Lostekedes
The Lostekedes are the oldest and most powerful of the Aparnovosi Monastic Orders, and were among the first seafarers to venture far from the shores of Southwythe millennia ago. The rules of the order mandate a cloistered lifestyle, and monks are vigourously trained in sciences such as astronomy, natural philosophy, medicine, and artifice, plus magical techniques to further these studies. Magic is in some cases closely tied to oratory, and prolonged rituals are performed through chants, the sounds of which the architecture of the monasteries has been known to project throughout the countryside and amplify their effect. Lostekedes monks were able to leave their cloister when serving as magicians, mystics, and advisors to government officials, or serving with the military.
However, it is their search for magical artifacts across the world for which the Lostekedes are most famous. Maintaining numerous monasteries and observatories along the rocky coasts and mountains surrounding Aparnovos, they studied astronomical phenomena and ley-lines to both discern the teachings of the gods, and locate powerful magical artifacts from great distances. The Lostekedes would then organize great expeditions to discover, categorize, and if possible return them for study.
When combined with the city's commercial interests, these religious expeditions exercised great influence in developing the seafaring capability and navigational skills which would come to characterize Aparnovos. The oldest records describe small groups of monks setting out in skin-boats to neighbouring lands, while the most recent expeditions before the fall of the city were enormous undertakings, wherein fleets of the largest galleons sailed ever further into the great Southern Oceans. What they brought back has always been a jealously-guarded secret, although the Order had a long history of collaboration with Sevnónicha's Vyssíjórgen Academy, with whom they would often work when dealing with particularly powerful or important artifacts. This "artifact trade" paved the way for further commerce and cultural exchange, which may still be seen in some of Sevnónicha's monumental architecture, weapons, and armour.
Since the Fall of Aparnovos, the Lostekedes have lost many of their most important sites on the Southwythian peninsula. However, monasteries still persist in the rump states of Torelledir and Fosowbria, and on numerous small, isolated islands in the southern regions of Greater Wythe. Rumours also abound about hidden, closely-guarded observatories on islands beyond the violent storms of the Southern Oceans. A highly unusual occurrence during the city's final destruction was the abrupt and complete disappearance of the Order's tower from the Palace district, leaving the surfaces of the streets around it turned into glassy fulgurite, and a bizarre area of low air pressure where later visitors report their hair standing on end.
Surviving members of the Lostekedes have established monasteries in the rump states of Fosowbria and Torelledir, as well as in some of the larger dalghennas which remain abroad. In these far humbler cloisters, they still work diligently to preserve Aparnovosi history, sciences, and magic arts. As such, the rules by which they live have become even stricter to limit the risk of outside influences.
Equally as significant was the formation of a splinter group known as the Hoinaredes. These monks have rejected the cloister and set their sights back on Aparnovos and Southwythe as a whole. After the fall of the city, a myriad of interested parties descended into the area seeking to claim a share of the spoils. Seeking out magical artifacts, instruments, maps, and texts which had long been guarded in the libraries, workshops, and palaces of Aparnovos, their appetite was whetted by centuries-old tales of the prizes jealously guarded behind the city's walls. Bitterly resenting the pilfering of countless generation's work and knowledge, the Hoinaredes trained themselves in survival, combat, and espionage. Often in the guise of wandering friars and cloaked beggars, they now rove throughout Southwythe engaged in an ongoing game of cloak-and-dagger against the mages of the mountains, clandestine organizations like the Hand of the Labyrinth, and influential lords and merchants from near or abroad. Their outward appearance is often deceiving, as they are drawn from among the toughest, most determined, wily, and guileful of the Aparnovosi. Anything they are able to retrieve is promptly smuggled out of Southwythe, often using small boats launched from secluded, rocky coves along the coast.
Despite their common roots, there is great tension between the Lostekedes and the Hoinaredes. The former believe that their wandering counterparts have erred in forsaking the age-old, sacred rules of the order and are mocking the monastic ideals with their adventurism and waste of resources. The latter believe that the order ought to do more than remain sequestered in the monasteries, sitting on the scraps of their former glory while priceless pieces of Aparnovosi heritage and knowledge slip away. That being said, both are valuable assets to Aparnovosi rulership in exile and their surviving communities.
Type
Religious, Monastic Order
Parent Organization
Controlled Territories
Related Ethnicities
Comments