Rishen

Rishen
A Minjianese depiction of Rishen, 1922
Goddess of the Sun
Transliterations	日神 (Ventzi) Ришен (Shintzi)
Religion	Namorese folk religion (Txoism)
Weapon	Hoju
Region	The Mountains of the Moon
Height	5 chi (1.66 m)

Rishen (Namorese: 日神, Ришен, Argilian: Ρησεν, Risen) is the Sun Goddess in Txoism. She was the first creation of Songte after the demise of the previous universe, making her older than every other deity except for Songte herself.

Rishen is frequently featured in Namorese and Katranjian folklore. In the Namorese-speaking world, she is mostly worshiped for her ability to bring light to the world, while in Katranjiev she is viewed as a hero for defeating the goddess Vanho in the legendary Battle of Baicheng.

Archaeologists and many historians have claimed that Rishen was originally the ancient Argilian goddess Selene (Argilian: Σελήνη, Selíni), due to Rishen's usage of a chariot to transport a celestial body across the heavens, and similar Argilian depictions of Selene and Rishen, although this viewpoint is controversial, with many alleging that the Argilians who did not adopt Txoism or Christianity had Selene change to be more like Rishen.

Mythology

Myths about Rishen come from a variety of sources, including Kannei Namorese, Argilian and Katranjian sources. While Kannei, Minjianese and Katranjian sources agree on certain myths of Rishen's life, some myths vary by source.

In 1831, novelist Nhung Hồng (Nun Hong in Namorese) published the Rishen Zanyin (Legend of Rishen), a compilation of myths about Rishen which drew from Namorese and Katranjian texts. The novel, which was structured similarly to the ancient epic Nushenshi, was very popular in Namor and soon found its way to Katranjiev, where it was translated into Katranjian. To date, the Rishen Zanyin is considered to be the most accepted account of Rishen.

Creation

According to the Rishen Zanyin, Rishen was the very first creation made by Songte in the beginning of the current universe. The previous sun deity had fought against Songte in a colossal war that preceded the current universe and was consequently killed. Songte melded together the corpses of his deceased enemies to form a body; then, he installed the heart of the previous sun deity into the body, giving it motion.

Songte needed someone to look after the world that was taking shape below him, so he ordered Rishen to descend to the land. But in order to prevent her from becoming a mortal, he created an abode for her on the edge between the land and sky, which became the highest peak of the Mountains of the Moon.

From that point on, Rishen traversed the world from east to west. But as the world grew in size, Rishen had to cover a longer distance, delaying her encounters with Songte. Songte decided to remedy the inconvenience by giving Rishen eight arms and four legs, allowing her to travel faster. As the world expanded further, he created a chariot so that Rishen could travel at a mercurial speed.

Rishen, Teyu and the ten suns

Rishen was one of the few deities who were spared from imprisonment after the demon king Teyu's usurpation of Songte's throne. Because Rishen was responsible for giving light to the universe, Teyu had no choice but to allow Rishen to stay in the skies.

Out of a desire to see people suffer, Teyu unleashed nine additional suns to accompany Rishen, causing unbearable heat, droughts and deaths. Ashamed of what Teyu had done and afraid of what has yet to happen as a consequence of Teyu's decision, Rishen approached the exiled archer Shenji Jolen and pleaded for him to shoot the other nine suns down. Shenji accepted Rishen's request and shot down the nine suns. When Teyu heard about this, he angrily turned Shenji into a crippled old man.

Vanho's aggression

Following the defeat of Teyu by Nushen, Songte rewarded Vanho with the land of Xhinan. However, following an assassination attempt on her, Vanho embarked upon an expedition to conquer neighboring states in order to find her assailant. As Vanho conquered more, she became more ambitious and vowed to "expand westward until she reached the final destination of the sun."

This statement drew the ire of Rishen, who decided to retaliate by slowing Vanho's advance. While Vanho's army was marching, Rishen deliberately shielded herself from the world, throwing the world below into pitch darkness. Confused by the unexpected darkness, Vanho's soldiers descended into chaos; some fled their ranks immediately, while others looted before fleeing. By the time Rishen reappeared, half of Vanho's army had dispersed. Humiliated by Rishen's actions, Vanho led her army to chase Rishen and vowed not to stop until she reached Rishen's abode in the Mountains of the Moon.

As Rishen witnessed the growing expansion of Xhinan, she felt afraid that Vanho would succeed in conquering her. Thus, she requested Songte to give her a powerful weapon to protect herself from Vanho and her men. Songte agreed, and assigned the God of Earth, Tevang to make a weapon that can "concentrate the power of the sun" into a guan, creating the hoju.

By the time that Vanho's forces reached the foothills of the Mountains of the Moon, Rishen stood guard on top of the eastern gate of Baicheng. Looking down upon Vanho, she stated:

"I implore you that if you value your life, that if you value the lives of your men, that you turn back at once, lest you desire to witness the full power of the sun."

When Vanho refused and insisted that Rishen submit herself to the "Queen of All Beyond the Western Horizon," Rishen unleashed her hoju to melt the armor and weapons of Vanho's army, and to kill the soldiers of the army. To prevent Vanho from trying to launch another offensive against her, she used her hoju to cripple her arms and thighs, while explaining:

"Now you and your men have experienced the full might of the sun. I am only letting you live so you may tell your subjects about the power of the sun, and to make sure that even on the very last day of this universe, no one would dare try again."

