Mechanicus Covenant

The **Mechanicus Convenant** are a priesthood of Ipsooms based on Ispoomxandria which provides the Holy Psdonia Empire with technical and scientific experts. The priests of the Mechanicus Covenant are the primary keepers of what is viewed as sacred wisdom, a privileged caste of science-priests who jealously guard the knowledge required to maintain and construct much of Psdonia's more advanced technology.

## Beliefs and Teachings

As part of this faith, the variation of True Lore followed by the Mechanicus Covenant believes knowledge is the true manifestation of perfect divinity in the universe, and all creatures and artifacts that embody knowledge are holy because of it.

The ultimate goal of the science-priests is to understand and fully comprehend the glory of the True Lore. The communal and personal attempt at this form of enlightenment is pursued through scientific and exploratory endeavors.

## Factions and Sects

### Holy Force of Onyx

One of several militant factions within the Mechanicus Covenant.The Onyx are a warlike sect who study the art of battle and specialize in the destructive power of photon and laser. The cult devotes all of their energy and effort towards the development of more and more devastating weapons and the martial doctrines that best utilize them. Aside from this, the work of Onyx is well-guarded secret.

### Zano-Pact

The ruling body of adepts that preside over the Zano Worlds, the Zano-Pact is the first and foremost faction throughout the Zano Worlds. The power of the Zano-Pact is derived not only from the documents that established the Zano forge-worlds, but also from the mere fact of their present possession of authority. This position allows them and their allies to apply a great deal of pressure in the pursuit of material, personnel, and other resources.

### Organicicals

A small faction of the Mechanicus Covenant, the Organicicals are a group of science-priests who esteemed biological enhancement as being equal if not greater in value with the cybernetic, a somewhat radical if not heretical position from most of their brethren' point of view.

### Followers of Alo

An influential faction among the Mechanicus Covenant, the followers of Arch-Priest Alo believe that the eternal quest for knowledge is best pursued in the field. Alo's instruction centers on identifying new technologies and sets the goal of finding the relics of the past above all other concerns and risks. Alo's disciples pursuit their goals entirely on analysis and study, valuing the acquisition of pure knowledge above all other concerns of other applied sciences. They disdain physical confrontation and are often so wrapped up in thought they fail to notice what is in front of them.

### Mecacuitor Sect

An order of assassins within the Mechanicus Covenant. They answer only to the magistrates of their own order, and usually operate according to their masters' will without scrutiny. Its members are trained in the art of stealth, able to move within plain sight among folk hidden from scrutiny beneath heavy red robes. Through the mentally recorded data-tracts left by their founder, the Mecacuitor Sect believe this guides them to the targets of their wrath and aid them in making short work of those who oppose the will of the True Lore.

### Ordo Faithful

Among the most conservative and traditional members of the Mechanicus Covenant. Faithful followers of the True Lore, often characterized as excessively orthodox within the priesthood's teachings. They look upon the petty bickering, empire building, and distrust plaguing the Zano Worlds and the surrounding sectors as a waste of precious resources and time that could be better served going to any of a number of more legitimate causes. The most fervent members of the Ordo Faithful believe that a more firm hand, directly from Ipsoomxandria, is needed to set the Zano Worlds on the right path, although at present all petitions for direct intervention have not garnered any response as of yet.

### Psyicokana

A radical faction obsessed with the power of psions. Members work in secret on genetic engineering tech, psy-breeding and other, more questionable, activities. They are hoping to restore the psionic power of their race that once characterized in their previous iteration before being reformed and losing their abilities, all intended to reactive what they see as the lost psion-gene to as much of their fellow Ipsooms as possible.

### Disciples of the Tech Master

A cult of rogue science-priests. The Tech Master and his followers viewed the restrictive policy on perceived forbidden and dangerous technology as an affront to the True Lore. The Disciples uncovered numerous wondrous artifacts that allowed them the creation of dark matter, reality-slicing devices and other forbidden technology.

### Warpforge Engineers

A splinter group of the Mechanicus Covenant. They are known to employ numerous devices to manipulate or channel the raw power of the Warp through technology and infusing it into their machinery. Many Warpforge Engineers are insane, obsessed with the secrets of the Warp but most understand the need for protection from the corruptive Warp-energies, and so turn to tech-lore concerned with creating inventions that can channel the Warp safely.

