Cult of Soliairs
Structure
Leadership
Soliairs Taeyang- Patron God Benjamen Stridde- First Mate of the Temple of the Crane, Soliairs' right hand, captain of The Bamboo. Namen Lugal- Soliairs' heir, boyfriend of Soliairs' daughter, Gulana. Gulana Taeyang- Soliairs' daughter, boyfriend of Soliairs' heir, Namen. Captain of the Ruby Lioness. Former first gunner on the Temple of of the Crane.Culture
The cult is a mixing pot of different cultures, groups, and societies due to their expansive recruitment all across coastal regions of the world. Primarily, the cult is made up of members originating from the Republic of Shanai, Mexico, Japan, south Pacific nations, and Australia, though has seen successful recruitment from other nations and groups throughout the years. Most often, members of the cult are recruited from refugees, runaways, and those down on their luck to be given better chances at life and prosperity under the cult's protection.
Runaways and refugees, particularly of disenfranchised peoples, are highly prioritized within the cult. Their protection, especially from rival gods or governments, are paramount as is their well treatment under direct order of Soliairs. Those seeking shelter with the fleet must be granted it, even at cost to the fleet's crews, to be later rectified.
Holidays
Sparring Days began within Soliairs' cult itself, later on being adopted by other cults. The group also is known to celebrate the Dance of Blood, observe the majority of Shanine holidays, and take part in the vast majority of divine feasts at minimum as a day off. All holidays, feasts, and festivities observed by the cult are declared by Soliairs as days off unless members specifically request to work during them. Not working during a holiday is the standard practice, and working must be specifically requested and granted by captains themselves, who have permission to deny requests to work if the individual is injured, ill, or otherwise deemed unfit, such as in cases of exhaustion or overwork. Exceptions to this are made for emergencies, such as medical incidents, natural disasters, or other such scenarios. In the case of an emergency situation, holidays are postponed and rescheduled for a later date with extra compensation.Public Agenda
The first and foremost agenda of the cult is the protection and aid of their patron god, Soliairs Taeyang. In this, members are expected to lay down their own lives in order to aid their patron at a moment's notice, and to do so willingly and with great vigor. 'Aid', in many cases, oftentimes means the lending of ships, weaponry, and supplies to the cult at large rather than Soliairs themself in order to keep the organization running smoothly and in good supply.
Secondarily, the cult primarily operates as one of the largest pirate operations globally, seizing assets and weaponry from naval militaries, coastal cities, and well-to-do individuals that leave themselves open to attack. Most often these attacks are done stealthily and with the goal of avoiding unneeded death for both parties, unless in the case of extreme resistance. In such cases, the cult is permitted to use extreme measures of violence and destruction at will.
Assets
Main Fleet
Temple of the Crane- Also known as "The Tempy" or just "Tempy". Flagship of the entire cult's fleet, as well as Soliairs' personal ship. Suffered extreme damage during the War of the Moon, and likely to be abandoned if repairs cannot be made. The Bamboo- Personal ship of Benjamen Stridde, and secondary command vessel of the fleet. Ruby Lioness- Personal ship of Gulana Taeyang. A small Pinisi ship, primarily used for transport and fishing. Purchased from Ryoma, God of Tuna. O'hanu Skipper- Former ship of Soliairs Taeyang, given to Namen Lugar. Mid sized Bilander. "The Golden Five"- Five battleships commissioned by Soliairs from unknown origins. These ships are all identical aside from their names and nameplates. and as such are listed together. The ships are Robert's Fortune, The Gilded Drake, Teach, Queenie, and Loyal Rover. The Golden five are heavy battleships, primarily used as escorts and intimidation against attack for other less defended vessels or points of interest, such as allied ports. One ship always would be stationed in Shanai, patrolling its harbor. This ship was generally Loyal Rover or Teach. Loyal rover was lost during the eruptions of Mount Shanai during the War of the Moon.Extended Fleet
Many more ships exist within the cult, with the majority of them being vessels captured on raids. These ships are most often cruise ships, pleasure ships, and gambling ships of some fashion, targeted for their vast stores of money and luxury goods on board. Once captured, the ships are retrofitted and turned into attack vessels by their new crews. Other ships within the fleet are oftentimes ships that are being held as ransom, and thus unaltered aside from a paint mark on their bow and rear stern to signal they are protected, and not a target. Most often, these ransoms are paid in full, and the ships released back to their former owners. Unpaid ransoms almost always result in the ships being sunk or reclaimed by the cult. A great variety of civilian vessels are also known to be a part of the fleet as support and supply ships. Generally, these ships are used as housing and fishing vessels in order to supply the fleet for much greater periods of time between docking at port, ferrying fuel, weapons, ammunition, and supplies to and from other ships. Civilian vessels are generally unmarked as being a part of the fleet itself aside from flags flown during conflict in order to take advantage of shipping and trade with hostile ports and coastal cities. Fishing vessels from Ryoma, God of Tuna, or those associated with him, are also not uncommon following the fleet for protection.Weaponry
