The Brood of Taharjin

Before the discovery of Taharjin, Last of the Vocru, the Brood of Taharjin was a shadowy and esoteric sect deeply entangled in the alchemical and mystical practices of The Berythian Tradition, yet often regarded as more myth than reality. This group, nestled within the fringes of mainstream Berythian society, took its foundational beliefs from ancient and, many thought, hopelessly metaphorical texts that used the figure of Taharjin as a symbolic fixture rather than a literal entity. In Berythian alchemical circles, Taharjin was regarded as a legend—an archetypal force associated with the first fires of creation, a myth to invoke cosmic order rather than a deity to be worshipped. The Brood, however, disagreed; they saw the symbols as more than metaphors. To them, Taharjin was real, and the ancient words held clues to her imminent return.

Origins of the Brood: An Obsession with Literalism

The Brood’s origins trace back to the time of the Kingdom of Khyr, a legendary era when the Sage Beryth himself is said to have compiled knowledge that laid the foundation for the Berythian order. Within this early period, mystics wrote about The Legends—accounts of cosmic beings, primordial forces, and world-shaping entities. Chief among these was Taharjin, whose "dragon’s fire" was described as having “begat magic,” a cosmic act which, in The Ildhuat Soher (the earliest recorded history of magic), is recounted as a mythic origin of magical energies.
For most Berythians, The Legends served as poetic origins, constructs to be engaged with metaphorically, supporting Berythian alchemical practices that were grounded in understanding natural compounds and energies rather than the literal summoning of divine beings. Taharjin was referenced in alchemical parlance as “The Dragon,” a euphemism for a particularly elusive compound synthesized through intricate and dangerous methods. However, the Brood latched onto these symbols, convinced that they were not symbols at all but descriptions of real entities, events, and energies. Where mainstream Berythians saw metaphors, the Brood saw codes. They believed that Taharjin was a being lost to the ages but destined to return, and her return would herald a new era of knowledge, power, and cosmic realignment.
The Brood’s belief system was fueled by a literal interpretation of Berythian alchemical language. They considered the Ildhuat Soher to be a partially encrypted text—one that could reveal the true nature of Taharjin if read with the right mindset. This mindset, however, was often seen as fanatical, ungrounded in reason and overly reliant on apocalyptic language. To outsiders, the Brood was viewed as a collection of alchemical obsessives who took themselves too seriously, existing on the periphery of society with little influence and even less credibility.

Building the Myths: Plausible Deniability and Self-Sustaining Legends

The Brood found safety in the shadows by cultivating their own myth. They deliberately embraced the image of a mysterious, almost folkloric sect, playing into the role of “bogeymen” in Berythian society. Rumors of secret rituals, dark practices, and arcane rites swirled around them, many spread by the Brood themselves. For centuries, the group enjoyed the ambiguity surrounding their existence. Their numbers were small, and members were careful to keep themselves out of sight, fanning the flames of romantic tales about their supposed power and influence without drawing direct attention to themselves. These legends served a dual purpose: they insulated the Brood from scrutiny, allowing them to carry on their studies in relative peace, and they gave their activities a mystique that attracted a slow trickle of new members—alchemists, mystics, and social outcasts who felt alienated by mainstream Berythian society.
Over time, the Brood began to develop their own interpretations of ancient texts, compiling them into secret manuscripts and scrolls that reinterpreted Berythian alchemical language with Taharjin as its fulcrum. The Word of Taharjin, the group’s seminal text, was both an alchemical and a religious manifesto, weaving together fragments from The Legends with the Brood’s own beliefs. This text served as a guiding doctrine, detailing not only the group’s belief in Taharjin’s return but also its interpretation of the Burden of Rule—an ancient duty they believed would soon be reclaimed by those worthy of wielding cosmic power.