### Cult Unitrum

Preaching from the broken, hollow shells of now empty halls of forging, the leaders of the cult speak in strident tones of the True Lore. These charismatic speakers claim that the True Lore holds a special fate for each of its consecrated brethren, from the highest forge smith to the lowliest menial. Fate is preordained, and the True Lore, knowing all, wishes only that its followers accept these paths and walk them in courage. The cult interprets desire and ambition as dangerous distractions, counter to the will of the True Lore. The loyal followers of the cult do not strive to break from their chosen path, but rather accept what has been handed to them. The present state of affairs on Zano IV is part of the True Lore’s plan, they say, and thus should not be fought, but rather accepted in quiet contemplation awaiting its perfect design to unfold.

### Cyber Scions

A brotherhood of fanatical devoted adepts who look upon all flesh as not only a weakness, but as a prop that keeps Ipsoomkind from achieving its true potential. The Cyber Scions believe that they alone has been vouchsafed the future of Ipsoomkind, and, in fact, they see all other Ipsooms as an inferior sub-species, an evolutionary dead end that has proven itself too weak to deserve the True Lore’s blessing. Such is the devotion of the Cyber Scions that most adepts of the order remove and replace much of their own bodies with cybernetics, some even go a step further and undergo the radical procedure known as the Rite of Cyberization, in which the right lobe of their brain is removed, and replaced with a bank of cybernetic cogitators and virtual data-stacks to further enhance their ability to process and store information, while removing the distractions of emotion. Those who have undergone the procedure are actually incapable of emotion.

### Sol Hydraists

An extreme offshoot of the Mechanicus Covenant that is dedicated to the seeing a new glorious future through the fusing of flesh, soul and the powers of the mind into a new mode of existence for the chosen. In their quest, the group's members created an entity called the Sol Hydra, which was a form of psychic metamorphic "virus" supposedly controlled by the Sol Hydraists that was capable of infiltrating one's mind and completely dominating it. It is rumored that they abduct and indoctrinate promising individuals into the collective's ranks.

### Children of Reth

A sect that arose with the spread of the teachings of the notable science-priest Reth, and the Children now worship him as a saint. Through advanced communication constructs the sect members receive messages and new tech and scientific finds from Reth himself.

### Deiman Guild

An order of archivists within the Mechanicus Covenant that resided on Deimos, one of the two moons of Mars and maintain the data-temples where priceless knowledge has been kept.

### Floranites

An organization of scholars, believed to be an radical offshoot of Organicicals, considered even more heretical. The sect is dedicated to the study and worship of exotic plant life, in particular unusual and carnivorous plants and plant-like predators.

### Algormians

A close-knitted fellowship of tech-priests who pursue the science of artificial intelligence. The group's members are seeking to better understand the inner workings of intelligent machine, to that end they study ways to not only create new forms of AI but to further enhance their awareness and performance.

### Relvak Cult

An aberrant cult formed on a isolated forge world, the science-priests became isolationists under the cult by their leader, Relvak. The cult has solidified its power over the planet and used their technological prowess to invent an array of terrifying creations, most notable the Maltekius, an unnatural alien-cyborg possessing psionic powers created to combat the Inquisition.

### Lubricant Sect

A small sect that worship lubricant and its contributions to various applications. The members of this sect anointed themselves with a mixture of blood, boiling grease and oil fluids during their rituals.

### Puraessiah Creed

A growing group of disaffected adepts began a project in secret in the Zano Worlds. The brotherhood only accepts the purest of materials, their experiment is one of purity of form as its members believe that they are being guided by the will of the True Lore itself.

### Total Singularity

A large sect founded on the ideal of the unification of all. The sect seek to literally connect all beings to one another and to become a single, vast, organic-and-biotechnological organism, the end result of which would be the creation of a omnipresent godlike intelligence.

### Siccaoian Tech-Warlock Cult

Emerging from the decaying and dying research world of Siccaoia. The cult has fallen into degeneration, a mix of disarrayed beliefs, mad ramblings, dark rites and obscure tech patterns.

### Xarocrasian Sect

Based on the Zano Worlds, the adepts of the Xarocrasian Sect study the frailties of flesh, researching into the fields of prolonged life, improved bionic implantation, and even the transition between life and death.

### Geneites

An schism erupted within the Xarocrasian Sect, several adepts broke away to pursue an independent program of research. The Geneites study controversial life-extending techniques and employ them through various methods to lengthen the lifespan of various vat-grown bio-constructs. They are loosely affiliated with Organicicals who share a similar fixation on flesh.

### Progress Machine

One of the major powers operating on the peculiar world of Xeurus, the members of this radical faction pursue the idea of them being the machine that furthers Ipsoom progress by developing new life, new tools, and new methods that seek to attain sublime perfection.

### Emojowat Sect

A sect that formed over its members' shared interest in the scientific field of Emojology and the many possibilities of its use. With an intent of harnessing emotion energy, the sect's adepts have constructed numerous appliances for such a purpose.