Purists

Followers of the Counsel's beliefes

"Just among ourselves.
I simply can't figure out why the gods hate the Veil so much.
It is the most natural state to be symbiotically linked to the source of the arcane, it provides us with resistance against everything the world throws at us and grants us a way to defend ourselves even if we are appearing unarmed.
I mean, just look at the Purists visiting the arcane university from time to time. They literally have to wear a hazmat suit because their whole essence is a violation against nature the Veil seeks to correct.
Why else do you think the whole arcane wildlife tries to harm them and take them over.
They are like a virus for the Veil; a foreign body.
An unnatural way of life."

Prof Mauze Tung

Purists can be exclusively found in the country of Etherium, where this lifestyle gets practiced by the most loyal followers of the Eternal Counsel.
Purists value the purity of their soul over everything, they desire to be their own master and not share their life with a Symbiote influencing their mind to do things they don't want. The gods of the Counsel openly support the lifestyle of a Purist as the way most true to their design.
...
But the intentions of divinity reach deeper down to an ancient hatred against all of the arcane, something in the past of the Immortals life caused them to turn their back to it.
A theory, that gets most supported by the simple observatory, that the metal frames of three of the four gods of the counsel are alloyed with Zabrit.

Purist Heritage

One is considered a Purist if they have no connection to the Veil left in their body. This means that at least 4 generations brought no new arcane blood in the mix rendering the fifth generation fully pure. Herby is it only important, that the parents were to the point of procreating their descendant both no arcanists, which does mean, that having a Gifted in the family would not disrupt the heritage flow of procreating true Purists.
There was a time, where even gifted would be considered 'dirty', but to get new blood into the mix this misbelief got deleted out of the minds of Etherium. Eventually Gifted got called Purists as well to strengthen the identification with the way of the Counsel.

"I have no intention of ever getting tainted.
My hybrid blood makes me more immune against the risk of getting taken, but my heart and soul is with my Purist ancestors.
And what if my father is an arcanist? I am not, and that is what counts.
My soul is my own."

General Trostov Havenborn

Culture

Average technological level

Purists are the most advanced Ethnicity in all of Prius. Having early abandoned relying on magic to handle their life Etherium started to look up to the mechanical gods and started trying to mimic the technological superiority of the age of Void, developing Etherium in the millennia from the laughing stock of Prius into a Sci-fi nation having a monopoly on the most advanced technology of the world being centuries ahead of everybody else.

"Have you seen what Etherium is offering us to support our Organisation. These trucks are armed to the brim with technology I have never ever seen before and they call them 'largely outdated'.
Just HOW advanced are they truly?"

Speartip Thilarie

Common Taboos

To appease the will of their gods, no Purist should desire to fall for the subduction of the Veil, desiring to taint their soul and become an arcanist.
This taboo gets hammered into the mind of every Purist as actually deciding to undergo symbiosis will result in nothing but agony and the eventual following death. The chance for a purist to become a Taken is with 90% too much of a risk to go through to end a bloodline of no magic blood for dozens of generations.
Taken will either get exiled from the nation or get put into the Blackstone Asylum, where Etherium is researching on reverting the terminal state.

I understand now why everybody in the army was so scared from the world beyond our borders.
I am now a Taken for a month and I can safely say: Acquiring the powers of the Veil is not worth it, never!
I have no control over my emotions anymore, my self-control is tainted to break at any moment.
Father ... I have killed a man in cold blood because he insulted my friends - I fried his brain permanently!
My eyes blackened and I was not in control anymore, my rage was consuming me and ... it was too late.
I feel so ashamed to call me your son, Bors.
I am broken, I am suffering.
...
I miss you. I miss my girlfriends Pencari and Kallist.
I miss everybody I had to abandon.
But I will not be able to return, you are all in danger in my presence.

Letter from Micor Havenborn to his step-father

Diverged ethnicities

• Ultrapurists

Encompassed species

• A.I.
• Eternal
• Kobect

Related Organizations

• Eternal Counsel
• Flaming Zealots
• Justiciars of Truth
• Noctec
• Silent Watchers
• Technomancers

Related Items

• The deceiving Eye

Related Myths

• The magic plague

Related Locations

• Etherium
• New Etherium

A Purist shall alter their soul neither through magical nor artificial means. The soul is, what remains of you, so treasure it!
Your body on the other hand is yours to decide over.

Technomancer priest

Cybernetics

With Purists not really caring about the purity of their body, thriving to get one step closer to the mechanical gods integrating everything they can into their self enhancing all abilities to become more than mortal. From simple unseen augmentations enhancing the senses to artificial limb replacements, stronger organs all the way to changing up the silhouette with unique augmentations. From extra limbs, integrated weapons, rocket feet all the way to replacing the majority of the body with Etherian tech; everything has and will happen.

"Do you know what the deal with Headmaster Faust is? Had he suffered a tragic traumatic accident which brought him to replacing his lower body with that of an artificial spider ... with working spiderwebs?"

"Not at all. His words: I felt dangerous like an Arachnid with my
many poisons.
So I thought: Why shouldn't I grant my victims the perfect illusion and I replaced my bottom.
My lower body was healthy, but an artist does everything for his craft."

Pencari & Kallist

Magika

The most recent research of Magitek originated out of failed taken cures. The premise of the Magika injection would solve all issues of being a Prius injecting the body with an artificial connection to the Veil fooling nature to still be one of them. The first patients even awakened a weak attunement to their dormant magical potential allowing them to harness their feeble inner energy to channel it into implants making artificial magic a possibility.

"I was one of the first test subjects, Eva-dear.
I am a Purist, yet I am able to throw fireballs created out of my very energy.
This is no Etherian trick, the battery, the catalyst and the channeler am I."

Phlinston Prosatl