Believers of the Source
One of the fifteen Factions who rule the city of Sigil.
Faction Politics:
The Believers are in general well liked throughout the planes, but they have their fair share of philosophical enemies in the Cage. The Dustmen and Believers each hold the other's philosophy to be absolutely anathem. Dustmen seek to escape the multiverse through a True Death. Believers seek to reincarnate again and again within the multiverse to attain Godhood. Likewise, the Bleak Cabal's notion of ultimate meaninglessness doesn't sit well with the Believers' idea that everything in life is a test. The Doomguard and Harmonium have both had significant political clashes with the Believers in the past. Those past issues have mostly been smoothed over in the present day. In fact, the Believers have something of an uneasy agreement with the Doomguard for the purpose of better regulating the city's economy. The Believers maintain an alliance with the Athar because of the friendship between Factol Ambar Vergrove and Factol Terrance.
The Believers are in general well liked throughout the planes, but they have their fair share of philosophical enemies in the Cage. The Dustmen and Believers each hold the other's philosophy to be absolutely anathem. Dustmen seek to escape the multiverse through a True Death. Believers seek to reincarnate again and again within the multiverse to attain Godhood. Likewise, the Bleak Cabal's notion of ultimate meaninglessness doesn't sit well with the Believers' idea that everything in life is a test. The Doomguard and Harmonium have both had significant political clashes with the Believers in the past. Those past issues have mostly been smoothed over in the present day. In fact, the Believers have something of an uneasy agreement with the Doomguard for the purpose of better regulating the city's economy. The Believers maintain an alliance with the Athar because of the friendship between Factol Ambar Vergrove and Factol Terrance.
Structure
To join the Believers, would-be members must take their turn at the Forge. A body tells the guards at the Great Foundry's main gate that he's interested in joining the Godsmen, and before he knows it, he's sweating rivers in the wire-works or labouring over some other craft. If the back-breaking labour doesn't send them running, these namers can seek greater involvement in the faction by asking a more experienced member to sponsor them.
Namers server informal apprenticeships with their sponsors, learning the rigors of Believer philosophy. When the sponsor considers his protégé ready for a factotum's responsibility - to seek the inherent worth in all - he presents the namer to a factor for evaluation.
The candidate then undergoes a series of tests: unusual puzzles or challenging tasks, specifically tailored to probe his fears and limitations. Of course, the factors don't measure the prospects against perfection. They just try to gauge the malleability of the namer in the multiversal forge.
A similar test is administered to factotums chosen to advance to factor rank.
- Through working in the Great Foundry, creating objects of useful purpose or art, and literally shaping as the multiverse shapes them
- Through music: seeking to translate the Empyrean Harmonies so that people can hear them, and sparking debate through their performances
- Through nature: immersing themselves in the rhythms of the natural world, and letting the multiverse directly challenge them through the elements
- By challenging and coaching others to improve: either mentally or in the field of battle
- By seeking the knowledge of past lives. There's a healthy tradition among Believers of speaking with the dead to learn about their lives, and also of speaking with the living who claim to remember past lives. The Believers of the Source have an inexhaustible thirst for clues about the tests of the multiverse, as experienced by others, and many dedicate themselves to expanding their knowledge.
Culture
The Believers of the Source are united in the belief that all beings are sacred, and capable of becoming gods. They see the multiverse as a forge that tests and shapes every living being: bringing them either closer to or farther away from godhood. The goal of each Believer is to draw closer to the Divine, and they believe that many who have come before them have succeeded (such as the last Factol, Curran).
That said, because everyone can become a god, being a Power isn't so very special in the mind of a Believer. The powers should be revered, of course, but they are just the next step in a soul's evolution. The Godsmen revere the Source of all life more than any particular Power.
Because of the faction's emphasis on the multiverse as a great forge for souls, Believers see a special significance in the process of creating; as such, every member does his time at the Great Foundry. The faction is not for the soft: in addition to the back-breaking labor required, Believers strongly feel that everyone should learn from their mistakes, and aren't interested in saving anyone from a "life lesson."
That said, they're not a cruel faction as a whole, and you can count on a Believer to help out in a pinch.
While all Godsmen hold the above beliefs in common, there are still various sub-groups within the faction.
