Observers of Ohim

Observers of Ohim consist mainly of friars of diverse races who have through intense training of awakening their minds eye gained the power of foresight which allows them to gain insight on unfolded events that lurk behind the veil of time. Though nothing is certain behind the veil the friars can predict future intentions and natural cycles only to interfere if Ohim commands it. Such an occasion is rarely seen. The friars use their power of foresight not only to predict unfolded events but also to record life. Through meditation they observe and document every major event in the world while remaining completely neutral to any perspective involved. The great book 'History of Myrium' can be found in the main library in the largest monastery ever built to serve Ohims purpose though no one knows where it lies and many believe it to be merely a legend. Through yearly mass rituals conducted by all members of the monasteries they transmit their observations and knowledge via psychic means to a safe place for the information to be stored. How, where and why? Only a few truly know. After years of meditating many friars go further into the work of the mind and gain the ability to implant thoughts of their own into the minds of others. Even though this ability is used for foul purposes amongst those who do not belong to the order it was not invented to alter thought patterns to begin with. When this ability was created by the friars many years ago it bore the name 'Share thoughts' and has been a necessary tool for them throughout the ages to forward information to the main library but later on in history this ability was warped by personal gain and often foul purposes (also comical) and the name 'Implant Thought' was born.

The Order of Witnesses is devoted to Ohim the Observer. It's followers are called Witnesses. Both men and women of all races are accepted, children given to the monasteries are raised to become Witnesses. Followers devote their lives completely to Ohim, they usually do not start a family. Although not formally forbidden it is uncommon, as the Witnesses live their lives in the monasteries or on travel according to instructions of their monasteries Holder. Most children of Witnesses are raised to become Witnesses themselves. Strangers are accepted, as long as they do not disrupt the monasteries peace. Psychics, healers as well as warriors and magicians are a common sight to train and meditate alongside the Witnesses, as true awareness and focus is an ability of paramount importance for them.

Structure

Novices who join the order have usually spent some time in a monastery of the Observers, learning about history and lore. In the more liberal monasteries, this training is continued, and the rare gift of foresight bestowed upon some of the Observers by Ohim himself is discussed. However, the Witnesses themselves usually won't belong to those chosen ones. Witnesses strife to get a closer connection to their god, but they do not believe they can ever reach him. He not only observes the moment, but knows the past and foresees the future – something above all human abillities. Therefore people possessing the gift of foresight are considered gifted by Ohim and are greatly respected – as log as they train hard to honor their divine gift. If a novice shows signs of this ability, he will be reassigned to a specialized instructor if willing to continue the way of the Witnesses. Otherwise he will be returned to a monastery of the Observers to hopefully one day become a Holder. The Holders: The Holder is the most important position in a monastery. The holders duty is to serve as a beacon, linking the Avatar of Ohim to the rest of the brothers. Little is known of their attire but they are said to be located deep within the monasteries, safeguarded by elite friars or warpriests behind thick metal doors. From them the friars seek knowledge on matters of old tracing back to the beginning of life on Myrium. Those who end up in the position of the Holder are most still of minds who selflessly do not desire this position but realize their true potential of becoming a holder. The current holder points his successor out when the time is right. The Avatar of Ohim: To serve the purpose of the observer of life Ohim sends a fraction of himself to Myrium to host a body that serves as a main hub or a beacon, linking all the holders of the monasteries to him/herself who is in direct contact with Ohim at all times. The Avatar of Ohim is located in the main library which is unknown to all except the Holders. Little else is known of this figure.

