Solar Compendium: Water

 

Water

The Sisterhood of the Nite Spectrum

 

"Togetherness is a key concept in the Hexist philosophy. Togetherness is the state that makes a Hexist's life meaningful and rewarding."

-Nite priestess Elkenlore reading

The Sisterhood became more and more entrenched in the affairs of the Solar Society. As the Sisterhood slowly gained influence over their research, and as the Hex Church became more and more fearful and paranoid of what the Sisterhood's findings might uncover, they were more and more inclined to keep a tighter grip on their archives and research teams. Their first major confrontation with the Hex Church, however, happened in the 55th Era, when a rogue scientist from Hexia Amorus named Amiros discovered the secret of anti-gravity repulsion. While attempting to flee the planet, Amiros was intercepted by a group of the Sisterhood's elite units. He was arrested, brainwashed and subsequently used as an assassin on Hexia. This went unnoticed, with Amiros's disappearance of little consequence initially. In the 64th Era, a group of priests and scholars were able to break into the Sisterhood's most highly protected libraries. The group was able to steal all of the Sisterhood's data and discover the truth of this scandal. Although only a handful of Sisters were involved in the event, the Hex Church was enraged.  In the 65th Era, the Hex Church began a propaganda campaign to tell the masses that the Sisterhood were dangerous and that the Sisters should be killed. Having overcome the Faithless with no further enemies or need for a massive militaristic alliance, the theological differences between the Sisterhood and the Church became vividly apparent.

“For all their efforts, they could not stop the spread of the Elken faith, the brother’s own faith had a stronger, deeper foundation than even the Hex's and would always have an upper hand over it.”

-Archad Diacreed, Upper Hand chambers

The religious tensions were heightened when the Hex Church began a campaign of murder and destruction on the worlds of the Sisterhood. In the 67th Era, the Hex Church sent a team of Wards to assassinate the High Soul hood, and put those not yet killed into work camps. These massacres sparked an increased feeling of unity among the Sisterhood, who had previously been struggling with this theological divide. When a battlefleet of the Hex Church was discovered on the Moss Isle of Vyra, the Sisters formed a plan to destroy the Hexian fleet in retaliation. The plan was successful, but the Sisters made no attempt to pursue the Hexians as they fled. The Hex Church would later rally a new fleet of skyships and army of approximately 750K soldiers to intercept the Sisterhood, but due to not consulting their Wardens about atmospheric conditions and weather patterns, a volatile storm gave the Sisterhood the advantage, which they took to unleash an artillery assault among the invaders. The final Hexian assault on the Sisterhood's holy site in the 69th Era failed in large part due to the Sisters' knowledge of the Church's battle tactics, and the Hexians suffered such heavy losses in the battle that they ceased to exist as a militaristic force in the coming era with any hegemonic influence.

  “My body is the temple of my soul. My body is my weapon of worship. My body is my weapon of war. And I will use the mightiest of weapons, the weapon of light, to conquer the darkness.”

-Nite Spectrum sister prayer before battle

With the Hex Church being weakened through this war, and the Sisterhood now being strong, they began to slowly begin to exert more control over the governments of the worlds propping up both within and around what would later become New Vygian, still in the settlement stages of developing the solar society on the lunar body. In the 70th Era, the Sisterhood began to establish their government, and began to gain a foothold on the moon, establishing a stronghold in the city of Chloris.

The Elken lord, beloved brother of the Seeress, is often symbolized by an iconic imagery of the ‘Pearlescent King.’ Due to the Nite Spectrum’s governing theorem, they serve whoever in worldly authority recognizes their pedigree and contributions to the materialist world, in the form of figures who bring order to chaos by recognition of the Hex. These Postulate individuals can title under Elken Queen, Elken Tribal Chief, Elken Sovereign, Elken Governor, Elken prince/Princess and even Postulate Elken Minister.  

 The Nite Sisterhood was formed roughly the same time the first acolyte, Ruadciem came to be recognized as the avatar of Fire. The Sisterhood acknowledges the importance of the Hex, but their focus has more in common with the Acolytes of the Great Houses of Malaxis. While the Sisterhood has strong affinity with both the Hex and the Acolytes, they tend to be more of a philosophical faction, being an offshoot of the Hex Priesthood. The Sisterhood also considers the Hex Church to be their peers, despite the difference in religious doctrine. The Elken Lord, that is to say the step-sibling of the Prophet is given principle status and his odes, poems, self-written recordings and sayings are paramount to their doctrine.  Their beliefs tend to be more broad, and they focus more on worldly materialist pursuits compared to Hexist idealism.

