Editing Religions

=Cults=

===Cult of the Opaque===

There is a new cult appearing in the hinterlands. Their creed says that both reflection and transparancy are abominations. They claim that only that which is hidden has power. They build temples of stone with no windows and their priests cover their faces with cloth when they go out in public. It is feared that some of the leaders of the petty kingdoms sympathize with this Cult of the Opaque.

-- by Glyptodont

Opaque magic may not, however, be dismissed as forever inelegant and second-rate. Legends say that an opera singer can use the power or her voice to shatter a wine glass. Now, rumors circulate that the Cult of the Opaque is exploring the use of sound as a magical weapon. Large pieces of glass come into resonance with low-frequency sounds, often below the range of human hearing. If the Cult of the Opaque masters the technique of shaping and directing low-frequency sound, they may be able to attack the glass cities at will, from a considerable distance, without being detected.

-- by RPG_Dad

A splinter faction of the cult has decided to create their own city. They already daydream of echoing valleys, canyons, and opera houses. They use the password "sonance".

-- by shanoxilt

The Cult of the Opaque is distrusted by the majority of citizens, but the cult has made public denouncements of their involvement with the Empty Masters.

"Opacity is a natural obfuscation of sight outside the observer; Blindness is the lack of [in]sight from the observer. The former is a phenomenon that inhibits perception, whereas the latter is a phenomena that deprives perception."

-- by shanoxilt

The Cult of the Opaque has constructed a series of monoliths and megaliths. These structures have several purposes: to mark astrological events, to allow entry to the spirit world, and to venerate the concept of opacity.

-- by shanoxilt

====Shadow Magic====

The magic of the Twin Cities would be ancient and nuanced with generations of tradition and refinement. The magic of the Cult of the Opaque is raw, illiterate and still in its infancy. 

The Cult of the Opaque use magic that is blunt and simple. Broken mirrors lose their powers of reflection and blackened glass is a fragile and visible target. Darkness, defacement and damage are the themes of Opaque magic. 

-- by Glyptodont

Shadow magic is the magic of opacity.  It hides things, protects them from being revealed, protects your soul from being reflected (and stolen), protects you from being seen, brings darkness where there is only light.  

-- by Kakita Kojiro

mantra: “perception stops”

spirit-world:  [[Spirit_world|the Shadow World]]

tools: (eclectic variety of tools used: things to smash with, things to make loud noises with, things to cast shadows with... whatever is at hand)

talent: Shadow Magic (10 pts/level)

spells:
- block perception (IQ/Average)
- cast shadow (IQ/Average)
- see in shadow and darkness (IQ/Hard, req. Shadow Magic 1+)
- block pellucid magic (IQ/Hard, req. Shadow Magic 2+)
- shatter reflective magic (IQ/Hard, req. Shadow Magic 2+)
- mute chromatic magic (IQ/Hard, req. Shadow Magic 2+)
- enter shadow world (IQ/Very Hard, req. Shadow Magic 3+, see in shadow and darkness) (note: penalties to enter shadow world, except at specific times and places)
- travel through shadow world (IQ/Very Hard, req. Shadow Magic 3+, enter shadow world) (note: penalties to enter shadow world, except at specific times and places)
- reveal invisible things (IQ/Hard, req. Shadow Magic 3+, block pellucid magic, at least two other shadow spells) (note: attack against spirits of pellucid magic)
- break mirrored things (IQ/Hard, req. Shadow Magic 3+, shatter reflective magic, at least two other shadow spells) (note: attack against spirits of mirror magic)
note: although possible, it is much more difficult to use shadow magic to enter the spirit-world, except at special locations and under special conditions. knowledge of these locations and conditions is difficult to discover.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

===Cult of the Sun===

But what of the sun? This is the one unifying priciple that all Three Cities revere. A mirror cannot reflect without light. A crystal's purpose is to transmit light. The spectrum is the separated elements of light. Even the Opaque acknowledge the primacy of the sun--shadows can only be created with light. If there is no light, then there are no shadows--only uniform darkness (an important distinction in Opaque theology). The Twin Cities, the Spectrum youth and the Opaque agree on the importance of the sun, but debate about its true spiritual purpose.

