The Brass Coast religious beliefs

Last night, Ramak invited me to what he said was a religious ceremony. This morning, my head is pounding and I will never eat again. We did not talk about Courage, but we danced on fire. We did not contemplate Prosperity, but we enjoyed the finest things from many lands. We did not read about Pride, but sang the songs of our homelands till our throats were hoarse. I can attest the Freeborn care deeply about the fate of their souls – but they just do not speak of it as we do.

Elina the Wayfarer taken from Epistles to the Winds of Virtue, 24BE

The Freeborn believe their people are shaped from the elements of dust, fire and glass. The eternal wind-blown dust of the plains is their history, the loyalty for family and continuity of their people. The ferocity of fire is their burning passion for life and their bright and unquenchable spirit. The purity of glass is their soul, the reflection of their transparancy and once broken can never again be mended. Dishonesty and wickedness shatters your soul and pieces of it are lost with each act of deception.

This belief underpins a very personal relationship with matters of faith and the spirit, one that is rarely articulated directly outside of poetry or song. From the outside the Freeborn seem impious and disrespectful. However the Freeborn have great respect for the Paragons and the Way of Virtue, but they have little time for the priests and Synod that exist to mediate – or dilute - their message. The Synod, with its Doctrines and Heresies, is often seen as being full of pomposity and self-importance, whereas a truly faithful person understands what is true and what is false in their soul. There is a Freeborn Assembly, but it generally has no formal structure outside of the Synod, being more a collection of individuals. The Freeborn Assembly only tends to come together when there is matter serious enough to warrant the use of its powers.

As a result Freeborn religious ceremonies tend to place their emphasis on celebration rather than sermons. They celebrate sacred festivals with entertainment, feasting, parties and dancing. Many families include a devout priest or spiritual family member who can be relied on to oversee these indulgences, but for the largest and most important festivities the Freeborn seek out the services of a sutannir.

A cross between a professional priest and a party organizer, sutannir conduct important ceremonies such as the coming of age or a wedding, and see to the spiritual needs of the Freeborn as a whole. Before the ceremony many paint their face and limbs with stylised flames in bright colours and dress in flamboyant costumes. A good sutannir will keep their words short and evocative, knowing audiences prefer to be inspired to virtue rather than lectured. When not speaking they manage the entertainments to make sure that everyone attending is drawn into the celebrations. While it may be the festivity that the Freeborn remember rather than the ceremony, the best sutannir are able to provide religious instruction and support without labouring their point.

Coal-walking, fire breathing, fire dancing and other symbolic performances that represent the Freeborn passion for life are always popular at Freeborn religious celebrations. Lone sutannir will hire sufficient entertainers and artisans skilled at these activities to fill the night's entertainment, concentrating on managing their performances to ensure the best overall impact. Sutannir groups usually include numerous talented performers in their ranks who can cover most of the skills most commonly in demand.

Sutannir also perform funeral ceremonies. The death of a family member is never a sombre affair, because the Freeborn delight in the joy of life and they consider it an insult to a glorious life to mourn it's passing. As with marriages and coming of age ceremonies, funeral practices have an air of carnival about them, with the mourners turning out in brightly coloured robes. On the rare occasion when grief is appropriate, such as with the death of a child, the grieving is much shorter but just as open and intense.

The only festival the sutannir do not perform is the Feast of the Broken Wheel, known by many as Fool's Day. On this day, the Freeborn turn virtue on its head and celebrate the contrary. The festival takes place on the second day of the Autumn Equinox and starts at sunset and lasts until midnight. The proud become humble, ties of loyalty may be ignored, the prosperous become ascetic and the wise act as fools. It is a time of foolishness, pranks and trickery that begins with a symbolic chase, where seven effigies of the Paragons are chased from the camp in a gleeful and chaotic parade. Everyone is encouraged to try harmless skills like juggling and music – the more terrible the performance the more it is applauded. The festival usually ends in a drunken stupor. On Fool's Day, even the most moral Freeborn try their hand at telling untruths and lies - often with comical degrees of success.

The festival is considered blasphemous by the Imperial Synod but, to date, the Freeborn Assembly has done little to discourage it, or penalise those involved. Some have argued that, by permitting it, it helps the Freeborn embrace The Way more readily for the rest of the year.