The Shepherds
Weird mystics, incessant meddlers, fanatical do-gooders; Shepherds have been called all these and more. This ancient mystical tradition is considered a religion based on its strict belief system, but it does not operate churches or temples for laypeople. The Shepherd Order is best described as a monastic tradition, with a set of defined beliefs, similar to Confucianism.
Despite this lack of ecumenicalism, many people in the galaxy who never join the Shepherd Order nevertheless read and attempt to follow the spirituality of its teachings. There have been historical attempts to turn these teachings into a true religion, with variable success. However, Shepherds themselves typically do not act as priests in any ceremonial capacity.
Structure
The Shepherd Order has no formal established hierarchy or official leader; however, the Sitting Master of the Shepherd Abbey on the Imperial capital planet of Hesperides unofficially leads the order, simply based on their closeness to the levers of power. However, all Shepherds may bring a matter to the attention of the Order and encourage debate on an issue. On rare occasions, the Order will call a Conclave, which will bring together all Master Shepherds from across the galaxy. Conclaves are called during times of crisis or for a matter of great urgency and importance. While any member of the Shepherd Order, even the lowliest student, may speak at Conclave, only Master Shepherds may vote on the issue or emergency.
History
During the First Breath, human colonists landed on the far planet of Syrurga, a verdant terrestrial planet with soaring mountains, wide oceans, and rolling plains. The native sentient race, a humanoid simian species that called themselves the Nolemti, welcomed the human colonists and tried to co-exist peacefully during the First Dark Age.
The pacifistic Nolemti people followed a religion that believed in a living spirit that connected all things. From time to time, humans watched as certain young Nolemti would leave their families and head into the mountains, only to return many years later, if at all. These returned Nolemti would act as judges and spiritual leaders in their communities. All seemed well for both the humans and their neighbors, as some human colonists began joining the Nolemti faith.
Forty years into the First Dark Age, a charismatic human man rose to a position of influence in one of the larger human settlements. A deeply religious man, believing in one of the faiths brought with them from their home world, this man, whose name history has forgotten, incited the colonists against their Nolemti neighbors. Racism, religious intolerance, and all the worst traits of human nature came on display as his followers, who called themselves the Sons of Man, began a coup to control the world and subjugate and slaughter the Nolemti race.
Amazingly, the Nolemti fought back. Their mild-mannered priests became the embodiment of mystical fury as they protected settlement after settlement against the Sons of Man. Numbers began to take their toll; the Nolemti, never a populous people, had only so many mystical defenders. The death tolls ranged in the millions on both sides.
Then came Tiramon Je. A human farmer of tubers, he had toiled alongside his Nolemti neighbors as a boy and studied their religion in the mountains. Returning from his mountain retreat, he rallied other humans to the cause of the Nolemti. The followers of Je received their label from a battlefield exchange between the leader of the Sons of Man and Tiramon himself, where the young man was chided for protecting an inferior species, shouting, “These creatures are nothing! They are flocks of sheep to be sheared and slaughtered for meat, nothing more!”
Je’s famous reply was, “Then I must be a shepherd, and I will protect my flock from you!”. The Shepherds won that final battle and destroyed the Sons of Man. Tiramon and his followers took hold of the reins of government, ruling through their religion. By the Time of the Second Breath, the Syrurgan colony was a theocracy of Shepherd rule.
Since then, Shepherds have branched out into the galaxy and swelled their ranks. Syrurga has become a quiet backwater planet, visited regularly by Shepherds and other history scholars. Shepherds were an official part of the Old Republic at its inception, but after several centuries withdrew from government. Their organization has never held an official role in Imperial government or politics.
Tenets of Faith
We are Shepherds. We believe in the One Power, that connects all things in the universe. By wielding the One Power, we achieve mastery through service. The One Power is is a duty that connects us to others. Through the One Power, we pledge the Four Obligations:
- Justice tempered by Mercy.
- Passion tempered by Virtue.
- Honor tempered by Humility.
- Knowledge tempered by Wisdom.
