The Creed of Akhal-Teke
Terragar religious sect founded after the martyrdom of Akhal the Firewalker
They burned my lord, Akhal-Teke, whose great will refused to yield,
Whose divine mind could not be suppressed; they burned his body;
But his mindfire is ever burning and his soul carries the eternal spark of the firewalkers.
I say to you that my lord is burned but not dead, for his essence endures.
He awaits us where the sun sets in the east, where the sky lights dim,
Where dreams are born, and where the embers of the Phoenix burn forever.
Structure
The Creed of Akhal-Teke is governed by a presbyterian court of elders, including the descendants of Akhal-Teke's surviving companions, the ones who carried on after the martyrdom of their leader and founded the Akhalian religion. The current Akhalian presbyter court is composed of fifteen elders, known as Daikons. Daikon is a hereditary title held by the highest priests in the Akhalian Creed and only the Court of Daikons can confer this honour and initiate new Daikons to join their ranks.
The Daikons determine matters of theological dispute, dictate what scriptural sources are to be taught in the Akhalian priesthood, and define exactly how these texts are to be interpreted and presented to the church faithful. The Court of Daikons is led by an Arch Daikon who is chosen by the council and governs the council until it chooses a new leader to assume the position.
Public Agenda
The Cult of the Akhalian Creed use their power and influence to fulfill the worldly goals of Akhal-Teke. Primarily, they seek to establish a new human civilization based upon the full realization of human psychic potential. In pursuit of this the Akhalians practice asceticism and mental discipline in the hopes of awakening the latent psionic ability of their followers and teaching others to do the same.
History
The Akhalian religion was founded twenty years after the death of Akhal-Teke and the end of the Heretics' Revolt. Akhal of Terragar, a rogue firewalker, who refused to be exiled (as is custom) instead tried to gather a cadre of firewalkers to help found a new Zone haven for others like them. When their nascent community, called Zinon, was crushed by the religious zealots of Pachuco and Pimaca, many believed the movement would die with Akhal.
But his dream of a new world order founded upon the mental and spiritual growth of the human race lived on in the emergent Terragar cult of the Akhalian Creed. The followers of Akhal began their work in secret and they toiled in this manner for years before daring to raise a shrine complex at the site of Akhal-Teke's mausoleum. Once their new religion had gained significant following in Terragar, the isolationist nature of the Terragnian state made it safe for the Akhalian cult to become a public entity.
Mythology & Lore
In their mythology, the Akhalians affirm that Akhal-Teke was not killed when the Pimaca inquisitors put him on the burning pyre. They claim instead that while Akhal's physical form was consumed in the flames his spirit-self (yamma) firewalked to the spirit realm of the Great Phoenix.
According to the teachings of the Daikon, the Phoenix-spirit is the source of true light and life in the universe. The Phoenix was banished by the false gods of sun and moon when a terrible Cataclysm broke the spiritual link between the Phoenix and humanity. This Cataclysm gave rise to the illusion of the fallen world and the temporary triumph of the sun gods and their false, mundane light.
Divine Origins
The Creed of Akhal-Teke was founded by Sangar the Disciple after the execution of Akhal in 917 PCE. Rightly fearing persecution, Sangar fled to Terragar with the other surviving members of Akhal's inner circle. At the beginning of this period of exile, Sangar began to write a codex compilation of Akhal's psychic teachings known as the Testament of the Firewalker. The Testament, completed in 924 PCE, contains Sangar's own eyewitness account of Akhal's life and teachings and forms the scriptural basis of what would come to be known as the Akhalian faith.
In time, the devotion of Akhal's surviving disciples gradually shifted to veneration and worship. They came to be convinced of Akhal's divinity and perceived psionic awareness as a means to participate in the godhead of Akhal-Teke, whom they now regarded as a messianic hero-prophet. Sangar was the first to declare Akhal's godhood and his followers spread their creed in secret until 949 PCE when they completed construction of the original Akhalian monastery in the hills of Terragar.
Tenets of Faith
I believe in the perfection of the human mind and the divinity of enlightened consciousness.
I believe in the revelation of the true prophet, Akhal-Teke.
I believe in the power of the holy Phoenix and that I will be transformed by its sacred flames...
All who profess the Creed of Akhal-Teke must affirm belief in the core credal tenets of faith. These include belief in a higher, super-mundane reality, belief in the Phoenix godhead, belief in divine transformation through Akhalian faith, and belief in the teachings of the prophet Akhal-Teke.
The central truth of the Akhalian cult is that the physical world of matter and sensation is a deception. Akhalians believe a neoplatonist philosophy affirming that the true objective reality lies beyond material existence. Therefore everything in the material world is either an illusion to be rejected or a sign to be interpreted. Through mental training and psionic attunement of mind and body, an initiate of the Akhalian faith learns to reject the falsehoods of the material world and embrace the truth hidden in dreams and symbolic portents. Once these hidden realities have been revealed the initiate gains access to supernatural powers that grant control over the false physical world.
Ethics
The Akhalians' believe in an inevitable universal brotherhood of humanity united by mindfire enlightenment and therefore eschew all worldly conflict. Because adherents of the Creed are trained not to covet material things they avoid the typical conflicts that entangle human relationships. On the other hand, because Akhalians reject the physical world they tend to disregard the interests and sufferings of others and thus lack a motivation to perform acts charity.
Priesthood
The priests of the Akhalian Creed are known as Kaivan and perform clerical functions such as preaching sermons, performing sacraments, and providing spiritual instruction. This last function includes the teaching of meditative spiritual techniques intended to awaken latent psionic abilities. Some clergy are known to demonstrate such abilities and these priests are known as Kaivan-Teke. In time, veteran Kaivan may eventually be selected by the Daikon Court to join the governing presbytery council.
Aside from the community clergy the Creed also includes cloistered monks that live ascetic lives of psionic study and intense exploratory meditation. It is said that the Akhalian monks enter immersive trances in which they explore unknown dream lands. These trance journeys may last for weeks on end and those who experience them risk physical death by thirst or starvation.
Granted Divine Powers
The Kaivan-Teke gain access to the six psionic disciplines: telepathy, psychokinesis, clairsentience, pyschometabolism, psychoportation, and metacreativity.
Burning yet Living
Founding Date
924 PCE
Type
Religious, Cult
Alternative Names
Mindfire Cult, Akhalianism
Demonym
Akhalians
Location
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