Faith of the Nine Travelers The Faith of the Nine Travelers , or simply " the Nine Travelers " , was a faith common in Shou Lung and Wa in Kara - Tur . Dogma . The Faith of the Nine Travelers was less a faith or religion and more a set of customs and a philosophy . It held that Heaven was a vast mirror of the empire of Shou Lung , with its own empire , government , bureaucracy , and emperor . All of this in fact correctly described the Celestial Empire , which held spiritual authority over Kara - Tur , more closely than other religion . Nevertheless , outsiders tended to disbelieve it out of hand , for the simple fact that it seemed so banal and mundane . In particular , adherents followed the Nine Immortals , also known as the Nine Travelers , and held that they were enormously powerful beings of the Celestial Bureaucracy . Each was followed by a different sect . However , believers argued about which of the Nine was the leader , in which they were mistaken . A fundamental tenet of the faith was that even the lowest commoner could rise to become a ruler . This view was openly commended by the nobility but of course not exactly encouraged . Miraculous happenings were often attributed to the deeds of the Nine Travelers . One example was the portentous appearances of the Giants in Gray . However , when such things occurred , the Mandarinate of Shou Lung would immediately hold a Board of Inquiry from the Local Department of Certainty and Historic Worth to ascertain its genuineness . Although they produced vast archives of information about countless claimed miracles and gave many verdicts of " not proven " or " possible " , they had not ( by 1357 DR ) declared the genuineness of any one miracle . A small sect of the faith hailing from Shou Lung even worshiped the Giants in Gray themselves , such as at the Temple of the Nine Travelers in Manass in Khazari . Organization . As a religion , the Faith of the Nine Travelers was perhaps the least powerful . It had no organized priesthood and very few temples . Instead , its true power lay in the many people of the lower classes and the bureaucracy who followed it . The Faith was practiced by monk s . History . Already the oldest faith in Shou Lung , during the War of the Nobles ( Shou Years 435 ( −815 DR ) to 440 ( −810 DR ) ) , the bureaucracy adopted the Faith of the Nine Travelers as its own . The bureaucrats grew in power , learning to play the noble houses against one another and controlling access to the Emperor through careful bureaucratic bungling . Thus they gained ascendancy over the nobility . Over the years , the Faith became the guiding principle for scholars of the Mandarinate that came to head the bureaucracy ; its basic tenet that a low - classed person could ascend to become ruler of all established their newfound dominance and thus they promoted it . Over the centuries , the Faith of the Nine Travelers stood firm against attempts to diminish its role . However , the Faith was brought low in Shou Year 581 ( −669 DR ) when the first Emperor Chin of the Ho Dynasty proclaimed the so - called Organization of Thought , an effort to make the Path of Enlightenment the one and only faith of Shou Lung . Monks of the Nine Travelers were banished from Shou Lung , as were monks and priests of many other faiths . This triggered the Time of Contentions , in which rival faiths feuded and struggled against one another , among the people and the bureaucracy . Ultimately , both the first Emperor Chin and his son died mysteriously in Shou Year 630 ( −620 DR ) . The grandson , now the second Emperor Chin , ended the Time of Contentions by decreeing the Time of Sharing Meals , outlawing temple militias but encouraging religious freedoms once more . The various faiths were accepted again , yet the Path remained the official religion of the empire . By midway through the Kao Dynasty ( Shou Years 1025 ( −225 DR ) to 2050 ( 800 DR ) ) , the Faith of the Nine Travelers was well - entrenched in the Mandarinate and they ' d written much on the subject . The nobility continued to oppose it to a greater or lesser degree , seeing it as a political threat . Lands . The Faith of the Nine Travelers was most likely the oldest faith still practiced in Shou Lung by 1357 DR . It was popular with folk of the lower classes , especially merchants and those who worked to improve their lot through civil service , but it was also extremely closely associated with the high - ranking Mandarinate . As a result , it was a nicknamed a " faith of clerks " . The Mandarinate reinforced the dominance of both it and the Faith by legitimizing the " Book of Heaven " and making its study an essential part of the civil service examination . Although heavily based on the Path of Enlightenment , it was written in the context of the reigns and deeds of the Nine Travelers . It was also the oldest faith practiced in Wa by 1357 DR . It was followed by many in the lower classes . The upper classes tolerated it , but considered the precept that anyone could rise to the position of emperor to be obviously rather offensive .