The Disciples of Goa

Mythology & Lore

The Making of Life on Thugodi

In the beginning, Thugodi was a barren world of rocks and oceans. From the cosmos came three gods: Gao, Nalago, and Chog. Gao was their leader and decided that they should settle on the world. With the assistance of Nalago, Gao built the first vestiges of life. But Chog was a trickster and liked messing with Gao's plans. For each creation, Chog snuck in a bit of chaos. Because of this interference, all that was to be made orderly turned chaotic and jumbled. Intent to have at least one creation free of Chog's meddling, Gao turned to the first humans and imbued them with more of his being than any other creature before. This was not enough to keep Chog's influence from their design, but with the power of Gao, humans could enforce Gao's intended order upon the world--bringing it peace and prosperity which was completely unknown before. Thus humans are made of both Gao and Chog. They must forever banish their base instincts shaped by Chog and uphold their orderly birthright from Gao.

The Death of Chog

As much as humanity tried to live up to the ideals of Gao, Chog's meddlesome ways always interfered. Peace was never lasting and order dissolved to chaos without constant vigilance. In an effort to rid the world of Chog's harmful presence, the champion Marcus Nassar strode out to defeat Chog. It was a gruesome and grueling battle that lasted many months, but ultimately Marcus succeeded by sacrificing himself in the effort to kill Chog. In his final moments, Chog cursed the world. He turned the lush grasslands to deserts, the rivers to poison bogs, and set the sky on fire. Nothing would survive Chog's curse and the people cried out to Gao to save them as it marched across the world. Gao heard their cries and visited Marcus's squire and confidant, Jervain Wright. He gave Jervain all the tools he needed to save the true believers. Jervain harnessed Gao's power to lift up the land around the poles of the world into a ring of mountains and then tied Gao's power to sacred stones which together made a great shield that spanned from mountain top to mountain top. The mountains and shield were enough to prevent the encroachment of Chog's curse. The people who were saved in the poles became the Piromese and owe their existence to Gao, who continues to shield Piromere from the curse. It is up to all Piromese to live by the tenets of Gao so that their dedication to order feeds and supports Gao's efforts to shield them.

Divine Origins

The Disciples of Gao were based off previous folk practices to Gao, but formalized by Jervain Wright after the creation of the Shield. Because of his close work with Gao, Jervain was the lead spokesmen for the Disciples and laid the foundations for the modern day organization. The Disciples has evolved into an economic and political powerhouse given their stewardship of the sacred stones that power the Shield.

Tenets of Faith

1. Order elevates humans to a higher plane of existence 2. The virtuousness of the people is directly related to the strength of the shield protecting Piromere 3. Invention and social progress is one of the highest ways to worship to Gao 4. You have a duty to protect all by enforcing order on your neighbor

Ethics

Anything that transgresses the social order is considered a sin. If you break a law, that is the highest form of sinning because you are helping to erode the social foundation. Anything you do to uphold the social order, either through participating in rituals, civil service, or maintaining every day business is considered a form of worship. It is imperative that anyone challenging the social order be confronted and punished.  For being a bystander is considered also to be a high sin (because you're allowing the erosion to happen). Thus there are very formal ways of greeting people and conversations can seem stilted if you're an outsider.

Worship

There are central churches that congregations will gather at for prayer. They will often join in complicated, ordered chants as part of their rituals to lift their collective voices up to give Gao strength. Priests will often lecture the congregation on one of the teachings of the Disciples.

Priesthood

The Speaker is the highest position within the Disciples and has a direct connection to Gao. There is a large and convoluted hierarchy of priests and bureaucrats beneath the Speaker. Each priest must go through specialize schooling before they can manage a congregation.

Granted Divine Powers

Magic seeks to usurp the natural order and is the cursed mark of Chog --Word of Gao

There are no divine powers granted to priests because magic is considered to be direct opposition to natural laws. Given its chaotic nature, Chog is often characterized as the father of magic. Thus magically gifted individuals are either shunned or they're "trained" out of it. It is rare for a Piromese person to have magical abilities because of the Disciples strict and pervasive educational programs.

Political Influence & Intrigue

"I'd reckon the Speaker has more power than the King, but no one will ever say that out loud!" --Disgruntled merchant at Deefin Gate

The Disciples are intertwined with the Piromese monarchy because of their vital role guarding the sacred stones that power the shield. The Speaker is a member of the monarch's advisory board and will often act as regent if a monarch is too young to assume the throne. They are also a major economic power given their sponsorship of inventors and have the ability to greatly influence trade.

Sects

"With his strength restored, Gao shall stretch out across the face of Thugodi and eradicate the corruption of Chog's curse. Only then shall we be free to stride the surface once more." --Brother Torring

There is an extremist sect of the Disciples (Gaoan Brotherhood) who believe that the reason Gao has not restored the world fully is because only Piromese worship him. If they could root out non-believers in both Piromere and the Borderlands, particularly the Borderlands, Gao would have enough strength to undo the curse and the world could be restored. Because of this belief, this sect has pushed for conflict in the Borderlands-- either to convert the Numab or exterminate them. They have also been behind efforts to steal Numabian children and bring them to Piromere to be raised in the faith.

Demonym

Gaoan

Deities

• Gao

Location

Piromere

Related Traditions

• Honey Cookies