 “Unlike the rangy, scraggly Hexists of the Church, we devote ourselves to the art of martial struggle. And so it has come to pass that we have built a church on a mound of dirt for our people, and from dirt to flesh, and from flesh to stone, and from stone to spear, and finally from our spear to the Hex. Pray with the edge of your weapon, do not pray for our mercy.“

- The Proclaimers, Book of The Nite Hunters

The Nite Sisterhood from the beginning acted in dialectical obliqueness to the Hex Church. They worship the Elken Lord, and are led by the High Priestess, whom they follow through each generation. Their creed emphasized personal strength and responsibility for the individual, while the Hexists put forth community and connectedness as the most crucial. They quickly grew militant and determined to privilege physical might, while the Hexists deemed writ, language, written literature and ideology as the strongest force. While the militant Sisterhood were pacifists, ironically the Hex Church preached active intervention in enemy lands and conquest of the Faithless. The Sisterhood established the Garrison of Selkos to protect themselves, the Hex established the Hexads to spread their religion to others and operate missionaries.

 

The Sisterhood eventually created the High Priestess of the Moon as their divine soul lord. The High Priestess of the Moon, and subsequently all other Priestesses, are chosen by the vote of the Sisterhood's members. The High Priestess of the Moon also acts as a sort of spiritual advisor for the Sisterhood's pacifistic military division. Their duties span the lives of each Sisterhood. These responsibilities include the selection of training new Priestesses, the formation of armies, the construction of the Sisterhood's ships, the founding of their cities and the governance of the Sisterhood.

 

 

The Sisterhood's role of a spiritual order have been somewhat a topic of debate, as they also had a military division of the Sisterhood that acted in a quasi-heretical fashion, such as the creation of a religious faith by the Sisterhood of the Horn, which is an offshoot branch of the Nite Spectrum which considers the binary relationship between the Queen and the Elkenlord as a crucial element, and puts the Hex as merely a tool to better modest, mortal life, rather than a transcendent entity. There are many theories about the relationship between the Nite Sisterhood and the Acolyte Divisions of the Malaxis Church, some of which are considered heresy.

 

 

The Sisterhood's dogma focuses on the philosophy of a more binary relationship with nature and man, as the Elken Lord and Prophet had, and the idea of a divine Hex that can bestow blessings on an individual's will, but that this blessing should not be taken lightly. Their most influential work was the discovery of "The Way", the belief that states the essence of all knowledge and reality is but two aspects of the divine Hex, and nature is blessed in all facets of the universe, from atoms to stars, from the living to the nonliving.

 

The Sisterhood has always been in some sort of a state of war with the Hex Church, with many minor skirmishes being fought by both sides.  The Sisterhood, like the Hex, tends to be organized in a hierarchical fashion. Their society is based on a hierarchical system, where only the Priestesses can have a true power position. The Nite Sisterhood's doctrine of 'Leave the twinkling to the stars' forbids the sin of proselytizing, and attempted conversions of nonbelievers is seen as distasteful and looked down upon. This doctrine existed in direct contrast with the Hex Church's own self propagation. They have been allies during the Hex Church's attack on the Faithless lands.

 

The Sisterhood have established many allies with other religious or governmental factions. The Hex Church has many enemies, and the Nite Sisterhood have many friends. The Sisterhood has developed strong relationships with the Acolytes of the Great Houses of Malaxis and have many common interests and shared goals. In fact, in the times of the Sisterhood's infancy, they were allies of the Malaxis Acolytes, but due to growing differences in belief, they had to sever ties with the Acolytes as they both began to form their own organizations.

 

Vygian

 

Vygian was originally founded by a tribe of warriors, the Tempest. Predominantly made of nomadic Nyputians, they were known for their ginger pelage across their limbs, tiger-like stripes, finned cheeks, and small stubby wings, although these were not functional like the Santri. The Tempest as a race were a spirited and melodically tuned people whose language of music and food was thoroughly expressed. Their two favorite holidays were based on musical competitions and savory celebration of meat. Consuming and appreciating meat was practically a spiritual pastime for the Tempest. Their nomadic travels for centuries had them banned as 'pests' from kingdom to kingdom. They would not be strong enough to stop the Vygian's musical way of life from taking away their food and their music, and replacing their culture with those of the Hex.

