Rememberers
A semi secret group of elves that hold to the old religion. The group's existence is known to the elven authorities in various kingdoms but the members have mostly managed to keep their identities a secret.
Structure
The rememberers started out with a hierarchy based on that of the clerics who created it. This was found to be a liability as opinion turned against them as the capture of a senior figure led to the arrest of a significant proportion of the group. It is currently a collection of loosely affiliated people who share the same beliefs with no central leader. Most members know of only a few others in their group, and usually only one or two members of a group know of any other groups. Communication between groups is slow and difficult except when magic is employed.
History
Created after Miluril's ascension the rememberers started as a group of elven clerics who wanted to preserve the teachings of their original deities. While others were celebrating the rise of the hero turned god, these clerics quietly hid copies of their sacred texts and any artefacts they thought wouldn't be missed too quickly. Each cleric was given a few items to hide along with strict orders not to reveal the locations to any others. Several went further and divided the objects between their acolytes to further ensure at least some items would remain hidden. With all of this preparation it came as a surprise when the acolytes of the Starbrow didn't conduct a purge of the old region. Instead the Starbrow's clerics arranged for the remaining texts and objects to be carefully displayed. Thinking they had overreacted several of the followers of the old religions retrieved the items they had hidden and turned them over to Church of the Starbrow.
As the decades passed the followers of the old ways slowly began to understand the subtlety of the trap that they found themselves caught in. Their relics were displayed not as objects of wonder and awe, but as historical curiosities. There were few new worshippers joining in worshipping the old deities, and several powerful clerics had switched their allegiance. Yet nothing was being done overtly. There was no banning of worship, burning of books, or persecution of those practicing the old ways. The practices were just gradually going out of fashion. Sermons from highly vocal adherents of the old ways only served to alienate the wider population who were quite content worshipping the deity who had saved them from the demons back when he was still a mortal.
After a century of declining worship the clerics of the old gods had little political influence, and even among the Taurim they were considered backward and out of touch. When the Forest Kingdom on Laiqua fully outlawed the old ways there was barely a murmur of protest, especially as the most prominent practitioner, the princess Leshanna Amakir, had been exiled. While the Silmas didn't go as far as banning worship, they did prohibit gathering to practice the old religions within the Kingdom of the Forest. A few years after these bans went into effect the books and atrefacts which had been on display were taken away from public view.
Following the bans the rememberers in the Forest Kingdom found themselves being quietly rounded up, despite their best efforts to remain hidden. What little outcry there was against these arrests was easily duspelled by speeches from the rememberer's former colleagues who were now followers of the Starbrow. In these speeches the rememberers were denouced as traitors who were trying to lead the elven people back into the past. As a result of this purge the rememberers were removed completely from Laiqua.
The rememberers failed a little beter in the Kingdom of the Forest as Altea Silma had ensured that they couldn't be arrests just for their beliefs. This didn't stop the Church of the Starbrow trying to hunt them down to recover any arefacts, but the rememberers had more allies among the druids and spellweavers of this kingdom so a numbe of them were able to avoid being forced to hand over their treasures.
The second years of darkness put a great strain on the rememberers as they found it hard to recruit new converts when the kingdom was being protected by a barrier created by the deity they seemed to be opposing. Their recuitment efforts did not go unnoticed and several betrayals led to the arrest of some prominent members of the group. Following the years of darkness the group have continued to try to ffind new converts and keep their beliefs alive. Several of their texts have been smuggled out of the kingdom and into Caresnas where a group of Renegade Elves now live. These renegades follow the old ways and are under the protection of the King of Caresnas, though for political reasons they are not allowed to acknowledge the rememberers.
Founding Date
23 Himer 219 (Altea) / 2 (Starbrow)
Related Species
They are dangerous subversives who want to drag our people into the past since they are scared of what we could achieve in the future. -Acalliar Nailo, cleric of Starbrow
Limited Cooperation
Clandestine War
These two groups have completely opposed views and are constantly out to undermine anything the other side is doing.
Enemies
Both sides consider the other to be dangerous religious fanatics whose actions will bring about the destruction of the elven people.
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