Ancestor monolith

Ancestor monoliths
Type	Local faith
Areas of concern	Ancestors, earth, silence, wards
Typical worshipers	Inhabitants of the Stormlands east of the Amanas Mountains
Domains	Confidence, Family, Protection
Divine font	Heal
Divine skill	Society
Divine ability	Constitution or Wisdom
Favored weapon	None
Symbol	None
Sacred animal	None
Sacred color	None

Ancestor monoliths are both a type of statue and a form of ancestor worship that centers around them. Depictions of cherished ancestors carved out of single pieces of stone, ancestor monoliths are constructed and venerated across much of the Stormlands east of the Amanas Mountains.

Description

As they are worshiped by people across much of an entire continent, there is predictably much variation in the appearance of ancestor monoliths. Even within a culture they are not necessarily consistent, for the status of a figure, or the wealth of their descendants, may play a large role in the size and level of ornateness of a monolith. An ancestor monolith of a widely loved and respected local leader may be carved out of an immense, high quality piece of marble by a skilled sculptor, while that of a familial elder in a small village may be a foot tall - or less - and rather more crude in its design.

Ancestor monoliths are rarely lifelike, but rather take a variety of stylized forms. In Bohaar, for example, they tend to be flat and on the smaller side, carved with elaborate swirls and often sun motifs to connect the deceased to the goddess Eraamn. In the northern hobgoblin realms of Kad and Vukararn, meanwhile, size conveys prestige, as do stylistic elements that emphasize the strength of the ancestor. Throughout the Oasis states and elsewhere they take still more different forms. One of the few universals of ancestor monoliths is that all employ composite views of their subjects.

The name of the ancestor monolith is derived from how each is constructed of a single piece of stone. To do otherwise is to shatter the soul of the deceased they embody.

Beliefs and practices

Only upon the death of a respected figure - by a nation, community, family, or even merely a single individual - may the carving of their ancestor monolith begin. This is a highly ritualized process. It does not demand artistic skill, necessarily, but rather a close connection with the deceased, such that the final, completed piece can take the form of a physical reflection of their soul. If the piece matches the individual then their spirit can come to inhabit it, though they do not necessarily do so always or often, and when they do they are invariably silent. These carvings are then placed in places of prominence, perhaps a hall central to a village, in the midst of a family's living space, or on a mantle or by a hearth. There they are consulted for advice, even if they never physically speak in return, sometimes carried with to court, council, or the meetings of extended families.

Ancestor monoliths are regularly fed, washed, clothed, and otherwise treated as the living, especially those whose carving was led by their families. This care usually lasts for a few generations at least, though longer is not unusual, for as long as they are remembered by the living.

In many cultures specific holidays involve the statues. As part of marking the new year in the Oasis, ancestor monoliths are traditionally clothed in bright red, turned to face the east in the morning and the west in the evening.

The voicelessness of the ancestor monoliths is thought to be a choice. In death spirits learn much, even those who previously were fools, and quickly come to understand that to impart all their knowledge upon the living would be disastrous without the wisdom to understand it. Some who venerate the monoliths do the same while still alive, hermits who spend their time developing hypotheses and theories none will ever hear.

The primary role of the ancestor monoliths, however, is protective in nature. Through their presence they keep danger away - those inside homes often face doors, and those in central places in a community face towards exterior walls or gates. This protection is spiritual in nature, at least primarily, as the monoliths are adept at fending off malicious spirits in whatever shape they may take. Some Trailblazers, however, claim to have known ancestor monoliths to physically move and fend off dangerous beasts as well, though this is not a belief held by most.

To worship the ancestor monoliths is in no way exclusive, and many who do so also hold other faiths simultaneously. In Bohaar, for example, the monoliths are seen as figures trusted by Eraamn and the other deities of the pantheon to keep Ob at bay in the moral realm. In the Storm-Path they are sometimes thought to be past heroes of the Dustwalkers.

Veneration of ancestor monoliths is widespread across the Stormlands, present in remarkably different cultures. It is especially prevalent in the north - in Bohaar, Kad, Vukararn, and Tazak - and amongst the Trailblazers and Oasis-dwellers, but found as far south as parts of Akatzar. Very few west of the Amanas Mountains, however, in either the cordillera or along the western coastline, hold the tradition of carving the monoliths, though the whisper urns of Shanidan bear a few similarities.