-- by Glyptodont

The Cult of the Sun worships the sun as their only god. To give credence to their beliefs, they have added the symbolism and dogma of the Immaculate Principle of The Sublime Joy. The Cult of the Sun is swiftly gaining followers and gaining power. Now, it is nearly a minor religion. 

-- by shanoxilt

===Cults of the Twin Moons===

The various factions look to the heavens for astronomical symbolism. The city of [[Narcissus]] takes the Inner Moon as its icon. As the largest mirror in the sky, it reflects the most light upon the world. The smaller Outer Moon is the totem of the city of [[Diaphane]]. It is a crystal sphere shimmering at night. (The Inner Moon couldn't be crystal or else we could see through it when it eclipsed the Outer Moon--or so say the astrologers.) [[Iridos]] chooses the multicolored stars as its totem, and the Cult of the Opaque claim they represent the inky darkness between the stars.

-- by Glyptodont

=Religions=

==Shamanism==

Many nomads, immigrants, and young Twin Citizens practice some form of traditional shamanism or some form of urban shamanism. Traditional shamanism is perceived as a necessary practice to the Wandering Peoples. It placates and rebukes the spirits and their ghostly ancestors. It is used to prevent and reverse misfortune. Every nomad of the Wandering Peoples knows a handful of minor chants to dissuade or distract malevolent spirits, but each tribe has a shaman. The shaman has many duties: perform funerary rites, perform marriages, heal the sick, ward the tribe against spiritual assaults, craft amulets for the tribespeople, craft the tribe totem, and others. Though the shamans are an integral part of their society, they are also outcasts. The tribespeople perceive them as mentally unbalanced, like the strange citizens of the Twin Cities. 

Despite their belief in spirits, very few nomads, including shamans, have actually seen a spirit. In the wilds, away from themed cities, spirits are felt as presences. The Wandering Peoples listen with shocked disbelief, when they hear tales of mirror-wights and doppelgangers. Ghosts, however, have been seen by the Wandering Peoples. As former humans, ghosts do not have the strange habits of spirits. Some shamans suspect that ghosts can not choose their forms as spirits do.

Urban shamanism is practiced by immigrants and the jaded youth of the cities. It is a syncretist religion that acknowledges many minor chants, oblations, and philosophies. Followers of this faith keep a shrine in some section of their home.

-- by shanoxilt

tools: fetishes (varies by tribe)

talent: Shamanic Magic (10 pts/level) (choose six spells for this talent to apply to. this talent does not fulfill prerequisites for spells that require a specific magic talent.)
spells: as per tribe, or any others that may be learned.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

==Religious Orders==

Three large religious orders dominate the trade routes, tributary and client states of the Three Cities, and are pushing further afield. The Three orders are outside the concepts that define the Cities, and rather embrace the religious nature of all people. 
-- by stephen_dean

===The Seven Sisters===

Formed after the first shattering, this female only religious order, named after the seven aspects of the Moon, serve as oracles, healers and mystics, and worship the natural cycles of the tide, the reflective qualities of the night sky, and the wanderings of the Heavens. They oppose the forces of the void as a corruption of the shadow, and help usher the sick into the afterlife if they so choose. They also care for the disfigured and maimed, claiming that just as the Moon is eaten and born anew, so does each person go through 7 lifetimes, until being reborn to start the cycle anew. They were founded in The city of Mirrors, and spread outward into areas plagued by various evils. Their highest Oracles can weave fate itself to there will.

-- by stephen_dean

===The Silent Brotherhood===

A religious order formed in the aftermath of the first Shattering devoted to hunting down mirror-wraiths, Hollow Men, and other horrors, and which accepts only Men. The members take a vow of silence to never utter of the horrors they see, and have an elaborate sign-language and codex for communicating among one another. They also experience limited precognition, and sensitivity to false images or other mirror magic. The Order embraces poverty and service, and those who have commited a grave betrayal, or shown cowardice or committed sins can put on the grey robes of the Brothers and rid the world of that which should not be. They have chapters in most cities or a few brothers, and a large compound in a Valley deep in the Mountains. This Citadel holds the worst secrets and forbidden objects deep in its bowels, perpetually guarded, and the brothers never lack for recruits among the brave and forsaken peoples. The Brothers are respected and given lodging and resources for the valuable service they render.

