The possibility of Waerd performing Sky Burials was raised by Caspian in a recent Discord quote:
Given that in the real world there are several cultures and 3 main religious groups that perform them, I thought I would look at each, and how they might influence the Waerd religious views in the game.
WARNING. SOME OF THE IMAGES I AM LINKING TO IN THIS THREAD SHOW DEAD HUMAN BODIES IN VARIOUS STATES OF DECOMPOSITION/BEING EATEN. PLEASE DO NOT CLICK THE IMAGES IF THIS MAY DISTRESS YOU!
I will note links that might contain such content.
Tibetan Buddhism
The most famous and well known culture/religion for sky burials is Tibetan Buddhism (warning this wikipedia link contains images some might find disturbing).
The core principle behind Buddhist Sky Burials is that the body is recycled back into nature as the flesh is tripped by the vultures and other carrion eaters, who then return us back into the circle of life (ala Lion King), just as our souls/spirits are continuously reborn. This highlights both our connection to the natural world around us, and the nature of impermanence and futility attachment to the material world.
This has some clear parallels with both Waerd religious and cultural views, as well the core game mechanics around souls and sparks themselves. As our souls are essentially endlessly reborn through the use of sparks.
The process of recycling the dead, through the extraction of water from bodily fluids allows the Waerd to preserve water in a hostile arid environment, and then feeding the dead to the local wildlife helps to sustain the balance in the local ecosystems, maintaining survival in the hostile environments for future generations. The balance and survival aspects of Waerd culture and religion fits perfectly with the Tibetan Buddhist world view.
The process involves the active dismemberment of the corpse, often by a relative of the deceased. This makes it easier for the carrion birds to eat the flesh without dragging pieces of the body all of the field. Once the body has been stripped down to only bones, the final pieces of the body are laid to rest underneath a simple unmarked pile of stones, or sometimes even gathered and further broken down.
warning, links to images containing bodies
Tibetan Sky Burial 1
Tibetan Sky Burial 2
Tibetan Sky Burial 3
Video showing the practice and explaining it.
Other Tibetan practices around impermanence and balance could potentially also fit well with the Waerd and Dras (possibly even Kypiq) cultures, such as demonstrations on impermanence using Mandalas. These are painstakingly made from dyed sand, and take months - sometimes years - to complete. Upon completion they are viewed for a short period before being swept away by the monks.
Tengrist Shamanism
Tengrism is an ancient pagan religion built on the worship of the great sky god Tengri, and intertwined with various regional "animist" and ancestral worship views. Tengrists see spirits within everything around them, and the passage of the dead to the spirit world is important. Spirits that are not able to journey to join the spirit world can become trapped on earth, often possessing people they held strong attachments to in life, causing sickness and mental instability.
Tengrism also overlaps heavily with many of the northern Buddhist views, The Khans of the Mongolian empire famous for directly adopting both Buddhist and Confucianism views on balance and impermanence into Tengrism during the time of the Mongolian Empire and Yuan Dynasty in China.
Tengrism varies wildly from region to region, with Siberian Tengrism, Chinese/Monglian Tengrism, Central Asian Tengrism and Middle Eastern Tengrism holding very different views and rituals on some aspects of the issue of death. Part of this is because at the heart of Tengrism is the belief that Tengrism isn't the only true religion and the other cultures and religious views should be respected (ironically this is one of the reasons the Mongolian empire was both successful, and also eventually collapsed. An irony not lost on Tengrists).
Waerd culture and religion is much less tolerant than real life Tengrism, however it does mirror both a central deity figure who demands balance and honor (The Two Fold Queen), and the belief in the spirit world being ever-present in reality around them.
The potential for much overlap between this diverse and beautiful real world religion and the Waerd religious views are huge. Especially as Tengrism has many very practical aspects focused on survival in a hostile environment, and is heavily centered around community and a "community spirit", as well as a "spirit of the people". The Tengrist view on the community being of greater importance than the individual are mirrored already heavily in what we know about Waerd cultural outlooks.
Video of a Tengrist ritual
Tengrist Musical Chanting/Throat singing
Persian Zoroastrianism
The Persian Zoroastrians are another real world religion that practiced sky burials. Their process however was more focused on elevating the dead and allowing their spirits to reach the Gods, or later and into the modern times, Ahura Mazda as the one true God and creator of all things. Some small Persian Shia islamic sects also use the practice, though it is viewed as Haram (unclean) by almost all Muslims. The principle here being that the elements of earth and fire are sacred and should not be "profaned" by rotting corpses. As such they construct large adobe/stone towers to raise the bodies up for Carrion birds to consume.
These also serve practical uses in preventing decaying corpses from contaminating underground water supplies, as well as feeding local birdlife in a fashion similar to the Tibetan Buddhism practice.
Given the arid regions of the Waerd, aesthetically this fits the closest to the Waerd biome-wise, and Persian cultures themselves parallel Waerd culture in many other areas - especially in terms of dress etc.
Video showing a Tower used for Sky Burials
warning, links to images containing bodies
Zoroastrian Tower of Silence 1
Zoroastrian Tower of Silence 2 - EXTREMELY GRAPHIC
Fire and Desert life, especially respect toward food and community feature heavily in Zoroastrian faith. Which makes a perfect match for the lifestyle of Waerd in their arid biomes. The strong associations with fire and earth elements and use of elemental magic ties into aspects of the Two Fold Queen's view on the functions of the universe with fire and water being both essential for life. "Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do" and being respectful, and a positive part of the your community.
With the close ties between Zoroastrianism and Dualistic dark vs light religious views, a strong sense of community and balance in all things, as well as practices such as Sky Burials, Zoroastrianism has perhaps the closest links to the Waerd faith in the Two Fold Queen out of all of these.
I hope that this thread can help people to see the potential for extremely deep roleplaying and character development within the Waerd. Please if I made a mistake or left something out, mention it in the comments. I am more than happy to update this and lookn forward to further discussion. ^_^