“The Anima Tempestas were a people believed to have been the forerunners of the Tempest, although the historical record remains in dispute. The Hexads set to change Vygian with their own set of religious beliefs. There are some records of the Anima people that existed before them, but those are long gone, swallowed up and lost, only the tales exist that the children of Santri and Oohts could speak of. They were a people of peace, worshiping the wind, water, and stars, but were also skilled magicians and creators. Their religion was built around three pillars of faith, the Hex, the Santri and the Oohts, they made the world and gave it meaning, while knowing that they had a purpose to exist. It was a kind of a religious purgatory to the end of the universe. Their animalistic features and practices were well documented, but a direct lineage from them to the Tempest has not been entirely proven or established.”

-Hexad recordings

 

The founding myth of the Tempest foretold an ancient Tempest Queen who seduced a king of a nearby kingdom. But so mysterious and sought out, she earned the king's jealousy until he lashed out, throwing out all Tempest from his borders. The Tempest settled in a coastal valley, the swampy region of Nmir and built their homes around the caverns. A nearby clan of Santri gradually assimilated into the Tempest, a union much celebrated in their age, seeing the Tempest as wayward kin.

"Sisters of the feather embark together, forever in the Hex may we be true to one another."

-Santri woman

“The Hexists of the Tempest are a people that are very close to the people that used to call this world their home, they are called the Santri.”

-Hexad Commisionar, tasked with mandating church attendance

They made their homes within the deep caverns beyond the marsh, the Santri teaching them architectural methods to transform these tunnels into a vast structural network of interconnected pathways, tall dwellings, marketplaces and sanctuaries. The Tempest grew quickly into a prosperous clan, known for their musical prowess and for the vast amount of their children born. The Tempest also expanded their territory, and with the help of an ancient Nmirian cult known as 'The Divinity' who were skilled at elaborate architecture, and known for their dark and gloomy aesthetic. Little was written about them, because literacy was not as important as meat in Tempest culture. This cult began to build extensive tunnel networks and craft the caverns into inner cathedrals, creating a vast city complex within the cliffs. After its founding, the colony caught the attention of the Hexads, who saw themselves best fit as new spiritual teachers for the tigerish Tempest. Initially the population rejected the Hex's teachings. However, after a particularly hard fall of winter weather and sickness, the Hexad's ability to offer miraculous cures and feed the sick brought the Tempest's loyalty and began their conversion. The colony was then ruled by Queen Bijela, an older Tempest known for her great skill in music. During this time the Hex became part of the Tempest's way of life and joined their culture with religious fervor.

 “I am not even a Vygian citizen, but I feel the presence of this sacred city like a friend, I will visit this place when the sun is brightest, the light of the heavens falls brightest, to walk the halls of this sacred land and experience the aura of this lost home of man.”

-Meryl Tourist, archived travel diary

 

The Tempest Queen Bijela led the conversion and soon began to create the Vygian Hex's doctrines in a new set of sacred words known as 'Mimsy Whimsy', a pranic interpretation believed to be heretical by the local Hexads. In order to enforce their ideals properly, the Hexads recruited the Nite Spectrum sisterhood under Postulate Uthena, the Elk Empress from the western territories. The sisterhood was given the role of a militia and state police as the Hexad's oversaw their proper conversion. The Tempest joined the Hexadic ways and were given the opportunity to become Hex citizens, but gradually began to resist the disposing of their native culture. The banning of folk music, and Meat Festivals sparked a youth-oriented cultural movement within the Tempest.

This low class insurrection was known as the 'Ventral Hunt', and was designated by the youth donning tight dark latex, corsets, gas masks, bright neon accessories, brooding and anti-public activity. This movement, aside from innovating the eclectic street fashion brought about gang violence, resistance against the church and an attempted dismantling of previous traditions. The Vygians venerated the myth of their castrated, exiled Queen and promoted all Tempest traditions as absolute.