History
Founding:
Folks consider Perrine the first factol of the Godsmen - at least, he founded what would become the Believers of the Source back before the Great Upheaval. As a mangrel-hurler, Perrine was not only an athlete but a philosopher as well; who else would care how far a man can toss a heavy iron bar trailing a 3-foot leather strap fringed with iron spikes? This blood knew he could win mangrel tosses only after much prior preparation. No surprise, he figured victories in less athletic pursuits also stemmed directly from a body‘s previous decisions and actions. Not content to ponder the matter alone, Perrine founded a society of equally curious bashers. Together, they developed the Godsmen's core belief - existence is a forge that shapes us - and an accompanying lifestyle called “sequel observance.” See, a body pays strict attention to the consequences of every one of his actions, so he can figure the way to produce only good results in the future. Learning from experience, that’s the idea, and ability to reason clearly, that's the tool. Believers of the Source:
During the Great Upheaval, a cutter named Augy of Faunel solidified the society as a faction and forever altered its philosophy. Seems Augy had been reincarnated a thousand times and could remember her past lives. Each built on the last, she said, and she went up or down the ladder of existence in response to her choices. Augy even claimed to recall her first incarnation and the glory that came before it. She introduced Perrine's society to the merits of intuition - it's usually a past life trying to get something across - and to the benefits of peering back beyond a body’s own memories. This philosophy lets a basher evolve without merely sticking to cold logic, in a process that reaches beyond death into one’s next incarnation. Evolve enough, and a body becomes a god. Augy gave the society the name it bears to this day: the Believers of the Source. As factol, she directed her followers into intense research. They collected biographies and interviewed anyone claiming to recall a past life. Perhaps this study would reveal the reason the multiverse inflicts lives of tests on a body. Empyrean Harmonies:
The work of a mathematician and musician named Luce sparked the next vogue among the Godsmen. See, Luce said that any given moment in time and space possesses a unique, associated resonance. This resonance, though beyond hearing range, could be transposed down several octaves for mortal listeners to enjoy. The Godsmen felt convinced this "Music of the Multiverse" could tell a basher which way he’s moving on the ladder toward godhood. When a new blood claimed to "hear" the celestial symphony, more Believers abandoned their biographies and work at the Great Foundry to try cultivating the sensitivity. Empyrean harmonies became the rage in Sigil. Mathematicians in every ward started composing, as did amateurs all 'round the Great Ring. The Hardheads saw the Godsmen’s discovery as an attack on their goal of peace through conformity. Verbal hostility reigned in the Hall of Speakers, while covert bloodshed raged between the City Barracks and the Great Foundry. Modern Times:
Recalling the one-time popularity of empyrean harmonies, Factol Ambar Vergrove has organized a program to train all Godsmen in singing or playing an instrument. Students learn melodies that provoke strong feelings in listeners, plus techniques to transform these emotions into debate among the audience after a performance.
Folks consider Perrine the first factol of the Godsmen - at least, he founded what would become the Believers of the Source back before the Great Upheaval. As a mangrel-hurler, Perrine was not only an athlete but a philosopher as well; who else would care how far a man can toss a heavy iron bar trailing a 3-foot leather strap fringed with iron spikes? This blood knew he could win mangrel tosses only after much prior preparation. No surprise, he figured victories in less athletic pursuits also stemmed directly from a body‘s previous decisions and actions. Not content to ponder the matter alone, Perrine founded a society of equally curious bashers. Together, they developed the Godsmen's core belief - existence is a forge that shapes us - and an accompanying lifestyle called “sequel observance.” See, a body pays strict attention to the consequences of every one of his actions, so he can figure the way to produce only good results in the future. Learning from experience, that’s the idea, and ability to reason clearly, that's the tool. Believers of the Source:
During the Great Upheaval, a cutter named Augy of Faunel solidified the society as a faction and forever altered its philosophy. Seems Augy had been reincarnated a thousand times and could remember her past lives. Each built on the last, she said, and she went up or down the ladder of existence in response to her choices. Augy even claimed to recall her first incarnation and the glory that came before it. She introduced Perrine's society to the merits of intuition - it's usually a past life trying to get something across - and to the benefits of peering back beyond a body’s own memories. This philosophy lets a basher evolve without merely sticking to cold logic, in a process that reaches beyond death into one’s next incarnation. Evolve enough, and a body becomes a god. Augy gave the society the name it bears to this day: the Believers of the Source. As factol, she directed her followers into intense research. They collected biographies and interviewed anyone claiming to recall a past life. Perhaps this study would reveal the reason the multiverse inflicts lives of tests on a body. Empyrean Harmonies:
The work of a mathematician and musician named Luce sparked the next vogue among the Godsmen. See, Luce said that any given moment in time and space possesses a unique, associated resonance. This resonance, though beyond hearing range, could be transposed down several octaves for mortal listeners to enjoy. The Godsmen felt convinced this "Music of the Multiverse" could tell a basher which way he’s moving on the ladder toward godhood. When a new blood claimed to "hear" the celestial symphony, more Believers abandoned their biographies and work at the Great Foundry to try cultivating the sensitivity. Empyrean harmonies became the rage in Sigil. Mathematicians in every ward started composing, as did amateurs all 'round the Great Ring. The Hardheads saw the Godsmen’s discovery as an attack on their goal of peace through conformity. Verbal hostility reigned in the Hall of Speakers, while covert bloodshed raged between the City Barracks and the Great Foundry. Modern Times:
Recalling the one-time popularity of empyrean harmonies, Factol Ambar Vergrove has organized a program to train all Godsmen in singing or playing an instrument. Students learn melodies that provoke strong feelings in listeners, plus techniques to transform these emotions into debate among the audience after a performance.
All life springs from the same divine source, ascending and descending in form as the cosmos tests it.
Alternative Names
Godsmen
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Notable Members
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