Saints (Kind)

Saints (ula, plural, ulale) are one of the Six Kinds into which all humans are categorized, and are both the rarest and the most powerful. When a living person dies, rare individuals whose bodies are left intact do not decay, and indeed preserve their sentience. A saint is incorruptible, ageless, and timeless. Saints cannot move, but can perceive things in its immediate environment, obtain new knowledge of the world, and speak telepathically with anyone, not merely the Voice of the Dead, in their immediate presence. Additionally, they possess one or more highly powerful abilities, normally unique to them, that allow them to continue to affect the world.

Cosmology

What is a saint?

A saint is the result of the transformation from a living human into an Ancestor at death, which through unknown means results instead in the creation of a different Kind, the ula. A saint is neither a priest nor a god, but rather, a sentient being, a special result of Unfolding that is the subject of great reverence among adherents of the Corps.

Why are there saints?

Great question! This is a matter on which there has been enormous theological discussion. There are three main positions, all of which have modern adherents:

• Naming: There have always been saints, but prior to the Corps, people treated them identically to aidastu, haunts, and that their bodies were normally destroyed by fearful pagan folk, ending the (proto-)saint early in its existence. Under this belief, Zunuga brought back information from the afterlife about the miracle of saints, but they had always been there and simply hadn't been recognized.
• Epiphany: Zunuga, as the first and one of the only individuals to spontaneously resurrect and become a shoror, returned from death not only with information about how to revivify shoror and construct bubun, but actually changed the world so that saints could be created. After her resurrection, saints began to emerge all throughout the world.
• Praxis: There is nothing, individually, that a priest can do to affect whether a person will become a saint. However, collectively, adherence to the Corps and performance of appropriate death rituals is believed by some to be needed to keep the supply of saints consistent (or even growing). So Zunuga did not change the world, but through bringing the Corps faith to the world, she allowed her successors to create and maintain saints.

Are saints good?

Saints are morally neutral. The translation of Ombesh ula as 'saint' reflects their incorruptible bodies and their cults of veneration, but there is no assumption that they are or were holy or morally good people. One could also describe them as reverend or venerable.

Awakening

What is the process of sainthood?

If a body is intact and in the care of the Voice of the Dead, after determining that they will not attempt to resurrect it, the Voice lays out the body on a flat slab of slate in a temple or other holy place and waits to observe for any signs of decay. This waiting period or derdis is meant to be a period of reflection and neutral emotion, and normally lasts about a week. In almost every case, once decay begins, the body is recognized as an ancestor and stored in a vault where it decays (slowly) and may be spoken to. But in a rare instance, the saint awakens, usually a process of several days. Nothing that the Voice does seems to influence the likelihood of a body becoming a saint.

Who becomes a saint?

Any human can become a saint after death, regardless of gender, age, belief, morality, social class, or any other feature one can imagine. There are saints who are young children, and saints who were very old at the time of death. Pre-verbal infants do not become saints, as far as anyone knows, however.

How often does a saint emerge?

Very rarely. While the world is far too large to make any real census, those in the Voice best equipped to make such a judgement estimate that perhaps one in ten thousand who die awaken as saints.

What is a saint, between its death and awakening?

Between its death and awakening, a saint is an ancestor. That means that Voices can talk to them, and they seem to be an ordinary ancestor in every respect, except that they do not decay.

How long does it take to awaken?

The awakening process takes weeks or even a few months. During this period it is as if the saint is emerging from a deep slumber, and slowly becomes aware of their powers.

Are there non-human saints?

No, as far as anyone knows, there has never been a non-human saint. Even sentient species like the hith do not become saints after death. Why this should be is a matter of some theological dispute.

Do corpseborn become saints?

Great question! There are numerous anecdotal reports of corpseborn becoming saints, folktales, that sort of thing. The Corps does not hold, theologically, that this is possible, however.

Do people from outside the Corps become saints?

Yes. The process of sainthood has nothing to do with what one believed in life - so any human whose body is left to examine for signs of decay can become a saint. However, if the body is buried or burned or otherwise disposed of prior to awakening, then it is just as vulnerable as any other corpse. Thus, traditions with fairly rapid burial or cremation customs do not have saints.

What happens when a saint awakens?

The emergence of a saint who is under the care and reverence of the Voice is an occasion for great joy. In a small community, it might be something that only happens once in many generations. It is cause for enormous celebration, sometimes lasting weeks of feasting and revelry. Marriages are contracted and great works of art are commissioned. Naturally, the Corps uses the moment to reaffirm its authority over the social order.

What happens when a saint is not cared for by priests?

In theory, nothing. There have been saints who have awakened on the battlefield where they fell, for instance. There are even saints who have been found years after their awakening - for instance, someone who was lost in deep forests. If a saint should be left alone for a period of time, that also does not affect anything, unless the saint is truly lost.

Capacities

What does a saint need?

A saint no longer needs food, drink, or sleep. They do not need to breathe air and do not have any other bodily functions. They can survive perfectly well in utter darkness, and have less need than living people for regular social interaction.

How do saints communicate with those nearby?

Saints all have the ability to communicate telepathically with any sentient individual in their immediate vicinity. If they share a language, they can communicate silently in that language; otherwise, they can convey emotional impressions. If there are multiple people in the vicinity, the saint may speak to some or all of them and exclude anyone they choose.

Can saints communicate with others far away?

Saints have a connection to those descended from them - defined by the saint, through their connection. With these individuals, the saint's telepathic power extends beyond the line of sight, and can send messages and communicate effectively at any distance. The saint must still have specific knowledge of the person they are trying to communicate with - it is not a broadcast power that extends to all of their descendants. Saints that do not have descendants do not have this power, but who is considered a descendant is a social concept, not a narrowly biological one.