 

Despite their zeal, this movement was often quashed by the sisterhood, only leading to further retaliation from the Tempest and yet still causing the Hexad leadership to increase repression whenever riotous incidents spurred their head. To keep the Tempest in order, stricter and more severe laws were implemented. Feasting centers in Vygian were converted into churches, hymn street-singing was replaced with assigned Hex Choruses, and the re-education of the next generation under the Hex was attempted in earnest. A curfew was enforced, and the Tempest were forced to follow a strict diet of beef only, and were often hunted by the Hex. Many were sent to the church for Psych-focused reeducation, all of these were the steps in the Hex's campaign of eradication of their culture.

 

 

“A people's fate is decided from afar, they live as shadows of those they are destined to be. I would not, if I could, leave my home, or any of its citizens, for I fear I would return to live in a city of despair and emptiness, for there is much more life there than anywhere else. I am not here for the pleasure of this land, and I certainly have not found much in the cities and towns I have been in, which is why I have sought the company of the spirit of the Hex for this world. I am the Spirit of a people, not a mere man. The spirit must have purpose in this realm, and in my home I have found it.”

-Dignbi Astriux, Memoirs of the Tempest Occupation

 

Dignbi Astriux, born in 2517 in a modest Tempest home. It was here that he was raised with his younger sister by his parents, a Tempest mother and Hexad working father from Ruadciem. He was a religious observant, and a quiet boy who preferred to spend his time reading Hexist literature and exploring nature, embracing both his heritages. During his time as a child he loved to go exploring the caves of Vygian, even though he did not understand the mystical or even the cultural significance of the Nmirian caverns to the Tempest. His first foot into history began when an old Tempest woman was found murdered in the hills and he was chosen to lead the search for clues. He found her pouch with a map that would lead to a cache of treasures, which he then turned over to the Hexad for a reward, which ultimately lead to the murderer being found. He made a meager living by selling the map and found many other gems, but when he became old enough he left his nomadic lifestyle and decided to join the church. Dignbi served as a Hexad missionary in foreign lands for many centuries, and when he returned he'd been promoted to 'Postulate Lordship by Proxy' via council elect, and was chosen, due to Uthena falling under graven sickness.

As a Lord, Dignbi worked diligently to unite the Ventral Hunt factions under the Hex's teachings and rule. During his time as Postulate he was often frustrated by Hex's inability to stop the war, and the conflict's negative influence on their community. Dignbi, his white-black slicked hair and priestly clothes of the Hex meeting the stripes and wings of a Tempest became a man of the people as much as a man of the Hex. He embraced Ventral culture- its brooding aesthetics, and marred the traditional Hex robes and imagery with the imagery of the underclass.

“The Vygian Hexad are a powerful force. And yet no matter their power and might, no matter their numbers and strength, they are not without their weaknesses. They cannot walk around without their armor and weapons. They cannot move in public without gasmasks, latex suits and their boots. Anyone who is not a Hexad, can see them as dangerous to Vygian's people. A strong wind, a sudden gust of wind, a loud, distant sound, a shadow, will draw the attention of one. If people in their city are not dressed in their uniforms, they are treated as spies. They are treated like enemy combatants, and all that comes from them will be vanquished into the dark like shadows upon dusk.”

-Unknown, Hexad Archives

Effectively subjugating and also approximating their movement, Dignbi's edicts made the Hex educators and authorities wear the same smooth, dark starched outfits and neon colors of the Tempest dissidents. His emphasis on re-education was strict, he decreed every Tempest man and woman and child be molded in the ways of the Hex, but at the same time yielded concessions- he allowed previously banned Meat and Lyrical based holidays alongside those of the Hex. Additionally, Dignbi was a close friend of scholar and great thinker Montaque Celes, her lengthy treatises and criticisms of the Hex church, along with hefty input from the heretical Santri became incorporated into Dignbi's reformation of the traditionalist Hex doctrine.

 Dignasti, who was once called a mere 'murderer,' is now revered in the halls of history as the Father of Vygian's Reformation. The Ventral have become his most devout of followers. In one of his last letters to his followers, he said:

 “Dear friends, a new time is coming. All things will be different. Our empire has always been at its best when we can be truly free.

 

I have watched you for a long time from my palace. You have all done great things. You are the pride of our new empire, the Vygian Empire. Together we will usher in a new era of freedom, peace and greatness.

 

From here you may go, if you so desire.”