-- by stephen_dean

===Wanderers of the Waste===

The Wanderers of the Waste are the Traders, Merchants and Explorers of the wider world, and travel far and wide to understand the mysteries of the past, the possibilities of the future, and the pleasures and profits of the present. These men and woman are unified by a common vision of a better, brighter and happier world and they aim to produce it. The merchants bring wonders and toys to as many villages, hovels and grand cities alike, and congregate in splendid festivals that feature illusions to awe the common people, forbidden delights for the more carnal minded, and spices and drugs from the world over. They descend upon small towns and other places in broad processions and are said to have an almost hypnotic effect when they arrive. The debaucheries and freedom experienced are soon forgotten, and all that is left is a bright memory of a glaring night of excess in a life of toil, making them, much beloved by the common folk. A typical member may be a bard, juggler or prostitute, or even a jolly baker or toy maker. The deeper one enters into the order however, more truths are revealed. The Order covers its more exotic activities with this public mask, which include delving deep into forbidden places for esoteric knowledge, and the higher members of the order are advanced adepts at Opaque magic. They rarely appear in the Twin Cities, rather wandering the vast world, spreading light and glamor.

-- by stephen_dean

=Other Groups=

==The Clear Prophet==

A powerful political figure has suggested that [[Diaphane]], [[Narcissus]], [[Iridos]], and the Cult of the Opaque should cease all their conflicts to create a Nation of Light. This idea has been met with mixed opinions.

This political figure is one of the few people who acknowledge the Empty Masters as a threat. He, or she, urges the citizens to purge their respective cities of this antithetical cult.

-- by shanoxilt

This is the Clear Prophet, political leader and unwilling religious figure. He is said to be a half-albino (actually a severe case of vitiligo that has progressed to over half his body) born in Narcissus, who suffered something of an epiphany as a child while apprenticed to a mirror-fisher, when he fell into a reflection and was lost for several months.

Most outsiders believe his is called the "Clear Prophet" because of his growing transparency. In fact, that is a misunderstanding -- he is called that because of his clear explanations of the interconnectedness of all magic. He speaks of translucent colors, of reflections of darkness, and other esoterica of the persistence of light. And people actually understand him. It is remarkable.

After being exiled from Narcissus for rabble-rousing, he traveled to Diaphane where he gained a following among the Spectrum youth and the Cult of Opacity. He had to flee once more, and is rumored to be in the City of Rainbows now. Others say he hides in the wastelands, hunting vampires or fleeing from mirror-wights sent to hunt him down.

Although he claims not to be a religious figure, to his followers he is a prophet, and to his enemies he is a heretic. The political movement he has left behind in the cities has become an odd alliance of many factions, united by a common philosophy, but divided by many differing goals. They cannot even agree on common symbols to recognize each other by -- although the most prevalent is an iridescent butterfly. Some of those squabblers choose an iridescent bubble as their symbol.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

Historians, antique dealers, and concerned citizens have gradually become aware of the Clear Prophet. Some citizens believe he will ruin both Diaphane and Narcissus. Other citizens believe he is their only hope.

Though the Clear Prophet is not a religious figure, he does support religions and groups that wish to unify the cities and the Cult of the Opaque. Despite his protests, the newest cults claim him as their messiah. 

-- by shanoxilt

====Rhetoric of the Clear Prophet====

"Narcissus, what do your mirrors reflect? Diaphane, what do your prisms refract? Iridos, what do your pigments reveal?

Light in its manifold manifestations! 

From the smallest flame to the mid-day sun, light warms us; light guides us. See the light of Truth. Allow its radiance to illuminate your cities and enlighten your minds. Your similarities are more potent than your differences. As the crafters of optic marvels have demonstrated, cooperation enhances the qualities of each luminous property.

Join together, so that we may form a unified Nation of Light. Like a sunbeam, our glory will brighten the world!"

-- by shanoxilt

==The Carricade, wandering cult==

The Carricade is a wandering tribe or cult that claims to be a remnant of the ancient culture of the Twin Sisters. They travel the lands in large caravans of huge wagons pulled by a variety of megafauna. Although they travel for cultural or religious reasons, they also transport goods as they do so, and so are the best means of trade outside the caravans organized by the hegemonies of the three cities. In addition to transporting goods for hire or speculation, travelers often join caravans of the Carricade on their journey – and it is not uncommon for those with wanderlust to join permanently.

