The Grand Precept

She more than any other came close to derailing our destiny. And to think she was not even an agent of the Great Enemy!

— Emmerik Thane, First Elder King of Feranar (853-861 DA)

Feran history has made much of the great adversaries its warriors and priests had to face over the millennia. Many names have entered record and myth as agents of great infamy. It is perhaps ironic that one such adversary, one that can closer than any other to stopping Ferankind's rise altogether, is almost forgotten today.

Frayer of Ways

From the "Arn-Rend - Account of the Wars" by Emmerik Thane:
"Most records of these years will recall the exploits of Vodarn along the northern coasts. Tell of his battles against Moran, the great Thane of Badon Hill, and Beredel, the pirate who styled himself King of the Seas. They will then go on to tell how most of Ferankind eventually accepted the faith, ultimately culminating in the Baptism of the Ten Thousand, the final victory of the Trinity over the old gods.
They rarely, if ever, will recall that another force was active in our southern lands, among the highlands and mountains that shielded us from the dangers of the great plains. They will not tell of the strangely clothed priests that wandered there, each dressed uniquely in style and colour. Neither will they mention their symbol of the six eyes arrayed in two rows opposite one another, intricately carved into their hands and on their forehead.
And they will not name the woman whom they served. The Grand Precept she was called and she too fought for our souls. While she had none of the great thanes of the land among her allies, she could call upon throngs of lesser warlords to fight in her name. Not that she needed to. Unlike other prelates that tracked across the land in those days she did not need nor want to use force for her cause. Her word was enough.

by sparth

Meeting the Precept

"It was not long before I too got a visit from one of the strange priests. As thane of the southern valleys, my authority stretched across many a domain already allied with the Precept. I had expected a visit sooner or later. But the priest came not to preach. She merely extended an invitation. The Precept wished to meet me in person."
"I accepted, mostly driven by curiosity. With a small escort I travelled south of the mountains and visited the Precept in her domain. A misshapen pyramid built atop a square palace served as her cathedral. The Precept turned out to be a woman of darkly tanned skin. Only her mouth was visible, the rest of her face hidden by a white veil that feature the six eyes of her goddess."
"I expected a sermon or attempt at conversion. Yet the Precept only wished to talk with me. And a most interesting conversation it turned out to be."

Anekhara of the Many Eyes

"Her goddess was called Anekhara, a name that translates to "She who Sees" in our tongue, and had first spoken to her in the far southern lands of her birth. Each of her six eyes represents a different aspect of knowledge and only those who master all of them may see the world as it truly is."
"My people, the Ferans, were a group that most intrigued her. For our tendency to see our gods in the pantheons of many others proved that we were further ahead on the way towards the truth than others. She did not ask for my conversion or support. Merely that I allow her priests to move around my land."

War of Hearts and Minds

"I admit that I was intrigued by what she had said and so did as she asked. In time, her adherents grew and the conflict for Ferankind's future intensified. Though t must be said that she had no direct fault in that."

Pacifism

"The Precept and her faith were pacifistic, only advocating for force in case of self-defense and even then only when actually needed. Perhaps this is why she is not remembered like others. Her adherents did not fight those of Vodarn. But her faith spread further and further, a welcome idea for a people as tired of violence as us back then."

Battle of Carraden Hill

"But being tired of something does not mean that on abstains from it. Violence still ruled the day and the same men so ferociously bent on killing Vodarn did not give much tolerance to the Precept either. When Tyrin the Boar, a monster among men, went to war with her faith, his army was destroyed at a great battle at Carraden Hill."

The Black General

"I may have been even more friendly towards her faith, had one of those among her congregation not been the Black General himself. To be on the same side as Attalus disturbed me to the core and while I understood why one would keep the mightiest of the Odokari as their ally, I tried to keep a respectful distance from her cult."

Duel of the Fates

by Andreas Rocha

"Idea, prowess on the field of battle and foreign support soon brought fruit to the Precept's plans. Her faith was growing by the day and soon all of Ferankind was split almost in the middle. Only a small part retained the old gods, the rest either following her or Vodarn. But they could not coexist. One told of a great conquest of a promised land while the other of deeply rooted self-reflection."
"Many I know were hoping for a great war as the solution. A sacred war to solve this question of destiny with blood and steel. But neither Vodarn nor the Precept were of such mind. They met on a lonely beach on the northern coast, with only a few from each side serving as witness and protection. I stood opposite Vodarn when he and the Precept spoke and I will not tell of any that was said on this day."
"But I will tell of the outcome, how the Precept turned and released all those that followed her from their oath, sent her closest acolyte back south and then walked into the ocean to disappear. And in one stroke Vodarn had, not with violence but mere words, won the soul of Ferankind for the Three that are One."

Remarkable how these barbarians could show such restraint when it came to their own people. Yet could spare none for the millions of innocent they slaughtered not a year later.

— Avitus of Helenia, Vardanian Archivar (2772-2832 DA)

Ethnicity

Teluani - Children of the Dream

Life

813 DA 841 DA 28 years old

Circumstances of Death

Vanished into the Ocean

Affiliated Organisation/s
Children of Anekharea
Attalus the Black

by Jaromir Hrivnac

Battle of Carraden Hill

From "Codex of Military Conflicts" by Verea Juliana
"The battle at Carraden Hill, roughly dated to late autumn of 838 DA, was an important step in the unification of the Feran people. Tyrin the Boar, one of the most powerful of the Feran Thanes at the time, attacked a coalition of warlords from the southern reaches. After a three day struggle, both Tyrin and his army were destroyed, eliminating one of the biggest powers in the region and paving the way for the unification of the entire tribal group a few years later."

Man thinks themselves able to see yet how can one see with only one of his eyes open?

— Anekharean quote

Emmerik's Account

Written by one of the most important Feran leaders of the time, the account of Emmerik the Great is invaluable to understanding this crucial period of history. It mentions many details not recorded in the Faith's official documents and gives a more secular perspective including the repeated mention of the Prophet's name. It is as of now the only document to do so and the sole source for the patron saint of all Ferans.

Childen of Anekharea

A faith emerging in Anidara in the late 7th century DA, it combined aspects of Teluani, Onadaran and even Iketic religion. It revolved around the worship of a six-eyed goddess and the six truths with the eventual goal being the opening of the human mind towards the reality of the world. Popular in several regions of the south at times, it was severely weakened with the disappearance of its greates leader, a priestess known as the Grand Precept, in 842 DA and the faith disappeared some time in the 10th century.

by Martin Deschambault