Ket Maragh

Who so can speak to the corpse of God, to become Her Eyes and Tongue?

Ket Maragh (/kɛt mə.ˈɹa͡eː/) is the state religion of Khyth Vaaxa and the sole faith permitted to be practiced on the Great Beast Archipelago. It functions as an order for the spiritual and mental health of the Toxelugh, a branch of the civilization's government, and the parent organization of many social services on the Archipelago. One cannot walk half a league without encountering a building or service either sponsored by or owned by the Ketem church.

Origin

Ket Maragh originated in the Holy War Period in the 1940s BCE as a splinter of the older unified faith. Originally worshipers of the god of the dead and rotting, they formed an alliance with a panentheist-esotericist sect of ascetics, eventually merging their beliefs to be centered around the Great Beast Lugha. Their goal as a combined force was to conquer and reunite the Island, and to then later establish a lasting order that would fix the major issues of the previous civilization.

As the centuries went on, the doctrine of Ket Maragh was dictated, edited, and expanded upon by the Oracles the faith produced. The old beliefs from three thousand years ago are largely different, the mythos expanded and deepened by the Oracles of many successive ages.

Purpose

The purpose of Ket Maragh is three-faced. On the logistical and political facet, the Ketem church serves a variety of governmental and managerial functions within society to prevent collapse, instability, rebellion, or other fragmentation. This has become especially relevant since the Sundering, as geographical distance between groups has led to increased unrest and disunity.

On the spiritual side, Ket Maragh functions as the system of belief, orientation, and guidance for the toxelugh of Khyth Vaaxa. It answers questions of how and why the people exist and the nature of the world they live in,

And as a physical side, the Ketem church maintains massive relevance with their emphasis on use and connection to one's own psyche. This is massively important for a toxelugh's health; its outlawing was what drove the old civilization to fracture and the initiation of the Holy Wars. Practices for keeping the minds and bodies of the toxelugh healthy are spearheaded by the Ketem church and put into the cultural mind regularly.

Beliefs

The prime belief of Ket Maragh is of the Great Beast Lugha, the Dead-Goddess-Yet-Sleeping, the Great Mother called by many epithets to avoid invoking the whole of Her immortal soul. It is verifiably true that the Great Beast Archipelago is inlaid into the bones of an ancient colossal beast, whose own decay and chemistry prevents the mind-killing Darkshine trees from blooming. Ket Maragh sees intelligence and Psyche as gifts given directly from the Great Beast, splintered shards of Her own mind doled out to infants, nurtured and grown greater than they were before, and returned to Her after one's death to be reunited.

Toxelugh believe that all of them return to Lugha's great deific mind after death, retaining individuality only in the form of their memories. The Great Beast is thought to recall all of the toxelugh as if She were them, immortalizing them through the gifts She gives. It is for this reason that the ones lost in the Humming Wilds are mourned greatly. To the followers of Ket Maragh, a mind lost to the Humming Wilds—to Lugha's oldest foe and Her murderer, the Deep Silence—is a fragment of their Goddess lost forever and a soul damned without the immortalization of memory.

The clergy of Ket Maragh is made up entirely of unattuned toxelugh, as one of the foundational principles of the religion is that Lugha—the Great Beast, Her name forbidden to be used to refer to Her—grants only one use to each individual. The Attuned toxelugh are the Beast's arms and claws—Ae Lugh literally mean's Claws of Lugh (altered form to not disrespect Her name). The unattuned have a wider variety of roles, able to function as the lifeblood that keeps the archipelago thriving or the other organs. Those who become Ketem priests are said to be the Beast's eyes, ears, nose and tongue, the sensory organs and that which allows Her to speak. Their psychic connections allow them, through ritual, to allegedly communicate with the deceased Beast Herself.

As Attunement links permanently to one of the Nine Lights, Attuned toxelugh cannot have psychic connections and thus cannot communicate with the Beast—save for indirectly through prayer. Why would you let someone unable to hear the voice of God be a priest, after all? The order is meant for Oracles to deliver Her messages.