Carricadists claim to have been a religious sect who lost their god – they do not now know which it was that they followed, although they still preserve many of the rites. So now they wander, searching for clues to their god in the religions and customs of others. Children especially anticipate the arrival of caravans of the Carricade, for their entertaining displays of religious showmanship are as good as circuses. These performances of ritual spectacles are not only the last remaining part of their religion, but are also required by their magic, as is their constant journeying.

The wagons of the Carricade are large and varied – some large enough to be multistoried, but all enough to house an entire family within, plus cargo. Each clan within the Carricade has its own distinctive wagon design, just as each specializes in the megafauna which they tame. Within any caravan, there are typically only a few families of each clan, so the caravan’s livestock can be astonishingly diverse. The spells that Carricadists use to tame these megafauna also require their periodic religious exhibitions – on the unfortunate occasions that their megafauna have been taken from them, they reverted to being wild and went on a rampage in short order.

Occupations: Driver, Performer, Teamster, Trader
Suggested Skills: Animal Handling, Driving (wagon), Navigation (land), Teamster, Theology
Social Background: Phersic (native language), Glossa (fluent language), Literacy
Suggested Quirks: Broad-Minded, Congenial, Nosy
Sample Contact Groups: Caravan, Clan
Suggested Spells: Tame [Megafauna] (IQ/Hard)
Rumor: “The Cult of the Sun believes that the mystery god of the Carricade is actually their sun god in his aspect as god of the horizon. They are eager to expound upon the similarities between the Carricade’s religious spectacles and their own Immaculate Principle of the Sublime Joy.” 

-- by Kakita Kojiro

==The Vandals, Gods of Thunder==

This group of dissidents hate all those mirrors, and especially those trees. They are a group made up of people from the outer tribes or poor citizens who could never seem to make it up in the world, and are led by an leader called Shatter. Shatter is a musician who likes to play music loud, and really likes to break glass, mirrors and just about anything else. He is the also the leader of a cult called the "Gods of Thunder" and all the members where elaborate white and black facepaint, big leather boots and lots of spikes. They are currently inside of a series of caverns, plotting a series of musical strikes to wake the population to the power and possibility of loud crude angry music. Teenagers of the cities secretly listen to the music, but most grow out of it. those that do not end up becoming the traveling underground bards called Roadies, telling tales to the poor villages and smaller cities outside of the central cities. There is an open bounty from the cities on there heads, but the call of Thunder is hard to silence.

-- by stephen_dean

Shatter and The Gods of Thunder sometimes travel with the Wanderers of the Waste. Their revelry could collapse entire buildings, if not properly monitored.

-- by shanoxilt

=Empty Masters, Hollow Men, undead=

Empty Mastery is a disreputable mystic philosophy that has slowly spread through both cities, despite being repressed in both as well. It is fashionable -- and scandalous -- for the rich to hold blindfold parties. They invite the Empty Masters as guests to these affairs; these are half-mad mystics who it is said plucked out their own eyes "to see better" in blindness.

The Empty Masters display uncanny powers -- though blind, they know colors by touch, hear the vibrational pitch of glass well enough to shatter by voice, and can cast a thousand reflections and as many shadows, or none at all, on their whims. Some students seek to learn from them, but only achieve the most petty of enlightenments because of their unwillingness to accept true sightlessness. Only when the blindfolded student is willing to seek the quiet tombs where the true Empty Masters wait blind and undead, will they give up their eyes for the empty powers of sightlessness.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

In trading away their eyes and eyesight, they gain another sense -- an alien sense, maybe one shared only by the undead. In groping around with this new, unsense, they find... things. Weird powers, essences that infect them. One might find his senses scrambled, another might find she casts thousands of reflections (after someone tells her, of course). All of these abilities have in common their ability to foil one of the other four types of magic.

Maybe after they've accidentally or unfortunately acquired enough of these weird abilities, the blind mystics become the blind and undead liches, lurking in abandoned mausoleums, peering beyond light and darkness with their alien sense, waiting for the next unwitting pupil to come along.