Weapons among the cult vary heavily, as most are obtained through raids and piracy. It is well known that the cult will attack naval vessels in order to commandeer weapons and ammunition stores well in advance, resulting in vast stockpiles of military grade weaponry. The cult also is known for a love of historical weapons, stockpiling historical models of firearms, swords, and other bladed weapons enmass, similarly to cults like Ryoma, God of Tuna's own. Soliairs' cult is oftentimes trained in these weapons with 'Sparring Days', in which their crews spar and participate in mock battles with one another using antiquated weaponry.Other Assets
Powderkeg Crane Island is a location held in secret by the cult as a base of operations for repairing, restocking, and refitting ships. It's location is unknown, as well as its true defensive and offensive power. It has been speculated that Powderkeg Island may not in fact be one sole location, but a variety of islands under the same name. Ship builders, mechanics, and technicians are highly valued members of the cult and oftentimes poached by Soliairs into the cult's employ from other sectors, with the vast majority coming from military positions around the globe. Vega's Footprints are informally considered to be within the cult's domain, as they are used as a disposal ground for damaged ships to be sunk as artificial reefs and are often present patrolling the area. This however is not legally binding, as the region remains in international waters, and are not recognized by any nation as formerly belonging to Soliairs or the cult.Foreign Relations
Despite not holding any one territory, the cult is generally treated as a nomadic cultural group or state by many nations when it comes to negotiations, foreign affairs, and trade. This is most often applied when it comes to trade deals, as the cult is generally taxed as a foreign entity by most ports.
California
The Republic of California in particular is known for extremely hostile relations with Soliairs' cult. Initially, soured relations between the groups stemmed from comments by Californian officials regarding Soliairs' homeland of Shanai and intent to 'bring the 50th (state) back to the union', despite the country's longstanding aggression to notions of it being anything but an independent nation.
Type
Religious, Cult
Alternative Names
Soliairs' Fleet
Training Level
Semi-professional
Leader
Founders
Location
Official Languages
Related Traditions
Controlled Territories
Manufactured Items
Related Items
Allies / Regional God
Allies
As repayment for saving the life of their patron god, Ludovic's cult has extended their god's life debt to apply to themselves as well, fiercely allying themselves to Soliairs and their cult in turn.
Allies
Due to their patron having grown up in the City of Shanai and being a high profile member of the cult of fire themselves, the majority of the crane cult are members of the cult of fire themselves. The Cult of Fire welcomes the crane cultists openly, and are often favored by Fire God Vega.
Friendly
Soliairs' cult are well known allies of the Red Pineapple Corps, the Republic of Shanai's emergency response organization. Soliairs as well as their fleet are known to lend supplies, ships, and men to the organization for sea rescues and during natural disasters.
Neutral
Since the pact between Shia, the God of Death to revive Soliairs' boyfriend, Benjamen Stridde, all members of Soliairs' cult have been made to also serve Shia and their own cult. Although the crane cult understands this relationship, they, much like Soliairs, often find ways around this bargain and subvert it, leading to a mutually beneficial relationship laden with salt.
Uneasy
Due to Soliairs' cult revering runaways and refugees and placing them into their protection, they have a sour relationship with Hilathu's cult who often create such situations for people.
Enemies
The Crane and Tiger Gods have been at war for centuries, a deep hatred of one another shared not only by members of the cult but their gods themselves, and this hatred carries on no matter who the god of each cult is. Svrar, Goddess of Tigers in xir attack on Soliairs Taeyang that killed their boyfriend and life partner Ben only deepened this hatred, with the crane cult seeing it as underhanded and despicable for a god to kill a mortal, and with the tiger cult responding with it to be hypocrisy and fair, as other gods have done the same before.
Enemies
Since the inception of Soliairs' cult, they have had a history of robbing and commandeering ships from the Republic of California. The primary reason behind this seems to be California's reputation of being incredibly wealthy, supported oftentimes by the types of ships that Soliairs and the cult target being pleasure and cruise ships alongside military vessels.
Another factor into the cult's aggression is directly personal to Soliairs themselves, as they hold a deep seated grudge against California for multiple statements against their home country of Shanai.
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