The Way of Onyx

The Way of Onyx is a religious organization born originally from the territories of the AEC, though there are adherents from the PaU and the Concord. It is currently the largest The movement originally began in 2107 with the founding of the Morrison School of Technology and Thaumaturgic Exploration. This was generally seen as crack-pottery by scholars of the time. The school was, however, one of the earliest institutions to somewhat formally study Dark and it's applications for spellcasting instead of simply using it to empower technology. There turned out to be an incredible demand for people to learn 'magic', and it was difficult to state that Dark wasn't when it enabled people to do things like shoot bolts of electricity.

Because of their less scientific and more spiritual approach, the Morrison School found an audience with those more inclined to a spiritual, esoteric understanding of Dark. However, these individuals showed great development in their use because 'spellcasting' is something that is developed with practice and is in many ways a personal journey. So the Way of Onyx has continued to find a place, and is considered by many more authoritative on the subject of magic than university researchers. Where the university will learn how to harness Dark for the latest tech or advancement, the Way of Onyx will show you the path to personal fulfillment, actualization, and power.

## Doctrine and Dogma

The Way of Onyx's beliefs can generally be divided into three parts - beliefs about self, beliefs about the world, and dogma.

#### Beliefs of Self

* Initiation is the only true path to personal fulfillment.
* Each Path has inherent meaning and valuable lessons to teach
	+ No path is evil, some only have greater potential for Evil.
* To know the Paths is to learn the Self. To learn the Self is to understand the Dark.
	+ To know the Dark is to Ascend and to join the Sea of Aether in the hereafter in Shadow.

#### Beliefs of World

* The theory of Aether as a medium for Space was correct (at least in part) - the night sky is actually a distant sea of liquid Dark, called the Shadow.
* The spirits of the dead live on in the dark. The more you know the Self, the more coherent your Shade will be.
	+ Incomplete Shades will reincarnate until they have mastered each Path at least once, at which point they Ascend.
* The souls of the wicked become malevolent shades.
	+ The Wicked being those who oppose personal enlightenment, who deny the power of the Dark, or who attempt to hoard Dark for themselves.
	+ Malevolent shades do not reincarnate - they sit in Shadow and bring misfortune and fear to the living.

#### Doctrine/Notable Beliefs

* To attempt to influence your Initiation with an Aspected Cordial is to do yourself a disservice - your soul knows what it needs, and to force your conscious will is to impede it's progress.
* "The onyx in the rough is dull and plain - it is through care and careful work that we might see the Self and world in it's luster"
* All must initiate - to do otherwise is to waste one of your cycles.
* Qualities Emphasized
	+ Ambition
	+ Teaching
	+ Evangelism
* Qualities most despised
	+ Power lust
	+ Laziness
	+ Oppression (of self or others)

## Organization

The Way of Onyx borrows religious terms for it's ranks. Listed below are the main ranks in ascending order. While all ranking religious officials have some notable level of Initiation, not all employed by the Way are necessarily religious officials.

