Sarian Sect
"That Light be Kindled, Darkness must be Extinguished - but what is Darkness? Only a child would think that by Darkness we mean that which is commonly observed in the physical world… in the mundane, darkness is the absence of light; so too is the Darkness of Spirit the absence of the Light of Kassin. How might one extinguish a flame which does not burn? How might one banish the intruder that is not present, or ward against that which approaches not? Verily, the Darkness of Spirit cannot be Extinguished, merely illuminated, for it is a thing defined only by absence... Yet there are deeper Darknesses still, and it is to our peril that we distinguish not these forms of Darkness from each other."
- From the First Sermon on Darkness
History
The Sarian heresy is one of the most notorious schisms that occured since the establishment of the Light of Kassin as the sole religious authority in the Holy Republic of Vaalus , one which came close to triggering a second civil war only decades after the resolution of the first. Its founder, born Isabella Kruidenhandelaar, was not a native of Vaalus; in 1214AK, as a child of barely 12 years in age, she was the only survivor of an Aldernord merchant ship that was wrecked off the coast near Saria. She washed ashore, barely alive and delirious from her injuries, where she was rescued by the Prefecture of the Mourning Winds. She claimed that whilst floating on the flotsam she was attended by an angelic presence which comforted and protected her. On glimpsing the stained glass window of the Prefecture’s chapel, she immediately identified the image of Saint Theophana the Revelator as that of the presence which visited her, and much to the astonishment of the priests was able to quote, word-for-word, one of the prayers attributed to Saint Theophana, despite having neither heard nor read it ever before. This miraculous event was the first of a number of unusual incidents in Saint Isabella’s life, which were offered as proof of her divine authority by those who later came to follow her. With no surviving family, Isabella was taken in by the Prefecture, and raised as their ward; she was inducted into the Kassinite faith, and by all accounts grew to be an exceptionally talented and pious young woman. She left the Mourning Winds and became a paladin, formally initiated into the Prefecture of the Heralds of the Dawn at the age of nineteen. The Heralds of the Dawn were at that time charged to act as missionaries of the Light of Kassin and protectors of the ambassadors of Holy Republic of Vaalus; as such they were permitted to study otherwise prohibited religious texts from other faiths in order to better understand the ways in which the Deceiver had blinded the eyes of other nations, in the ultimate hope of bringing the followers of the false gods into the Kassinite fold. In 1224AK she joined the staff of the Vaalin envoy to the Sovereignty of Aldernord. The envoy Jocasta Argeos, writing to Archimandrite Zacharius in late 1224, mentions Isabella:
"Indeed, [Lady Constanzia Votellian, a close confidant of Queen Mathilda II Bheuren] has taken rather a liking to our paladin Isabella, who I understand is of Alderni stock herself. Isabella is a most excellent theologian & bodyguard, but rather naive and awkward; it is rather fortunate that the Ald seem to find her lack of social awareness endearing rather than contemptible. When I suggested that she reciprocate the flirtatious advances of [Lady Votellian], on the chance that we might gain some deeper insight into the workings of this pit of vipers, she blushed & stammered so incoherently that I wondered if she was suffering an apoplexy."Isabella remained in the Alderni court for three years, until Jocasta’s recall to Vaalus in 1226AK. For reasons that are somewhat unclear, she chose not to remain in Aldernord nor return to Vaalus, but took passage on a ship bound for Aaranak. For four years, no news of her deeds returned to the Heralds of the Dawn; then at last in 1230AK she arrived, unannounced, at their chapter-house in Saria. She returned a changed woman, her youthful naivete replaced with what one of her contemporaries described as a "zealousness of terrible intensity". She claimed to have received a new revelation from Kassin, and that the Broken God had commanded her to spread this teaching to the faithful in Vaalus. Though such claims were neither unprecedented nor especially unusual - indeed, in 1219AK the Kassinite authorities had sanctioned the creation of an ecclesiastical court for the purpose of analysing such claims, in the form of the Prefecture of the Quaestors of Truth - Isabella’s purported revelation was different in one key aspect: it called into question the the Four Commands themselves. It was thus not long before Isabella's followers within the Heralds of the Dawn found themselves at odds with the rest of their prefecture. In 1231AK they split from the Heralds of the Dawn , founding an organisation that they called the "Provisional Prefecture of the Watchers of the Horizon". The Sarians were condemned for preaching against the First Command - that