Disciples of Sanctus Medicus

The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus are a secret sect loyal to Yaoshi, the Aeon of Abundance, who they refer to as "Merciful Medicus." They are found within the Xianzhou Luofu and are a major antagonistic faction in Honkai: Star Rail.
==Profile==
There are two different groups of Disciples of Sanctus Medicus who share the same name. The first group, known as the Old Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, was a generally harmless group that worshiped Yaoshi in secrecy for thousands of years until they transformed into the Cold Springs sect. The Cold Springs sect led the Xianzhou in reforming their healthcare system and eventually declared their renouncement of Yaoshi. They believed that mara existed because Yaoshi's will was improperly executed.
The more recent Disciples of Sanctus Medicus rose in the wake of the Third Abundance War less than 30 years ago. They operated in secrecy, seeking to lead the Xianzhou Alliance on the Path of Abundance. They believe that mara, rather than being a curse, is a kind of "blessed evolution." The leader, Dan Shu, obtained a Stellaron from Phantylia and revived the Ambrosial Arbor in a rebellion against the Xianzhou. They were defeated by the Cloud Knights of the Luofu with the assistance of the Astral Express Crew, though many still continue to operate in secrecy.
They number in the "tens of thousands" and have a "flat" organizational structure, with the head of each area reporting directly to the master. This is applied so that if their enemies were to wipe out one area of the group, it wouldn't affect the other areas.
New members are put through several trials to prove their loyalty. The first is transcribing the Thousand-Handed Merciful Medicus' Salvation scripture 500 times by hand. Another is a fight to the death with another prospective member, though this is possibly made up on the spot by Green Hibiscus due to his suspicion of the Strange Cloud Knight being a spy from the Seat of Divine Foresight. Once accepted into the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, new members are given a new identity.
==Old Disciples of Sanctus Medicus==
===Origin===
The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus continued to worship Yaoshi as other Aeons like Qlipoth the Preservation, known as the Firmamend Arbiter among the Xianzhou, and Lan the Hunt, became ascendant in the Xianzhou Alliance. Although sharing the same name, the Disciples consist of two distinct groups. The first group, known as the Old Disciples of Sanctus Medicus to differentiate them from the more recent group, believed that the Denizens of Abundance deviated from Yaoshi's will and the mara-struck only existed because Yaoshi's will was improperly executed. 
After the Theophany era, countless secret believers of Yaoshi wrote books and established schools to preach the correctness of their beliefs. Others established a medical system rooted in the worship of Yaoshi. The most influential of the books is Yaoshi's Manual of Viscerals. It was the first to systematically establish "Yaoshi medical sciences" that connected the science to the worship of Yaoshi. This was the beginning of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. The Manual originally had 75 volumes but the currently available version is a four-volume version re-edited from the remnants of the book by archivists. These residual chapters were mainly taken from sources of the time that rebuked the religion of Sanctus Medicus, and some of them could be inaccurate or completely false.
The Old Disciples' first master primus was Yueyan, the Foxian Helm Master of the Xianzhou Yaoqing's Sky-Faring Commission. Yueyan witnessed the destruction of Muldrasil by the Antimatter Legion. Due to Xianzhou's creed of eradicating abominations, the Alliance stood by and observed the entire process. The overwhelming death and destruction shook Yueyan's belief in the long-life species' duty and purpose in life. Yueyan left his position and roamed the stellar seas with a starkiff in search of an answer. He found Shuhu, an Emanator of Yaoshi, on the ancient planet of Rahu and witnessed Shuhu's resurrection of the planet, which had died long ago. The planet throbbed like an embryo in the mother's womb. He followed Shuhu and recorded their healing miracles and various teachings, ultimately composing the Divine Scripture of the Secrets and Miracles of Shuhu's Manifestations.
===Inner Secrets Sect===
A branch of the Old Disciples known as the Inner Secrets Sect authored the Scripture of Yellow Pneuma Yang Essence. The Inner Secrets Sect believed that the Xianzhou natives' bodies possess circulatory vessels similar to the branching form of the Ambrosial Arbor after receiving the blessing of the Arbor and becoming long-life species. These circuits lead toward an organ known as the Core Esse, which is key to the Xianzhou natives' second evolution (alternatively known as the ascension). The Scripture proposed that the body should be considered as soil, the breath considered rain, and combined they nurture the Core Esse (a seed) to spread the circulatory system (as branches), finally achieving an "inner Ambrosial Arbor" that thrives and grows as an "inner secret." The Yellow Pneuma mentioned in the book's title is an essence that drives the vitals in the theories of the Inner Secrets Sect, and opposes the Black Prana that symbolizes death and decay. The author believes that the purpose of life is to maintain the presence of Yellow Pneuma and let life continue to evolve. The views of the Inner Secrets Sect are considered superstition.
===Cold Springs Sect===
The Old Disciples were not a notorious group for a long time and accepted skepticism with an open mind. They built apothecaries to help the poor and needy. They were treated with pity by those who had long abandoned their belief in Yaoshi but were not particularly detested. They existed in secret for thousands of years and eventually became the Cold Springs sect, which overhauled the entire Xianzhou healthcare system.
According to Overview of Xianzhou's Materia Medica, the Cold Springs sect was formed by young members of the Alchemy Commission and originally named the Cold Springs delve. They re-discovered Liu Hua's Medical Compendium, written by a Vidyadhara who wanted to better explain the principles of Xianzhou medical science using more scientific methods of inquiry, and used it as the standard for medicine. Later, the Cold Springs Sect's innovative thoughts were gradually acknowledged by the various groups in the Alliance, and Liu Hua's Medical Compendium received the credit it deserved.
