The Illuminated is a secret organization based around Jædð whose operations have been reported as far away as Æzàlar and distant Panæð. Though most are unaware of the group’s existence, there are long-standing rumors and myths about the group’s activities among the political and ecclesiastical hierarchies. It is believed that the group employs “special priests” that are adept at peering into the waking mind (i.e., orádra Kadàktrū). Such tales are alarming among the elite, though the Jædðyr are more non-plussed than most. When agents of the Illuminated are suspected in Æzàlar or Lanàdus, panicked reactions and precautions are common.
To be honest, little is known of the organization. Most of what is suspected has been pieced together over many years. What follows is a list of speculative information from collected from a wide-range of sources. Such a complete set of information does not exist outside the Illuminated, but if all the sages and investigators were to compile their notes and theories, it might look something like this:
Physiology
Most members of the Illuminated are dark-skinned, as most initiates are natives to the Jædðàri region. In recent years, numbers have been recruited from distant regions, so racial changes are expected in the next one or two generations. The order is not believed to use identifying marks though during ritual some have been known to wear featureless masks.
Psychology
Little is known as no members of the order have been interviewed and no initiates are known to have ever left its ranks. The order is believed to command a great deal of discipline and selflessness from its members.
Culture
The order’s organization is naturally secret, but observation of its members reveal that there is a definite order. Not only is an order present, but it seems omnipresent in all things, despite the fact that members are rarely observed speaking or dealing with other members. It is guessed that initiates of the order have other ways to communicate between themselves and that this rapport is utilized in all things.
Language
Members of the Illuminated are rarely observed talking except with non-initiates. Since the order seems based near the Old City of Jædð, Jædðàric is likely to be the most common language used, though Dekàlic is also a possibility.
Religion
Because all initiates seem to be Jædðyr, the Illuminated order is believed to have firm ties with the Temple of Sūdul. Pryr Sūdul feign ignorance of the group. When pushed on the subject, many have commented that Sūdul is the Dreaming God and that his Truth cannot be found within the littered minds of waking men. Old scriptures of the Temple uncovered in the Halls of Panæð may reveal a possible answer. In the 9th century HK, a Pryn Sūdul priest of Sëjal preached that:
“…the waking world, like the sleeping world, is a dream within a dream. Sūdul’s wisdom and care does not leave us while our eyes our opened. Whether sleeping or awake, our eyes are opened to the Dreamer.”
Magic
Initiates of the Illuminated are not spellcasters in the conventional sense, but more than one observer of their activities has noticed Chaos flares from time to time in their proximity. Flares are most commonly observed around apprentice spellcasters who do not have the control or finesse of their more practiced elders. It is unknown as to why or how such flares might occur around persons who are not casting. Serôdoç, a Chaos sage of Panæð postulated that this may be a “New Magic”, a proposal which has inspired fear among the Circles.
Stories that the Illuminated initiates may be able to “explore the waking mind” is supported by reports of ka’làça (life-streaming) around Jædð’s Old City. An experience reported by many that visit the site, ka’làça is the experience of seeing scenes of your life race before you as you near the Bowls of Sūdul. Many pilgrims and faithful call this the “Touch of Sūdul” and believe it prefaces the reception of vision. Those more skeptical (and more familiar with magical effects) attribute ka’làça to Illuminated interrogations. Though the purpose of the life-streaming may not be nefarious, it remains unsettling to those who guess at its cause.
Works
- The Imagined Mark (Vornàmyr sorádra Kadàktrū)