Eskarites

right|300pxThe Order of the Harada Eskar, members of which are commonly referred to as Eskarites, is an influential Order within the Maninist Faith. 
==History==
The eponymous Eskar lived in the time of the Great Ordeal, and became notable for his efforts at ministering to the Aelonist Stetin. The order of the Northern Acolytes of the Faith, a long-defunct missionary organization, was reestablished by the High Ward Risadri and Eskar placed at its head. In that capacity he spent the last thirty years of his last living and preaching among the Stetin, and was responsible for much of the success of the Maninist counter-offensive in the north. After his death he was quickly recognized as a Harada by the Faith, and Acolytes seeking to emulate his works spread across the Face of the Moon. In RM 532 a group of such Acolytes petitioned for and received recognition as a full-blooded Order. The Eskarites rapidly achieved no small degree of fame for their bravery and diligence in pursuit of their mission, and quickly became one of the most prestigious Orders, a status they have maintained down to the present day. 
==Organization and Function==
Due to peculiarities surrounding the establishment of the Order, the Eskarites do not exist entirely within the usual Maninist framework. Alone of the Orders they are not subordinated, even in name, to Concourse, instead owing allegiance directly to the High Ward himself. The High Ward is always the head of the Order, and the Eskarites swear themselves to, as an opponent once put it 'cut out their tongues if the High Ward reproaches them.' Of course, the High Ward's manifold responsibilties prevent him from actually directly fulfilling his role, and the de facto head of the Order is the Prime Saepuary, elected at regular intervals by the Eskarite Conclave - Conclave meetings are one of the very few occasions when most of the Order will be gathered in one place. Beneath the Prime Saepuary there is little formal differentiation: the nature of their calling requires Eskarites to work alone or in small groups, and sophisticated and rigid hierarchies are unnecessary and counterproductive. Nearly all initiated Eskarites bear the simple rank of Saepuary. Nevertheless distinctions, though informal and notoriously difficult for outsiders to recognize, are of great importance - a freshly initiated Saepuary would never dream of disobeying a well-respected scholar and veteran of a dozen missions, their notionally identical ranks notwithstanding.
Despite their reputation for blind obedience, the Eskarites in practice have long been one of the more independent and heterodox Orders. This is in large part necessitated by their activities: the first responsibility of any Eskarite is to spread the Faith in the most far-flung and dangerous places. Consequently most of its members are absent from Sirasona for years or decades at a time, and they typically learn to adopt a certain flexibility of thought and speech on their missions, lest they wind up burnt by the local religious authorities. Owing to the tendency for those of its members who survive their missions to return bearing foreign knowledge, ideas and speech, the Saepulum in Sirasona has acquired a deserved reputation as something of an intellectual hot-house, and repository of scrolls, songs and the like from distant lands. 
Category:Maninism
Category:Organization
Category:Religions