* **Cantors** are the lowest official rank. There are most often several Cantors per parish or temple - it's a rank assigned by a Vicar, usually as a sort of transitional role for a parishioner into the formal church. Many never advance beyond this point. They have no formal responsibilities, but typically assist their temple or parish in whatever ways they might need. In exchange, they are taught privately by the Vicars and on occasion the Rector about the teachings of the Way and how to master the Dark. Additionally, Cantors are often entrusted to teach children. All Cantors are at least initiated, though they often don't know what Path(s) they follow or if they do they don't understand it's implications or truths.
* **Vicars** are the lowest rank which requires approval from a council of their betters. Vicars are of a rank where they may occasionally be called upon to profess to gathered believers or teach groups basics of Dark usage. Once a Cantor progresses far enough in their education and service, they are nominated for advancement. A quorum of two Vicars and one Rector must agree that a Cantor has made sufficient progress through the ranks. Additionally, all Vicars must be aware of the Path they follow and be somewhat knowledgeable in what it teaches.
* **Rectors** are strictly one per temple, and in fact it is the minimum requirement to establish a temple. The Rector position is filled by a quorum including the Deacon and Archdeacon of a population. In small communities which have only a Deacon and where an Archdeacon would have to travel very far, this is sometimes decided by group of fellow Rectors headed by a Deacon. Rectors are equivalent to a senior preacher in a lot of modern protestant faiths. They are necessarily capable of first tier spells of their Path. Rectors officiate marriages, funerals, and Initiations.
* **Deacon** is the last rank where advancement is considered by your betters. It is considered the height of personal actualization, and all of them are capable of at least second tier spells. More importantly, each has initiated into at a minimum one additional path and acquired a first tier spell from it. Deacons are selected personally by the Archdeacon. A Deacon represents a collection of temples. Exactly how many depends on on the size of the place they represent - in the countryside of Luna it can be as few as two, or in a megacity it can be as many as eighteen. This collection of temples is called a Deaconate.
	+ There is a way to directly become a Deacon without rising through the ranks, becoming a **Hierodeacon** or **Hierophant**. To do so you must initiate, have at least first tier spells in three or more Paths, and have access to a single Second Tier spell from any path. Then you spend time as a Chamberlain Scholastic with an Archdeacon. There they act as the scholastic and philosphical peers of the Archdeacon. After serving as a Chamberlain Scholastic for eighteen months, the Archdeacon either condones your ascension to Hierophant/Hierodeacon or requires them to serve another eighteen months.
		- If they do not ascend after three attempts, they are made a **Sage** - a rank equivalent to Rector that can travel and profess in any temple, but serves no political or hierarchical role outside of this. This is also the path that people tend to take if they want to remain 'among the people'. They're expected to travel and to teach Rectors and Vicars, though most have a Deaconate that they call home and stay at most of the time. They're somewhere between scholars and faith counselors.
* **Archdeacon** is the highest rank that directly represents parishioners in some way. An Archdeacon is initiated into three or more Paths, and has access to at least a first tier spell in each. They represent up to 324 Deaconates, and those deacons are said to make up their Domain. For reference on how common these are, all of Luna has around 90 of them. When an Archdeacon must leave their post, before that they are expected to select a successor. This is usually their first order of business on becoming an Archdeacon.
* **Bishops** represent geographic regions and not specific numbers of people or temples. There's 3 per Realm, which are somewhat arbitrary areas. For example, most Megacities are single realms. Each of Luna's major cities are considered a Realm, as are most stations. However, the entire rest of Luna is only 3 Realms. They don't directly represent populations, but they tend to indirectly correlate to them. It's arbitrary, decided by the Archbishops. Bishops handle larger church matters for that an Archdeacon might not be prepared for, such as a public relations incident. This is also the lowest rank considered to be a member of the Ecclesiarchy - the body that formally rules the church. In instances where a larger vote is called, Bishops are the lowest ranking with members a vote. They're also the lowest rank that can requisition the private military arm of the church, the Aether Legion. Most Bishops have a standing force of Aether Legion assigned to them that they directly command as well. This still happens only with the approval of the Archbishop. Officially they are true representatives of the church as it is in that area - their public face, and the one who usually takes the fall for a systemic issue in their Realm that affects more than a handful of temples or parishes. This is the highest level of official in the church that can be considered a 'public figure' that is actually accessible in some sense by the public.
* **Archbishops** are Bishops who have at least 25 years with the Way, 5 of which must be served as a Bishop. Each archbishop serves at most 6 Realms, though they may serve fewer. Archbishops can directly command the Aether Legion. Archbishops are directly consulted in the Vault of Heaven, the decision making chamber of the Way of Onyx. They also command the Lancea Noctis, the inquisitorial arm of the church that also acts as it's special forces and mechanized division.
	+ **Cardinals** are a specific type of Archbishop. There's one per celestial body at least, but never more than 5. In the case of a planet like Earth or Proxcent this is the 5 longest serving Archbishops. They are only like Catholic cardinals in that they choose the next Ecclesiarch if the seat is vacated, chosen from among the existing Archbishops.
* The **Ecclesiarch** is the head of the Way. They set the direction for the organization and have ultimate control. They are the ultimate representative of the church, and while it's not a requirement directly all Ecclesiarchs ever have had access to at least 6 Paths and been able to cast Fourth tier spells from two of them. It is considered a mark of extreme shame for The Way if an Ecclesiarch is ever nominated who falls beneath this lofty standard, to the point that the Cardinals have sometimes selected a theoretically less competent leader just to prevent this from happening.

Following are several sub-organizations that do not strictly fall within the hierarchy.

* The Path Schools
	+ Each Path is considered a separate School. Each School is said to have four levels - Initiate, Adept, Scholar, and Master. There isn't formal organization within the Schools, but it's generally agreed that the word of a higher ranked individual within a given school supersedes a lower ranked individual s word on that subject. It's not uncommon for local groups to form around a specific School and teach it's Mysteries.
* The Aether Legion
	+ Technically this is a military force. They are all trained for battle, and they are all assigned a weapon and a uniform. However, for the most part they function more like the coast guard. They primarily help with disaster response, community outreach, assisting/supplementing local law enforcement, etc. It's sometimes said to be a "volunteer army, with the emphasis on volunteer". This stereotype often leads the Aether Legion to be disrespected and underestimated.
* The Lancea Noctis
	+ While the Bishops typically have an assigned Legion force and have some limited command over the Legion, the Lancea Noctis only takes orders from Archbishops and answers ultimately to the Ecclesiarch. They act as military police, inquisitors, special agents, and mechanized unit rolled into one. Notably, not all Lancea Noctis are necessarily adept level or greater Dark users, but instead loyal (or at least very highly recommended) experts that the church can rely on.

## Benefits

This is purely mechanical information about what members of the Lancea Noctis get.

Lancea Noctis:

* Access to spell casters of 2nd tier spells without cost.
* You can requisition small one handed arms of up to $500 for free (you can have up to $500 of small arms requisitioned at a time)
* You can purchase issued weapons from the armory. Licensing is covered for all small arms.
* A carved onyx symbol of the Way of Onyx with a small metal spear that hangs beneath it - a badge of office.
* Proficiency in Religion.
* A small condo on Gemini (worth $10k/mo.)
	+ A monthly travel budget of up to $600
	+ A monthly food budget of $350