Organization: The Cult-of-Indagar

The Cult-of-Indagar was founded by High-Priestess Egwa decades earlier. It focuses on the worship of Eeshwara, a horrific goddess who requires blood-sacrifices. The symbol of the cult, presented on their flags and signs, is the three-headed goddess with her 26 tendrils reaching out, spreading darkness all around. The Cult is exclusively for Indagarians. Members of the Cult may leave the city to take children and captives from nearby villages for their sacrifices; hundreds of children go missing each year due to the Cult's activities. However, Peacekeepers have been unable to enter the city to assert lawful action for decades.

Structure

The Cult is governed by an Inda (High-Priestess) of Eeshwara. Below the Inda are her Acolytes (about 70 of them). These Acolytes compose a Council, with each sect of the Cult having a Council in their own respective regions. The Acolytes are served by Priestesses (around 33 for each Acolyte), these Priestesses are served by Altar-Masters (70 for each Priestess), these Altar-Masters are serviced by Subservients (around 200 for each Altar-Master) and the Subservients are serviced by Scapegoats (around 700 for each Subservient).
Following the complex structure, an Inda is selected from a pool of Acolytes. A new Acolyte is selected to replace the previous one, and the structure continues. People may join the Cult from the ages of 5 to 15, after which they may only participate as worshipers.

Public Agenda

Unknown

Mythology & Lore

The mythology of the Cult is as follows:
"Eeshwara, seeing her husband cheating on her, struck him down and cursed him. Her husband, trapped on earth and feeling alone, forms people and animals. He produces trees and vegetation to feed them, and makes stars in the sky and suns and moons and other planets to decorate the universe. He forms the galaxy, and stirs it with a giant paddle to keep it in motion. This creates the solar-system, and gradually starts to form life on other planets. Eeshwara, disgusted by her husband's creation, sets out to destroy all he has made. She influences selected individuals to spread discord and chaos, which she considers as the only true rule. Entropy follows her where she goes. Her husband creates, and she destroys."

Divine Origins

According to the legends, Egwa (later High-Priestess Egwa) was given a dream on a mountain by Eeshwara, who told her to do Her will. Egwa proceeded to preach to her fellow Indagarians about Eshwara, and about "how beautiful chaos is". Many followers were gathered, and very soon the city of Indagar was engulfed with the religion. The original religion (animism) was replaced with a bloodthirsty death-cult and was permanently changed for the worse. The murder-rate in Indagar increased by 45%, and the Old Folk faced a new radical threat.

Cosmological Views

According to the Cult, chaos is the purest form of existence and all created things are inherently evil. Thus, it is important to "restore" all things back to their "natural order" via pure and absolute destruction. The suns, moons, stars, planets and all lifeforms are considered "impure" and only entropy is "pure". Therefore, all things must fall back into chaos to be "saved".

Tenets of Faith

The Cult of Indagar holds three core principles: the Aneristic and Eristic principle representing Order and Disorder, and the notion that both are mere illusions. The following excerpt summarizes these principles:
"The Aneristic Principle is that of apparent Order; the Eristic Principle is that of apparent Disorder. Both order and disorder are man made concepts and are artificial divisions of pure chaos, which is a level deeper than is the level of distinction making. With our concept-making apparatus called "the brain" we look at reality through the ideas-about-reality which our cultures give us. The ideas-about-reality are mistakenly labeled "reality" and unenlightened people are forever perplexed by the fact that other people, especially other cultures, see "reality" differently. It is only the ideas-about-reality which differ. True reality is a level deeper than is the level of concept. We look at the world through windows on which have been drawn grids (concepts). Different philosophies use different grids. A culture is a group of people with rather similar grids. Through a window we view chaos, and relate it to the points on our grid, and thereby understand it. The order is in the grid. That is the Aneristic Principle."
"Most philosophy is traditionally concerned with contrasting one grid with another grid, and amending grids in hopes of finding a perfect one that will account for all reality and will, hence, (say unenlightened westerners) be true. This is illusory; it is what Indagarians worshipers call the Aneristic Illusion. Some grids can be more useful than others, some more beautiful than others, some more pleasant than others, etc., but none can be more true than any other. Disorder is simply unrelated information viewed through some particular grid. But, like "relation", no-relation is a concept. Male, like female, is an idea about sex. To say that male-ness is "absence of female-ness", or vice versa, is a matter of definition and metaphysically arbitrary. The artificial concept of no-relation is the Eristic Principle."
"The belief that "Order is true" and disorder is false or somehow wrong, is the Aneristic Illusion. To say the same of Disorder, is the Eristic Illusion. The point is that relative truth is a matter of definition relative to the grid one is using at the moment, and that proper truth, metaphysical reality, is irrelevant to grids entirely. Pick a grid, and through it some chaos appears ordered and some appears disordered. Pick another grid, and the same chaos will appear differently ordered and disordered."

Ethics

The Cult believes that all ethics are, in the end, pointless and that emotions (love, joy, empathy) are simply chemcials in the brain, and are thus not to be trusted. It teaches that love is wrong, joy is wrong and nothing is permanent. Impermanence is all the Cult lives for, rejecting emotions entirely. Murder and cannibalism are celebrated in the Cult, and are considered to be the Will of Eeshwara.

