#toxweek2021 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

yume-x-hanabi · 4 years ago

Text

Lore, Beliefs and Customs in Rieze Maxia

A long time ago, I made a post on this topic. It was in dire need of a rewrite, and since this fits so well with the theme for Xillia Week's Day 1 (spirits/beliefs), I thought now was a good time to do it!

References used to write this post: in-game contents (cutscenes, NPC chatter...), Official World Guidance Book, Perfect Guide.

As a world that mostly revolves around spirits, it comes to no surprise that Rieze Maxia’s cults and legends are also heavily spirit-based. The countries of Rashugal and Auj Oule do not have an organized religion—rather, towns and regions have their own myths and traditions, some shared, some not.

This post will examine the various beliefs and customs of the Rieze Maxian people, with a few notes about Elympios when relevant.

Pre-Schism

In the distant past, people did not know of the spirits’ existence, and channeled instinctively. There were beliefs in spiritual entities, however, and there existed a language to communicate with spirits. Maxwell’s appearance eventually confirmed their existence, but the creation of the schism shortly after muddled things up.

Post-Schism Elympios

The Elympion population seems to be split between those who simply do not believe in spirits, and those who acknowledge their existence from a scientific viewpoint (usually in relation to spyrix issues or the otherworld reactor plan). Knowledge about Rieze Maxia was not widespread either—its existence appeared in old legends, but it remained unconfirmed for a long time.

Despite this more rational approach to spirit lore, some remnants of spirit lore remain in the tradition of middle names, which uses words from the special language mentioned above. Middle names are picked by parents carefully according to their meanings. For more details about names, see here.

X2 Exclusive—The Kresnik Clan and the Land of Canaan

While legends about spirits, Rieze Maxia etc were rare in Elympios, there was an exception: the Kresnik clan. In order to stand a chance in Origin’s Trial, they passed down a lot of the original lore surrounding the trial and the Land of Canaan from generation to generation, though they kept those secrets closely guarded.

Post-Schism Rieze Maxia

To ensure that the existence of Elympios and its spyrix would be lost to future generations, the first settlers of Rieze Maxia established strict rules that banned the mention of such topics. Thus, the confirmation of spirits’ existence was lost as well, and they returned to a status of legends. From there, many myths developed. The spirits’ existence was eventually confirmed again thanks to the scholar Howe (famous for his Egg Principle).

The Rieze Maxian Calendar

The Rieze Maxian calendar is heavily influenced by spirits. The four seasons are named after the Four Great Spirits, and each month and week is associated to an element. This is useful to know when elemental power is the strongest. For more details about the calendars, see here.

The weeks are each associated to a priestess, and it is not uncommon for parents to name their child a variation of the name of the priestess of their birth week. For example, Presa (named ‘Jill’ by her parents) was named after Julia, the priestess of Pluvia Rubra, which was the week of her birth.

Rashugal—Science over Faith

Spirit artes have become very developed in Rashugal. As a result, spirits are seen as an everyday part of life, and worship is thus less prevalent there.

On the other hand, Auj Oule is home to many traditions.

The Maxwell Faith

Maxwell is especially worshipped in Nia Khera, the first village established by the first settlers. The Maxwell faith and myths related to the creation of Rieze Maxia were passed down through the ages, and though the faith declined over time, many traditions remain. The dwindling faith was recently restored thanks to the advent of Maxwell,

A shrine dedicated to Maxwell stands on the outskirts of the village, and a family of shamans have been tending to it from generation to generation. Their last descendant, Ivar, became Milla Maxwell’s handmaid at a young age.

Altars hosting ‘temporal stones’ representing the Four Great Spirits were erected in the village. Those stones were excavated from the hallowmont, and were worshiped by the villagers. They can be used to summon the Four.

The Nia Khera Hallowmont is a sacred mountain near Nia Khera where it is said that souls and spirits gather. It also holds a special significance to Maxwell.

Efreet—The Patron of Warriors

As the Great Spirit of Fire, Efreet is revered by warriors, especially in the Xian Du area, which is home to the coliseum.

Undine—The Guide of Souls

As the Great Spirit of Water, Undine is often associated with the reincarnation myth (see below). It is said that she guides the souls of the dead on the river of souls.

Gnome—The Master of Harvest

As the Great Spirit of Earth, Gnome is the one people pray to for good harvest. Hamil even has a Gnome festival every year. As a thanks, Gnome makes sure their fruits are especially sweet.

