Fractal Order

"As we glimpsed into the end of all things we saw a light, a light held alive by the Infinite Wisdoms known to be true by all of the Divine. Our fate, however, was set, but yours is not. So go now, Prophet of the Divine, and spread our word and share the wisdom of the Fractal Unity with your kin. For it will be the one who is the first to experience this moment of truth that will guide the rest of humanity back to it's Kingdom and place among the Divine. Just as I did so very long long ago."

Akrydos to the First Prophet, 745 AR

The Fractal Order is the official state religion of both New Arcadia and Myteiros. It is widely practiced across the Republic of New Elysium, with over two-thirds of it's citizens being practicing members. This widespread following has allowed the Order to gain and hold a strong position of power within the Republic's political processes, even going so far as to be the body that officially consecrates the naming of each Arch Mage of the Republic into the Legacy itself.
The Order follows the teachings of the Old Ways, practices that are said to have originated during the Age of Legends. Those who properly follow these practices are believed to have the potential to experience what is called Dissonant Harmonization, a process by which one is able to escape the cycle of life and death, and ascend to the heavens much like their ancestors did long ago. To experience Dissonant Harmonization is to understand the Infinite Wisdoms of the Divine, the collective knowledge and wisdom of the Divine Imperators as well as the Lesser Divinity. It is believed that the first who achieves such a feat will lead the rest of humanity to their place in the heavens and restore things to how they were in the Age of Legends.
As the head of the Order, the Prophet of the Divine is in charge with setting the direction that the Order will take during their lifetime appointment. They lead the Council of Omiros whose members each represent and lead teachings for each six Divine Imperators not including Akrydos who the Prophet represents. While serving as the predominant religious organization within New Elysium, it is also the primary educator for those who wish to understand the ways of the Legacy. Some of the Legacy's most guarded secrets are only available to high ranking members of the Order, a membership which typically requires its practitioners to follow the direction of the Prophet, no matter the external status of the member. This has caused tension in recent years as the Prophet has exerted more pressure on who are supposed to be independent representatives of the many states that makeup the Republic.

History

The Fractal Order was first born in 745 AR in the Spires of Ilrio when the First Prophet was shared a vision by the God-King Akrydos, Divine Imperator of Creation. Akrydos taught the Prophet the means by which humanity could return to its place as divine beings of immeasurable power. He taught the Prophet that long ago during the Age of Legends, Morgana, Divine Imperator of Time and Prophecy, saw the end of all things brought on by a Betrayer. Try as she might, even the Divine Imperator couldn't see a reality where the Divine might avoid their fate. However what she did see was a reality where the Divine Imperators and the Lesser Divinity worked in unison to create the Fractal Order. A way so that humanity, when all hope seemed lost, could save itself and return back to their rightful status of divinity.
The First Prophet would go on to spread these teachings all across New Arcadia, and even raised a church where he first experienced this vision. However, despite his attempts the Order drew a small following. Many inhabitants had formed their own sects around the worship of single Divine Imperators or even some Lesser Divinity. The First Prophet was often violently chased out of many places where he would attempt to proselytize. Following the First Prophet's death, the Fractal Order experienced a very middling level of acceptance among non-believers and failed to draw much converts.
It wasn't until until centuries after his death, during the reign of the New Arcadian King Moros that the Fractal Order experienced a significant increase in followers. The Prophet at the time was very skilled in the Legacy and managed to attract a large group of followers who wished to understand its secrets. As he trained these followers, he selected a council of six to help lead what was to come. This attracted the attention of King Moros who grew paranoid, and rightly so, that the Prophet and his followers were plotting his death. This led to King Moros outright banning the worship of any Imperator and violently persecuted those who tried to disobey.
The Prophet and his followers managed evade capture for a number of years as they worked to disrupt the authority of the King. They often times engaged in dangerous rescue of imprisoned religious practitioners and political prisoners, gaining them many allies and even more followers. As they continued to build their base of support, they would go on to lead revolts against the King, capturing cities and strategic locations. After several years of violent struggle, the Prophet and his followers managed to finally capture the King in 878 AR and swiftly exiled him into what is now known as the Woods of Moros. Following the former King's removal, the people of New Arcadia voted to turn the state into a democracy and elected the Prophet as its first elected leader.
Following the Prophet's election, New Arcadia experienced a golden age that would go on to last for many decades. Many reforms were enacted by the Prophet that are still in place today. Following his term, the Prophet would go on to reform the Fractal Order into how we know it today and quickly gained followers all across New Arcadia. He would spend the rest of his days bringing the word of Akrydos all across the lands of New Elysium.
As the Fractal Order swept the island and the nearby city-states, so to did their understanding of the Legacy expand. As the Order rapidly gained power, they would go on to use this to place itself at the forefront state politics. It was the Fractal Order who pushed for the people of New Arcadia to elect Voula Arvanitoti as the leader who would go on to unite New Elysium and its city-states as one single Republic. And it was the Fractal Order who pushed for the Court to elect Cronus Kollias as the current Arch Mage of the Republic.

