Sound Of Silence (Holy Names)

== Ordo Monastics: ==
"Only in silence can you hear the deafening roar of life."
The Order of Monastics stretches back into time immemorial, it seems these ascetic Adepts have always existed in one form or another on the fringes of society. Monastics are Adepts who sought to separate themselves from daily life and the world in order to search for deeper truth in the knowledge of being alone with God. 
Practically speaking, a Monastic is an Adept who has spent some time training in the martial arts of the Order. He has mastered his body and attained high levels of discipline. He can carry out machine-like tasks in complete silence and with no groaning or complaining of any kind. Also, he gets to wear a cool monkish robe.
AKA: Monks, the Brotherhood.
Monastic Degrees
Puzzles
Roar of Silence
Meditation
Franciscans
=== Facts: ===
- Monastics do not normally favor weapons, years of martial arts training has left them quite capable with God's given equipment, the Monks' own hands and legs.
-Monk powers revolve around telekinesis, the hidden truths of existence, and self-mastery.
-Monks are highly trained, often well educated by their own Orders (although what a Monastic means by 'education' is often different from what the modern world means by that word). Each Monk is assigned very specific tasks and so he will have at least one or two trade skills (butchering, administration, management, accounting, mechanical upkeep, plumbing, etc.).
-The Order of Monks is a highly organized one, and very united as well. A Monastic from one part of the world can walk into any monastery anywhere else and be sure of a warm welcome.
-The Abominations are close allies to the Monastics, since many of the Monsters spend time living in the monastery, working and living alongside the Monastics who care nothing for his hideousness.
-Monastics are schooled in ancient arts of mysticism and theology.
-Many Monks find their place in the Squad in the role of Chaplain, a role for which they are often well suited.
=== Monasteries: ===
Monastics usually live either solitary lives of contemplation and self-training, or they live communally in monasteries. Monasteries are organized around a head Monk, whose title is equal to Squad Regent. Monks live lives of discipline, fasting and spiritual discernment, spending great amount of time in prayer and silence as they search inwardly for the Face of God Almighty.
This isn't to say that Monks won't be encountered, however: many Monasteries choose to live in urban environments, doing ministry among the poor and needy. Other Monks may decide to leave their monastery for a time and travel the world, doing good wherever they can. Some of these find Squads and decide to remain there, using the skills and disciplined they learned among their Brotherhood to strengthen their fellow Adepts.
=== Vows: ===
One of the more memorable features of the Order of Monastics, certainly one of the most characterized, is the taking of vows. Countless cartoons and jokes have been made about monks and the vow of silence or the vow of chastity, but the truth is that vows are designed simultaneously to promote group unity and test the discipline of the particular Monastic taking them.
The vows of poverty, chastity and obedience are the most common, certainly within Christian circles. They are designed to keep a Monastic humble and disciplined as well as to keep the monastery's community from developing dangerous excesses based on human desires. 
=== Monastic Holidays: ===
Most people don't know this, but Monastics have a rich tradition of celebrating holidays, both those religious as well as secular. Famous saints even left explicit instruction to throw lavish parties for major holy days and events. 
Book-Keepers Day = Write down all the accounts of forgiveness you've done. This holiday was originally a spiritual practice of early monastic communities, but was later adopted after the birth of Christianity. The point is to challenge oneself to see how merciful one truly is. 
Breaking of The Vessels = Ritual for neophytes, symbolic of their journey to full admission. After a new Monastic has undergone his forty day initiation, a ceremony is held where he creates a clay jar, representative of his former life, and throws it from the top of the monastery, effectively breaking ties to his worldly self and entering his second life. 
Night of the Fool King = Competition of some kind, in medieval times it was jousting and sword fighting, but in modern times it is more commonly paintball and racing sports. The point is, the winners - one male and one female - are crowned the Fool King and Fool Queen for the night. They are given their own royal chairs and court and anything they command must be done (within reason). Their "reign" ends at sunrise.
Night Pilgrimage = Pilgrimage on foot at night. When the sun sets, the Monastics congregate and travel, usually on foot, to a certain location of religious significance. The Regent gives a speech to address problems and uplift morale. Then they return home and a twenty-four hour time of silence is observed for reflection.
Dead of Winter = Huge bonfire, partying out in the cold air, all to show that the Monastics are the children of life even in the midst of the time of death. This holiday is especially popular among monasteries with enclosed courtyards or those located in more private areas.
=== Strange Practices: ===
Monastics often participate in or perform on themselves practices which to most other Adepts seem alien and oftentimes outright perverse. Flagellation, abstaining from food or drink for obscene amounts of time, shaving of all visible body hair, extreme penances and more.
To compound the issue is the fact that these practices are most commonly performed only in the monasteries of the Order, far from prying eyes and therefore mysterious and dangerous. More than a few Monastic brotherhoods have come under suspect because outsiders inadvertently witnessed "dark rituals," the tales of which made it back to civilization, and from there spawned a hundred horror stories.
== References: ==
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https://learn-shaolinkungfu.com/shaolin-kungfu/
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