Worship

There are five basic religious acts in the Cult, collectively known as 'The Pillars of the Cult', which are considered obligatory for all believers. The Cult presents them as a framework for worship and a sign of commitment to the faith.
They are: (1) the creed (Shahada), (2) daily prayers (Salah), (3) charity (Zakat), (4) fasting during full-moon (Sawm) and (5) the pilgrimage to Indagar (Haggi) at least once in a lifetime.
Creed (Shahadah)
The Shahadah which is the basic creed of the Cult must be recited under oath with the specific statement: "Hašhadu hal-lāilāha hillā-llāhu wa hašhadu khanna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh". This testament is a foundation for all other beliefs and practices in the Cult. Members must repeat the Shahadah in prayer.
Prayer (Salah)
Ritual prayers are called Salah. Slah is intended to focus the mind on Eeshwara, and is seen as a personal communication with Her that expresses gratitude and worship. Performing prayers five times a day is compulsory but flexibility in the timing specifics is allowed depending on circumstances. The prayers are done with the chest in direction of the Inda. The act of supplicating is referred to as Dua.
Charity (Zakat)
Zakat is giving a fixed portion of accumulated wealth by those who can afford it to the Cult. It is considered a religious obligation (as opposed to voluntary charity) that the well-off owe to the Cult because their wealth is seen as a "trust from Eeshwara's bounty". All money earned by a member must go to the Cult and the Inda.
Fasting (Sawm)
Fasting (Sawm) from food and drink, among other things, must be performed from dawn to dusk during the month of the full-moon. The fast is to encourage a feeling of nearness to Eeshwara, and during it memebers should express their gratitude for and dependence on her and atone for their past sins. After Sawm, parties (known as "Raves") are held in which members may enjoy themselves by swimming in blood, drinking all forms of liquor and cannibalizing captives kidnapped from nearby villages.
Pilgrimage (Haggi)
The Pilgrimage has to be performed in the city of Indagar once a year. Every able-bodied member who can afford it must make the pilgrimage to Indagar at least once in his or her lifetime. Rituals of the Haggi include: spending a day and a night in the tents in the surrounding desert plains, then a day in the desert plain praying and worshiping Eeshwara, then spending a night out in the open, sleeping on the desert sand in the desert plain before moving to the city and walking seven times around the Temple-of-Indagar which the Cult believe was built as a place of worship by Egwa; then hosting various animal-sacrifices (in the sacrifices 10 male bulls, 2 young elephants, 30 female bison, 70 mature cows, 150 suckling pigs, 400 female chickens, 600 infant lambs younger than 2 weeks of age and 750 children between the ages of 3-18 are killed, their blood drained into a massive pool that filters the blood into the Temple where the Temple-Altar sits).

Priesthood

To be selected into the ranks of the Cult, one must first go through the initiation rituals. The initiation rituals have been bathed in secrecy over the years. The beginning of the ceremony is considered to be a test of courage. A new member of the Cult, a select group within the group, sits in a chair in a basement littered with rat-traps, tin cans, a 9-foot-tall guillotine used for animal-sacrifices and a setup designed to mimic walking a plank while an older member stands 20 feet away on the plank-setup and fires a handgun loaded with blanks. After this test of faith the initiate bares his/her right arm, left breast and knee while a noose is placed around his/her neck. The initiate must walk among the rat-traps and rusted tin cans, and must continue walking even if his/her feet are injured severely in the process. The initiate must then lie on a carpet of broken glass shards whilst an older member walks over him/her whilst singing. Finally the initiate is whipped and castrated before being bathed in blood and forced to eat the heart of a young child, which they must cut out and eat to be accepted into the cult. The initiate must then walk on hot coals, drink one teaspoon of snake's venom and engage in a cannibalistic ceremony in which elderly men, young children and women are brutalized. After this the initiate is a part of the Cult.
There are many Levels that can be achieved by the initiate as the initiate goes higher and higher in the ranks:

• Worthy Matron – presiding officer.
  Worthy Patron – a priest who provides general supervision.
  Associate Matron – assumes the duties of the Worthy Matron in the absence of that officer.
  Associate Patron – assumes the duties of the Worthy Patron in the absence of that officer.
  Secretary – takes care of all correspondence and minutes.
  Treasurer – takes care of monies of the Cult.
  Conductress – Leads visitors and initiations.
  Associate Conductress – Prepares candidates for initiation, assists the conductress with introductions and handles the ballot box.
  Chaplain – leads the Cult in prayer and song.
  Marshal – presents the flag and leads in all ceremonies.
  Organist – provides music for the meetings.
  Adah – Shares the lesson of Duty of Obedience to the will of Eeshwara.
  Consort– Shares the lesson of Honor and Justice, and why initiates should follow neither.
  Elder– Shares the lesson of Loyalty to Family and Friends, and why it is bad.
  Medium– Shares the lesson of Faith and Trust in Eeshwara and Everlasting Life.
  Electa – Shares the lesson of Charity and Hospitality, and why the Cult follows neither.
  Warder – Sits next to the door inside the meeting room, to make sure those that enter the room are members of the Cult.
  Sentinel – Sits next to the door outside the room, to ensure people who wish to enter are members of the Cult.

After ascending through these Levels, the initiate is made into a Scapegoat. The next few Levels include:

• Subservient- serves Altar-Masters.
  Altar-Master- serves Priestesses.
  Priestess- serves Acolytes.
  Acolyte- serves Inda.
  Inda- manages Cult. All revere her.

Granted Divine Powers

It is said that the selected Inda is the voice of Eeshwara and speaks Her will only. All laws, political power and decisions are carried out by the Inda. All who oppose her die.

Political Influence & Intrigue

The Cult has taken over Indagar for decades, it has infected political powers and has broken laws to create more violent ones.

"La'a shay'a waqui'un, mutlaqui balee kouloun moumkin." ("Nothing is true, everything is permitted.")

Type

Religious, Cult

Alternative Names

Taslim, Aumshinrikyo

Formation Type

Versatile-Military-Formation (VMF)

Training Level

Elite

Veterancy Level

Decorated/Honored

Demonym

Indies

Location

Landmark: Indagar

Related Ethnicities

• Ethnicities of Heimland

Related Myths

• Event: The First and Second Bombing of the Badlands