Neisti

The neisti (նեիստի; from an old Hártal word meaning “spark”; sometimes ellicised as the cognate gnast) is, in Arlatur philosophy, the fundamental spirit or fragment of the divine that resides within a physical body, the hylki. As an enhieronic religion, Arlatur holds that there is no controlling external divinity, but that each person (and, indeed, all that lives) contains its own infinitesimal shard of the divine force. It acknowledges also that, since all neistir come from the same source and all will ultimately return to it, they are, by definition, equal as against each other.

Arlaturi hold that all neistir originated in a single divine consciousness known as Allur, “the All”, and that the ultimate goal of the neisti is to become reassimilated into that single whole, in a state termed einingu, “unity, oneness”, and to share in its understanding of the All. In this state it no longer possesses, or indeed requires, a physical form. The typical Arlaturi aims at the cultivation of the neisti by seeing past surface incongruences of hemja and adhering to patterns of behaviour which are in harmony with the surrounding world, the better to advance his neisti towards this goal. Ragna Hrafnamaður, the originator of Arlatur, expressed this thought clearly in her writings; and her exhortation to “leave the world a better place for your presence in it” colours much of Arlaturi philosophy and practice.

By contrast, a conscious choice to cultivate destructive and immoderately selfish behaviour, níð, is thought to weaken and eventually force into reverse the development of the neisti, driving it back into a more base state; the philosophical implications of this inferiority alone are considered a sufficient dissuasion. While the neisti is, by definition, immortal and indestructible, a neisti so damaged will, at the last physical death of its hylki, be condemned into a state of mere existence without understanding for eternity.

The belief that everything that lives is possessed of a small fragment of the divine was, at the time that Arlatur was emerging, a radical departure from the beliefs of the day. Thúrun, the dominant faith of the Siur country, placed all divine power in the hands of an exterior pantheon of deities – partly native, but also partially syncretised with those of Antissan Palthachism. This shift in emphasis removed the Thúrunite sense that the individual had no control over his destiny – Thúrun practice holding that one’s destiny, or wirda, was determined at birth and thereafter immutable – and placed the burden of responsibility for one’s actions firmly on the individual.

The neisti in society

The belief that every living being – regardless of its degree of sapience – possesses a neisti was one of the key drivers of Arlatur’s interaction with the society in which it developed. Although of necessity modified by day-to-day pragmatism, the belief that all neistir are intrinsically equal naturally gave rise to Arlatur’s defining principles of egalitarianism; although the Siur retained the concept of nobility common to most peoples, Arlaturi have historically related to their own nobility far more on a basis of “by their deeds you shall know them” (þu veist þá af verkum sinum), as expressed by the first widely-acknowledged brætur, Hrósar Hjólsmiður.

Siur nobility – themselves now all Arlaturi – are expected to actively demonstrate, by the manner in which they live, their claims to status. Hjólsmiður’s celebrated rationalisation of Arlatur’s stance on the power relationship – that the nobility merely exercised superior ability in stewardship rather than being superior per se – was met by a similar rationalisation by the nobles, in that the standards of behaviour expected of them were no different – at least in outward seeming – to those enforced by the belief in Thúrun that those destined for a superior position in the afterlife must demonstrate their fitness for such a destiny by their actions in this life.

Likewise, the belief as to the existence of a neisti even within non-sapient animals and plant life has promoted a greater sense of stewardship among most Arlaturi, and a recognition that these other enspirited entities should be treated with respect. While the practicalities of living – especially in the rural communities in which Arlatur first took hold – greatly modified that stance, Arlatur still promotes respect for animal life and for the environment in general. Animals have had limited rights for centuries under Siur law, most especially the right to humane treatment (prosecutions for cruelty to animals are recorded as far back as the 13th century). Similarly, respect for the wider environment prompted the development of husbandry techniques in forestry and fishing – long staples of the Siur economy – well before they became commonplace in other parts of Messenia.

Over time, a broad acceptance arose within Arlatur that, if the neisti was the essential core of an individual, and the hylki merely the vehicle by which that neisti experienced the world and sought ultimately to transcend it, then the sex of the hylki was substantially irrelevant to its status. This philosophical position drove several parallel developments within Arlatur as it broadened and deepened. Alongside its view that no man was intrinsically superior to another emerged the corollary that, likewise, neither gender was intrinsically superior to the other, as expressed by the familiar maxim fólk er fólk (“people are people”) – and, one may argue, explicit in the willingness of the nascent Arlaturi communion, men and women alike, to heed the words of the very much female Hrafnamaður. This was by itself a serious challenge to Thúrunite society which functioned very much on the basis of clear and defined gender-specific roles, and women who proselytised for the new faith tended to suffer disproportionately at the hands of local rulers because of a perception that they were “overstepping their bounds”. In terms of military service, this idea was strongly tempered by the recognition that equality of status meant little in the face of biological facts; women were, generally, not as strong as men. It would not be until the advent of firearms and other non-muscle-powered weapons that this practical block began to be overturned.

Secondly, there arose a much more open acceptance that romantic relationships were forged principally by the neisti, irrespective of the gross physical characteristics of the hylki; this created a willingness by the Arlaturi to accept open same-sex relationships. This position has been tempered at times by social necessity – particularly among the nobility, where the making of marriages was one of the tools of diplomacy for the astute thein or thosse – but it has never receded entirely from view; as put by the former brætur Mára Skýrasýnar, “Arlaturi took an axe to the closet and smashed it into kindling”. Social historians have suggested that these two positions were wholly absorbed into the mainstream of Arlaturi thought by as early as 1400; and many Arlaturi today find the existence of prejudice against women, and against homosexuals of both sexes, as one of the least comprehensible aspects of culture in non-Arlaturi countries.