Children of the Blind Serpent
A small clerical order of dedicated priests of Ilivir based at Orhai-Cia Shrine and administer to the spiritual needs of the Clanholds in the Hefiosa Hills, a wild, lawless region of the Thardic Republic.
These hardy souls undertake the Ordeal of Orhai-Cia, a long and dangerous process to give up their eyesight for additional, some say, magical senses.
The Orhai-Cia shrine is an ancient monument, a large natural cave facing north-west. Within is a large eyeless serpent marble statue looking in the direction of the holy tower Araka-Kalai, in the Blasted Plain and home to the god Ilivir. The marble has a distinctive pink pattern, common to the Telen Pink Marble quarries.
Nearby, out of view and cut into the rocks, are several caves used as living quarters for the Order.
The shrine is accessed by a harrowing and winding stone-cut pathway up a series of Cliff's. This remote shrine does not get many visitors, only the priest and acolytes of Order of the Children of the Blind Serpent and a few hardy Ilvirian Pilgrims who bother to make the trip.
Structure
The Order of the Children of the Blind Serpent has a very loose leadership structure.
The Sighted -Blind Priests
These priests have completed the Ordeal of Orhai-Cia. They spend most of their time teaching, traveling the Hefiosa Hills administering to the faithful, and collecting donations.They have no formal leader. However, the oldest Sighted is considered senior. The senior priest at the Orhai-Cia shrine is Sighted Isbevke, a sharp-minded, ancient man with a white snake tattoo on his forehead. He is said to have amazing telepathic talents.
The Listeners - Priests
Listeners are priests that are undergoing the Ordeal of Orhai-Cia. Typically this takes ten years. As their senses develop, they spend most of their time in meditation and teaching the Sightless.The Sightless- Acolytes
The Sightless spend their days doing a mixture of menial tasks to keep the shrine working and learning doctrine from the priests. Most spend some time traveling with the sighted when they administer to worshipers in the Hefiosa Hills.Public Agenda
The order currently has only 8 priests of Sighted rank and 4 of the Listener rank, and a dozen acolyte’s various degrees of training.
Teaching is oral and involves mostly chanting, meditation, and lots of rope learning.
The older, less mobile priests remain at the shrine while the younger or abler, travel the Hiefiosan hills, usually with a few acolytes. They preach, collect food and donations to sustain the shrine, especially during the long cold winters.
Artistic Endeavors
A shared hobby among the Priests is wood carving, pottery, and stone carving. These items mostly have religious symbolism. Half are of snakes in some form, and most of the remainder Ivashu. These are used in instruction, storytelling, and ritual training, with a great many having elaborate doctrine and fables associated with them.
Assets
Temple of Orhai-Cia Shrine.
Snakepit filled with dozens of Silver Rock Adders.
Large stock of winter supplies.
Meager Donations.
Small Herbalist and Alchemy laboratory.
Hundreds of small statuettes.
History
The Order has a confused oral history claiming the Jarin Mystic Haijora founded it in the year of the ram (this is not in any known calendar but is thought to be around 90BT). He had a holy revelation, "Lookout from a hollow, and witnessed my tower from far over the inland sea. For there, you will see the weave of the world. Haijora claims to have spent 45 years searching for such a cave, and as a frail old man, he believed he had found it. A cave looking towards Lake Bendath and the divine power of his God Ilvir. Although he knew he was in the correct cave from his vision, his sight was not good enough to see Araka-kala, so he blinded himself with a sharp knife in a moment of despair. Then is said be gained great power, able to speak mind to mind with all the Ivashu living and hiding in the Hills. Haijora received many visitors before his death 20 years later as the cave had become a frequent pilgrimage site, as his wisdom was in great demand.
Some years after his death, one of Haijora's disciples, Paneen the Far-sighted, also had a divine revelation, If thy eyes cannot see my earthbound tower, cast them out then seek other means of vision. He later officially founded the Order, taking in acolytes, teaching doctrine, and learning different ways to perceive the world. By divine inspiration, combined with trial and error, he developed the Ordeal of Orhai-Cia, whereby a member of the order sacrifices their vision for more exceptional sight.
The origin of the impressive blind serpent statue is less clear. The priests tell stories of a Hru Rock Giant Morkon carving it using his voice and then walking it up the cliffs. There are no dates or other details; however, a second legend says still Morkon sleeps in the rocks inside the shrine and will waken if there is ever a need.
The Blind See Clearly
Sighted Isbevke
The senior priest of this order.
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