Sisterhood of the Silent Rose
The Sisterhood of the Silent Rose is a secret organization dedicated to carrying the will of the Patron. They follow the religion of the Golden Apple.
Culture
The Sisterhood sees themselves as the true heir of the Patron. They largely consist of women, although a small portion are men. Some members of the Sisterhood spend their entire lives within the Gopalago swamplands, without ever seeing the outside world. Many others eventually venture out for the sole purpose of finding mates to spawn children with, before returning to the swamp with their children. Due to this, the Sisterhood is hugely defensive and untrusting of outsiders, with many fearful of the possibility of being conquered by larger nations. Many members within the Sisterhood also believe males to be inferior to them, with the exception of the Patron, who is believed to be a being above judgement by the Sisterhood.
Many within the Sisterhood take combat training very seriously. From six years of age, children are taught to fight, although for children born to lorekeepers, training begins at age four. One is not considered a warrior until they are able to defeat an iron golem in combat, and for many, the only true way to earn a Sapian's respect is to be able to defeat them in battle.
Sapians have differing views on the nature of love from many other cultures. The Sapia view romantic love as entirely separate from the drive for reproduction. For the Sapia, romantic relationships with outsiders is largely discouraged, while such relationships are encouraged between those within the Sisterhood. Meanwhile, when it comes to reproduction, the Sapia turn primarily to outsiders. Once a child has been spawned, the Sapian will bring the child back to the Sisterhood, with expectation to drop all interaction with the reproductive partner. Meanwhile, a Sapian reproducing with another Sapian is strictly forbidden, and will lead to the disowning and exile of the two.
Many Sapians also have frogs or slimes as companions.
Territories
The Sisterhood has agreements with the highest of the Builder Empire's authorities to hinder any attempts to settle and colonize Gopalago Swamp. Trespassers into their territory often vanish for upwards to a year before reappearing without memories of what had occurred.
Military
The military forces of the Sisterhood largely consists of female warriors well-trained in battle.
Religion
The Sisterhood worships the Patron as the deity that watches over the balance of the Overworld.
Foreign Relations
The Sisterhood of the Silent Rose is generally very secretive and selective with those they form relations with. As such, their existence is known by only a handful of individuals from each nation. The Sisterhood also has spies spread out across the Overworld in order to subtly influence the outside world to the Sisterhood's benefit.
Cosmological Views
In the beginning, there was nothing but virtual chaos. Then, the ancient Creator crafted a single plot of land and placed it into the Void of emptiness. Then, the Creator created dirt and stone, followed by water and lava, and added life to the empty plot. After that, the Creator expanded the land to cover the Void, and life spread across its surface, as desired by the Creator. The Creator then spawned many of his children to populate the world. He then spawned servants that would embody many different aspects of humanity and Minecraftia.
Some time afterwards, a war broken out, as a beast from a different world emerged and began to terrorize the world. And so the Creator crafted a champion to the human race, one that would save it from destruction. The champion crafted a sword that contained much of his power and used it to defeat the beast. He was then hailed a hero. Soon however, the champion began to see himself as a god equal to the Creator, and so he rebelled against the humans, believing himself too great for them. He would then be cast into the Void by the Creator.
As humanity progressed and built new technologies, they too began to see themselves highly, and eventually stopped paying homage to the Creator, replacing those homages with scorn as they started to defy their gods. The servants of the Creator ravaged the land for years with six curses-one curse from each servant. The Creator felt guilty, believing he had failed the human race, and erased the Ancients from the world, and rebuilt the human race.
Later on another war would break out, although this one being much lesser than the first. A wicked king who had sought to conquer the world restored life to the champion the Creator had casted down into the Void, and the champion escaped into the Nether, where he would gain power for a hundred years before returning to the Overworld with an army. He would be challenged by a human hero named Steve, who wielded the sword crafted by the champion in ages past. His plot to destroy the human race led the champion to invade a world beyond the three-a world tied to the Creator himself. Steve followed the champion into this world, witnessing the world of the Creator. The hero successfully defeated the champion's army and brought him back into Minecraftia, having defeated the evil within the champion's heart.
Years later, the evil within the champion's heart would reemerge as a separate being and attempt to destroy the Overworld with the same beast that had threatened humanity in the past. Once Steve had defeated the beast, the evil being revealed itself as the Destroyer, a corrosive evil that ate away at the heart of the champion to spite the Creator. The hero and the champion fought together against the Destroyer, and in the end the champion fell as the Destroyer was ended. Steve, feeling sympathy for the champion, used his power to store the champion's soul within the sword.
Some time afterwards, Steve received a vision from the Creator, where he learned that his entry into the Creator's world with the champion had poisoned the realm, and the Creator would soon die. The Creator burdened the hero with three great tasks before he could become his successor.
Steve began his first task-to build a shrine to the sword of the hero, a place that the legendary blade would return to when its purpose had been fulfilled. This task would take the hero a full year to complete.
Steve then began his second task-to create a people that would follow his will for when he became a god. The people he would found would be given the name the Golden Apple. This task would take the hero five years to fully set up.
Steve would then begin his final task-to travel the four corners of Minecraftia, to experience everything the world would have to show, for it would be his destiny to protect it all. This task would last for the rest of the hero's life.
