Hesht (pronounced HESHT) the Fool-God is a post-Suzerain deity acknowledged primarily by peoples around the Bay of Jinawa and especially by those living in the Augurs of Lelwani. Unusually, Hesht is rarely venerated or worshiped. Though he is believed to have created the world and everything within it, his bumbling ways and general ineptitude led him to perform this role poorly, and therefore he is frequently cursed or insulted when things in the mortal world go awry.
Edicts and anathema
- Edicts
- Rely on your luck whether good or bad, try everything at least once
- Anathema
- Attempt to master a craft or trade, establish or follow plans
History
The recognition of Hesht as a god is ancient, long predating the establishment of the Sangiran Empire. Once the Empire grew to control the islands of the Bay of Jinawa, however, Hesht fell to the wayside along with many other local religions as the state-sponsored worship of the Eternal Suzerain took root. But even after these thousands of years of dormancy the god was still remembered, if barely.
Upon the death of the last incarnation of the Suzerain in Y9606*, the people of the Empire searched for new meanings and new beliefs to guide them. The adoption of foreign pantheons was popular, as were new messianic religions or animistic practices, but others turned to the many nearly forgotten faiths they had held before life under the Empire. In the western islands of Lelwani the belief in Hesht grew rapidly once more, quickly becoming one of the most successful of the many revivalist faiths now present in Kea Racha.
Beliefs and followers
Hesht created the sky, earth, and sea alike, yet he did not know how, and so as he brought the world into being so too did he bring forth every problem that would plague its inhabitants forevermore. He filled the sea with water yet clumsily heaped it full of salt as well, rendering it undrinkable. He brought forth life yet forgot to include enough food and resources for all, forever dooming the world to greed and strife. Yet there is no actual malice ascribed to Hesht; while he is widely recognized to be utterly unsuitable for the role he possesses, he does not cause grief for the people of the world intentionally, but even when he tries to do good his own ineptitude leads him to failure.
Few of those who believe in Hesht can truly be said to worship him. Rather, he is more often cursed by those who endure everything from minor inconveniences to abject misery, for even now, long after the completion of his creation, the Fool-God continues to stumble through the cosmos, often breaching the veil between the spirit and mortal worlds in unintentional ways. Hesht is usually seen as existing alongside a host of ancestral guardian spirits who together try to hold together the world and bring order and peace to the Fool-God's works - among those who acknowledge Hesht as a god, these spirits typically the primary subjects of veneration.
Yet a small number find a true calling to the Fool-God. His priests, few as they are, live itinerant lives of detached, chaotic bliss, having given up all worldly possessions and eschewing any learning or knowledge in favor of traveling and surviving off whatever Hesht may inadvertently throw their way. They rely heavily on the goodwill of strangers, though they also frequently turn to scavenging whatever is required to get them through the day. These faithful are usually regarded with rather more sympathy than might be held for the Fool-God, for even if they have adopted his erratic ways, they are perhaps more affected by the consequences of his bumbling than any others.