Structure

The church of Ket Maragh is organized into a branching structure of hierarchy, with unspecialized intake of pious individuals being their main recruitment strategy. As members of the church progress, they are encouraged to strive for roles that fit their specific skills. The diligence and rigidity of this structure can be brutal at times, and those who enter with an idea of what they want often leave if they are turned away from the role they desired.

Lower Ranks

All members of Ket Maragh's official ranks start at the lower pathway, undifferentiated and made to do much work both within themselves and out in the church's operations. Though their workload and expectations are heavy and hopes for most of them are low, the lower ranks are the foundation upon which the church is built. All members began here, even the Oracles.

Heartsbloods

The newest members are the Heartsblood priests, working tirelessly to learn and operate the logistics of the order, while they study the Scriptures in hopes of being promoted. Some are content to stay as Heartsbloods, donning their crimson-accented white robes with pride and keeping Ket Maragh from harming the economy. While often thought of as grunt workers, the truth is that the church could not carry out its functions without the combined labor of the Heartsbloods, and even a brief strike on their part would cause the cracks in the faith's ordinance over the Archipelago to be irreversibly apparent.

If a Heartsblood wishes to advance, they can take up a Scripture and Tenets test with their presiding Shepherd, who will test them on their knowledge of the principles and core beliefs of the faith. Any pious and well-read enough may advance on to become an Eye.

A good portion of Heartsbloods do not actually care to work in the Ketem church at all, drawn in by the consistent pay and work provided instead. These are the defuncts, those who have no other place that will accept them for work or no other aspiration to work somewhere. They work hard to blend in, to not be noticed and chastised for their selfish desire. Their presence is well known, but nobody will openly admit it or work to stop it. The labor force is greatly appreciated.

Eyes

The studious and watchful Eyes dedicate their time to learning different aspects of the Scriptures. Unspecialized still yet, this class is seen more as a transitional point where Ketem priests choose their future path. Eyes are always in low supply, as many Heartsblood can't get past their workload to be promoted or just can't be bothered, and most Eyes choose within a couple years what to become next. Their robes are pure white, representative of their lack of direction and the potential they represent.

The only functional difference between the studies of the Heartsbloods and the Eyes is the depth into which they study and the amount of oversight they are given. Eyes have no other work they are required to do, and are monitored and guided by their presiding Shepherds much more actively than Heartsbloods. It is in their studies that they look to the aspect of their faith that they would most like to embody and work to uphold.

Eyes can take one of four routes once they gain enough specialty in the area they desire. There is an additional fifth option, but they cannot choose it themselves. These are the Branches, the higher paths that give greater power, responsibility, and recognition to a Ketem priest. All Eyes are expected to go for one of these, the quicker the better.

Applying for a promotion once again requires a Shepherd to administer a test, though it is overseen by the local Branch Head as well. These Aptitude Tests give the church a good idea of the specific qualities an Eye has, and allows them to judge whether or not they are worthy for the Branch they wish to join. This is the eye of the needle that determines whether many priests go on to become respected members of the church proper, or instead leave it behind entirely.

Branch of Message

Sometimes called the Blue Branch, the Branch of Message is dedicated to the flow of information, both mundane and esoteric. They are the scribes, the sponsors of the mail system, the history-writers and the archivists. It is said that the written language of the Toxelugh was invented by the Blue Branch of Ket Maragh, wrenched from a divine inspiration taken from Lugha Herself.

Confessors

Confessors are the entry role for the Branch of Message, a class of priest dedicated to listening to the people of the Archipelago and reporting it to Ket Maragh. They serve to record the state of things and gather information that the upper echelons of the church can use for the good of society.

Confessors write the ledgers of people and happenings, often working together with legal teams to investigate and record evidence of crimes. One of their main jobs in tandem with the legal systems of Khyth Vaaxa is the recording of testimonies from various witnesses and defendants in most cases.

