Goddess of Silence

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## Identities

*She Who Sees. The Wordless Judge. The Unfinished. The Quiet Thought. The Contemplative. The Silent/Mute Woman.*

## Spheres of Influence

Contemplation, Enlightenment, Serenity, Peace, Study, Death, Murder, and Oppression.

## Symbol

A pair of watchful eyes, or an unfinished face - eyes open and staring, but with no mouth, and no ears. The eyes are either calm, or wide - some might say in a state of mute screaming or anger. They are sometimes depicted as expressionless or, perhaps worse, without pupil or iris.

## Places of Worship

Quiet, isolated shrines. Often underground, the smaller churches of the Wordless Judge claim high walls in still places, lit by candlelight and enforced with muffling on the floors and walls of the church. Sermons are strange affairs, where followers cover their heads in thick hoods and pray in silence at the quietest part of the day - several hours before dawn. No words are spoken aside from the opening sermon, which is a short passage from the Writings Of The Mute, and worshipers are expected to spend the next hour in silent contemplation of the words, to draw their own conclusions. The prayer session ends when the worshipers decide it does, often leaving of their own volition. Worshipers tend to sleep early as a result of these sermons, and often seek out their bed with the setting of the sun.

## Phrases

*'In silence there is peace. In peace there is enlightenment.'*

*'The spoken word is loud and intrusive. One who listens to that which is spoken aloud cannot listen to the truth their heart has already reached.'*

*'...'*  [Probably accompanied with a disapproving look].

*'Words are for those who have not yet learned.'*

**Phrases by Wordtakers**

*'You will know peace.'*

*'You do not deserve the words you speak. They shall be taken from you.'*

*'Those who disturb the silence shall be brought to it.'*

## Lore

The Goddess of Silence is an aspect of peaceful law, in her original style of following. A form of religion that sprang up originally in the vein of self development and contemplation, it eventually expanded, as the written word of the Goddess was interpreted as becoming more oppressive in nature. Originally, the belief system was applied in regards to study, and respecting the sanctity of personal privacy and peace. However, in face of the fact that external influences disturbed the inner self, eventually it moved outwards, as it became a system designed around using inner silence to create outer stillness - and in so doing created a lawful aspect of society, through the concepts of turmoil and excessive emotion, first in the self and then in others around the follower.

The church of the Mute Woman is an unusual one. It developed slowly and quietly, and then, due to unusual circumstances, it went through a period of rapid growth some centuries previously. Originally, it's worshipers were Monks and Clerics all but exclusively. The nature of its worship and its worshipers promoted an introverted worshiper, and the nature of its word and worship meant it was not spread with any sort of vigor or audacity to the greater public. However, this changed during the first Great Plague. With a drastic reduction in population, and an increase in fear among the populace; the need and desire for isolationism, based upon fear for contact with fellow people, turned people to offer increased prayers to the Silent Woman.

The one whom after all speaks to no other cannot be poisoned by them.

However, with the growth of this following, so too developed the increase in isolationism in the populace. The aspect of the following shifted as a result, becoming less about the exploration of the self, but more towards the fear of others - using fear to promote agendas of xenophobia and mistrust. This increasingly became dichotomous with the main following of the Silent Woman, until there was an eventual schism in her teachings. Both factions of the teachings believed themselves to be right, and bloodshed resulted in the more extreme cases. Things soon settled down, however. For a time, all was thought to be returning to normal - until there came a new faction who rose into prominence. They were the Peacekeepers, the Bringers of The Quiet. They exerted the will of the Goddess by quelling unrest, and enforcing law with sometimes harsh measures. In so doing, they removed much of the troubles of the plague, and as such, the strength of the church grew, along with their militant arm. These militants became, over time, the enforcement of law in various provinces, and while not loved, they were respected and feared. However, eventually, there was the uncovering of a secretive organization within the ranks of the church, that revealed that the schism thought quelled had, in fact, been active all along.

### The Wordtakers

They were - and are - called the Wordtakers. Others call them The Bloodied Tongues. And it was discovered that the seemingly random deaths and murders that had taken place for years previously, of certain and powerful figures, of lowly and unknown, had a single and awful common thread. The tongues of the victims were removed, and not found near the victims. It was not until the capture of one of the highest ranked Priests of the order in an underground chapel, tracked there by Knights and other investigators, that the full depth of the Wordless Heresy was revealed.

Taking the teaching of the Mute Woman to the utmost extremes, the Wordtakers are those who believe that some who speak, some who disturb the peace, are not worthy of the lives they bear. The cause can be varied - they can be individuals who speak - in the eyes of the Wordtakers - either blatant lies or words that might impinge upon them and their bloody duties. They might be those who commit crimes, who abuse positions of power, who engage in wild revelry and defy the law. These individuals are, to a Wordtaker, anathema, and as such they will stoop to any length to kill them. Upon so killing the individual, they will then cut the tongue from the mouth. The tongue itself will eventually make its way to a statue to the goddess, by means of offering. Targets who have invited the full extent of the retribution offered to them by the Wordtakers will also have their ears removed and eyes put out, and the eyelids and lips sewn shut - to enforce upon them in death the most absolute contemplation of their deeds for all eternity. These objects removed will then be laid at the feet of the statue of the goddess - but not before the blood of the tongue itself is used to coat the eyes of the statue, so that she might better 'see' that a sinner has been brought to peace.

Little is known about them. There are rumors the main church is still in combat with them, but many believe that there is far too much collusion. The Wordtakers themselves are methodical, intelligent and utterly ruthless in their dedication. A rather horrifying habit of their order is, when captured, to bite off their own tongue immediately upon realizing they cannot escape, in an effort to prevent any possible confession. Such was the case at the first revealing, as all dozen of the individuals involved did so almost immediately, with all of them bleeding to death as a result.

As a result of the uncovering of the Wordless Heresy, the following of the Mute Woman suffered as a result. It is currently viewed with much distrust by those outside of it, which is, for the most part, sadly ironic. Those who profess to follow the Silent Woman when they do speak are unlikely to be among the Wordtakers, who strongly believe in the preservation of the secretive nature of their order. They let no one outside of their ranks know of their true nature, and will eliminate any who find out and try to spread word of them - to do so would endanger their work, which is the quiet, patient elimination of their opponents who, indiscriminate of their nature or purpose, disturb the peace that they seek.

## Followers

Followers of the Goddess of Silence are reserved, removed individuals. They speak in hushed, calm voices, and seldom if ever raise them. Clerics cast their spells without speaking whenever possible, as much as possible - using silent spellcasting. The more powerful the Cleric; the less they tend to speak, growing more and more recalcitrant, preferring contemplation over conversation.

They are reluctant to impart wisdom except in the form of written word for the most part.

The Wordtakers are different. They tend to keep to themselves, but for the most part they work hard to remain indistinguishable from others. They tend to believe that they must do what is necessary to follow the word of their god, and as such, they can and do go to extreme lengths to do so. But they will, if possible, avoid loud or boisterous people or locations - unless they are tracking a target. They can be from nearly all walks of life, but they tend to be sociopathic, ruthless, and utterly merciless towards those they target, and willing to go to extreme lengths to achieve their goals.