-Hexads in Training: Hexssimilation of the Tempest Pedigree, written record from a security personnel of the Sectarian Sisterhood  

For many, his legacy was a strong influence and inspiration for the young church leaders and a testament to newfound unity of Vygian. Other Hex elders in the surrounding countries felt her influence was the opposite- causing Hex to fall to religious strife and infighting, to deviate into a 'degenerate culture' and be practiced in ways the Prophet did not intend. But for the Hexads of Vygian, he was a model ruler who used the Hexad's teachings to lead the Tempest. The Ventral leading gangs and dissidents in the movement started to organize, and a small resistance developed. Civil war threatened to tear Vygian apart, but Dignbi made a powerful concession. He married his daughter to the local leader of the rebellion and converted them into the Hex. The marriage ceremony was ordained by the Tempest Queen herself, decked in pure black latex, corset, heels, restrictive gloves and rubber headdress - showing she'd been fully indoctrinated and committed to the union of Ventral and Hex dogma. The militias of the Nite that Postulate Dignbi held joined those of the rebellion, and a new militant state was established.

 “She became the figurehead for the youth and all those seeking the path of truth. The way her power was used in Vygian, the city of all things dark and light that became the place for the people of all walks of life to see and know that their souls weren't as dark as they thought, were more light and true. She represented all that the Tempest, its religion, its people and traditions meant to her. Her influence on the Hexad, its culture, its new people and the city itself grew and flourished as she became the first of many such heroes, to come in a new school of thought: a new age of true light would flourish in Vygian. She would be called the 'Cinder Queen.'”

-Documented lineage of Tempest Queens, Volume 5

The Hexad of the city had concerns. While they respected the Tempest's right to be as they are, they were also concerned about their isolation from the world. The Tempest were an unknown, foreign people, and the Hex of the mainline kingdoms grew weary and distrustful. The dark chambers, cathedrals and city-structures inside the obsidian cliffs beyond the marshes appeared to them as an anarchic fortress, and regarded Dignbi as arrogant for asking their status be elevated with a Hex Protectorate.

The Hex kingdoms demanded Dignbi resign and recent the Ventral influences of the Tempest. He refused to, sworn to defend both his ancestral traditions. They sent subsequent demands the Night Sisters cease to serve a considered-apostate. The Spectrum declined.

 "These are the people of Vygian. They are as loyal as I am to this city."

-Hexad soldier

“They are the Alpha of a new era. This is all I need to say about them, for any who would seek to do them harm, let them know that I will bring your heads to the ground.”

-Digbi’s personal friend and Warden enforcer, Lotusi Vutri Cainridge

Eventually, the Hex council decided to act and made a preemptive strike against the Tempest in 3033. This attack was to be an 'Expropriation', to remove the church and governing leadership of Vygian and replace them with a more traditional, acceptable authority. However, the Hex failed to account for the Ventral Hunt's rebellious nature, and the Tempest's leader, Dignbi, managed to rally his people against the Hex's assault. They rallied and formed a militia of over 10,000 members. The Tempest, the Ventral Hunt and the Nite, who refused to be separated from their families and traditions, fought against the Hex's militia. On an open field the Vygians surely would've been at a disadvantage, but protected in the vast deep confines of their own city where the labyrinthine streets, pathways and tunnels served their defense like a shrouded veil of protection, and ultimately they prevailed.  The battle soon deteriorated into a bloody war that continued for years, until the Hex forces were defeated and retreated. Dignbi returned to the city to govern, however, much of their 'fortress' had been decimated and the Vygian people were devastated.

With their city in ruins from the war and their territory surrounded by enemies who would surely return, Dignbi turned to the flamboyant explorer Geneis Monclaire. Monclaire was tasked with finding a new venue to explore settlement options. The recent overgrowth of the Great Blessed Oak's roots and vines gave Monclaire the opportunity she needed, and the dark obsidian tunnels were abandoned. From out of the shadows they emerged, migrating in great hordes upwards the holy roots towards the steed of lunula, finding themselves to be bound with the moon's grazing territory. They began by building a small town, New Vygian, Dignbi would also move the Hex center of operations to New Vygian, a move that angered the other Hexad heads but had no choice but to respect their leader's opinion. The Hex of Vygian and a substantial hired help of gardeners, researchers, architects and astrologists settled peacefully into the new society, one closer to the sun than any settler before them. Thus the race of people who had begun underneath the surface away from the holy starlight, now made their new home reaching for their grandiose breadth, gazing at the heavens that lay beyond.

"And on the other side of this great rift, the Tempest shall rise again, a greater, more powerful, an empire of beauty and wonder and light. Come, we must journey far before us, but with the Hex's gift, our journey shall not be long."