Confessors do, as their role implies, act to give solace to the public within the church's reach. Confessions are not mandated by Ket Maragh, but many followers choose to seek the advice of a Confessor to help deal with their personal issues or even to seek penance. Criminals often obtain reduced sentences if they turn themselves in via a Confessor. This role does help the courts, but its deeper purpose is to inform the Shadows of the types of unrest that are going on across the Archipelago.

Despite being potentially the most attractive career for those seeking gossip, loose-lipped Confessors are shunned. The selection process to even join the Blue Branch weeds out most potential rumor-spreaders, but those that slip through the cracks tend to have very short stays within the church.

Shadows

Confessors have the eventual opportunity to become Shadows, the people in charge of analyzing and deciding what to do with the information gained by Confessors. They are the intelligence core of the Great Beast Archipelago, frequently collaborating with the mundane governmental forces and the Ae Lugh's Council of Grandmasters.

Shadows work most in tandem with the political machine of Khyth Vaaxa, advising politics and ordinances and presenting aggregate data about the states of unrest and issues that need addressing. What rare criticism of Ket Maragh remains through the Rose-Gold screening of faith and propaganda is usually about the Shadows, portraying them as a potentially malicious special interest group that is all too prone to corruption.

Shadows, as the intelligence core where the layout of society is analyzed, are the ones who draft up the majority of missions for the Ae Lugh. Internal affairs and investigations can be assigned with relative ease, and just about any geographist can tell when a drifting island is due to hit the Archipelago, but it is through the organization of the Shadows that these are drafted up and dealt to groups that will handle them best.

While the Shadows do operate with more secrecy than the other orders of the Ketem clergy, they have strict internal codes about how to act. They are very focused on keeping the church central to the government of Khyth Vaaxa, which can be construed as self-interest, but anyone suggesting short-sighted actions is looked down on. Their primary mission is to keep the government from failing and to stay within the good graces of the other branches of it. They are peacekeepers by manipulation, preventing unrest as early as anyone can—before it happens.

Shadows have their secondary role as the church's archivists, noting and organizing the vast quantities of information supplied to them by the Confessors and other lower wings in their grand libraries. These are held as sacred, a simulacrum of the Great Beast's own collective Memory-of-the-dead. The greatest of all these is kept underneath the Temple of the Moon, embedded in its Heavenspire rock to prevent all breach. This Temple-Archive is also where the darker contracts take place, sending specific Ae Lugh to snuff out internal dissent by capture or assassination before it can cause serious issues.

Messengers

Confessors can alternatively become Messengers, a class of Ketem priest specialized for helping Attuned toxelugh and especially the Ae Lugh. Since according to Scripture, Attuned toxelugh cannot communicate with the Great Beast, the Messengers take their prayers and confessions and deliver them on their behalf.

Though Ketem churches exist on all islands of the Great Beast Archipelago, the Messengers make up a disproportionately high segment of the clergy on any of the outer islands. The islands besides Khythis have a much higher population of Attuned toxelugh, so their presence is a much more pressing need. The constant presence in the violence of the Lights beyond the First does cause some of them to awaken Attunements themselves, giving Messengers an unfortunate turnover rate.

Messengers must take on aspects of the Rose, Gold, and even Black Branches in their work, as convincing those unable to hear the voice of the Goddess to remain faithful and continue to live piously is an immense and difficult task. They must be well versed in not only Scripture but also social engineering and counseling, as Messengers work more personally and directly with other people than any other class of Ketem priest. For these reasons of work, Messengers are revered more than any secondary position, above even their sister-class of the Shadows. Though few would admit it aloud, they enjoy status second only to Tongues and Oracles.

Branch of Abundance

Sometimes called the Gold Branch, the Branch of Abundance is devoted to managing the assets of the church and the people, keeping wealth and famine in check in equal measure. They are the bankers, the welfare managers, and the economic advisors. It is said that the weight and value of all things was inspired through Lugha's dialogues with the Gold Branch through an intermediary Oracle in the old days.

