The Entropics
Followers of the goddess of Primal Chaos, the massive roiling space storm known as Protos. Due to Protos' chaotic and uncommunicative nature, the Entropics are one of the least organized religions in the realms.
Infrastructure
Temples to Protos are often ancient ruins repurposed for worship, and are often built out of the ruins of former strongholds defeated by Entropics, although at times the temple is specially constructed to quickly fall into a ruined state after being built. Temples are varied and are based on what the individual Entropics of the area view as important, but one important addition that all temples have is an open area viewing of the sky, so that Entropics can look up at the night sky and attempt to view Protos' swirling form in the heavens.
Divine Origins
Due to Protos status as one of the first beings of creation, she has had followers since the dawn of mortal life. Many old and tyrannical countries have said to have collapse due to the activities of Entropic agents.
Cosmological Views
The Entropics claim that the universe was once in a much different state after creation; a pure, raw, and perfect state fueled by chaos; and that the imposition of Thanalocs ridged and ordered rules changed the universe in detrimental ways. It is their believe that the perfect chaos of entropy cannot be truly suppressed, and the universe will slowly descend back into the perfect chaos that preceded the onset of law.
Tenets of Faith
Due to the chaotic and often solitary nature of the Entropics, there are barely any rules or tenets, as rules and tenets themselves are tools of law and order. The only true tenet is to spread chaos and resist law at every opportunity, but those truly devoted to Protos follow a a variation of the following code:
- I will always let my spirit be free; I will not bend the knee to the rule of law.
- I will always fight against the forces who would keep the universe bound in untrue form. If such creatures cannot break free from the shackles of order I will ensure that they die in them.
- I will do what I think is best; Systems work to keep me from my true potential, and I will not abide by them.
- I will not restrain myself to one way or plan. No plan ever works the way it is intended, and to be unable to adapt leads only to an early death.
- I will be in the here and now. All is set to fall to dust, and thus there is no reason to worry about the future beyond my basic survival.
- No one knows what is best for me than myself. I will hear the opinions of others, but my choices are mine and mine alone.
Ethics
Due to their admiration of entropy and chaotic destructive forces, most Entropics are violent anarchists who actively seek to combat law and bring ruin. Thus, they overall have few ethical concerns. They are often even contradictory, at times changing what they view as ethical depending the situation they find themselves in.
Worship
Worship of Protos is a varied as the members of its followers, with each member worshiping her in their own unique ways. The only key piece of worship is that the worship must change every time and that the intent of worship is there. Most worshipers start with simple tasks, such as carving effigies, incorporating exercise, or dancing around bonfires, but have their practices evolve and intensify over time, often leading into acts violence and vandalism.
Priesthood
The Entropics have no established official priesthood; instead, all members are considered on equal footing from the start, only separated by their passion for chaos and their magical and physical might. Members of the coven often seek out and summon proteans, attempting to gain their blessings, a dangerous task in its own right. Those who succeed are held to a high standard and gain praise from other Entropics, often being selected for de facto leadership positions, however interacting with a summoned protean often leads to the protean usurping any leadership goals the priest had and turning their followers to their own strange goals.
Granted Divine Powers
Entropics gain numerous powers from Protos, and are often as varied as their numbers. Powers that are most common for all followers include defense against abilities that would slow their movements or restrain them, so that they can be unimpeded in the spread of chaos. The most devout followers among them gain abilities including the infusion of weapons with chaotic energy, magical protection from the spells of lawful creatures, the ability to summon proteans, the ability to generate warpwaves (bursts of energy that have random effects on creatures hit by them), and even the ability create a zone where the laws of physics cease to function in conventional ways.
Many Entropics claim that the blessing of Protos comes in the form of spurts of boundless energy, unwanted locks unexpectedly breaking, and increased magical potency. Her disfavor manifests in the sudden manifestation of bad weather, intense feelings of lethargy, and nightmares of ones body slowly dissolving into nothing.
Political Influence & Intrigue
Due to their anti-government ways, the Entropics have little-to-none political influence, save what they can intimidate out of small town officials. They often seek to bribe or extort these civic officials to turn a blind eye to their practices, as large scale Entropic activity brings the swift attention of their hated enemy, the Church of the Iron Order.
Sects
Each Entropic follows Protos based on their own whims and experiences, and thus like-minded worshipers congregate together to form countless different sects, all of which are different. The major difference is between violent extremist sects and nonviolent communities. The extremists advocate for active participation in the destruction of order, funding rebel groups in tumultuous countries, destroying buildings, and attacking political leaders. The nonviolent communities instead view entropy as such an inevitable that they simply wish to live their life with minimal influence from laws and restrictions. If all will eventually return to dust, they should be allowed to build their homes on whatever land they wish and not bend the knee to a lord who claims ownership of the land due to a piece of paper. Such groups often attempt to build their own anarchic communities, relying on aid from each other to help survive rather than a government force. Unfortunately, such groups are usually persecuted by the governments of their countries, especially from the Church of the Iron Order, and are often wiped out in raids and mass arrests, which in turn leads to the survives becoming radicalized and joining more extremist Entropic groups.
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