Piety of Seth

The Piety of Seth is a shrine world in the Adrantis Nebula of the Calixis Sector.
Population: Fluctuates depending on the proximity to
certain festivals, but usually no more than one billion.
Tithe Grade: Exactus Majoris.
Geography: An almost even distribution of land and ocean
has resulted in a fairly temperate climate. Frequent rains mean
lush plant growth, while volcanic activity has resulted in
extreme mountain ranges and the frequent appearances of
new islands. One small moon.
Government Type: Oligarchy consisting of Ministorum
clergy and merchant magnates.
Planetary Governor: Cardinal Praetus Catullas Halaby.
Adept Presence: Extensive. Great numbers of Adeptus
Ministorum clergy live and work among the regular
population. The Adepta Sororitas inhabit the Abbey of Saint Elena’s Mount
outside of Port Calling. Within are Commanderies of the
Orders Dialogous, Famulous, and Hospitaller.
Military: Planetary defense forces, militant cults.
Trade: The Piety of Seth was an agri-world before becoming a
shrine world, and still exports immense amounts of foodstuffs,
including assorted fruits, vegetables, and seafood.
==Overview==
Piety of Seth is one of a number of shrine worlds in the Calixis
Sector. While it is primarily still an agri-world, its endless
expanses of fields and orchards are interrupted by two major
settlements---Port Hadley and Port Calling. The former is
where Chartist and Imperial spacecraft come calling to load
their holds with the massive quantities of crops the Piety of
Seth produces. The latter is the site of the Chapel of Seth’s
Calling, where the Arbitrator Seth died after a day and night of
prayer in honor of the Emperor. It has become the destination
of pilgrims from across the sector and beyond, who come to
pray as Seth did and purify their minds and bodies.
==The Chantry==
Nearly two millennia ago, when Piety of Seth was known as
Vantau, it was home to the Chantry of Drusus, a heretical cult
that wished to replace the worship of the God-Emperor with
a church dedicated to Saint Drusus. Naturally, heresy such as
this couldn’t be allowed to stand, and Judge Seth was quick
to raise a militia to oppose them. After several fierce battles,
Seth’s forces were broken and scattered and Seth himself was
captured. Brought before the self-proclaimed ‘Son of Drusus,’
the leader of the Chantry cult, Seth was given a simple
choice---renounce the God-Emperor or face eternal torment.
Seth, who both feared and loved his Emperor, refused
(legend says he literally spat his defiance in the Son’s face),
and as a result was subjected to unending tortures. Wishing
to make an example of the obstinate Judge, the Son of Drusus
paraded Seth at the vanguard of his renegade army. His desire
was to use Seth’s sufferings to break the will of the people and
force them to acknowledge the Son as the Second Coming of
the God-Emperor. However, Seth was able to stoically resist
the tortures of the Second Coming cultists, his only words
ones of praise for the Emperor. Inspired by his resistance
(and the leadership of Seth’s Arbitrators), the loyal citizens
of Vantau rallied and not only turned back the army of the
Second Coming, but took their camp, killing the supposedly
immortal Son of Drusus in the process.
At the center of the cultist’s camp, the victorious army found
Seth alive, albeit barely. To everyone’s amazement, Seth was able
to stand under his own power, and announced through broken
teeth and cracked and bloodied lips his desire to give thanks to
the God-Emperor for providing him with the strength to resist
the seemingly endless days of torture. Trailed by an assortment of
PDF captains, Adeptus Arbites, and regular citizens, Seth made
his way, step by painful step, to a local chapel, where he knelt in
silent prayer. He remained there for a full day, giving thanks to
the Emperor for guiding him through his ordeal. Finally rising,
he turned as if to leave the chapel, only to die on his feet.
==A Shrine is Born==
Honored as the face of the resistance to the Chantry cultists,
Seth was placed in an ornate tomb outside the chapel. Almost
immediately the place gained religious significance in the eyes
those who had witnessed Seth’s long walk. Many claimed his
death wasn’t due to his battered body finally giving out, but
because the Emperor had summoned Seth to his side. On
the first anniversary of their victory, numerous Vantauians
re-enacted Seth’s last walk, and the event quickly became a
religious holiday.