-Geneis Monclaire

In time this small settlement, despite its conflicts with the coming Hex colonists, would come to be known as the "Solar Society."

 

Oak Pact

Oak Pact, or the 'Cult of Blessed Tree', as they have been nicknamed, are a group of people who live on the moon, worship and study the godtree. They practice their own version of the Hex, though their main belief is in the power of the Blessed Tree and its abilities to cleanse man. Their goal is to spread the will of the Blessed Tree as far as possible and to as many constituents as they can by building settlements and cities. While the Sisterhood believes the Hex can be given to man freely and the Hex Church that man belongs to the Hex, the Cult of the Blessed Tree believe that it is a responsibility of the Hex that they give the odes of life, not take from it. The Oak Pacters were blessed on the moon by the High Sisterhood’s High Priestess, a woman born on Ruadciem, whom believed that the Hex has the ability to save the world, and that the new blessed children of the Oak Pact will do the good work of the Hex on the lunar body. The tree contains the essences of all those who have been healed by it, and therefore one of the initiation rituals of an Oak Pact member is to stab their palms until they bleed, place their hand to the Godtree and have it heal them, thus embedding their essence into the collective of the tree.

  "Where there is a wound, there is a gift. Where there is light, there is

love."

-Oak Pact acolyte

Oakpact is led by five elder members, the High Pentarch, and lower divisions of the cult are known as branches. The tree is of special importance to those who practice the hex, and the ceremonial pilgrimage for Wards is hosted by the Oak Pact yearly for fifth year students.

When Matrial Mayhem first visited, she did not know what to think. She had heard that the Oak Pact was a cult dedicated to the goddess of life. Yet the Cult of the Blessed Tree was the only one that had shown any willingness to allow her and her allies entrance into its territory. Their leader, named Zethinon, and his sister, Haedrian, were the only people she had found who appeared to have any level of intellect. There was a small man named Lathander, who had been an old follower of the Oak Pact, and though he had no power or charisma, he was very loyal to the cult. However, he was the only one who appeared to have studied the lectures of the Prophet and knew her sermons by heart. As they stood outside the town of Sluagdah, waiting for Matrial Mayhem’s men to give them permission to enter the town, The local Hexads were informed that there was a child who was born into the cult, brought by the courtier Elynaya….

New Vygian

New Vygian was founded by the Tempest explorer, Geneis Monclaire. She worked alongside the Craftsguild, Warden Torgar Korges to construct vast tunnel networks and incorporate hexist principles into the design architecture of the city. Rapidly rising to popular acclaim and flourishing success, within the city is an inner temple in the shape of a circle, symbolizing the universe in motion. In the middle of the city stands a massive root of the Godtree called the 'Clasp of Vygria', which represents the divine spirit of nature. The root, with entire temples built around it, is surrounded by a pool of oxygenated liquid which is filled with blue moonlight from the reflection of the Celes itself, and said to be filled with the essences of the blessed. The hexist prayer is chanted here daily, and it is said to be one of the two most holy sites in the Vygian settlement, spare only the tree itself.

 

From New Vygian, came The Cult of the Blessed Tree, and from the cult and Tempest colonies soon came four main cities:

●       New Parchments - Main City of the Oak Pact Cult, the central point of the worship of the Blessed Tree. A city of 30,000 settlers upon initial founding.

●      Nul'Tanis - A central city located in the southern hemisphere, directly south of New Parchments. Heavy sisterhood influence.

●      Ural'Sok - A city west of New Vygian, it was built for the expansion of the new cult after a Hexist offshoot arrived, hoping to branch off from the repression of the Church. Led by Astride, the Stormrider.

●      Ishtar, The Isle of Awakened Dreams - The northernmost city settlement, a small island, which was once formed from a seabed but after the axis shifted was left with no water. Settled by neo-pagans who adhere to starsigns. It is here in Ishtar where the initiates of the Cult of the Starlight Trinity were raised to worship astrological phenomena.

