Cult of Enkai

The Cult of Enkai - spoken of by its followers as the Enkaian Temple - goes hand in hand with the Church of the Almighty insofar as that belief in one requires belief in the other; the two are diametrically opposed forces that each seek the elimination of the other. The Cult worships Enkai, the ancient god of sorcery and secrets. Before his banishment from the world, the Enkaian Temple was the most prominent religion in Amarus, but in contemporary Rhodenia, its following has been reduced to a scattered collection of mysterious covens. In Vllaistrae, practitioners of the Cult are considered heretics by the Church, and heavily persecuted. Elsewhere in Rhodenia, its members are freer to express their beliefs, although they are considered suspect by many.

Most of the works documenting the teachings of Enkai were either destroyed by the followers of the Almighty, or sealed away in the Church’s archives. Contrary to the Church’s claims, Enkai was not an evil or malicious god. Above all, followers of Enkai value freedom - principally with respect to the use of magic, but also in other aspects of life. The Enkaian temple expects its followers to live their lives to the fullest, and explore the world and its mysteries with boundless curiosity. Idleness and weakness are considered grave personality flaws; according to the Cult’s teachings, the best and the brightest ought rule the world, and those who are weak serve only to conspire against the strong. The Crown’s ban on the use of magic by common folk is a major affront to the secret followers of Enkai in Vllaistrae and, ironically, the College of Magic itself has become a gathering point for those who seek to return Enkai to the world and bring about a new era in which magic is commonplace once more.

Unlike the Church, there is not a strong, clear network binding together worshippers of Enkai. Small communities of those faithful to the fallen deity may select a leader amongst themselves, but these appointed leaders have little contact with outside covens; however, in recent years, many rumors have circulated regarding attempts by various covens to join together and form a more complex hierarchy. Some even whisper that a single high priest or priestess has emerged and presently works to unite the Enkai faithful, but whether or not such an individual exists remains unknown; indeed, many followers of Enkai regard this particular rumor as propaganda spread by the Church in order to justify their inquisitions.

As a consequence of the Cult’s lack of overarching structure, individual cells of Enkai’s followers have interpreted what little remains of his teachings as they see fit. These followers, however, all have the ability to speak directly to Enkai, who can communicate to any mortal—unlike the Almighty—through visions and dreams, instructing them and guiding them to his will. Unlike the Almighty, however, Enkai cannot grant his followers the ability to perform acts of divine magic, but can only educate them on how to harness the power of mana. While most worshippers are peaceful and most focused primarily upon their personal exploration of magic, others focus upon culling weakness from the world. These fringe, more extreme cells are known to engage in human sacrifice and blood magic, and considered dangerous even by other followers of Enkai. Unsurprisingly, it is the actions of these extremists that the Church uses to characterize the whole Enkaian Temple - to the infinite dismay of its more tolerant adherents.

The Cult of Enkai views the history of Amarus in a very different light than the Church. According to the Cult, the age of the wizard-kings was an era of prosperity, an enlightened era where humankind fearlessly plumbed the secrets of the Elementum and wielded magics powerful enough to reshape the world - a time that was prematurely brought to an end by the appearance of the Almighty. Many among the Cult believe that the Almighty herself was once a sorceress who, having secured immense power for herself, hypocritically sought to deny others such power. In the few remaining works detailing the words of Enkai, there are many cryptic passages that suggest the possibility of mortals transcending their nature and becoming deities themselves; indeed, among the Udoth Following - a sect unique to the wilds of Athttania - both the Almighty and Enkai are believed to have once been mortal. Although members of the Cult disagree as to the true nature of these two deities, they nonetheless all concur on the point that the ascendance of the Almighty and her Church has led Rhodenia into a dark age - a dark age which only the light of knowledge can banish.

Although magic predates the appearance of Enkai in Rhodenia, most all contemporary magic is derived from the spellcraft practiced in the Age of the Wizard-Kings. Members of the Cult generally believe that, although Enkai was banished from the mortal plane, with the power of ancient spellcraft he might be returned to Rhodenia. Unsurprisingly, many of Enkai’s followers take to the field of archeology, and seek out the ancient ruins and temples scattered throughout Rhodenia in search of artifacts that might aid them in restoring their god to the world. As the seat of the wizard-kings’ power, Athttania in particular contains many such ruins, and the now-divided nation has long been home to those who continue to worship the banished god. Although the Church maintains a strong presence in Athttania, outside Rhamnus and Sybaris, a great many people freely practice the Cult’s teachings.