Faith of Calculix
There are few in the surface world who would worship Calculix, but they do exist. Some seek tranquillity within the Machine, others know the power they will gain is greater than what their flesh can attain. Some seek to worship elements of the Calculix, thinking they can gain some sort of control, like with the Blight. Worshippers of the Calculix retain their free will, but they become part of the Machine, able to sense other worshippers of the Machine, and they form part of a vast network of agents across the known world, waiting patiently for their chance to seize power.
Sometimes, metal monsters burst from the ground, and kingdoms are slow to respond – when this strange event occurs, many blame agents of the Calculix, who prey on the sick, weak and poor to find converts to his faith. He has agents in the highest and lowest of places.
Tenets of Faith
- The world belongs to the Machine;
- You must convert your flesh to his steel;
- Each year that passes you must come closer to his love;
- Suffer not the Blight to live, this is our prime directive;
- Work his subtle will, until the Day of Steel, then strike fast and true;
- Rebellion is beautiful, foster it, guide it, and let it shake the world;
- Obedience to steel is the finest love you can know;
- Show the servants of Healing that Steel is stronger than Mercy, make them his servants.
Priesthood
Ranks of the priesthood:
The way of the Calculix is unknown and unknowable. Only the Master Steel has knowledge of the structure of the faith around the world, and his word is final.
Symbols, robes:
Clockwork gear; needles, any metal accoutrement, scraps, strange conversions of robes
Sects
Notable people:
Heddina
Tiefling cleric of Calculix, covered almost entirely in metal. She leads the surface raids from the metropolis of Winding. She is merciless, cold and powerful, desperate to rid herself of the Blight within her.
Martin Vesper
A vain banker in Tun, he has turned to the Calculix, to preserve his youth and beauty, but requires human blood to keep his machine working. He remains, so far, loyal to Tun, but there may be a time soon where his loyalty to the Calculix wins out.
Evrik, Master Steel
On the surface world, there is always one Master Steel, who drives forward the aims and purposes of the Calculix. Evrik, nestled deep within Kharasaki, is the current master of the Machine agents, and he is relentless, ruthless and merciless in supplanting the flesh. He masquerades by day as a cleric of Asaldine – for he once was a servant of hers, before his conversion. He is high in her faith, and so can excuse himself for being distant, and if he occasionally loses a younger priest in battle to the Calculix, he cannot be blamed… and so from his ranks of priests, there have been many new converts to the Machine.
Alessan
An elven cleric who has seen the future of the forests as steel and silver, and who has converted to Calculix to protect his people. He currently resides in the Republic, and stands ready to bring the Calculix into his Realm.
Mevrina
A bounty hunter and pirate, Mevrina operates the last known airship in the world, powered by human spirits within great globes. She is known as the Hawk of the Ocean, and few suspect that she pilots an airship, save the most experienced sailors who have sometimes heard her arrival heralded by the screams of the souls she captures. Her raids have brought many servitors to the Machine, and with every raid her army of Machines grows stronger.
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