the Light be Kindled, first must the Dark be Extinguished - though they insisted that their philosophy was compatible. The issue of contention was in the precise definition of Darkness - which in orthodox terms is typically taken to include all that is not under the Light of Kassin. Isabella taught that there were three types of spiritual Darkness, which she termed Ignorance, Division, and Oblivion. Ignorance was the state of mind of those who knew not of the Revelation, and which did not seek to understand the true nature of creation; whilst Division, also termed Separation, described the alienation of mortals and the material world in general from the divine. This latter point led to some accusing Isabella of preaching Qaswartism, though she maintained that this was a fundamental misunderstanding of her doctrine - whilst the Qaswartim believed that it was necessary to recreate the divinely-ordained order of all creation, Isabella taught that this darkness represented a more fundamental disconnection, which could be overcome only through confronting and resolving the "inner paradoxes of our divided nature". This would have perhaps amounted to little more than a philosophical disagreement were it not for the final conclusion that Isabella drew from this formulation - that of the Darkness of Oblivion. Oblivion, in the Sarian formulation, was described as a cosmic force which was utterly incomprehensible and inimical to all life. It was a "gaping wound in the world", corrupting and utterly corrosive to the soul; it was associated with the Deciever, though Isabella denied the claim that all deities other than Kassin were servants or masks of the Deciever. The Sarian doctrines on Oblivion were never entirely made open, and little of Isabella's teachings on the nature of Oblivion - which she sometimes referred to as That Which Approaches - are known to scholars in the modern age. Despite the controversial nature of Isabella’s claims, she won over a significant number of followers, including supporters in the uppermost echelons of the faith. Many found the strength of her arguments compelling, and few could doubt her conviction; furthermore, there were a number of reports of omens and miraculous occurrences which some claimed proved that Kassin had blessed her and sanctioned her teachings. At the height of her influence, perhaps a one in ten Kassinites considered themselves adherents of her teachings. By 1236, the situation became untenable. The ideological split between the orthodoxy as judged by Quaestors of Truth and the teachings of the Watchers of the Horizon had widened into an impassable gulf, and the Kassinite authorities became increasingly uneasy with the rhetoric of some of Isabella's followers, who spoke of a "deepening rot" within the church. Whilst there is no consensus on exactly what finally convinced the authorities to act, many historians speculate that the Quaestors of Truth may have gained access to the inner teachings of the sect regarding Oblivion, and that there was some part of this secret doctrine which was considered so blasphemous that something had to be done. In the third month of 1236 AK, the authorities acted: Isabella and her closest allies were arrested, tortured until they produced confessions, and then tried and convicted of heresy, blasphemy, and sedition. Following Isabella's conviction, a general amnesty was agreed whereby all those who had been "misled" by the sect who wished to recant their beliefs were granted the opportunity to do so without facing any further consequences. Isabella herself made no comment on this, other than to say that her followers should follow their consciences; however whilst some of her more militant followers refused to accept the judgement, the majority recanted, and in the few years that followed the sect had all but vanished. Though condemned to death, Isabella was granted the right to undertake Penitential Crusade into the Desolation in lieu of execution. With a handful of her close companions, she passed through the Gate of Saint Bythos, swearing a binding oath that she would seek to stem the Blight, or die trying. For two whole years, nothing was heard of the penitents, and it was assumed that they had fallen to the dangers of the Desolation as so many before them - until in late 1238, when Isabella returned , alone, to the Gate, calling for an audience with the Archimandrite Petra. The Archimandrite agreed to honour this request, and Isabella was taken under guard to Achyras, where the two spoke at length. Quite what was discussed between them is not recorded - but a week later, Isabella was publicly executed by decapitation, and her body incinerated. It is said that she went to her death with a quiet dignity, as if she had accepted the inevitability of her fate and was at peace with it. Her last words, spoken as she knelt before the execution block, remain something of an enigma: "In my End is my Beginning". Six days after Isabella's execution, Archimandrite Petra was found dead in her bedchamber, her body unmarked by injury, but her face frozen in a mask of abject terror.