 

The first major attack of the Isle came within the new cult’s first years. In Era 82 the Sisterhood was struck, and the Starlight cult was all but annihilated, its priests, priestsess, initiates and children taken as slaves and forced to convert to the Sisterhood. In the following year, their settlement was given to the Oak Pacts for reconstruction. The Oak Pact, as well as the Tempests and Craftsguild were the only 3 remaining large settlements on the new world for a time. The settlers of Agathy temporarily migrated as vagrants across the lunar body, and temporary mobile 'wagon towns' sprung up but were expressly forbidden to form territorial attachments by the Hex Sistory. Most of the Agathy colonists left the Lunar settlement and moved to the Genesis Frontier of Celes. Most of the colonists from the failed mobile settlements of Agathy would be absorbed into the surrounding Vygian colonization projects.

 "You are what you hold, and to do is to have. Do whatever you hold dear to your heart and you will find a way to be with all things. We have much work to do."

-Sisterhood organizer of the Urban Promise Committee

The new world was soon a thriving, self-sufficient, and independent world, and in time of its development the Solar Sisterhood began to grow even larger. The Nite sisters working alongside Ward Craftguilds were responsible for the first construction of the Lunar Transit Way, the first trans-lunar colony-capital, carrying citizens from New Parchments all the way to New Vygian and settlements far beyond. The Sisterhood also created a massive network of 'Hexist Spires' around the Moon, called by some the Lunar Pentawork. The Sisterhood, working along with their Solar allies, rose in prominence, and the Oak Pact's faith in their Godtree and its ability to purify the Lunar atmosphere spread through 3 dozen new colonies, and as a result began to form the Vygian Alliance. The sisterhood became the backbone of the Vygian Hexist army, with several new cultist branches such as the Advent of the Wayward Hex, Prayers of the Noctural Seabed and the Sisterhood of the Solar Ocean, became responsible for the defense of the newly emerged solarian societee and moon-wide government.

 

Genesis Frontier

"How can the world be made whole again? With the great Hex."

-Tempest Warden Impendrix Kit-Ulynyiss of the New Coast, elemental

professor of Hexcraft studies

The Genesis Frontier designated the three continental superclusters beyond the initial landscape of the Hex, known as the continent of The Sun Drowned.

The first of these, The First Genesis, is the home of the followers of the Queenly Sister and has been for several millennia after the Faithless began initial missionary efforts. This supercluster is entirely Malaxian in its belief and practice. The Hex is held in legal contempt in most places, though this doctrine is ignored, as Malaxians of this region are a religious lot and have a great respect for things the Sister was founded to oppose.  On Second Genesis, the land holds the only faith which embraces the belief in a deity, not as a god, but as an entity of the Hex with many anthropomorphic polytheistic aspects. The Prophet to this populace is not a single, monolithic individual, but seen as an entity of many beings. This ideology is not sanctioned by the Hex Church, and diverges so greatly as to be declared a 'wicked ignorance' from the mainland.  The third of these superclusters, The Last Genesis, is made up of several disparate faiths, which are the most common faith in the Hex beyond the border of the Hex Church, and is considered to be where the Hex Church loses its influence.

“What secrets are buried in the dust of desolation? It’s a vast and dangerous world, where even the smallest blip of an expedition can prove fatal. Hex bless us, that what we’ll find will be ours..”

-Hexad overseas journeybook, Sails of the Last Genesis

The most inhospitable region, The Last Genesis has seen the most growth of the Sister's Malaxian faithless in many centuries, and is now, for all intents and purposes, is a series of interconnected nested islands surrounded and blended by faith of many other native creeds, from shamanism to naturalistic worship. The last remnants of the faith of the Queenly Sister still persist in it, but have undergone huge shifts in practice. This land, and its main archipelago is perceived as capricious and chaotic, its natural beauty is also a keystone in this supercluster, as the worship of many other faiths tends to focus their worship of the Hex on the organic biosphere's natural wonders of the world. The island of Malbolgea and its port cities were the focal point of this supercluster, becoming the official Hexad station for the first and second Genesis.  

Malbolgea and its sister city of Thedora were once two of the most beautiful and thriving trading hubs in the Frontier world, known as the 'Lily City' and 'Lute City' because of their architectural elegance and artistry, their reputation for romance and atmosphere being unmatched in the world. While the Solar Society became a bastion for scientific and industrial progress, the Frontier and its colonization effort gradually turned to tourism, predicated on the evaluated superior value of artistic and cultural achievement. Over the course of the last centuries, the Hex within the Genesis Frontier has been in decline, and the triadic continental supercluster has become the site of several inter-faith wars and sporadic wars of rebellion against the hegemony of the church.