The Sacred Silence
Likely the least well known and understood religion in the Imperium is the Sacred Silence. Decedent from the followers of the Forsaken and their nephilim children, they are sometimes then called the Cult of the Nephilim, generally derogatorily. It is rumored that they call themselves "Sanctified," though their intended meaning in using this term is unclear other than its relation to the "Sacred" part of their name. Considering that the official status of the nephilim is extinct, and even mentioning the Forsaken can be considered heresy, it almost goes without saying that any discovered to be members of the Cult of the Nephilim will face sharp consequences and the religion is outright banned across the Imperium.
Structure
Due to the necessarily secretive nature of the cult, they seem to lack any formal structure or even clergy. Instead they meet in secret in small, local communities to practice their profane rites and share their apocryphal stories. It seems likely these individual communities have leaders within their ranks, but any sort of larger clerical organization is not known to outsiders, should it exist at all.
Divine Origins
They were originally formed from the remnants of the communities built by the Forsaken, their giant consorts, and their nephilim children. At the conclusion of the Giant War the few remaining members of these communities went into hiding, sharing their stories and teaching their ways only to a select few whom they trusted. These secret refuges have continued on over the generations and evolved into the Sacred Silence of today.
Tenets of Faith
The core tenets of the Sanctified are "Patience, Vigilance, Silence," or rather, this is assumed to be true given that it is often found written on the walls of raided gathering places and scribbled on the pages of captured messages between members. As the cult lacks any official holy scriptures, or at least any that are publicly available, it can be difficult to discern what the words mean within their circles. Patience likely refers to their continued existence for more than an age without making any major moves toward power or prominence. Silence is perhaps the most obvious, seeming to point toward the importance of keeping their membership and beliefs secret from the rest of the Imperium. But Vigilance can be quite puzzling. It implies that they are waiting for something, perhaps also supported by the emphasis on Patience, but more specifically that they should be prepared, vigilant, for when the specified time comes. What it is they could be waiting for is a matter for of pure speculation. A major issue in recording the doings of secret societies is their insistence on being secretive.
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