Seekers

The heart of the continual public relations between the public and the Ketem church is the Seekers, a class dedicated to keeping the faith strong by finding and uplifting the unfortunate. They function to keep the disadvantaged members of society from becoming discouraged nonbelievers. With a line to the church's treasury, they are the ones people often depend on in times of need. Their presence is known to a good portion of the population, and so they are often called upon in the Ketem churches dotted across the archipelago.

Seekers are often chosen for their impulsivity and inclination towards social justice. As they have to proactively look for unrest and poverty, they spend much of their time dealing with the worst in society, suffusing themselves in it enough to empathize with the people living in those conditions. This empathy is a tool for the Seekers, though most would rather relinquish their most recent meal than admit the social power they hold in pursuit of their work.

In truth, it is this interaction that the church devised to keep the people faithful through tribulation and famine. No preacher on a hilltop or formalized confession ritual or moral advice-seeking can draw someone back from the brink of losing their faith. Someone dedicated to the person in front of them, truly and primarily, more so than their service to their church, is what people truly want to depend on. And in service of the church the Seekers become that symbol of reliability, someone who genuinely cares. And because of their position and the faith they hold, it spreads and keeps the unfortunate willingly within the grasp of Ket Maragh. Within the reach of the other priests' guidance.

Keys

Seekers can eventually become Keys, the ones actually in charge of finance and managing the treasury. They keep accounting records and organize events to raise funds so that those in need can be helped by the Seekers, keeping the faith in community and the Great Beast strong. It is through their knowledge and acceptance of their social manipulation that they are promoted, becoming ones capable of bringing great groups together and convincing them to spend.

While Keys can come off as very sales-minded, they truly do care about the causes they raise funds for. The treasuries need to be stocked, but they dole out capital to Seekers in order to aid their endeavors in protecting the people who need it most. The difficult part is finding a way to market the church's services and assets in a way that can bring in the money they require, without simply asking for taxation or stipends from Khyth Vaaxa's main government.

Keys must be well-versed in financial management and accounting, as well as economic theories. They occasionally offer services such as these for people in order to raise income for the Ketem church, but this is inefficient in their eyes. Organizing events or setting up charity funds at other public spaces is often much more lucrative, and for this reason it is very rare to see an event with no Keys involved. People with spare capital do donate well, as when the rest of the church is doing its job the pious understand the inherent value in it. After all, a simple reversal of fortune can make them in need of a Seeker's assistance, and an investment to those who need it now may come back to help them later.

Branch of Law

Sometimes called the Green Branch and the Dead-End Branch, the Branch of Law is devoted to keeping the legal system in harmony with the teachings of Ket Maragh. They are the Orators and only the Orators, a special class of legal advisor with power similar, but secondary, to official judges. Their former wartime class of "Oathkeeper" was disbanded when the modern legal system formed and the Ae Lugh relieved the church of its enforcement duties. It is said that all false laws can be sensed by the keen among the Green Branch, that divine revelation lets them tell truth from lie.

Orators

The ranks of the Orators study specifically the moral and legal Scriptures and serve in courts as a readily available resource for those seeking advice. The Archipelago's legal system is heavily entwined with their religion. Orators don't have any additional paths past their specialization. Delivering the law is their job and enforcing it is the job of the Ae Lugh.

Orators have their duty in courts to inform the juries, attorneys, and clients about the spiritual codes they may be infringing on or following. This can be out of the courtroom to bolster one's case or within it to object to one's reasoning, ethics, or methodology. While the law itself is often cold and uncaring about the emotional side of life's happenings, the Scripture-Law is deeply invested in these ongoings.