Almost all of these blind madmen develop some sense that seems to compensate for sight -- one can feel objects at a distance, another can touch things and know their color, yet another simply knows where everything in the room is located. All these senses might be oddly hampered, but all confer immunity to magics of reflection, transparency, opacity, or color.

Eventually their other senses will be affected; synesthesia is only the beginning. Eventually they can endure almost any sensation -- by the time they're undead, chopping parts of them off doesn't feel like pain, it just smells like oregano or turpentine. (conversely, some very odd things feel like pain -- what smells like garlic to normal humans may feel like a migrane to a vampire)

Quite a few lose their reflections altogether (and shadow). It is said that all vampires suffer this; maybe that's even true.

Some might be able to step into mirrors as though into any other room or hallway. In fact, they might think they are rooms or hallways.

Some might walk through transparent objects as if they did not exist. Try to stab one of these blind madmen with your glass dagger? Nothing happens.

Some splinter off mirror wraiths with every strong emotion they feel -- but these things are trapped within them. They soon cast thousands of reflections: all are emotions vying for expression.

Some can touch the reflection or shadow of another. Perhaps they can injure it. Perhaps they can take it. Eventually (when they are undead), they'll eat them, and maybe your soul along with them.

Some can exorcise colors from objects and creatures, as though they were casting out possessing spirits. Often they will do this to enlighten someone -- they will cast out the color of that person's eyes, leaving them oddly hued, but blind. (the faithful of Diaphane once sought this out, seeking transparency, but found themselves blind, and soon dead as sunlight cooked them from whithin while passing through their transparent innards)

Some just know when someone is looking at them. Eventually, they'll also know who is looking at them. And from where. And maybe, why.

Some of them are not where you see them -- their image seems to wander around on its own (although it stays within voiceshot, most of the time). If they've still got a reflection (or shadow), that goes walkabout, too (and sometimes goes really far afield). Even the blind mystic isn't really sure how much he controls his image, or reflection, although he can usually "sense" where they are and can sense from the place where they are, too.

Some can do things to the sight of those who can see them -- make them see auras, halos, shimmering lights or reflections or absences of perception. They can make it so that you cannot see them at all (not invisibility, which is only perfect transparency; you cannot see them). They can make it so that you cannot see anything but them -- they capture your gaze and hold it, until something blocks your sight.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

==The Hollow Men==

The Hollow Men were a cult of blind mystics in the era of the First Shattering. They learned from the ur-vampires lairing in the ancient ruins of the Thousand Flowing Waters, and developed their nihilistic teachings of willful blindness. The original cult was destroyed in the First Great Crusade, and when its surviving remnants flourished again, they were destroyed by the Second Great Crusade. Their benighted teachings continue to resurface under many guises – its current incarnation is the Empty Masters, who are popular gurus among the young and jaded of the cities.

Hollow Men willfully tear out their eyes, losing their visual perception in return for being able to devour perceptions. Each one develops unique and idiosyncratic powers of his or her own. However this is a path that leads only toward union with the consuming void. The more powerful they become, the less human they are, and as they become one with the hungry void they leave life behind for unlife.

Once cut off from sight and the basis of the other four magics, Hollow Men begin to discover strange powers. Each is idiosyncratic and unique to the individual, although there are some commonalities.

All of them develop some unnatural sense that seems to compensate for sight (Dark Vision), each unique: one might feel things at a distance (Colorblindness), another might be extremely aware of every person nearby (Supersensitive), another might simply know where everything that they are facing is positioned (Restricted Vision).

All of them eventually find their other senses affected. Their senses become scrambled, like synesthesia (Protected Senses), so that what others experience as one sense they might perceive using another. Their sense of pain and pleasure are also scrambled, so that they seem unaffected by injuries (High Pain Threshold), or cannot endure specific substances (Weakness).

