Navarr religious beliefs

The central philosophy of the Navarri is the idea that life is a Great Dance in which all humankind is engaged. Reincarnation is central to this belief, death is simply a pause, a moment to rest before rejoining the Dance. To the Navarri the dead are simply resting for a while before they resume their rightful place. Some may lead, some may follow; but the Dance is better for everyone when the dancers have the right partners at the right time and place. Many Navarri try to help people find their place and their partners in the Great Dance.

The Navarri are proud of the stories that they have woven within the Great Dance, and recount old tales and build new ones. Old stories are retold in new ways – the core of the story will remain the same, but the decoration will change. Some storytellers will use items to focus on the core of the story – often a cup, stick, or sword, adorned with symbols that mark the key waypoints of the tale. Many stories focus on the resourcefulness, cunning, guile and self-sacrifice shown by Navarri in the defeat of those that threaten the Empire. Other stories are drawn from memories of Navarr of old, before the cities fell.

The Great Dance underpins Navarri philosophy, they believe everyone has a place and a time for them in the Dance, but some need help to find that place. Another belief is that people who find their perfect partner in the Dance are destined to find that partner again and again each time they are born. A partner may not always be a lover, it could be a sibling or simply a close friend. What matters is that people who do not feel ‘right’ where they are should be encouraged to travel to find a new place in the Great Dance, a chance to find a place they will belong where their partners will be right for them.

Navarri priests are titled Arwain or Guide, partly because of the guidance they try to give the Navarr Stridings, but more for the practice of trying to guide people to their rightful place in the Great Dance. They also work to bring partners together, finding people whose skills or personalities compliment each other, so that they can take dance together from then on. As the Stridings travel along the Trods and through all the nations of the Empire so the Guides seek to ensure that the individuals they encounter are given the best opportunity to flourish and in turn add to the Empire and the Great Dance. This might be recruiting an individual to join the Striding and Navarr; or it might be aiding the individual to leave a life of farm-work in the Marches to become a Scrivener on the Brass Coast.

Lock your door child dear,

Bolt it fast, choke back your fear.

The Forest walks and the Vallorn sigh,

The Navarr are abroad to feed the Thorn.

Sleep tight my dear ’till break of dawn..

Marcher nursery rhyme

This has led to friction – in some circles ‘running away to join the Navarri’ is seen as irresponsibility, betraying one’s own life and family. In other circles it’s seen as a desirable goal, the path to high adventure. The idea of joining the Navarri is a common daydream in the Empire. The truth is usually a little more prosaic. Few outsiders stay with the Stridings for long, but the Navarri provide these individuals with a home, guiding them towards a place where their skills are needed and they will be welcomed. In this way, the work of the Guides helps communities as well as leaving a network of friends of the Navarri across the Empire.

Much less common amongst the Navarri is the idea of a priest as a Caller. Rather than guide people to help them find their place in the Great Dance, the Caller sees their role as being one of setting up the dance, of putting the performers in place and setting the music. The Caller’s role is thus to set the dancers in motion with the view to directing the Great Dance to their own desire. There is no small amount of hubris involved in such a role, and many Navarri find the idea of a Caller repellent, the phrase being used to criticise those Guides, Brands or Senators who overstep the mark in trying to help people find their place. If any Navarri individual self-identifies as a Caller they keep it to themselves.