Over the years, the holiday (named Seth’s Calling in the
belief the Emperor had called Seth to him) expanded in scope.
Aside from the tradition of retracing Seth’s Progress from the
Chantry camp to the chapel, there came re-enactments of his
rescue, the slaying of the Son of Drusus, and the torments
Seth suffered. In time, these observations grew into a cult, one
dedicated to presenting the life of Seth as an example of how
faith and loyalty can allow one to overcome all obstacles. In
order to spread their message, the cultists (calling themselves
the “Sons of Seth” as a counter to the heretical “Son of Drusus”)
started to stage elaborate mystery and passion plays, each
illustrating an aspect (probably apocryphal) of Seth’s life. The Sons of Seth are led by Plex Orla, a former Arbitrator.
As word of Seth’s exploits spread, pilgrims began to
arrive on Vantau, known now as the Site of Seth’s Piety (and
eventually shortened simply to Piety of Seth), seeking to pray
at the chapel, follow his Progress, and attend the various
plays. This resulted in a circular cycle of expanding the scope
of the plays, resulting in a greater number of pilgrims, which
required further expansions, and so on.
Today, Piety of Seth is a fully recognized Shrine World, to
which countless pilgrims travel in hopes of reaffirming their faith
and purging their souls of heretical thoughts, mostly through
programs of Ministorum-approved corporal mortification. While
the Sons of Seth have yet to prove successful in making him a
saint, they continue to produce ever more elaborate performances
of his life, as well as the lives of other Saints and notable figures
of the Imperium. They also loudly denounce Seth the Voice, the
so-called Prophet of the Emperor on Iocanthos, as an upstart
who seeks to capitalize on the fame of Seth the Arbitrator. To
this end they’ve petitioned the Ministorum to have Vai (“prince”)
Seth declared heretic, so far to no avail.
==Piety of Seth Society==
For the most part, life on Piety of Seth is as it always has
been---simple and pious, with the bulk of the population
tending to the vast fields of grain and vegetables, the orchards
of fruit trees, and the aquaculture stations. For them, if the
daily toil of growing food for the rest of the sector was
good enough for their fathers and grandfathers, then it’s
certainly good enough for them. However, in the city of Port
Calling, things are far different. There life is tumultuous,
with Ministorum clerics preaching from seemingly every
corner, processions of pilgrims (many engaged in acts of
corporal mortification) in the streets, the Sons of Seth loudly
announcing the next passion play, and uncountable vendors
peddling pilgrim’s badges, pilgrim’s staffs, and assorted holy
relics of dubious origin.
The conjunction of agricultural need and religious fervor
has resulted in a curious system of government. Unlike the
great hive worlds, there are no noble houses on Piety of Seth
(although a few maintain retreats on some of the more isolated
islands). The scattered farming communities (each of which
looks after immense areas of crop land and/or aquaculture),
are left to look after their own. As long the regular tithes
of foodstuffs arrive at Port Hadley, they’re free to govern
themselves as they see fit. Within Port Calling, however, a
consortium of powerful merchant princes combined with
the upper echelon of Ministorum clergy look after affairs.
While not the most friendly of arrangements, it works well
enough. The priests handle anything having to do with
Seth, his cult, the activities of other approved cultists, the
Ministorum-sponsored programs of corporal mortification,
and the presentation of mystery and passion plays. The
merchants control the shipments of foodstuffs from (and to)
the Piety of Seth, the sale of approved badges, symbols, and
‘relics,’ housing for pilgrims, and just about anything else that
doesn’t have a direct connection to the Ecclesiarchy.
==Important Locations==
*Port Calling
*Port Hadley
Category:Shrine Worlds
Category:Adrantis Nebula
Category:Planets
Category:Calixis Sector