Practitioners of the Faith

The Church of Humanity Repentant is a diverse organization of preachers, scholars, academics, zealots, and a broad array of other folk who adhere to the Three Tenets. The practitiones of the faith are the most religious of the group, often forming their own Sects.

## Dramatis Personae

#### **Presbyter Abimelech Wray** [1]

The Very Reverend Abimelech Wray is a beloved member of the humanitarian community, and a public figure oft-mocked as a 'televangelist' in other circles. He travels from population center to population center, walking the streets, speaking to any who will listen, and giving readily and freely. He is a public figure of relatively well-known reputation, often figureheading public outreach programs, including a regular teleview program on a Prism Network by the title; "**Altogether, Now**!" He is the owner of the Gerizim Sanctuary Vessel, which he takes from system to system, living and preaching out of his vessel. There is no record of Abimelech Wray's birth or employment, the earliest recorded instance of him is the purchase and subsequent full payments of the bulk freighter he owns, the commissioned installation of a full-scale supersanctuary, and the purchase of an A.C.R.E-Brand Self-Sustaining Onboard Orchard. Wray has no recorded residence on any planet, has no official employment, and has not made any recorded payments since then, with the exception of the purchase of a single hookah, and transactions at various liqour stores across the sector.

#### **Thoughtbearer Crux Edward Campbell** [2]

Before he became a wandering Preacher and Social Media administrator for the Church of Humanity, Repentant, Edward was a minor noble in the House of Crux. He was a accomplished lawyer and rose to some fame on his homeworld. However, when the Synth War began, he grew more and more melancholy as the news of the war arrived. Feeling not joy or relief as the synths started being slaughtered on around him he began gathering up like minded individuals and began a penance pilgrimage around his local space. It is then that Edward learned of the Church of Humanity, Repentant and brought his flock to their temples. He continues his pilgrimage even today, gathering more sheep into his herd. He is hoping that the House of Crux is not too far gone to repent.

#### **Sibling Crux Konrad Welf** [3]

Having been a part of the Crux Inquisition, Konrad Welf saw the horrors mankind brought upon aliens and synthetics first hand. When he at long last opened his eyes to the suffering he had caused, Konrad left House Crux to atone for his sins. As a follower of Thoughtbearer Crux E. Campbell he joined the Church of Humanity Repentant, but later joined the small extremist order of the Tapeinosi. Today he supports the Underground Railroad as a mechanic, where aliens and synths alike are a little weirded out by his excessive apologizing. Konrad only wears the Crux name as a badge of shame and regularly chastises himself in order to wash himself clean of the sins of his past.

#### **Perfect Gautier of the Quill** [4]

Perfect Gautierrepresents the Order of the Quill, a small faction within the Church of Humanity, Repentant that, whilst upholding the core tenets of the faith, justify them in a different way. Gautier and his followers believe that as long as individuals fall for the snares of the material world, they are reincarnated - not just as human, but as any conscious being, be they beast, alien, human or - some whisper - synthetic. This, they argue, is why we must treat all lifeforms with respect, for they all suffer along with us, and furthermore they could *be* us in another life. Quill's flock holds that only through purity and the denial of temptation our angelic souls can break free from the cycle of corruption, and ascend to heaven. The Perfect travels, often with a small group of companions, in order to spread the message of the Church, and the ideology that lies underneath it.

#### **Counselor Uther Sathre**

His calloused hands designate him as a man who has had a hard life. To be sure, Uther has never shied away from a hard day’s labour. A man of few words, most who first meet him believe him to be of foul temper. Though solemn, his words are soft and carry the weight of experience. And it is with that experience that Uther travels between the worlds, seeking the disenfranchised. Those who see the Truth of his words follow him for a time, until they find their own Path of Repentance. Never one for the spotlight, Uther has found traveling via cargo ships and back alleys has its fair share of castoffs. Indeed, those most in need of Repentance may be higher in the echelon of society, those most in need of the Truth can be found here.

#### **Advisor Ty'var Kartas** [5]

*"Instead of destruction, there must be a promotion of concord among differing peoples, of love, of acceptance. Only then can true peace be attained." - Ty'var Kartas*

Growing up in the slums on a myriad of forgotten spacestations, the atrocities of war were always too close for comfort for Ty'var. He always knew it was wrong, what humans did, and are still doing. Wrought with guilt at what his own people could do, he knew he had to find the true path forward. A path of harmony and love. Of repentance. Over the years Ty'var has learned that he isn't the only one with these beliefs. Believing in repentance through action, he brought together a small movement and helped start the first "Elios Frontier" group. This group, and ones that formed afterwards, help shape loving and prosperous communities through poverty reduction measures, medical aid, education, and help foster consultation between all the differing peoples. To show one another that we have more in common than we do differences, for we are those who are blessed with a grand consciousness, and therefore also a soul. Through his groups travels he has come across representatives from the Church of Humanity, Repentant. Immediately understanding of their common goals, Ty'var converted and now serves as an advisor to matters involving community outreach and aid.