Can saints communicate with one another?

No, except by the ordinary means such as sending an envoy or letter.

Can saints perceive the world around them?

Yes, saints have a rough visual-auditory range similar to what they would have in life. They need light to see, and their perception is blocked by walls, and so on.

Can saints learn?

Yes, and this is one of the key things that distinguishes them from other Ancestors. They can meet and remember new people, learn and retain new information, and even learn new skills and languages (if those don't depend on them doing anything physically).

Can saints use fos?

No, they can't digest food and so they have no way to consume fos.

What powers do saints have?

Every saint has one or (normally more) special powers. Each saint is unique and the specific powers they have emerge upon their awakening, and are unrelated to the powers they had in life. These may and often do emulate the kinds of effects possible with Source magic, but they require no training or fos and can normally be used as often as the saint wishes. A saint is an extremely powerful entity to have as an enemy.

Do saints' powers follow the same prohibitions as Source magic?

There are definitely powers that some saints have that would not be possible to emulate by ingesting fos and/or that go outside of what is normally possible with Source.

Are all saints equally powerful?

There are certainly some saints who have powers that may be less useful or relevant than others. There are also saints that have more powers than others.

Can saints acquire new or better powers?

Saints are not always very forthcoming about the true extent of their powers. But yes, it appears that old saints (those beyond a century) expand and extend their powers. They do not exactly learn them, and cannot share them with one another, but they do develop them.

Vulnerability

Do saints ever age or decay?

No, saints are immune to both physical and mental decay.

Can saints be injured?

A saint's body can be physically damaged and even destroyed, but is highly resistant to physical damage of this sort, especially fire. Saints with a strong base of veneration almost surely have individuals assigned to protect them from damage.

How much damage do you need to do to kill a saint?

A lot. Saints can continue to exist even with one or more limbs amputated. In general, if the head is removed from the torso, however, the saint is generally destroyed.

Do saints heal/repair damage?

Yes, damage to a saint repairs itself over time as if the saint were resting.

Can saints be killed?

Saints are not immortal and are capable of destruction. A dead saint becomes an Ancestor and may be communicated with as any ancestor would. But barring the destruction of the physical body, killing a saint is very difficult indeed.

Can a saint be lost?

Yes, and this is deeply tragic. A saint that is buried, stolen and hidden away, or dropped into the deep sea, may be irretrievable. Such a saint might be able to communicate telepathically with descendants, and theoretically could be located, but in many other cases, such a saint is truly lost, doomed to be trapped forever, sentient and screaming, wherever they lay.

Why do Hulti hate saints so much?

It is not quite right to say that Hulti hate saints, but rather that they consider them to be a violation or transgression of the natural order that must be remedied to keep the world in balance. The Old Folk practice of hanging bodies from trees in net bags, followed by a secondary burial, is probably in part due to the practice of killing any saint that emerges from among their dead.

Social

How does a saint acquire adherents?

When a new saint awakens, the Voice temple where it was (normally) held practically becomes a pilgrimage site in the weeks, months, and even years following. Because the saint will be quite powerful, many adherents may visit the site, though saints quickly sort through those who are not serious.

Do saints know and talk to one another?

The inability to move is somewhat of a hindrance to having a big saint party. But saints certainly do learn of one another's existence, and do often correspond with one another or use their followers to travel, build alliances, and otherwise engage with other saints.

Do people carry saints from place to place?

Certainly, there is nothing to stop anyone from moving a saint's physical body (except perhaps the saint's powers, if they're unwilling). Emergencies (floods, war, earthquake, etc.) often necessitate a short-term evacuation. More rarely, a saint may decide to move from one area to another more permanently. Naturally, moving a saint always carries some risk due to the uncertainties of the road.

Do saints have temples?

Many saints, especially well-established ones, have buildings, including temples or other outbuildings, associated with them. Very often these may have emerged around a Voice of the Dead temple but have expanded since then. Others, though, may live in very different conditions - for instance, an urban saint could live in a manor house, or a hermit saint could live in a cave complex.

How do saints afford to support their adherents?

Some do not - rather, there is no expectation that the saint will support them. The expectation is rather in the opposite direction - the adherents support the saint with donations and tribute to support them in death, in return for the privilege of participating in their afterlife. But some saints do indeed have considerable wealth that they use to accomplish political goals, usually through the intermediary of their adherents. Saints' cults, especially those of ones who have been around a long time, often have major landholdings and bases of power.

Do saints have 'territories'?

Not in a formal sense. There are some areas - like the city of Onighus, where Eluli Ula reigns over Khutu - that have a high density of saints. In some cases, two or more saints share the same temple and otherwise interact with one another.

Do saints have alliances and rivalries?

Oh, yes. Yes, definitely.

What are saintly lineages?

The descendants, and in some cases the other kin, of a newly awakened saint, often choose to adopt a new lineage name en masse, based on their connection to the saint. Regardless of rank or wealth, promotion to a saintly lineage is a great honour and source of great power, if the lineage members serve the ula well. Members of a saintly lineage are asserting their connection with the new saint overrides their prior lineage commitments.

Who counts as a saint's descendant?

In general, saints recognize their own lineal descendants through birth or adoption, and thus these individuals can be contacted telepathically. Members of saintly lineages, generally, can be contacted, but that does not mean one can simply adopt a lineage name. The best way that theologians have framed it is that it is through the saint recognizing the relationship or social bond with the descendant that communication becomes possible.