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Wiyu is an ancient pseudo-religious ethical way of life. This religion is practiced almost exclusively by the Inari people.
Deities[]
The Inari people do not worship any deities, though they recognize certain "forces" in the universe that necessitate hierarchical ranks over mortals. These forces are "harmony", "wisdom", "nothingness", and "purity". Such abstract concepts are recognized as the governing forces of the universe. These ideas can be associated with several First Generation Gods, such as Icaeus, Zentryx, and Dapherion, but it is unlikely that the Inari know about those gods.
Tenants[]
Wiyu is a way of life that governs how an Inari acts, speaks, fights, and lives everyday. The tenants of Wiyu are wisdom, harmony, nothingness, and purity. These universal powers, repositories of enlightenment, are meant to be pursued through training, meditation, study, and self-reflection. Temples exist around the species' homeworld of Inan offering training towards the attainment of these ideals. These tenants may be pursued in any order, though it is rare for an acolyte begin with a journey towards the attainment of the ideals of nothingness first.
Wiyu states that there is no such thing as corruption - an object or being is pure, or without purity. A lessening of purity invites nothingness, and it is the same with harmony and wisdom. While nothingness is a negative binary in relation to the other three tenants, it is not looked down upon and seen as lesser than the others. The followers of Wiyu believe that nothingness must exist in the universe for purity, wisdom, and harmony to be perceptible.
Through careful meditation, of which there are a variety of usable methods and legitimate sects, an Inari can access the higher planes of thought associated with Wiyu. It is unknown if these planes really exist or are a part of Inari biology that each member of the species collectively shares. Most of the training and meditation is done while under the influence of Blue Corran Nil, an addictive, hallucinogenic strain of the most popular drug in the universe.
Inari who master aspects of Wiyu grow additional tails. Each additional tail takes roughly 100 years to attain, though precocious Wiyu followers have been known to reach enlightenment quicker. This is the only way for Inari to grow additional tails, and this fact alone has made Wiyu a religion followed by the entire population of Inari. There are no unbelievers, though there are different sects, which are noted below. Each tenant has two tails possible, so a fully-enlightened Wiyu monk would have nine tails. Nine-tailed Inari are immortal and have blindingly white, grey, or golden fur. There have been only three such Inari in the history of their species, however. Roughly 30% of the population has grown a second tail. The numbers drop sharply from that level onwards. 5% of the population has grown a third tail. Only 0.3% of Inari manage to achieve four tails. Five tails is the most common stop-point for even zealous followers. 0.01% of the population has reached that level, while the number of Inari beyond that point can be counted easily because there are so few examples. There have only ever been three hundred forty-three six-tailed Inari; there have only been fifty-seven seven-tailed Inari; there have only been eleven eight-tailed Inari. As mentioned above, only three nine-tailed Inari have ever existed in history, and each of them has spawned their own Wiyu sect because of that.
Each tenant has two attainable tails associated with it. To master one tenant is to gain a tail, and it is generally not that difficult, if one has time and patience, to master a concept or two. Most four-tailed Inari have mastered each tenant once. This first mastering is known as an Awakening. An Awakening of purity is the most common tenant attained. The second level of mastering is where most Inari are unable to proceed further towards enlightenment. This second level of disciplined study involves opening one's heart to each of the tenants, not their mind. This is a difficult, intuitive process that requires severe meditation and focus that is generally impossible for most Inari to endure. To attain a second level of any of the four tenants is considered to be a great feat, worthy of the annals of history. The most difficult of the tenants to master a second time is that of purity. Indeed, only two eight-tailed Inari and one seven-tailed Inari have become fully enlightened to purity. All the rest are nine-tailed Inari.
Following the way of Wiyu is simple. To live truly is to live purely. To live in harmony with oneself and the universe is to live without restraint, regret, or malice. To become wise is to experience and learn and be humbled, never to let pride gain entry into one's mind. To live amongst nothingness is to accept a consequential existence and to understand that all beauty must fade. Most Inari try to follow these ethical principles in their daily life, but it is not easy. Even so, the species is generally passive, peaceful, and cautious, and these near-universal personality traits are almost certainly a result of the Wiyu way of living.
Major Sects[]
- Sharu-Kan Temple - this is the most famous sect of all, and it attracts millions of Inari to it every year to study and train at. It maintains a staff of several thousand and is almost as large as a city itself. Sharu-Kan was the last Inari to achieve nine tails, and is the most popular of the nine-tailed Inari currently. He resides in this temple, and he instructs and advises as many followers as he can personally. Master Niyen, a mentor of Okinaro, followed this sect. This sect has a gentle, patient approach that makes it popular among the Inari masses.
- Maloani Temple - this is the second-largest temple on Inan, capable of sustaining an acolyte population of over thirty thousand. Maloani was the first nine-tailed Inari, and his style is more strict than Sharu-Kan's. As such, he is not as popular as Sharu-Kan. His style is also more impersonal and solitary - while there is a temple complex and various masters of the Maloani style able to aid zealous acolytes, this form of Wiyu may be practiced at home, alone, without ever meeting an enlightened Inari.
- Ijo Temple - this is the third-largest temple; it is the former home of Ijo, the second nine-tailed Inari. She ruled this temple until around Age 200, when, while on an off-planet meditative trek, she was murdered by the marauding galactic pirate, Bojack. This sect is now run by a seven-tailed Inari named Master Nozari. The style of this sect is more emotive than the other two, not being harsh or ascetic with its rules and by letting its followers be the masters of their own fate. This sect is not tremendously popular, but it still maintains a respectable seven thousand acolytes on-temple at all times. Okinaro was raised in this temple.