted a series of teachings from the physcopomp Goddess Altakhötöch, (roughly translating to Guide of the Golden Journey) in mythology she is the deity guiding those on the path to heaven, and reaching Heaven is considered to be one of the most important aspects of what the Tengrol Religion teaches, rather than suffering the fate of those consumed by the ever-devouring Abyss. The teachings are often compared to the Christian ten commandments and bear many similarities, the Ecclesiarchy's role in the Imperial regime was to oversee the actions of their current Tengrol Khagan and keep them in line with the teachings, as Khagans were believed to be blessed by specific God's, having received a God's blessing only to fall to the “depravity of the abyss” would be the ultimate sin, and would not only have them sent to the Abyss, would also cause the Ecclesiarches to be damned to that fate, effectively acting as a way to encouraging them towards doing their duty.

Nine Teachings of Altakhötöch:

• Do not murder outside circumstances of duel or battle.
• Do not succumb to revenge, as it is a path of no satisfaction.
• Do not view your enemies with hatred, but with an amount of respect.
• Do not succumb to selfishness and aid those less fortunate.
• Do not commit acts of adultery without informing your spouse.
• Do not forsake the duties bestowed upon you unless it breaks the other teachings.
• Do not desecrate the body of Délkhaav (Eurth).
• Do not desecrate the body of Mönkhalaitei (Sea and Space).
• Do not succumb to the temptations and sick perversion of the Abyss. 

The process in which the Ecclesiarchy were chosen for their role is a further adaptation of how it had operated in earlier nomadic Tengrol culture with Shamans. Within early Tengrol clans the current Clan Chieftain, believed to have a devout connection to the Gods, acted as an Oracle to their clan receiving word from their chosen Deity of worship, and when new children of the clan were born the God speaking through the Chieftain would decide their role within the structure and effectively their fate, one of the most coveted positions being the clan Shaman, whose role was to aid in divine rituals and speak directly to the Gods which were beyond the abilities of the Chieftain, who could only receive the calling from the Gods. With Shamans servicing their community they are allowing their God to give them holy blessing or again with the theme of allowing them to speak through the Shaman to give advice to those who felt they required it, alongside a doctoral role to give healing to those injured, or even service upon a battlefield bestowing their soldiers with divine blessings.

This practice continued in this original form as well with the nomadic clans of the Empire but as well within the developing state church and population centres, and further influencing this to the Ecclesiarchy. Their respective clan Chieftain still chose their role in life to service the Church however what's important is how the Khagan, effectively the most holy title thought of which was thought to have carried specific epithets such as “Myanbönar” roughly translating to a “Thousand Shamans” referencing how powerful and connected their spirits were to the Gods above them, had the ability to choose the highest positions of the Church at birth, mostly having their choice built upon the choice of their clan Chieftain, having been chosen as a Shaman and the Khagan deciding their spiritual connection to be powerful enough to become a Pontiff, being the translated title for those acting as head of the Church, (And to hold the possibility to educate and act on behalf of their future offspring.) and when reaching the specific age required which varied over time generally being around 30, the current Ecclesiarchy when one of theirs died elected a new one to their position being one of these chosen religious figures, if the Ecclesiarchy was split the Khagan would act as the deciding vote, and this structure persisted throughout the rest of the Empires existence.