The Role of Alchemical Language: A Key to Hidden Knowledge

For the Brood, alchemical language served as a practical code to decipher Taharjin’s truths. Terms like “The Dragon” weren’t euphemisms; they were literal clues pointing to an actual being who could control the primal forces of existence. This belief led them to develop an intricate and obscure system of alchemical study, transforming typical Berythian methods into a rigorous and often dangerous pursuit. While mainstream Berythians distilled compounds to enhance the mind or create medicines, the Brood’s Alchemy was a means to unlock Taharjin’s “fire.” They sought literal transmutations of matter that, in their view, would bridge the gap between the mundane and the divine, each experiment an act of reverence to the one they called “Mother of Flame.”
By manipulating the language of Berythian alchemy, the Brood argued that they were peeling back layers of deception, revealing the hidden truths Beryth himself had obscured in his writings. The mainstream Berythian insistence that Taharjin was merely a convenient symbol was, to the Brood, a sign of society’s decline—proof that the true power of magic had been lost to time and complacency. They considered themselves guardians of an authentic spiritual knowledge, which the rest of society had forsaken.

Alliances and the Publication of The Word of Taharjin

With the centuries passing and The Council of Landezon growing ever more prominent in Draksineon’s political and spiritual landscape, the Brood’s influence waned. They were a marginalized sect, regarded as little more than romantic relics of a forgotten time. However, their fortunes changed dramatically with the intervention of a curious alliance: The Servants of Darkness.
The Servants of Darkness, a collection of wealthy nobles fascinated with the occult, were more than mere hobbyists. Bored with the mundanity of their daily lives and intrigued by the thrill of heretical knowledge, they became patrons of the Brood. These aristocrats enjoyed the theatrics and danger of associating with such an infamous group, finding in the Brood’s ideology a source of mystery and rebellious allure. It was through the Servants’ financial support that the Brood was able to publish The Word of Taharjin.
This tome was a daring proclamation, a written declaration that Taharjin’s return was imminent and that the world should prepare. The publication of The Word marked the Brood’s first public appearance after centuries of obscurity. The book was marketed as a “lost text of the ancients,” and through a coordinated campaign of rumor and intrigue, it quickly found its way into circles of scholars, mages, and occult enthusiasts. The Council of Landezon was incensed, viewing the book as a destabilizing influence, and dismissed it as nonsense—a text full of false prophecies and grandiose claims. Yet, despite this condemnation, The Word gained a cult following, and whispers of Taharjin’s return became a source of underground fascination.

A Coincidental Validation: The Discovery of Taharjin

The Brood’s audacious claims in The Word of Taharjin were, by all reasonable accounts, unlikely ever to be verified. The group was as entrenched in mysticism and esoteric speculation as any of the occult sects of the time. Yet, the unimaginable occurred: Taharjin, Last of the Vocru, was discovered. The Brood had always clung to a literal interpretation of Taharjin’s prophecies, but now their dogged faith found an unexpected and shocking validation. With her discovery, the Brood, once little more than a fringe group, was thrust into the center of Draksineon’s political and religious turmoil. The coincidence was so astounding that many within the Berythian society, particularly those disillusioned by the Council’s orthodoxy, began to see the Brood as visionaries who had somehow known the truth all along.

Legacy and the Rise of Dogma

As the Brood gained influence, their radical doctrines became harder to ignore. What had once been a strange and cryptic set of beliefs rooted in ancient alchemical metaphors was now becoming a foundational doctrine in a new religious movement. They had always preached that Taharjin would return to reclaim the Burden of Rule, but now they could present themselves as the only true custodians of her knowledge. This newfound authority marked the beginning of a shift toward an era of dogmatic and literalist interpretations of Vocru teachings, an era that would come to be symbolized by the New Temple.
The Brood’s rise is a story of persistence and coincidence, of a group that held onto an unlikely belief until circumstance granted them validation. But their literalism, their slavish adherence to untested doctrines, and their resistance to critical thought would set the stage for a rigid, potentially dangerous orthodoxy that would shape the New Temple in ways both powerful and precarious.