The Eternal Seafarers

The Midnight is a deadly realm, filled with treacherous currents and consuming darkness. Yet it is also full of power. And power attracts followers. Midnight-worship is an old practice, but has only recently formed into an organised cult. The 'Eternal Seafarers' believe the world is destined to fall into shadow. Though they cannot directly control the darkness, they revere and sacrifice to it. But the most worrying thing about the Eternal Seafarers is their growing influence over Ekos' politics, and are searching the waters for a shadow best left uncast...

So-Called Saviours

The Seafarers brand themselves as a charitable organisation which helps those whom society shuns. Widows, orphans, the hurting and the magic-less - they do not care about one's background. All are equal under the Midnight's shadow, and all mortal woes will be shed by the Dark's rise. But the order's priests know that the bigger the following they have, the more money and sacrifices they receive. After all, if the world is doomed to fall, what harm is there in keeping a little for themselves? Everything they do not take is used to feed the Midnight's rise - thrown through world-rifts or otherwise consumed.

Structure

There are four levels to the Seafarers:
The Hands are the lowest Seafarers, the newly initiated or untrained in doctrine. They are usually normal non-mages disillusioned with the Great Wolves.
The Voyagers are the evangelists and travelers. They bring new followers into the cult from different areas of the world. More recently, they have also begun searching for the sunken city of Arkan (which they call the Old Gate) to open it.
The Navigators are the cult's priests. They supposedly commune with the Midnight to determine its direction and are responsible for uncovering old texts supporting the cult. In truth, the Navigators have made themselves judge, jury and executioner - they make the laws, they reveal the texts, and they mete out the punishments.
And finally, the Captains are three shadowy figures who, according to the Navigators, are destined to release the darkness. Interestingly, this corresponds to another three figures in leading positions who also have a way to access Arkan...

Cosmological Views

The Eternal Seafarers reject the more popular creation lore, holding instead that the Midnight formed reality. This is an understandable stance, seeing as the Midnight's constructs typically imitate shapes found in reality. It is also how they justify their view that all must return to the darkness. And while the Dreamers have largely been forgotten, the higher-ranked members of the Seafarers know and revere these titanic beings, heralding them as Seva - the beginning of the end. They hold the Keepers as antagonistic figures - not an easy view to spread, considering how the outside culture considers the Keepers to be heroes among mortals - since their duty is to preserve the world. They even see the Endsworn as a neutral force thanks to their corrosive, destructive power, although only one Endsworn has ever contacted the Seafarers.

Tenets of Faith

- Enlightenment: We are but fleeting wisps, and the Sea is an endless shadow. We alone know the fate of the world, and this is our greatest gift.
- Fear: The Eternal Sea is our hope, but it is to be respected. Our sacrifice is our reminder that the Dark must be upheld.
- Sacrifice: All will fall into the Sea eventually; to sacrifice is merely to hasten the process.

- Old Navigator of the Seafarers

Granted Divine Powers

The Seafarers give, and the Midnight takes. Their power, like that of the Endsworn, is a symbol of their chains. Those who dare to look directly at a world-rift may find that something looks back - but instead of a benevolent, watchful god, this is immediately all-consuming. The Navigators, especially, hold the power to force the Midnight into reality, to conjure shadow-constructs, and even to plunge areas into darkness. But unlike the Ending, which changes one bit by bit, the Midnight consumes these "gifted" few. Over the years, their bodies disintegrate from the inside, replaced by smoke and shadow, and their darkest impulses move to the forefront. They then become shadow-constructs themselves, masquerading as mortals.

To Sail the Sea of Shadow

Type

Religious, Cult

Demonym

Seafarers

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