After Vanho retreated, Rishen knew that maintaining her residence on the Mountains of the Moon would be costly. Thus, she chose to cease living on the Mountains of the Moon, and instead ascend to a higher position in the sky for her own protection. In the process, she destroyed her own abode on the Mountains, creating Mount Nashtoinik, the highest mountain in Katranjiev.

Abilities

Template:Namorese mythology Hoju has eight arms and four legs and is five chi (1.66 meters) in height. She is perceived to be a gentle and benevolent figure who remained especially loyal to Songte. She rides on a chariot across the sky each day in order to deliver sunlight to the world, similar to how Selene rides on a chariot during the night to deliver moonlight across the heavens. Some accounts claim that Rishen rides on a chariot of fire, though many claim that these accounts were greatly influenced by Christians quoting 2 Kings 2:11 and 6:17 in the Bible.

From time to time, Rishen would shield herself from Esquarium, usually to demonstrate her power and prevent anyone else from even thinking about challenging her the same way Vanho did.

In some myths, the shield which Rishen uses to shield herself from the world is the Moon. Most nights, Rishen will illuminate the Moon to some extent to help guide travelers and sailors, with her best effort being done once a month when the Moon reflects her light, and her worst done once a month when the Moon could not be seen at all.

Weapon

Her main weapon associated with her is the hoju (Namorese: Xоджу, Minjianese: 火柱, huǒzhù, Katranjian: hozhu), literally meaning the pillar of fire. Described in both tales involving the defeat of Vanho's forces and the Rishen Zanyin, the hoju was unique since the flame produced by the hoju can burn on water, often incinerating entire towns, people, and boats into white ash.

The hoju is always fired via a guan (Namorese: Кан, Kan Minjianese: 管, guan, Katranjian: guan).

Worship of Rishen

A temple in Chucho, Riro

Compared to Songte or the Three Sister-Goddesses, Rishen is not often worshiped among Txoists. However, in times of severe storms, it is customary for offerings to be made to Rishen in order to hasten the passage of storms and allow her light to shine through.

Due to her association with Katranjiev and Riro, most temples dedicated to Rishen can be found within these two countries, although there are some in Minjian and in Namor itself. It is estimated that there are only around 500 temples dedicated to Rishen, with 60% of them located in Riro or Katranjiev. However, there are countless shrines dedicated to Rishen, usually in areas that experience great amounts of storms.

A significant holy site associated with her is Mount Nashtoinik, since it was the site of her former abode before her victory over Vanho's forces and her decision to depart the area to ensure that nobody would dare to attack her again. Many observant Txoists have thus refused to climb the summit to not incur the wrath of the gods, although some groups of Txoists claim that because she no longer resides on Mount Nashtoinik, the summit is no longer a sacred site.

(TBC)

National personification

A Katranjian interpretation of Rishen from 1867

In the 19th century, during the era of romantic nationalism, Rishen was appropriated by Katranjian nationalists as a folk hero, alongside Saint George (Katranjiev's patron saint), and Vaclav I (the first Katranjian monarch after the end of Namorese rule).

However, unlike the traditional Namorese tales about her and the Rishen Zanyin, her appearance in Katranjian depictions were often modified, usually by having the normal amount of limbs, and was often made to look more Slavic as opposed to Monic.

Due to her defeat of Vanho and her army in Baicheng, Katranjians view Rishen as a symbolic protector of Katranjiev from foreign incursions onto Katranjian soil. Apocrypha claim that Vaclav I received the blessing of both Saint George and Rishen herself to take Krasimir in AD 723 from the Namorese who were ruling over the area and make himself the King of Katranjiev.

As such, in the early 1860s, during Igor Sprskov's uprising against the Katranjian monarchy, and later during the newly-united Luziyca's attempt to invade Katranjiev, the imagery of Rishen was extensively used, with a common propaganda poster during this time depicted Rishen firing her hoju against a caricature of Huswa Varanken and his men at the gates of Krasimir.

She was also used in patriotic songs, such as Subudi se, Katranski, where she was seen as one of the ancestors of the Katranjian people (it was believed that Saint George was from Luziyca, and Vaclav I from Katranjiev).

Rishen's popularity ebbed and waned through the 20th century on, especially as some Katranjian nationalists sought to assimilate the Namorese into the Katranjian identity.

However, during the People's Republic of Katranjiev, opposition figures used Rishen so much that during the 26th of July Movement, while most Txoist temples remained open, temples dedicated to Rishen were secularized out of fear that counter-revolutionaries would use her as a symbol. As well, Rishen's imagery was forbidden to be displayed at all within Katranjiev. As a consequence of this, Rishen became extensively used in samizdat, with Rishen facing against Huankun Chen in the same way she had faced against Vanho.

Since the restoration of the Katranjian monarchy in 1976, Rishen's role in Katranjian nationalism has somewhat declined in popularity, although many nationalists still revere her for her defense of Katranjiev from Vanho's forces.