The Noctifer

Summary

The Noctifer

The legend of the Noctifer is a secretive one, barely known outside of the few established churches. The story follows a man from Saxony who is not formally named, only referred to as He, Him, or His (the canonical documents do this in respect for the Noctifer's title, and it's generally considered taboo to refer to any Noctifer by their old, "dead" name). The Noctifer, having achieved Ascension, claimed to have fully understood the flow of death and began preaching to tribes of Necromancers. The Noctifer theorised that with enough power, He could block the recycling of souls and stop the cycle of death and rebirth, giving Necromancers infinite "fuel" for their powers, and making them all immortal. With infinite time and resources, and no threat of death, all Necromancers would in theory be elevated to the ranks of the Noctifer, and would perform a crusade of peace over the strife-ridden world.
He proposed that with the Noctifer as the world's ruler, and war becoming completely moot, the Earth would enter a new and permanent era of peace, prosperity and progress. Infinite time would give way to beautiful works of art, new inventions, and the pursuit of knowledge.

Early Life

The Noctifer claimed to be a Son of Death, whose Ascension happened after living in the Břevnov Monastery in Bohemia. A deep meditation during a prayer unlocked His powers unexpectedly, and being able to see the flow of life and death as a solid gave the Noctifer a new perspective. He documented His experiences while living in the monastery, and developed His teachings before making a pilgrimage back to His hometown, Schattebach. Schattebach already had an unusually high population of Empowered, specifically Necromancers, who mainly lived in tribes in the outskirts of the settlement- this made it the perfect place for the Noctifer to begin His teachings.

Death

After several years of preaching, tribes of Roman Elementals pursued the Noctifer once word had spread of His teachings, and once they reached Him, it was said that the Noctifer did not fight back. After the church and surroundign Necromancer community was razed, and the Noctifer located by the Elementals, He all but vanished into the shadows- quite literally never been seen again.
Different sects tell different stories. Some say the Noctifer did indeed fight back, and was martyred, but others simply say He allowed Himself to be killed. The one thing they all mention is no body was left behind- and they theorise that in His death, He simply became the essence of it, rather than truly dying. Universally they all teach of the persecution of Necromancers in the Holy Roman Empire from then on, and many were chased out of the country if they were not outright killed. The religion of the Noctifer was banned, with mass-burnings of documents and lore which have led to there being only a few surviving artefacts from that time.

Tenets

 A rough translation of the key tenets preached by the Noctifer are as follows:

• Revere the cycle, and keep the balance. Disruptions to the flow of Life and Death must be fixed by any means necessary.
• Remain neutral and stalwart- war and destruction is not our way. Fighting shall be only a last resort.
• Do not wish or do harm upon your brothers and sisters.
• The shadows speak, if you are willing to listen. Heed its warnings.

Spread

Generally only known and taught within Necromancer churches, Noctifarian religions all follow the same basic canon- the Noctifer came to power within Bohemia, travelled back to Saxony, preached His teachings, and was pursued by Elementals from the Holy Roman Empire. Several sects have sprouted with slightly different canon and teachings, the biggest being the The Church of Bliss which mostly covers Western Europe and some small parts of Northern Africa.
Other churches include the Brothers of Noctifer, the Holy Noctifarian Church, the Children of Shadow and the Noctifarians for Peace.

Cultural Reception

Many Empowered cultures treat Necromancers with a degree of wariness, due to the persecution and propaganda spread about them for many years. There have been several cases of Necromancer cults stirring up trouble in the name of the Noctifer, though they are generally frowned upon by most other Noctifarians.

In Literature

Many of the books and texts were burnt during the razing of the original church, but the main texts that survived include the Necronomicon, the Ascension Texts, and Tenets of Bliss. The Ascension Texts have been lost since the mid 1700s.

In Art

Sculptures, paintings and prints are normally held entirely within the churches. One of the most famous is a woodblock print from the Medieval era titled "Rise of the Noctifer", which depicts a creature with bat-like wings rising above four onlookers.

Date of First Recording

1266

Date of Setting

1090

Related Ethnicities

• Empowered

Related Species

• Human

Related Locations

• England

Related Organizations

• The Church of Bliss