Skills (for Hollow Men): Meditation, Occultism, Philosophy

Advantages: Dark Vision (25 pts), High Pain Threshold (10 pts), Injury Tolerance - no eyes (5 pts)

Disadvantages: Enemies (Silent Brotherhood, -20 pts), Nightmares (-5 pts), Weakness (1d per minute, rare, -10 pts)

Suggested: Colorblindness (-10 pts), Restricted Vision (-15 pts), Supersensitive (-15 pts), Uncontrollable Appetite (shadows or reflections, -15 pts), Social Stigma (-5 pts)

Example Powers: 
- ''Eat Reflection'': Affliction (No Reflection disadvantage, permanent, melee attack, 23 pts)
- ''Eat Shadow'': Affliction (No Shadow disadvantage, permanent, melee attack, 23 pts)
- ''Eat Color'': Affliction (Pallor disadvantage, permanent, melee attack, 23 pts)
- ''Black Aura'': Distinctive Features (black aura, -1 pt)
- ''No Reflection'': Supernatural Feature (also unaffected by some reflective spells, -5 pts)
- ''No Shadow'': Supernatural Feature (also unaffected by some shadow spells, -5 pts)
- ''Sense the Sighted'': Detect Sense of Sight (30 pts)

-- by Kakita Kojiro

==Vampires ==

Vampires are created from unfortunate victims who have lost their sight unnaturally. It is not known why some people are susceptible to vampirism from unnatural blindness, while others are unaffected after being blinded. They do not develop as many odd powers as the Hollow Men, and their unnatural hungers are not as controlled. Children born blind never succumb to vampirism.

Vampires develop in the same manner as the Hollow Men, albeit unwittingly and unwillingly.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

==Ur-vampire==

If a vampire or Hollow Man survives long enough, they eventually become undead. Their deadened sense to pain becomes so extreme that they are almost impossible to harm. Their unnatural vitality develops until they are almost impossible to slay. By this point they are usually so twisted by their unnatural existence that they flee from human society. Many of the existent undead lair in the ruins of the Thousand Flowing Waters. The oldest of the undead – the ur-vampires – are the only known survivors of the time before the Great Darkness, and have all long since succumbed to madness.

Undead may be permanently slain by driving silver spikes through their eyesockets. Even if the silver spikes are later removed, they will never return to unlife.

Advantages: Dark Vision (25 pts), Supernatural Durability (150 pts), Injury Tolerance - no eyes (5 pts), Injury Tolerance - unliving (20 pts), Unkillable (rare achilles’ heel, 40 pts)

Disadvantages: Callous (-5 pts), Enemies (Silent Brotherhood, -30 pts), Hidebound (-5 pts), Supersensitive (-15 pts)

Example Powers: 
- ''Walk Through Transparent Things'': Permeation (vs. transparent, can carry objects unencumbered, 11 pts)
- ''Walk Into Mirrors'': Jumper (limited jump only into spirit-world, accessibility only through reflections, 50 pts)
- ''Don’t Look At Me'': Invisibility (can carry objects unencumbered, extended vs. See Invisible, usually on, 50 pts)
- ''Look At Only Me'': Mind Control (sense based vision, accessibility only “look at me”, 35 pts)
- ''Distort Sight'': Affliction (Bad Sight disadvantage, area effect 8 yd, emanation, persistent, permanent, 45 pts)

-- by Kakita Kojiro

==Bite-Me-Not, Antidakoma==

Antidakoma – also known as Bite-Me-Not – is a small, red flower that grows in the marshes of the Thousand Flowing Waters. It has the unique property of being utterly offensive to any vampire – including other undead and Empty Masters or Hollow Men. If fresh, it affects their Weakness (at 1d per minute). Its effects are lessened if withered (1d per 5 minutes) or dried and preserved (1d per 30 minutes). The Silent Brotherhood has attempted to cultivate Bite-Me-Not for generations, but the flowers will only grow in the unique environment of the Thousand Flowing Waters, and sparsely even then, and always and only around certain ruins of the ancients.