#### **Adherent Eli Crane** [6]

Eli's brutal appearance belies his gentle demeanor, but exposes his past. His muscled and scarred body stand as testament to his previous life as a petty thug in the dense sprawls of the macro-city that he called home. As a boy Eli grew accustomed to the everyday violence and misery that human beings inflicted on one another, and as violence was the only perceived way to secure a future, became a man of violence. Honing his martial skills, he was employed by the resident organized crime syndicate as a high level bodyguard. Life settled into a seemingly interminable cycle of perpetuating violence, until the 14 Red Dog Triads came to roost. They systematically bought/wiped out the local syndicate, including the people Eli was assigned to protect. Severely injured and left for dead, Eli turned up in The Church of Humanity Repentant's newly established outreach center. There he lay for several days, drifting in and out of consciousness, until he was visited by an epiphany and subsequent convalescence. From that moment on Eli was a man transformed, visited by an experience of the oneness of beings while he languished on the threshold of death. Vowing to dedicate the rest of his life to the church, and this new understanding of life, he set of on the pilgrimages of the church. Now after a few years on pilgrimage Eli puts his misfortunate youth to use by using his skills to protect pilgrims on their journey, and his experiences lend a strangely engaging tenor to his recruiting attempts (especially to those from troubled city backgrounds).

#### **Brother Morphos** [7]

Member of a small sect of borderline fanatics who take the repentance aspect of the Church to the extreme. Taking vows of poverty, fasting, and embracing suffering (even self inflicted) are all set as ways in which to help atone for the sins of humanity. Brother Morphos original served as a soldier for House Aquila during the very early years of the Synth Wars and early on was weight with guilt over the slaughter of so many. After embracing the tenets of the Church of Humanity: Repentant, he discovered this path that has helped him to be at peace with the sins he committed as a soldier, believing that through his own suffering he can help bear the weight of those that do not repent and maybe... Just maybe make up for his own. He now serves the Church as a Demaogue, being an asset of cunning and fervent faith that helps guide new siblings to the truth, and calls faithful siblings to embrace his more drastic measures of repentance. Most recently he overheard and then met Ralek Fezzim and sees a great potential in him. If he repentance but is driven by his haunted past, he could become a powerful asset to the Church.

#### **Speaker H.I. Petrovich** [8]

Speaker Hector Isambard Petrovich is a preacher from a sect who do not believe in a god but instead that we are a conscious manifestation of the universe trying to understand itself. Part of this belief is a catastrophic event in which the universe has seen too much bloodshed and lets out another Scream event in anguish. He believes strongly that all life is sacred and preaches responsibility for others sins as well as your own and that faith without action is meaningless. He is troubled by his strong following among radical and extremist elements of the faith.

#### **Practicus Aquila Baldric Peregrin** [9]

An athletic man, attractive and well combed man with an obvious air of authority to his dress and the walk of a soldier in his step. A former Aquilean Gloryhound that earned the respect of his fellow peers through acts of fearlessness and courage.

During his Unveiling in the church of humanity he admitted to killing synthetics and tainting his soul in acts of butchery. He repented the use of violence in such a way, and has since then spent much time in the ranks of the Church of Humanity. He still trains in the ways of violence, but in his spare time he is often seen studying the doctrine, attending the debate clubs, or trawling the streets seeking out people and converts. Whether they be youths falling into their violent tendencies, people afflicted by addiction or people prone to giving into their hatreds.

He talks to these youths, cooperating and convincing them of the true path which transforms them, giving them a  purpose. The training is rigorous, often pulling away from society to hermitages so they can temper their bodies and hone their minds in debate.

He has taken the title of Practicus for his unique take on aiding the church. A practical realistic way. An understanding that the capacity for violence is a necessary need, but that it must be tempered with discernment for when to unleash it. Loyal to the point of blindness and an aspiring master of strategy and negotiation. He is often seen hosting these informal meetings near public works or museums as he enjoys fine art.

#### **Sibling Cyrus Gray** [10]

A soldier of fortune from a long-lapsed noble lineage, Cyrus Gray found himself deployed in the Synth Wars like many of the mercenaries he knew. He was no stranger to war or horror or suffering, but at the end of that storied conflict he found himself in an Imperial hospital tended by whatever neophyte nurse had been snatched from the depleted populace with what could have been a mortal wound. In exchange for his life, he received recalcitrant, chronic pain. For many years Cyrus wandered the sector, his pain growing worse with each passing year, growing more and more disillusioned all the while.

After witnessing the sermon of a particularly drastically fanatical demagogue, Cyrus was drawn to the Church: Repentant. The veil clung tightly to him during his Unveiling, but he emerged to an epiphany: The flesh is but fuel for the crucible of the Soul, meant only to be tinder for the implacable Pain that heats that crucible. Forgiveness had been attained, but his Soul could never be truly freed of its impurities, guilt and complicity, if the flesh was not used to stoke the purifying Pain. Wearing lengths of crudely fashioned razor-wire over tattered, blood-stained burlap, keeping a crude barbed cat o’nine tails at his side for his nightly flagellation, he douses himself daily and nightly with antiseptic to keep infection at bay. His presence serves as an extreme example of the faith. Every step reinforcing the Deeds of his Repentance is agonizingly necessary.

#### **Father Hierodoctor Daam**

Born to House Lyre, he left his noble house and name behind when he chose to dedicate his life to the Church of Humanity Repentant. Taking up the name ‘Daam’ he started preaching his doctrine of the Soul Indivisible. He soon amassed a sizeable following of both nobles and commoners, as well as his own TV show on the PRISM network.

Then, suddenly, with no more explanation than “do not look for me”, he disappeared. Throughout the recent upheaval surrounding House Cygnus and the Synthetic genocide, his whereabouts were unknown.

Only after all was said and done did he return, claiming to have recovered the ancient religious artifact, once thought lost forever, known as the Mandala of the Soul. Claiming to have reached even deeper revelations, he preaches that now more than ever all sentient beings must come to understand the Soul Indivisible, so that from understanding can be born repentance.