Pluto—The Lord of the Abyss

As the Great Spirit of Eternity, Pluto used to be revered in the Xailen Woods Temple near Kanbalar. The temple is now abandoned, aside from twin shrine maidens who suspiciously do not seem to age. According to legends, the lord of the abyss was sealed in the temple by Maxwell a long time ago, and its worship died out afterward.

Those legends are true. Pluto was indeed sealed by Maxwell, but started undoing the seal over time. The shrine maidens are actually Pluto themself.

Kresnik The Sage

Kresnik the Sage was the one who listened to Maxwell’s warning and gathered followers to renounce spyrix usage. She and her followers were the first settlers of Rieze Maxia (note: in X2, her story is altered a little, and she no longer comes to live in Rieze Maxia herself).

In Rieze Maxia, she has become the subject of many legends:

In Rashugal: the six noble houses claim to be descendants of Kresnik’s six disciples.

In Auj Oule: the seven major tribes claim to be descendants of Kresnik’s seven sons.

Kresnik the Sage also comes up in the creation myth of Auj Oule.

Auj Oule’s Creation Myth—Kresnik and the Chimera

According to the legend, When Rieze Maxia was created, Kresnik the sage battled a legendary monster, the Chimera, which was so huge it blotted out the sky. When Kresnik stabbed the Chimera with her lance, its body fell to the ground and became the continent of Auj Oule.

Gaius’ bodyguards, the Chimeriad, are named after the Chimera. Each of their individual names represent a part of the Chimera.

The Myth of Reincarnation

According to the myth of reincarnation, the souls of the dead are carried by rivers to the hallowmont, where the souls are taken to the land of spirits to be reborn. For that reason, Undine is worshiped as the one who guides the passage of souls.

The Xian Du version of the myth says that only the souls of strong warriors enter the land of spirits, while the souls of losers sink to the bottom of the sea.

The myth of reincarnation is strong in Xian Du/the Kitarl clan, the Long Dau clan, and was also relayed to Elize by her parents.

In regions where the myth of reincarnation is strong, spirit worship is often closely tied to ancestor worship.

The myth of reincarnation is confirmed over the course of the game to be true. When a person dies, their soul enters the river of souls where they cleansed and their memories wiped out, then they are reborn as a spirit. It is part of the reincarnation cycle that rules Rieze Maxia.

Xillia 2 establishes new facts about the reincarnation cycle, but as they have no bearing on the people’s beliefs, they won’t be detailed here.

Prayer Pennants

It is a custom in the mountain clans of Auj Oule, especially Xian Du and Kanbalar, to hang a cloth banner called prayer pennant and make a wish.

Kanbalar’s prayer pennants are sewn with firethread, which prevents them from freezing.

The Xian Du Coliseum

The coliseum is considered a sacred ground. For that reason, it is only accessible by boat so that people purify themselves before stepping inside.

Prayer pennants in Xian Du are often hung with a wish for victory (or a loved one’s safe return).

In the Kitarl clan, it is a tradition to offer a gladiolus to a warrior fighting in the coliseum.

The coliseum was built in Trames 1800 (about 500 years before the game) and used to serve as a way to settle tribal dispute.

The Royal Hunting Grounds

Another sacred ground near Xian Du. They belong to the king of Auj Oule and are administrated by the Kitarl clan.

It was a tradition for clan leaders to hunt a monster in the Royal Hunting Grounds to receive an omen about the fate of their clan—the stronger the monster, the better the fortune. Many clan chiefs lost their lives in those hunting grounds.

Xian Du’s Stone Statues

The tradition to erect statues in honor of strong warriors started in Trames 1670 by a major tribe leader named Xiaman. This is another tradition tied to ancestor worship and the myth of reincarnation.

The Ghost Ship

In recent years, there are legends of a giant ghost ship roaming the sea, moving on its own without the help of spirit artes.

It is in fact the E.S.S. Zenethra, Exodus’ base. It must have been spotted a few times by a few dumbfounded sailors, giving birth to the legend.

There are probably many other legends, cults, and customs over Rieze Maxia (and Elympios, even though they might not be spirit-based). The world is vaster than what we can explore in-game, so there must be other villages and clans with their own traditions.

#tales of xillia #toxweek2021 #yume meta #it's probably a bad idea to post this at 1am #without further proofreading #but i want sleep

46 notes · View notes