Culture

There has been a change in the last generations of Witnesses: The older, more conservative monasteries taught (and still teach) the exclusive awareness of the moment. This means that for their novices the study of history is forbidden after joining this monastery of the Witnesses. This absolute awareness has the benefit of leading to absolute peace of mind and the ability to focus unfailingly to the one task at hand (be it healing a broken leg or defending ones life with a breadknife). These Witnesses are therefore very powerful healers and fighters and completely free of prejudice against anyone. But it is exactly this which sometimes can mean a lot of trouble for them. They might be free of evil preconceptions, but most creatures they will encounter outside their monasteries are not. Besides this obvious problem these Witnesses tend to seem quite emotionless, as all emotions are regarded vain and unreal, as they refer to things past. Such a Witness probably won't frown after being insulted, won't laugh after hearing a joke and won't cry over the body of a deceased friend. Admittedly, not all the Witnesses are this strong and unfaltering in their awareness – it depends on how strong their faith and character are and how devastating the event occurring. The less conservative monasteries on the other hand allow the study of lore and history to the more advanced students. The common novice has to learn about past and future lest he will not falter in his awareness due to curiosity. Besides it is acknowledged for a few generations that it can be fruitful to let your mind wander to events past or coming, given the ability to bring it back to the moment at your will. This ability has come to be highly respected among the Witnesses. It can be easier to refrain from something altogether than to muster the strength to brush it away again and again. These Witnesses come to be more decisive and less passive than their conservative brothers and sisters, as they tend to make more elaborate plans for the future by taking into account past events. However, they do all this absolutely aware and less impulsive as a common person does. This means that they take their time to make decisions and won't be rushed. If asked for advise, their answers will probably be of more use than those of a conservative Witness. The conservative Witnesses will refer to spiritual answers most of the time, while the more liberal Witnesses will take into account the matters at hand. The liberal Witnesses will often take little breaks to meditate or pray to get their awareness back to the moment, especially after conversations. Those can be very brief, a few deep breaths, a moment with closed eyes and they will be back. Those are needed when they caught their minds wandering. They are more realistic and practical thinking, but often more easily distracted – although compared to a common person they are exceptionally focused. Besides their religious studies and meditations the Witnesses also learn different skills fitting their abilities. Many train to become healers or fighters, but there also are magicians and psychics, alchemists and herbalists and many other training in the monasteries. After their initiation they either stay in the monastery to assume a teaching position themselves and take care of the work in the monastery or they are sent to travel. It is their duty to observe the events unfolding from a neutral stance, keeping the balance intact and contributing to it. Sometimes a Holder will sent a Witness to support a certain group if he deems the anticipated events will endanger the balance of light and darkness. In this case the Witness will do so until told otherwise or until he or she decides not to take more action lest not to disturb balance themselves. Even though the Observers are completely neutral they understand that self defense is necessary in order for them to continue their work. Raiders, bandits and many other have believed looting their monasteries will unfold tons of riches and gold but never have there been reports of a fruitful raid. There have been reports of those who attempt to lay siege to the monasteries have suddenly collapsed to the ground without physical battle claiming something is crushing them from the inside while other tales tell of bandits and raiders found roaming the surrounding woods and lands of the monasteries talking jibberish and making absolutely no sense at all.

Tenets of Faith

The orders main principle is the awareness of the moment. The Witnesses strive to behold the moment in all its clarity without clouding or foreshadowing brought upon by events coming or past. They believe that a human can behold the moment as Ohim does only when he or she is able to focus completely on it, without any other distraction, with all heart and soul. Getting closer to perceive the world as Ohim does thus brings the Witnesses closer to their god. This requires a hard training and years of practice. The awareness of the moment brings on several seemingly amazing changes: The Witnesses are capable of withstanding harsh physical or psychological torture, as thoughts, feelings and sensations are regarded as fleeting phenomenons of the mind. This does not mean they do not feel the pain or never react. It just might be that their threshold is a bit (or a lot) higher than a common persons. And it comes at a cost: Before being sent of to the outside world to witness history unfolding, the novices have to undergo most demanding test procedures to ensure that absolutely nothing can dispatch them from the moment. This includes the administration of various degrees of pain. All Witnesses bear the marks of their training with them, be it scars, broken bones, missing fingers, eyes or even whole limbs. To them, each an every one of those injuries was a lesson learned, and one step to get a closer connection to Ohim. They usually bear the sign of Ohim on their robes, some of them have it burned or cut into their flesh as a sign of their devotion after their initiation.