Seekers of Speki

The **Seekers of Speki** are a humanitarian organisation from Daleskarnia.

## History

### Earlier times

This group was founded in the Fifteenth Age in the Kingdom of Freyrgard by a gothi-priest, Fersand, as a literature club. As a worshipper of Odin, he was also inspired by his god's quests for knowledge to be an amateur scientist.

When Freyrgard faces a famine at the northwestern coast, Fersand donates a huge amount of money to support the northwesterners, allowing them to quickly recover from the famine within a month. More and more peasants join the Seekers of Speki and build new schools and libraries. Years later, the Tuksharan Empire and the Vachelonians raided Daleskarnia, so hundreds of people joined the Seekers of Speki, turning it into another army that supported the King's forces in defending their homeland.

The Seekers of Speki were also joined by Freyrgardians from other parts of the Galaxy.

The Seekers of Speki also housed various dissidents that fled from Rannar and its neighbours.

The Obsidian Knights, a militant group in Luril during Sarmelonid times, were inspired by the Seekers of Speki. However, the group itself was disappointed with the Obsidian Knights' attempts to take over Luril as its new overlords.

### Later times

The Seekers of Speki continued to defend Freyrgard along with the army until it was ruled by tyrannical emperors. Those emperors persecuted them for opposing their wars against Marnos and other lands, forcing the group to relocate to the New Republics. There, it set up a new headquarters at the university-town of Valandrar, where they shared thousands of ancient tomes to the town's students.

Although it was a friend of the Lampguard, it became more distrustful as the Lampguard grew more corrupt.

With the reformation of Freyrgard into the kingdom of Daleskarnia, the Seekers of Speki returned to support the poor. It continued to oppose the militarisation of Daleskarnian society, and more people began to support it as they were appalled that Daleskarnia was not as advanced as the other nations of the world.

### Zvestarid and Irajonian Chapters

In Zvesta and modern Bujan, the Seekers of Speki have many facilities, mostly being cybernetics halls, laboratories, and universities focused on science. Many members remained to aid local resistance members during Wannaenid rule, maintaining portal networks that allowed the Bujanski resistance to hide and regroup in Daleskarnia.

Some also joined the Bujanski in fighting the colonials and Terrans, and in modern Bujan they are honoured as heroes. Others also intervened to help other Bujanski stop the massacres of Black July, and later to help Terrans learn to integrate into Bujanski and Irajonian society.

### Operation Bergelmir

During the civil war at Baesorja, many members of the Seekers of Speki evacuated dissidents, along with as many relatives, friends, and locals who agreed to follow them. Through the portals, they were saved from the nuclear strikes between the many warlords who fought upon the death of Baesorja's last god-emperor.

Like the Terrans before them, they were deradicalised and integrated into the New Republics or Nolworra, eventually repenting of their country's imperial culture to allow themselves to become new citizens of their homes.

## Structure

Pacifism is a key philosophy in the SoS. Although many members are capable of fighting back, they leave combat as a last resort to stop a threat. They do not glorify combat or enjoy war, as these are against their veneration of knowledge and advancement.

They are officially of the Norse religion, particularly Odin, the king of the gods. The Seekers focus on Odin's aspect as the lord of knowledge, originally as a protest against wicked kings using the god's deathly aspects to commit greater atrocities.

The Seekers are very glad with humanitarian missions. Their local chapters built academies to house and train members and assist scientific projects, and hospitals and charity facilities to help poorer people emerge from squalour, making them very popular in some countries.

Workers who took up jobs there found that while the Seekers became wealthy from research grants by various governments and organisations, they received decent wages from their work, and some wages were much better than the usual in their countries.

## Relations

The Seekers of Speki have many chapters across the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly on the continent of Palkyras. They are mostly dedicated to peacekeeping, whether through diplomacy, or military intervention to people who called for their help when necessary.

Their pacifist and science-centred attitude made them very disliked by the Lampguard, who mocked them as "cowards" and "nerds". In spite of local resentment, the government of Marnos allows the Seekers to have several offices, academies, and hospitals in the republic.

However, they enjoy good relations with the Order of Zeuk Kiu, the Guardians of Rabydos, and the Lausorijo city-states of northern Rabydos. They are welcomed as old friends in the advanced nations of Umbirab and Porashon, who looked up to them as wise, ancient mentors.

The Jerde Alliance was a major supporter of this group, and both organisations were allies due to their focus on defending Jerde from tyrants within and beyond the stars. However, the JA's attacks on Earth 96 and Earth 23 caused the Seekers to immediately break relations, denouncing the JA for betraying its principles. As usual, they were also present when some Bujanski people rebuilt ruined cities in Earth 23.

## Trivia

* "Speki" is the Old Norse word for "wisdom".
* The Seekers of Speki were inspired by a conversation with a Twitter user. They suggested that Daleskarnia should not be militaristic if it were to oppose fascism, and for it to be a republic governed by an Althing, so the author also designed the Seekers of Speki as some of the guardians of Daleskarnia.
* Some members of the Seekers of Speki are more akin to Buddhist monks, in the sense that members become priests dedicated to wisdom. Nonetheless, most of the order is a pacificst movement, only taking up arms to stop a threat.

## See also

* Obsidian Knights
* Order of Zeuk Kiu