Priesthood
Training to join the Shepherd Order starts at a young age. Mystically gifted children are brought to Shepherd monasteries called Abbeys where they learn body conditioning, meditation, various forms of melee combat, and mental discipline. Over time, they learn to develop and manipulate their latent mystical powers. The training is completed when a student chooses a psychic spirit-blade to wield and infuses it with their psychic power for the first time. Such blades look for all the world like large crystal swords or staves with a handle made of intricately detailed ruthenium. A student that can ignite their psychic spirit-blade is anointed an Brevet Shepherd and permitted to leave the their training hall and wander the galaxy. Many Brevet Shepherds will seek out a Master Shepherd to continue their training.
After mastering intermediate mystical skills over the One Power, Brevet Shepherds become full Shepherds. If a Shepherd is intending to join a faction within the Shepherd Order, they generally do it at this time, although there is no requirement to join a faction (the majority of Shepherds do not) nor is there a limit on when a Shepherd can join a faction. It is rare, but not unheard of, for a Shepherd to switch factions as their beliefs change.
A Shepherd later becomes a Master Shepherd when they learn to construct their own psychic spirit blade from crystals they harvest. Master Shepherds will often take on students. A Master Shepherd will lead and administer to an Abbey; these are called the Sitting Masters, and the are the final word on all activities in the Abbey they lead. Other Masters continue to wander the galaxy; they are known as Walking Masters. Finally, Master Shepherds are sometimes asked to watch over and defend a solar system or series of systems that do not possess a Shepherd Abbey. These are the Watching Masters. Watching Masters typically hold their position until an Abbey is built, at which time they may transition into the first Sitting Master of that Abbey, or move on to a new position.
Sects
In the Shepherd Order, there are different ways of seeing the truth in the Way. Among the Order, factions have formed, which embody some of the more popular ways to follow the Way. While not all Shepherds join a faction, many do. Factions include:
- The Evangelists – The Evangelists were formed by a human woman known today as Galla the Evangelist. During the Second Breath, and after Syrurga was rediscovered, many of the Shepherd faith wondered how the Order should act in the wider galaxy. Galla, who was not a Shepherd in that she was a non-mystic, began to preach the ideals of the Shepherd’s Creed to the masses. As a result, many beings heard the Creed and began to follow it. This faction began to decline significantly after the rise of the Empire and the withdrawal of Shepherds from the business of government. While Evangelists still exist, they are now the few, rather than the many.
- The Templars – Templars are Shepherds in service to the Imperial Throne. There is an uneasy, tense peace between Templars and regular Shepherds, as regulars fear that Templars will violate the tenets of the faith at the command of the Emperor, while Templars believe that loyalty to the Iridium Throne creates greater stability, which is in greater service to the tenets of their faith. Templars are presently becoming more vocal among Shepherds.
- The Guardians – Guardians guard the various relics of the order. One of the smallest factions, these Shepherds are typically organized around a location that holds a relic of the Order. Leaders within this faction are sitting masters of temples containing at least one relic. There is rumored to one walking master among the Guardians who directs searches for lost relics of the Shepherd Order. Guardians are traditional non-political in their view towards other factions; for them, the protection of the relics is the only issue of importance.
- The Shadow Guard – Not discussed outside the Order, Shadow Guards are Shepherds who monitor and vanquish Shepherds who fall from the tenets of their faith. The Shadow Guards were formed after the revelation and first war with the Black Shepherds. The leader of the Shadow Guard is a sitting master at the Great Temple on Hesperides, who is always named Estro. Members of this faction do not openly announce their membership, and when acting within their faction, they are known to cover their faces and go by the name “Ombro”.
- The ReBorn – The newest faction among the Shepherds, ReBorn typically enter the Order later in life, often coming from other mystic traditions beforehand. Many of the ReBorn change their very identities and refuse to acknowledge their past; hence their name. The faction was created by a walking master known as the Dark Lady, a female Myrr. She preaches that the Order has fallen away from the Creed, and only by total dedication to the Creed can Shepherds truly serve the galaxy as intended. The beliefs are a curious mixture of the Creed and the orthodoxy of Contrition Knights, which many of this faction belong to. Many Shepherds believe the ReBorn are a cult of personality in the thrall of the Dark Lady, and fear both her radical ideas and the obsessive devotion of her followers.
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