There’s something oddly familiar about the Hyalurites practices. Maybe it’s the blood, maybe it’s the water. Either way, it does feel like they took a few notes from the old book. But do they know that?

As the spiritual formation in River Redstone, the Hyalurites pray to the goddess, Yjoulai (the planet) and believe their form of sacrifice keeps the Mother happy enough to not kill them all. Of course, there is a spectrum of opinion within the faction, just like any other group of people. But really that notion comes down to a split: the priests in the city and the ones at the Opal Observatory.

The City Priests

This group is much more dogmatic in their approach to the religion, sometimes even cruel. Having raised Aurian from infancy, these priests believed him to be the prophetic son of the goddess. Well, some of them believed it at least. Their primary motivation is keeping the blood flowing, meaning filling the seats at mass so the underground caves are satiated. After all, those caves are what keep them special, above the rest.

The Observers

At the Opal Observatory, the priests are more dedicated to acquiring hidden knowledge in the pursuit of universal secrets. Be it in the stars, hidden history, or undiscovered places on the planet Yjoulai, this group yearns for something more. They are much more practical in their approaches to the religion, even allowing some priests avoid cave bathing - thus retaining hair and skin color. But most don’t choose that route, in fact, very few ever did.

The Gailei

This piercing at the nose bridge and forehead is received once a priest has achieved “High Priest” status or proven themselves worth to the Hyalurite cause (and that differs between the factions). At River Redstone, a priest receives a Gailei once full follicular and melanocyte suppression has taken place: meaning they lose all hair and color on their skin, rendering them much like alabaster stone. This is accomplished by bathing in the algae waters of the underground caves. If Yjoulai blesses a priest enough to “turn them into stone”, the piercing is received. At the Observatory, Gailei’s are received with impressive findings, studies, or experiments that alter the understanding of the universe or the world around them. This includes discovering medical flora, creating technologies that reveal something new, or advancements in physics, chemistry, mathematics, or other studies.

The Hyalurites are very inspired by the variety of ways religion expresses itself in the Deep South. Because just like everything, no group is ever truly monolithic.