Tenets of Faith
The Sarian Sect rejected the Eight Corollaries outright, and interpreted the Four Commands and Eight Bans differently to the Kassinite orthodoxy:
One particular formulation of the Sarian theology - originating from the Priory of Saint Isabella several decades after Isabella's death, is the "Andranic Creed":
| Tenet | Orthodox Interpretation | Sarian Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| That the Light be kindled, first must Darkness be extinguished | For goodness to emerge, that which is evil must be destroyed. | Wisdom is possible only through the overcoming of ignorance. |
| That the Light be sheltered, first must Darkness be banished | For goodness to thrive, the forces of evil must be driven out. | Reunification with the Godhead is possible through combating the forces which separate mortals from experiencing the divine. |
| That the Light be preserved, first must Darkness be warded against. | Constance vigilance against the forces of evil is needed for the preservation of good. | Holding onto hope for the future and a belief in the essential goodness of all souls is the only method of staving off Oblivion. |
| That we become the Light, first must we face the Darkness | The fate of the world hangs upon the battle against darkness. | True enlightenment comes only from uncompromising self-examination. |
| Worship not the False One who profanes the Light. | “Deities” other than Kassin are false, and should not be worshipped. | Many things may claim the appearance of divinity, honestly or not, and one must be wary when dealing with them; those which are aligned with Oblivion must be shunned |
| Consort not with Lying Spirits | Do not engage with spiritual entities other than those which are of Kassin | Any bargain with the fey, giants, aboleth, or dragons, is fraught with danger |
| Permit neither fury nor sentiment to usurp duty. | Faith supersedes all other demands. | Do no allow emotion to blind you as to what is right. |
| Suffer not the desecration of the dead | The practice of necromancy should not be tolerated | The practice of necromancy should not be tolerated |
| Abhor the False Oracles | Prophecies and omens that come from sources other than Kassin should be disregarded. | Do not attempt to divine the future. |
| Bargain not with the Hierophants of Iniquity | Do not negotiate with the wicked | Do not enter into deals with the forces of the Four Hells |
| Indulge not in the depravities of the Creatures of Darkness | Things which are strongly associated with the forces of evil are inherently corruptive, and should be shunned. | Do not practice the Six Unforgivable Sins. |
| Bow not to Oblivion; Despair not of Oblivion. | Do not give up hope in the certain victory of good over evil. | The forces of Oblivion can, and must, for the sake of the world, be faced and defeated. |
From Ignorance grows Wisdom:
to Kindle the Light of Wisdom is to Extinguish the Darkness of Ignorance.
From Division comes Unity:
to Shelter the Light of Union is to Banish the Darkness of Division.
Against Oblivion, stands Hope:
to Preserve the Light of Hope is to Banish the Darkness of Oblivion.
Oblivion alone Profanes the Light.
Oblivion alone Corrupts the Light.
Oblivion alone Slays the Light.
Ethics
The Sarian Sect taught that there were six sins which were so dire as to be unforgivable; these "Six Unforgivable Sins" were said to be spiritually hazardous to the one who performed them, and to the world at large.
Animophagy
Animophagy was defined as the "consumption of souls". Isabella's teachings on exactly what constituted animophagy are somewhat unclear, and many commentators have suggested that she did not have the technical understanding to define it properly; the general consensus is that this was an injuction against destroying souls, though some have interpreted it as being a specific condemnation of the Qaswartim mystics known as the Iron Shadows, sometimes referred to as "ghost-eaters" by their detractors. Others have suggested that it refers to the eating of the corpse of an ensoulled being.Renegation
Renegation was defined as the breaking of an oath, vow, or promise. It is not said to have been synonymous with requiring complete honesty - a point that is commonly illustrated by a particular incident in 1231 AK. Several accounts relate that Isabella argued with another member of the Heralds of the Dawn shortly before their schism, over whether it would be right to lie to save an innocent's life - which she dismissed as "pointless sophistry" (and with several, more colorful, turns of phrase when the matter was pressed). Rather, it specifically concerned knowingly and intentionally breaking one's solemn vow. Some of her detractors have claimed that by her own actions in returning from the Desolation in 1238 AK Isabella proved herself a hypocrite by breaking her oath and thus her teachings; the typical answer to this charge is that Isabella returned fully expecting that she would be executed for doing so, but that her message to Archimandrite Petra was ultimately in the service of ending the Blight.Necromalafice
