Saurian hunts are a set of religious practices centering around the ritual hunting and consumption of dinosaurs. These traditions are followed by some cultures living in parts of the world in which dinosaurs can be found, especially in Brightmarch, the Laqto Rainforest, and the Xatabra Marshes. Though there are a number of similarities in these practices shared between adherents, saurian hunts are not a codified or formal faith in any way - many of the core ideas remain the same across cultures, while some of the details can very significantly.
Edicts and anathema
- Edicts
- Venerate the dinosaur before, during, and after the hunt
- Anathema
- Perform a saurian hunt in a manner that disrespects the dinosaur
Beliefs and followers
The faith centers around the saurian hunt, a ritual that pits an individual against a dinosaur they have designated as their prey. These hunts are not undertaken for sport or purely for food, but are rather deeply spiritual affairs that involve careful study and veneration of the target for days, weeks, or even months before the hunt gets underway.
Dinosaurs are always chosen for the hunt based on some characteristic, physical or otherwise, that they display. A hunter who seeks speed and agility might pick a particular deinonychus as their prey, while one who wishes to become a hardy and stalwart defender might select a stegosaur. The long period of study and prayer prior to a hunt serves to ensure the hunter has found the correct target - if during this time the dinosaur displays weakness or behavior that does not align with what the hunter seeks, they are left alone and a new creature is sought.
The study of the dinosaur can vary in what it entails, but it most typically involves passive observation from a distance, far enough away as to not disturb the creature's behavior. Most people that engage in saurian hunts believe that allowing oneself to be seen before the hunt begins will influence the dinosaur in undesirable ways; some even abandon the hunt entirely if they are spotted. As the dinosaur is observed, it is common to give prayers and offerings to the creature, usually centering around the traits the hunter wishes to gain. In some places, practitioners of the hunt emulate the dinosaur from a distance in order to bring a closer spiritual connection.
Once observation is complete and the hunter is certain in their mark, the hunt can begin. Details of this process can vary significantly. To most cultures that engage in the hunt, it is an individual trial in which the hunter must best their prey through their own abilities. In others, it can be a group effort, though the primary hunter must always take the lead. Regardless, one universal aspect of the practice is that the hunt must be undertaken on the dinosaur's own terms, in a manner that allows their sought after aspects to shine. A tyrannosaur hunted for its ferocity and strength must be fought head on, for example, while a hunt against a more clever creature might involve ambushes and traps.
Equally important to the hunt itself is the consumption of the dinosaur once the hunt is complete, as it is believed to be necessarily to consume the creature in order to gain its attributes. Parts of the body connected to the attribute in question are always reserved for the hunter, but the rest is typically given to the rest of the community for a celebratory feast. The consumption of the hunted dinosaur is highly ritualized, very often involving more prayer and offerings to the now-dead creature. To those that follow the hunt, however, it is not thought that only the physical dinosaur is eaten; rather, part of their souls are as well. Effectively by doing so the hunter incorporates the dinosaur into themselves in both a physical and metaphysical manner, absorbing their very essence and personality. Though it is not shared universally, many that follow the saurian hunts adhere to the belief that each individual can hold a multitude of souls at once. By hunting and consuming such a creature, the dinosaur's soul is believed to be incorporated into the hunter's.
Saurian hunts are not regular occurrences, at least on an individual basis. Each participant of the hunt may only perform one in their entire lifetime, though more are not uncommon. They are challenging trials to be overcome in order to drive great personal growth, not casual affairs to be done for sport or enjoyment.
The saurian hunt is a practice that can and does meld with other faiths. It has few tenets and anathema that affect anything other than the hunt itself, and can therefore be easily adopted by other belief systems. Followers of the hunt typically also hold to various forms of animism or ancestor worship, though it is not completely unknown for it to be combined with the veneration of more codified deities and formal religions.