One day, a wicked being from the Nether would invade the Overworld. The Wither King would launch several Withers in a plot to end all life. Steve would return to the people to fight off the Withers, aided by six great champions of humanity. Then, the mortal god would have all portals into the Nether sealed as he went into the Nether to challenge the Wither King in a fight that would kill both of them. On that day, Steve was reborn as the Patron, heir of the Creator and the protector of the Overworld. The Golden Apple would serve the will of the Patron for centuries. The Overworld would see peace during those centuries.
A long time later, a powerful being named Novus was foreseen to be born into the Overworld by the Patron. The Golden Apple was tasked to find one who could pacify this being when the time came for appeasement. Eventually, one was found, and the armies of evil formed to attempt to stop this chosen one from reaching Novus, however, they failed and the chosen one succeeded in pacifying the newborn god. This newborn god then became Victorus, the god of valiance and heroes.
Eventually, the Patron bestowed a prophecy onto the Golden Apple that warned of tragedy. A hero had to be found, and so the Golden Apple began the search to find one. However, the faith of the Golden Apple had grown weak, and many generations had passed until one was finally discovered. A hero that would be brought by the lorekeeper Lisra before the legendary sword and claim it. Soon after that, an ancient evil would reemerge. The evil that had stood against the Creator and now the Patron rose to threaten the Overworld once again. It blotted out the sun, casting a dreadful night upon the land, before the light was restored by the hero. It was after this that the Golden Apple was targeted directly by the evil being's minions, who washed over the settlement. Due to the weakness of the Golden Apple, the chosen people of the Patron were wiped out, and the sole survivor, Lorekeeper Lisra, went on to avenge her people while staying true to the will of the Patron. Lorekeeper Lisra went after the servants of the evil being and was soon joined by the hero. The two of them then defeated the evil being and went their separate ways. Afterwards, Lorekeeper Lisra founded the Sisterhood, and peace returned to the land.
Tenets of Faith
1. A Sapian must live in harmony with the world. Waste no parts of cattle or crops, with the exception of poisonous potatos.
2. Killing is against the will of the Patron unless absolutely necessary. If anyone, be it prisoner or other party, expresses unwavering desire to expose the tribe to the world, or if two parties signed a verifiable consent form to a dual to the death, then execution may be forgiven. Any Sapian who is found to have revealed the location leading to the tribe or the existence of the tribe may, depending on the context, be sentenced to execution. In the event of a hostile invasion force from parties in the outside world, all non-killing policies do not apply.
3. When the Elder Loremaster speaks, all will remain silent until they have finished speaking. If the Elder Loremaster interrupts someone speaking, everyone must be silent until they have finished speaking.
4. In most cases, the Sisterhood must not discriminate based on one's gender, race, or ethnicity. All living beings were created to be equal under the Creator.
5. To become romantically attached to a non-Sapian is sinful under the Patron. Anyone who leaves the tribe with the intention of having children must return with their spawn to the tribe and cease all interaction with their mate.
6. No two individuals from within the Sisterhood are to engage in the spawning of a child. Reproduction with a spouse goes against the ideals of the Sisterhood. Any violaters of this tenet are to be exiled.
7. Any persons who wander into Gopalago Swamp and are not associated with the Builder Empire must be captured and interrogated for information. Afterwards, as long as it is believed they will not pose a threat to the Sisterhood, they may undergo the amnestic ritual and be released to the outside world.
Priesthood
The Sisterhood is led by the three Priestesses of the Lore. These Priests are all directly related to each other. The Priestesses of the Lore has four distinct titles: The Loreborn, Lorekeeper, Loremaster, and Elder Loremaster.
Loreborn is granted to the youngest of the Priestesses. It is a title granted to a child that is too young to be a lorekeeper. It is for children up to eleven years of age.
Lorekeeper is granted to a child of the Priestesses when they become twelve years of age. It is with this rank that they begin to have authority within the Sisterhood.
Loremaster is granted to a Lorekeeper who has reached thirty years of age and has had a child. Loremasters tend to lead most of the tribe's activities.
Elder Loremaster is granted to a Loremaster who has reached sixty years of age, once their child has had a child of their own. Once they have this rank, they are expected to not interfere with the affairs of the Sisterhood, who is now led by the new loremaster, except in emergencies. Elder Loremasters are to embrace their new roles as the voice of the Patron, meaning that what they say will be interpreted as a word from the Patron himself.
Granted Divine Powers
Priestesses of the Lore have the unique ability to craft anything they desire, with few limitations. This includes things not normally craftable within the base game of Minecraft. An example being able to craft a rain detector using a clock and lightning rod, even though such a thing does not exist in base game Minecraft. Many Priestesses carry magical weapons to use in battle, which show off their significance to opponents while inspiring allies.
In the mud, sparkles of gold can be discovered.
Founding Date
1350
Alternative Names
The Sapia/The Golden Apple/The Sisterhood of the Six
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Silent sisters
Leader Title
Founders
Government System
Tribalism
Official State Religion
Location
Official Languages
Related Species
Related Ethnicities
Nice write-up! I'm especially curious to see what sorts of roles men can attain in this system.
I'm quite interested in going more in-depth on the inner workings of this organization as time goes by and I invest more thought into it. Sometimes, I'll just write something down without really having a direct plan for it(like in the case of men being in the sisterhood), just so I can get creative when I revisit it again.
That makes sense. Sometimes it really is better to start with one compelling idea, then build around it over time.