Organization

The Prophet of the Divine

• Leader of the church
• Upon the death of a Prophet, a new one is elected by the Council of Omiros for a lifetime appointment.
• Has ultimate authority over church affairs. Can appoint/banish/strip members of status
• Leads the study of the God-King Akrydos, Divine Imperator of Creation

Council of Omiros

• Chosen by the Prophet every so often, usually on their death
• Six members, each member leads the study of a specific Divine Imperator
• Collectively they decide how the teachings of lesser divinity get into the greater overall belief structure.

Clergy

• Below Council are the various Clergy members
• Typically lead by the most powerful sorcerer in a specific region. Usually they are a part of the local kingdom's court. They handle magical education in their overall region/state/kingdom
• Below them are the various church leaders. Many times these local leaders are non-magical. Those magically inclined tend to spend their time either studying at the Spires of Ilrio or are trying to move their way up the Order's ranks

Doctrine

The Fractal Order's doctrine has not changed greatly since its last reformation in 694 AR. Contrary to many major religious movements that favored one specific Imperator or even one of their followers, the Fractal Order holds all of the Divine and their teachings to the same standard. They believe that to achieve enlightenment, one must truly understand the teachings of each of the Divine Imperators and those who make up the near infinite ranks of the Lesser Divinity. This enlightenment is the understanding of the Fractal Unity and then to experience the Dissonant Harmonization that follows, or the innate understanding of the teachings of the Divine Imperators and the near infinite amount of subsects that followed them allowing an individual to transcend. Those who achieve this state of being are said to be able to remove themselves from the cycle of life and death, and exist outside of the current understanding of reality.

Nature of the Divine

Were once human, but through mastery of the Legacy managed to become so powerful that they were essentially gods. They constructed a personal world where humanity could exist without the Outsiders. Following the Infernal Betrayal, the Divine would band together to combat the overwhelming force of the Outsiders. It was also the divine who choose to sacrifice their own divinity to ensure the destruction of the Outsiders, so that humanity might still have a chance,

Nature of the Order

Ensues magic education is protected, spreads teachings of Akrydos passed on by the First Prophet, ensure the faith is protected, binds the person elected Arch Mage to a set of codified laws written in the Legacy

Dissonant Harmonization

The sudden understanding of the Infinite Wisdoms of the Divine. A process by which one transcends their own existence, the first of which will usher in an a ge in which humanity will return to its Kingdom.

Divine Imperators

The original seven who formed the first Praetorian Order that would go about releasing humanity from the shackles placed upon them by the Outsides.

• Akrydos of Arcadium, the Creator and King of Gods
• Xenia of Ōmāraroa, the Protector of Knowledge and Hope
• Kausu of Kendu, the Tender Life and Death
• Morgana of Ardarvan, the Keeper of Time and Prophecy
• Davon of Rimecrest, the Balancer of Order and Chaos
• Svanhild of Góðvilisted, the Master of Elements and the Seas
• Santo of Eredità, the Decider of Fate and Fortune

Lesser Divinity

The followers of the Divine Imperators who managed to transcend.

