Umbra, the Veil of Shadows [World of Aurius]

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===== Umbra, the Veil of Shadows =====
The void, which is composed of a black chaos where the powers of the light possess minimal power as it is far removed from their domain, is synonymous with the great force of Umbra, a deific and potent power anthropomorphized as possessing a male sex and yet, being constituted of a liquid shadow. Within the void is laid the being of Umbra, such that by his power all matter of light and soul is degraded and subject to a crushing pressure which instigates many adaptations and change which is far removed from the ideal form of which the light had descended from. These forms which emerge from the void of chaos are thought to be evidence of his power to change and, by some beliefs, corrupt the shapes of the light into new beings that are considered as Umbra’s children in a process of rebirth in the darkness, in addition to those entities that have become divorced from the light as a manifestation of the light’s absence within those places. Among these many children which originate from Umbra as a primordial absence of the powers of the light, there exist beings of coldness, death, and pure, aphotic darkness, with the latter most resembling the power of Umbra as his heirs. Regardless, these entities are known to be a simple opposite and exclusion to the powers of fullness and presence that predominate in the light, where life is fruitful and abundant.\\
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The [[:druids_of_caleya|druidic people]] of [[planes:aurius:caskaris:start|Caskaris]] who, once, worshipped the powerful, transcendent beings of [[pantheons:deities:izabela|Izabela]] and [[pantheons:deities:aurideon|Aurideon]], believed Umbra to be the veil which separated the mortal plane from fully being able to perceive the full, sublime light of the heavens. Umbra was thus regarded as a force which governed the mortal plane, with Izabela and Aurideon notably emerging from the heavens and accordingly, belonging to the light from which the mortal plane had become separated from. It was thought by these druids that the mortal plane was in an age of corruption and profane being, and that it was Umbra who had skillfully separated the percepts of light from the mortal gaze. This act of believing also ensured that those privy to the knowledge of Izabela and Aurideon would become awakened and recognize themselves as a soul rather than a body, thereby instigating a tradition of baptism and anointing upon achieving this knowledge.\\
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The [[races:humans:iluayans:aetherics|Aetherics]] of [[planes:aurius:caskaris:start|Caskaris]], an order of peaceful and pious [[races:humans:caskaric:iluayans:start|Iluayans]] who pledge themselves before the mythical [[pantheons:deities:the_light_disambiguation:aion_teleos|Aion Teleos]] as a natural evolution from the practices of the druids who came before them, reject Umbra’s assimilation into the mortal plane, thereby instigating the perceived necessity to expiate the being’s influence over themselves and their world of change. In their adaptation from the druidic beliefs, they also believe that Umbra is the veil which enshrouds the mortal plane and disables the light from fully descending and greeting the worlds of mortality. Their worship of Aion Teleos, a higher, unknowable being, is thus thought to be a result of those of their faith’s given awakening as a spirit, and which Umbra blinds them to. Thus, Umbra is thought of as a corrupter, and that which seeks to bring them to rest in the underworld where night and darkness are most prevalent.\\
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Some [[races:humans:iluayans:covens of deonasta|enigmatic occultists of the eastern coast of Caskaris]] worship beings which they refer to as the [[pantheons:class:deonyths|Deonyths]], who are thought to be beings who inhabit within the veil, and who act within the shadows though possessing a great power of magic themselves. The Deonyths, who make use of the pure darkness of Umbra such that they remained shadowy and unknown to mortal eyes, are thought to have revealed themselves to these spiritually sensitive occultists as a result of their descent from the druidic peoples, and so that they might extend their influence across Caskaris through the actions of their worshippers, thereby allowing them some control over the mortal plane. The worship of Umbra himself, however, is an undertone to the worship of these beings of the Deonyth, who strive for nothing but to be worshipped and a penance made to them, thus allowing the occultists’ corruption through a piety to their gods. Thus, Umbra is acknowledged as the primordial being from which the Deonyths were allowed to exist, his power only being relevant in the cases which had resurfaced in the Deonyths.\\
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The Iluayans who swear fealty to the [[planes:aurius:caskaris:countries:ayoskova|Ayoskovic potentate]] who know of Umbra believe the entity to be a force whose presence and intent is removed from the mortal plane, residing however within the void which their worshipped deity protects them from. Though Umbra is not culturally recognized by the masses of individuals who belong to the Ayoskovic kingdom, the being is named, albeit in an archaic manner, in their interring of the dead so that he might grant them safe passage through the tribulations of the worlds of death and then, allow them to be reborn within the same family. Accordingly, names are inherited from deceased individuals from both the mother and father’s direct ancestors with the intent that they had returned to the mortal world in the form of a child as they had been durable enough to survive the powers of Umbra by the force’s grace.