-- by Kakita Kojiro
@@ Line 153: / Line 153: @@
 Join together, so that we may form a unified Nation of Light. Like a sunbeam, our glory will brighten the world!"
--- by shanoxilt
-==The Cenoby==
-There is a place place dedicated to solving riddles and puzzles, a society or like minded individuals.  This is the Cenoby.
--- by stphen_dean
-The mysterious and hidden Cenoby, which is areligious, is dedicated to piecing together scraps of knowledge of the pre-cataclysm ancients.
-No one knows where the Cenoby is located, because it is only found by accident or fate -- it is reached by an endless number of doors that open up from many cities and places, but which are not always there. Walking through one of these doors is like entering the spirit-world, but it leads to the Cenoby, which itself is in the physical world.
-Though even the inhabitants of the Cenoby -- known as "oblates" -- do not know where it is located. It is a confusing succession of rooms and doorways, and sometimes not all the rooms are there. The oblates do not control the doors, but can predict the opening of some of them. They do so to bring in food and to recruit new members, and to go forth seeking their clues.
--- by Kakita Kojiro
-The inhabitants of Cenoby travel to dangerous and exotic locales. They discover the lore and artifacts of the [[Other_kingdoms|Thousand Flowing Waters]]. Sometimes, their adventures force them to negotiate with the vampires and Blind Masters that haunt the ruins. They hide their treasures in bizarre labyrinths, so only the worthy will find them.
-Perhaps, the mirrored maze beneath [[Narcissus]] is just one section of a greater, underground complex. While Cenoby is not a part of the spirit world, their study of the spirit world and knowledge of foreign magics inspired the oblates.
-They must predict the doorways because the doors appear according to a mathematical pattern. Unfortunately, those who knew the pattern have either died or forgotten it. Some mathematicians suggest that they may use the Mandelbrot set.
 -- by shanoxilt
@@ Line 180: / Line 158: @@
 ==The Carricade, wandering cult==
-The Carricade is a wandering tribe or cult that claims to be a remnant of the ancient culture of the Twin Sisters. They travel the lands in large caravans of huge wagons pulled by a variety of [[megafauna]]. Although they travel for cultural or religious reasons, they also transport goods as they do so, and so are the best means of trade outside the caravans organized by the hegemonies of the three cities. In addition to transporting goods for hire or speculation, travelers often join caravans of the Carricade on their journey – and it is not uncommon for those with wanderlust to join permanently.
+The Carricade is a wandering tribe or cult that claims to be a remnant of the ancient culture of the Twin Sisters. They travel the lands in large caravans of huge wagons pulled by a variety of megafauna. Although they travel for cultural or religious reasons, they also transport goods as they do so, and so are the best means of trade outside the caravans organized by the hegemonies of the three cities. In addition to transporting goods for hire or speculation, travelers often join caravans of the Carricade on their journey – and it is not uncommon for those with wanderlust to join permanently.
 Carricadists claim to have been a religious sect who lost their god – they do not now know which it was that they followed, although they still preserve many of the rites. So now they wander, searching for clues to their god in the religions and customs of others. Children especially anticipate the arrival of caravans of the Carricade, for their entertaining displays of religious showmanship are as good as circuses. These performances of ritual spectacles are not only the last remaining part of their religion, but are also required by their magic, as is their constant journeying.
-The wagons of the Carricade are large and varied – some large enough to be multistoried, but all enough to house an entire family within, plus cargo. Each clan within the Carricade has its own distinctive wagon design, just as each specializes in the [[megafauna]] which they tame. Within any caravan, there are typically only a few families of each clan, so the caravan’s livestock can be astonishingly diverse. The spells that Carricadists use to tame these megafauna also require their periodic religious exhibitions – on the unfortunate occasions that their [[megafauna]] have been taken from them, they reverted to being wild and went on a rampage in short order.
+The wagons of the Carricade are large and varied – some large enough to be multistoried, but all enough to house an entire family within, plus cargo. Each clan within the Carricade has its own distinctive wagon design, just as each specializes in the megafauna which they tame. Within any caravan, there are typically only a few families of each clan, so the caravan’s livestock can be astonishingly diverse. The spells that Carricadists use to tame these megafauna also require their periodic religious exhibitions – on the unfortunate occasions that their megafauna have been taken from them, they reverted to being wild and went on a rampage in short order.
 Occupations: Driver, Performer, Teamster, Trader
@@ Line 195: / Line 173: @@
 -- by Kakita Kojiro
-==Flesh Men==
-There is a small, charismatic cult that wanders aimlessly through the world. They quake and have bouts of glossolalia. Nobody knows what causes these "fits". Some claim that it is the work of a god or spirit, that the cultists are madmen, that they have discovered a new, ecstatic practice, or they are simply fools.  Even the cultists disagree on the origin of their fits.
-Opponents of the cult spread rumors that they worship Ewenoctugal, the Madness of the Flesh.
--- by shanoxilt
 ==The Vandals, Gods of Thunder==