This sect of Teleleli believes in reincarnation. They say that once every person was a being of pure spirit. When the world was created the spirits were warned not to go there, lest they be trapped. However their curiosity got the better of them. Most of the spirits ate salt, and became too heavy to return. Those that did not eat the salt were able to return, and they became the gods.
There are three types of beings in the lands around Teleleli who claim to be angels, each denying the role to the other two.
Those who support the claims of the most human-looking type say that the gods have given these angels the power to sew dolls who then move and speak, acting out events that are to come.
Superstitious Telelenes will avoid certain combinations of letters under any circumstances. It is said that, when the gods gave humans the power of reason, neither were sure that it was a gift and not a curse. Therefore they agreed that humans could tell the gods they wished to lose their intelligence, by speaking or writing certain things. It is no great inconvenience to avoid any of these ‘forbidden’ combinations of letters, as they are not words, but meaningless phrases such as roflmao and wtf.
The Crone, the goddess of natural death, has no ears. For this reason it is no use to beg her to come, or to stay away.
It is said that since mute animals cannot pray, they have no gods, and instead worship the ground. The only animals to refuse this worship are wolves, who adore the moon. For this reason the ground will not receive them, and so their paws never touch it, which is why they run so silently.
A dead body is only called a corpse if it is under the earth (usually, but not necessarily, from burial after death). If it lies above the earth it is called a cadaver. The gods of corpses and those of cadavers are entirely separate. Some say that zombies must be placed in a coffin, and that coffin sunk in water, and that water lie above sea level. In this way neither the gods of corpses nor those of cadavers will protect the body, and the boker may achieve their evil end unopposed.
Some mystics of Teleleli claim to worship not the gods, but “the unborn within the gods.”
Many species of the Celestial Realm resemble humans, but for a pattern of bumps and ridges on their foreheads. Each such pattern is distinctive to a particular species.
It has been speculated that the patterns are letters in the language of the gods or the Great Race, who in this theory are supposed to have created all such species.
Advocates of this theory are generally evasive about how these letters would have been used. Some resort to a mystical interpretation, while others assert that the Celestial Realm was used as a gigantic equivalent to a crossword or Scrabble board, with each species counting as a single filled-in letter or tile, and its planet of origin being the square.
The smooth foreheads of humans are said to be analagous to spaces, or to blank tiles.
These two minor gods appear as a hybrid of human and cow: they have hooves insted of hands and feet, cow’s heads (but human hair), and otherwise human bodies. They are said to be brother and sister (Goggo is the female and Ogmo the male).
They are the gods of clothing and fashion. Child-size statues of the two (but in adult proportions) stand outside every temple to them. As with other gods of particular trades, temples are only found in large towns and cities, although tailors in other areas may have shrines in their homes or workshops.
They are inevitably carved naked, and dressed in actual clothes. For a tailor to be chosen to clothe the statues indicates that they are the greatest at their trade in the area. Thus the clothes are provided free (and indeed it is said that tailors bribe the temple to receive this honour, or at least make generous offerings).
The skin, eyes and hair of the gods are painted to represent the current ideal of beauty. Likewise the god’s bodies are carved to conform to ideal types. Carving or painting the statues is a similar sign of status, though to a lesser extent, since representing the human form in art is the province of Averna (also the goddess of dancing and athletics). When this ideal is judged to have changed, the statues are replaced. Old statues have no ‘sacredness’, and are simply thrown away.
>It is rumoured, but not substantiated, that this substance may be found in Teleleli.
It is said to be a milky, thick fluid, like a liqueur, and beautiful to behold. It is not, however, desired for its appearance, nor even for its delicious taste, but for its ability, when treated correctly, to give the power to move with the speed of thought.
Some say that it is literally the tears of a god. Others contend that very enlightened mystics may enter a state of deep meditation, wherein they secrete the substance from their eyes or skin.
It is notable that the Tibetans ascribe various miraculous properties to the tears of Buddha and other holy men.