Five Scrolls Compact

*(Be warned, spoilers may follow for the Mech touch for the Bright-Vesian Wars and Starlight Megalodon Campaign)*

The Five Scrolls Compact is a secret cult group well known for their experimentation and religious fanaticism.  They have various branches, one of which was the life branch. They also appeared to be able to learn precious knowledge from scrolls named after elements.

The members of the Five Scrolls Compact worship mythical beings referred to as the immortal gods. The cultists believe in them because the gods must be immensely powerful in order to create the Sacred Scrolls. One of the ultimate goals that the cultists were striving for was to open up a passage for the immortal gods to descend upon the Milky Way and turn it into a paradise.

The Five Scrolls Compact was obsessed with spiritual manipulation. However, most humans simply didn’t have the qualifications to harness it because they lacked the spiritual potential needed to get started.

The scrolls are supposed to carry an essence of the immortal gods.

### **The Five Sacred Scrolls**

The Metal Scroll:  Teaches how to shape blessed minerals into the armaments of the gods.

The Water Scroll: Teaches how to elevate the flesh and blood to be closer to the gods.

The Earth Scroll: Teaches how to transform the planets we reside on into abodes worthy of the gods.

The Wood Scroll: Teaches how to cultivate the living bounty of the galaxy into the reagents of the gods.

The Fire Scroll: Teaches how to harness energy and wield them like the fire of the gods.

### **Ownership of the Five Sacred Scrolls**

Originally the Five Scrolls Compact posessed all five scrolls in a hidden and locked space pocket in five grand shrines that were placed in a pentagram. During the Great Betrayal the CFA and MTA rebelled against the formerly Great Temple, later Ruined Temple, and stole the Fire Scroll. The fighting for the Metal Scroll became so ruinous that it actually broke and disintegrated. The Wood Scroll went missing during the chaos of the Great Betrayal. The Compact only retained possession of the Water and the Earth Scroll.

Dr. Jutland claims that he was able to take a glimpse at the Earth Scroll and the Water Scroll at some point in time when he was part of the Life Branch.

Ves inherited the Metal Scroll from his parents in the form of the System, but it is unclear how they came into its possession or how the destroyed Scroll reformed.

### **Starlight Megalodon Campaign**

Upon Ves Larkison's time on the mythical CFA battleship, The Starlight Megalodon, which crashed on Aeon Corona VII a super gravity earth, Ves is mistaken as one of the Holy Sons as well as the holder for the Metal Scroll by a Dwarf AI in the intelligence department known as Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth. He took a brief sample of blood from the former and confirmed his identity through a marker in his blood, which is only known to the senior leadership of the Compact.

The virtual AI's creator (one of the seniors in the Compact) believed that each of the Sacred Scrolls existed to prepare the mortals for ascension into the ranks of immortals.

### Complete Dialogue

The complete conversation between Ves and  Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth regarding his status as Holy Son and the history of the Five Scrolls Compact:

**Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth:** *"All hail the Holy Son of the immortal gods! All hail the Holder of the Metal Scroll!"*

***Ves:''*** “Rise.” “Please clarify why you believe I am the Holder of the Metal Scroll.”

**Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth:***"Your Holiness, your lifeblood doesn’t lie There is a marker in your lifestream that is only present on current holders of the Sacred Scrolls. This is only known to the senior leadership of the Compact. By chance, my creator is one of them, and he has left the means of identification behind on this ship. As soon as Starlight Megalodon first scanned your body, a small device discreetly sampled your blood and immediately detected the marker, but dismissed it as an unimportant piece of junk. Yet I know better!"*

**Ves:** *"Admiral, please elaborate what you understand about the Metal Scroll".*

**Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth:***"The Metal Scroll is one of the Five Sacred Scrolls. I heard it got lost and destroyed during the Great Betrayal. That was a terrible time. The traitors got away with the Fire Scroll and the Wood Scroll became in the void of space. The fighting for the Metal Scroll became so ruinous that it actually broke and disintegrated! My creator and his fellow brothers and sisters all believed this Sacred Scroll to be lost! Yet it seems the immortal gods are smiling upon the Compact, as the Metal Scroll has returned in our hands! Hahahaha!"*

Ves: *“To tell you the truth, admiral, I am indeed holding an object that I believe to be the Metal Scroll. However, I inherited it from my parents, who told me nothing about its true status.”*

**Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth:** *"Is Your Holiness not an inducted brother of the Five Scrolls Compact? No matter. Your parents are likely exiles of the Compact. That does not change the fact that you are a Holy Son. Each of the Sacred Scrolls carry the essence of the immortal gods! Only the worthy are allowed to glimpse at the words of the gods, and even fewer have proven worthy enough to be a holder of a Sacred Scroll! Exile or not, as the Holder of the Metal Scroll, you are chosen representative of the immortal gods in this reality!"*

**Ves**:  *“Admiral Ordoth, now that you are aware of my lack of depth, could you please fill me in on the Five Scrolls Compact?”*

**Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth: *"****My apologies, Your Holiness. My creator has implemented a contingency in my programming. On the event of his death, the vast majority of what I know about the Compact has been erased from my data banks. If any other human or virtual individual knows of my affiliation, my existence will be wiped out immediately. The only reason I can still tell you this much is because my creator long hoped one of the faithful would arrive at the Starlight Megalodon and complete his unfinished mission."*

