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The Hoxian prime god is Bash, Lord of the Mountain, aspect of rock and mineral. As such, there is a definite favor for Static magic, which is considered the most stable and reliable form of magic. All Hoxians would consider themselves religious, respecting of the Circle Gods (if galdori and sometimes wick) or very devoted to Vitanism (if human). Religion in Hox is a very practical, every day sort of affair that usually doesn't require much ceremony and is probably one of the more pure forms of self-expression for the average Hoxian.

An oddity in the Hoxian religious mindset is that the mythic beasts are not considered sacred in any way. Though the opinion is not unanimous, many of the younger generations have begun to see the mythic beasts as simply folklore.

Mhoren Basheva and Every Day Worship

While the religious vocation exists in Hox, lines between clergy and lay are a great deal less clearly-drawn. In keeping with zkratas, everyone in Hox—regardless of race or class—is expected to participate in the liturgy and in religious obligations to the whole Circle; this is simply a part of existing in one’s community in Hox (and in the natural world, with which one is inherently and inextricably tied). To exist as a living being is to exist as a child of the Circle, beholden to the earth which molded your flesh and the waters of your soul’s lifespan. Every being is re-born again and again, eats and drinks and takes shelter in the creation of the gods, and owes the world reverence and respect. From birth, every Hoxian child is encouraged to think of themselves not as individuals but as particles of relative insignificance in a much larger whole, as is evidenced by Spar Rhavat.

In practice, however, there are always those who find themselves drawn to the service of the gods above all else. In Hox, these people are known as the Mhoren Basheva – the children of the mountain – and fill a variety of roles. (While mhoren Basheva can be used to describe any individual since everything and everyone is a child of Bash, the phrase tends to have a specific cultural significance.) Mhoren Basheva exist among both humans and galdori, but there are marked differences in the roles they fill and their approaches toward their vocation.

Regardless of race or vocation, Mhoren Basheva are ideally ascetics. In order to meditate and understand zkratas, they seek solitude, usually in the Steppes or in the Spondola Mountains. Frequently enough they form communities; it’s not uncommon to find a commune in the wilderness occupied by ten to fifteen men and women, who live simply and care for their tsvat to Bash. While they avoid living in civilization, they are not at all opposed to visitors and treat guests as they would their family. Most Hoxians who identify themselves with the Mhoren Basheva see all living and non-living matter as their family; they emphasize this to the point that they will bear any slight with calmness and generosity. They are known and sought-after for their wisdom, with Lower Hoxian villages sometimes sending their sick to nearby hermitages. Troubled galdori in Upper Hox from all professions will sometimes seek wisdom from ascetic Mhoren, often going so far as to stay with them and adopt their lifestyle in times of soul-seeking and emotional duress.

This is where interracial similarities end.

The Mhoren Basheva in Upper Hox are more organized; while not as cohesive and formal as the Everine, they still function as a religious order. Many galdori Mhoren will have studied theology at Frecksat before adopting their ascetic lifestyle, and while theoretically a tuax Basheva (literally a “house of Bash”, a community of monastics situated around a tsvat) is simple and separated from society, several galdori tuaxen are located either in or very close to major cities. For example, Kzecka started out as a tuax Basheva, and while a community has sprung up around its religious library – which draws many theologians from Frecksat and elsewhere – there exists there still a thriving community of Mhoren, who tend the library and the surrounding land and support the lay community.

While no Hoxian would tell you that the Mhoren Basheva have a leader, the Rho Tsvat’kyett (lit. “the good keeper of the temple”) is comparable to the Noumenon of the Everine in that his or her writings and guidance tend to shape the Mhoren Basheva. The Rho Tsvat’kyett is the revered elder and caretaker of the tsvat in Kzecka and presides over the local tuax Basheva. The position, such as it is, is held for life; as with the Tsvat’kyetten of other tuaxen, when the former elder dies, he or she chooses a successor. This choice can be overruled if the rest of the tuax is in agreement, but this rarely occurs.

Other Religions

Smaller sects exist, one of the most prominent being the Hexxos, whose services to Hoxian society involve funerary rites, bereavement counseling, and the ceremonial interring of the dead. They are also in charge of all matters pertaining to the Afterlife, and rumors abound to the other obscure knowledge they keep hidden. Hexxos mark their ranks with tattoos that signify their status, an ancient practice that is said to be based on the ley lines inherent in galdori anatomy and their connection to the leyfabric of Vita itself. Historically, Hexxos are largely considered esoteric, and while Hox is a very egalitarian society as a whole, it could be said those who join the Hexxos Order or are raised within its small circle are often considered lower-class citizens due to their dealings with corpses and burial. Unlike the Mhoren Basheva, Hexxos are only galdori.

Other than that, however, there are more than a few temples in Hox, scattered throughout cities and towns, built-in strikingly high or aesthetically breathtaking places, though the largest and oldest are all centered in Kzecka. There are, however, many small shrines and secretive altars scattered all through cities, towns, mountain roads, and taiga forests, leftover from centuries past and still maintained by those who choose to seek the favor of the Circle in current times.

Most Hoxians prefer to pray and be religious in the privacy of their own homes, which often contain an alcove in a formal room of their house for their personal displays of worship.

Hoxian Religious Art

For galdori in Hox, as elsewhere, conversation and the mona are inherently divine. The Hoxian devotion to Bash and to oneness with the natural world leads them to emphasize Static conversation in particular, as understanding the forces of nature—the movements of rock and growing things and fire—is crucial to understanding your own place within the gods’ creation.

Many Hoxians—particularly those who follow religious vocations—practice Static magic as a form of artistic expression. This is also tied to the concept of rhakor; while one is expected to keep one’s composure in public, private expressions of emotion, particularly of transcendental religious nature, are sacred, and artistic expression is no exception.

Representational art of people and animals, while not frowned upon, is somewhat rare. More often one will see powerful, poignant nonrepresentational shapes carved into wood or eroded from rock, sometimes massive in scale and/or seamless with surrounding environments; in fact, many remote tsvaten are themselves works of art, beautiful and strange habitable sculptures made out of networks of trees or carved into the sides of peaks or cliffs.

The process of using Static conversation to create these works of art is called rhovratz Basheva, as Bash in particular smiles upon the use of vratz to communicate with and shape the natural world.

One particular example of rhovratz Basheva is the Dzani Drakhal (“the garden of stone”) in the northern Spondola Mountains, considered a particularly holy place. In it, a path winds around many different rock formations, all shaped and balanced precariously by an ancient conversationalist with an extensive understanding of physics; to the untrained eye, many of the massive shapes look as if they could fall at any minute, but it is one of the safest places in Hox.

Religious Organizations

Additional information on the religious orders in Hox can be found in the Organizations section of the lore.