==Dan Shu's Disciples of Sanctus Medicus==
===Origin===
After the Three Sufferings era, the Xianzhou completely banned belief in Yaoshi. Dan Shu's predecessor, Yunhua, was banished amdist a dispute regarding the Vidyadhara. Their whereabouts are currently unknown. 
The more recent group of Disciples, considered criminals in the Xianzhou, is less than 30 years old and arose in the wake of the Third Abundance War. Some blamed the Alliance and the Hunt for the suffering they endured. They used the same name as the old group, gathered around a "master primus", and claimed to have inherited the knowledge and legacy of the Theophany Era. They sought to lead the Xianzhou into the embrace of Yaoshi. In response, the Cold Springs sect published a statement clarifying that they no longer believed in Yaoshi.
The Master of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, Dan Shu, was motivated by her desire for revenge against Lan The Hunt, who she formerly worshiped. Her friend Yufei died during the Third Abundance War when Lan's Lux Arrow destroyed the enemies as well as the field hospital she was based in. Dan Shu made a deal with Phantylia, a Lord Ravager and Emanator of Nanook the Destruction, to deliver a Stellaron to her. Phantylia arranged for the Stellaron to be brought aboard the Xianzhou by Luocha. Dan Shu used the Stellaron to revive the Ambrosial Arbor and rebel against the Xianzhou, using both the sect and recently acquired Abundance Sprites to cause chaos in various areas of the Luofu. Eventually, her rebellion was stopped by the Xianzhou and Astral Express, though remnants of her sect continue to operate in the shadows.
===Beliefs===
According to the Official Announcement on the Origins of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, the beliefs and texts of these Disciples are almost unrelated to the original Disciples. The Thousand-Handed Merciful Medicus' Salvation that their followers recite daily is a forgery and not a classic text written by the original Disciples, who valued texts such as the Scripture of Yellow Pneuma Yang Essence that provide guidance for spiritual practice.
While the Old Disciples believed that mara was the result of improperly executing Yaoshi's will, Dan Shu's Disciples believed that mara was a kind of blessed evolution. To them, belief in Yaoshi, known as Sanctus Medicus, is the one ultimate faith. To become a disciple, one had to pass trials. The first trial was to copy the Thousand-Handed Merciful Medicus' Salvation 50,000 times. It was later changed to 500 times. The text is considered to be a forgery by the Xianzhou government and unrelated to the Old Disciples. The second trial involved two candidates fighting to the death with the survivor officially becoming a disciple.
===Medicine===
Dan Shu's Disciples developed a drug that can induce mara in long-lived species while retaining their sanity. Known as the Draught of Draconic Surge, it is made from various ingredients, but the core ingredient is Vidyadhara bone marrow tissue obtained from a living specimen. When the Trailblazer infiltrated the organization, Mauve Moon told them that they should have no trouble obtaining the rarer ingredients considering their strength, implying that the Vidyadhara bone marrow was obtained using force. An internal prescription circulated among the Disciples says that if one managed to survive the drug, which may cause severe pain all over the body, abnormal bone noises, plus partial loss of sight and hearing, they will attain the way of immortality. However a report prepared by Dan Shu for the Seat of Divine Foresight says that for short-life species, it enhances their bodily capacities for a short period, after which their body suffers a catastrophic regression once all the Vidyadhara cells in the host's body have perished. The only thing preventing such an outcome perhaps being other drugs developed by the Disciples. Dan Shu fed this drug to Xiao Ju, a Xianzhou native, which cured him of of the long term infirmity he has had since he was a child. However the patient reported sharp pain all over his body and mental confusion every time he took the pill.
They also developed a drug known as the Semblance Reversion Essence that allows the mara-struck who have transformed to revert to their original appearance. However the drug's potency reduces with repeated use and will eventually cease to have any effect. The Disciples do not consider this a permanent solution nor the mara transformation to be undesirable. They believe mara is the first step to ascension given to them by Yaoshi.
Despite the Disciples' supposed ability to control mara, their members who were captured by the Cloud Knights during battle exhibited signs of delusion and hallucination. One disciple saw themselves becoming the storm, the Abundant Ebon Deer, and a scene of leaves and branches covering the sky. Another disciple claimed that to be mara-struck was to eliminate the self, to achieve transcendance, a true life of freedom, and a second life gifted by Sanctus Medicus. The Disciples are also able to elicit uncontrollable mara through smoke infused with medicinal pellets.
===Vidyadhara===
Some Vidyadhara Preceptors are suspected to have colluded with the Disciples and Dan Shu was in contact with them.
The Disciples conducted various experiments using Vidyadhara blood and bone marrow. One experiment conducted during the tenure of Dan Shu's predecessor included injecting Vidyadhara blood and marrow fluid into various species to observe the reactions in their normal and mara-struck states.
==Known Members==
===Leadership===
* Dan Shu
* Mauve Moon
* Yueyan (first primus medicus)
===Others===
* Banxia (former)
* Blue Ganoderma (mentioned)
* Blue Peach (mentioned)
* Cyan Begonia (mentioned)
* Gouteng
* Green Hibiscus
* Indigo Begonia (mentioned)
* Moze (former)
* Purple Chrysanthemum (mentioned)
* Purple Cinnamon (mentioned)
* Thanjar
* Trailblazer (As Grey Peony) - Infiltrated the faction for a short time as a spy
* Xiao Ju
* Yellow Peony
* Ziyi
===Enemies===
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====Elite====
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==Faction Mentions==
==Other Languages==
==References==
==Navigation==