Skystep Beliefs
The Skystep beliefs are a religion practised by the native Mystic races of Kel’di. The keaps, cinguls, and skibbits all come together in a joint culture known as the Skystepper people, or the Skystep Trinity. It is a closed belief system that they do not allow others to participate in; though they are not against sharing information on their beliefs, especially with the dassen people who live on the floating islands and often trade with them.
The Skystep Gods
The World Makers
The Skystepper people worship the World Makers; a trio of giant magical deer-like creatures known as the Father, the Mother, and the Daughter.
The Father is the largest of the trio, with a crown made of crystal atop his head instead of antlers. He is sleek and handsome, treading through the Kel’di islands with pride, his mate and faun at his side. He is believed by the Skystepper people to be the one keeping the islands afloat. When the Skystep Trinity was threatened by a creature known as the Beast, he pulled the islands up from the ground and lifted them to safety within the sky.
The Mother, though slightly smaller than the father, is a force to be reckoned with. With a slightly more goat-like appearance she has sharp horns of crystal and strong hooves. Her long tail lashes behind her, warning of her readiness to charge those that would threaten her people, and it is said that when the Beast tried to stop the islands from being lifted to the sky, she fought it. She took one of its teeth in the battle, which the Skystepper people fastened with rope around her neck as a trophy for her to display.
The daughter is the smallest of the World Makers. Still in-womb when the islands were being lifted into the sky, she was almost lost to the injuries her mother suffered during her battle with the Beast. Together, though, the Skystepper people came, and with all of their magic they breathed life back into her and she was born more than whole. Upon her she bore visible markers of the Skystepper people that had shared their life-force with her; for she was born with the mane of a keap, the tail of a skibbit, and the wings of a cingul. It is said that she is so full of the magic of life that, where she walks, flowers grow and bloom.
It is said that the World Makers walk freely from island to island as if the air was ground. The Skystepper people claim that, when they are seen, it is possible to join their journeys across the islands; if you are to walk at their feet, the air will hold you as it does them.
The Beast
An enormous skeletal crocodile with a never-ending hunger, the Beast is a creature of legend and whispers; a great fear of the Skystepper people, that keeps all but the bravest of them from travelling off the floating islands to the continent below.
It is said that the Beast was once alive and lived within the jungle peacefully with others of its kind.... But, eventually, dark magic overtook it and it was corrupted; slaughtering its own family without a second thought and destroying all around it in a vicious, violent display as its own skin melted from its body and it became nothing more than a shell of itself.
There are some theories amongst Sentient scholars that the Beast may have been a kurloke who died and became undead, though the Skystepper people insist that nothing as evil as the Beast could ever come from a people as kind or peaceful as the kurloke. Out of respect for the Kel’di natives, scholars do not pursue further questioning.
Skystep Practices
Daily Routine
The day-to-day practices of the Skystep religion are fascinating to those who have been allowed the privilege to witness them. A lot of emphasis in their daily routine is put on the upholding of community values, moral actions, and love for friends and family.
Every morning is begun with a communal meal, outside of personal spaces, in the public areas of their homes alongside their neighbours. This meal is followed by a joint prayer as the leftovers from their breakfast are placed at shrines and offered back to nature; wild animals come every morning to feed on the offerings, and it is considered good luck if you are able to see them take what you have put down before you begin your daily work.
The Skystepper people are peaceful, resourceful, and efficient. Hard work is encouraged, as is rest; with a Skystep week lasting ten days, each individual is only expected to work for three days in a week, with the rest of the week spent resting and socialising with the community.
Because the Skystepper people spend most of their days socialising, their lunches are spent with friends, family, or coworkers; whoever they are with throughout their day. Though each may have their own individual meal, it is encouraged that those eating together take food from each other’s plate and embrace the joy of a sharing spirit.
As the day grows later, the Skystepper people wind down their activities and return home to their families. They will relax together, often with leisurely parallel activities that don’t involve much interaction, such as reading. And then they will share a large meal off a single plate and spend the night in a shared sleeping space.
Trade, Money, and Corruption
The most fascinating part of the Skystep religion to scholars is often cited as the reason for their religion being closed-practice; money and debt of any form is completely forbidden, though trade of goods and services is permitted.
The Skystep people have, as long as their history has been known, never had a society with any form of currency. They believe it to be a great corrupting power made in defiance of nature and put into the minds of the Sentient races by evil spirits looking to destroy the world.
They do not allow anyone who has the potential to be touched by the corruption of money to practice their religion. As a major part of international Sentient society relies on some form of currency, and even Sentient cultures that usually do not hold currency themselves are exposed to money via their alliances, it has been deemed easier and fairer by the Skystepper people to simply not allow any Sentient to join their religion.
Even the dassen settlements who live without any form of currency and survive solely through trade are asked to step back from participating in any part of the actual religion due to their connections with other Sentient cultures who do take part in the trade of currency.
Despite outsiders not being allowed to practice the religion, however, Skystepper people do their best to make visitors to their homes feel welcome and are very rarely unkind.