Necromalafice was defined as "rendering death meaningless"; Isabella expanded on this concept at length in her teachings, describing it as being caused by having a reckless or cold attitude towards death. It was not the same as taking a life - whilst killing someone in a fit of rage, or murdering someone for a specific purpose, may both be morally reprehensible, neither death was meaningless; but slitting a passer-by's throat for a couple of copper coins might be; and ordering a thousand soldiers to their deaths to no particular strategic purpose, or burning down a village in order to kill a single person, would most certainly be. Additionally, whilst necromalafice was in general a sin associated with causing death, Isabella also taught that it was possible to commit it through restoring the dead to life, though this was not inevitably the case. Her teachings elaborated on this point in some detail, arguing that it mostly applied to the reckless or repeated use of such things, and to various acts of necromancy - particularly the creation of ensoulled undead. Whilst by no means universal, some of Isabella's followers took to refraining from consuming the flesh of animals based on this teaching; to this day the Priory of Saint Isabella practice strict vegetarianism, claiming that causing the needless death of animals can risk necromalafice.Ecolekry
Ecolekry was defined as "laying waste to the natural order"; few of Isabella's teachings on the subject have survived, and those that do mostly discuss it in the context of the Desolation and the Blight. Some commentators have suggested that it may be akin to the druidic concept of the Balance of Nature.Maljudice
Maljudice was defined as "perverting the course of justice". Isabella's teachings on the subject primarily concern judicial corruption, which was at that time rampant in Vaalus; her followers and successors were broadly split on the question of whether justice existed aside from the law of land, with some arguing that there was an obligation to obey the laws of the place in which one dwelled - even if they were manifestly wicked - whilst others taught that it was not only acceptable, but obligatory, to break laws which were themselves unjust.Atelosity
Atelosity was defined as "subverting the chain of cause and effect". Isabella's teachings on the subject are fragmentary and inconsistent; as with the concept of animophagy, it has been argued that Isabella intended this to have a specific technical meaning, but lacked the in-depth understanding to do so.Political Influence & Intrigue
Successor Sects
Several successor sects emerged from the fall of Sarianism. The first, led by a priest named Evandros Asteria, went into exile in the Ephan Reaches, founding a monastery on the shore of the Bay of Xendriti near the city of Andranes, known as the Priory of Saint Isabella. The monastery exists to this day, and is home to perhaps two-dozen dedicants; its inhabitants are considered somewhat strange by the locals, but are broadly tolerated. A second successor organisation, the so-called Sword of Saria fled into the wastes of the once-bounteous Plains of Akiron, vowing to raise an army of the faithful to topple the Kassinite church, which they considered corrupt. Though still active in the region, they are generally regarded as little more than bandits, and are not considered a credible threat to the Kassinite authorities. A third successor organisation, known as the Order of the Sun Divided, is rumored to still exist within Vaalus. Operating in secret, they are said to hide within the Kassinite church, secretly preserving and promulgating the doctrines of the Sarian Sect. Though there is much speculation as to their activities, there is little solid evidence - and whilst they are often rumoured to be behind any given event that stirs up unrest, the Quaestors of Truth have stated on a number of occasions that the Order of the Sun Divided was destroyed in the 1240's AK, and no longer exists in any real sense.The Involvement of the Gilded Tower
Perhaps understandably, the Gilded Tower has a number of records on the actions of Isabella Kruidenhandelaar whilst she was in Aldernord. During the Jocastan Mission of 1224 to 1226AK, the Gilded Tower conducted surveillance on the Vaalin diplomatic delegation, in order to establish whether there was any truth to rumours that the Holy Republic was considering entering into trade deals with Balthas that would undermine the Alderni's military and economic position against the rebels. The envoys took reasonable mundane and magical precautions against such espionage, but were no match for the Gilded Tower’s expertise in this area; the Tower soon established that the Republic considered the Long War to be essentially an internal Alderni matter, and had no interest in alienating the Alderni by siding with the rebel provinces. Nonetheless, the Tower compiled dossiers on Jocasta Argeos and her staff, and identified Isabella Kruidenhandelaar as someone who might be turned to serve Alderni interests. The primary magician of the Gilded Tower involved in this operation was identified as “Conscience”, and from context appears to have been the same Lady Constanzia Votellian that was mentioned in Jocasta’s report. Conscience wrote a number of reports on the inner workings of the Jocastan Mission which, whilst perhaps of historical interest, are broadly irrelevant to the matter of the Sarian Sect; however a few reports mention Isabella’s growing interest in theology of the Daughters of Null. In one report Conscience mentions that Isabella was “asking the kind of questions which, regardless of what she believes, suggest that she may have somehow unearthed certain esoteric doctrines regarding the Wake-Walkers”, and recommended that she be permitted to introduce Isabella to some associates of hers within the Order of Heliodora Tyrantbane “in order to mitigate the risks associated with misinterpretation of these doctrines”. Whether this meeting ever went ahead is unanswered within Conscience’s reports; however, this may potentially shed some light on Isabella’s decision to travel to Aaranak rather than return to Vaalus in 1230AK.
1231 - 1236
Type
Religious, Sect
Alternative Names
Watchers of the Horizon
Successor Organizations
Leader
Parent Organization
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Notable Members
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