Her Guiding Flame
What was originally a research project started by Sonya and Sasha Kociak, Her Guiding Flame blossomed into a violent cult devoted to the goddess Kosenta. The group takes inspiration from a cult of ancient times, The Children of Silence. Unlike their predecessors though, Her Guiding Flame has successfully woven itself into Basillian society for decades, ensuring their survival for the foreseeable future.
In the beginning, the Kociak sisters were students majoring in theology and religious studies. Over a few years, they had noticed holes in Basillian mythology. Crucial information had been lost to time, leaving the origins of some deities, and even catfolk themselves, incomplete. Unbeknownst to many, Kosenta and several minor deities were thrust into obscurity. Once the industrialization of Basilla began, Kosenta was forgotten about entirely. A divine force of nature was rotting away in the Far Lands while her domains were divided among the surviving members of the pantheon.
Without a trail to follow, the Kociak sisters turned to the Stargazers for help. Unfortunately, the Stargazers were unwilling to hear them out about the potential forgotten gods. Their underlying hostility over the implication told the sisters that something was being hidden intentionally. With the realization that the Stargazers had tampered with Basillian mythology to suit their own needs, Sonya and Sasha sought help from a neutral party.
The Sapphire Lotus, while involved in the archipelago's politics, kept to themselves. Since their organization's beginnings, they have kept records of various kinds, and locked them away in their private library. Not wanting the Stargazers to begin another era of corruption on Basilla, the Sapphire Lotus granted the sisters access to their library, and it was there that they found Kosenta. A major goddess, who was front and center in many stories, had been wiped from existence.
While the twins weren't religiously inclined on a personal level, they were too invested to leave things as they were. With the backing of the Sapphire Lotus, the sisters went public with their findings. The sudden attention put them in Kosenta's crosshairs and within a few months, her influence was starting to take hold of sisters. With increasing pressure from the Stargazers to back down, the Kociak sisters formed their own religious organization to combat them. Her Guiding Flame acted as a group of truth seekers and pushed for the dismantling of key religious groups on the isles.
The majority of Her Guiding Flame's followers were fellow students that worked closely with the twins, as well as scholars who wished to restore Basillian mythology to its former glory. While much of their fight wasn't physical, Kosenta's growing influence through the years began leading the group down a darker path. The goddess was clawing her way back into her realm and demanded sacrifices to "heal". Her Guiding Flame's main conflict was with the Stargazers, but with Kosenta's orders, they turned their ire towards Basillian society as a whole.
Sasha Kociak took lead of the cult. She gouged her eyes out, permanently blinding herself as tribute to the blind goddess herself. Sasha believes herself to be Kosenta's chosen and her means of communicating with her followers directly. When the apocalypse begins, Sasha will become the mortal vessel Kosenta needs in order to enter the Material Plane. Sonya is her second-in-command and is responsible for the acts of terrorism that the cult commits.
Her Guiding Flame is not spontaneous and unpredictable like their predescessors. They're strategic and calculating, and employ fear tactics to rattle the inhabitants of Basilla. They believe that their goddess thrives on mortal sacrifices that experience significant terror before death. Members of the cult are all disfigured in some way, whether it be a missing eye or a body covered in burn scars. These acts of harm are self-inflicted to prove their worth to Kosenta and her vessel, Sasha.
Culture
Her Guiding Flame believed that the "true" history of Basilla had been tampered with through its religious teachings and mythology. Inconsistencies existed within the lore that pointed to crucial figures being lost or even erased from the mythos. The cult's original aim was to find and restore these figures, which would unlock the archipelago's hidden history that they were sure existed. While they managed to prove that some level of corruption was working its way through Basilla's religious organizations, they began to walk that path themselves. Kosenta's influence was too strong, and the dark temptations she offered were difficult to resist.
The cult now believes that the world is living on borrowed time. With Kosenta inching her way back into her realm, the apocalypse is bound to begin at any moment. When it does, Kosenta will possess her mortal vessel and lead her cult in purging the archipelago of all of its inhabitants. History will be rewritten, seating her on the throne of the Basillian pantheon, and washing away the influence of outsiders on the islands.
Public Agenda
The original mission of Her Guiding Flame was to hold other religious organizations accountable for corruption and sabotaging Basillian mythology to further their own goals. They were truth seekers, confronting these rival groups until they restored the history they erased. After a few decades though, Her Guided Flame is a group of zealots seeking to restore Kosenta's status and power among the island pantheon. Honesty is still a core component to the cult, but these acts of honesty are now threats of violence that they intend to carry out on others.
"The seas will rise again."
Type
Religious, Cult
Alternative Names
The Disfigured Divines
The Misguided Flame
The Misguided Flame
Predecessor Organization
Deities
Location
Related Ethnicities
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