*"Have you ever heard of ‘the Big Two’? The Mech Trade Association and the Common Fleet Alliance convinced humanity that they are their saviors and protectors. Pah! The two are nothing but rebel off-shoots of the Five Scrolls Compact! Long ago, the founders of the Compact obtained the Sacred Scrolls and gained enlightenment from their texts. They gained an unimaginable amount of power and influence and propelled humanity’s rise behind the shadows. Tell me, Your Holiness, did you believe humanity’s meteoric rise during the Age of Conquest is a coincidence?"*

Ves: *"It's not"*

Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth: "*The rapid innovations the Compact introduced to humanity closed our technological gap against the dominant alien races and allowed us to triumph against them before the arrogant aliens realized our threat! Yet as humanity and the Compact grew more powerful, some of our brothers and sisters started to be consumed by greed. Certain factions within the Compact wanted to keep the Five Sacred Scrolls to themselves. This conflict culminated in the Great Betrayal that saw several Sacred Scrolls lost! Over half of our members turned into thieves and traitors who attacked the Great Temple, took away the Fire Scroll and persecuted our loyal brothers and sisters! Nowadays, the traitors bask in the light, while the Compact scurries in the dark."*

Ves:*"Does this mean that the MTA and CFA used to be part of the Compact?"*

Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth: *"That is exactly the case, Your Holiness! We used to be one, all-encompassing organization! We all partook in the revelations of the Sacred Scrolls, preparing the galaxy for what is to come."*

Ves: *"What is the purpose of the Compact? What are you preparing for?”*

Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth: *"Why, to prepare for the coming of the immortal gods! The Sacred Scrolls are the gifts of the immortal gods from a galaxy or reality far away from us! We do not exactly know where the immortal gods reside, but their Scrolls foretold a time when they will arrive at our galaxy and elevate us all into the ranks of immortals! All of our brothers and sisters await the day of our ascension, yet the predecessors of the MTA and CFA ruined it all! Those thieves and traitors want to claim the Sacred Scrolls to themselves and reject the coming of the immortal gods! Blasphemers!"*

"*It is said that the Holy Sons who are privileged to hold the Sacred Scrolls are those closest to the immortal gods! Each of their footsteps quake the ground while every word they speak is suffused with divine revelations! How glorious of an AI like me to be grace with your holy presence! My ERROR years of waiting on this foul CFA battle chariot has not been in vain!"*

Ves: *"Do you know what kind of knowledge the different Sacred Scrolls bestow?”*

Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth: *"There is precious little information about the Sacred*
Scrolls in my data banks.
From what little I can still retrieve; my creator believes that each of the
Sacred Scrolls exists to prepare the mortals for ascension into the ranks of immortals

*The Metal Scroll teaches us how to shape the blessed minerals into the armaments of the gods.*

*The Water Scroll teaches us how to elevate our flesh and blood to be closer to the gods.*

*The Earth Scroll teaches us how to transform the planets we reside on into abodes worthy of the gods.*

*The Wood Scroll teaches us how to cultivate the living bounty of the galaxy into the reagents of the gods.*

*The Fire Scroll teaches us how to harness energy and wield them like the fire of the gods!*

*Ves: I think I get the picture, Ordoth. Tell me, why are you here?”*

Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth :" I have been waiting to receive an agent of the Five Scrolls Compact, Your Holiness. Never in my virtual life have I ever taken into consideration that a Holy Son himself would enter this forsaken star system! As one of the most august humans of our brotherhood, there is none more worthy to resume the mission my creator has regretfully been unable to fulfill."

Ves: *Who is your creator?*

Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth : *He is the human rear admiral who used*
to hold this office, Your Holiness. In fact, my creator and a handful of his subordinates are merely transient guests aboard this ship. My creator took office aboard the Starlight Megalodon for reasons he has not disclosed or I’ve long forgotten. I don’t even know who he is anymore as the contingency measure that I’ve mentioned earlier has wiped my data banks of his identity. Nonetheless,
he did not expect the Starlight Megalodon to encounter a calamity that forced
us to crash on this blasted heavy gravity planet.

Ves: *What is the mission that he left unfinished and wanted someone from the Compact to resume?”*

Ordoth: *I am not aware of the exact details.All I know is that hidden deep within the Exobiology Research Sub-Department, my creator paid a lot of attention to a classified research* project known to few. Ever since Starlight Megalodon crashed, one of the
exobiologists planted by us on the ship became inspired by the anomalous conditions on the planet. He embarked on an ambitious venture that lasted for decades. As far as I’m aware of, the implications of Project Icarus can shake the galaxy!

Ves: “*I guess the infighting and the*
executive officer’s final solution put a wrench to that project, right?

Ordoth: *Utter fools! The CFA has always been contemptible, but my creator never fathomed that the surviving officers could be so selfish! My creator never anticipated the situation would deteriorate so abruptly! If not for the abrupt expulsion of every human from the ship, this project*
wouldn’t have stayed locked away behind the restricted section of the Research ﻿﻿Department!

Ves: *“So this Project Icarus. Can you help me access it?*

Ordoth: *“The help that I can offer is limited, Your Holiness. My creator has left very little assets behind to facilitate your retrieval of Project Icarus. No matter. As a Holy Son of the Five Scrolls Compact, I believe in your capabilities! The Starlight Megalodon contains very little obstacles that can hinder Your Holiness! The only gift I can give you is this list of moles that can act as allies. While not all of the virtual officers on this list are cognizant that they are involved with the Five Scrolls Compact, they can be of assistance as long as you leverage them correctly”.*

The hologram known as Ordoth then proceeds to give Ves, a measly sum of credits, thanks him to be in his presence and proceeds to wipe itself from the Starlight Megalodon's servers.

1. ↑ Chapter 4033