Outside of courts, Orators serve to inform members of the Blue Branch about the legality of their activities, what sorts of advice would be ill-followed, and the ledgers of court proceedings. While they do not write the Law of Scriptures, they read it fervently enough to have it entirely memorized. As walking encyclopedias, they often take small fees for spirituo-legal advice, helping the general public stay informed even when no case is filed. These everyday external duties make Orators well revered as one of the pillars of social excellence.

Orators are required to have base-level experience with mundane law in order to be properly oriented in a courtroom, but many choose to study further into it, serving in higher courts and even helping to rule on the spiritual validity of new legislation. While they are intended to be selfless and unbiased in these scenarios, a few ambitious Orators have used this position to try and benefit themselves, though the attempts were quickly silenced by the Shadows.

Branch of Nurture

Sometimes called the Rose Branch, the Branch of Nurture is dedicated to delivering and organizing the faith internally, managing people's beliefs and the lower ranks of the clergy. They are prolific in teaching jobs and childcare, though the majority of their jobs never involve leaving the church for any period of time. It is known that without the Rose Branch, the church would fall within three generations, and it is said that they raise society as a parent might raise their child.

Preachers

For those wishing to teach others, the best option available to the Eyes is to become a Preacher, the class of priests that operates within each Ketem church and serves to actually inform followers of the Scripture itself. They organize sermons and deliver messages regularly, and are considered the heart of the faith. Preachers are not usually in high demand, but the amount of Eyes willing to become them has caused a steady increase in the skill level needed to qualify.

Preachers act as public speakers and officiants for all sorts of personal matters, including funerary rights, the first blessings of new children, and marriages. They have experience evoking great emotional response from crowds and are usually chosen for their ability to tell stories effectively. The message is often less important than how it is presented when it comes to keeping it in the public consciousness.

Preachers are the main face of the church that one will see within the official sites and temples. There is almost always at least one preacher available for counsel or general spiritual advice in the congregation halls of each temple, and sermons are delivered regularly, on varying topics like current events or philosophical questions. The job of the Preachers is at its core about informing how citizens think, guiding them to worldviews close to the doctrine itself, or at least not opposed to it.

Shepherds

Preachers have the potential to become Shepherds, the educator class of Ketem priest. They work to bring in the new members of the clergy and to train the Heartsblood and Eyes, as well as newer Preachers. Their presence in the church is one of the reasons there is such bias towards becoming a Preacher, but it cannot be helped.

Shepherds are rarely seen outside of the churches themselves, only appearing for specialty messages, church-internal public relations jobs, and for recruitment events. While application to officially join the ranks of the church can be done through any Branch member, the Shepherds oversee these applications regardless of who they are initially sent to. For a smoother process, one should endeavor to meet a Shepherd face to face to present them with the wish to join.

The main job of the Shepherds is internal management, however. The amaranth of their robes is a mixture between the crimson dye used to decorate Heartsblood robes and the magenta of the Rose Branch for a reason. Shepherds are the overseers who manage and delegate the work required of the Heartsbloods, keeping them motivated and busy so their contribution to the church is equitable to the cost for maintaining them. In addition to fostering study of the Scriptures, a Shepherd must proctor the advancement of the lower ranks, from the examinations to become Eyes to the individual assessment of Eyes hoping to join the Branches. This is often a difficult task, as it involves seeing through and weeding out the biases of their students, a process many new Shepherds find emotionally straining.

Upper Echelons

Sometimes called the Branch of Voice and the Black Branch, the upper echelons of the Ketem church are dedicated directly to their connection to the Great Beast Herself. They are not the foundation upon which the church relies for stability; they are the window into the divine that allows it to exist at all in the first place. They are the Scripture-writers and the storytellers supreme. It is said that they strain daily to retain their individuality as the Beast-Mother desires, and that any unfortunate enough to cross them are doomed forevermore.

Whisperers

Entry into the Branch of Voice requires scouting from a member of the upper echelons, one who had already taken the same path. These scouted rare individuals become Whisperers, who spend their time learning to enhance their psychic connectivity in hopes of hearing the voice of God. They are taught personally and separated from their peers for most of their training. They undergo intense psychological stress during their lives, but the rarity of the opportunity makes it difficult to pass on.