Infernals

Consists of the Betrayer, the one who sought to trade the destruction of Elysium for power, as well as his followers, the Lesser Divinity who joined in this Betrayal.
========================================
= Outline work below =
-Senators who wish to become sufficiently powerful typically vote in ways that would be agreeable with the HEAD RANK -Control much of the flow of knowledge on the Legacy, can easily keep out less desirable individuals -Tightly wound in government, while it doesn't officially say anything, the majority of senators are high ranking members and vote in ways that align with the church's wants sometimes over that of their citizens who they represent
Basic Overview

• Strong political body in New Elysium and makes up the upper levels of the Republic
• A take on the 'old ways'
• Worships the Divine Imperators, Sorcerer-Kings of old, who during the Age of Legends achieved divinity, and freed the first realm of humanity from outsider control. They oppose the Infernals, Imperators who sided with the outsiders and betrayed all of humanity
• While each Divine Imperator that historically has had its own order or sect that focuses on that one god with many sects going against each other, the Fractal Order on the other hand believes in the worship of all Divine Imperators. For the only way true enlightenment and peace is to understand how they all join to achieve the Fractal Unity(????)
• There are an unknown number of sorcerer-kings who achieved divinity, however they worship 5? 7? main gods who were the god kings of their realms

Gods

• Akrydos of Arcadium, the Creator and Weaver of the Legacy (Life/Creation/magic)
• Xenia of Ōmāraroa, the Protector and Defender, she who saves us (Protection/Preservation/Beauty)
• Kausu of Kendu, the Reaper, he who ensures all souls flow through the Legacy to their point of eternal rest (Death/Renewal)
• Morgana of Eredità, the Diviner, something something (time/prophecy)
• Davon of Rimecrest, the Lightbringer, the one who saved the sun (Sun, moon, and stars, day/night)
• Svanhild of Góðvilisted, (God of sea)
• Samira of Ardarvan, savior of the Downtrodden, she who ensures all have a chance (luck)

• The Infernals are led by the Betrayer, he who brought humanity to the brink and led the outsiders to Elysium

=== Bullets

• Scope of the Faith: Practiced in most places throughout New Elysium and has begun spreading to a few other cities. The faith makes up the Sorcerer's Court who essentially serve as the senate in the Republic of New Elysium
• Who Leads the Faith: Led by the Arch Mage of the New Republic. However the church head is the Diviner, a powerful sorcerer skilled in understanding secrets hidden in the Legacy. It is thought of as the second highest position in the Republic. the Diviner is appointed by the clergy.
• What is the gods Origin: Sorcerer-Kings who achieved such mastery with the Legacy that they ascended into Divinity
• Why does this faith matter?: Strongest political body of the republic; large economic player in the area; handles most magical education
• What does this faith want: To guide humanity on the path to return to the divine
• What are the clergy like: Typically most skilled sorcerers in the region, serve as both educators and leaders for the local church. Those under the head sorcerer are typically very active in their local communities
• What do these gods do in society?: They protect against the outsiders who they trapped away while helping humanity return to its previous place through the Workings they weaved into the Legacy
• Particular religious requirements: The Fractal Order is not the most demanding, however it does take a certain amount of collected taxes as a tithe, this typically results in increased taxes on its citizens. People are also forbidden from participating in Infernal practices, punishment being death

Through unity we are granted the understanding needed to claim the power our freedom requires.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Permeated Organizations

• Republic of New Elysium

Divines

• Akrydos, Divine Imperator of Creation
• Davon, Divine Imperator of Order and Chaos
• Kausu, Divine Imperator of Life and Death
• Morgana, Divine Imperator of Time and Prophecy
• Santo, Divine Imperator of Fate and Fortune
• Svanhild, Divine Imperator of the Elements and the Seas
• Xenia, Divine Imperator of Knowledge and Hope

Related Myths

• Divine Imperators
• The First Vision