Golism (Regigigas)

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stowaway8888
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Golism (Regigigas)

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Note: While reading, it is important to remember that these are the teachings of this religion as they have been passed down. People always have and always will have their own interpretations of these subjects, which means these do not have to be strictly followed if that is something your character would not do. These descriptions are not comprehensive, meaning that players have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to behaving however they’d like as a follower of a religion. For totally specific viewpoints on certain social issues, please contact a member of the Lore Team directly.

Link to the Google Doc version: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IZW ... sp=sharing

History: Golism in its current form appeared some time after Arceism, but evidence suggests that inactive Regigi have been worshipped by many early peoples preceding the formation of modern-day Arceism. The more contemporary form of Golism, as will be described, was formed at some point after or during the creation of religions around Kyogre and Groudon, as they feature in its central story (with influence from Arceism as well, uniting individual forms of worship into a cohesive, proper religion).

Not much is known about Golist history besides this. The earliest temples to the Golems were discovered in Hoenn, while the oldest Regigigas temple is reported to be the Snowpoint Temple in Sinnoh. However Golist temples are spread all across the world, both with and without Regigigas or the Golems in them, further cementing the belief that Regigigas ruled over one collective landmass before pulling it apart.

Ancient Golist writings and engravings in many temples are written in a raised-dot cell system similar to the écriture nocturne (or "night writing") script developed in Kalos. In fact, many Golists believe both night writing and Braille were inspired by the compact finger-readable script of the ancient tablets. Some believe it was developed as a way to translate the blinking dots and sounds the Golems use to communicate, though there is no factual relation. Nevertheless the language is used as a holy script even in modern writing. Unovan has also been adopted for more convenience as well, with the original Tablets of Regigigas being written in the original language while book publications are in a variety of languages.

Cosmology: The central story of Golism is as follows:

The beginning of the universe is the standard creation story - Arceus created the universe and world. The land of the world was connected as one massive super-region, where humans and Pokemon originated. Arceus believed that humanity needed divine guidance to prosper, and so it made them a ruler - Regigigas. While Regigigas had immense strength and great wisdom, it still faced the problem of how to rule everyone in the giant super-region as it was created to do. So, Regigigas made hundreds of avatars of itself, all joined by the collective “soul” of the god. These avatars were then sent all across the super-region to rule simultaneously in one great kingdom. It is said that Regigigas taught early humans how to farm, how to create tools and pottery, and they had the power to breathe life into their inanimate constructs. Regigigas (according to the story) is said to have been the ones to teach early humans how to create Golett and Golurk. For thousands of years, Regigigas benevolently lorded over them.

Disaster loomed on the horizon as Groudon and Kyogre awoke from their slumber. Groudon, contentious and disgruntled, was infuriated to see that the world had so much more ocean than land. Kyogre wouldn’t concede, and the two prepared for war. Regigigas knew that a war between the two would mean an end to all life on the planet, and they were the only one who could do anything about it. Using great ropes of their own design, the Regigigas avatars of the world ripped apart the massive single region and dragged its pieces across the world, distributing them in different locations. This was enough to fool Groudon into believing that the balance between land and water had become more even, and Kyogre was tricked into thinking that they still had domain over the majority of the planet's space. Satisfied, Groudon returned to his slumber, as did Kyogre. Life had been spared.

Unfortunately, Regigigas had made the ultimate sacrifice. Nearly all of the avatars perished in the attempt to tow the land. It took eight long days for those that remained to march back to their humans. Exhausted and close to death themselves, the remaining Regigigas avatars used what little energy they could to create lesser golems in their own image to act as guardians in their absence. Finally, the remaining Regigigas avatars went to sleep as their collective soul recharged from the great feat.

Place of Worship: Shrines have been built around inactive Regigigas by followers of this religion, and its followers try to make an annual pilgrimage to one of the shrines or temples to give thanks to the Pokemon they believe had saved the world. Additionally, there is a holiday in spring known simply as the Eight Days, which is an eight-day celebration to commemorate the sacrifice of the Regigigas. These eight days honor the eight-day wait that the people had to endure until they could learn if the Regigigas were successful or not.

Views: Golists believe that they are the subjects of Regigigas, the true King designated by Arceus over Earth and all its creatures. They believe that because humanity governs itself with the Regigigas in slumber, it is the reasoning for the division of regions across the world, and this division will be unified into one Kingdom upon their re-emergence. Their cosmology and beliefs are recorded on the Tablets of Regigigas, a large collection of stone tablets that are written in Braille believed to be carved by the God themself.

The Golems, Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Regieleki and Regidrago are not worshipped as gods in Golism; while they were masterfully crafted by their rulers, only Arceus had the power to create a god. However, this is not to say the Golems are not sacred in Golism. They are viewed as the protectors of life in the absence of Regigigas and so are treated with the utmost respect and reverence. Each of the Golems are said to represent an aspect of Regigigas:

Regirock represents Regigigas’s mastery over the natural world. It was the Regigigas who taught humanity to utilize the Earth for their benefit and growth, to actually use what the planet had to offer to live rather than just survive.

Regice represents Regigigas’s fair judgement and willingness to protect their subjects. As rulers over humanity, the Regigigas valued treating all their subjects with equality and fairness, despite their cold and solid appearance. While they were warm and open to their people, they would stand tall and be ready to fight against any threat that came to their Kingdoms and people.

Registeel represents Regigigas’s wisdom and knowledge. It was Regigigas who taught humans the elements of crafting tools, and acted as teachers to help broaden the views of how they could use the resources they were given to advance society.

Regieleki and Regidrago were discovered very recently. According to ancient texts they were the first attempts at guardians by the Regigigas that were built to try and combat Groudon and Kyogre, before the final plan to split the Earth apart was created. However due to several factors they were not properly finished, and so were sealed away in temples due to being seen as unstable. Despite this, Golists are open to accepting them as guardians alongside the standard trio. Regieleki represents the energy and life it breathed into its many constructs, while Regidrago is a representation of Regigigas’ immense power.

Finally, Golists aren’t quite sure when the Regigigas will all awaken to reclaim the Earth as their Kingdom (despite having many theories). Currently it is the held belief that, due to Regigigas’s sacrifice, they can only use their power to awaken one avatar at a time before they go back to resting after using up their power. Alternatively, if the threat is truly great, it is said they could awaken their ‘real’ body (albeit for a shorter period). However these are not “true” awakenings, for Regigigas has both been unable to control all its avatars as it had before, and had returned to hibernation. As for the Golems, they follow a similar principle of waking up to defend against a threat before going into a “hibernation” to rest once more.
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