Of all the classes of priest, Whisperers do the absolute least and have the least connection to anyone else. Only trained by their Tongue or Oracle masters and only given the duty to train to replace them eventually, many Whisperers go stir-crazy within the first few months of their career.

Whisperers are taught, as they independently foster their attempted connection to the Great Beast, the ways of storytelling and omen-reading, the complex workings and study of Psyche, and the corpus of hidden dialogues transcribed verbatim before being edited to put into the Scriptures themselves. This study is extremely important, as it gives them a stronger and more malleable sense of psyche and teaches them the personality of the Great Mother secondhand, rather than third-hand.

Tongues

Whisperers train with only their few peers and their masters. Eventually, as they form what they believe to be a linkage directly to the Great Beast, they can be promoted by their visions and communication to the rank of Tongue. Tongues hold deep meditative councils with each other, as well as instructing the newer Whisperers. They begin to take on an ethereal demeanor and are one of the most respected classes in Ket Maragh.

Tongues rarely have the opportunity to voluntarily connect with the Great Beast, instead usually only "tuning in" to the dialogues had by their nearest Oracle. On rare occasions, though, they will hear the Great Beast's musings to Herself. Tongues are instructed to take notes of these verbatim, not only as archival work but also as practice for being able to listen and write at the same time, a necessary skill for the better-studied among them and a basic prerequisite for those who wist to become Oracles.

Between the whispers they hear from the Great Beast, Tongues work to learn patterns of omens and symbology, the turning points of history, and more effective storytelling and manipulation. Words can never quite evoke the correct meaning when plainly said, so it is the duty of the Tongues to learn how to speak so as to evoke their meaning even beyond words. Their psyche is at this point considered too sacred to be wasted communicating thoughtforms, and preservation of their experiences must go through language and writing at some point. Knowing which words to use to pull the imaginations and minds of their future readers is crucial for keeping the faith on course with Her existence.

Oracles

Tongues may, though this rarely occurs, go on to become the highest rank of priest, the Oracles. There are less than a dozen Oracles at any given time. They are the ones said to be capable of fully communicating with the Great Beast, directly informing Her immortal soul of the state of Her Archipelago. The Oracles have final say on interpretation of Scripture and have been known to deliver prophecies. They are the heads of the church of Ket Maragh, and have a congregation hall in the Temple of the Moon. Their outfits are the least standard of any Ketem priest, as Oracles tend to theme themselves after their particular flavor of divine revelation and personality.

Oracles are the ones who write and expand on the Ketem Scriptures, the only ones permitted to speak or write the name of Lugha. They are given this privilege because through their study and efforts, they have been able to fully breach the connection and speak back to the Great Mother. They are Her eyes and tongue, able to inform Her ever-growing soul of the realm of the living instead of just being subjects to Her thoughts and memories. They are the bridge between the living and the dead, able through proxy to divine immense knowledge from Her mind.

Oracle journaling is typically done in the form of Dialogue records, done verbatim whilst they are still in their communicative trance. The Great Beast reveals only so much enlightenment as they are believed to be able to handle, with the same oath and mantra "As it will return to you, Mother". Before this goes to Scripture, it is edited to retain only the lessons and meanings behind the enlightenment, as very few of Her own words are permitted to be written and distributed for fear of what the impious interpretations may lead to. Interpretation happens first and foremost through the Branch of Voice, the job done in advance so that all may correctly see Her will.

Oracles are rarely available, as between Dialogues they regularly scout through Eyes to see who among them has the strongest potential for a pure Psyche elevation, and from within those select few who knows the virtues of Ket Maragh in their heart well enough to truly advance. It is said that out of a thousand Eyes only six may be chosen for the Black Branch, at discretion of the Oracles alone.