Post:G'nar Pethians - 6/13/2009 - 1:32:11

G'nar Pethians · on 6/13/2009 1:32:11 AM	3719
The Prophets of G'nar Peth are a society of perfectly rational archaeologists and historians who follow the mystic philosophy of G'nar Peth on its intellectual and spiritual merits. This is true. The Prophets of G'nar Peth are imbalanced seers who walk around the wastes of the north, gouging out their eyes to increase the potency of their mad visions. This is also true. One of the lessons of G'nar Peth is that something may exist in multiple states simultaneously. All Moon Mages practice mysticism -- using introspection and meditation to attain irrational knowledge of the universe -- but none in such a blatant form as the Prophets of G'nar Peth. The core tenant of the G'nar Pethians is that through prophetic insight and occult lore, a seer can arrive at an understanding of the universe greater than what their imperfect senses can give them. Literally, the eyes of the supplicant cannot compare to the observational power of prophecy and the secret doctrine of G'nar Peth. Someone who follows the path and attains all of G'nar Peth's secrets will find the Garden, which is alternately described as a heavenly realm or a metaphor for transcendent enlightenment. The Prophets are organized as a mystery religion, somewhat similar to the early 20th century Hermetic orders (or Scientology, for that matter). At the heart of the sect are a set of secret truths about the universe attributed to G'nar Peth himself, which are so profound as to be dangerous to the unprepared. Supplicants must prove themselves by mastering lesser lore, going on vision quests, and otherwise being good G'nar Pethians in a constant effort to learn more of G'nar Peth's wisdom. Unlike the examples in the real world, the G'nar Pethians no longer have a temple, or much in the way of a sect hall. The lore masters of the G'nar Pethians can be almost as hard to find as the Garden itself. Many G'nar Pethians thus interpret the path as one of self-directed research, that you prove your worthiness to know the secrets of G'nar Peth by finding the secrets of G'nar Peth. These make up some of the most dedicated historians in the Moon Mage Guild and a large fraction of the Moon Mages who do archaeology duty at the ruins of Su Helmas. The religious aspects of the Prophets are still alive and become a matter of some dissent between G'nar Pethians and their peers. This largely revolves around two points. 1: G'nar Pethians are, to a man, serious about the mystery of G'nar Peth. The G'nar Pethians who have learned some of G'nar Peth's secret doctrine take it to their graves unless they are utterly convinced someone is worthy of it (always another G'nar Pethian). Even the most open-minded and cooperative G'nar Pethian seems to have a transformative moment upon learning one of these occult truths. When asked, the G'nar Pethians repeat the age old answer: some truths are dangerous without greater knowledge, and some secrets are secret for a reason. 2: The whole eye-gouging-insane-seers bit is actually true. G'nar Pethians who devote their lives to the Garden and accumulate libraries worth of secret lore tend to be a bit... weird. They know something you don't (presumably) and react to the world as though through an entirely different system of values. The demeanor of a G'nar Pethian this far into the mysteries can be charitably called ominous, though G'nar Pethians credit it as the sort of fear and discomfort one has before what is divine. Despite the difference in demeanor, there is no intra-sect conflict. The rank and file Pethians regard the "mad" seers as advanced disciples who practice esoteric rites and deal with strange truths that common men, or even common seers, cannot fully comprehend. The desert-dwelling seers regard the historians and conventional seekers as younger disciples who are going through a rewarding process of discovery. However, both sides have disdain for young G'nar Pethians who take on the trappings of the great seers before they're ready. A common remark among the Prophets is that you should keep your eyes open if you keep running into closed doors. -Armifer
This message was originally posted in The Moon Mages (24) \ The Moon Mage Sects (14), by DR-ARMIFER on the play.net forums.